September Smiles

Things that made me smile this month:

1.  Soccer Season

Note all the neon.  This is the first year that our little man has expressed an opinion re: his cleats and ball.  I have been previously able to purchase most economical option available, but something has shifted, and this fall, it was, "But Mommy, I like Nike SO much better than Adidas!... and "My ball HAS to match my shoes!".   (It did make me feel better that Captain Literal pronounced "Nike" as rhyming with the word "bike", so we're still not super aware of labels/brands at age 8.5).

 1b.  Soccer Uniforms.

Ok, this made me squeal with delight vs. smile, but for the second year in a row, the soccer uniform gods were on our side.  Their jerseys match their ages!!!   This is the stuff I live for as a soccer mom. 

 The kids had their first games last weekend, and we realized that Luke was playing against his best friend, Aiden.   Again, the soccer uniforms were just so perfect that Aiden's mom and I may have been texting each other from opposite sides of the soccer field about our adorable #8s while the boys were playing.  Here are our post-game pictures of these happy 8 year-old buddies! 

1c.  Soccer Coach

Mark is coaching Leah's co-ed team again this year, and he is such a patient, positive coach for his 4 and 5 year-olds, who are full of energy.  A parent sent us this game shot from last week's game, and everything about this picture makes me smile... the mirroring of Coach's pose, the intent concentration of our littlest player, and the loving lean by #3.  These kids adore Mark, and he does a great job with them. 

2.  Victory Junction 5K

Mark made a semi-last minute decision to run in a 5K this month to raise money for Victory Junction, a camp for children with disabilities.  It was a wonderful cause, and the kids and I cheered on our superstar.  Mark came in 2nd in his age group and 13th overall out of all the runners, which resulted in lots of smiles and thumbs up for Daddy.  We are so proud of him!

3.  My morning pals

This is my cute country picture of the month, and these guys make me smile as I walk in the morning.  They are always right there to greet me, and part of my a.m. routine after I get the kids on the bus.

4.  Character Day

It seems like every week in Elementary School has a themed day.  The kids wore Red, White, and Blue for Constitution Day, celebrated their uniqueness by wearing dots on Dot Day, and dressed up for Picture Day last week.  But my favorite day this month was Character Day, when the children dressed up like a fiction or non-fiction literary character.  Luke, who has almost outgrown this kind of thing, compromised by choosing Thomas Edison and wearing his "Inventor" shirt.  Leah was thrilled to dress up in a full Peter Pan costume (that Mommy found for $5 at our church consignment sale), which was perfect as we read the book together as a family this summer:

5.  Luke's schoolwork

This shield was displayed in the hallway outside Luke's classroom this month, and I bet you can guess which square stole my heart:

Also displayed at Parent Night were silhouettes of each student.  Luke was excited to have me guess which one was his, and explained to me that there were clues listed underneath so that parents could identify their child.  He also told me that his teacher had to redo his silhouette because his head was too big to fit on the paper the first time.  Yep, buddy, sounds about right, and this definitely made me smile when I saw it:

Half of these clues are false by the way.  I love that this kid lives in his own reality sometimes, and I laughed out loud at several of these "facts".  

As September comes to a close, we're thankful that we have so many reasons to smile, and are looking forward to a fun-filled and festive October!

Apple Orchard

We went apple picking over Labor Day weekend, and loved our day at the orchard.  Mark was thrilled that I was able to wait until September to encourage my family to do a "fall activity", as there have been years that we have gone to the apple orchard in August in 85+ degree heat due to my enthusiasm to plan seasonal excursions.

Here's what we did at the apple orchard:

1.  Devoured warm, delicious apple cider donuts.

2.  Shared a cold apple cider slushie.

3.  Watched an apple cider press demonstration and taste-tested fresh cider.

4.  Took a hayride through the farm and picked apples and gourds.

Here's what I have pictures of and what the kids loved the most:

1.  The tire swings.

2.  The apple sling shot. (This may have been Luke's favorite thing EVER!)

 

3.  Picking almost every single apple off  this one tree... 

Apparently, we have no photos of Mark and me, the hayride, the treats, or the $40+ of apples that the children insisted that we "had to bring home" and have since shared with friends, made into applesauce, baked into apple crisp, and given to both soccer teams as post-game snacks (and still fill half of our refrigerator!) ...  Regardless, it was a fun, fun, day, and a great start to September.

