Today I'm thankful for...

1. Reading stories in bed with Sydney before afternoon "quiet time" while Lillian is at school.  Sometimes we read in Lilly's bed because it's so cool to use your big sister's stuff when she's not home.  Shhh, don't tell!  :)  Recently, Sydney has started to lick her pointer finger before turning the pages of the book we're reading.  It's so cute because it's such a grown-up thing for a little girl to do.

2. How happy and smiley Liam is first thing in the morning.  He usually makes it into my bed some time during the night, so when he wakes up at 7:30 he's right next to me.  He always has a big smile on his face like he's excited that it's a new day, and he looks thrilled to see me.  It's such a wonderful and refreshing way to wake up.

3. Waving goodbye to Lillian on the school bus.  Sydney and I always wait on the sidewalk after Lillian gets on the bus so we can wave as she drives away.  The bus's windows are so tinted that sometimes I can't see her at all, so I'm just waving and smiling blindly, hoping that Lillian can see me. Today, however, I could clearly spot Lillian sitting in the middle of the bus and we were able to make eye contact.  She waved enthusiastically with her face up against the window until we couldn't see her anymore.  I waved back, just as excited as she was.  The image of the big smile on her face, and the way she turned around in her seat so she could see us and wave to us longer is engraved into my mind.  It made my heart leap for joy.  I know she'll probably outgrow it some day, but I will thoroughly enjoy it while it lasts.

4. Banana bread.  My lovely neighbor baked some today and brought some over for us.  It's delicious!

Quickie

This has to be fast.

Today I'm thankful for (not in any particular order)...

1. The Prophet and his apostles.  They are inspired to say the most amazing things.  These two talks from President Monson and President Uchtdorf are like the guide posts of my life that I strive to live by.

President Monson

President Uchtdorf

2. Uncle Paul.

Camo from Uncle Paul and standing at attention.  

Or just goofing off.

3. Sidewalk chalk flags.

4. Apple Picking.

And pumpkin patch-ing.

5. Sydney's first day of preschool! (she picked out the Cinderella folder all by herself at the store).

6. Making Chicago-style pizza.  Mmmmm!

6. Stethoscopes.  And baby drool.  It looks good on him, don't you think? ;-)

Kindergarten, here we come!

The big moment has come- I have a kid in kindergarten!

I remember riding the school bus for the first time with my mom during kindergarten orientation twenty-four years ago.  The bus seemed big and dark and I felt a little wary about the whole process at first.  Having my mom there helped me feel so much better.

Yesterday I got to sit in my mom's shoes and I rode the bus to school with Lillian for the first time!  She was an excited and brave little girl.  She held my hand and I held hers- I don't know who was more nervous.  :)

Waiting at the bus stop

Still waiting for the bus

On the bus!

We walked into the elementary school for the first time together, hand-in-hand.  It's a beautiful school and her kindergarten class looks awesome.  There were number charts, growth charts, job charts, sign-language posters, blocks, art supplies, books upon books, toys, alphabets, numbers, an alphabet rug (no kindergarten class is complete without one, I think), little desks with little chairs, cubbies for backpacks and school supplies, and a kindergartener-sized bathroom.  Her teacher seems really nice and is highly recommended by one of my neighbors whose four daughters all had Lillian's teacher in kindergarten.  When it was time to leave to get back on the bus to go home Lillian said she wished she could stay in her classroom longer!

First story time on the rug.  When the teacher told the kids that they were getting caterpillars  next week that would turn into Monarch butterflies, Lillian's hand shot up and she said, "Monarch butterflies fly to Mexico!"  She either learned that in preschool last year or from watching Diego- sadly, I think it's the latter.  At least she's paying attention. :)

Today was the BIG day.

Lillian toted her loaded backpack to the bus stop and got on the bus like a champ.  We signed "I love you" and blew kisses through the window.

My little trio waiting at the bus stop.

Here comes the bus down the street!!

Oh my goodness, she's on the bus going to kindergarten!!

