Sounds Game

Eric was invited to a Sounds game by an engineering company so we were treated to a fun night on Friday. We had a nice dinner of bbq, hot dogs and ice cream. They also gave each person a voucher to choose something from the gift shop for $10 or less! That was a fun treat. Grace, of course, was very excited about "getting something". Lyla picked out the hat that you see in the pictures. Grace got a Sounds tank top that she is actually using as a night gown. We stayed the whole time so we could see the great fireworks at the end of the game.

What was I thinking???

Since I started keeping Reesi this week we have been a little bored without Joni around to go places together. Our girls love to paint though and always beg to do this. I got the bright idea that painting outside would be easier because I wouldn't worry about the mess being made. Well, that's not quite how it was! I told them they could paint Eric's compost box and the bird bath. I stripped them down to their underwear and knew that the underwear would just go in the trash. Easy, right? It wasn't too bad for the first 5 minutes. Then guess who decided to get crazy with the paint? Lyla, of course! She was more interested in painting her entire body. Then Grace followed her lead. It was ok for a minute but then I started to worry about her whole body covered in dry paint. So, I sent them to their little kiddie pool. I rubbed them down in the pool and consequently turned the pool water a creamy yellow. Then they went back to painting. But, all this while, little Reesi was hard and methodically at work painting each board a specific color. She had a plan. When you throw Lyla into a situation, all plans fly out the window! So when Lyla came back from her pool bath, she immediately grabbed a brush and started painting...right over Reesi's work! Not good! Reesi got very mad at Lyla, so Lyla got very mad right back at her and tried to quickly paint over more of Reesi's work. I grabbed Lyla and carried her away kicking and screaming. During this situation, Grace had started painting the bird bath. After Lyla settled down, she moved her efforts to the bird bath and did the exact same thing to Grace's painting of the bird bath that she did to Reesi's painting. Again, big fight! I grabbed a small bird house for Lyla to paint all on her own. That was satisfactory for her. Whew! Everybody resumed painting their OWN project. By this time I was sweaty, frustrated and had green paint on my white shorts. Not happy. What was I thinking wearing good clothes for painting? I was trying to think about the girls, not me. They all still ended up with paint all over them because when they would rinse their brush in the water bucket they would sling the brush as hard as they could to get the water out of it and colored water would fly everywhere. Thank goodness this was at the end of the afternoon because I just let them keep going until Joni got there. Then we carried them to the bathtubs for cleaning. A couple of them still have paint in their hair today. What was I thinking?

One funny thing that was said during all of this...The girls were talking among themselves about how great their work was and how hard they were working to make the yard "beautiful". They were saying that it was so beautiful that "they" (whoever "they" are) would surely put them on TV because they were so talented. Reesi said, "They're going to say, 'Those girls are talent'". They repeated that phrase about 3 times. It was so funny because they were totally serious. Grace said she was going to call the TV people to tell them to come see their painting. Sometimes I wish I could memorize what they say on the spot to write down later. The way they phrase things is what makes their conversations so funny.

Sweet Cousins

Grace and Reesi were sitting on this swing facing each other this morning. I kept watching them from out the kitchen window. They were just sitting there talking. They weren't even swinging. It just seemed like such a grown-up thing to do for them. I tried to catch them in this moment but as soon as I walked out they hopped up and starting talking to me. I tried to get them to sit back down and recreate the scene. I did finally get them back on the swing but then just as I snapped the picture Grace leaned forward and gave Reesi a kiss. Cute!

The 1st Day of Kindergarten!!!!

Grace...before school on the first day.

This is a picture that is painted on the wall in the foyer of the elementary school. They are the Hunter's Bend Hounddogs. So Grace is standing by the hound dog!This is Grace's teacher, Mrs. Heim. She seems GREAT!

It finally came! The first day of kindergarten. It seemed to take forever because Williamson county actually started last Monday! Grace's school starts the kindergarten classes on a staggered starting schedule. So today was her first day and it was only a partial day. She'll go again on Thursday and Friday. Next Monday she starts a full day! She actually kept telling me that today wasn't the real kindergarten because it was only a half day and she wasn't riding the bus. She is dead set on riding the bus so she was dissappointed when I explained that I had to take her and pick her up during the first week. She didn't want to acknowledge that as the real kindergarten.