A quick update since my last blog post re: the first day of school:  We're wrapping up Week 3 and my, what a difference a week makes!  The first week of school went relatively well, and we tried very hard to keep early bedtimes, take it easy on Labor Day weekend, and allow the children downtime in the afternoons to recharge physically and emotionally.  Leah had a few minor setbacks that week, including a big meltdown at gymnastics, and she didn't want to participate in soccer practice on the weekends.  This was very unusual for her, as she loves these two activities.  

Week 2 brought lots of tears and challenges as the novelty of kindergarten wore off for our Peanut.  She cried and begged to stay home with me.  It was absolutely heartbreaking.  Bravery Awards and Kissing Hand helped, but the worst part for me was having Leah tell me, "I  went into the bathroom at school to cry because I didn't want anyone to see my tears, and then I prayed...".   To be honest, I cried a lot, too.  The days felt very long to me, and I counted down the minutes until 2:45 p.m. when I could hold my babies again.  We made a decision to stop gymnastics for a few months to lighten Leah's load, and this week, we have seen improvements.  Leah seems more like her easy going, sweet self, and is happier about going to school.  I was able to have lunch with her this week and can start volunteering at school, which is exciting for both of us.  In the meantime, Luke is thriving and having a great start to the year.  Although not in the same class, Luke is able to play with his best friend, Aiden, at recess every day, and is happy in his class and at soccer.

Here's to hoping that the positive trend continues and that it's smooth sailing for the rest of September with these cute little apple pickers!

First Day of School

Truth:  I've been delaying writing this blog post until I can do it without getting teary, but I'm not sure that day is ever going to come, so here goes.   Last Monday, August 29, was the first day of school for Luke and Leah.  I have a third grader and a kindergartner now, and this milestone was much, much harder for me than them.  They'll probably never know the jitters that I felt on their behalf, how I had dreams leading up to the first day of school, and how I watched them as they slept the night before.  Sending Luke to kindergarten three years ago was an equally huge milestone, but in a very different way.  At that time, I was anxious about sending my firstborn into the big world, was unsure of what kindergarten would be like, and wondered how he'd meet friends and find his way.  I held Leah close that fall, knowing that I still had my "baby" at home with me for a few more years... and that provided me with comfort as we navigated having Luke gone all day and felt out our new routine.

This time around, the emotions were completely different.  We know and love the school, and Leah has felt at home at Oak Ridge Elementary for the past two years.  She's been my helper with Luke's class parties, attended countless school events, and even pointed out the kindergarten hallway to me.  She was as ready as any child could be, and was excited about riding the bus more than anything else!  (It reminds me of when Luke began kindergarten and the highlight for him was "staying for lunch each day" and eating in the cafeteria!).  Here is our sweet kindergartner, who was all smiles on Monday:  



We are so, so proud of Leah, and the darling child that she is.  She has such a kind heart, and is wise beyond her years.  She seems so much more mature than other children her age, and is extremely observant and perceptive.  One of Leah's gifts is that she makes everyone around her feel good about themselves.  She literally brightens a room with her loving personality and warmth.  She is funny and bright, witty and affectionate, and is easy going and agreeable.  Leah handles her brother better than anyone else does, and she is this perfect combination of sweet and strong, which means that she can hang with the boys in her class (which is great since her kindergarten class has 15 boys and 6 girls!).  She loves the color blue and vastly prefers superheroes and monster trucks over Barbies, but will still willingly wear sundresses and pink.  It is a true joy to spend my days with Leah, which is why it is so hard for me to send her to kindergarten.  This time around, I am sad for me... to have my best little buddy be gone all day, and to let go of her... even though I know that this is exactly what she is supposed to do...to spread her wings and fly:

Thankfully, Luke, who enters all new situations with exuberance and ease, was ready and steady on Monday.  His enthusiasm for school was contagious, and he helped us chug through our morning routine on that first day.  Luke always poses willingly for his first day of school pictures, was excited and happy, and made the transition back into his school routine seamlessly.  Thank you, dear boy!

