Family Outing: Lake of the Ozarks

A New Chapter Commences

Well, we are now officially parents of a preschool-attending girlie. Iris' first day of school was today!

Here's a little glimpse of how she felt about going:

Isn't she sweet? She has been over the moon with excitement about starting school for the last week - ever since we went to her Open House and got to meet her teacher and see her classroom. Last night we packed up her school supplies into her brand new Tinkerbell backpack and laid out her special "first day" clothes (which she picked herself), and she could barely contain herself. She was so cute and so grown up and yet so very heartbreaking at the same time.

As for myself, I don't think I was feeling quite as cheery this morning as she was about the prospect of her going to school, you know, she being my baby and all. Little flashback movies of her life up until now were playing through my head all throughout breakfast and getting dressed. I know, it's crazy, it's only preschool. I can't imagine how I'll feel when she goes to kindergarten...and beyond...yikes!

Some First Day photos:

Iris modeling her first day of school ensemble on our front stoop - can you tell she likes pink?

Walking into school - doesn't she look big? Or maybe her backpack is what looks big...

Waiting for her teacher and the rest of her class...

...with Mommy and Lydia...

...and Daddy.

Lining up with the rest of her class to head off into the Land of the Big Kids.

She did great and nary a tear besides her mommy's was shed. Thankfully, I wasn't the only mommy, or daddy, for that matter, who got a little teary and choked up. Isn't it funny how the kids usually do fine and the parents struggle? And Lydia, oh poor lonely girlie - we barely made it outside before her little forehead wrinkled up into a frown and she said, "Where I-is? Where I-is, mommy?" This was the constant refrain of the morning as we ran some errands to fill the time. She wasn't very pleased about "I-is" being missing.

And so we survived our first day. Things went pretty well, I think. She liked playing on the playground, having a snack, and the coloring game they did with a school bus. There was only a minor altercation at the end. Iris had a bit of a meltdown when it came time to hand over her school supplies. Apparently, I had neglected to go over with her that once she actually got to school the supplies could come out of her bag to share with her teacher and the other kiddos. She had a hard time budging. According to her teacher, her mommy told her they were to stay in her bag and were not to play with. Oops!

Project Runway, Here We Come

Lazy Days

It's been awhile since I posted, I know. Yikes! But it's so stinkin' hot here again, and we've been really busy lately, and at the end of the day the motivation to do much of anything, like blogging, just isn't there.

With that said, here are a few new pics of the girls:

Iris and I have been playing board games after nap time the last few days. Her favorite is The Hungry Caterpillar. It's fun, and she's lucky - she's won every single time...so far!

Another post nap time activity. They LOVE playing with these plastic tubs! Little did I know when I bought them to hold drinks for Iris' birthday that they would provide endless hours of fun in the role of mini swimming pool. This particular day they were "painting".

Do you see the turtle shell peeking out from under the basketball hoop? Iris discovered him one day after lunch. He must have crawled all the way up to our front yard from the ravine in the back yard. That's quite a jaunt for a little turtle! I don't know where he was headed, but the girlies got a huge kick out him. He got a bit freaked out by all the attention, though, which is why he was trying to hide under the basketball hoop.

I love, Love, LOVE when they play together! Aren't they sweet? Lydia would wear her swimming suit all day every day if I would let her. I usually do on the days Iris has swimming lessons - it's just not worth the fight to get her to take it off. If I even approach her with clothes to put on over the top, she shouts, "No! I don't want that!" and runs away. It'll be a sad day in the neighborhood for little Lolly when swimsuit season is over!

And my post would not be complete if I didn't include some video of Iris' last dance class. I thought it was going to be an actual recital, which now that I think about it wouldn't have made sense considering it was only a four week class - not much time for working up a routine, but the instructor just rolled up the blinds so that we parents could watch them practice. Iris was a little freaked out initially by the fact that there were so many eyes looking at her and just sort of stood there paralyzed for the first few minutes, but then her confidence kicked in and she performed beautifully. I definitely see there being more dance in her future.