Anyway, she couldn't be more ready to start. She was so excited! I (along with Lyla and Reesi) took her in and they had everyone go to the cafeteria. Then they called us by classes to follow the teacher to the classroom. When we got to the classroom she checked us in and took lunch money from each parent. It actually took about 20 minutes for all of this to happen. During all of this, each time something would happen Grace would try to give me a hug and kiss goodbye. I kept having to tell her it wasn't time for me to go yet. She was ready for me to go and her "real kindergarten" to finally start! They also asked that all of the kindergarten kids buy their lunch in the cafeteria during this first week so they could learn the lunch line routine. She thought it was really neat to get to use the tray to eat on. She had a chicken patty sandwich and pears with chocolate milk. They asked for moms to come at lunchtime to help the kids figure out the lunch line too. I wanted to go really badly. I considered doing it for a while. But I would have had Lyla and Reesi with me. I finally decided that I would have brought more chaos than help so I missed my first opportunity to help with the class.

I'm actually really excited about helping in the classroom and at the school. I am going to be a co-room mom with two other moms. We all decided to take on the responsibility of room mom together so the work wouldn't all fall on one person. I'm excited. Tonight was parent orientation too. Something about all of this is so exciting to me. Ms. Heim, Grace's teacher, seems so great. She's so friendly and warm and seems to really know what she's doing. She talked about the reading curriculum and their routines and ways for the parents to help at home. She said she will send a book home with each child each day for us to read with them. It will go back and forth between home and school for a few days in a row. The parents will read it with the child each day and she will read it with each child, individually, each day as well. She said she sits them in her lap (if they want to sit in her lap) in her rocking chair, individually, each day to go through their specific reading book. I just thought that was so special, that she sits them in her lap.

Grace said she made two new friends in her class today, Hannah and Emma. Hannah's mom introduced herself to me at the meeting tonight and said Hannah talked about Grace all afternoon and wants to have a play date with her soon. Hannah and her family just moved here from Alabama. Hannah is the youngest of 5 kids!!! Emma will be on Grace's soccer team this fall too. Soccer practice starts next week!

So how did I make it through this first day of kindergarten? I was more excited for her than anything. I have been sad for the last few weeks though, even a little depressed about it. Today I felt a little emotional as we were walking into the school and a little as we were walking out, but no tears. As you know, I'm not much of a crier. The tears will come out later when I'm totally stressed about something totally unrelated and ridiculous and I have a big meltdown over nothing! I did feel emotional when we picked her up at the end of the day today too. She's just so big now! I'm sure having two other kids with me during all of this really keeps any emotions from really getting the best of me too!

I'm just so excited for Grace because she is so excited. She couldn't be more ready for this new chapter of her life. I more nervous and scared for her than she is. She was telling Reesi about her new teacher this morning before she had even met her. I showed Grace a picture of her on the internet and she was telling Reesi how nice and pretty and fun she was going to be.

One more little note...Grace NEVER wears jeans, but, she picked out these jeans in the store and that is what she wanted to wear on her first day of school! How funny! She hasn't worn jeans since she was 18 months old and didn't have an opinion. She seems to like these jeans though! I just thought that was really funny. She did say they were too hot on the playground though. We'll see how long the jeans-thing will last. :)

Lyla and Reesi's 1st day alone

This year I am babysitting Reesi for Joni during the school year. Reesi will go to preschool 3 days a week at Harpeth Hills and then she'll be with me the other 2 days of the week, and in the mornings and afternoons of preschool days. I thought this would work well since Grace will be in school all of the time because Lyla would have someone to play with. So today was the first day when Grace was at school and Reesi and Lyla would be alone together. After we dropped Grace off at school we went to the playground and they jumped right into their pretend play together. The picture below is of them digging for treasure. I think they were pirates. The playground adventure ended quickly when Reesi tripped and scraped her shin on the landscaping timbers. If you know Reesi, you know she's not much on pain. We had to rush, ambulance style, back to the house for an ice pack. Lyla made me wait in the garage while SHE took care of Reesi. She was being very sweet. Once Reesi was better they went upstairs to the playroom and I didn't hear from them again for almost an hour! I kept waiting for Reesi to start crying because Lyla did something "on purpose" but it never happened. I was afraid to go check on them. I didn't want to interupt their play and jinx it in any way. I did end up sneaking up to snap a couple of pictures. They were playing very nicely together. When they came downstairs they wanted to paint. I convinced them to make cupcakes as a surprise for Grace for her first day of kindergarten. They did great. They took turns and everything. Lyla had to be done when she starting rubbing the cake batter all over her arms like it was the best smelling lotion at Bed Bath and Beyond! She was promptly put on dish washing duty at that point! So, here are the pictures of our first day with Reesi and without Grace.