Winnie watches the kids from our front porch each morning as they wait at the bus stop (in front of our house), and on Monday morning, she plopped right down with L&L as I was taking First Day of School pictures:



After our photo shoot, the kids ran down the driveway to wait for the bus, and my emotions got the best of me.  Mark saw my tears and whispered, "Oh, no.  Not yet!".   Luckily, our sweet neighbor distracted Leah so that I could compose myself, but that lump in my throat never went away, and as the bus pulled up, I couldn't hold it together.  The kids were too excited to notice, and they jumped right on that big yellow bus:

I went inside, and about 5 minutes later, my phone vibrated.  I received these photo texts from my friend, who had driven her boys to school and walked them into the building.  I can not explain how comforting it was to see a picture of Leah with her 2 adorable escorts (Luke and our neighbor, Noah) as they walked her to her classroom:

I met a group of kindergarten moms/friends at Panera an hour later, and Leah told everyone that all of the Mommies were planning to have pastries and cry together (which wasn't far from the truth).  How lucky I am to have found such a great group of women who support each other as we share these parenting moments.

Leah got off the bus in the afternoon, and exclaimed, "Mommy, I didn't like kindergarten..... I LOVED IT!".   I have never been so happy to hug my babies, and am thrilled to have made it through the day in one piece.  It's time to embrace to a new stage of life for our family, and to remember that it's the beginning of a wonderful new chapter for Leah!

Last Days of Summer

Here's how we spent our last, precious days of summer vacation:

1.  We ate ice cream (see above picture).  Because ice cream makes everything a little bit sweeter, and there's nothing more delicious on a hot summer day.  

2.  We went to our first Winston-Salem Dash game.  It's just as close as the Greensboro Grasshoppers stadium (but in the opposite direction), so we've decided that we can be fans of both minor league teams!  We had seats in the first row right behind the dugout, and both kids got a ball (tossed to them by the players), so the game was a major success.  Leah was happy to pose with the mascot, Dash, and the weather was perfect for baseball.   The icing on the cake for L&L was that we bought the family package which included Dash hats, and the kids wore them all night.  When I woke up the next morning, I found the children sitting on the couch... wearing their beloved Dash hats. It's really the little things...

3.  Celebrations:  The last week of summer included our wedding anniversary (Lucky #13), and we went out to dinner with the kiddos to celebrate.  They made us this card, and it may be my favorite thing ever.  Love, love, love this so much!

Our celebrations continued as our beloved Winnie turned 12 on August 27.  We sang to her, made Winnie "pupcakes" (apple slices with peanut butter and kibbles), and gave her presents.  She may not be a young puppy anymore, but she still loves being with her humans more than anything in the world.  Here we are playing the Game of Life, and Miss Winnie plopped right down next to us to join in on the fun.  She really does think that she is a person:

At one point, Winnie inched her way up so that half of her body was on top of the game board.  We giggled and had to shift her backward a bit.  We love our birthday girl so much and it is a such a joy to share "Life" with her (every single day).

4.  Made the most of our final few lazy summer days together.  I found Luke on our screened porch one afternoon shortly after we returned home from the pool.  The roads in our neighborhood were being paved, and my big boy was quietly watching.  I got a lump in my throat remembering how at one time, when he was much littler, that 'struction vehicles were the center of his world:

And speaking of getting choked up...

Look how little they seem!  We found out teacher assignments on Thursday morning via robocall, and went to Open House that afternoon.  There are so many emotions here.  I can't even begin.

We rode bikes to the Town Park on Friday, our last official weekday of summer break.  The sky was cloudless and brilliant blue, and as they pedaled ahead of me, I savored the moment and said a little prayer for my babies, who are growing up.

 5.  Annual Church Picnic:  This may not seem like a big deal, but when you are in charge of the games, relay races, photo booth, and corn hole tournament (AND it happens to fall on the day before school begins), you breathe a sigh of relief when it's over and thank God for a beautiful, sunny day, and a successful afternoon of old fashioned fun.

Water Balloon Toss.

Sack Races. 

  

Someone loved the props (and getting his picture taken).

WEMSERF = Worship, Education, Mission, Service, Fellowship.

Apparently campaigning to be the young face of Fountain of Life.

And then, on Sunday night, there was this.  We read The Night Before Kindergarten, gave extra kisses and hugs, and snuggled until she fell asleep.  It was the perfect way to end our summer together before embarking on a new adventure in the morning.  Sweet dreams, darling Kindergarten girl!