Big Brothers are Special

I have been putting a lot of effort into getting Zane ready for kindergarten. We talked a lot about getting on the bus, what was going to happen at school, how he was going to get home, etc.

I did not however talk to the younger ones, Gwen especially, about what it was going to mean that Zane was going to kindergarten. I talked to Lucy about how she was going to be the super big girl and my helper but Gwen... well, I didn't think she was going to even notice.

I should have known better though. Gwen misses nothing. After getting the boys on the bus, we headed back home to finish getting ready for the gym. I asked the girls to head out to the van and that is when Gwen lost it. "My brudders, MY BRUDDERS!" she screamed. "My Zane, My Zane" she sobbed. She finally got over it but she was not happy that we were leaving without them in the van. How did I miss that Gwen was someone I needed to prep for school changes too?

3rd Grade and Kindergarten- First Day of School

The first day of school is always so exciting at our house. And this year Zane got to join the party! Yesterday we went to the school and met his teacher and saw his class room. I could tell he was a bit nervous but a little excited as well.

Andrew will be working with the same teacher this year as last year. He is "looping" with her and is very excited to hit the ground running in 3rd grade.

The boys were getting ready for school this morning and Zane asked Andrew "Will you sit with me on the bus?" Andrew very nicely said "Yes, I was already planning on it." What a wonderful big brother!

When the bus showed up they both hopped right on board. I didn't have any worries about Andrew but Zane is always somewhat of a wild card. I was very happy that there were no tears and no fussing. He just followed Andrew up the stairs and sat down with him. I got big smiles from both of them through the window as the bus was driving away.

Zane made it home from school already and had nothing but good to say about his day. And he declared he is not nervous at all now for school. That is what I call a great first day of school experience!

Hard Work

I have never had a baby that enjoyed being on their tummy this much. It is very nice that Reid does not scream as soon as he rolls over.

I laid on the floor and played with my sweet little man tonight. He is so much fun. Very active and wiggly. Constantly moving. But adorable beyond belief.

Those Cheeks!

That Grin!

Those Eyes!

Be still my heart.

Scary Monster

Miss Gwendalyn has a very active imagination. Much to her own detriment at times. The past few weeks have been rough at bedtime. Gwen has got it in her head that there are scary monsters in her room. I have no idea where she is getting the notion of monsters from. We don't do a lot of monster stuff at our house. And I seriously doubt that Elmo and Cookie Monster count when talking about monsters.

Regardless of where the idea came from, it now means that bedtime is a sobbing mess with Gwen. She begs for lights (she has two nightlights) and the door open and mommy or daddy not to leave her alone. Apparently Lucy does nothing to calm her fears. I find it frustrating but I suppose that I shouldn't. I had a very vivid imagination once upon a time and could get myself terrified of hopping out of bed because there were monsters going to grab at my feet. So I guess she comes by it honestly. Winter is going to be tough though. The darker it is at bedtime the worse she is. I suppose I will take the "this too shall pass" attitude. It certainly won't last forever.

Just like Grandpa

Apparently Zane has been asking Grandpa to take a picture of the two of them with their glasses on.

Holy Six Candles Batman!

Zane has been eagerly anticipating his birthday  for weeks. He loves his birthday parties but I think all the attention embarrasses him a little bit.

When we went to look for a birthday party theme for Zane he told me he wanted a reading/Wii party. How on earth those two go together is beyond me. Since it seems to have been beyond the party supply store too we ended up with Batman.

The question for me is always "How on earth am I going to make a cake for this party?" I have to confess that this cake idea was inspired by some stinking cool Batman cakes I saw online. But when I thought about it, Zane doesn't really eat cake very often. In fact he really only likes chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. But he ADORES ice cream. So an ice cream Gotham City it was.

Remember how I said he gets embarrassed? Yeah, plugged ears during the singing. What a nut.

Presents were opened and enjoyed. Zane was thrilled and another party for this sweet man is done. They just grow up way too fast, ya know.

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream...