Tidbits from our Kindergartener

Conversation with Luke on the way home from school today:

Mommy: "Buddy, do you have a best friend in your class?"

Luke: "Yes, it's Reece, but I call her Reecy-Cup."

Mommy (momentarily confused, because Luke has NEVER, EVER, wanted anything to do with girls.  He's all-boy, and has never noticed, talked about, or been interested in playing with girl classmates during his past years at preschool):  "Oh, what kind of things do you like to do with Reecy-Cup?"

Luke:  "Well, Mommy, I hold her hand, play gently with her at recess, and tell her that she's a cutie."

Mommy:  Speechless and stunned, realizing that it took exactly one week of kindergarten for her to lose her son to another woman.

Luke relayed this same story to Daddy this evening, and Mark beamed with pride and amusement.  High fiving his son, Daddy responded, "Way to go, buddy.  I'm proud of you".

And we are proud of our kindergartener, for how well he has adjusted to his new schedule.  Parents are allowed to walk their children into the classroom for the first two weeks of school, but after two days, Luke asked, "Mommy, can you just drop me off in carpool line?"
I hesitated, and told Luke that I thought that I'd walk him in for a few more days.

"I will still give you a kiss and hug," he negotiated.  "Please, can you just stay in the car?"

So I did.  And he's perfectly fine, walking into that giant school every day and not seeing me again for 7 hours.  Hooray for a seamless transition, and to hoping for a very short-lived romance with Reecy-Cup.
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In other Luke news, our little charmer keeps us entertained and roaring with laughter.  He's turning into quite a little comedian and had a few moments recently that were hysterical.

Last weekend, Poppy gave a sermon and began with examples of how Luke asks so many questions, and keeps us on our toes scrambling for answers.  Part of the sermon illustrated how people asked Jesus lots of questions, too.  We explained to Luke that Jesus can answer any question that we have, and Luke commented,

"I know one question that I want to ask Jesus,"

We asked, "What is it?"

Luke grinned and responded, "Why did the chicken cross the road?"

What a ham!
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Another example:  Luke finished eating a plate of scrambled eggs.
 
Mark joked, "What an egg-cellent eater you are!" 

Without missing a beat, Luke asked, "May I please be egg-cused now?" 

So, so glad that my son has inherited his Daddy's quick wit!
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Poppy has a "magic trick" where he pretends to pull off his index finger, and showed this to the kids.  While we were in the car last week, I overheard Leah yelling from her car seat, "I CAN'T DO IT!" 

I turned around to see what the problem was, and realized that she was trying to pull off her own finger, just like Poppy.  I was about to explain to her that it is a trick that only Poppys can do, when Luke gave an exasperated sigh from his car seat.

"Leah," her older, wiser big brother groaned, "You have to be REALLY OLD to do that!"

How we adore his humor!

Happy Birthday, Winnie!

 

Our sweet Winnie turned 9 today, and we celebrated with much doggie fanfare.  As you can see from the picture above, Winnie was not thrilled with the noisemakers that the children used to mark the occasion. 

Our furry girl was much happier when it was time to open presents, and this year, Luke and Leah each picked out a toy at the pet store to give to the birthday girl:

 

Leah helped me bake brownies (for the humans), and we added some personalized canine flair to our festive dessert.  We even sang "Happy Birthday" (while delegating Leah to blow out the candle), and tossed Winnie a few extra doggie cookies (to make up for the fact that she couldn't eat our chocolate creation):

 

 

This is the picture of a happy dog:  Grinning donning her party hat, and new toys in paw, with tissue paper strewn all around.

 

Happy 9th Birthday, Winnie!  You bring us so much joy! 

