Starting School

So I am going to skip over the fact that  I have written NOTHING for a year and just start explaining what the past week has been like:


Last Tuesday, Alivia started first grade.  She  had not been to public school yet so it was a pretty big change from her kindergarden of 5 kids in Mrs Harwoods sunroom last year.  Mrs Gonczarow had invited her to her classroom with Matt and the other kids the week before school started.  She had played on the smart board and met the teacher and was excited for school to start.  On the first day, she wanted me to drive her to school and walk her to her classroom.  I was happy to do this.  As we walked into the school her grip on my hand tightened but she was very brave and walked right to her locker.  I helped her unload her things into her locker, took a few pictures and went into the classroom with her.  She sat at the desk for another picture and then it was time for me to leave.  She was fine, I DID NOT WANT TO GO.  I wanted to sit right beside her and watch what was going to happen.  It wasn't really that I was worried about her, I just wanted to know what was going to happen.   I wanted to learn all the kids names and see who would become her new friends.  I wanted to see what they did in the classroom and watch her enjoy the day.  I knew I was limited to knowing only what Alivia decided to tell me at the end of the day.  So, I kissed her and headed out.  In the parking lot I ran into three other moms that I knew.  We all just stood there like maybe we could just hang out in the parking lot for the day.  After some chit chat we all headed out and left our babies in the giant school.  I am sure that Alivia will love the school and that she will do great.  One week into school she loves Music and Art and riding the bus.  I hope she learns a lot and that the teacher can keep her busy and entertained.  She is so smart and good at everything she does.  It will be fun to watch her grow this year.  May it be school activities and not Lady Gaga that she is excited by as she learns about so many new things.

We had more places to go.  We had to take Molly to her Montessori Preschool open house.  She marched in and walked around like she owned the place.  The teacher was painting pictures on the children's arms and she sat and waited patiently to get her painting done.  Mrs Campanelli actually had to leave the painting area before Molly got her picture so Molly sat patiently for several minutes for her to come back and paint again.  Molly amazes me with her bravery.  It doesn't even occur to her to be afraid or hesitant.  She just jumps in does whatever it is time to do.  Now that she has been in school for a week, she still has not had one tiny hesitation about marching right into school all my herself each morning.  She loves it.  She is so proud to be in school like the rest of the kids.  I am proud of her too.

Marlin started Kindergarden at Mrs Harwoods today.  Yesterday was Sunday and Marlin was working on reading his BOB books and working on math on our chalk board.  I noticed that he was pretty intense in his studies.  He was insisting that I help him more and he seemed to be frustrated when he told me "Mom I am working on my math but I only know 1 plus 1 and 2 plus 2."  We sat down and I asked him if he was working this hard because Kindergarden started tomorrow.  He said yes and admitted that he was a little nervous about Kindergarden.  I explained that he did not need to know everything before school started and I was sure that he would do just fine. So, today when I dropped him off he ready.  He walked right in and cautiously put his backpack away and sat at his chair.  Within 30 seconds he was working away on a puzzle and I had trouble getting his attention to tell him goodbye.  That boy has some serious focus.  He is in his own world.  I hope Mrs Harwood can find her way into the world where Marlin lives and get him to focus on what they are doing in school.  I am sure he will have a great year with her.  When I picked him up and asked him how his first day of Kindergarden went he said "It wasn't as fun as I thought it was going to be.  I thought there would be all kinds of kids running around everywhere."  I am not sure what that means.  I sure hope tomorrow is a little more fun for my little man. 

She Reads, He...I don't know what he does.

Alivia has been sounding out words lately.  Friday night we were leaving Cindy's house and I was talking about something and spelled the word STUPID.  From the back seat Alivia said "Stupid?"

Uh oh...time to start watching what we spell.  We told her she was right and she was so proud that she knew what we spelled.  Matt suggested that I spell another word just for fun to see if she could figure it out. 

I said "I don't even know what to S-A-Y"

Alivia responded "Shit?"  "Did you spell Shit?"

When Matt and I got done with our front seat silent laughing we explained to her that shit is in a level way above stupid and shut up and she REALLY can't say that word. 


Marlin also has been doing a lot of things.  He started taking gymnastics with his sister and although he is half the size of most of the girls in the class, he struts all over the gym having the time of his life. 

