A Birthday Build A Bear Workshop Trip

To reverse just a little, right before Abby's birthday, she got her present from Grandma and Papa. "Let's go before your actual birthday, huh, Abs?" Grandma said.   I doubt she had ever heard anything more exciting. A gift before her birthday? Craziness. Knowing she would get to go to Build A Bear Workshop? Insanity.

If you knew the Frozen mania in her life back in May, you'd have found it hard to believe that she talked about this every single day to the tune of 10x as much as her anticipated Frozen party. She'd built if up just a tiny bit in her mind, huh?

First things first -- she picked out her "bear" which was actually a My Little Pony creature (those things are crazy!) and Ford picked out a bunny which he promptly named Thumpy Tumpy. Go figure. Here they are picking out what would go into the heart of their animal. Kindness, happiness, joy, athleticism, love for reading etc. Pretty cute.

And then over to the "fill 'er up" station where they put their foot on the pedal that literally pushes the fluffy insides into the animal. Very fun. And powerful.

Next up - "washing" your animal with cyber soap and "popping" the bubbles on the screen with the ducks. Fordy loved this.

Fordy and Papa -- the finished Thumpy Tumpy (which also smelled like Bubble Gum, for $5!)

And not to be outdone, Rainbow Dash, also smelling of Bubble Gum.

The final dressing room shot -- Ford got a t-shirt to make his bunny a little more manly and give it super hero status and Abby's was expensive enough naked, thank you very much.

Couldn't get out of the store without some Thumpy Tumpy love.

The birthday girl was beyond happy. 

And that was that. 

No more hounding and asking for everything she saw at the mall.

Contentment. Can you imagine?

1267. pre-birthday fun being so fun

1268. that breeze through the right window at night

1269. not running the air during warm days

1270. trying new clothes without crying

1271. seeing her through new eyes

\

Preschool Lemonade Social

And then it was Ford's turn.

His sweet preschool teacher who I've mentioned is just amazing, sets up a Lemonade Social for the kids to meet their new classmates and settle in before the first day of school. 

He was asking me every day when he would get to go to school and play on the pirate ship.

Walking the plank, usually reserved for week 2 of school after it's been mastered, was the first thing he ran to. He's been watching the big kids do it for a year. 

In true Ms. Amy style, the kids got to paint different pieces of metal and wood which will eventually be put together to make a music wall. How cool is that?

This guy was all smiles and made a few new friends in the 30 minutes we were there. 

Including this fun skeleton which resides all year long...

I swear he could go 5 days a week. 

But we're sticking with 2... 

And when Ms. Amy read a book to them I looked over and Ford was right at home.

The shoes were off.

And he was as comfy as can be.

Maybe more than he should be. 

I had the kids fill out forms on their first day of school and I can't wait to see what the one at the end of the year says. My favorite line? "What do you really not like? Spankings." Amen.

1263. ready for preschool

1264. staying seated during breakfast

1265. chore chart re-do

1266. laughing wildly in the car with the kids

Kindergarten, Here She Comes!

After orientation, she had some confidence and she seemed ready for her first day. Snack pack was packed, pencil case was full of goodies and she knew she would see her cousin.

She had a few moments of hesitation before we left ....

I'm not exactly sure what Ford is doing here with that face…but I'll let the modeling agencies know he's  calling off the search for an agent.

Right about now Grant started cracking jokes about dogs eating homework...

...but once we got there, her nerves kicked in again. 

We got a few pics outside ....

and then it was time for her to get in line amid the slew of boys (a 3:1 ratio!) and wait to be called in. As the wait went on and on her thoughts got the best of her, her fears of starting something new with all new people... "where's Abram, mom?" she asked. She quietly waved to us, tears forming. Turned away and tried to smile. Daddy cracked a joke, she looked away. And finally, they were called in. Head high, bravery propelling her through those doors, tears blurring her eyes. I wouldn't let myself feel anything because she was feeling enough for all of us.

So, Ford and I ran errands and did life and went to the park. And I prayed. Nothing like real life to bring you to your knees when it's 88 outside, sunny and the first day of Kindy. Without her that day, I felt like I was missing something. It has been months since Ford and I had hours alone. Despite the bickering and summer slow down, life with us all together all day long was lovely. But I did enjoy Costco with only one monkey to focus on. And I did enjoy picking her up at 3pm while Ford napped at home to get some alone time with her after her big day.  "I really liked it, mom" she whispered. Can I bring gummies tomorrow during snack time?"

And voila. I was praying for a smooth transition and here she is, concerned about gummies.  (sigh of relief.)

I exhaled at the end of the day and realized, for the first time in 5 years, "Oh dear. We do this 5 days in a row." So, here we go. Wish us godspeed!

1258. realizing that we never "get there" - there will be something new to pray about tomorrow
1259. an opportunity to pray
1260. closing the double doors at nap time
1261. a husband who makes us all laugh
1262. a phone call from grandmama

Kindergarten, Here She Comes?

A few days ago was our Kindergarten orientation. She cried and fretted and worried. "I'm nervous, mom. And mostly, I'm going to miss you." I heard this nine times a day. I tried to stay positive. I responded with "Me too! I always miss you when I'm not with you." I reminded her that God was always with her. I reminded her that we were in each others hearts all day long.

