First Day of School K4

Today was Ingrid's first day of K4.  She bounded out of bed at 6am asking if it was time to go yet!  I know it will get old, and she won't be so helpful, but I have never ever had her so willing to get dressed and eat breakfast in the morning!  Usually she wants to do things her way, she balks whenever I ask her to do anything, but this morning it was "Okay, mommy!"  Let's see how long this lasts, right?

I cannot even tell you how much better I like this school she is now at.  Last year I walked into a cafeteria of crying and screaming kids, this year it's a playground full of parents I know, happy kids running around.  I did see a few criers, but not as many as last year.  Plus the drive to school is about ten seconds on streets where people actually follow the rules of the road, unlike last year where I was in the hood and I'd be surprised if half the drivers actually had their licenses.  No kidding.

So this year starts off well.  I am so happy to see Ingrid so happy!  She's a little nerd, just like I was!

doesn't she look so tiny by her huge school??

Busy Week, No Pictures.

I realize if I don't have pictures I tend not to post.  We have been doing lots this week!  Ingrid loves her school still, although I am a little tired of having to do the drive every day.  Just one year, then we can go to the neighborhood school and walk every day.  I cannot wait!

Otis is teething.  Again?  Still?  He has two bottom teeth and it looks like he's getting two more bottom teeth.  And the snot.  Oh my god, the snot.  Will it ever end, or is it just going to hang on all fall and winter?  Good thing we use cloth wipes as tissues, otherwise we'd probably be going through a forest worth of trees for kleenex.

I participated in a blog hop baby shower for Lishyloo this week!  Today was actually my day, over on my Applesauce Crafts blog.  It was great to contribute to such a fun thing with such talented women.  I felt a little out of my league, their blogs are so fancy, mine are just basic!  Check out day one here, and you'll find the schedule for the week with links to the other blogs.  Cute stuff!!

I have been trying to get tons of work done for Art Vs. Craft.  I just have no idea how much stock to bring to a craft show, how big it really is, and I feel like it's better to just way overshoot and then sell whatever's left over in the etsy shop.  But between the school run, nap schedules, crabby babies, and I don't know, sleep--it's hard to get anything done.  I got four blankets done yesterday and today, which is awesome.  I just wish I could get a babysitter one or two days to just get shit done. 

Brendan and I are leaving next week for DC!!  I am so excited to fly again, it's been like two years.  And I am way excited to be without kids for a few days.  And nights.  To be with my husband, no football on tv, no computer games being played, no distractions from actually spending time together.  Bliss. 

We went to the zoo today and I got some really cute pictures on my phone.  I can't figure out how to get them anywhere but my phone, so once I figure that out...what is the point of having a camera on your phone if you can't do anything with the pictures??  Sheesh!

First Day of K3!

Ingrid got into a local Montessori school and she started today.  She was pretty excited to go, although I'm not sure she understood that it wasn't the same place she went to this summer.  She has to wear a uniform, red top/dark pants, and she has this huge backpack that is bigger than she is.  I feel pretty torn if I'm excited for her or wondering how she got so big? 

We went and signed papers and there were three other girls her age in the office.  She immediately jumped in their pictures their gramma was taking (lol, photo bomb!) and started chatting away with them like she'd known them all her life.  I love how gregarious she is!  After signing papers, we headed into the maze of halls and corridors to find her room.  I don't know what it is about these big city schools, but they intimidate me like nothing else!  Everything looks the same, lockers on the wall, doors here and there.  My elementary school was small and had three grades in it, and seriously had one hallway.  No upstairs or downstairs, just a hallway with rooms, a gym, an office, and a library. 

We found the room, and all the kids were already seated in a circle around the teacher.  Ingrid just sat herself right down and said hi, I'm Ingrid!  She didn't even look back to see me leaving.  And when I picked her up she was bouncing around talking about how fun it had been.  I think she likes school.

I'm so amazed at my fearless little girl.  She just takes an unknown situation and puts herself right in the middle of it with complete confidence and a cheerful smile.  Day one down, let's see what the rest of the week brings us!

My Girl

Ingrid just amazes me.  I love her.  Even with all the whining and craziness, she's my girl.  She definitely has her own personality and knows what she likes.  Take the heat--you'd think a kid without air conditioning would want to have as little clothing on as possible and have a fan on her while she sleeps.  Not this kid!  She saw some pjs I'd thrifted and immediately wanted to wear them, even though I'd gotten them for the fall.  When it's cooler.  And then she asked for socks.  And then she put her fleece blanket on.  And then she said she didn't want the fan in her room. 

Ugh, it makes me sweat just thinking about it...And those pjs on her Cabbage Patch Kid?  Those are Otis' preemie pjs!  They actually used to be big on him.  My how he's grown.

Ingrid's favorite thing to do now is to draw.  She goes through so much paper just making all kinds of little guys and telling herself a story as she draws.  I love it, it's when she's the easiest to deal with.