My mom took him to the movie on Thursday and then she was driving Alivia to Romney so Matt could take her home.  On the way Marlin kept asking to go to my mom's house first.  She said they were running late and they couldn't go to her house.  Finally Marlin said, "Grandma, I really need to go back to your house because my penis is pointed the wrong way and I need to fix it!"

limits and advertising

I was at the grocery store yesterday with Alivia.  We were in the Laundry Detergent isle.  I was about half way down the isle from where Alivia was when I heard her scream "MOM! COME QUICK!!!"  I looked down at her and asked what was going on.  The pointed to a tub of oxyclean and said "I've seen this stuff on TV!  Its really good at getting stains out!  You should get some!"  She was so excited to have found something in real life that was on TV and according to TV  this stuff was awesome and we needed it:)

Later that day, Alivia was able to go to walmart and spend her 10 dollar gift card.  She was so excited to be able to buy something with her "credit card."  She picked out a pink skirt with ruffles for 8 dollars.  Then the life lesson began.  She wanted a matching shirt for her new skirt.  I told her that she couldn't afford a skirt and a shirt because she only had ten dollars. If she wanted something different she would have to put the skirt back.  It was very hard on her to be happy with just the skirt.  She actually threw a little of a fit from the cash register to the car.  Eventually she got it together and was happy about her new skirt.

The Walmart Chronicles

We have had a few adventures at Walmart lately.  I honestly shop at Walmart about once a month.  This month I went twice and I paid dearly for it.

I took all three kids to Walmart because we needed groceries and non grocery items and I wasn't in the mood to buckle everyone up, unbuckle everyn, unload the kids from the minivan, shop with the kid, load the kids back into the van, buckle the kids into their car seats, drive, unbuckle the kids from their car seats, unload the kids from the minivan, shop with the kids again, load the kids into the minivan again, buckle them in again...you get the idea (aka: haul all three kids to two stores)

So we had a very successful trip, the big kids rode on the side of the cart and Molly was ok with sitting in the seat of the cart.  We played "find the food" and "all aboard (the cart is ready to move)" and filled the cart to the top with much needed items.  We were almost done, in the very back at the milk and orange juice.  I opened the refrigerator door to get out some orange juice and hit Marlin in the head with the door.  It didn't feel like I hit him that hard.  I didn't even turn around to look at him until I had reached in to get the orange juice.  When I turned around he was holding his forehead and crying.  Blood was running down his face.  It did not look good. 

Then the chaos hit...

Alivia saw the blood (that Marlin was un aware of at this point)  Alivia screamed and panicked and started freaking out. 

Molly decided that there was a lot going on and she was missing it so she didn't want to be in the cart anymore and started screaming to get out. 

I needed something to wipe the blood off so I could decide if this was a bandaid emergency or a stiches emergency.  I was thinking it would be stiches.  So I pulled the cart with Molly screaming and arching her back, Alivia freaking out and Marlin crying with blood all over his face and hand down the isles to the bathroom area where I ran into a Walmart employee who ran to get me a first aid kit.  As we were headed to the bathroom I remember thinking "even if we have to go to the hospital, I am buying this stuff first because I am not taking all the kids back here to do this shopping trip again."  I'm such an ass but hey, I have three kids.  If it would have been my first or second trip to the emergency room I would have probably skipped the check out lane. 

Once we got the blood cleared away I saw that we did not need stitches.  I thanked the lady for her help and her tiny bandage and I hauled our circus to the first aid supply isle.  We sat down in the middle of the isle and opened antibiotic cream, butterfly bandages and spiderman band aids and fixed my little man right up.  No problemo.  Did I listen to the Karma gods and stay away from Walmart?  Nope

The next week we returned to walmart where we needed to buy some non grocery items.  We were in the toothpaste isle.  Everyone was picking out  new toothbrushes and new toothpaste.  I decided to try the blue mouthwash for kids.  The idea is that you rinse before you brush and then you have to brush the blue off your teeth.   Brilliant (btw the bottle is still full and in my bathroom if anyone wants it).  So as we walked along Molly was riding in the back of the cart and throwing things out of the cart.  No big deal, the big kids pick the things up and it keeps them all entertained.  Then she threw the blue dye mouthwash out of the cart and everything started moving in slow motion. 

As the bottle hit the floor I saw it split open and start glugging blue dye into an enormous puddle on the floor.  At that exact moment Marlin was stepping forward and he stepped into it, slipped around for quite some time and landed face down in the puddle.  It was on his face, his sweater and his tan pants.  Marlin was crying, Molly was laughing and Alivia was freaking out because she thought we would be in trouble.  I thought that too but I didn't care.  I was hoping someone would notice and help but they didn't so I dragged the crying blue Marlin to the laundry detergent isle and sprayed him down with Shout stain remover.  I needed to buy some more stain remover anyway. 

