First Days of School

The beginning of September is always a little sad. Sad to say goodbye to summer and being a stay at home mom. And I know that just around the corner is a TON of work for the start of the school year with Homecoming right on its tail. I was worried that the kids would have trouble adjusting to the school routine, so we talked about it a lot before they went back. When I told Edison school was starting in a few days, and that he'd be in a new room with a new teacher - he was totally fine with it - once I told he'd also be learning new songs. And in fact, Edison adores his new teacher, Miss Ashley. Her birthday is only a day or two away from his and they are like peas in a pod - well, basically he follows her everywhere all day. She's been really good to him, taking care of poopy underpants nearly everyday. Yup - potty training has worked for #1, but he's having trouble getting over his hangups about going poop on the potty.

 

I was worried that Charlotte would have trouble adjusting to a big kid classroom. She has to eat her meals without me sitting next to her and helping her the whole time, she has to take a nap on a cot after lunch, and of course, negotiate a class full of other toddlers who don't always play nice. But she is thriving and having a blast, as you can see from the report by Miss Lynne. She loves to playground, but also enjoys the art projects and music. Miss Lynne says Charlotte is like a two-year old trapped in a fifteen-month old body. Speaking of, at Charlotte's fifteen-month check up, she registered at 90% height and 50% weight again. She is one inch taller than Edison was at this age, and three-pounds lighter. 

 

Charlotte became a "blanket girl" on her first day at school. She has never been that attached to her blanket, but apparently it was what she needed to get through her first day on her own and now she doesn't go anywhere without it. The daycare told me that Edison and Charlotte have had a few occasions where they would run to each other and hug during the school day. Their playgrounds are adjacent and Charlotte likes to come over to the fence and hold Edison's hand. Edison now refers to Charlotte as his best friend. How cute!

 

While school started a few weeks ago, this picture was just from Friday (it was football dress up day at school). Nana gave her a baby doll for her birthday, but it hasn't become her favorite toy. But maybe this will change soon, now that she seems to enjoy taking care of baby at school.

  

My back to school days have been a little different. As Activities Coordinator at Shorecrest High School, I had a number of big events to organize to start the year. This is a picture from our New Student Kick Off Night - the class of 2015 with our mascot, Otis, the Highlander Scot. 

 

September 10th was our school's Fiftieth Anniversary Party. We've been planning this for months and had lots of alumni and community members join us for a big party. This is a picture of our marching band (in full kilts) playing "Happy Birthday" to Otis.

 

When I'm not running around making sure these events go smoothly, I can sometimes be found in the chairs up front at the assembly portion. The kids next to me our the ASB officers this year. They are starting to become a great team. We only had one snafu at this assembly - the mic didn't work for a few minutes at the beginning - that was a little embarrassing - and of course it was my fault for not double checking! Oops!

 

I visited our ASB officers at Leadership Camp this summer. While there, they came up with an acronym for what our school stands for. It took us a long time and lots of consensus-building discussion, but I think it turned out amazingly well - way better than I could have imagined.

  

Charlotte the Butterfly

I am trying to dress Charlotte in all of her summer clothes before it gets too chilly (and before she outgrows them). When we put this dress on her, Edison said that Charlotte looked like a princess, then said, "and she looks like a butterfly." I agree!

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 We spent Saturday morning at the Children's Museum, then went to Everett Mall for lunch. The Mexican restaurant in the food court actually makes the best taco salad. The kids shared a yummy quesadilla. After lunch we walked over to the play area - it has a dinosaur theme. Here Charlotte peeks out of a dinosaur egg.

 It was very cute to watch Edison help Charlotte down the slide. It was wide enough for them to slide together, which they did a number of times.

 My mom has been helping out a lot since I've started back to work. She comes up every Wednesday and Thursday to spend time with them. They of course have a blast. And she always brings them special treats, like pears from Bestamor's house and a sundae from McDonalds. Needless to say, they look forward to Nana's visits!

 Nana with her little granddaughter!

SEPTEMBER - Labor Day and An Overview of the Kids

We spent a fabulous Labor Day weekend at Blake Island with good friends and lots of kids 

We got the best campsite on the island.... that is until we discovered there were raccoons living in this tree who would come to wreak their havoc at night.

 

Charlotte enjoyed hanging out with Skylar, who was a true camping champ. 

 

 Robin took some wonderful pictures that really captured how beautiful everything is.

 With my sweetheart!

 And my family and Mt. Rainier in the background. Charlotte had already turned in for the night.

 The boys.

 Sunday was the perfect beach day!

 Edison and Grace on a makeshift teeter-totter.

 Charlotte sporting her beach costume.

 * * *

 It strikes me that I haven’t devoted enough time to writing about what my children are like these days. Here is a brief synopsis.

Edison is having a wonderful time as a three-year-old. His new favorite word is “why.” I once promised myself (before kids) that I would always answer that question for kids. But… Edison is definitely testing the boundaries of my patience. But he just wants to learn and understand the world. He really likes going out on the boat. Eben gives him a rope a  nd Edison throws it over board, calling, “anchors away.” We bought Edison some new sneakers and told them they are running shoes. Now he runs everywhere – it is hilarious and awesome.  He is a shy boy in new situations, especially around strangers, but with his inner-circle he talks up a storm.

Charlotte is an inquisitive, bubbly fifteen-month-old. She is living up to her teacher’s nickname, “Ms. Giggles.” Edison loves making her laugh, and Charlotte usually obliges – never holding back and often belting out a belly laugh or even falling down from laughing so hard. She can say a few words and babbles a lot. Her favorite toy at the moment is a bouncy ball. She also has freakish arm strength and can hold onto the monkey bars for two minutes. She only slides on her tummy, feet-first. Her teacher says she is a two-year-old trapped in a fifteen-month-old body, always climbing and exploring. She is still long and thin - 90% height and 50% weight, but her doctor says she is a healthy baby and right on track developmentally.

Last week was their first day of school after a wonderful summer break. I tried to prepare Edison for the transition by telling him what to expect. I thought he’d be reluctant. But after hearing he’d have a new teacher, be in a big kid room (with potties), learn new songs, and hear new stories – he was excited. The first day went smoothly. The teachers told me that when the kids had to move from the big drop-off area to their separate classrooms, they gave each other a minute-long hug. Later, when they were both on their adjacent playgrounds, Charlotte tried to crawl under the fence to get to Edison. The following days were harder, Edison didn’t want me to leave him, but we’re getting better at it each day.

So that is a snapshot of the kids at three-years and fifteen-months. I love them dearly and am finally at a point where I’m rested enough to appreciate the time I have with them – they are a treasure!

We are trying to enjoy the last days of summer and spent Saturday at Jetty Island, just off the shore of Everett.

 

Charlotte liked running around on the beach and even took a long nap in our beach tent.

Matt & Lisa, and his parents met us there by coming in their boat. Edison liked going fishing with the guys. Despite Matt catching salmon earlier in the week, they weren't biting today.

 

 Lisa is great at playing with the kids. Charlotte is distracted from being fussy by Lisa digging in the sand. Too bad we have to say goodbye to summer so soon. It was actually just getting started weather-wise out here.