First Day of School.

Well we have all survived the morning so far.  And I haven't gotten any calls from school.  So that's a relief.

Emma got up at 6:30, as promised and immediately got dressed and got her breakfast.  Funny, though, that we still left later than planned...

Here's Kate on her very first day of Kindergarten!  Doesn't she look so amazingly adorable?  I am jealous of her outfit.  I want it in my size.  She was so excited and so ready for this day.  I thought I was too...

if you notice, being in pregnant mind mode, totally put the wrong date on the chalk board.  So annoyed with myself!!
So I had to fix it with photoshop.  Horrible attempt but oh well...

 Emma is now in 1st grade!  She is gone all day now.  That's what is weird!  I won't see her until 3 pm?!  Will life go on?  ;)  Like I said, she was ready to go when summer went out.

 Super excited about her Angry Bird backpack...seriously who is this girl?!  lol

Here's Kate lining up for her class.

Right after taking this picture, I grabbed her backpack from the wall and gave it to her...and it hit me.  I just started bawling.  Luckily I had glasses on so it probably wasn't too noticeable.  But seriously it hit me like a smack in the face.  This stinkin' hormones are going crazy these days.

 I went back over to check on Emma.  I have to juggle the 2 of them in the morning and they are on opposite sides of the school!  As I watched her sit down and be friendly to her partner, I knew she would be fine.  My only fears are those of adjusting when things don't go her way.  She still has a hard time being adaptable.  But she has seriously come A LONG way.  Seriously proud of her.

She was so excited to have her OWN desk.

Little Luke is becoming not so little anymore.  This kid hit a major growth spurt this summer.  No more 3T for him!  And he is getting more verbal too.  I love this guy.  He is so stinkin' cute.

the night before...

The house is quiet and it's just me tonight.  Joe is over in Seattle with his boss until tomorrow night.
Being alone & tackling the big "First day of School" is kind of tough.  I'm trying to stay calm to not frazzle the girls but my nerves are getting to me.  Emma asked me to make her a head band to match her outfit.  So my mind is going a million miles an hour to prepare for the day tomorrow.
Emma has also informed me to wants to wake up at 6:30 so to be ready in time to be at school to have the cookies & juice the PTO will be giving away to everyone.  Problem is it's past 11 and I still can't relax and go to bed!
It will be weird, in a good way, to have both girls going to school.  It will just be Luke and I for a few months.  And at least Kate will be back at 11:30 every day.  I have the "blessing" of taking a long time to adjust to new situations.  I thought I was prepared for it but my nerves are telling me otherwise.
So I have their clothes laid out, headband finished, Emma's lunch organized and now to clean the kitchen.

Let's see how tomorrow goes...

Kate needs no Training Wheels.

Kate keeps on keeping on.  With anything she does.  She seems to just figure it out and do it.  I've had a feeling for a few months that Kate was ready to take off her training wheels and so one night, we gave it a shot.  She immediately caught on and hasn't looked back since.

"Popping" Good Year Teacher Gift

For the girl's teachers this year, I wanted something fun but also something they could use.  I also didn't want to break the bank with these gifts so I tried to make it simple.

 So I found these popcorn bins at the dollar spot at Target.  :)

I filled it with the following:  I read on most places that teachers want/need school supplies, I put in a few things like that for them...

Then I wrapped them up and made a tag via Photoshop for their popcorn cups.  I am totally cheesy but that's okay.  That's the fun of gift-giving, right?!

And anyone interested in using this label/tag, I have a blank tag you can download HERE!  Everyone have a great school year!!

swimming lessons.

Right when we got home from Utah, we got the girls into swimming lessons.  We've done 3 sessions total.  The first & second sessions, Emma and Kate were in the same class.  This past session, that just started the past Monday, little Kate passed up her big sister and progressed to Goldfish.  Emma opted to do Seahorse again when she found out a friend from Kindergarten was in her class.

Kate seemed to have been born to swim.  She's already swimming, with no help.  She's already made up her own type of swimming, like the robot swim, dolphin swim and mermaid swim.  She has no fear of the water. Yesterday, she jumped off the diving board without a life jacket and without a life guard below in the water to catch her.  She just jumped off and then swam back to the side without even going up to the surface.
Imagine my fear, watching from the far side, waiting for a head to pop up...and it never did.  I was about to run over there when I finally saw Kate popping her head out over by the side of the pool.  She's fearless!

Miss Emma has progressed SO MUCH this summer.  She's still very cautious in the water.  But this summer, she has gotten over her fear of jumping off the side in the deep end and going underwater.  She can even swim just fine if she's underwater.  It's the part where she is swimming above water that gets her.  She tends to keep in right leg down on the floor.  So now it's just getting her comfortable in the deep end.  She's had wonderful teachers this summer too who seem to understand her fears and help her feel safe.

When I took these, they were in the same class during the 2nd session.

Weeding.

When Joe starts weeding, the kids run out, grab some gloves and join him.  I think it's become a tradition for them and sort of a bonding experience for them.
Some of them help the whole time while other help for a few minutes then lose interest.  And that's okay.  As long as they see mom & dad working hard and helping out, it sets a good example, right?