I threw the stain remover in the cart and headed to the check out lane.  On our way there I passed an employee that  noticed my blue child and I said "we made a mess in the mouthwash isle, you might want to check it out" and then I jsut kept on walking.  I have not been back to the store since.  I'm not sure they will let us back in. 

The magical train station

Retro Post 5

We stopped by the train museum on the way home from grandma's one day.  This place is tiny but it was filled with Christmas warmth.  There is something about old trains and christmas that makes me want to sing songs and drink eggnog.  We watched the old train sets as the trains circled through the hills and scenes.

Then we talked to the Jolly Fat Man.  Alivia is not in the following pictures because she stayed a good ten feet away from him the whole time.  Marlin and Molly went up with Matt and told Santa what they wanted for Christmas.

Then Little Miss "no-Fear" sat on Santa's lap.

What's Gonna Work?

Farm work!  What's gonna work...team work.  We have a wood burning furnace and that means that Matt spends a lot of time cutting and stacking firewood.  Sometime, if we want to see him on the weekend we need to help out.  We look forward to having three strapping children capable of unloading a truckload of wood in 2 minutes flat but right now we will take what we can get. 

For the princess, the proper clothes for the occasion are always required

The little princess doesn't miss a thing.  She truly believes she is as big as everyone else and she is right in the middle of the action in every situation...including stacking wood.

When it is her idea, Alivia can work hard and be very helpful already.  Im proud of my 5 year old "farm girl"

I am also proud of my 3 year old "farm boy."  Marlin worked and worked to get a good sized (for him) log to the wood pile.  He dropped it several times and finally got it stacked on the pile.  Then my little son swelled up and strutted off to get his next log. Its hard to describe how his entire posture and expression turned from a struggling little boy to a serious bad  ass. 

Four Month Old Jack O Lanterns

So I took a four month break from this blog.  I don't have any excuses I am just busy.  During those months we had Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I am declaring this retro week and will be catching up on some of the highlights that I missed blogging about.  Hopefully by next week I will be caught up and can have more current posts.

October---

The big kids got pumpkins from a pumpkin patch that their school took them to.  They drew faces on the pumpkins so we could cut them out. 

 

Outside seemed like the best option for this messy project.  Molly was sleeping so she did not get to join in the mess but that made things a lot more simple.

When we were done carving them we put them on the front porch.  That evening we went out to light our Jack O Lanters and see what they looked like in the dark. 

When I took the picture of the Jack O Lanterns, Alivia and Marlin were screaming because it was dark.  So, I used the flash for the next picture and got this shot below.

Very Scary

Pretty Granny

Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Alivia. 

Princess Alivia decided Granny needed a makeover.  So she put her hair in pony tails and added 25 hair clips to add some sparkle to granny's hair.  Granny was a good sport.

The princess has a tiger for a little sister

Even tigers need makeovers.

A Sledding Story by Alivia

Alivia: "Me and marlin had lots of fun.  We went sledding in our back yard before we went sledding at the cabin."

Alivia: "That's when we went sledding at the cabin.  It was really fun.  We liked it a lot and we had hot chocolate when we got home.  And we had snowball fights and made a big snowman when we went sledding." 

Everybody Ready....

GO!

Alivia: "Don't tip Daddy!"

Laughing out Loud!

Molly was laughing the whole way down the hill everytime.  She wanted to go over and over again.  When we headed back to the cabin she let out 2 seconds of crying and then leaned back and fell

asleep in the sled. 

I tried to lay her down in the cabin but it didn't work.  We came outside and built a snowman.

Molly did not participate.  She was DONE!

 

My Arms are Full

Molly woke up at 3:30 am.  Nothing was wrong with her, she was just awake.  When I got out of bed Alivia (who was sleeping with me)  also got up and followed me around the house.  I woke Matt up off the couch and sent him to bed with Alivia so I could have the couch with Molly. 
  We watched a little tv together and she rolled all over me and eventually fell asleep.  I was into a show at that time so I stayed up, holding my little girl and watching her sleep.  When I finally decided to get up and put her back into her bed I cradled her tiny sleeping body in my arms and stood up.  I watched her little mouth squirm.  I noticed how much her hair has grown lately and I just breathed in the moment and tried to lock it into my memory.  So sweet and so amazing. 
After putting Molly back to bed I crawled into bed where Alivia rolled over and cuddled my head.  (its like sleeping with a cat)  I cuddled back and thought to myself how full my arms are all the time.  Not just during the day but 24 hours a day 7 days a week I am surrounded by little loving people. 
When I got up this morning.  I woke Marlin up and we sat on the couch together snuggling under his ball blankie and talked. 
I am sooooo tired today. Instead of being grumpy I am grateful.  Grateful to be surrounded by so much love.  Who cares if I never get a full night's sleep agian. 

