First Day of Second Grade

I love how excited Grace gets for the first day of school. It's the only day in the entire year I don't have any trouble getting her up. She jumped out of bed and had her clothes on in record time. I did notice, however, that she didn't eat all of her breakfast. On the way to school she confessed to being nervous. Her school got split up in the redistricting so not all of her friends from last year will be at her new school. Her best friend Taniyah is going to a different school. She got a little teary eyed talking about her this morning. I'm sure she'll make lots of new friends, and we still have Taniyah over to play, so I'm not worried.

How cute is my girl? This is the outfit she picked out for the first day of school. She wanted it pulled back with her matching panda ponytail holder. This girl is very particular about her look, just like her Daddy. ;) Which is a good thing!!

Grace wanted me to take her on the first day instead of riding the bus. I'm so glad I got to do it. I wouldn't have been able to walk last year due to some lovely contractions, but this year we had a smooth morning. The parking lot was full so we had to park and walk for quite a bit, but it was such a beautiful day we didn't mind. I tried to take a quick picture of her new school. There were a lot of people behind us so this was the best shot I could get. Look at that sky? Could the day be any more perfect?

New cafeteria!!! No more eating in the gym! Woo Hoo!!

Gracie's brand new classroom. Of course the school isn't anywhere close to being done. The library was full of boxes, there was a big spot in the entrance hall that will probably be filled with colored tile or the school name. But all in all the morning seemed to go pretty smoothly. We walked in, found her room, and started unpacking.

Avery and Jude along for the ride! :)

I am sooooo thankful I got to take her to school. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I think it made her feel better to have us with her as she tried to find her way around the building and her classroom. Her teacher is young and seems nice. I'm sure the past week has been stressful for all the teachers. But it looked like she had her room ready to function on the first day.

Saying goodbye to Sissy!! I know they'll miss each other, but a little time a part everyday will be good for them. At least it will cut down on the fighting that seems to erupt when they've been together too long.

On the way back to the van Avery wanted to do what the other kids were doing by peeking through a hole in this fence. Let our adventures begin!!

Second Grade

Tonight is the last night of summer...finally!!! Gracie's school district spent the year building brand new elementary schools, so they tried to give themselves as much time as possible by pushing the first day back to Aug. 29th. It's been a loooong summer. Not a bad one, just long. We are definitely feeling the need for structure and schedules. I'm all for lazy summer mornings and wide open days, but it get's boring after awhile.

Due to some "issues" with the neighbor kids, Grace spend a lot of the summer with her mom and siblings. Personally I think she was happier in a way. I know she just wanted some kids to play with, but she also realized there's no need trying to play with people who aren't nice to you. So we filled our days with trips to the pool, sometimes a playground if it wasn't too hot. Luckily the grandparents invited the girls down several times this summer, which gave Grace a chance to relax and play with kids who are actually nice to her! Of course our biggest event was Disney World. I know she loved that!! So even though the summer didn't go as we thought it would, I think we all grew closer because of it. (there were also plenty of fights and headaches, but that's normal too)

Tomorrow she will be going to a brand new school and a fresh start to make friends who really count. The top of my prayer list is for Grace and a protection of her heart. Kids can be so mean, and I pray she can learn how to keep the good ones and ignore the ones who need some manners. ;) I can't believe my baby girl is going to be a second grader. Time really does fly!!

Oh this boy...

I just love him.

Super Fun Day!

We woke up Saturday morning and decided on a whim to go to the zoo. I'm so glad we did, it was a lot of fun. It was a little hot, but no one complained.

The first thing we saw was a zoo worker holding a snake. Of course I would have been perfectly happy to walk on by, but the girls wanted to see it. Avery wasn't afraid at all. She walked right up to it and petted it. Look how close it's tongue is to her hand. It freaks me out a bit!

Okay, this really freaks me out! But it didn't bother Avery.

Grace always has to feed goats when we go to a petting zoo. She has such a big heart for animals. In this picture she's trying to get the goats to move so she can feed the sheep that's being butted out of the way. She can't let an injustice like that go by while she's around!!

