Kindergarten Fun

Kindergarten is in full swing and Karis is loving it! She still runs to school every morning. She likes her teacher and has been making new friends. Her favorite buddies are Makena and Talia -- they are sweet girls! They hit it off from day one. Makena's personality is very similar to Karis'. The girls write each other notes and give each other homemade gifts. We've already had a couple play dates after school. 

Karis' first homework assignment was to make a poster about herself. It was used to tell her classmates about herself. They put all the pages together to make a class book. I helped Karis collect pictures, stickers, etc. of things she likes. She laid them out and glued it all together. She then drew some pretty pictures for the finishing touches. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. =( 

The school had a family picnic last week. Each family brought their own dinner onto the school lawn. The kids played while the parents chatted. Makena had just as good of a time as Karis.

Makena, Kyle, and I had lunch with Karis earlier this week. It's fun to let the little ones experience part of Karis' day. I also like talking to Karis' friends and seeing what everyone brings for lunch (looking for some new ideas!). Karis loves when we come for lunch but I always feel bad that she gets sad when we leave.

Derek and I have both volunteered for lunch/recess duty. Derek will be a book reader on Fridays (the kids go out in the hall with him one by one and practice reading). We've been enjoying another round of "firsts" as we experience being a parent of a school-age child. 

We just had our first parent-teacher conference. It was nice to get some feedback and insight as to how Karis is doing. Karis is doing well academically (based on a computerized test and assessments by the teacher) and the teacher is pleased with her performance and behavior at school. Karis has received a good behavior sticker every day since school started. 

We're hoping Karis gains more confidence with speaking and that her shyness doesn't hold her back in any way. The teacher says she talks in class, responds and asks questions but she doesn't do that when she goes to art, music or PE classes. Her teacher told us that the other day Karis had skinned her knee. She sent Karis to the nurse's office to get a band-aid. Karis was too shy to speak and didn't tell the nurse what she needed. She sent her back to class and Karis never got her band-aid. Silly girl! She however doesn't have a problem talking and interacting with her classmates. 

There are lots more fun kindergarten events coming up. More pictures to come!

Playing With Little Brother

I mentioned in a previous post how excited Makena was for Karis to go to school. She had free reign of Karis' toys all day. That only lasted for about two weeks and then she started to miss Karis. One day she told me, "I miss sissy. Playing with her is more fun than her toys." 

Makena usually gets frustrated playing with Kyle. In Makena's words, he "messes everything up" or "makes everything harder for me." She usually gives in to him and lets him have his way (something I'm trying to discourage because he won't learn how to share or take turns with her). If Kyle starts crying and whining about something she has, she'll say in a frustrated voice, "Fine!" and give it to him. Or, she'll say, "Fetch it boy!" and toss the toy onto the floor or across the room. I don't know where she learned that phrase from, but it makes me chuckle every time.  

Makena is slowly learning that she can't expect Kyle to play with her the same way Karis does. She has to think of new ways to play with him. Since she's been doing that, they've been playing a lot together. She is now the one to take the lead. Kyle follows her around and does whatever she tells him to. He repeats whatever she says too. They usually pack a bag/purse/container with toys and travel around the house. I think they play some form of Mommy-Baby. It's been fun watching their relationship develop!

Kyle has been communicating quite a bit...

Kyle learned sign language early on to communicate "more," "please," and "all done."  Here he is with a new word:

Kyle is nearing 2-1/2 years old.  He has been repeating everything we say immediately after we say it.  I am enjoying it.  He is working on his letters/spelling.  See this video:

First Day of PreK and Preschool

 Makena is in PreK this year! She will be going to school three days a week. She is excited to have two teachers who she is already familiar with. One is Karis' teacher from last year and the other is Karis' friend's mommy who she has interacted with at play dates and parties. 

Last week, we went to Meet the Teacher where she got to see her classroom and meet some new friends. When people asked her who her teachers are, she answered, "Ms. Kim and Ryan's mommy."  Oops! We'll have to change that. In the past, I would refer to her as Ryan's mommy, so she learned that from me!

