Evie starts preschool!

This past Wednesday was Evie's first day of preschool at Linworth Children’s Center.  Pat and I were both nervous and excited for her.  In the weeks leading up to her first day, we spent time talking to her about what school would be like.  We explained that she would need to listen to her teacher and follow the classroom rules.  We reminded her to be kind to the other children and remember her manners.  We checked out books about going to school from the library and we got her a new backpack along with some new school clothes.  We did the best we could to prepare her and get her excited for the start of school.  

My big girl

We were fairly confident that she would be just fine on her first day since she’s a fairly social little girl and she loves talking and meeting new people.  Thankfully, we were correct and she did great!   She had one tiny moment when I was about to leave the room, but her teacher came over, took her hand and led her away to color a picture.  I snuck out and had to tell myself not to look back and hover.  When Pat and I picked her up a few hours later, she ran into our arms, happy and excited to tell us about her first day. 

 It’s a little surreal for me that she’s already in preschool.  I know that she’s only 3 and it’s only for two days a week, but still.  This seems like such a big milestone.  She’s growing up so quickly and I’m not sure I’m ready for the tremendous influence friends and the outside world will have on my baby.  It’s true that she’s gone to babysitter since she was three months old, but this is different.  The sitter’s environment is so small and she’s grown up with several of the children there.  Preschool seems so much bigger (even if she does only have 9 kids in her class).  The kids at preschool are all her age, instead of younger, so she’s more likely to be influenced by them.  Hopefully it’s in a good way (and hopefully she’s a good influence on them as well!).  I hope and pray that this year is a good one for her.  I look forward to seeing her grow and change, but my heart aches a little too.  She will always be my baby, but she’s leaving the baby years behind for good whether I’m ready for it or not. 

Weekend Adventures

We had another busy weekend full of adventures and family.  Pat and I took the kids to the zoo on Saturday morning.  Our trip was free of any epic meltdowns and other such drama thank goodness. We did a few new things on this visit.  We saw the cheetah run in the Heart of Africa (amazing!) and we took a train ride.  We enjoyed the comfortable morning and left before the afternoon heat (and the crowds) got too bad. 

Later on in the afternoon, we headed to Hilliard to a water balloon ‘End of Summer” party hosted by Pat’s cousin Sarah’s family.  It ended up being a lot of fun and we all got soaked.  Evie was the water balloon queen and nailed us all!  But the fun didn’t end there.  We got home and Pops was at our house for a visit!  Woo hoo!  We were all very happy to see him and PJ.  We didn’t have anything special planned and it was nice to just hang out, eat pizza, drink some beer (or juice depending on who you were) and relax.  The kids run my dad ragged, but he takes it all in stride.  He even helped Evie take PJ for a walk, something she loves.  PJ is just her size and she can hold the lease all by herself.  My dad said that she didn’t stop talking the entire time they walked.  When she wasn’t talking to him, she was greeting the neighbors and trying to tell them all her life story. 

Sunday morning we were all up early and we went to brunch with Rita, Dan and Nicole before they had to head to the airport.  It was nice to see them again and we are already looking forward to their next visit!  Maybe someday Pat and I will be brave enough to put our kids on an airplane and go back to Portland.  We’re not there yet.  Just the thought of our kids in the confined space of an airplane is enough to give me hives.  Pops hung out for a while after we got home, but then he had to head back to Kentucky.  We were all sad to see him go, but it’s especially hard for Evie to say goodbye.  We always have to reassure her that we visit KY very soon.  She starting to understand the passage of time a little more and she knows it will be awhile before she gets to see him again.  I know how she feels because it’s something that I struggle with constantly. 

Later on that day, after naps and some much needed downtime, we headed over to Linworth Children’s Center to meet Evie’s teacher.  Evie was so excited and flew into the classroom with barely a backward glance at us.  She did stop long enough for us to be introduced to her teacher, Miss Teri, but then she was off again exploring every inch of her new classroom.  She was especially excited about the two turtles that are the class pets.  I really, really hope that her enthusiasm continues once school actually starts!  We explained to her that we will be dropping her off and picking her up, but we can’t stay.  She didn’t seem to like that idea and said that she was scared of going to school, but I don’t think it will really be an issue once she’s in the classroom.  They keep the kids so busy with learning and fun that I don’t even think she’ll notice or care that we’ve gone.  Fingers crossed! 

