A Week of Adjustments

We all survived Ava's first week of Kindergarten!  It has seemed like such a long week.  The hardest part of the day is the quiet.  It's so quiet in our house now without her little voice chattering about something or playing with Keegan. 

But she's had a great week!

 

She actually loves PE which is a total surprise.  She says the coaches are fun :) 

She made a new friend on her first day but didn't know her name.

Her new friend is Gabrielle and they have lunch together every day.

Her star chart filled up and she and three others got to choose a sticker yesterday.

She got to go to the library and check out a book for the week.

Music class was not that fun because they just learned the rules :)

"There's so much to do all day long!"

 

She has done so well this week although we could tell she is so tired today.  So glad the weekend is here!  Keegan has adjusted so much better than I thought he would.  He doesn't ask for her 1,000 times a day; only 100 or so.  He says "Mama....I know Sissy at school, but I just gonna check ok!" And he runs to look out the door. 

 "No, not yet Mama!" Every single day.  I'm not sure why he thinks she's just going to walk home one afternoon?  He is always napping when one of us goes to get her so I guess he doesn't know that we bring her home.  He has the biggest hugs for her when he wakes up and says "Sissy, play with me!?"

Keegan started potty training on Tuesday!  He's actually been using the potty off and on for a couple of weeks now.  I'm not sure if it was that he was so ready or the fact that I only had one kid at home but it was so much easier this time.  It's hard to believe my diaper days are behind me.  Five years... just like that!  Of all the things that make me sad about my little ones growing up- this not one of them!  I'm loving carrying my handbag again and he loves his new undies. We are so proud of our little man. 

We spent a lot of time at home this week and I think he is enjoying this one-on-one attention. 

This boy melts my heart.

We've played "choo choos" for hours this week.

Ava started her ballet/tap class.  This is her third year of dance and although it's quite a transition to attend a 4pm class after school she still loves it so much she didn't want to take a break this semester.

Her class is a lot bigger this year and it's fun because it's full of friends from last year and the year before. 

Our time with Ava is so limited and precious now.  We usually color and talk about her day when she first gets home and we did make a trip to the library once this week.  But then there is dinner and bath and bedtime is pretty early these days.  For all of us!  We bought Ava the Jesus Storybook Bible for her birthday and we end the day with a story or two and prayers for the next day.  Except for last night--I won't pretend that we all weren't exhausted and crashed early without either.  But overall it's been a really great week and we are thankful for all the mercies we've been shown! 

 

First Day of School

Ava was so excited about school this morning!  Although she did ask why we were up before the sun was up.  Ha!  I don't like it anymore than you do sister. 

She walked right in, found her cubby and headed off to her table before I called her over for one last big hug.  She remained tear free but I can't say the same.

  This lump in my throat will go away.  I'm so thankful that she is so excited about school and I can't wait to hear about her day.  A big thanks to all of you for your texts, emails and phone calls.  There's no greater feeling than knowing your kids are loved and prayed for! 

Ready for School!

We've spent the last two weeks having fun with some of our best friends!  Three of Ava's best girl friends will start kindergarten on Monday too.  I so wish they were all heading off to the same classroom (or even school) but unfortunately that's not how it works.  Play dates will be more difficult to coordinate but they will still see each other on Sundays at church and AWANA.

Mrs. Amy treated our girls with a Build-A-Bear night at the mall for their birthdays.  Ava has always wanted to build a bear and it was so much fun with sweet friend Abigail.  We weren't surprised that our sweet girls ended up with twin bears :-)

Ava and I decided her toes should be in good shape to start kindergarten so the two of us went to get pedicures last Monday afternoon.  To say that she liked it would be an understatement! 

She loved the colors and designs but I think she loved that massage chair most.  She would change it up every few minutes and told me which modes I should try.

She was such a little lady and she had such a sweet spirit.  She said please and thank you and turned down an offered beverage twice before finally accepting.  She has grown up on me.

These little piggies are going to kindergarten!

Last night we had meet the teacher and we left Ava's school with such a sense of peace.  Her classroom was so cute and her teacher was so organized and so warm.  My good friend Jill reminded me this week to not let the emotions of this time overshadow the joy and excitement.  So that is my prayer and I'm embracing it.  I want to look back and remember that yes, there were tears.  A lot of tears.  But there was also backpack stuffing and school clothes shopping and talks about the friends she will make and the fun she will have.  I am such a proud Mommy and I love this girl so much. 