Little Fish

 

Even though school has started, our pool is open for another month, and we are still enjoying lots of swimming time with our little fish.  Leah is absolutely precious in her swim vest, hat, and sunglasses, and is MUCH easier to manage at the pool than last year (when she had no safety awareness and would fearlessly jump in the water without an adult nearby).  She is delightful and fun, and sits on the steps with me playing with pool toys.  She also likes to float around the shallow end while kicking her feet and insists that she wants to "swim all by myself!":

 

 

 

Luke started out the summer wearing floaties on his arms, and has come a long way with his swimming skills, too.  After completing a week of private swimming lessons last month, our little man is now jumping off the diving board independently and swimming the length of the pool using a beginner forward crawl or back stroke.  Ever since he bought his snorkel in July, Luke won't swim without it.  He's hilarious snorkeling back and forth across our pool, and his favorite game is to pretend he's a shark and "attack" his sister:

 

 

The kids also love doing cannonballs, and get ready by lining up against the pool fence. 

"Ready, Set, GO!" Luke shouts, and they run at full speed into the pool (yes, he wears his snorkel):

Leah usually pauses at the edge and prepares herself for a "BIG jump!":

These two fish also love racing across the pool, and Luke orders his sister, "You will be my opponent, and I will defeat you,":

Luckily, Leah usually has a secret weapon that helps her compete during these races:

 

We have really enjoyed our time at the pool this summer, and love watching these happy little swimmers!

Kindergarten!

 

Today was Luke's first day of kindergarten, and my, what a big occasion it was!  I had so many hopes for today, and have been anticipating this milestone for a long time. 

 

I prayed that my baby would love his new school, and that his classmates would be kind. I hoped that his new friends would be as excited to meet Luke as he was to be there, and that his peers would be a positive influence during this first formative year of big kid school. 

 

I prayed that Luke's teacher would see the sparkle in his eyes, sense his enthusiasm and incredible love of learning, and provide a safe, nurturing place for Luke to grow this year.  Could she possibly know how very much I love my son, and how a piece of my heart went with him to school today?

 

 I prayed that all of the love and time that I've poured into raising my firstborn would allow him to be happy, confident, and secure today as he entered his classroom and began to navigate a new phase of his childhood.  With the exception of a few hours/day for preschool, Luke has been by my side for the past 5+ years, and for the first time in his life, other adults will be spending the majority of the day with him.  I prayed that I would handle this adjustment well, and learn to let go a little: 

 

God answered my kindergarten prayers in so many ways.  It was much easier to make this transition knowing that Luke has been excited about kindergarten for months.  He has been wearing his new backpack around the house all summer, and loaded it with tons of "supplies".  I had to explain to him that every notebook, pencil, and marker that we own didn't all need to go into his bag... in June.  Luke was also thrilled that there was a shark on his backpack, and wanted me to take a picture of him "wearing it like a marsupial, Mommy".  How we love our literal, knowledge-filled little man!:

 

 

 Luke has been telling people all summer:  "I get to eat lunch at school every day in a big room called the cafeteria!"  Almost every aspect of kindergarten was fascinating to him:  "There's a library and nurse's office in the school?"  Luke's only disappointment was that he wasn't going to be riding the school bus.  Mommy decided that due to long bus routes in our district, and the fact that we are the first stop in the morning (at 6:50 a.m.) and the last stop in the afternoon (almost an hour after school lets out), that I'd drive Luke this year.  Apparently, he got over it, because he was all grins, laid back, and ready to hop in the car this morning:

 

So there we were.  One minute he was close to me, holding my hand in the school parking lot, as we made our way together to the front entrance:

 

 

And then, he was off.  This picture says it all.  He let go and went right in, without a backward glance.  I couldn't have been prouder:

 

 

This morning, Luke went straight to his cubby, hung up his backpack, and smiled for one more picture before he sat down at his table and started coloring:

 

We attended Meet the Teacher last week and became acquainted with Luke's new classroom and his kindergarten teacher.  I was ecstatic to find out that Luke's teacher lives in our neighborhood and that her two children also attend our elementary school.  I felt an instant neighbor and mom connection with her, and have immense comfort knowing that Luke is in good hands.  Here's our little man holding the drawing that he made for his teacher last Friday:

There were no tears when we left Luke in his classroom (Mommy was able to hold it together!), and my overwhelming feelings were relief that this day had arrived and joy that Luke seemed so happy.  Leah was sad this morning, as her favorite playmate was missing, and our house was unusually quiet.  Luckily, we had a summer Kindermusik class to attend and stayed busy by shopping, going out to lunch with friends, and running errands.  Before we knew it, it was time to pick up Luke, and he jumped into the car, full of tidbits detailing a great first day.  This conversation sums it all up:

Mommy:  "Buddy, HOW was your first day of kindergarten?"
Luke:  "TRIPLE AWESOME!!!"

