Girls Start School Too!

While Owen starting kindergarten has been the predominant change around our house, the girls have started back at school too!!! Rebecca goes Tuesday through Friday and Maggie goes Tuesday and Thursday. They both have teachers that have been at the school forever (like all our teachers) but are ones we haven't had before. They are both super sweet. They both have lots of kiddos from their previous classes in their class so its new but not that new.

Both excited for their first day!

Maggie insists on carrying her lunchbox - she drags it - all the way to her classroom. The school director told me good job for letting her do it herself...I'm just thinking about how the lunch box isn't going to make it through the year!

Maggie has a new appreciation for bows in her hair which I fully support because it masks the fireworks hairdo a little bit.

Rebecca's favorite thing at school so far (no surprise) is the art center that has rolls of different colored tape.

My girls. :)

(And Tues/Thurs mornings to get stuff done!!!) Everybody is happy. :)

baseball?

It does not come naturally for me to encourage sports with our kids so I'm glad Kyle steps in. Owen did soccer last spring (and loved it) but has recently expressed some interest in baseball so we borrowed a friend's kid-sized mit and the boys have been playing catch in the backyard.

Intense face.

Throwing is easier than catching!

While they played and I took pictures, Rebecca gave me a "tattoo" with wet sidewalk chalk on my leg. Who knows where Maggie was when all this was going on. :) That's about par for the course around here...

Garden Days

Going from a co-op preschool where we're super-involved to just dropping your child off to school is a little bit of an adjustment - I'm not complaining - it's just different not being able to picture what's going on and what he's doing all day! Owen's school eases us parents into elementary school (much harder for us than the kids) by making kindergarten a half day (which is great and also presents scheduling/carpool challenges) and by including us as volunteers during center time, garden days and other special activities throughout the year. 

I was the "Garden Helper" a couple of weeks ago and had such a good time. Every Monday Owen's class goes to the school's Science & Nature Center w/ Mr. G (former farmer - the real kind - turned amazing teacher) teaches these kiddos all about how God designed the world to grow - and how he gave us the job of cultivating it - and the hard work that takes! 

Owen with his partner for the day (and a carpool buddy of ours) - D.

Walking across the bridge.

Mrs. Adams' class with a few of their Logic School buddies

The Learning.

The Working.

Kindergarten has a pie-shaped plot that they'll use to grow carrots - so today's job was tilling up the soil to get it ready.

I know I'm biased but I think Owen's class is filled with the funniest, sweetest kiddos ever. What a treat to see them in action.

*A week later I got to help out during Center Time for a (messy!) art project. My two favorite parts:

1) Being greeted - Hello, Mrs. Mezger! - in unison by all the kiddos when I walked in. I didn't realize they would all stand up and greet me that way. Super fun (and maakes me feel old). One sweet boy jumped the gun and popped up and yelled it out before everyone else - I think he was just excited he knew what to do!

2) Being reminded by another little boy that I promised him he could come over to our house to jump on the trampoline sometime. They.do.not.forget!

Owen and I also went to the Fall Family Social last Friday night - just the two of us (since Kyle was working the girls stayed home w/ a sitter). We got a real sense of what a fun thing it is that his school goes all the way through 12th grade. The FFS is basically a big carnival/pep rally/gathering right before the first football game. We had a great time running around and finding all his new little buddies. P Terry's. Face painting. What's not to love? One little boy in his class (the one who reminded me about my promise) was without parents for a time so he was our little sidekick which made for quite an adventure. Boys are funny, that's all I'll say.

Only THIRTEEN Years Until College

THIS BOY.

I cannot believe that last week we did this - meet his Kindergarten teacher. More on that in a second.

This boy who played his first game of Settlers of Catan (cult-following-German-strategy-board-game) ever on Labor Day - the last day before the start of Kindergarten. Kyle and Carlos were his teachers and opponents.

Yes, I'll trade you some ore. And I'll eat my snack while I'm at it!

Our two neighbor friends E & H came over to see if Owen could play and instead ended up watching a good portion of the game - his entourage, Catan groupies.

You should have heard Kyle and Carlos both trying to use Owen against the other to their advantage. And yes, they both helped him some. But they didn't let him win. And he did!!!

To the victor go the spoils!!!

Okay, so that's how the week started - not a bad way to kick off Kindergarten. 

Here is the little man, in his uniform, eating his breakfast (seemingly in the dark) on Tuesday morning. We had been working with him the week before to get up to an alarm (6:45!) and he had been doing great. For some reason this morning it didn't work because the time on his clock someone got adjusted so 6:45 came and went and then it went off. We've fixed the glitch and this little stud gets himself out of bed and dressed and comes down for breakfast all on his own. He began the year with a leftover Torchy's taco and a specialty Carlos smoothy - lucky little guy.

I was really glad that Kyle was off that morning so we could all go to his first drop-off.

We all still have sleepy eyes!

Parent fail #1 for the week: He was supposed to be wearing the pants version of his uniform this day. Oops!

Owen and the precious Mrs. Jill Adams - World Famous Kindergarten Teacher (We feel especially bless to have Mrs. Adams because we knew her and her husband Mark from Austin Bible Fellowship days!)

Proud, not sad (yet) Momma

Same for Daddy

Getting started at his activity table

All the parents taking pictures and trying to force themselves to leave

Okay, so I wasn't thrilled with the totally uncreative photos we snapped that morning - where was my first day of kindergarten sign? Why did I not have an arsenal of pinterest-inspired photo ideas? Because it was really stinkin' early in the morning. So when we got home, even though it was hot hot outside...we went for round 2, just me and the little man.

Pretending to take my picture.

And now its silly time - his idea.

Are we done yet?

Just a few more!

So, Owen had a great first day, really a great first week. He has handled the transition SOOOO much better than I have. Its not that I've been the weepy-miss-my-baby-mom (which I get, but that's just not me) - its more that the transition and new routine is just a LOT. (Owen has made the transition as easy as it could be on us - he's been so ready for a while!) Granted, it's the first week and so there is still just sooooo much newness and new info and new procedures, AND neither one of our carpools (yes, we're in 2) are in full-swing, AND the girls just started preschool on Thursday (a post on that is coming)...so it WILL get easier. But lets just say I almost ran out of gas this morning on Mopac in morning commute traffic and it wouldn't have surprised me a bit. A couple of nights ago I went to bed at 8:30. Lets just say I'm ready for the weekend. And really thankful for the other mom friends I have that are going through this transition with me - at our school and at other schools - because its a big transition no matter the exact circumstances. And I'm thankful for the mom friends that are a few steps ahead of us that can remind me that it will get easier - not necessarily simpler - but easier. Hang in there mommas!

*I just realized all of these photos look a little blurry - it's not your computer - I uploaded them in a smaller size and clearly that's not working. Live and learn. Mommy kindergarten.