First Day of School

First Day of School, Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011. The day Padyn became a 3rd grader and Katelyn became a Kindergartner. They were pretty happy to be going back to school...but I think Mommy was most happy.

Robbie was pretty happy just because he is Robbie...and he has a car.Padyn is pretty lucky to have her best pals in her class again.

And we are pretty excited that Mrs. W is our teacher...

And Mrs. S. is our classroom aid again. We love her.

Katelyn is SO LUCKY to have Mrs. B as her teacher.

And while she thinks preschool was more fun because it wasn't as long, she is pretty happy to be a big kindergarten girl.

The first day of school also coincided with Daddy and my 14 year wedding anniversary. Not that we had much of a chance to celebrate...Yeah Mommy and Daddy!

Kinder Orientation

Katelyn and her cute new hair visited her kindergarten class today. School officially starts tomorrow. I'm a bit anxious for her, remembering how the first couple months of preschool last year were a difficult transition for her. I'm taking as a good sign that she did not want to leave her new classroom today. I had to drag her out....

Yea for school starting tomorrow!

Strange Children

I have strange children who live in my house with me. Most days they do normal strange children things, like refuse to eat the "crust" of the quesadilla or demand to wear sweatshirts when it is 97 degrees. Some days it is really out there, like not liking to eat the cookie part of a chocolate chip cookie (many crumbly bits all over the floor) or going to bed in 5 pairs of pajamas. Yes. Five. When it is still 80 degrees in the house. AND sleeping under her down comforter.

I can't capture it all, but in the past week I got a few things to share....

Dressing up with sheer skirts. (Fortunately this time, she kept her clothes on underneath. Usually she only has on underwear and throws a fit when I won't let her go over to the neighbor's house to play like that. )I didn't take these pictures, nor do I recall this incident, so I must not have been present. I wonder if Daddy really encouraged Robbie to put that skirt on, or if he did it himself...

With a unicorn in one hand and Lightening McQueen in the other. What could be better?Two in a recliner is better one, I guess. I didn't witness the beginning of this transaction, just the end result. I'm sure Padyn was there first, and Robbie decided it looked like a good spot to play with his cars.

Notice the anklet on P? She's been wearing that all the time these past couple weeks. Not sure where that idea sprang from...

Apparently suspending yourself between the couch and the coffee table is just as comfortable as reclining in the chair. Again...no idea. Missed the set up, just saw the end product.Is there a better spot to play with your iTouch? Since I saw him doing this again today, with iTouch in hand, there must not be.

And lastly, our dress-up queen has moved onto pretend injuries. Here is her "broken leg" in its "cast." I'll have you know she wore that 4 socked cast to bed tonight.

Oh, and this is the kid that doesn't wear shoes and SOCKS, remember? But according to her, 4 socks are more comfortable than one. Maybe I could buy her shoes 2 sizes too big? Then her huge socked foot would fit into them and we'd be done with this battle.

I doubt I will ever win the "Wearing Dress That Falls Off Shoulder" Battle, though. Too bad. As they say, gotta pick 'em.

Haircuts and Candlemaking

A bit over a week ago, we did a little candle making with some dear friends at a very fun little shopt while visiting Grandpa and Mimi. We also had very scraggly and unkept hair. Today, the girls got haircuts. Now we have candles (that we are forced to light at every meal) AND nice hair! See for yourself...

Before (working on her candle) Today! (New Kindergarten student!)

Before (not the greatest expression, I know)

Today! (She was very serious about posing for all her photos today)

Katelyn picked the length of her hair. She actually wanted it shorter, but I managed to convince her that a bit longer would be better. (I was afraid of tears tomorrow). She loves her new hair.

Padyn just wanted a trim, but wanted her hair straightened. She got it! Thankfully, I have a very kind and patient hairstylist who works very well (and quickly!) with the girls. Everyone is very happy with their new, slightly more grown-up haircuts.

And I will be even more happy during hairbrushing time in the morning!

Day at the Races

Today was the last day of summer swimming for the girlies. We had our final, very low key swim meet this morning. It was Kate's first opportunity to swim an event this summer. Can you guess how excited she was to take first place in her heat? You can't tell by the picture, but she was pretty jazzed. She wanted to know if she could swim in the fall (no) and when would her next race be (next summer). From not wanting to get in the pool last summer to swimming 25 yards freestyle by herself...what a difference a year makes.

Padyn chose to swim 3 events today: backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle, all 25 yards. She took the backstroke race in her heat (so excited!), came in 5th in breaststroke (very disappointed until I pointed out that had it been a proper race, 3 kids who beat her would have been disqualified for not actually using breaststroke kick) and 3rd in free (she missed 1st by a second and 2nd place by a fraction of a second).
All in all, a pretty fun and successful morning!

Photo Friday-Random Couple Weeks

We were only gone one week, but it feels like 7. I haven't had time to sort through all my pictures and come up with clever stories to share about them. These photos will have to do for now, then another post will share our trip to Oregon...

These last two were taken before our trip, but I just had to share them because they crack me up. Not that Robbie needed Kate's help in putting more than one paci in his mouth...

Happy Friday!

TV Viewing

Tuesday, August 2, 2011. The day my son figured out that he could turn the TV on AND start his favorite movie all my himself.