Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Kaden starts Kindergarten!

My little boy started Kindergarten yesterday.  Wow.  I'm sure you've heard a few people lately talk about how quickly kids grow up! :)

But it is true.  They do grow up quickly.  I know this little guy is totally ready for Kindergarten.  He loves school, loves learning, loves doing crafts, spending time with others, looking at books, and the whole school routine.  He probably gets that from his mother.

Dropping him off yesterday was a bit rough, for him that is.  He had been sick the day before, so I knew he wasn't 100% into it.  Plus, he gets a bit anxious about new situations.  We had prepared him as much as we could, but he's still only 5, and going to school is kind of a big deal.  He may or may not have been the only one throwing a fit and grabbing his backpack to try and escape to go home.  I managed to slip out of the classroom and took the girls to the car.  Andy managed to get him back in the classroom and then ran away, haha!

When I picked him up after his first intro day (only a few hours), he had a huge grin on his face.  His teacher said he did great 5 minutes after we had left.  He couldn't stop talking about what he did in school and how much he loved it.  In fact, he was excited to go back again today!

This morning went much better.  Today was his first official full day of school, and he walked right in and waved goodbye to me with a smile on his face.  He loves it, he really loves it.  He's tired at the end of the day, which makes for early bedtimes (who can complain about that, haha!).

Next week he starts riding the bus, and I'm praying that goes okay for him.  I think we're both a little nervous about the bus transfer, but I hear it's pretty easy peasy. :)

People were surprised that I wasn't crying or emotional about it myself.  The truth is, I'm so excited for him.  I can't change the fact that they grow up quickly, so I'm not going to cry about something I can't change.  Instead, I'll grin from ear-to-ear because I'm so, deeply, whole-heartedly excited for him.  The teacher in me appreciates and values so deeply what happens inside the walls of that classroom, and I'm so excited, thankful and blessed that we he can attend a wonderful Christian school.  He can continue to grow as a child of God from people whom I trust, and I know he'll thrive there.  Shouldn't it be a happy day instead?  I'm not happy because I get to "get rid of him" for 2.5/days a week, but instead, happy because I can share the joy of raising my children to be followers of Christ with someone else during that time.  That, my friends, is joy.


Ready for Kindergarten!

Looking so grown up!

Ready to go!  (No pictures by his classroom since that's when the fit started!) :)

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

A day in the life...

Here's a little sneak into what my daily life is like.  Yes, it's crazy, but I wouldn't change a thing.  I love spending time with my 3 blessings!



















Kaden thought it would be really cool to paint my hand/arm with face paint.  Not sure why I agreed to that.


Making jam!









Monday, August 19, 2013

Identical

Sometimes, they're so identical it scares me.

Then Maya starts screaming and I'm reminded that they clearly are two different people.


Friday, August 16, 2013

The zoo!

We finally got a chance to go to John Ball Zoo while my parents were out visiting Sawyer!  Baby Sawyer even joined us for a family trip to the zoo.  The weather was beautiful, and the kids all had a great time looking at the animals and running around.  A fun family day (we missed Daddy who was at work, though!)

Petting the goats

Checking out the monkeys

Grandpa took on a crazy mission and took all 3 kids to see the penguins by himself! :)

Cute boy :)

All of the grandchildren!

With Grandma and Grandpa

Grandpa helps Maya pet a sheep

Both of the girls petting a sheep

Checking out the cow

Attempt at a picture of all 3

Sawyer just chilling in the stroller :)

Kangaroos!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Fun at The Children's Museum again!

It's no surprise that my kids love the Children's Museum here in GR.  We have a membership, and it's nice to be able to just stop by every once in a while for a few hours at a time.  The girls are also to the point where they can play with most of the exhibits there, and they all love going from activity to activity.  I'm glad we have so many great options of things to do with kids where we live! :)








Monday, August 12, 2013

Outside

We've been spending as much time as possible outside lately.  All 3 of them would spend all day outside if they could.  If Kaden is outside (which is most of the day lately), the girls just whine and whine by the back door until I let them out.  We're trying to enjoy a relaxed pace of life and the beautiful weather before school starts up again!