"Where'd it go?"

Julia said her first sentence this morning: "Where'd it go?" As is fitting for her, it was prompted by the absence of her paci ("papi") in her car seat after dropping Etta at school.  As she said it, she put her palms in the air in the cute way she has of indicating that she's totally confused.

The New Wednesday

Julia took time away from her very important work to get a lesson in checking the well water from Popos.  When it was time to pick Norah up for school, everyone took a minute to let her play with Orion and "Huggy Boy" (aka Noah).  I'm not sure how Noah got his nickname, but it doesn't seem that he'll be able to shake it.

Busy, Busy, Busy

#chlorineisthebestsoap

Sadly, the pool is now closed.  We celebrated Labor Day with our last trip to the pool for the season.  We're all going to miss our long, lazy days at the pool.

Pick Up

Nana and Popos do Wednesday afternoon pick up.  Julia helps.

Julia's School

Julia returned to school - if, by school, you mean the Goose.  She and Carter have the run of the place now and were able to enjoy swim lessons as the big kids.  They're all getting too big too fast!

New Kicks

Mariah gave Norah new shoes for the new school year.  She showed them off to her new friends on the second day of school!

Tumbling Fun

Since I was off for Norah's first day, and we had a few hours to kill before picking her up, I accompanied Julia and Etta to tumbling.  Etta was super into her class and did a great job.  Julia has a more sporadic attention span.  Admittedly, she's only 16 month, and the class is for 18 months +.  Still, she's pretty happy to only do what she pleases.

Kindergarten, Here She Comes!

Norah has been so excited for the start of kindergarten, and that didn't change as she headed off to her first day.  She woke up this morning and said: "Mommy, my alarm clock is too loud.  It woke me up this morning."  Poor girl.  Little does she know.  In spite of the rude awakening, she couldn't wait to put on the special first day dress and boots Nana bought her.  Nick and I both took off, so we could walk her to school and listen to the special story her teacher read to the families before we all said goodbye.  While she had a flash of uncertainty, the goodbye was much easier than I expected.  

It probably helped that she had been there just the day before for her kindergarten assessment.  When I asked her about the assessment on the walk home, she said, "Ms. Berard asked me to count to 100, but I didn't feel like it, so I only counted to 12.  Then, she wanted me to tell her the sounds the letters make, but I didn't feel like telling her all of them, so I only told her some."  Heaven help us.  

Preschooler Today, Chef Tomorrow

Our sweet Etta headed to preschool today.  It's not only her first day of school; it's the first day she hasn't been cared for in our home, the Goose, or Kim's home.  Needless to say, it's a big transition.  (Okay, maybe it's a big transition for me.  With very few exceptions, this is my first Monday away from Etta.) She handled it like a pro, though.  Granted she's very familiar with the classroom since it was Norah's three-year-old preschool classroom.  But, the real gift was that they were serving waffles - with syrup! - for breakfast this morning.  She immediately washed her hands, gave us kisses, and climbed up to eat breakfast.  No wonder she wants to be a "restaurant worker" when she grows up!  It was funny to us that she was so excited to eat breakfast at school because Norah didn't eat breakfast there once in her two years.  True to form, to prepare for her first day, Etta spent last night making egg, spinach, and bacon muffins that she could eat for (her first) breakfast this morning.  When we picked her up in the afternoon and asked how her day went, she said, "So!" And she immediately launched into a detailed explanation of the day's culinary adventures.  To make a perfect day even better, an ice cream truck came by the house while I was making dinner, so they all got popsicles.

Blessing of the Backpacks

My two little students brought their backpacks to church today to have them - and their school years - blessed.  They seem ready for this year, but I'm not sure I'm ready to let them go.

First Day Prep

Prepping for Etta's first day of school included nail painting and a lot of swinging.

Back to School Night

It was a big evening as we met Ms. Berard, Norah's kindergarten teacher, toured her classroom and met her classmates.  We even met "the other Norah."  When we explained that they will likely be called "Norah B." and "Norah V.," our Norah said, "Can't they call her Norah B. and just call me Norah?" Norah V. brought cookies to share with her friends and wandered all over the picnic passing out treats.  When we toured the classroom, she quickly found the reading nook and settled down to flip through books.  

Two More Dogs

Thanks to Nana and Popos we are the proud owners of two more dogs: Brown and Spot.  They're American Girl dogs and came with all the accessories: bowls, beds, collars, leashes.  All the girls love playing with the new dogs - even Julia who continues her war with our actual dog.