Ringing the Bell

This morning Keira got to ring the school bell with the principal, Mr. DiPippa. Too cute!

Colin's Turn

Well, it is now Colin's turn to start school. Last thursday, Colin had his orientation. It was an hour that half og his class meeting the teacher (Mrs. Lao) and becoming familiar with the classroom. Colin was excited to go. When we got to the classroom, he was the first one there. He was a little shy saying hello to Mrs. Lao but excited to start playing with all of the toys. I hung out for a few minutes as the other kids arrived and then headed across the hall with the other moms to let the kids have a little time to settle in on their own. Colin did great when I told him I was leaving - no tears, he just went on playing. Just about when it was time to head back to get the kids, someone from the school popped in the room to let us know that one of the kids had an accident. Since they didn't know yet which kid went with which parent, all the parents had the dreaded walk to the classroom, praying it was not their child. Luckily, it was not Colin! I did talk to Mrs. Lao and she said that Colin did pretty well. As I had guessed, he was quiet and didn't interact too much with the other kids but he listened well and participated in snack and story time. Colin has always taken a little while to warm up to new places and people. Despite this, he was really excited about school. So much so that he wanted to go to his class on friday when Keira was going to school (Colin only goes on Mondays and Tuesdays).

Unfortunately, over the weekend Colin's eczyma flared up and he was really miserable. We put him on the steroids to get it under control and so he could enjoy his first day of school. By Monday, his rash was a lot better and Colin was jumping up and down to go to school. He let me get a picture at home but didn't want me taking one once we got to the school - he was in a hurry to get inside. He did great with me leaving. Luckily, the parent helper (Meg) was a friend of mine who has a girl that was in Keira's class last year and a boy in Colin's class this year. Meg was awesome keeping an eye on Colin and even getting a few photos for me. She said that Colin is starting to warm up and did well. Colin isn't as talkative about school as Keira is but he truly seems happy. I am anxious for my day to get to help out so I can meet the other kids and get to see Colin in class.

Keira's first full day!

Day 2 - the first full day of school. I woke Keira up this morning and despite still being tired, she was generally very good about getting up and getting ready for school. We had our morning breakfast in the car and decided to try the carpool dropoff today. Keira was very nervous about the dropoff but I knew if I waited too long to get her to try it, it would be even harder for her. This morning, we hit very little traffic and were fourth in the carpool dropoff line. The bell rang and a nice 6th grade boy opened Keira's door. Then the tears began. When discussing carpool and yesterday, it was the older girls helping the younger kids to their classes so this threw an already Keira off. Luckily, the assistant principal that Keira had met before was nearby and stepped in. I was holding up the long carpool line so I had to hope back in the car and drive off. I knew I wouldn't be able to turn around in time to see if Keira had calmed done so I headed into work feeling like the worst mother in the world. Well, when I picked Keira up, she was all smiles and had a good day. She just loved gym class (and the gym uniform). Lunch well went and Keira seems to be making more friends. Keira did not get to take Leo home tonight but seems to have handled it fine. Keira continues to surprise me each day at just how grown up she is. She is exhausted now and I'm sure it will be a really long week - luckily we have a long weekend and then a shorter week next week to adjust some.

Lizard Lunch!

