Ellie's First Day of Kindergarten

Ellie started kindergarten on Wednesday. I know it's cliche, but it's totally true - they grow up way too fast! She was a little nervous, so she requested a picture of our family to take with her in case she missed us. 

First Day of School Interview:

3 feet 9 3/4 inches tall

42.1 pounds

Favorite Color: Pink

Best Friend: Troy and Saurey

Favorite Book: Peter Rabbit

Favorite Movie: Batman (it's a cartoon...)

Favorite Song: Can't Stop the Feeling by Justin Timberlake (she started singing it as soon as I asked her what her favorite song was)

Favorite Food: Spaghetti and Meatballs

When I Grow up I want to Be: A Mommy

My favorite thing about myself is: How I can hear

The thing I am most excited to learn about in school this year is: Learning to read

Of course I made her take the obligatory first day of school pictures! I didn't pick the most well-lit spot ever, but I wanted to have her picture next to the growth chart on our wall so I can see how much she grows between school years.

She didn't really want to smile for me. She just wanted to "make a video," so we did that:

She came up with her own "script." 

Then she had to do silly pictures, of course!

And I finally got her to smile:

And I guess I was doing an overly animated smile to get her to smile, because then she raised her eyebrows and said, "You're smiling like this, Mom, that's why I'm smiling like this."

The boys were really excited to see "Ellie's school," so they all came with me to drop her off.

When we walked in the door Ellie exclaimed, "Hi Teacher!" She walked right over to the coat/backpack hanger with her name on it that we had seen in kindergarten open house the day before, found her name tag and had me put it on, then found her friends and didn't look back. She wasn't emotional at all, and surprisingly, neither was I. Just proud of my little girl.

We met her at the bus stop that is a few houses down from ours after school:

As we were walking home she said, "Mom, why did you come pick me up? I can walk home by myself." 

She also said the same thing she said after the first day of preschool: "Mom, they didn't teach me to read yet." I had to explain that it takes a long time to learn how to read, but I guess she will learn that for herself in a few weeks when they start reading!

As soon as we got home she showed me her folder and the craft they had made and said, "I didn't even have to look at the picture of you guys!" 

I guess she is all grown up now!

I went to my first PTO meeting last night before Back to School night, and it was just strange. I feel like I am still a kid myself - how can I be old enough to be a part of PTO? I am excited to be starting this new chapter of life with my kiddos, though. I am trying my best to enjoy each stage as it comes, because I know it won't last.

Shining Moments

I wanted to post a few pictures from moments I have loved being a mom this week:

Watching a movie and having popcorn in the middle of the day, "just because." It's amazing how much this meant to my kids. We weren't doing an amazing activity - my kids just enjoyed having me close to them.

On Wednesday Ellie went to a friend's house for a water party, and the boys wanted to head to the splash park so they could have a water party of their own. While we were there Nathan and Jonah would play for awhile, then run back to me and tell me whatever their little hearts desired, then run back to play. On one of these little runs back to me Jonah started growling at me like a bear, then when he would get close to my face he would pucker up and give me a kiss on the lips. He did that several times, then just ran back to play. The next time they came back Jonah started tickling me, and pretty soon all three of us were in a big tickle fight on the bench at the splash park.

This morning Jonah was following me around the house talking to me, so I decided to just sit down with him and talk. It was one of the highlights of me week to hear his sweet little voice chattering away.

I was reminded of this quote:

"...Recognize that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. There will be hard times and frustrating times. But amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and satisfaction." - L. Tom Perry

That is what these moments were to me - shining moments of joy and satisfaction. And this will hopefully serve as a reminder for me to purposely create moments like this with my kids, rather than getting so caught up in housework or whatever else I may be doing at the moment. 

Getting Ready for Kindergarten

Ellie has worked hard to learn lots of things before she starts kindergarten next Wednesday (address, phone number, etc.), and the one she is most excited about by far is being able to tie her own shoes!

It takes lots of concentration...

So proud of herself!

Her teacher sent her a letter last week telling her about what they will be doing in her class, and Ellie was over the moon excited.

Her backpack came today, and she loves it. I was pretty proud of the one I found on amazon. It's small enough not to dwarf her like the ones at the store but big enough for a folder and other things she needs, durable enough to last a few years until she needs a bigger one, and of course her favorite color - pink. The best part? It was less than $10. When we looked at backpacks at the store I couldn't believe how expensive they were!

This Wednesday is kindergarten registration, next Tuesday she gets to tour her classroom, and then Wednesday is her first day. I can't believe it, but she is ready!

Funny Kid Quotes

These are some quotes/funny or cute things I have been keeping track of that the kids have said over the last 9 months or so. I thought I would put them here mostly for my own memory, but also because some of them are pretty funny! Here we go!

Ellie, out of the blue while she and Nathan quietly sat eating lunch at the island: "I'm really going to miss you when I get married to another man."

Ellie and Nathan say "Patrick" instead of "package." I think it must be because they have a friend named Patrick. (Actually a few weeks ago Ellie said "package" for the first time and then said "I said it right!" It makes me a little sad that she's growing up!)

Nathan was telling me a story (he loves to make up stories) and he said "Garden of Egypt." I asked him what the "Garden of Egypt" was, and he said, "Where Adam and Eve were."

I was helping Ellie clean out the dishwasher and she said, "You get the glasses and I'll get the plastics."

Ellie came running in the house from outside and said, "Mom! There are bloodsuckers out there!" (Talking about mosquitos)

I overheard a conversation between Ellie and Nathan: 

Ellie: I'm going to be five tomorrow!

Nathan: Yeah, and you're going to break the whole house down!

Me, to Nathan and Jonah: Come on, my cuties.

Nathan: We're not cuties, we're handsomes!

Nathan and Ellie call their big toes "thumb toes."

Jonah calls someone's birthday their "happy cake." 

Instead of saying "person" or "people" Ellie says "human" or "humans." So we will randomly be walking around public places and she will say, "There are a lot of humans here." or "What is that human doing?"

We were sitting at dinner when Nathan randomly said, "Some old people look like this:"

After watching the live action Cinderella Ellie said, "We need to watch Cinderella 2 to see how many kids she has."

We were trying to distract Jonah in the car by showing him baby horses, when Nathan says: "Look Jonah, a baby house!"

Jonah calls flashlights "green lights."

I love listening to all of the funny things these kiddos have to say!

Barely Made It!

Looks like someone had a rough night...

At least he woke up happy!