She is almost done with her summer Montessori program, which she's loved.  Hopefully we'll get into a K3 program.  If I ever get off my ass and figure out who to call to sign her up!  I keep thinking of it at odd times, like 6am or 9pm, never during the day when I could actually get a hold of someone!  Of course.

Hanging Out in the SUN!

Ahhh, the sun.  How glad I am it's been around for the past few days!  We have had plenty of good outdoors time, without shoes, without coats, without umbrellas.  Awesome.

Ingrid has been getting really good at her tricycle.  We were thinking of getting her a balance bike.  Anyone have one?  What do you think of them?  Worth the money? 

Otis is growing like nonstop, I swear.  I had gone through to get his six month clothes out of the bin in his closet and now he's into 9 month clothes as well.  Our friends Jess and Ben brought over a bag of the CUTEST clothes for him last weekend.  He sported this plaid number today, which really brought out the blue eyes.  Dang, he's cute.

He's been eating oatmeal with various baby food mixed in.  I wasn't sure I was going to feed him solids yet but that kid was ready.  He stares at our food when we're eating like a begging puppy dog, and if you get anywhere near him, he'll grab your spoon.  Every feeding he eats a whole bowl, he's a pig.  Which is good, he has to catch up!

I got a ton of new bibs ready for the shop.  I took advantage of the nice day outside and had Ingrid model them.  She gave me this lovely fake smile after I kept saying "Come on, smile!  Look at the camera!  Cheese and crackers!  Smile!"  She was not having it, so she gave me this. 

I guess I asked for it.

Today Otis and I went to the park while Ingrid was at school and we saw that the wading pool is open!!  So we are headed there tomorrow with a picnic and lots of sunscreen and we're gonna get our summer on.  Finally.

First Week of School

Ingrid has now had two days at her Montessori.  She has loved both days and I'm sure will enjoy the rest of the summer.  Yesterday was her second day and she was so excited to bring her ladybug lunch bag and go see Miss Carrie and Miss Jamie.  When we got there, she ran up the stairs, ready to show me where she washed her apples and carrots!  I just love seeing her so excited and having so much fun while learning things.  And I'm really enjoying what little I know of Montessori, it seems like such a good match for Ingrid.

Yesterday she wore two of my favorite things together, a vintage Mexican top and a pair of green polyester slacks.  Seriously, they are slacks.  Crease down the middle of the legs, a little bell to them, they are soooo cute!

Once again I got so much done while she was gone.  I love having five hours with just Otis!  He has taken long naps while she's gone (imagine being able to sleep better without a screaming three year old in the house.  Strange.) and I get to get things done without hearing "will you color with me?  Oops, I spilled.  I have to go to the bathroom.  Play with me, Mama."  I got the whole house cleaned, four loads of laundry done, and I sewed the top of a baby quilt. 

Otis is growing like a weed, seriously.  He started eating cereal and fruit and veg and will down the whole bowl in about five minutes.  He's off his nursing strike mostly, so we don't have to feed him that many bottles anymore, hooray!  I had to go through his box of clothes and find more that would fit, since he was busting out of his 3-6 mo. tshirts.  I found this one at the thrift store awhile ago and couldn't wait to put it on him.

But his favorite is still to just be naked. Whenever he's upset, we strip off his clothes and lay him on the bed.  He immediately calms down, grabs his feet and starts talking. 

So Much Going on!

Well, folks, today marks the start of Ingrid's formal education.  After much debating whether or not to send her to preschool, we found a great starter program for the summer.  It's a Montessori program run out of a teacher's house, very small "class" size (I think there were three kids today) and flexible hours.  So we signed up for two mornings a week and today is her first day.

We got a backpack and lunch bag for her, which was so so exciting for Ingrid!  She has been wearing the backpack around since we got it yesterday.  She bounded out of bed asking when she was going to school.  From 6am to 8am, she kept asking "Is it time yet?" 

When we got there, she ran right over to the materials and one of the teachers started working with her.  I had to say good bye to her four times before she finally called out bye over her shoulder!  I think she's ready for school, but I guess we'll see how she did when I pick her up this afternoon.  I found a public Montessori school with spots open in K3, so if she does well at this class, we'll be sending her off to real school in the fall.  Gulp.

Meanwhile, Otis and I have been hanging out.  He is napping right now, I'm about to watch the DVRed 16 and Pregnant and fold laundry, and I already had a chance to list more washcloths in the shop! 

One last thing:  We got this ridiculous clown onesie in the mail yesterday.  I got it from Hart and Sew and it is the most adorable thing in the world.  It just fits Otis, though, and it's still only 60degrees, so I had to put him in it and take pictures now, since he may not get a chance to show off his chicken legs in it for real before it doesn't fit anymore.  Where is our summer?  It was here for awhile, now it's MIA. 

 

Oh my god, I'm dying at how freakin' cute he is!