Just as I was starting to feel a little forlorn about my little girl riding away from me on a big yellow bus, Sydney suddenly burst into tears and said, "I wanted Lillian to stay home!  I forgot to tell her something!!"  As I held her and wiped away her tears, she told me that she wanted to tell Lillian about going to the park.  I promised her that she could tell Lillian as soon as she got home.  Then we spent the afternoon at the grocery store getting Sydney's birthday cereal, dinner ingredients, and cake-making supplies.  I can't believe she'll be three on Monday!!

Helpful little shoppers

Syd kicks back with her ring pop- a bribe treat for being good in the grocery store

Lillian requested that I be waiting on the right side of the road on her way home so she could see me through the window and know when to get off the bus.  I didn't want to miss it, so we got to the bus stop early and waited 20 minutes for her arrival.  As soon as the bus rolled up I saw her smiling and waving through the window.  She bounded down the bus steps and gave me a big hug.  It was awesome!

She made it!

Lillian said she had a fun day and that she's excited about going back tomorrow.  I'm so happy that she had a good first day.  I'm grateful that I am able to be here to be part of these experiences in Lillian's life, and I'm so grateful to be living in this area with access to wonderful schools.  It's going to be a good year. :)

My Little Water Bugs

It poured this morning, then it got hot and gross and humid in the afternoon.  It was a perfect day for swimming and we were lucky enough to have a friend bring us as her guests to the community pool.  Lillian, Sydney and Liam had a blast.  The girls couldn't get enough of the big, twisty water slide and I had lots of fun catching them in the pool when they shot off the end at the bottom.  Liam loved the kiddy wading pool and he even took a few dunks under the water, too- we're practicing to get him acclimated to the water.  He LOVES it!  It was a really fun afternoon!

Lillian sported the goggles the whole time and now she wants her own pair!

Syd was such a brave girl!

Lilly with her friends A and M.  They are such sweet girls- I'm so glad they're friends!

Sydney with her friend L.  They played together all afternoon and at the end of the day L's big sister said, "They could get married!" :)

My little pool stud.  He's SO happy in the water!

Today I'm thankful for...

1. Play dates.  Lillian was invited to play at her friend E's house.  She met E in her preschool class last year and they are totally BFF's.  Their friend K was there, too, so it was three times the charm.  Lillian was SO excited about her play date all week long that she told EVERYONE she met about it.  I think the whole neighborhood knew about her play date today.  Shortly after I dropped her off I got this text.  Princesses, indeed!  Thanks, E and K for making Lillian's day awesome!

Princesses!

 2. Close calls.  We've been lucky the last couple of days- Sydney and Liam in particular.  Sydney's little tricycle is on the porch.  The porch is two steps up from the yard, sidewalk, and little garden bed below.  She was riding her bike around the porch while I was inside when I suddenly heard her crying.  When I went out to investigate, I saw Syd's legs sticking up in the air over the side of the porch!  She had accidentally driven off the edge, right into the flower bed.  She escaped the accident with only a little scrape on her arm and a bruise on her leg.  She got pretty lucky in more ways than one- she narrowly missed falling down the hard cement steps and she landed in a way that didn't cause too much trauma like knocked out teeth, banged up head, or broken bones.  Now she is a very cautious tricycle rider.

This morning Liam almost took a nose-dive off the bed onto the hardwood floor.  He was laying on his back wedged between two pillows while I was in the bathroom getting his bottle ready.  Bobby was brushing his teeth and I was letting the water run, waiting for it to warm up.  Bobby gave me his two cents and said he never waits for the water to get warm, he just serves up a cold bottle to Liam and he still guzzles it down.  I was slightly annoyed by him sharing his opinion on a matter that I felt quite experienced with.  However, I was getting impatient and tired (it was 5:00 in the morning), so I just mixed up a cold bottle and headed back into the bedroom.  I saw one pillow shoved to the side and Liam scooching on his belly at the edge of the bed, with his head peeking over the side about to careen down to his doom!  I did an Olympic leap across the room and grabbed him before he toppled over the side.  That's the last time I trust him to stay put on the bed...and he'll probably never get a warm bottle that early in the morning again, it's just too risky.

