Anna's car

The weather was fantastic Saturday.  We spent most of our day outside at the park and on the driveway with all our outdoor toys. 

Anna absolutely loves to be in the thick of the action when William and Adeline are around.  She cannot get enough of her siblings.  They don't have to do anything specific except just be in the room.  Anna locks her eyes on their every move and delights in their high energy.  The quietest whisper of their voices and Anna is wide eyed and sitting up frantically looking for William and Adeline. She screams when they scream.  She smiles and laughs when they giggle.  She babbles at them as they carry on conversations and play together.  She crawls as fast as they run.  Anna simply sings to their souls. 

While out on the driveway, Anna wanted to leap out of my arms and onto the "big kid" toys that her siblings were playing on.  She wasn't the slightest bit satisfied sitting in the stroller and watching the action.  She needed to be IN it.  I noticed William's push car in the corner of the garage, so I strapped Anna in the seat and took her for a spin. 

She was in heaven.  If she knew to fight back, she would have never let me end the ride.  Oh how she giggled and laughed and beamed in pure satisfaction.  She was driving her own car just like her sister.  William rode circles around her on his bike and Anna just thought he was Mr. Cool. 

It is so fun to watch my kids play together and interact.  They truly enjoy each other's company and I am so grateful.  Yes there are fights, but the good times far out weight the milliseconds of bickering.  William and Adeline make up games together and have more fun acting out scenarios.  That day on the driveway, they pretended to be gas station workers, rode in a parade and drove to Colorado to visit Horn Creek.  Lots of pretending!!!

WILLIAM TACKLES FIRST GRADE

First day of First Grade and William rocked it!

This kid was fired up and ready to take on the world Wednesday morning.  Since 4 year old preschool, I have asked William the same two questions every morning on his way out the door.  It is my prayer that he is confident with who he is, that he treats others with kindness, that he understands mistakes teach life lessons, and most importantly, that he knows without a doubt that we are proud of him. 

So by asking the questions and hearing the same answers come out of his mouth every time, I hope that he leaves the house on a positive note and ready to tackle the day.

The first day of First Grade began with a wide eyed smile and a mighty voice chanting his answers as he raced out the door.

What are your three bests?

"Responsible, Respectful, and a Good Person!"

What is William Barron's number one best?

"SMART! SMART! SMART!" and he shouted that one with his arms in the air as he climbed into the car with Dada. 

Then I watched my First Grader take off in that big ol' backpack that now fits perfectly on his shoulders.....the same ol' backpack that dwarfed him in preschool.  Growing up and now a "GRADER!"

Happy school days William!  We are so proud of you.

Meet the Teacher

Last Tuesday was Meet the Teacher day at Holland Hall.  William's teacher. Mrs. McFadden, was not there because she was taking her daughter to college.  However, her assistant, Ms. Synar was there.

William was super excited to go back to school and see the First Grade room.  He was just SURE there would be so many differences now that he was a "Grader."  First off, he was pleased to see his very own desk with a name tag.  He introduced himself to Mrs. Synar and told her about his two trips to Colorado this summer.  He proudly introduced his sisters and asked Mrs. Synar if he could try out the Smart board and dry erase boards.  I could tell he was very excited!

After an hour, we wrapped things up and headed home.  I struck out completely on babysitters so I had no choice but to take the girls with me on this important day.  I held my breath and packed a lot of snacks, toys and gear.  I talked with Adeline about William's special day with his teacher and how she needed to play quietly and wait her turn while William and I saw his classroom.  I wasn't sure if anything I said made a bit of sense to her, but low and behold, Adeline and Anna were perfect.  They never made a peep and Adeline played with her doll the entire hour we were there.

 

"Momma, you are my best friend"

There are those tiny little moments that you least expect.  The ones that surprise you and sweep you off your feet.  The moments that make you stop and relish BEING IN THE MOMENT.  Those snapshot memories that you cannot replace.  You cannot get them back.  Yet in that tiniest of a moment, you wish with every ounce of your being that YOU JUST DON'T FORGET THAT VERY MOMENT.  EVER.

I had one of those the other day.  I mean, I have had moments like I described above several times during my life.  But this one in particular just made my heart sing and filled my body with complete joy. 

The other day I was busy cleaning up the kitchen.  I was down on my knees wiping up a day's worth of crumbs from under the table.  I hadn't showered in 24 hours, my "to do" list clouded my mind, my shirt was covered in wet Graham cracker and I had just rewashed the dishes in the dishwasher just so I didn't have to empty it.......

And then I heard a tiny little voice behind me.

"Momma, hold you? plllleeease"

I turned around and my Adeline was standing there just looking at me.  She was holding her dolly and her pahee. 

I was so preoccupiedd and worn out.  But I heard that little voice and I don't ignore it.

"Of course I will hold you Adeline," I said.  And I scooped her up on my hip like I always do.

Without a second of hesitation, Adeline wrapped her hands around my neck as tight as she could.  And then she buried her pigtails in my neck and leaned towards my ear.

"You are my best friend Momma."  And then she laid her head on my shoulder.

THAT MOMENT.  It's one in a million.

In THAT MOMENT my day stood still and my fog lifted. 

I won't ever forget it.

William got Mrs. McFadden for First Grade!

William has been waiting at the front door every day for the last week for the mailman to bring his Holland Hall teacher mail.  It's the letter that tells each child who their teacher is for the upcoming year.  This year, William got Mrs. McFadden.  He seemed very excited and satisfied.  However, I don't think he really knows who she is!  Mrs. Rain's, his Kindergarten teacher, placed William in Mrs. McFadden's class, so I have no doubt that William is in the right place.  He loved Mrs. Rain's dearly and I know she would do everything she could to make sure William has a fantastic 1st grade year.  So here we go!  Mrs. McFadden- we are excited!

Monday was the back to school party at Holland Hall.  First graders got to play on the water slides from 12-12:45.  There was a sno cone truck, popcorn and Holland Hall t-shirts available for the kids.  It was just a time for everyone to reunite and catch up from the summer.  Halfway into the party it started raining.  We had to cut it short, but after 12 runs down the water slide, William was ok leaving when the rain rolled in.

Here's to First Grade! 

a moment snapped

This pic was taken while the trio was busy making dinner in the play kitchen.  William was whipping up a kid's meal while Adeline was performing ballet moves.....topless.  Just seconds before I took this pic, I wrangled a wooden knife out of Anna Baby's mouth. 

Tis just a snapshot of our life.  

WBB Just Talkin' age 6.5 years

Me:  "so you think you will still be a pilot or work in the control tower?"

W: "well, I will be a pilot for sure but probably just fly myself around.  I would hurt people if I crash but I won't crash if I work in the control tower.   So I can probably do both.  Do you get fired when you are a pilot?

Me: "well you can get fired if you do something very bad or you don't follow the pilot rule book."

W: "do they really shoot you?"

Me: "huh? What?"

W: "do they really shoot you when you get fired? Are there real bullets? I hope they don't really shoot a gun. "

Me: "oh no! It just means you loose your job and you cannot go back to your office."

W:  "oh well that is really bad.  I am looking forward to all those years I  going to relax in my office and draw at my desk!"

---------------------------

Me: "William, are you glad you have sisters?"

W:  "mom, that question is crazy.  I mean, I love my sisters because when God gave me my sister Adeline, I turned into a Big brother and that is a huge deal.  It is very similar to when you had me at the hospital and I made you a mom."