And all of the stress, anxiety, and worry that I had been carrying around with me for months came out in one huge exhale. 

"Thank you, God," I whispered. 

Congratulations to our Kindergartener!  We love you, Luke, and are proud of you! 

Up and Away!

 

We had an aviation-themed weekend recently, which started with lunch at The Runway Café at our downtown airport.  This is one of our favorite family restaurants, as we can sit outside on the patio and watch the planes take off and land.  As a very special treat, our family was able to go onto the runway to see one of the private planes.  The pilot had just landed, and gave us a tour of his plane:

 

Luke was allowed to stand on the wing to check out the cockpit, and of course was interested in all of the knobs and controls:

 

Poppy and Bean were visiting, and we were excited to take them to Runway Café. We didn't know that we would receive such VIP treatment during their visit, and it turned out to be a great surprise:

The kids also tested out the new playground at Runway Café, and it passed with flying colors, as they flew airplanes and played on the slide:

 

 

 

 

The next day, Luke and Poppy attended a Build-and-Grow Clinic, where Luke constructed his own Dusty Crophopper plane (the main character from the new Disney Planes movie):

 

 

Continuing the aviation theme, B&P took the kids to see Disney Planes at the movie theater.  It was Leah's first cinema experience, and a soaring success!

 

The kids had lots of high-flying fun playing with their grandparents, and read books, played with toys, and spent lots of time at our pool.  Luke showed off his airborne skills by performing many cannonballs and jumps into the water:

 

 

 

Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy went up and away into the mountains of North Carolina for our first overnight adults-only vacation in years!  We celebrated our upcoming 10th anniversary at the gorgeous Old Edwards Inn, and had a luxurious get-away, where we were pampered at the spa, lounged by the pool, dined at elegant restaurants, and toasted our wonderful first decade of marriage:

Thank you, Bean and Poppy for providing such fun for our kiddos while we took our anniversary trip.  We are still flying high from the memories of your visit!

Batter Up!

 You know how much I love annual traditions, and August always brings a summer baseball game!  Ever since Luke was a newborn, we've loved watching our Greenville Drive play, and each year, it's more and more fun!  This time, Mark and I actually relaxed on a bench, beers in hand, enjoying a beautiful afternoon, while our kids played independently on the playground inside the ballpark.  After years of toting children in Bjorns, lugging heavy strollers, packing countless snacks, and carefully coordinating our timing (around naps, bedtimes, and meltdowns), this summer it was just plain old easy FUN.  Luke and Leah rolled down the grass hill giggling with glee, stood by themselves at the fence and actually watched multiple innings.  We made it past the 7th inning stretch, which any parent of young children understands is a feat in and of itself!  Our day included hotdogs, ice cream, and a smiling picture with Reedy Ribbit... souvenirs, a trolley ride, and runs through the mist stations to cool off: 

 

  

 Our annual baseball game is a tangible, treasured moment each summer where time freezes and we can look back at how much we've grown as a family since last baseball season.  We walk into the stadium and can picture visions of our former selves:

 

A year ago (with a new walker and preschooler):

 

 

Three summers ago (expecting a new baby and chasing a busy two year old):

 

 

 and five years ago (with our firstborn donning his first baseball attire):    

 

 

Daddy purchased a Greenville Drive hat this year, which Luke promptly claimed and wore on the trolley ride home.  Meanwhile Leah proudly donned her curly W cap: 

What a special summer treat it is to spend a family afternoon at the ballpark each year.  Go Drive!