First Day of School #3

Anna has been really excited about school. She loved taking links off her count down chain.



All three girls sat down and talked about how they could remember the names of their teachers. So Anna thinks of birds whenever she thinks about her teacher (Mrs. Robinson).

She was excited to go to the open house and walk around the school. We even tried out the bathrooms so she would know that she could handle flushing because the toilets aren't too loud. She was so proud of herself after that experiment.

Of course the first day of school would be a day when Anna decides to sleep in. I hate to wake sleeping kids in the morning, but it finally got to be that time. Usually she is slow to get going after waking up, but not today. She was exited to get her new clothes on. She picked her new pokadot dress because it was the only short sleeve thing we bought for school clothes.



She brushed her hair (which is a pretty big accomplishment for her in and of itself) and metodically tied her own shoes.




Listen as she mumbles the directions under her breath.



She chose French Toast for breakfast



and all 3 girls were excited to find back-to-school gifts on the table this morning.





And after a potentially haderdouz run in with the toothpaste



we finally made it to shool.



She found the spot to hang up her jacket and backpack



and started to run off to the classroom. She actually stopped when I called her back asking for a hug. Which she was happy to give with the added bonus of a kiss on my cheek, but then she was off.

Jennie had a hard day by herself without constant playmates. Natalie came over a few times, but had to go somewhere in the afternoon. So Jennie spent a lot of time looking at the clock. "Rachel, its one, five, two....Rachel, its one, five, four....Rachel, its one five seven...When can we go get Allie...How long is all day."

So I wasn't the only one excited when 3:00 came. It made me feel good when Anna ran across the gym to give me a hug after school. And I was surprised because she didn't seem as tired as I thought she would be.

Both Allie and Anna enjoyed showing off their backpacks for a picture in front of their school.





And Anna even consented to let Jennie be in a picture with them even though she doesn't go to their school.



After we got home we talked about school while eating Zuchini muffins made from a Zuchini in our garden.

The highlights Anna mentioned about her day were said in about this order:
Snack - oreos and chocolate milk
Lunch - the cafeteria is "huge" and the teacher told them where to sit and "they get to sit at the same table everyday"
Recess - She got to see Allie for a little bit before Allie had to line up

I kept asking her what else they did and I finally got out of her that she:
Drew a picture of herself
Her teacher read her one book right before they left
and they walked around to see the school.
She said she did't get to play with any toys in the classroom and that she didn't do any work. She laughed when I asked if she played at recess all day, but she didn't give any more details about what she did. I guess I will just have to get used to not knowing.

After that I broke the news to her that she had a doctor appointment later. But we let her pick a fun place to go to dinner since she had to go to the doctor on her first day of school. I wasn't planning on having them do shots, but in talking to the nurse I figured we might as well (instead of trying to get to the clinic later). Anna was so brave when I told her she was going to get shots. She still was so cooperative for the doctor and answered all of her questions (she didn't even act too shy like she usually does for strangers). She cried when they gave her the shots, but was quickly passified with the cool stickers and bracelet they nurses gave her. I think the promise of going to play at McDonalds helped too.

Lucky for us there was a Ronald McDonald show starting right when we got there. Allie got an autographed Ronald McDonald stuffed doll and Annd got some sidewalk chalk from the prizes they were giving away. And they were all excited to get a autographed photo too. But I think the highlight for Anna was the fact that we let them play before they ate just because she got shots. They ended up playing the whole time and eating in the car on the way home.

What a great first day of school. (So far so good on the first days of school. We'll see how I do tomorrow getting all 3 of them ready for school for the first time.)

I can't believe she is big enough to be a Kindergartener!

Brithday Party

Allie's 1st day of school also happened to be her brother Justin's birthday. He loves Star Wars and Robots so when I was enlisted to make a cake for him it was easy to know that the cake should be a robot. And with the help of online cake photos we were set.

I of course rounded up my support staff (kids) to bake the cake one day and saved the decorating for the next.


