Gracie Goes to Kindergarten

My girl is growing up! My colleagues were amazing this morning, and worked it out so that I could drop Gracie off at school even though her drop off time is very close to the start time of my first class. I am grateful to have been there to see her take this huge step. 

 It's hard to read in the photos, but Gracie's whiteboard says

"Gracie's first day of Kindergarten 

2013-2014

I want to be: A princess

Favorite Color: All of them

Most excited about: Learning to read and recess

I want to know: What is our art project going to be?"

Outside of her classroom-her name is the pink lower left.

Her hook!

She was so excited to be going to school. I asked her if she remembered what her teacher asked her to do before entering the classroom and she said yes, did it all and ran into the classroom. No teary good-bye here. When I got home from work, I asked her how her day was and she replied, "THREE recesses?! Are you kidding me? It's HOT, hot hot!" She then proceeded to tell me how much fun gym class was even though she got in trouble because "the teacher thought I wasn't listening but I WAS!" Likely story. I'm just glad she still likes the class. She likes it because they "got their hearts goin' faster, exercised, and got strong muscles!" I hope I can go a good job nurturing this love of learning that she has. It makes this momma's heart happy to see my girl loving learning.

Kindergarten Registration

Gracie is all registered for Kindergarten! 

It took us three tries to get her school photo looking good; she seemed to think she was a supermodel!

It did turn out great, though! I'm thankful that it wasn't busy when we got there and the photog was very patient.

Dentist

This summer our girls visited the dentist for the first time. 

They were very nervous, so I let them each bring one small stuffed animal with.

Gracie waiting for her turn.

Bee waiting for her turn.

Bee when in first, and she was extremely nervous.

The hygienist gave her some sunglasses so the light wouldn't bother her. 

Gracie, all ready for a cleaning.

She looks nervous, but she really just couldn't tear her eyes from the cartoons for a pic!

Checking out her newly cleaned teeth.

They got to pick a treasure when they were done.

 When we got into the car to head home, they were already asking when they get to go back! The office is next door to a gas station and every time we stop there for gas they ask when they get to go again. 

Our family went to BWW to celebrate a successful trip.

Two Years Old!

 Jerry had his two year well child exam! He is huge! His weight is 27.8 (50%).

Height: 33 1/2" (25%)

Head circumference: 50 1/2cm (100%)
Our bobblehead :)

Daddy's boy

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jerry Richard

Jerry turned two!

 Don't worry, his fingers were ok after a few kissies!

Taking pictures with Nana.

Jerry's new bubble blower.

Anxiously awaiting the bubbles!

Bee's Haircut

We had a huge milestone yesterday. Bee decided to cut her hair short. She had a large "knotty guy," as we call their tangles, in her hair and I told her we needed to comb it out. She instantly started to whine and I said simply, "we comb it, or we cut it." She stopped, contemplated for less than a second and said "cut it." 

We went into the bathroom and did just that. 

When I got the scissors out, she started to get nervous, and asked if I would just "use what Daddy uses." She means his hair clippers! I said no, girls don't wear their hair as short as Daddy and we proceeded to cut her hair to her shoulders. 

She is not crying because of her haircut, she was excited about that. 

Her long hair, with a big "knotty guy" in it.

 I started by cutting it shoulder length and she looked in the mirror and announced "shorter!" So I tried to cut it chin length. Just as I was snipping a section she hunched her neck down to her shoulders and made me cut it too high. It ended up being about ear length, and is completely adorable.

Short hair!

SO much hair! Too bad I didn't anticipate this, we could have donated it!

Gracie's 5 Year Check Up

It occurred to me the other day that I never blogged about Gracie's five year well child exam. She was really nervous about it. She's been with me for many check ups for Jerry, and has watched both him and Bee get shots since the last time she needed them. We were honest with her, and let her know that she should expect to get some at her visit. Daddy recently got a cortisone shot, so he was able to talk with her about what to expect and she took him seriously. He told her "it will hurt, but you can count to ten and it will be done hurting." I was really glad he told me he said that to her so I could use it to make her feel better. I let her sit on my lap for the shots and we quietly counted to ten together. When we reached ten she got a huge smile on her face and she announced "it does feel better!" My big girl didn't even cry! It helped that we had the counting to ten deal plus our doctor's office gives five-year-olds a cold ice pack shaped like a teddy bear, which she promptly put on her wounds. A couple of stickers, and it was like it never even happened!

Apparently it's easier to see the eye exam chart on one foot.

Hearing test

There was no surprise in her percentiles-still 10th in both height and weight. She is now 34.6 pounds and 40 1/2" tall.

Jerry's Talkin'

Lately Jerry's communication has completely taken off. The other day he walked up to me and said, clear as day "sticker." I looked down at him, and he handed me a sticker. I was amazed. 

He has also started saying "pup pup" whenever he sees a dog. I got home from work on Friday and he was wearing a pair of pajamas I've never seen before and ran up to me as fast as he could, patting his tummy and yelling "Pup pup! Pup pup!" There was a dog on his pajamas. 

He can also say "co," which is cold and he uses it mostly when getting his diaper changed-he hates wipes this time of year! 

Today he surprised Daddy and I by taking a sip of juice and smiling up at us saying "juice" as if he's always said it.

 Bee ran away from me in a parking lot yesterday and I was panicking as I called for her to stop. She finally stopped when she heard Jerry, in my arms calling "Bee! Bee! Bee!" That was the first time I've heard him clearly say her name. He's been practicing B-anna lately too.

All is Well

My sweet, sweet boy turned 18 months on Christmas Eve. Despite being sick for the last few days, he had his well child exam yesterday. The doc declared that he is "developmentally perfect." Yea! His height is about 40th percentile (how'd that happen?), weight is 50th, and head is 90th...of course. He also got three shots, which appear to be bothering him more than any shots have bothered any of my kids. Daddy texted me during my lunch break to say that he is crying every time he puts any weight on his right leg-which is extra weird as he got two in his left and one in his right. I am praying that he's recovered throughout the day, as he was up a lot last night and would pretty much only sleep if he was on me or Daddy.