First Week of School

Here are some additional pictures of the first week of school.  You will notice a large theme with C this year...'sports pants' as she calls them.  The loves her 'athletic' wear and wants to wear it daily.  We have settled on 3 of the 5 days since her closet is full of other clothes!  Her school is very active, always dancing and moving and running at recess, so it makes sense for her to be comfortable, but I just cannot do it on a daily basis.

Second day smiles helping me edit the pictures I took of each first grader for their teachers.  She loved seeing all of the kiddos in all the classrooms.

Another day, another friend holding hands.  

It was a great first week of school and we are thankful for her entire school community!

First Day of First Grade

Just over one month ago this cute girl started first grade!  We had a lot of build up to the day and we were all excited.  Like last year, Damon made us a lovely breakfast and we all headed to drop off together.

The standard sign in front of the door photos :)

We ran into a kinder friend on the way and they walked together hand in hand. So sweet!

Last year we took a photo in front of this mural and will make that a part of our tradition as well.

Throwing up that number 1 :)

Our only family picture of the day...you can see C's scared face.  She was very excited to be back to school, but nervous about the new teacher and new friends.  She cried at drop off every day that first week.  Poor thing!  Thankfully her teachers are awesome, held her hand and reassured her.  When C is nervous being with an 'authority figure' comforts her, so there was lots of 'helping' the teachers the first week of class.

At pickup she was already doing her thing helping around the classroom and bringing the lunch bucket back to her classroom.  

Happy girl!

Such a bonus to see her cousins at school everyday!

That night we met my extended family out for a quick dinner to see Diana and William...look at that cute boy!  We miss him so very much and were happy to see him, if just for an hour.  

Hard to believe that we are already 4 weeks into school and about 4 weeks away from Fall break!  Time just flies too quickly.

Last Day of Summer

On our last day of summer before first grade started, we headed to Scandia with Avery and Landon.  It was a beautiful day outside and the kiddos had a good time.  Well, my sisters kiddos.  C was in rare form, super emotional and just down right rude to her cousins.  So sad, embarrassing and frustrating for me.

Thankfully Avery and Landon were troopers and C's behavior didn't phase them too much.

How cute are these cousins?

Later that evening C and I took a bike ride (in a dance leotard) to help us clear our minds and reset.  

This girl challenges me.  She inspires me.  And she is always pushing me to better myself as a person and a parent.

Later in the week she shared with me that so was feeling emotional about starting first grade and all the changes that were coming up.  Hopefully next time she will channel her emotions in a more productive manner.  There is always something to work on in this parenting game.  Like I often say to Damon...good thing she is cute!

Last Weekend of C's Summer

The last weekend of school included a new tradition for our family...lunch picnic on campus to peek into the classroom windows and talk about the new schedule.  It was a super warm day and we enjoyed our time together walking around before the hustle and bustle of the school year.

This dress makes her look way too grown up - yikes.  It'll stay in her closet on school days!

I also had a fun Halloween themed photo session at My Gym.  I love going there and seeing my former work on their marketing materials.  

The best model of the day was my sweet smiley nephew.  He rocks his session and was in the majority of the final images selected from the corporate office.  He enjoyed the alone time in the gym and the special time with his mom and auntie.

When I got home I was able to run through the sprinklers with this girl!

Making lots of memories on a Sunday night :)

Last Thursday Concert of C's Summer

We headed up to Windsor for our last late night summer concert (we will go to a few more during the school year, but won't be able to stay the whole time.)

Crazy cousins!

I did a little face painting with the girls - not my best work, but the paints weren't super cooperative.

Grandma Kris also came with us which was super special!

And we got to see Meredith and John and family a few weeks before their wedding date :)

What a life these kiddos lead :)