(Allie is pretending to be electric beaters.)




Anna was excited that the frosting was not only yellow, but it tasted like lemon as well. She ate so much of it while we were making the cake she probably didn't need to eat any cake at the party. While decorating it Jennie, who sat with Anna watching me made several cute comments like, "WE are doing a good job." and "WE are almost done."



When it was time for the party Justin was excited to see the cake.



He had to protect it from everyone else.



At Justin's request we had a feast of fish sticks, french bread, fried eggplant and plums.



He got a lot of great presents like Salt Water Taffy,





A cool Colts ball,



A wind up robot,



a neat Star Wars ship (that unfortunately I don't even know what it is...I'm so behind in the Star Wars world)



and an awesome Yoda card with a light saber that actually glowed green while playing Star Wars music.



Then everyone helped put all 11 candles on the cake, we sang and he blew with all his might.





Justin, I hope your wish comes true!



Happy birthday!

First Day of School #2

Jennie was really excited to go to school today! She happily took off the last link on her "count down to school" chain



before she got dressed in her cute pink outfit with brown horses on it. She has been really looking foward to wearing her new school clothes.



She picked German Pancake for her special 1st day of school breakfast and thought it was cool to see it puff up so high.



It tasted yummy!



She was also excited that mom got to come and take her to school.



She is excited that her friend/neighbor Natalie Dion gets to be in her class too. She knows that her teacher's name is Mrs. "Cough"-man (Kauffman).



At the end of class Jennie met me with a big smile on her face. We checked her mailbox and brought home the cute picture she colored.



She talked about playing in the house and coloring pictures and about a puppet show where one of the animals, “didn’t know anything about school” and the other one “knew the rules for school.”

She kept wanting to know why we weren't going to get Allie right away and why she didn't get to go to school again tomorrow. I guess she thinks that when the older ones are in school she should be too.

A little later when I got out the computer and asked what she did at school, her response was a little different. She said,
“Colored pictures,
Annnnnd I played with the house, the play house.
Ummm I don’t remember.
My teacher should’ve told you.”

Well her teaching assistant did tell me what they did during the day, which Jennie had pretty much covered. (I think it is AWESOME they do that in the hall with the parents before the kids are dismissed.) And her teacher also sent this email after Jennie's first day:
"Jennie had great confidence today! She seemed to make friends fast and enjoyed playing in the housekeeping area.
Mrs. K"

Jennie did make a few other comments about school like,
"I like Mrs. Kauffman. She will teach me new things everyday." and
"I loved my first day of school."
And whenever anyone asks what she did she says, "Colored pictures."

She will have a great time in school...but we'll have to see how she adjusts to being home without other kids around.

Yeah, Jennie is a preschooler!

First Day of School #1

We get 3 first days of school around our house this year. Allie starts 1st grade today. Jennie starts preschool tomorrow. And Anna starts her full day Montessori Kindergarten the next day.

Allie started to get excited about school after we met her teacher at the open house (the night before school started). She found her classroom and her desk and even met Brooke who gets to sit next to her. (Coincidentally, Brooke also transferred from Waller to Cooper school just like Allie did.)

Allie had been planning what to wear for the first day for a while and after she got out of the bath she quickly got dressed and did her own hair.



Allie picked pancakes for breakfast and thought is was cool to find the special plate set on the table for her.



She had fun eating letters and numbers to help her on her first day of school.



When we got to school she remembered right where to line up.



She even met a friend while standing in line.



Anna and Jennie both wanted to go to school too.



Mrs. Daniels, Allie's teacher, was even there talking to everyone while waiting in line.



They must have gotten right to work at school because she came home with a great number caterpillar.



This afternoon Allie said, "I like first grade, first grade is fun!" I think that she has been worried about school, probably because Isaiah (friend/neighbor/2nd grader) has been telling her how much homework she will have to do now that she is in 1st Grade. She also says that she likes Mrs. Daniels.

Oh my, what a cute 1st grader!


day 1


day 2


day 3