A Great 1st Day!

 
 
 
 

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I seriously thought I would bust before Daniel got home in anticipation of hearing how his day was. He road the bus this afternoon (since it gets to our house before I could picking him up in the car line). We were excited that his PE teacher, Coach Cooper is his driver. He came bounding down the steps all smiles & said, "I had a GREAT day!". We have gotten lots of details: his favorite part was lunch, the playground was super fun, Ms. Elledge read The Kissing Hand, he helped a little girl in the bus line this afternoon who was scared, he has to learn his lunch/library #, he has a VERY important paper for me, he so hopes he can ride the bus again tomorrow, he got starry eyes & used his manners, he saw Anna Whitley in the hall, a teacher helped him find the amphitheater this morning when he got there, he got lots of rest during nap time, etc. I was especially excited that Ms. Elledge wrote 'Precious' beside the starry eyes in his Huskie Pad. I'm not expecting to see that again, but it sure made this mama happy to see it just one time! Ha! I can hardly believe that my baby just finished his first day of KINDERGARTEN! It doesn't seem possible that he is this big. Lots of prayers were answered today and I am so THANKFUL for a happy, healthy, PRECIOUS little boy who had a great 1st day of kindergarten.

Tears in my Coffee

 
 
 
 

Thanks to my sweet friends, my tears didn't last long this morning. It was great to get together & exchange stories of how our mornings went. Thanks also to the many friends & family who sent messages, texts and cards to check on and encourage me. All of your prayers & well wishes were VERY much appreciated!

Daniel's First Day of Kindergarten

 
 
 
 

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Daniel was up at 5:58 this morning ready to go! He requested pancakes for breakfast & did eat some, but was too excited to completely gorge out like he usually does with pancakes. I didn't even have to ask him to get dressed (wonder how long that will last, because it's usually a battle!). He finished eating & went right to his room to get ready. We got his backpack & lunch packed, took some pictures and it was time to go. Car line went surprisingly very smooth (I've heard some nightmare stories about car line on the 1st day of school). He was all excited about getting there, but did ask several times on the way if those 'big kids', referring to safety patrol, were going to help him get to the amphitheater. I reassured him that they would & he was fine. There were no tears when he got out- from him anyway! And yes, I was the obnoxious mom hanging out the window, snapping pictures & waving bye to him. I saved my breakdown for when we pulled away. Thankfully Laura Ann was in the backseat asking a million questions about the rocks, the playground, who are those kids?, is that lady Daniel's teacher?, and on and on. I had myself pulled together by the time we got back home. Whew! What a morning! Now I can hardly wait until 3:20 to get him off the bus!

"It's Just Life"

 
 
 
Dan had the kids today while I was at the hospital for Sam's surgery & he actually took some pictures!! There may be hope for him after all! Thanks to Nanna & Big Daddy for the back to school surprises! Daniel & Laura Ann were so excited to get them in the mail!
 
It has kind of become a tradition at our house to read The Kissing Hand on the night before school starts. It was fun sharing with Daniel tonight that the first time I ever heard that book was from his principal at Paine Primary, Mrs. Schmitt. She read it to the faculty at our meeting the day before school started one year when I was teaching.

Well, he is set & ready to go, kissing hand and all. He is soooo excited & full of questions about his day tomorrow. He told me while I was bathing him that he is "a little scared". He then asked if he was going to get to ride the bus & when I told him "yes", his fears completely dissolved. Apparently riding the school bus is about the coolest thing E.V.E.R!

Daniel heard me back in the summer talking about having a 'cry' party with my friends when school starts & he asked why I would be crying. I explained that it is not because he is going to school, but because going to school means he is growing up so very fast. We joke a lot about ways to stop him from growing. Since then, he has been teasing me about my 'cry party' & thinks it is very funny. Tonight, he put his hand on my shoulder & said "Mom, I know you love me & you are sad & Gran was sad when you went to school too (she has told him this), but it's just life." Wow Daniel, thanks for the profound advice! Ha! So, through my tears in the morning, I will be remembering that this is just life!!!!