Funny guys

My three children crack me up. Just little things, every day. I have already forgotten 1,000,000,000,000,000 things they have said that made me either laugh or smile. Here are tww that happened today.

Marlin made a wreath at preschool. It is the classic paper plate cut out with some fall color, construction paper, leaves on it. He is so proud and he informed me that he is going to take it home and hang it on his "nor dog." (read - door knob)

Alivia sang a song from Mary Poppins in the back of the van on the way to the babysitter's house today.
"It's a jolly holiday with Mary"
la la la la la la la
"When Mary takes your hand, you feel so grand. Your heart starts beating like a big brass band. Its a jolly holiday with goober." (should be "with you Bert")
She sang it over and over again.

Gymnastics

Alivia started her second year of gymnastics classes last week.  She is five and I had to decide if she needed another year in the preschool class for 4 and 5 year olds or if I put her in the beginner 1 class for children 6 and up.  I talked to her awesome gymnastics instructor (who I used to teach gymnastics with), Kara, and she recommended beginner 1. 

So, beginner 1 classes can have children of all ages.  I told Alivia she would be with some bigger kids because she was in the six year old class.  Then on the way to gymnastics I started to think, the kids could be 10 they could be twice as big as her.  I tried to warn her. 

Me: Alivia your class is for kids that are 6 and OLDER so there could be some very big kids.

Alivia: I know (she knows everything)

Me:  Don't worry, Kara will still be your teacher and she will make sure you are ok.

Alivia: And she will make sure the big kids don't knock me down.

Me: right (from the rearview mirror I thougth Alivia looked concerned so I continued)  The first class is alway's a little scary but remember, when you are afraid, you just do what you need to do and you will have fun.  You may have to use your courage and be brave.

Alivia: MOM, STOP TALKING!  I AM NOT AFRAID!

Okey Dokey.  Maybe it was me that was afraid.  Afraid my tiny little girl would be overwhelmed by the big kids.  Afraid she would be in over her head and it would be all my fault. 

I took her in and Kara came down the stairs to get the class and take them upstairs.  Alivia tromped right up and got in line in her bright pink boots and her gymnastics leotard.  She climbed up the stairs with the big kids who were at least a foot taller than her.  I could no longer see them.  I couldn't help, I couldn't watch to make sure it was going ok.  I just waited...an hour.

When she came down, I asked her how it was and she said "It was good, I was better than all the other big kids."  I hope she keeps that confidence her whole life. 

I would not have anticipated the nervousness that I felt with this experience.  Motherhood is so complicated.

Bath Time

My little monkeys can scale up the bathroom counter like it is a ladder.   They use the drawer knobs as steps.  I'm sure the knobs will fall off soon but for now it works.  They scale the cabinet and sit on the counter to do their toothbrushing, handwashing and mirror looking.

Last night it was bath time but Marlin wanted to wash his hands first.  So I stood with him while he climbed onto the counter and washed.  He looked at me and said "My teachers know how to wash their hands."  Then he proceeded to give me a lesson.  "You get your hands wet, then you get some soap and rub your hands together"

(I've been telling him these steps for years and he never listens but instead of telling a 3 year old I told you so, I decided to just take pictures with my camera)

"I can do it better than my teachers, watch this move"

"Oh look a mirror behind me aren't I cute"

"Then you rinse them like this"

After my handwashing lesson we sat and talked about halloween for a while.  Marlin has been having trouble deciding between Batman and Spiderman.  He let me know last night that he will be Batman for Halloween and then when he grows up he will be Spiderman.  Im glad he finally decided.

Aliva came in and asked us what we were doing (in her gymnastics outfit because she had been practicing)

Then I gave them a bath and when they got out they were so cute with their wet heads and their big blue eyes so I decided to get one more picture.  Unfortunately, Alivia gave me her "picture face"  and Marlin watched, learned and imitated his big sister. 

A Group Effort

Ah the grocery store.  The place where we go to get all the things we need to eat.  The place where I continue to foolishly think I can do EVERYTHING and I bring my three children with me to gather food. 

