First Days of School

Another school year is {well} underway {slacker mom...} so it's time to finally share first day of school memories.  The night before 2nd grade started for this guy, I had to prove to him that mama could still carry him around, so a piggyback ride in to brush teeth was in order! 

He picked out his first day outfit and it was very fitting for him - Gavin practically lives in athletic shorts, t-shirts, and knee high socks.  Isn't he handsome?

I love that Jarrod goes into work late on the first day and can head to school with us.  We didn't get our traditional first day of school pics with mom and dad, but that's ok...I'm sure that tradition wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway considering how little he even acknowledged we were there.  I can see him telling us to just use the carline next year. :(

Just like old times....he settled right in with friends while waiting to be dismissed to the classrooms.  I love seeing him with his friends.  

We're excited to have Ms. Behnke this year.  We've heard so many wonderful things about her and I know it's going to be a great year.  {First quarter is quickly coming to an end and Gavin's in the process of being evaluated for the Gifted and Talented program, so that's a good sign of a great year!}

After dropping him off, Little Miss and I got started on his back to school chocolate chip cookies!  And thankfully, his books I ordered for his first day gift arrived just in time...they were on the porch when I got home from picking him up. 

The back-of-the-school car line is new to us this year since he's a big second grader now!  And I'm not enjoying it....it's so much more congested.  Boo.  

He had a great first day, and of course, picked lettuce wraps for dinner that night {which he technically eats in a tortilla...but still.}

Fast forward a month later, and finally it was time for Little Sister to go to school.  We had quite the meltdown a few days before school started.  Riley was READY to go back to school and she wasn't happy that it wasn't her first day yet.  Ironically, her first day happened to fall on the Friday before Labor Day {which was strange} and that meant that Gavin had the day off and Jarrod actually took the day off, too!  We had a fun family day.

Riley's been working on growing her bangs out since June, and we're finally making some progress.  She was really excited to wear this new outfit Mimi sent her. 

Mommy braided her hair to match Riley...hard to tell in the picture though.  She loved showing Daddy where she would have Jitterbugs before we headed to her classroom.

She was very quick to find something to do in her classroom.  I thought I finally convinced her to take a picture with her teacher, Miss Cindy, but now I can't seem to find it on my computer.  I'll keep looking...  She's enjoying her school year, but really misses her teacher from last year.

The three of us came back home and I got her cookies ready while Daddy and Gavin took Phoebe out for a walk.  We ran a couple errands, and then picked Riles up and headed out to a special family lunch of her choice - pizza!

When we got home, she was excited to find her cookies and new books.  We love Doc McStuffins these days. :)  She also showed me the self-portrait she made so that I could look at it while she's at school if I start to miss her.  Sweet girl.

I love that these kiddos love school so much....just like their mama!

July Photo Dump

For the sake of documenting the photos for the blog book, I'm just going to drop these right here for the sake of catching up!

We had a wonderful July.  It's our only month of 'nothing.'  No school for either kid, and for now, no scheduled activities.  I know that will change someday....but this year, July meant Nowhere to be early in the morning.  Relaxing morning.  Snuggles, TV, reading, tea parties, and legos.  We logged many hours at the pool, hit the movie theater, the splash park, the bowling alley, and the arcade.  We bounced in bounce houses, played with friends, had cookouts, and watched fireworks.  The kids planned dinners, made forts, had sleepovers in each other's rooms and the living room, and of course, we added a new puppy to our family.  Everything was truly wonderful!

Happy Birthday, Riley! {4 +1 month...}

Four.  F.O.U.R.  How?  Seriously??  The last four years have flown by, and everyday this little girl makes challenges us to practice patience, encourages us to sing to our own tune, and ensures that we smile as many times as possible.

For at least the last six months, Riley talked about how much she wanted to have a 'banquet.'  She talked about how we were going to have little sandwiches and drink tea, dance in the garage with boys, and have flowers everywhere and a disco ball.  Between her love of Sofia the First, Pinkalicious, and Fancy Nancy, I'm not sure exactly which one was more of the inspiration, but I was thrilled to tie them all together and give her a little birthday tea party.

I remember as I was decorating the night before thinking to myself, 'I never realized how much I wanted to have a daughter until she was born.'  I always thought I'd be a boy mom.  And to be honest, the thought of raising a hormonal teenage girl in the kind of world we live in today scares the crap out of me.  But, I can't imagine not having Riley in our lives.  She makes me so happy, and I know her Daddy and Big Brother feel the same.

We kept the party small, inviting just a handful of her favorite girlfriends and instructed everyone to dress in their fanciest clothes.  She picked out her own outfits, and as usual, rocked it.  We ordered party hats and purses for all the attendees. 

The night before her party, we let her open up an early gift - new tea sets.  We gave her two so that everyone had their own tea cup, and then I set the table that night after she went to bed.  It all came together so well!  I made sure we had lots of flowers, but it was missing her disco ball (and admittedly, we didn't dance in the garage with boys...)

Of course, our favorite baker friend dazzled us with her cake skills.  I sent her a link to the tea set that I ordered for Riley and she came through with this beauty.

As the girls came in, we presented them with their hats and purses, and after a few minutes of play time, we got started by filling their purses with lots of fun jewelry.  Next up, party games!  And what kind of games do you play at a fancy tea party?  Bingo, of course.  :)

The girls were served lemonade and water in their tea cups as we played games and laughed.  I just loved watching Jarrod in his Daddy role, serving all the little princesses that joined us that morning.

The girls all looked so beautiful!

Lunch was right on point for a tea party - finger sandwiches, fruits and veggies, cheese and crackers.  I think they all enjoyed it.

Gavin didn't join the girls last the fancy table, and of course, he didn't want his picture taken.  He did, however, have no issue at all stuffing as many starbursts into his mouth during our Bingo games as possible, and then wasn't in the mood for lunch.  Funny how that works!

Cake and ice-cream time was a big hit!  Mara's cakes are so delicious.

Riley got a lot of nice gift from her friends!  A car for her dollhouse, some sticker books, Barbies, Palace Pets, games, and more!

We went out to dinner that night at a restaurant of her choice - Mojito's because she wanted a quesadilla.  No surprise there!  The next morning, her actual birthday, we of course had our traditional birthday pancakes before surprising the birthday girl and her brother with our first visit to the new children's museum in town.

I think our little lady had a great birthday!  We can't believe how amazing she is and love watching her grow everyday.  We just wish our days would slow down just a little...