Last night going to better, Keira told me that she was going to be really good at school today because she wanted to go for a "lizard lunch" after I picked her up. the "lizard lunch" is referring to a restaurant near us that serves kids drinks with plastic animals on top. Last time we went, Keira got a lizard and thus the term lizard lunch.
Well, I watched the clock all morning until 10:45 (Keira was done at 11:30 and it is only 10 minutes from my office to the school). At 10:45, I headed over to school because I wanted to be at the front of the carpool pick-up so Keira didn't get nervous if she didn't see me. I got to school at 10:55 and was about 15 cars back in line! I hope it is only like this on the first day of school and not all year. Anyway, it turns out that the parents park and walk up to get the kids and the kids raise their hands when they see their parent. The kindergartens were the first to come out. Keira walked out holding the teachers hand so I was a little nervous to hear how the day went. As soon as I saw Keira, she was big smiles. I checked with the teacher and Mrs. Merrell said she only got a little teary at morning recess (probably not sure what to do without Mia) but she ended up playing with Savannah and had fun. From the walk to the car, the car ride to lunch and all through lunch, Keira was a chatterbox!!! She was so excited about school that she barely ate lunch but she did enjoy a shark attack (Spite with a plastic shark full of geradine syrup floating in it) and swamp water (a green juice mix with a frog on top). Keira wanted to try both so the swamp water was technically for me. Anyway, it was "we did this and we did this and ...". They mostly unloaded their school supplies, had a snack and morning recess and took a tour of the school. Keira will get gym class, music class, art class, Spanish class and computer class this year. Tomorrow is gym day and Keira is very excited for it!
When we got back to the house, Keira friend Mia and our neighbor Katie were over to find out how Keira's first day went. Carmen told me earlier that Mia wanted to come over so I told Keira on the drive home that Mia was nervous about going to kindergarten and wanted to see how her first day was. As soon as Keira got out of the car, "Mia - don't be nervous. Kindergarten is so much fun!" Of course, Keira hasn't realized yet that Mia doesn't need to wear a uniform.
All in all, today was a huge success. Keira did so much better that I had expected going in this morning. I knew once she got settled that she would be ok. My only other silly worry was about Keira managing to tuck her shirt back in and do her belt after going to the bathroom but she did great. Tomorrow is the first full day with lunch at school so I'm sure Keira will be exhausted afterward.
I can't believe how quickly my little girl has grown! I am so very proud of her!

Future All-star

OK - not to overshadow Keira's first day of Kindergarten (please see post below) but we just had to share this cute video of Ryan making a basket. Ryan got a slide for his birthday that has a basketball hoop on the side. Ryan is a climber!!! So, we thought he would love a slide; however, we never imagined that the slide would stay inside the house. The kids love playing on it and it gives Ryan something safe to climb so for now, it is inside. Anyway, we set the slide just outside of a playyard for Ryan. While inside the playyard, Ryan is able to work on his basketball skills. He has now figured out how to palm the mini-basketball and dunk! Too cute!! Watch out Michael Jordan!

First day of Kindergarten

I can't believe it - Keira started kindergarten this morning. Blair and I decided to send her to St. Leo's catholic school. We have switched to St. Leo's parish and expect to be as thrilled with the school as we are with the church. On friday, Keira has a Kindergarten tea to get to meet her teacher and get to see her classroom. She was pretty nervous on friday but we know once she gets settled, she will be very happy. Keira has a wonderful teacher, Mrs. Merrill and is crazy about the principal, Mr. DiPippa. Ironically, at the parent orientation on Wednesday, I thought the principal was a dud. It turns out that he is really good with the kids. What has Keira most excited is that he has a stuffed lion (named Leo) that the kids get to take turns bringing home to take care of.
Well, after a weekend where Keira just really wasn't herself, we went off to school this morning. I barely slept last night worried about the first day but luckily Keira seemed to sleep well and work up very happy. She put on her uniform with no fight (luckily her school has shorts as the warm weather uniform) and was generally pretty relaxed. Keira was being silly on the car ride. When we got to school, we opted not to try the carpool drop off this morning and I walked Keira up to the door. She was doing great until one of the middle schoolers wanted to take her in to her classroom. We decided to wait outside for her teacher (who was helping with the carpool drop off) or one of the girls she meet on friday who would be sitting at her table. Just before the last bell rang, Mrs. Merrill and Savannah (she is sitting next to Keira) came to the door to head in. Keira was all smiles when she saw Savannah and went in without tears or needing to be pulled off of me (as was the case last year). I, on the other hand, made it about two steps before the flood gates opened - providing great laughter for the pastor who was standing there.
Keira only have a half-day today and so I am anxious to pick her up. We are going for a special lunch. Anyway, I wanted to provide a quick update and post pictures. I will update more later after I pick Keira up.

How quickly the time goes!

Sorry for the long gap in updates - the time just flew by on us. Can you believe that Ryan is now walking? He has grown so fast on us! Attached is a video clip (please forgive the mess in the background) of Ryan taking his first few steps. He had taken one or two steps before but I think he even surprised himself when he walked so far. Ryan is just such a happy kid that he even thinks it is funny when he falls flat on his face. You got to love the "get up and try again" attitude. Hope you enjoy and I'll try to update again before Ryan is running!