We ended our weekend by checking an item off of my summer bucket list…a Clippers game!  Rita got tickets and we were all very excited to go.  It went just about how I expected…the kids wouldn’t sit still and we barely got to pay attention to the game.  Evie got hyped up on cotton candy and Mitchell inhaled some Cracker Jack.   Overall, it was fun and I’m so glad we got to go.  Huntington Park is a very nice stadium and it was a beautiful evening to be outside.  

What a week we had!!

Last week our babysitter was on vacation.  I ended up taking two days off work, Pat took a day (and worked that night) and the kids spent time with their grandparents for two of the days.  It ended up being a really awesome week and I think our kids had a great time (I know I did!).    They love getting to spend time with their amazing grandparents and they had so many adventures – The Audubon, the Zoo and COSI all in one week!

On Wednesday, Aunt Holly and Avi came to visit.  We loaded up the kids and headed to the zoo.  The kids were good most of the time, but we did have one incident right before we left when Evie decided to throw an epic mega-fit because she didn't get her way.  It was embarrassing and stressful for me and I really hope I handled it right. We got out of there as quickly as possible and I’m pretty sure she was asleep before we even got out of the parking lot.  Three year olds are more work (and more love) that I ever imagined!  As soon as she woke up from her nap, she said “Sorry Mama for throwing a fit…Do you still like me?” Ugh!  That’s her new thing – Do you like me?  Pat and I try and explain that we love her no matter what, but we do not like her behavior sometimes.  I remember being a kid and thinking the same thing when I would do something wrong.  Now that I’m a parent, I know that nothing could ever make me stop loving my kids.  Even on their worst days, I love my babies more than anything.

Pat stayed home with kids on Thursday.  He told me that he asked Evie what she wanted to do and she said that all she wanted was to stay home with him and play.  Pat happily obliged.  We’re so busy so much of the time that sometimes it’s really nice to just stay home.  The kids and Pat had a great day!  Friday, I was off work again so I took the kids to COSI.  It had been awhile since we’d been there.  In fact, I’m not even sure Mitch was walking the last time we went.  I figured we’d stay for an hour – 1-1/2 hours tops.  We were there for almost three hours!  It really is the neatest place and we had a lot of fun.  Both kids enjoyed the Kids Space, but Mitch especially enjoyed it because it was all new to him.  He was running and climbing and having a grand time.  It’s hard to believe that Evie wasn’t even walking at this age.  She didn’t walk until she was 15 months old.  Mitch started walking at 9.5 months and now there is no stopping him!  Wherever Evie goes, Mitchell wants to go too.  It’s so cute (most of the time anyway).  I love babies, but it’s wonderful to have two kids that can actually play together.  It makes me glad that we had them fairly close together. 

After COSI, we went home and just enjoyed the rest of the day.  It was such a gorgeous day and we spent most of the afternoon and evening in our backyard playing.  We ordered pizza and even ate outside.  It was wonderful and relaxing and the perfect way to start the weekend!  

On Saturday, Dan and Nicole came to town.  It’s been awhile since we’ve seen them and they’d never met Mitchell before.  Both kids acted shy at first, but they warmed up by the end of evening thank goodness!  We started Sunday off with a walk and play time at the park and then we saw Uncle Dan and Aunt Nicole again the next morning at brunch.  We didn't really get to talk to them much with all the commotion.  It’s a little crazy with 11 adults and 4 kids (under 5yrs) at a restaurant! Amazingly, the children were all fairly well-behaved and for once I felt like I got to join in a little in the conversations around me.  At one point, Mitch insisted on getting down out of the highchair.  Normally, this is not something that we do in a restaurant if we can help it, but he was blocked in by all the chairs so I got him out.  He played a little, tried to escape (and got his head stuck) and finally sat down on the ground and looked through some books that I brought.  It was pretty cute and I’m so happy he likes to ‘read’! 