Grace...my baby isn't such a baby anymore

Grace will start "the real kindergarten", as she calls it, next week. I've been getting a little sad over the end of this season of our lives. Even though I teach preschool twice a week and Grace has gone 3 times a week for a couple years now, we always had Mondays and Fridays free. We could sleep in, stay home, go to the park....whatever! If we want to leave town on Thursday, no big deal. Stay away until Monday, sure! Not anymore. Plus, preschool is a little more laid back then the real kindergarten. If she's tired, keep her home, if we're a little late, no problem. But now our daily lives will change forever. We'll be up earlier every day of the week! That's big for me! She's going to be on a soccer team this fall for the first time too. So we'll have practices and Saturday games. School and HER activities will forever rule our lives from here on out. So I'm mourning the loss of our little baby who would just go where we were going and do what we wanted to do. Plus, it's sad to see her so grown up. That innocence is about to be lost. She'll be changed forever by people and kids that I won't see! At preschool I was there! I knew the kids and the teachers personally. Kindergarten will be so different. It's weird to think about how much she will be away from me. I worry about her being able to open your yogurt cup on her own, knowing how to buy her lunch in the cafeteria, knowing where the bathroom is, being able to tie her shoes, being made fun of by another kid, not knowing the answer to a question, not having a friend to sit by at lunch or play with on the playground. It's hard to give up that control you have over them when they're with you ALL the time.

I do know that she's ready though. She's excited and looking forward to this new adventure. She's eager to learn and I don't think she would let me teach her! I know she's smart and will do her best.

It's still hard to say goodbye to that sweet baby that I didn't think would ever sleep through the night. I interviewed her tonight before she went to bed. I tried to think of anything I wanted to remember about her or things that I wanted to know her opinion on. Here are the answers. I typed her answers word for word.

Grace's favorite things:
Food - quiche

Color - pink

Place to go - Mimi and Papoo's farm and Grandma and Papaw's house

Person to play with - Mommy (that's not true, she always wants someone to play with)

Dinner - quiche and chicken noodle soup

Lunch - peanut butter and honey sandwich

Drink - apple juice and plain milk (I really know it's hot chocolate, not plain milk)

Toy - Littlest Pet Shop and Lucas (a purple teddy bear)

Thing to do outside - monkey bars and swing

Thing to do in summer - swim

Cartoon - Clifford, Calliou, and Berenstain Bears

Random Questions

How old are you? 5

How old is Mommy? 50

How old is Daddy? 100

How old is Mimi? 50

How old is Papoo? 50

How old is Grandma? 30 hundred

How old is Papaw? 60

Who is the president of the United States? I don't know. Who is it?

How much does a house cost? 50 hundred

What do you think about God? He's wonderful.

What do you think He's doing right now? Praising us.

What do you think heaven is like? The most wonderfullest place I ever saw.

What color is your hair? blondish brownish black

What will you do in kindergarten? If Anna DeFranco is in my class I'll play with her and I'll meet some new friends.

What will you learn? Things I've never discovered.

What will you miss about preschool? my friends and teachers

What do you think Mommy does all day? work and clean up

What do you think Daddy does all day? go to work...works on his computer

Is Mommy a good cook? Yes, the wonderfullest!

What will you be when you grow up? An ice skater and a horse trainer?

Have you ever seen an ice skater? No

Have you ever seen a horse trainer? No

What do you think Lyla will be when she grows up? She wants to be a dog or a dad.

Why do you love going to Mimi and Papoo's farm? They have lots of good things. They have Sophie and we got used to her now.

Why do you love going to Grandma and Papaw's house? They have their big swimming pool.

Tell me something about yourself. I'm excited about kindergarten.....I will always love you and if I ever say I hate you or I don't like you or you're stupid I will still love you.

Not a morning person

Lyla is not a morning person! When she wakes up she doesn't want to talk to anyone! She remains silent for about an hour or so. Usually, she just wants to sit on the couch with hot chocolate and a blanket to watch cartoons. But yesterday morning she came downstairs and found Reesi's blanket and a sunny spot on the floor to hideout in for a while. I got a couple of pictures to show what she's like in the mornings. She has developed this habit of not talking when she first wakes up, gets mad, is upset or hurt or anything else. She won't respond to you and just gives you a death stare. It's very annoying! I try to just ignore it and not make it a big deal, thinking she'll stop this eventually if we don't give it too much attention. That plan hasn't worked yet.