Movin on up

My baby. Look at him. What a handsome little guy. He is four months already and I think we have turned a corner. He's not in that itty bitty newborn stage anymore, which is bittersweet. He is interactive and a handful (literally, like his body fills my hands). My favorite stage is when they can sit on their own and play with toys. We are not there yet, but getting close. Today he pulled a fast-one on me and took about four 10 minute naps, was fussy when I set him down and was finicky about eating. I'm hoping it was just an "off" day because over the weekend I had this huge sense of 'we are so there' as he took long naps (I got stuff done!) and enjoyed his awake time. Each day we gain ground on a routine for this kid and that means each day I get a little bit of my sanity back. But for real, I can hardly handle those dimpled cheeks. He smiles and I'm a goner!

This kid is off to kindergarten. He's also so handsome, despite the fake smile. He's owning his new kindergarten status and seems to do fine being at school 6.5 hours a day. Last week, his first week, he was falling asleep between 5:45 and 6:30pm and I'd have to wake him up at 7am to get ready for school. Tonight (Monday) he rocked it until 8pm. He's excited in the mornings and also excited when I pick him up from school. He has reunited with his friends and that has been really fun for him. I saw him on his first day of school coming in from playing outside as I was picking up Veda at 11:30. He looked at me, smiled, and then through his teeth said, "Mom, I'm staying for lunch!!" I took that as a good sign that this whole Kindergarten thing was working out for him.

And this girl. Isn't she a doll face. She is rocking out five mornings a week at school. I thought I'd have a harder time with her being gone so much, but the girl was made for school. She eats it up. The cubbies, the shoe mat, the work stations, the painting, the lines, the circle time, the teachers and the kids. She's doing a great job of going with the flow. Her teacher left me a long note last Friday telling me how Veda did her first week of school. According to Ms Molly Veda was very observant and would repeat each presentation as it was presented to her. She is a hard worker, very focused. And she loves spends time polishing, working on buttons, buckles and painting. Veda has yet to be sad or complain about school. That makes it much easier on this mamma.

My days do fly by with this new schedule. I get a few hours with just Rocco and me. The goal is for him to nap during that time. We are working on that. After I pick up Veda, we have lunch and play. Then before I know it it's time to pick up Silas from school. Again, a long afternoon nap from Rocco would be ideal, but I take what I can get. And some days that means he only naps during car rides.

I always feel like the few weeks leading up to the fall/school year I always dread. I feel sad that the kids will be gone and that summer is winding down. Then, and this happens every year, the week before school comes around and I am somehow ready. Ready for a new routine and for some new beginnings. This year was no different. We welcome the 2014-2015 school year with a prayer of thanksgiving for healthy and happy kids and for the opportunity to be educated.