We ended the weekend with a cookout with some friends that work with Pat.  It was hot and humid outside, but the kids had fun playing with the water table and running through the sprinkler.  By the end of the day, we were all happily exhausted. 

Life is good.

How is it August already?!

Life has been rolling right along right now.  Days pass in a blur and I honestly cannot believe it’s already August.  We’ve got a lot to look forward to this month (like Evie starting preschool…Eek!).  I also want try and fit in some more summer activities like going to a Columbus Clippers game, letting the kids play in the fountains at the Scioto Mile, exploring the Columbus Commons, hitting a few more festivals, and hopefully enjoying some pool time.  Working full time makes it difficult to find time to do it all, but I think my kids have had a fun summer so far. 

Last weekend Evie had fun catching fireflies in my parent’s backyard.  We headed downtown to check out The Banks on Saturday afternoon and the kids had a great time riding the carousel and splashing in the fountains.  Sunday, Evie helped Pops make blueberry pancakes.  After breakfast, we went to visit G.G. Ruth and go fishing.  Evie was so excited that she helped Pop catch 3 fish!  She was pretty upset when we had to leave G.G.’s house and she was even more upset when we decided to pack up and head home right when we got back to Kiki and Pops.  I felt so bad because she seemed so heartbroken that we had to leave.  But Mitchell had fallen asleep in the car and we opted to just get on the road rather than wake him up.  Both kids were pretty tried and slept most of the way home.  

While we were in town, a lot of people commented on how much Mitchell had changed since the last time.  He comprehends so much more these days and sometimes I forget that he’s not even 14 months old yet.  He will answer you when you ask him a question.  If you say “Mitch do you want a drink?” he’ll nod and say “Uh huh”.  He definitely lets you know when he wants something and when you give it to him, he will say “Thank you”.  Pat told me that the other night, while I was out, he asked Mitchell if he was ready for bed and Mitch nodded.  Then, after rocking him for a few minutes, Pat asked Mitch if he was ready to lie down in the crib and Mitchell nodded.  So Pat laid him down and Mitchell went to sleep.  Just like that.  I wish it were that easy all the time!  He is saying more and more words and, though we can’t understand it all, it’s clear that Mitchell knows what he’s saying.  I think that this sudden speech and comprehension explosion has a direct correlation to his recent obsession with books.  We didn’t think any kid could love books as much as Evie, but Mitchell may give her a run for her money.  We read him no less than three books each night before bed. When I need to get something done, I can put Mitchell in his crib with a few books and he will be perfectly content.  He’ll sit downstairs and look through books, then bring them to us, plop down on our lap and demand that we read to him.  For all of his love of books, however, he usually doesn’t sit still for long.  He’s running, climbing, rolling and playing all the time these days.  He’s learning to build towers with his blocks and he’s starting to tinker with things to see how they work.  I have it on good authority that his daddy used to be the same way.  He’s loves his big sister and follows her around constantly. 

This brings me to Evelyn.  My girl is such a good big sister to Mitchell.  She had honestly surpassed all of our expectations.  Yes, she gets jealous and loses patience with him at times, but usually she is the sweetest, most loving big sister ever.   She truly amazes me daily, not only because of her awesome big sister skills, but because she is so darn smart.  She loves learning and her mind is a sponge these days.  Out of the blue the other day, she looked at me and said “Mama…do you know that a worm has 5 hearts?  And the butterflies eat with their feet?”  Umm…ok.  She went to the History Museum with Grandma Rita and she’s still talking about the mastodon bones she saw and how all the animals and trees there were petrified (We chose not to correct her about the animals.  She can learn about taxidermy another day).  She doesn’t forget much and she loves sharing her knowledge with others.  She just loves to learn. Awhile back, she spent most of one evening looking up foxes with my dad on the IPad and learning more about them and she’s practically an expert now.  All of this makes me excited for her to start preschool.  I think (hope) she’s going to love it!

Here’s a few pictures from the past week…