Elizabeth's First Day of School

So, each of my kids had a different first day of school this year, which spread out the picture taking load!  Elizabeth is going to the same little school as Abby Kate, but for only 2 days per week.  I went back and forth during registration (back in January) over whether or not to put her in at all.  It's a great program, and Christa and Abby Kate have loved it!  But I was thinking at the time that she would be the only one at home with me, and between putting her in the church nurseries for bible study and MOPS, she would get plenty of social interaction that way, while giving me more one-on-one time with her.  About 2 weeks after registration opened to the public, I learned little Thomas would be joining us.  So, I reconsidered my decision not to enroll her, but the class I wanted was full.  Of course it was!  I knew I was taking a risk by not taking a spot when I had the chance, but I didn't want to keep someone else from getting a spot they needed, if I didn't really think I was going to let her go.
At any rate, I got a call about 2 weeks before school started that the wonderful director at the school had found a way to let her into the class I wanted.  I'm glad she did, because Elizabeth seems so much bigger and "more ready" for something like that than she did in January!  She definitely wants to do what the big girls are doing more and more.

 I've got my back pack and my lunch box, and I don't really know what's happening, but I'm ready to go.

Elizabeth is a Busy Bee this year!  Abby Kate and Christa were both in this exact same class at age 2, although the teachers have changed.  She cried for a brief moment when I left, as she always does, but they said she was fine in no time at all.  When I picked her up, she said she had "fun in cass."

Abby Kate's First Day of Pre-K

Abby Kate started school about a week and a half after Christa did.  As much as I missed Christa that week, I did enjoy having some quality time with the little two girls.  We went out to a beautiful college campus and practiced our tricycle-riding skills.  We live in a very hilly neighborhood, so none of my kids have had much exposure to bikes.  It's just not something we do a lot, but I feel like it's time for them to learn.  We had a lot of fun, after Abby Kate got over her initial sadness that Christa wasn't there. 

 She was so excited about school! 

 She is in the Lion Class this year with 2 fantastic teachers, Mrs. Godfrey and Mrs. Kirby.

 Her very own cubby!

She was not sad at all to see us go!  She was so excited to be there, and got right to work coloring her self-portrait.

They Grow Up Fast

Hello again!  I'm dedicating a quick post to Christa's first night working at the Free Clinic with Daddy.  Cline decided she was old enough to "help out" and see what Daddy does when he volunteers there, so he asked her if she wanted to go with him after school this month.  She said yes, of course.  Cline was so cute; he went to the uniform store downtown and bought Christa her very own pair of scrubs to wear!  She was so excited, and I hear she did a great job coloring pictures for the patients and helping the ladies who do some of the administrative things there.
I picked her up from school that day and asked her how her day was, as I always do.  She had the funniest response.  She let out a huge sigh and said something along the lines of, "It was good, but now I have to go to work," very dramatically.  She was obviously ecstatic to be "going to work" which made it even funnier!

First Day of First Grade

Hello again, all!!  Christa had a good first day of school!  She was excited, and woke up easily, insisting on dressing herself without any help.  I let her pick her uniform out, and we all took her to school as a family.  She was excited to be at La-La and cousin Maggie Beth's school, but it was a long day.  She is adjusting to the whole "real" school idea.  As expected, it's not quite the same kind of fun she had at her old half-day school.  There is a lot of sitting, learning, and work!  Those were never my favorite things, either, sweet girl.  Unfortunately, you have many years ahead to do this most of the year!  Enjoy the pictures.

 I stuck these pictures in rather than giving them their own post because....  well, I don't really know why, but I'm not re-doing it now.  Abby Kate went to her friend, Cecilia's grandparents farm one day right before school started and had a blast!  She even rode a horse for the first time!

 Sweet girl all ready for her first day of first grade!

 Christa and her first school project - a poster of the fun we had with Flat Stanley over the summer!

 Ready to hang out with cousin Maggie Beth for the day!

 La-La and 3 of her 7 (soon to be 8) grandkids!

 Family picture right outside the school.

Back-to-School Photo Session

Hello all!!  Well, I did it!  I sent my oldest off to "real" school.  Some things have gone exactly as I have expected them to, and some surprises (both good and bad) have popped up along the way.  I was surprised to find that I like waking up early and getting out of the house by 8am.  I feel the best in the morning and can be the most productive, so it's nice to have everyone dressed for the day and motivated to get things done so early.   Running errands is a breeze, since we naturally have pockets of time when we are out and about the town.  If only the local businesses would realize that 8-10 a.m. is a great time for young moms to shop, and actually open their stores then, instead of at 11!  I'm done and home by then!
At any rate, after dreading an early morning routine for years, it's awesome.  But, I am exhausted by 4 p.m., which is not awesome.  That could be because of the large baby residing in my belly, though, so who knows how I'll like this new schedule after he makes his debut?  I am thinking I'm going to have to get really good at nursing him in the car in between drop-offs and pick-ups.  Or maybe he'll just be a bottle-fed baby, because that's never worked so well for me in the past!   Also, Christa is away from home a lot.  That part is about what I expected, and if traditional schools ever decide they would like to move to a 3 or 4 day per week schedule, I will be the first to sign up!  There are days that homeschooling thoughts creep back into my head.  It is more of a challenge to have quality time with Christa, because she is tired and has homework and has to eat dinner and get to bed early when I pick her up each day.  The flip side of that, though, is that the time I do get with her is really great quality time.  I take it for granted much much less than I used to.  I am sooo looking forward to the long weekend we have coming up, and I can't wait to have some special Mommy-Christa time next week for her extended Labor Day break!
Living my day in 1-3 hour increments has some pros and cons.  Maybe it's good preparation for feeding a newborn around the clock, or maybe little Thomas's arrival will make all of this impossible to do.  We'll find out soon, I guess!  For now, it's easier to do than I thought it would be, especially since Cline's work schedule allows him to be home during the weekdays sometimes, so I am not constantly having to cut nap time for the little ones short to go pick up Christa.  The little girls and I have found great, quality ways to fill the hour between Christa's school drop-off time and theirs.  We go to our favorite local bakery and eat sausage balls and watch the cake decorators do their thing.  Then we walk up to the school.  Or, we play on the school playground together while we wait for the doors to open.  Today, we even had a mini-play date from 8:30-9:00 a.m.  The weather was perfect, the girls had a great time, and I got to catch up with a great mommy-friend.  It was a great start to our day, and something I can see fitting into our routine when the weather cooperates.  But there are also days when I finally have a block of time to sit down or rest, and we have to load up in the car AGAIN to go pick up someone.  And I find my gas tank on empty a lot more than I used to!
About a week before school started, a photographer friend of mine did some mini-professional back-to-school portrait sessions.  I liked what I saw online so much that I scheduled our own mini-private session with her.  I figured since this is a milestone year for Christa, it would be fun to have a great picture of her in her uniform.  I managed to narrow down the 250 awesome pictures she got into my favorite 10 for the purposes of this blog :)    Enjoy!