Quick 5

Holy Week of Change, Batman.

1.  Alaina's first day of Kindergarten has come and gone.  It was a completely tear-free day.  She didn't cry.  Mom didn't cry.  And most surprisingly of all, Joya didn't cry.  We all thought that Joya would be the inconsolable one.  Lee mentioned how he thought our parenting style could be labelled "A Journey to Independence" and that was most evident in Alaina's first day.  She was ready.  We were prepared to send her.  And so it went smoothly.  She said she was a little shy as I got her settled at her spot at the table, and I told her that was okay.  That it's always a good idea to sit back and watch for awhile before jumping into things.  So that's what she did.

 2.  Alaina went in for testing the day before the first day of school.  Apparently her teacher was very impressed with everything she already knows.  Alaina 100% deserves the credit for that.  I've never once sat down with her to teach her anything; she just remembers things she learns from PBS Kids and things like that.  Her teacher also said that there were quite a few other kids who tested at that level, which is good news, since that means the teacher can teach to that level rather than having Alaina too far ahead of the rest of the kids and in danger of getting bored or being unchallenged.  I'm so proud of her, and also curious to see how Joya and Bria will to turn out along academic lines.  I don't want to hold them to her standard, but I also don't want to expect too little of them.

 3.  Alaina has to wear uniforms to school, which basically consist of a solid colored polo and  khaki or navy pants/shorts/skooters.  She thinks it's awesome that she wears polos like Daddy, and instructs him on which color to wear to match her if she can.  Which meant that on Wednesday they both got to wear red polos.

Lee's First Selfie

4.  As with most things in her life probably, Bria's big day this week was overshadowed by her big sister's first day of school.  Bria turned six months old on Tuesday.  Six months!  My first thought about that was "Well, that wasn't so bad!"  Bria is celebrating turning six months old by dropping her dinner time nap.  She now refuses to take a nap at that time of day, but isn't really handling the lack of sleep very well.  I remember this phase with the other girls; it takes about two weeks for her disposition to improve.  She also has decided that she will NOT sit contentedly in the swing anymore.  Which is sad for me.  She has spent hours and hours and hours of the last six months chillin' in there.  Now I have to figure out other places to put her.

5.  Six months old also means food time!  Bria's been getting used to rice cereal this week, and she finally enjoys having mushy stuff in her mouth.  Which means that I will be adding Making Baby Food to my list of things to do throughout the week.  I think I'll start her on sweet potato.  Or butternut squash.  I can't decide.

First taste!

6. In other news, we had a wicked storm last night.  It has really been the first and only storm of the summer.  And it was CRAZY.  Apparently Alaina's school experienced some flood damage, so today is a Flood Day (instead of a Snow Day.)  Classes were cancelled so a crew could get in a clean and dry the place out.  Alaina wasn't exactly happy about the unexpected day off.  "School is NOT boring, Mom!"  Oh, that she could feel this way about school every day for the next 13 years.

(Did you like how I snuck that bonus one in?  That was for you, Dad.)