School Days

Happy first day of school!  Jack was so excited to go back to preschool today.  He could hardly wait to meet his teachers, see his classroom, play with old friends and meet new ones.  This year he will even get to have lunch at school on Thursdays, like a big boy.  He picked out his own outfit this morning (Duck's jersey despite the 80 degree temps) and waited patiently until it was time to leave.  He reported back that he got to color, cut with scissors and play with play dough today.  They even had "knives" to cut the playdough (wooden spatulas).  He played on the upper playground and explored all the new equipment.  This year also marks the first time he will have another "Jack" in his class.  Apparently the other mom is a jack "ass" as she has refused to allow her son to be refered to as Jack Q.  So our Jack will be Jack F.  Or Rob suggested SuperJack!  My husband can come up with a solution for everything! :-)

Back to School

If you've been wondering where we've been the last few weeks, allow me to say four words in my defense, back to school chaos. I got the keys to my new classroom (new school) on August 10th, the same day as my last post. Coincidence? I think NOT! I have been toiling to prepare my classroom and lessons for all 32 of my new students. As in past years, I am sharing my job so that I will only be working Wednesday through Friday. Preparing a new room, collaborating with my job partner and grade level members, and learning the protocols of a new school have kept me busy to say the least. In addition, over the course of 10 days my vaccuum, dishwasher and coffee maker all decided it would be a good time to die. Between researching consumer report and visiting appliance stores it was like taking on a second job. Oh, and I still had two kids and all my usual chores to deal with. AAAAAAKKKKKKK! Well, before you get me fitted for a nice white coat with shiny silver buckles, I am doing great. The first week of school went beautifully. All the appliances are up and running (special thanks to Rob who rescued my from the edge of the precipice when the dishwasher installation fell through on Saturday.) I am loving my new school, the teachers, the students and the principal. I have a 4/5 combo again this year with over half the students in GATE (gifted and talented education program). I think this school will be a great fit for me and I am really looking forward to working with students again.
Tuesday is Jack's first day back at preschool and he is very excited to see his old friends and meet the new kids and teachers. Expect a back to school photo of him tomorrow.

Sippy Cup

Lauren loves to emulate her big brother. She has been eyeing his sippy cups for about a month now and today she got her chance to use one. It only had about an inch of water in it, but she managed to suck out every drop: no choking, very little spilling. And you can see from the video that she was so proud of herself, as was I!

Bubble Wrap

Don't tell me you don't all love to pop the bubbles on bubble wrap! Jack is no exception. While we installed our new dishwasher (thank you Honey) Jack decided to tap dance on the bubble wrap. Pure bliss!

Yummmmm

Lauren is a great eater! Tonight she had sweet potatoes and peaches, an english muffin and yogurt drops. She loved her sweet potato & peach puree. The proof is in the sound effects.

Cruisin' on a Wednesday Afternoon...

OH MY GOODNESS!!! Currently scraping my jaw off the floor!Exactly one month since she crawled and today she pulled herself up to a standing position.  She still can't sit up by herself, but standing is no problem...wild.  She truly marches to the beat of her own drum.  Brother was not excited that she was standing, only mad that she was touching his chair:-)

Playtime

If they have this much fun together now, can you imagine what it will be like when Lauren gets a little bigger? This was just totally spontaneous playing that I was lucky enough to catch on film. She was really giving him a run for his money and they were both laughing hysterically. So was I!