 Makena seemed excited to start school. She wasn't nervous at all. During breakfast, she asked me a couple times where we were going (which I thought was strange), so I told her to church or to preschool. After breakfast, we went outside to take a few pictures. Afterwards, Makena asked if we could start walking to school. It dawned on me that she thought she was starting Kindergarten at Mockingbird. Silly girl! I don't know how she got that idea. Perhaps because Karis started two weeks ago, she was going to follow right after her. I hope her excitement and lack of nerves is a sign of how she'll be next year when she'll really start Kindergarten. 

I'm really hoping to see her grow and develop this year. I want her to start becoming her own person as she spends three days "on her own." I know Karis influences her a lot, so I'm hoping she feels the freedom to like and do what she wants. She hasn't shown a lot of interest in academics, so my desire is also for her to develop a love for learning and a desire to read. 

This little munchkin is in the two year old class. He's in the three day a week class but will only spend two and a half days there. He'll do full days Tuesdays and Thursdays but only a half day on Wednesdays. After my Bible study on Wednesday, I'll take him home with me for a nap. My friend will bring Makena home so that Kyle can sleep until 3 pm instead of 2 pm. I can't believe how big he is already!

Quick Family Getaway

We spent part of our Labor Day weekend in Glen Rose, TX. A church family owns a hotel there, so we made that our destination. We left Sunday afternoon and stayed one night. We didn't have much planned besides relax and swim. It was a quick 2-hour drive. 

The girls love staying at a hotel. What kid doesn't? Kyle was only 6 months old the last time he stayed in a hotel. We had a view of the swimming pool from our room. The kids loved looking down at the pool (the pool had streams of water shooting over it). 

The picture below of the girls reminds me of a photo I have of my sister and I on the window sill. We were only toddlers and my mom would put us on the sill to get us up off the floor while she was vacuuming. She said we were so scared we wouldn't move a muscle. Parenting in the 70's! 

We swam a little bit after dinner the first night. We had dinner at a Mexican restaurant and the poor/lack of service left us little time to go swimming afterwards. The next day after breakfast, we had to painfully wait an hour for the pool to open. The girls could not wait! We swam for about three hours and had the pool to ourselves most of the time. We grabbed lunch on the way out and headed back home. 

First Day of Kindergarten

The day finally came! This past week, Karis kept asking me how many more days until school. After I told her, her response was always, "I wish it was today." 

Hello Kitty is one of her favorites right now, so she chose a Hello Kitty backpack and lunch box. She also picked out a Hello Kitty t-shirt to wear. I thought for sure she would want to wear a dress, but she said she wants to wear a Hello Kitty shirt every day to school. 

I love this look on her face. It shows that right before I took it, she said, "Mom, you said one more picture. Can we go now?!"

We had a friend come over that morning to stay with Makena and Kyle so that it would be less hectic and we would make it to school on time. We walked Karis to the school which is just under a half mile. 

  

As we stepped onto the school grounds, Karis' pace slowed down a little bit. I could tell she was getting a little nervous. But she was fine once we got into the classroom. We helped her hang up her backpack and put her lunch box away. We said good-bye and then tried to hold back tears!

Ms. Carlton is her teacher this year. We have a few friends whose older kids had her and they all love her. This is Ms. Carlton's 24th year of teaching and she won the Teacher of the Year award last year. 

Karis' friend Makena who she met at the Future is Bright is also in her class. She is just as shy as Karis! We also met another sweet girl who lives down the street from us. We have been praying with and for Karis that she would make 2 or 3 good friends in her class, so we're excited to see how these friendships develop. 

And how do Makena and Kyle feel about Karis going to school? They're excited that they get to play with Karis' toys! 

The house felt so different when she was gone. I was filled with all kinds of emotions that day, but kept trying to snap out of it and spend time with the littles. Makena definitely missed playing with Karis. I felt much better after dinner when our home was back to "normal" and all three were together playing. It's going to take me awhile to get used to our new normal. 

Karis had a great first day of school. She said the only time she wanted to come home was during story time. I'm not sure why she didn't like that part of her day. She was most excited about the toys in her classroom (legos and My Little Pony). 

Getting ready for her second day of school was definitely different. She was much more talkative and silly during breakfast. Derek took her to school and said she ran most of the way. I guess the nerves are gone! 

Promotion Sunday at Church

Karis attended church service with us for the first time. At our church, we have childcare for preschoolers, but all other children attend the main service. The children's program is after the service. 

Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to having Karis in the service with us. I love our service and having uninterrupted time to worship and pray. But there was something special about worshipping with her. She enjoyed it and tried singing along. I loved hearing her sweet voice!

When we weren't singing or praying, she got to work on her designer sketchbook (she draws outfits onto girls using templates, colored pencils and stickers). It kept her quiet and busy!

Our pastor had all the kids come to the front of the sanctuary and then the parents surrounded them. He prayed for all of us and the upcoming school year. It was a great start to the week!

Little Riding Buddies

Now that Karis' legs are long enough to reach the foot pegs, Derek has been wanting to get her a helmet. Last Friday, he took Karis out on a lunch date and then went helmet shopping. Karis was excited to go for a ride. Me?... not so much. The last thing I wanted was for her to fall off and break her arm right before school started. Derek found a velcro strap so we could strap the girls to him. That made me feel a little better. He took them for a short ride around the neighborhood. 

Sweet moment!

Waiting for Daddy and Makena

 The little guy is still way too small but he cried almost the entire time the girls were on the bike. He wanted a turn so badly, so he got to get on the bike and take a few loops around the driveway.

Sweet Sisters

How did we get from this:

January 2012

to this??

August 2014

Karis starts Kindergarten next week and I'm going to miss watching the girls play together all day. I don't know who will miss Karis more, Makena or me! 

The End of Summer

Summer is already drawing to a close. There was a brief time in July when the summer felt long, but most of time, it felt like it was flying by. All in all, we had a great summer. 

Karis learned how to tie her shoes, improved her reading skills, learned about saving money and started tithing, and passed her first swim lesson. Makena improved her writing, she learned how to draw a heart (something she wanted to learn), dropped her naps, and no longer swims with a floatie (though she can't swim independently). Over the summer, the girls also did lots of chores to earn money to buy small stuffed animals. 

Kyle now plays alongside his sisters. He loves to copy them and follow their instructions. He will definitely miss having the girls around when school starts. 

I'm thankful that I am able to stay home with the kids. Some times are hard and I pray for more patience, but there are so many days that are filled with such sweet moments. The girls and I talk a lot about random things, usually in the car or during lunch. They often talk about heaven and ask what it will be like. I tell them we'll have new bodies and we won't ever get sick or need to take naps or eat or brush our teeth. Karis is a little concerned that there won't be any toys in heaven. She wants to go to heaven and then come back to make sure she'll like it. Makena is worried that she'll get cavities because we won't be flossing or brushing our teeth. These little minds are so entertaining!

Makena always wants to pray at dinner time. I love hearing her sweet voice thanking God for the food and for the good day and asking for "halbogi to feel better and for Aunt Stephanie's neck to feel better..." The girls always tell Derek and I how many times "to the moon and back" they love us. They say, "I love you to the moon and back, ten, fifteen, twenty-seven times" with the number always changing. 

I can't believe that when school starts, I'll have seven less hours with Karis each school day. The last week or so, we've been hanging out a lot at home and we have all been enjoying it. The girls use their imagination and play for hours on end. They all play really well together (compared to the beginning of summer!). 

Here are a few more photos from this past summer. 

Our church had a weekly story time where the kids sang songs, heard a Bible story and did a craft. Makena's classmates were usually there, so it was a fun time to also see friends. 

We met friends at our new local splash pad a few times. Here are a few photos of our time with some of Karis' classmates.

A friend at church owns a horse and invited the girls to go horseback riding. The girls got to see lots of horses and learn how to care for them.

Karis was the first to get on the horse. We didn't know it at the time, but the horse's back was hurting. The horse immediately tried to buck Karis off. Good thing Derek was by her side holding on to her. Karis did a great job and held on. After we gave the horse some time, Karis got back on. The horse did the same thing and again Karis held on. Karis actually enjoyed all the action and wasn't afraid at all.

We waited around until our friend could figure out what was going on with her horse. It was a hot day and the girls were a little disappointed. Once we realized that the horse was hurting, we called it a day. We'll definitely go back another day so that the girls can go horseback riding.

My roommate from LA came through town on their way to Atlanta. They stayed at our house and we got to catch up. The kids had a great time together and it was sad to see them go. 

Not pictured are our trips to the library, swimming, play dates, time at the park when there was a break in the heat, friends' birthdays, overnight out-of-towns guests, and our church's VBS.