love

sock hop

Today is the 50th day of Kindergarten.  I can hardly believe we are already to this point!  Time flies when you are having fun, and having fun is something Anna excels in.  To celebrate the 50th day of school the Kindergarten classes at Anna's school are having a sock hop!  They were encouraged to dress like the 50s and they have been reading books and learning all about that decade.

So, Wednesday Emmett and I made a trip to JoAnn Fabrics to pick out a pattern for a poodle skirt, some fabric and embellishments.  Later that same day we returned to try again...apparently you should read the WHOLE pattern and not just part of it.

Anna picked out the red glitter felt and we were off to the races.  Hopefully this little number will make it through the day!  HA!  If not, well...we can simply remove the poodle and perhaps it can find a new home dressing the bottom of our Christmas tree.

I can't wait to hear all about this very fun day, Kindergarten is filled with adventures!

5 little pumpkins

Whoa!  Here are some excited little kids!  This is what you get with 14 boys and just 3 girls in class!  HA!

happy halloween!

Halloween brings never-ending fun!  Costumes, cookies, treats, parties, carving and more...it's been a fun week leading up to today and tonight we are in for more spooooky fun!

I had the privilege of spending the morning in Emmett's classroom for his Halloween party.  The kids were all in costume (super heros being the most popular this year!) and paraded through the church to the other classrooms and to all of the office staff who each had a special treat for all the kids.  At the end of the morning, we were treated to a rousing rendition of "5 Little Pumpkins" for all of the parents. What a fun, fun day!

toothalina

Much to Anna's delight, we experienced another "first" in our house last week.  Anna lost her very first tooth!  For months she has been talking about a phantom loose tooth - ever since her school friends starting talking about theirs.  And then several weeks back she showed us what was a REAL loose tooth.  So exciting!

Over MEA weekend Anna's tooth was hanging by a thread.  I encouraged her to keep wiggling and perhaps to even tug a little to get it out.  She was not having that!  Somehow Anna had it in her head that she wanted her tooth to fall out while she was eating.

Last Friday as we sat enjoying lunch at home before heading to the cabin, Anna shrieked and spit out her apple along with a small white tooth!  She claims she thought it was an apple seed - from an unripe apple, as those are apparently "white".  But then she felt the hole in her mouth and was DELIGHTED!

Much deliberation went into whether or not she wanted to tooth fairy to come.  Anna did NOT want to part with her tooth.  So, we settled on writing a note to the tooth fairy asking if she could keep it.

Here is a picture of the carefully thought out note that Anna wrote.  In case you are having trouble reading it, it says:

"Hi I am Anna!  Please!  Will u tell me your name?  I want to keep my tooth please.  Love, Anna.  He he he he he! me me me! Anna"

Worried that the tooth fairy wouldn't find her at the cabin, Anna had a tough time falling asleep on Friday night.  She woke at 1am and bolted upright in her bed.  "Mom!  My note is different!  There's not 3, there's just one long one.  Can we turn on the light??"

After convincing her to go back to sleep, she awoke to the following note, $5, and a little treat.

This note reads:
"Dear Anna, Thank you for your LOVELY note.  You are a good writer!  My name is Toothalina and I love rainbows, sparkles and all things magical.  Yay!  You lost your first tooth!  Please keep it somewhere special, it is a treasure.  I'm leaving you some treasure in return.  Spend it wisely!  Oh, I left a treat too.  Happy Halloween!"

And now we are treated to this toothy grin around our house each day.  Exciting times in the life of a 6 year old!

boys boys boys

After years of tagging along to playdates with Anna's friends and their siblings, Emmett is finding some new freedom as his days stretch out without his big sister around.  Fortunately our neighborhood is ripe with 4 year old boys and Emmett has playmates just a few steps away.

Just last week the doorbell rang in the afternoon and I opened it to 2 little boys, adorned with nerf swords.  "Hi Nathan, Hi Owen, how are you?" I greeted them.  They could barely get their words out stumbling to talk over each other as they shouted "Can Emmett play?  Can he be our 3rd ninja?"

You can bet Emmett went flying upstairs to get his sword and join in on the fun.  It's great to see this little group of boys run from house to house, playdate to playdate playing swords, tag, catch, and more. I am sure for Emmett it's a welcome break from house, princess and crafts with his sis!

preschool!

Emmett has started his preschool journey, and is well on his way!  Despite having a moment of panic after Anna got on the bus and he realized it was his turn to go, he did start his first day of preschool with a smile!

Now, nearly a month in he (almost always) runs into school with a smile and has made some new friends - one in particular named Nathan, and he has formed a special bond with one of his teachers.  We have had only one rocky day where his teacher mentioned that Emmett was sad and that he missed me.  It happened to be a day where the main teacher was gone, so I am guessing that had something to do with it.

Emmett is busy learning about letters, how to recognize his name, learning new songs and prayers and about being social outside of our family circle.  Some lessons are fun and interesting, others make me laugh out loud.  For example, here's one little tidbit that came home with him this week:

Emmett:  Mom, there was this little boy at school today...
Me:  Yeah?  What about him?  Did something happen?
Emmett:  Well, I told him that MY daddy was stronger than HIS daddy.
Me:  Hmm, I don't think that's a very nice thing to say Emmett, you could hurt his feelings.
Emmett:  Well he didn't CRY!

Between those stories, and Anna's about holding hands with "Preston", we certainly have our hands full!

kindergarten!

For weeks, maybe even months, we have anticipated this day.  The first day of Kindergarten!  The start of the next chapter for Anna - her elementary school career.  Over the course of the past week we have visited her school, met her teacher, played on the playground she will enjoy at recess, visited the bus stop and had many conversations about what she will do and learn in Kindergarten, proper bus etiquette, and what it means to be a good friend and a good student.  She is prepared and ready in every way I can imagine.  And now she is there.  She's there in her classroom with her new teacher, her new friends and some new independence!

Last night I walked into her room to see she had set out her 1st day outfit - complete from hair accessories to shoes - all of which she picked out herself.  She woke up this morning promptly at 6:30 and declared that she wanted a "healthy" breakfast before school - BOTH pancakes and scrambled eggs.  She took pictures eagerly and then when it was time...picked up her backpack and headed to the bus stop with a smile - WITH her hand planted firmly in her daddy's.

I wish I had a picture of that.  That picture in my head captured all that this day and this moment is about.  The crossroads between her first foray into independence - and the desire for reassurance and support from the ones who love her most.  That's our little girl - strong and confident on the outside, sensitive at the core.

The sadness that has accompanied these past few weeks has caught me by surprise.  I am not fearful of what Anna will experience or how she will do.  I know in my heart her kindergarten experience will be amazing, and she will likely LOVE school.  I am, however, sad that 6 years have passed by so quickly.  For 6 years Anna and I have been home together.  I have learned about motherhood both with and from her - from the highest highs to the lowest lows.  She has provided the running commentary to my day-to-day activities and I have had the privilege to witness first-hand all of her experiences.  Her "firsts" have been mine too.

So, here we are at the beginning of a brand new adventure.  The next chapter.  I don't know what this year will bring but I do anticipate great things.  It's a joy to see our little Anna blossom into a self-confident, joyful, caring, intelligent little girl...we couldn't be more proud!  And I can't wait to hear about her very first day!

Emmett took this picture!!

3 new kindergarteners!

Look at this HUGE bus stop!!!!

She made it to school - still smiling!

summer's last hurrah!

It's hard to believe the summer is already over.  In just 2 days Anna will start Kindergarten - a topic that stirs up so many emotions I can't yet capture it on paper.  Perhaps later this week I will try to tackle that one if I can do it without too many tears.  This summer has been full of fun times - at home, at the cabin, with friends, with family, swimming, tubing, boating, celebrating, staying up late, campfires, camp Oshkosh and so many things we will treasure in the cooler months to come.

To round out what has been one of my favorite summers ever, we celebrated with a weekend at the lake with some of our good friends and their children.  It was a fantastic way to say goodbye to summer and to transition into the school year.  Despite not seeing one another very often this summer, the kids all got along fabulously and had a great time tubing, swimming, playing, swinging and more.  It was so fun to see them laughing together and to look back on the past 6 years and reflect on how much has changed with us as friends, parents and with each of the kids during that time.  It feels like just yesterday that Anna and Tyler were getting together for weekly playdates - before they could even crawl or walk or talk.  This week both of them venture off to start their elementary school chapter.  Dangerously close to the verge of tears again, I'll stop there.

Instead here are a few pictures!