First Day of Kindergarten

The Thursday before school started, I knew we were going to get "the call."  I waited...and waited...and just as I'm loading all three boys into the bath, two of which were crying, my phone rang.  I knew this was it.  The sweetest woman was on the other line, "Hello, this is Mrs. Barnes.  I'm going to be Cooper's kindergarten teacher!"  She went on to say how excited she was to meet Cooper the next evening at Meet the Teacher night.  After I got off the phone with her, I texted a few friends to get a report on Mrs. Barnes.  (I had met the teachers, but really didn't know much about any of them.)  And luckily, all reports came back the same--Mrs. Barnes is wonderful!  Nurturing!  Fun personality!  Easy to talk to!  L-O-V-E-S her students!  Been teaching for years!  Lives in the neighborhood and loves LH!  Everyone would end their review with "you are so lucky to have her."  Amazing teacher...check!  Phew.

The morning of the first day of school started early.  I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to snap a few pictures outside of the school and to find Cooper's classroom.  I made a little check list for Cooper to follow in the mornings.  I'm hoping it helps keep him focused and stay on track so we can get out the door on time.  I mean...this is real school...you can't be late in real school!

Love this boy so much.  So, so, so much.

Austin and Daddy had a little porch sword fight while I snapped a few pics of Coop.

My sweet little guy.  I mean...my big, strong, excited kindergartener.

He was really so, so excited.

Brother hug and kiss...not prompted, which makes my heart happy.  They love each other so much.

I love the look on Cooper's face in the picture below.  His look and the pat on Austin's back say so many things to me...the proud big brother...off to do a big boy thing...passing the torch of taking care of Mama and Grayson...you'll be ok without me...  I wish I knew what he was thinking exactly.  Heck, maybe it was "you touch my lego helicopter while I'm gone and I'll tackle you."  But I think I'll stick to my original thought of a sweet passing the torch moment.

Walking down the hill.  The school is in sight.  This is officially getting real to me.

When we walked in, there were so many people and kids and staff members, it was definitely overwhelming to me, and I'm sure overwhelming to Cooper.  But he never let on that he wasn't anything but excited.  I do love how I quickly snapped this picture as we were walking in.  He turned right as I snapped, and I love the look on his face.  Again, I wish I knew what was going through that little head...

After we made it through the sea of people, we found his classroom.  Mrs. Barnes was there to greet him and showed him where to go to find his cubby and hook.

Then he found his name on the "blue table."  There was an activity to do while waiting for the day to start--day a picture of yourself on your first day of kindergarten.  Coop drew a little, but he was more interested in looking around the room and watching all his new classmates.  He was pretty quiet once we got in the room, but he kept smiling and telling me how excited he was.

Cooper and Mrs. Barnes

And then...it was time to go.  I had to leave.  I gave one last hug and kiss and told him to have a fun day.  And then I turned and left.  And just like that, he was a kindergartener.  He didn't bat an eye that I was leaving.  He didn't seem worried or scared or hesitant.  He was confident, excited, and proud.

Have a happy and fun day, my little man.  See you at 2:45 p.m.  (Walking away was so difficult.  Trusting that he would be safe.  That he would be happy.  That he would be loved and cared for.  Trust...  A lot of it goes into dropping off your kiddo.  I did pretty well as I walked away.  The walk back up the hill seemed a little lonely, but I just kept focusing on his excitement and trusted that he would have a great first day.)  Now, how to stay completely busy and distracted for the next 6.5 hours...

I made sure to get there early for pick-up.  The boys and I were so excited to see Coop and give him a big hug!

 Coop ran right up to me and wrapped his arms around me.  I asked if he had a great day and he responded with, "I had a fabulous day!"

08.25.2014

Kindergarten

It happened.  He started kindergarten.  My little monkey.  My first baby.  The one who made me a mommy.  The one who started me on this journey of being a stay-at-home mom.  The one who taught me more about myself than I ever thought possible.  The one who I've spent countless hours with--playing, reading, imagining, holding, crafting, adventuring, talking, laughing...the list goes on.  He's in big boy school.  Kindergarten.  I get to leave in about thirty minutes to pick him up after his first day, and I'd be lying if I said I haven't been watching the clock all day long.  And I'm pretty sure Philip and I have spoken at least seven times in the last five hours, wondering what and how our little man is doing.  I hope today was great for him.  I hope he had fun.  I hope he's excited to go back tomorrow.  I hope he feels ready, because I know he is.  (Mommy...not ready; Kid...ready.)  I hope he enjoys learning.  I hope his imagination and creativeness continue to grow.  I hope he stands tall and lets his light shine bright. 