In the first picture you can see Molly holding the "ba" (ball, aka orange)  Notice the food stacked in the seat of the grocery cart and the child in the back.  Anything wrong with that picture.  She won't sit down.  I can't get the strap tight enough to keep her from standing up so I give up and let her be in the back of the cart where she can stand up, eat and smoosh the groceries and throw anything out of the cart that she doesn't think is worth purchasing.  Is she my major challenge in the grocery store?  Well, its a three way tie.

Still in the first picture, note my sweet Alvia...with my purse.  Three minutes before I took this picture I heard her talking to someone and when I turned around to look, she was wearing my purse and talking to her dad on my blackberry.  How old is she? 5? or 15?  Sometimes it is hard to tell.

She is actually helpful at the grocery store if she is in a good mood. 

Remember the nursery rhyme...

There was a little girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good she was very very good

and when she was bad she was horrid! (see next picture)

Actually, in this picture she is just making that face for the camera.  She likes to make the worst face possible when I take her picture.  It's awsome, NOT

Does your grocery store have jungle gyms?  Ours does.  You pick one up right inside the door and push them around with you the whole time you are in the store.

Three kids can climb at once.  But they can also tip it over.  I spend most of my time at the store saying "Get off the cart." 

For some sick reason I actually like to take them to the store. (In theory anyway) After I get there I always wonder what I was thinking but I do it over and over again.  Every third or fourth time it even goes smoothly and we all leave happy and eating chocolate rewards.


***This is not because Matt will not watch them and let his poor wife go to the grocery store.  I'm just nuts and voluntarily do this to myself all the time.

The Shuttle

I have a flexible job that allows me to drive my children to and from school. So on a normal weekday my schedule looks like this...

7am wake up, get everyone else up and get ready for school/babysitter/work
8am leave house (sometimes this is 8:20am)
8:10 drop Molly off at babysitters house
8:30 drop Alivia and Marlin off at preschool
8:45 get home start working
11:15 leave house to pick up children from school
11:30 pick up children
Noon back at house, start working again
5-5:15 Matt and children get home and work ends

This is actually only about 7 hours of work so I also have to work evenings for an average of 5 hours a week after the kids are in bed.

It sounds like a lot of interruptions and hassles but it is worth it. I consider myself very lucky to be working full time and still have the opportunity to touch base with my kids in the middle of the day. We skip from school back to the car, sometimes we sing songs on the way to the babysitters, sometimes I get stories about what happened at school. I love it. I love them and I feel a little less mom guilt because I can do these things.

It is all worth it...
Except for days like today. Today I picked the kids up and as soon as we got in the van Alivia started demanding that I dump all the Gatorades out of the box they come in so she can have a nest for her stuffed puppy for the ride. I didn't want 20 Gatorade bottles rolling allover the van so I said no. She continued to fling attitude from the back seat the entire ride and her fit ended in her taking the cordless headphones and throwing them to the floor of the van as hard as she could. I told her that her behavior was unacceptable and I was taking her stuffed puppy away from her and she could have it back tomorrow morning IF she could straighten up and be nice for the rest of the day.

****TOTAL MELTDOWN***

...crying

...begging

and I turn into the babysitters driveway. Open the door, help the kids out (Alivia still crying), take them into the house, apologize to the babysitter about the crying child and explain what the situation is and leave.

Lovely, what the hell am I doing this for? Why did I bother? Did I really interrupt my day to go make Alivia scream and cry? ugh

So on 9 out of 10 days the shuttling is totally worth the effort. Today was not one of those days.

Sleepover!

Here is my big girl Alivia with her best friend Elizabeth and her brother Gus. ( don't know why this is highlighted but Im just going to continue)

This is Alivia's first sleep over at Elizabeth's house. Elizabeth spent the night at our house a few weeks ago for thier first official slumber party. This picture is from the first night Alivia stayed with a friend at their house. Look how big she is. Smiling and hanging out. She isn't going to see her mom for another 16 hours and she doesn't care at all. The girls have matching night gowns that super mom Jane and Elizabeth made for thier sleepovers. I guess Gus wasn't very happy to not have a night gown when the girls were putting their pj's on so he wore a purple nightie too. I have a pic but I can't get it to load.

Jane told me the day after the sleepover that Alivia was a perfect angel. She used "please" and "thank you" and asked for things with sentences starting in "may I." Im so proud of her for acting that way. I knew she had it in her. So what if I don't get that treatment at home.

My good friend Julie who is a few years ahead of me on the motherhood ride once said "As long as they act like they are supposed to when they are away from you, that means you are doing a good job, because they know how they are SUPPOSED to act." So Im going to go with that one.

