Back to the Beach (If You Can Believe It)

We have been totally spoiled this Summer with lots of great trips to the beach. We were lucky enough to go back to Wrightsville last weekend when the Forks had their beach house. Favorite moments of the weekend...date night at Tower 7 and the most gorgeous early Fall day you have ever seen at the beach. Good day to play hooky from work and school! Here is our weekend in pictures...thanks Donna and Marty!

 

 

Here Goes...Final Year of Preschool!

My baby just started her last year of preschool. She is super excited about it. I am super emotional about it. But for now, let's focus on the exciting part!

Last year, Collins loved school but there were lots of mornings when she didn't want to go and mornings when she had trouble parting ways with me at drop-off. Wow...what a difference a year makes. So far this year, she has been asking to go to school (and has been disappointed when it's a weekend) and has been telling people, "I am so big, I get to go to school EVERY DAY!"

She's right...she's so big she has even started walking herself into school every day. I drop her off in the car pool line. This is a first, and I wasn't sure how she would react to it. But she has done great. Watching my little girl confidently jump out of the car and stroll right through the preschool playground towards her classroom was really a defining moment for her. She has grown up so much, and I am so proud of her. (And for the record- that moment totally made me cry.)

School has started off great for C. She has 18 kids in her 4's class (wow it really is like kindergarten), and her teachers are Ms. Eisenstadt and Ms. Cartron. They seem fabulous, and the kids in her class are a good mix of old and new faces.

She is going every single morning which I was not happy about. But it seemed like the best choice for her, and so far, she seems to like it. I know she will learn so much this year and be completely ready for elementary school next year. I don't know why I have been so emotional about her going to school every day this year. It just feels too soon to me, but I'm hoping that maybe I'll get all my sadness out now and be fine next year. Right. :)

Oh Collins. I love you so. Stop growing up so fast! And have a great year at school.

Her official "First Day of School" photos...just look at that beaming little face!

Collins Gets Ready for School

When we got back from Bald Head, we had gotten a letter in the mail from Collins's new teachers. They introduced themselves and assigned her her first-ever piece of homework. They had included a blank piece of paper and asked her to write her name on it and decorate it in any way she wished. This would be her cubby name tag. 

I was nervous for her to spell her letters wrong for this first assignment but her confidence floored me. She said, "Mom, I know what to do." And she did...I was so proud of her and so aware all of a sudden of how much she has grown up. I was also impressed by her teachers and the independence they encouraged in this first assignment. It made me really excited about her school year ahead.

Collins's school actually started after Addie's so we had one free morning for just the two of us to spend together. We were both excited about this, and Collins got to choose our activities. She chose doughnuts and the science museum. We had a great time!

Then it came time for the practice school run. Collins went for half a day to see her new classroom and get a feel for the school day. She was ready for it and not nervous at all. 

 

What struck me as different from last year was her confidence. She had no hesitation about going at all and even climbed into the car by herself. She is getting so big...

The morning went great...all ready for the first official day of school!

Labor Day Festivities

Labor Day festivities started early for us with a Thursday night girls football party. Carolina kicked off the college football season! And then lost...boo. The day started off with this disturbing image...

and ended with this yummy one.

Saturday started off with this happening...he was so happy to be hauling a large pig into the house. Brian was in charge of the main dish for the Blenheim Labor Day Pig Pickin' for the second year in a row. And yes...it lived in our bathtub again...I don't want to talk about it.

Saturday was also the first State home game of the season...so of course we tailgated. Only problem? A major rainstorm right when we got there. Lucky for these girls, Brian had to borrow Tony's truck so they had a tailgate to play in...

a cool new bridge to walk over...

and Nutella-stuffed chocolate chip cookies to eat! 

On Sunday, we taught Sunday school for the first time, watched tennis, and had dinner with Al. We had jambalaya and a blueberry galette- pretty tasty. Then Brian got to work with his piggy. No comment on how we got her out of the house onto the smoker!

The neighborhood party was a success. It was a good mix of new and old neighbors, and Collins was nowhere to be seen most of the party because she was having so much fun running around with her friends. All in all, a very fun holiday weekend!

Addie Goes to School

Can you believe the time has come for Addie to go to school? We still call her our baby, but she isn't one any longer. Proof? This was her first day at Ridge Road Baptist Preschool!

 

 It didn't work out for her to attend The Raleigh School because the way their classes work, and we had a great experience with Collins at Ridge Road. So we decided that would be the best place for Addie to get started with preschool.

She is in the 1's class with Ms. Kellie and Ms. Candler. They are sweet and warm, and I think Addie will love them. There are six kids in her class, and four of them are girls. I hope she makes some new friends this year!

I have been really nervous about her going to school because we have not used babysitters with her hardly at all. (That is one perk of having grandparents in the neighborhood!). But I knew separation anxiety was going to be a real problem for her. So the month before school started, we started putting her in the nursery at church to get her used to being dropped off. It went really bad at first and then got a little bit better. So when the first day of school came, I was prepared for the worst. She did cry when I dropped her off, but according to Ms. Kellie she calmed down pretty quickly and was fine. Ms. Kellie even took these pictures of her and sent them to me! I was so relieved.

Now Addie has gone to school two more times since her first day and each week has gotten progressively harder for her. She cried as soon as I pulled into the parking lot this week, and I got a call from her teacher asking me to pick her up early because she kept getting upset. Ugh...so hard. We will try again next week and hope she eventually likes going to school. Fingers are crossed!