3. NO cavities!  Lillian had a check-up at the dentist this morning, and for the first time since she started seeing the dentist, she didn't have any cavities!  Wahoo!  All the brushing, flossing, and fluoride is FINALLY paying off!!  Here's my proud girl (and a proud mama behind the camera):

Lilly's holding "Mama Fox" that she got from Ikea for her birthday.  It was Mama Fox's first trip to the dentist, and Lillian helped her not to feel afraid.  I have a sneaky suspicion that Mama Fox helped Lillian not feel afraid, either. :)

4. Birthday money.  Bobby's mom sent Sydney a birthday card this week with a very generous monetary gift tucked inside.  While Lilly was at her play date, Syd and I hit the toy section at Target to spend some of her money.  She calls it her "happy money"...I think she means "happy birthday money", she just forgets the birthday part.  But, heck, it is HAPPY money! :)  She made a b-line for the little shopping cart as soon as she set her eyes on it and her opinion could not be swayed against it.  She pushed it around the store next to my big cart for the rest of the trip.  She couldn't wait to get home to use it.  She's already been on quite a good number of shopping trips.  Our cupboards will be well-stocked.

 

5. Liam's grabby hands.  He tries to grab everything around him- my keys, my dinner plate, my hair, my nose, my phone, the girls' shirts (and their hair), my shopping list...  As soon as he gets whatever he's reaching for into his little hands, he sticks in straight in his mouth and drools all over it.  Today he tried to grab my camera.  But I was too fast!

6. Boys in a princess tent.  Sydney and Lillian convinced the boys across the street to play in their pink princess tent.  They didn't seem to mind the various shades of pink all around them.  They were fascinated with opening and closing the flap on the door and leaning against the sides so the whole tent tipped over- very boy-ish behavior.  The princesses of the castle put the rowdy boys in order.  Our next door neighbor said he would have to hire knights to guard the castle. :)

7. Bobby's forgetfulness.  He forgot to bring his change of clothes with him this morning.  He had to go right from the hospital to a meeting at a fancy-shmancy restaurant in the city.  So I got to meet him by the Art Museum to hand off his clothes to him.  We got to see him for a few minutes, which was nice, especially for the kids since they were all asleep before he got home.  On Monday night we got a lucky visit from him, too.  He was on call, so he checked with the ER before leaving to make sure there weren't any pending cases that would call him back to the hospital.  It's a 45 minute drive and he would rather stay and wait to take care of something than make it all the way home only to have to turn right back around.  The ER said there was nothing so he came home.  Right before he walked in the door his beeper went off for 2 cases in the ER that needed his attention- clearly no one had actually checked in the ER to see if there was anything that could call him back.  He was quite annoyed about it, but we both were happy for the chance to see each other before he had to go back.  He had time to eat some dinner in the bathroom while I gave the kids baths, help with pj's, and do family home evening with us.  Since it's a long drive there and it was already getting late and he had to be there at 5:30 the next morning, he decided to stay the night at the hospital.  Even though he was gone the rest of the night, I'm grateful that he got to see the kiddies before they went to bed and that we were able to spend some time together as a family.

8. The mouse in our kitchen.  There is a brave little mouse running around in the kitchen.  And the dining room.  And maybe (probably) elsewhere throughout the house.  We want to catch it and dispose of it (sorry animal lovers), but tonight its appearance was helpful.  Bobby has to stay up to study and prepare a presentation for tomorrow.  He was starting to fall asleep at the table when the little rodent ran out.  The wild goose (er, mouse) chase that ensued was enough to thoroughly wake him up.  The little sucker escaped, so the chase is still on.  I will be making a trip to Lowe's tomorrow to buy some big sticky traps (again, sorry animal lovers).