Being a girl

Being a girl is so hard. I wish there was a way to give my daughters the knowledge I have now so I could save them from the next 25 years of figuring out that they are wonderful.



It starts so early these days, Alivia wishes she was a barbie. She also plans to die her hair blond so she can look like Hannah Montana. She doesn't watch Hannah Montana and she just got her first Barbie last week. It doesn't matter if you try to protect them. They still grow up in a world obsessed with skinny, unrealistic perfection where girls stare in mirrors and hate their flaws.



How do you teach your daughter that flaws are not flaws? They are part of her beauty. They make her who she is and that is amazing.

I already see Alivia worry about what people think, worry about what she looks like and stressing out over outfits and hair. I'm not sure where all of it comes from but I need her to know how perfect she is in every moment of the day no matter what wardrobe decisions she makes.

When I think back to junior high and high school, I cringe thinking that my girls will have to go through the insecurity and self loathing that is part of growing up. I hope that they learn more quickly than I did how cool they really are. I hope they learn to step into their skin and be proud of who they are. Life gets so much easier when you finally embrace that...

Death

Death is a tough topic. I think most parents choose to avoid it as long as possible. My ever-so-inquisitive daughter has not let me escape from this topic. She is trying to figure everything out and hits me with questions on a regular basis. Here is one of our conversations...

A: Mom, am I going to die?

Me: Not for a long time.

A: But I am going to die?

Me: Yes, but you don't have to worry about that because it won't be for a very long time. When you are old.

A: You are old, are you going to die.

Me: Not for a long time.

A: When I die, I don't want to go to heaven.

Me: Of course you do sweetie

A: No, I don't

Me: but I've heard heaven is wonderful and you will get to see all the people you love that have gone there already and God will be there and you will be very happy.

A: (Starting to get upset) I DO NOT WANT TO GO TO HEAVEN WHEN I DIE!!!!!!!

Me: OK, what DO you want to do when you die.

A: I want to lie on the couch and eat crackers and drink juice.

First Day of School

We woke up early today and got ready for the first day of preschool for Alivia and Marlin. Yesterday we all went to the orientation and looked around and visited with the teachers but today was the first real day.
Marlin has been so excited he hasn't been sleeping but this morning he announced that he didn't want to go. He said "I don't know how to do school." I know mild apprehension is very normal and I assured him that he would learn what he needed to know. It was very nice knowing that Alivia would be there to show him the ropes and help him feel comfortable the first few days.

I put tortured the kids with pictures in front of the Magnolia tree. First I needed pics of both of them facing me, then turning sideways so I could get their backpacks in the pic. Then pics of them by themselves. Then we added Molly to the pics.

Then it was time to go. We pulled up in front of the school. I went around the side to let them out. Found Marlin's backpack, put it on him and hiked up his pants that were already falling down. I help Alivia out of the van and got her backpack on too. Then they held my hands and we made the long walk down the sidewalk to the door of the school. I was so nervous for my little kids. I want them to have fun, to be nice, to make friends and to be happy. I have done all I can for today and now I have to turn them loose. They didn't even hesitate. Alivia knows the ropes and Marlin followed her right in the door. I watched them through the glass door as they talked to the teacher and she pointed to the stairs. Alivia took Marlins hand and led him down the stairs to the classroom.

Im so happy that they have eachother today.

I'll add the report from them later

Happy Birthday Alivia

YOU CAN NOT BE 5!

It seems like I just brought you home from the hospital. I can remember so clearly the first time we were alone at home and I took my first 600 pictures of your amazing little face.

Now you are five years old. You are starting your second year of preschool and you are really growing up.


I saw you lead your little brother into the school this morning for the orientation. You were such an upperclassman. You showed him the ropes and were brave and kind.

This year you still love princesses and I do not look forward to you getting too big or too cool for them. You also love Barbie and we let you get a few this year for your birthday.
You are starting to read words and your sharp mind continues to amaze me. You are so quick you even keep me hoppin quite often.

I am really enjoying you as a 5 year old because you pick up on so much about the world. I am watching your personality blossom and learning who you are and who you will be. So far you are smart, beautiful, great in an emergency (unfortunately we have seen that a few times this year), you are caring, you are responsible and your ability to know how people feel is a gift. You have always had that gift but it is growing and your pick up on things that even I do not see.

I love you more every day. Thanks for being my first child, my oldest daughter and most of all for being you!

Love
Mom