Emma's First Day of Preschool

Today was Emma's first day of preschool. How did she feel about it? I think this picture pretty much sums it up:

I talked up preschool all summer long. Her sisters told her how much fun she was going to have. We laid out her clothes the night before, including her new purple "first day of school shirt." I tried everything. When I woke her up this morning, she started kicking and screaming and crying becuase she didn't want to go to school. It took both Greg and me to get her dressed. He held her down while I put her clothes on her. I kept telling her that we'd go check it out--see if they had nice teachers there, see if there were fun toys and good snacks. When it was time to leave, she said through her tears, "We'll see how it is."

When we got there she wasn't crying anymore but she was still clinging to my leg. I took her around the room and we saw the tiny water fountain, the tiny toilets and sinks, and all the toys. She was starting to warm up a little...

She willingly went to the rug for circle time while I went across the hall for the parents' meeting. The parents all left from there and when I came back to pick her up she had a smile on her face...

She had a great time! And I don't think we'll have any problems when we go back on Tuesday. So to celebrate a successful first day of school we went to have some ice cream down on the farm. Nothing makes for a happy ending like Broom's Bloom.



No, I did not order her three scoops. That was a kiddie cone.
And yes, she ate the whole thing.





2nd Day of School

Audrey had gradual entry on the first day of school, which means that I took her for two hours and then brought her home. The second day of school was her first full day and the much-anticipated first bus ride. She was so excited. We took plenty of pictures while we were waiting for the bus to arrive. This girl really knows how to strike a pose.

Whirlwind Summer

Was that the fastest summer ever or what? So many things to blog about that are past thier blogging prime . . . lost in the land of Shouldabloggedaboutitsooner. There was our two-week vacation in July, the first week spent in Palmyra, Niagra Falls, and Kirtland with Greg's family. The second week was in Hilton Head Island, SC with my family. Carolyn posted pictures on her blog. There were also Audrey's first lost teeth, Molly's bold new haircut, and Carolyn's trip to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando. Then there was the battering we've been getting from mother nature in the form of an earthquake, hurricane, and a tropical storm. The hurricane will probably get it's own blog post because we have quite the story to tell. Oh, and I can't forget the first day of school, which actually started two days late because of the hurricane. (Who's ever heard of the first day of school being cancelled?) And Audrey started kindergarten! She's been having trouble getting used to the get-up-and-go routine since she prefers the get-up-and-lounge-around routine that she's used to. But I think she loves it. And I love having only one kid during the day. I've actually been getting some projects done. Wait 'til you see my living room. It's come a long way since the last time you saw it. Still more to do but I'm happy with the direction it's going.

Summer Break 2011

I always try to get a picture of the kids getting off the bus on the last day of school. They just look so happy. I miss the crowded bus stop in our old neighborhood, where all the parents would clap and cheer as the kids got off on the last day. But having the bus stop right in front of my house, just for my kids has been such a blessing.



With one week down and nine to go, I'm feeling optomistic about this summer. We have a cleaning chart and work on a different section of the house every day. Last week was pretty intense. We cleaned windows, under the beds (yikes!) and even shampooed the carpet. I'm hoping that we'll just have to do touch-ups for the next several weeks. We also have reading time after lunch, which the kids really enjoy and I love the peace and quiet. On Fridays, if the kids have done all of their chores for the week we'll do something fun, like go get snowballs. And so far, the fighting and whining has been pretty minimal. Here's hoping we can keep it up!