And now, as tears fall, (as they have throughout the week leading up to today), we turn a page in our parenting journey.  Kindergarten...here we go!

Where's Grayson

I couldn't find Grayson.  It was only a few...several...a small amount...of seconds.  But, I couldn't find him.  When suddenly I hear from Austin Buddy (in typical Austin Buddy tone--that I wish I could bottle up), "Uh Oh.  Grayson driving our truck!"  I raced to the back yard, thankful to see Grayson only sitting in the truck, NOT driving it.  Phew.  But I'm still not completely sure how he got outside by himself...

 Whenever we play outside, Grayson heads straight for this truck.  He loves to climb in and REALLY loves when big brother gives me a ride around the yard. 

Cooper Behind the Lens

Cooper often asks to take pictures with my phone or with the big camera.  I don't always allow him to use the big camera, but sometimes I do.  He noticed that several of these pictures were blurry and asked how to fix it, so I gave him a very short lesson on focusing.   When I look back at the pictures, I love to see what he captures, what he finds interesting.  It's a sweet glimpse of his view of the world around him, or on this particular day, of our typical day at home (Legos everywhere, laundry everywhere, and month-old birthday decorations still hanging from the mantle).

07.24.2014

Grayson "In and Out"

Grayson is in the phase of "in and out."  He will fill a basket with toys and then take them out.  He will take out blocks from a bucket, then put them back in.  In and out, out and in.  It's a super fun, entertaining game to a 13 month old.  He recently discovered how to open the drawers in his room, and then he discovered that he could play his favorite game with the clothes, except he would just do the "out" part of the game and forget the "in" part.  I was the one who ended up always putting the clothes back in the drawers.  Until this day...  I started taking a few pictures, mainly just to capture this phase.  I snapped a couple, but then was pulled away by one of the other boys.  When I walked back by Grayson's room a few minutes later, I stopped in my tracks!  He had put all the clothes that he pulled out of two drawers, back in one drawer.  My first thought was how cute it was, my second thought was how appreciative I was that he cleaned up after himself.  (And I didn't even have to ask him or bribe him with tickets.  Whoa.)

 Trying to put a shirt on.

 

All the clothes are put away.

 

New Posts

So desperately trying to catch up.  Here are a few more posts...

Firemen to the Rescue

Perfection

Friday Morning Mowers

A Magical Flower

Austin:  "Mom?  Mama!  Mo-oom?  Mommy?"
Me:  Right here, Austin.
Austin:  "Oh!  There ya are!  I have a surprise for you..."
Me:  How exciting!  What is it?
Austin:  "Look behind you..."  (He says in a sing-songy way, as he is holding something behind his back.)
Me:  (I do a quick glance behind me.  And turn back to Austin.)
Austin:  "For you!"  (And he pulls out from behind his back a sweet little yellow flower.  Picked from our lantana in the backyard.)  "It's a magical flower!  Where's your pocket?  Put it in your pocket?"

That's what he does.  He finds things--sticks or acorns--or picks things--flowers or leaves--brings them to me with the biggest, most joyful smile and always makes sure I put them in my pocket, which I always do.  

Austin started this all because he sees Cooper do it.  But, Cooper really just sticks to flowers for me.  Sometimes he'll bring me acorns or tree bark, but mostly flowers.  He brings me a flower from almost anywhere we go--the park, the Arboretum, the zoo, or just walking down our street.  He will walk around, thinking he's being sneaky, but I can tell what he's doing, find the "perfect flower" and always "surprise" me with it.

On my dresser, next to my wedding rings, I have a little jewelry dish full of acorns.  And on the kitchen counter, next my pens and to-do lists, I have a pile of leaves.  And in the kitchen window, above the sink,  I have small vases holding weedy flowers and lantana blossoms.  And it all makes my heart happy. 

Oh, these boys.  They sure have my heart.  

"Look! I'm Mama!"

Austin put my headband on and immediately thought it was THE. FUNNIEST. THING. EVER.

"Look!  I'm Mama!  What do you need?"

me: "Umm, Mama, I'm hungry.  Can I have lunch?"

(Giggle giggle giggle) "SURE!  I'm Mama.  What do you need?"

me: "Umm, Mama, Can I be a pirate?"
(Giggle, giggle, giggle) "Ok!  What else you need?"

And over and over and over again we played.  Now, every time he gets his hands on one of my headbands, we play the "I'm Mama" game, and he still thinks it's as hilarious as it was the first time.  Cooper even plays along, because, well, he's pretty much the best big brother ever.

06.21.2014