We are ready!

 

A Big Birthday

I've known this post was coming all summer long but unfortunately that isn't making it any easier.  This was a big year for our Ava.  She turned 5 while we were at the beach and we had a great day celebrating this big milestone!

She has matured so much this past year and we are so proud of the little lady that she has become.  She is such a great big sister to Keegan and he just adores her.  He is going to miss Sissy so much this school year.

Ava wanted a Barbie party so before we left on Saturday we had family over for pizza and fun!

So our sweet girl is headed off to Kindergarten on Monday.  The last five years have disappeared into the past, leaving behind precious photos and sweet videos of first steps and pumpkin patches.....  We are starting a new chapter of life.  Ava is so excited to start school.  She talks about the playground and music class and doesn't seem to get how life-changing this really is.  She picked up on how sad I was last month and pointed out "You are still going to pick me up and bring me home in the afternoon."  I laughed through tearful eyes because she's right but she doesn't understand how much I'll miss her during the day.  It makes my heart happy that she is so ready and excited.  I want so much for this year to be amazing for her but the letting go is so tough.  I will no longer plan our days and control our time.  We will send her off and we will pray. 

We will pray for her safety and her teacher.  We will pray she is kind and makes the sweetest friends.  We will pray that she loves what she is learning and takes it all in.  But above all we will pray that her little light will shine before others and she will stand strong in the Truth.  I can't go with her but oh how I'm thankful He can.

 

 

 

 

Destin Vacation

The four of us headed to Destin last weekend and spent the week as beach bums on Mirimar Beach.  I booked the condo back in February so we looked forward to our first beach vacation for over six months and I can't believe it's over!  The weather was mostly sunny for our stay and the water was absolutely beautiful just like we've always heard.  Although it's a lot of work traveling with kiddos, we had such an amazing time!

Our condo was on the third floor with an amazing view from the veranda.

We spent a lot of time out here just listening to the waves and drinking coffee.  The kids loved lounging and playing out there too.

We checked in around 4 and changed to head right down to the beach. 

It was just awesome watching the kids experience the ocean for the first time.  They quickly noted that the sand was much different than at the beach pool. 

And they watched the waves for a minute before taking off into them. 

Ava quickly declared that she loved the beach after only a couple of minutes.

Keegan couldn't get over the sand.  He was covered from head to toe and carried around handfuls of it for a while. 

He thought the waves were pretty great too!  He spent the week bobbling up and down in his puddle jumper :-)

We spent the majority of our week just hanging out in the sand....building sand castles, riding the waves on body boards, napping, playing baseball, and shell hunting.

 

 

 

The bunk beds did not disappoint and the kids LOVED sleeping and playing in them.

And Ava loved having her snacks and breakfast served up at the bar :-)

We played a couple of board games in the evening but Ava found the card game Old Maid in a basket by the TV and wanted to play it every night.  She still says that was one of her favorite parts of our trip :)

Our good friends staying in Panama City Beach invited us to come out on a boat with them on Wednesday so we met up with them that morning and had such a fun day!

We drove out to seashell island and collected some really pretty shells. 

The kids had so much fun with their friends....and so did we!

It started raining on us that afternoon so it became quite adventurous (and wet) trying to get back to the marina.  I tried to cover the kids up and huddle them close and they passed out on our way back.

We had really great seafood at the Crab Trap one night.

Jeff had snow crab and I had some of the best crab cakes I've ever had!

The kids loved the playground at the Crab Trap.  We let them play for a bit after we ate.  Pretty cool view for a playground!

We made it down to the Destin Harbor walk Village a couple of times.  It was fun to see all the boats take off and dock and we stopped for ice cream one night.

And Ava turned 5 while we were on our trip!  I'll have to post about her birthday soon. 

I don't think I have ever posted so many pictures!!  We had such a memorable time but a lot of the best memories I didn't even capture like playing games at night and swimming in the pool until dark.  The drive was long and the sand was all over pretty much everything we owned by the end of the week!  But it was all so worth it to spend time as a family in such a beautiful place.