Ramona=Daniel

 
 
Daniel & Laura Ann having a Ramona & Beezus moment
 
 

Ok, so I totally cheated & took Daniel to see the movie, Ramona & Beezus, before reading him the book. It was our last fun outing before he starts to school. He & Laura Ann both LOVED the movie. When we got home I pulled all of my books from the Ramona series out of the attic & we've read the first two chapters of the first book these last two nights. I kept telling Daniel during the whole movie that he reminds me of Ramona. They truly are two of a kind- great imaginations & full of mischief! It was confirmed even further tonight when we read about Ramona's imaginary pet lizard named 'Ralph'. They even pick the same imaginaary friend names! :)

Lunch with Kate

 
(Not a great pic, but the best I could get with my phone!)

Gran & Papa came on Saturday to visit Sam before his surgery & we all met for lunch. Daniel & Laura Ann had fun 'loving' on Kate!

Yard Work

 
 
 

Dan had a great helper over the weekend laying sod in our backyard!

Living It Up!

 
Laura Ann decided to take a nap on her 'float' around the pool this afternoon
 
 
Daniel & William are two of a kind! Daniel has decided lately to take William under his wing and teach him the ways of little boys since he only has a big sister. If 'Batman swords' and water guns are any indication, I'd say he's doing a pretty good job. I also should note that William was already very much on the 'boy' path before Daniel intervened! I think Daniel was thrilled to find someone he could shoot with the water gun that didn't squeal, cry & run away, a.k.a girls!
 
LOVE the goggles!

We lived it up at the Y last week and got in as much swim time as we could manage.

Our last FREE Movie

 
 
 
 

We met friends last Tuesday at the theater for our last free movie of the summer. We had a big group & just happened upon an empty theater & had it mostly to ourselves. We all enjoyed the movie, Kit Kittredge An American Girl, especially the moms. Thanks to the movie, Daniel has been into 'robbers' these last few days!

Meeting Ms. Elledge

 
 
 
 

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We went to Paine tonight to meet Ms. Elledge. We got there a little early & just before a terrible storm complete with thunder & lightening. It was hardly raining when we got out of the car, but was monsooning by the time we got to the front door of the school. The problem was that the front door of the school was locked, so the few families who got there early were stuck under the breeze way (it was raining too hard to go back to our cars by the time we realized the door was locked). We got wet even though we were covered because the wind was blowing so hard. Daniel, of course, loved being outside during the storm, while Laura Ann was terrified. (I should note for all of you nonTrussvillian blog readers that due to the size of the school, there are many various times for meet the teacher in order to accomodate everyone. Apparently there weren't very many tonight & the administration had forgotten to leave the door unlocked!) Anyway, after all of that drama, the AFT director came to the rescue & let us all in. Daniel was in rare form going into his room. He immediately turned around & said, "I LOVE this room!" It's a good thing since that's where he'll be spending most of his time over the next year! Next he met Ms. Elledge & she is super sweet & like everyone else, loved his curls. She commented multiple times on 'how sweet' Daniel is. I can't wait to see if she still thinks that after the first week of school! Ha! We spent a few minutes exploring his room before Ms. Elledge went over a few things with the parents. This was supposed to be followed by a popsicle party on the playground that didn't happen due to the storm, so we just had popsicles in the classroom. I've been a little worried because he doesn't know anyone in his class, but I'm not sure why. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it in the least. He just helped himself all around the room tonight talking to whoever he wanted including Ms. Elledge, like he's been in Kindergarten for a month. It appears he's all set and ready to go! I suppose that means I should be too?? If anyone knows how to freeze time, I'd sure like to hear about it. I would freeze it at exactly RIGHT NOW!!!!!

Swimming at the Y

 
 

Once again this summer, we have had tons of fun swimming at the Y- especially since Daniel has gotten the green swim band. I haven't taken any pictures there this summer & decided to snap a quick one today during the lifeguard's courtesy break when they were sitting on the side of the pool. My friend Melissa, the pathological picture taker (ha!), took tons of pics today, so I'll steal some from her blog to add to this post later!! :)

Blast Off!

 
Daniel built a rocket yesterday out of some Styrofoam all by himself. When he showed me the finished product, he had used glue to hold it all together & I suggested he use toothpicks instead. That was my only input. My favorite part is the exhaust(streamers) coming out of the bottom- it is kind of hard to see in the picture. So, maybe he'll be an artist after all, just not the kind that use pencils & paintbrushes! :)