Here's my Judey Bear chilling out at the petting zoo. He was starting to get sleepy and was content to just sit and look at everything.

Love him!!!! I've never wanted a baby stage to slow down has much as I do right now. On one hand I can't wait to see him turn into a little boy and starting walking/talking. But knowing he's my last baby I'm trying to hold on to this snugly little thing a little longer. (But not too long, I don't want a whiny momma's boy on my hand. :)

Avery grooming the goats.

The bird house was a big hit! Avery had a blast feeding the birds with her popsicle stick of bird food. Sometimes she didn't give the bird enough time to pick anything off before she moved on to the next one. But she finally figured it out.

Grace opted for the sugar water food. She had a bird on her shoulder and her hand. I don't know how she stood so still.

Oh how I love this picture. A bird landed on Scottie's shoulder and Jude just stared at him. It looks like he's looking for some reassurance from Daddy that the bird isn't going to hurt him.

It didn't take long for Jude to feel comfortable with the bird. He just studied it like he does EVERYTHING!! Nothing gets past this little observer.

He even tried to pet it, but it flew away.

Grace had this bird doing some balancing tricks in order to get it's food! :)

Nothing helps a hot sticky day at the zoo like cotton candy ice cream!!

Let me just say that I will NEVER step foot into the insect house again. I HATE bugs, but the girls wanted to go in, and of course they loved it. They oohed and ahhed over every creeping little bug. Whatever floats your boat, but it's just not my thing.

Three sweaty, happy, tired kiddos leaving the zoo.

What a great way to spend the day!

On our way home we decided to stop at IKEA to look around. We didn't get through the whole store, but we did pick up some fun stuff!

We've never eaten in their cafe, and I'm glad we stayed to eat. Kids eat free there right now so we were able to eat cheap!! The food was actually pretty good, and I love the atmosphere. Avery said her favorite part of IKEA was the meatballs, who knew! ;) There's a little play area in the cafe which allowed us to eat without inhaling our food. Usually Avery is done way before us and gets pretty restless. We could see her play from our table, so we got to take our time and eat and talk. It was a lot of fun!

Jude went crazy for the mashed potatoes. He kept banging on the table for more!! Don't get between this boy and his food!

Jude and I headed out to the car while Scottie and the girls were checking out. He thought he was big stuff sitting in the drivers seat.

I don't even want to think about him growing up and driving a car. Nope...not going to think about it.

Fun, fun, fun day!!! I would say that this was one of the best days we've had since moving here. Can't wait for another impromptu adventure! :)

Avery's Prayer

I have to get this written down before I forget everything she said.

Today she got in A LOT of trouble for spilling a box of cocoa powder all over the toy room and computer chair. (I don't want to talk it about it, it still makes me angry.) So her punishment was to sit in the recliner while I cleaned it up, which required quite a few spankings for her to stay there, and then after an early lunch she had to go straight to bed. She also wasn't going to get to go outside. Which is what we were getting ready to do when she got into the cabinet. Before they ate Grace asked her if she wanted to pray. Here's what Avery had to say to God.

"Thank you for God. Please don't let get in trouble. (Grace interrupted and asked who shouldn't get in trouble. Avery whispered "me") Please get to go outside. Please Mommy and Daddy don't spank me ever, ever again! Amen"

My Water Babies

We've really enjoyed our subdivision's pool this summer. Thankfully Jude likes to swim as much as the girls. Otherwise we would be in trouble. He loves his float and just hangs out in it while his sisters are swimming.

I couldn't get a picture of Avery's face because she spent most of her time swimming under the water. She is a little fish!

Playing together

Even though they love to swim it has been a little tricky handling everything with a baby in tow. Next summer should be a little easier since Jude will be walking. But I don't want time to speed up too much yet. He looks too cute in his little float!! Don't you agree?

Sisters

Sometimes you can't live with them, but you definitely can't live without them! :)

Stuck

Jude crawled under the kitchen chairs last week and found that he couldn't get out. So sad.

He finally realized I was talking to him and hadn't been abandoned.

So he decided being under the chair wasn't so bad.

He even blew a few raspberries to prove it.

Love this boy!