Trying not to blink

"It's felt like forever to finish kindergarten."~Natalie

Last day of kindergarten

Mrs. Nielsen and Natalie

No.  

No, it hasn't. 

 I still remember that first day like it was yesterday.

Reading, Writing, Arithmatic

Natalie is doing a great job in school.  Each day they are supposed to journal--draw a picture and write a sentence about it.  This is the one she brought home after we had gone shopping for our annual tradition of Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes.

"I went to the store to get Christmas boxes."

I just love watching her learn and grow and seeing the gears start to move with reading and writing.

Mornings are busy trying to get everyone dressed, fed, lunch packed, and hair fixed.  I've been having fun trying out different hairdos when we have enough time.

 Natalie is not a morning person.  She would sleep in every day if she could.  That being said, it's hard to get her out of bed and motivated to get ready in the mornings.  She's also feeling like she is missing out on play with her sisters and other fun activities that she imagines we do every day without her.  We are all happy that Christmas break is here so that we can sleep in; we don't have to rush in the mornings; we can stay in our jammies if we want; we have big sister to play with in the mornings; and we don't have to pack any school lunches for a couple of weeks!

First Day of Kindergarten

August 20, 2013

It's official--we are the parents of a school-aged kid!

A proud sister

Photo by Maggie

I love that we only live two houses down from the school and have the privilege of walking every day.

Standing in line with her other classmates to be escorted into class.

Her very own cubby.

 Natalie's kindergarten is 70% which means that she gets to stay through lunch.  They find that kindergarteners transfer to full day in first grade better when they know the lunch routine.  There is less goofing around and more eating which means less kids bonking in the afternoon from empty bellies.  She goes to school for 5 hours and is doing great with it!

Her deskmates.

We have all been so excited for this day to come and there has been so much more joy and excitement filling up my heart for Natalie rather than sadness that I actually did not think that I would shed a tear.  However, I almost lost it as I was giving her my final kiss goodbye but I held it in and hurried out so that she would not see me cry.

Now it is just me and these two in the mornings.

Things have been going well for us.  The mom group I am a part of has started up for the fall and on Wednesday mornings we have started a backyard club in which five other moms and siblings come hang out at our place after drop off.  I feel like I'm in school again because of all the new friends I've been making too.  I can sense the void that Natalie fills in our home many days.  The two little ones have been playing well together but seem to be more needy and easily bored without the leadership and guidance of their big sister in play.  I know they will get the hang of it and I will hold on to that warm feeling inside of missing her each morning.

My favorite thing from the first day was the 30 minute play-by-play that Natalie gave me while we sipped iced chai together.

Below are the "2nd Day" pictures. : )  Natalie wanted to wear this dress on the first day but we knew she was having P.E. the first day and the teacher asks that the kids wear tennis shoes for that day.  So she picked her Hello Kitty shirt as her alternative.  When I asked her if she was sure she replied, "Yeah, Mom.  Hello Kitty is cool."  There you have it.

You are a shining star!

My beautiful babies

They are getting so big!

I love Sabrina's smile here.

Maggie loves to sit "like a mom" with her legs crossed.

My classy kindergartener.

My four-going-on-thirty-year-old.

My feisty two year old.

Natalie Update

She's growing up fast and starting kindergarten in August.  She will go to our neighborhood school which is two houses down from us~so awesome!  It's 70% instead of 50% which basically means she gets to have lunch at school.  The principal says that it helps them transition to full day in the first grade when they already know the lunch routine.  In other words, they learn to fuel up and eat rather than goof off and play which helps them make it through the whole day.  She's ready.  She's excited.  We are all excited for her.

A quote I heard from the back seat today:

N explaining to M:  It's called a minivan because many people can fit in it.  And many means a lot.

She also recently jumped off the diving board for the first time and now enjoys challenging herself in deeper waters.  She is in level 3 swim class and loves swimming under water with her goggles.  We watch her gain confidence and skill almost daily.  Perhaps we are looking at the next Missy Franklin, one of her heros. : )

Throwing Signs

Natalie created her sign all on her own.  You are so creative!

"Natalie!"

Love is in the Air

Father Daughter Date--October 2011

In the last year, Dusty and I have started to implement dates with our daughters.  It is something we've seen modeled by other families in our church body that we hope to cultivate in our family also.  It provides quality time with each of the girls and an opportunity to build strong relationships with them.  There isn't always a lot of deep discussions with a three year old, but we hope that these times foster good communication down the road.

We are still working out the kinks to making these dates happen on a regular basis.  Right now one of us takes Natalie or Maggie out (each girl once in the month) while the other parent stays home with the other two and then the following month it's the opposite parent's turn.  It won't be long before there will be three girls to date in which we will swap months taking one girl out each week for three weeks with one week off (maybe for a regular date for Dusty and I!  Still working those kinks out too).

Maggie is pretty content with simply going out for something to eat (usually donuts) on her dates and having one on one time with us playing babies.  She's only three and we are still figuring out her interests to which I'm sure her dates will diversify in time.  Natalie is pretty easy when it comes to thinking up fun date ideas for her.  Her attention span is greater as well as her willingness to try things.  Maggie is growing in this for sure though (see Peter Pan post--she sat through the whole production.)  One of the first dates Dusty took Natalie on was a hike to Arthur's Rock.  She was two months shy of four and climbed the whole way up--one way being just shy of two miles!

We were so proud of her.  She loved it and has been asking Dusty to take her on another hike date ever since.  It is such a privilege spending time with you and getting to know your hearts.