God help me. I prayed this time after time.  Please, help me.  Help me make this a learning experience.

I used to roll my eyes at people who cried after dropping their kids off at Kindergarten. Cold hearted, right? And then I had a baby girl and my heart was ripped out of my body. And now i get it. 

So, I actually prayed. But I'm realizing that the praying ended up being more for me than for her. Time and again I can't see past my circumstances. I am afraid that current feelings will be "forever feelings." Such little faith. Such silly fears. For as I've said time and again this week, He did not give us a spirit of fear but of power and love and self control. Amen.

When the kids were called up to get in line and go see their classroom for 10 minutes without the parents, her little shoulders heaved and I saw her walking to get in line, trying to hide her tears. Trying to be brave. Trying to keep it together. 

And while she was gone, I knew she'd be okay.  I knew she'd been through worse. I knew she'd disappeared behind an O.R. door before and had miraculously made it through.

And afterward, I actually heard in my ear, "Mom," barely a whisper, "it was good. It was awesome."

For that? Frozen yogurt to celebrate.

She and Abram post orientation...

1254.  clothes not being an issue

1255. socks with no tears

1256. bravery and more bravery

1257. living 3 minutes from school

Summer On The Horizon

As the weather heated up. we were so happy to get outside. 

We took every chance we could get.

Who says you can't paint and draw outside while donning your bathing suits?

I think they were ready to swim even though it wasn't quite warm enough in May.

So since it wasn't warm enough, we had shaving cream wars.

And we played at the park...

And pretended to be Spidey...

And soon enough, the first swim happened.

And there was happiness.

And frog jumping into the pool...

And having friends over to dip in the shallow end.

And summer was looking bright.

Next up : swim lessons.

1250. closing the doors during nap time

1251. using the living room

1252. a cousin afternoon

1253. shorts that don't hurt

Frozen 5th Birthday

The cousins sure have enjoyed sharing birthdays this year.

Here is Fordy's 3rd. All smiles.

And while we did a family dinner for Abby also, the big news was that Anna from Frozen came to visit (please take note that we have created an extensive chart comparing the amount of years in which princesses and such will still be revered and the amount of money we have to spend on such things. The bottomline? You'll never see the likes of this again. This year was the bonanza! It is also the year I should begin encouraging Abby to sing and eventually work for one of these companies seeing that they are raking it in. Raking. It. In.)

Anna arrived!

(And truth be told, she was magical. And realistic. And wonderful)

Come in, Anna, come in!

Abs was in heaven.

She read to them, they all sang together, there was face painting, and a gazillion hugs.

And afterward, snacks, cake and these words…

"Mom, I prayed that Anna would come visit. I  knew God might not give me that wish, but I asked anyway." 

1246. being able to make her little dream come true

1247. holding a gift back

1248. friends to celebrate with

1249. cousins attending because they live close

Last Day of Preschool

Since school is about to start again (I am in denial about this seeing that it was 103 degrees here yesterday), I should probably go back and cover our last day of school!

We moved a month into the school year so things seemed to finish up early for us in May. It wasn't until a month before it that I realized that Abby's last day of school was on her birthday. 

So, of course, the morning had to start off something like this : 

A 5 year old breakfast of champions - donuts, raw milk and Elsa, just in time for her Frozen birthday party, looming the next day.

And then off we went to Safetyville.

A mini, kid-sized city where the munchkins could ride bikes and run and play as if they owned the place.  "See that place with the M, mom? That's the place with the food that tastes good but is really bad for you, right?" Yes, the brainwashing against fast food has begun. May it stick! Amen. 

Getting photobombed by one of her favorite teachers who Ford can't wait to see again when he starts preschool soon. Yes. He begins preschool in 2 weeks. 

Fordy jumped on his scooter and had jumped a curb, crashed and was back up again before I was hardly in the front gate with Abby dragging her bike behind her. Not a single parent or teacher was surprised that crazy Ford was speeding past the big kids. My fearless guy...

Abby and her pal Tessa obeying the traffic signs:

Abby's two assistant teachers, hugs to say goodbye...

And Abby with two of her closest pals during snack time : 

And Ms. Amy whom we love and adore. A sincere, steady, honest, witty and straightforward gal who loved these girls with her whole heart this year.

Each girl got a massive notebook that Amy put together throughout the entire year that highlighted everything that they accomplished. There was not a dry eye in the house.

As I said "goodbye for now -- and good luck with Ford next year" -- I think the previous year snuck up on me. The move, the grace God had for me in placing Abby in this little school, the people we'd met, how at home we feel -- I couldn't hold it together and raced out before we all started crying again. We feel so blessed that Abby had a wonderful year that prepared her for Kindergarten.

And that night, pazookie and ice cream after dinner!

And off we went to prep for the next day.

A Frozen party was waiting for us, a final celebration before we said goodbye to her pals for the summer. 

1242. a party without planning on a thing on her birthday
1243. happiness and no broken bones at safetyville
1244. protein in the morning, most mornings
1245. realizing that booster can be a carseat too