Today was Emily’s third day of school and the start of her first full week. I asked Emily if she wanted to walk in to class by herself or if she wanted to be dropped off. She definitely wanted to be dropped off. She had been saying this since Friday morning when I walked her in. We practiced what would be involved in getting out of the car with her backpack and lunchbox. Here is a photo of Emily walking away from the car all determined to walk in by herself. I love the determination, it will serve her well in life.

On the drive to school today, I remembered a trip we took when Emily was just nine months old. Emily and I tagged along with Daddy on a business trip to San Francisco. During Daddy’s meetings, we walked around the sites of the city. We rode the cable cars a few times and one time I rode on the outward facing bench in the very front. I held on very tight to Emily as we rode, but I felt pretty exposed. It was a strange sense of excitement and thrill combined with a little terror mixed in. Taking Emily to school and watching her be bold and try these new things has been very similar. I’m so excited for her and watching it happen has been thrilling mixed with trepidation.

The other story from the morning was Julia’s response to Emily going to school. She asked me why we switched the car seats around in the car, she asked when we were getting Emily back, and when Emily got out of the car and we pulled away, she proclaimed that she “wanted her Emily back”. They missed each other so much that . . . before they were out of the car at home they were yelling at each other and mad about a grievance. Oh well, they are just kids and most likely a bit tired and hungry. Hopefully, it will all even out in a week or two.

Julia is starting a new pre-school program this year called Camp Faith. This program has a few advantages for us. It is two days a week and it is right at the end of our short street. Today was her first day and she was excited to go and play at “her church” as she calls it.

We got there on time, so there were only two other kids already there. She was quick to sit down and pick out the color of play-dough she wanted. She hardly gave Mama a good-bye before she got involved in her own world of play. Her best friend is also in the class with her this year. The teacher told me that they sat together all day as they changed activities. When I picked her up she was happily digging through a “treasure chest” for a prize. She picked out a Sponge Bob plastic toy that she has taken to calling “Big Bob”. Funny kid.

Because of our close proximity of the church to our house we walked home today. Hopefully this will be something we can make into a habit. The distance seemed pretty short when walking it alone, but once Mama was joined by the 3-1/2 year old it got a bit longer. I bet this distance will shrink each week as we walk it.

It is going to be a great year for her!

Julia out in front of the church with the pretty (and wet) flowers wearing her favorite kitty outfit.

Julia playing with Juno at the beginning of class. Juno lives up the street and two years ago was in the same swim class with Julia. Small world.

This day finally came!

Emily picked out her clothes the night before, ate a good breakfast, consented to a few photos, packed up our family in the car, drove the mile and half, and made the journey into her new stage of life.

Emily was a little apprehensive about the unknowns of the day, but also excited about school. She was literally jumping with excitement before we left the house this morning. When we got to school she marched down the hall with her Daddy like she knew what she was doing. Emily patiently waited her turn in line to turn in her school supplies and meet the teacher. She seemed pleased with the attention and then enjoyed her practice exercises while she waited for the class to start. We asked her to give us hugs and tell us goodbye and then she happily went back to work on her desk assignment.

When it was time for pickup, she seemed to have a bit of a deer-in-headlights look until she found her Mama in the right car. Once the "helper" was getting her in the car she was exuberant to tell Mama that "School is Great!". She wasn’t a fountain of stories on the way home, but she continued to tell little things that has given a window into her day. She loved hearing stories and going to lunch. No playground today because of the rain though. She is definitely looking forward to going back on Friday.

When we dropped off Emily in her class we took the whole family. It seemed like a good idea for Julia to know where Emily would be during the day. When we left the classroom to walk down the hallway Julia told us, "I want my sister!". She did get settled and she had her own excitement for the day that distracted her. It was pretty sweet to see how much she enjoys being with her sister.

Emily’s new homework desk ready for when she has some.

Our Big Girl!

Check out her BIG flowery backpack. Maybe we will remember to get a photo like this around the end of the year to see how much smaller the backpack looks as she grows.

Our photos had to be taken inside today due to a rainstorm.

Her favorite Kitty lunchbox accompanied her to school today.

Her first school lunch, she told me that she finished it just in time. It seems lunch ended just after her last bite. Emily can be quite a talker at lunch instead of focusing on eating.

Emily walking down the hall to the Kindergarten wing. She wanted to do it on her own and didn’t want to take Daddy’s hand. Our independent girl!

I’m sure this will not be Emily’s assigned seat, but it was for the first day with her first coloring and writing activity. She was pleased as punch.

Emily with her Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Pendergrass

We stopped on the way home and celebrated a weekend at Jolie’s house. Grandma rode up with us and got to visit a bit longer. Mikayla was sweet to share her room with us. All the girls wanted to do was to play with Natalie and Dylan and swim in the pool. They got to do all of these things a lot. On Saturday Uncle Ken and Aunt Cindy came over for the evening and it was great to visit.

It is great when peer pressure pushes the right way. We had used this visit as motivation for the girls’ swimming class and now swimming with Natalie and Dylan wasn’t just a reward, but more inspiration. Emily enjoyed being able to jump into the pool at any point with Natalie. Julie refused to be left out of the fun and continued to build her confidence at swimming so she could jump in the deep part too. Dylan, being the lovable rambunctious boy he is, was a bit rougher in the pool and would push off of other people. The girls never seemed to mind his pushing and it seemed to make them better swimmers too. One of Mama’s favorite thing from the pool was watching Dylan and Julia swim underwater and be nose-to-nose looking at each other. Just a cute side note – Julia took to calling Nichole, Coaly. It is just her own special name.

Emily, Natalie, and Dylan – pool buddies. It has been so much fun to watch Dylan over the years become more interested in playing with the girls. It is a little tough being the only boy in the gaggle of girls, but he is doing great with them!

Uncle Ken started a game of throwing the little kids into the pool, for which they all lined up to take turns. The game evolved into Jennifer and Brett swinging the kids into the pool in turn. They loved that game too.

This is Julia’s favorite pool game . . . jumping in, getting out, and doing it all over again!

Dylan and Emily bonding over a little tablet movie watching. He was pleased to show Emily a Dragon movie (one of his favorite topics). They sat together enjoying it for quite a while.

Remarkably, Julia has decided that she likes dogs now. It was like some switch was changed and instead of worrying about if Max was in his cage, she was now wanting to know where he was. She liked to go and speak to him in his cage. She even would seek Max out to pet him. She has asked for a dog and has requested two boy dogs. She is quite insistent on the matter too. We will see, but Mama is pretty sure that when a dog comes into our family there will only be one.