Quick 5

As I contemplate the fact that our summer is coming to a close, I've reached one conclusion: I have not had enough corn on the cob.  I haven't had ANY, in fact.   That might be a travesty.

1.  I'm trying my best to make the most of these last summer days, these last days before I have a child in school and it's not just us all the time.  I'm probably failing miserably, since that's not really a homebody's strength.  But we did get to the park.  Maybe I'll be more creative as the girls get older and I don't have to worry about naps or nursing.

Alaina's Senior Picture pose.  Maybe this one will be easy to recreate when she's actually a senior.

2.  My grandparents came for a short visit last weekend.  They needed to meet the newest babies (Bria and Elisabeth) and the babies needed to meet their GiGi and PaPa.   (Where was Alaina?  Doing one of her favorite things to do at Grammy's:  watching Daddy and Apple Ben play video games.)

3.  I'd like to introduce you to Bria's new best friend: the Owl.  The Owl lives in her crib and keeps her entertained while she's falling asleep or waking up.  I'm considering that this may not be a healthy relationship, though.  Last night the Owl and Bria had an hour and a half long squealing/chatting fest...from 9:45 to 11:15.  Momma can't sleep when the baby is squealing in her bed, even if the squeals are happy.  I feel like the Owl should know better, but maybe I'm expecting too much from the both of them.

4. This week we had Alaina doing something new: tearing paper into shapes.  It was hard.  She was getting really upset about not getting it right the first time.  So Lee tried to teach her about learning and practicing.

Lee: Do you know what it means to practice?
Alaina: Yeah, to train to do something.
Lee:  That's right.  What do some people train to do?
Alaina: Kung fu?

She could have chosen playing guitar, like Daddy always does, but no, she chose kung fu.  We'll credit Uncle Josh with that influence.

5.  We went to Meet Your Teacher night on Thursday and met Alaina's teacher, Mrs. Galloway.  She is just what I would have hoped for in Alaina's kindergarten teacher: gentle, friendly, and genuinely seems to like these little people.  She told me how at the beginning of the year she'll put toys out each morning when they first come to class to help them get used to the classroom and each other, and then she'll slowly wean those away.  She's prepared for any separation anxiety induced tears, and she's not afraid of them.  It looked to me like there are 20 kids in her class, although that IS full day and half day combined.  I'm interested to know how many there are of each, but that won't matter unless the class gets too big.  Then they'll separate them.  One adjustment I'll have to make is during the drop off portion of each morning.  There IS a carpool lane, but they don't recommend that for kindergartners, since the teachers don't escort them to the classroom.  And the drop off point is almost exactly on the other side of the building from Alaina's classroom.  Which means I'll have to park the car and unload the troops to take her in.  It's not THAT big a deal, I suppose.  I'll just need to plan for 5 more minutes in the morning for arrival time.  Which means that in order to get everyone dressed, fed and out the door on time, my new normal will be getting up at 5:30.  Good thing I'm a morning person, eh?

Next week is a big week for us.  Exciting, scary, life-changing.  I think we're ready.