1st Day of Kindergarten!

I survived!! Oh wait...it's not about me. Ella was awesome! She woke up really early and asked every few minutes if it was time to go to the bus stop. I do believe every time she asked, I cried. I really tried to hide my emotions from her, but it was next to impossible! I think she had come to expect the tears though. 

 

We walked her to the bus stop. Don't worry. I brought tissues. The bus has been my biggest hesitation as a parent. I'm afraid she will be left behind, get on the wrong bus, get off at the wrong stop, ect. Many worries. But I will say the morning bus was the most organized bus I have ever seen. Driver was equipped with a loud speaker and the assistant had the kids line up by grade. It was a huge relief for me. I still drove to the school to make sure the bus made it there OF COURSE. 

And it did. I'm glad I drove there though. The school is huge and some of those sweet little Kindergarten students were as lost as can be. I helped at least three find their teachers. To use the word chaotic would be an understatement for the first day of this new school;) I'll give them a little grace and be nice because I know first days of schools are always the craziest.

Seeing Ella in her classroom made me feel better. I snuck a quick picture (it's a must have, right??) and then we left and took the kids to the park across the street. Watching Madeline play today without Ella left me feeling a bit empty. I know it was hard on Madeline as well. She broke down right after the bus pulled away which made me cry again (shocking at this point) and said she wanted Ella home. Then when we left the school she told me we forgot Ella. After we got home she started to ride her bike towards the bus stop. I asked her where she was going and she said "to the bus stop just in case Ella came home". Cue tears. (from me) She spent a lot of time just sitting on my lap today coloring and playing with stickers. I may or may not have fed her ice cream at 10am to make her feel better. 

I felt like time crawled a little today. I missed her like crazy and wished her teacher could just text me pictures of her all day. Can't I pay an assistant to do that?! (Must relinquish control...soon) When it was time to pick her up from the bus stop, Madeline ran outside cheering and I have to say I was cheering, too. Even Sam was cooing and talking up a storm and smiling big. Tom was anxious as well and made sure he was home for it. Ella adds an irreplaceable sweet spark to our family. Seeing her open mouth smile as the bus came to a stop made me realize I shouldn't worry so much about my baby girl. She's going to be just fine. And so am I.

 Love her career choice:) 

Sweet sisters

Daddy and his girls!

Love this picture!!

Walking to the bus stop

Sam the man just hanging with me. He's such a trooper! 

The point where I wanted to throw up, but luckily was distracted with Sam spitting up all over instead;) Maybe he shared my nervous feelings? 

My baby...is this really happening??

It is! All smiles and waves. 

Then I thought she was going to cry (yes! She WILL miss me..woohoo!) but then I did a little dance and pointed to the palm of my hand (from that book The Kissing Hand...when the child misses their mama they remember she kissed the palm of their hand to remind them she's always there) and she was back to smiling again. Whew. Crisis averted.

My absolutely amazing friend Jen made it to the school in time to see Ella get off the bus. Her son Ryan is in Kindergarten as well. She will never know how much I appreciate her being there so Ella had a friendly, familiar face to greet her at the school. And to capture these moments for me. 

She was alllll smiles even without me around;)

Ella and Ryan

Madeline surprised them on the playground. Ella was ecstatic!

Having fun before school starts

Meeting her teacher! 

Me and mine:)

 One last goodbye! Gosh I adore the heck out of these two. Their sister bond is crazy strong. I hope it stays that way forever. 

The little sisters!

I took a very quick photo. It was the best I could do;)

Day one is done. She had a great first day. Art was her favorite part. She didn't really eat her lunch (Madeline gobbled it down for her ha!) and was asleep by 7:30. I'm kinda digging this school thing.  I can only hope we are all this happy as the year continues on. :)

T'was the Night Before Kindergarten...

And all through the house...mommy was crying. Seriously. I can't stop. It's borderline insane.

My baby girl, my firstborn, my Ella starts Kindergarten tomorrow. I remember when she was born, her very first day of life, I thought about how one day she will have to go to Kindergarten. One day, I was going to have to allow her to leave my side and enter the world of public education, letting someone else to take care of my child all day long. And that day is actually here. Gone are the days of waking up, relaxing in our pajamas and having tons of time together. Gone are the days of eating lunch together, baking cookies, reading, writing, learning, taking trips to the park...together. It will all have to wait for the weekends. I'm so used to having my little three amigos with me every second of the day. I can't imagine it any other way. But I will have to.

Time goes by fast, huh? Tomorrow, she will get on the bus (dear god the bus...please don't lose my child), and head to school to a teacher she has never met...to a classroom she's never been in. She will be on her own, and I can only have faith that she will be ok. That she will be better than ok. I pray she has fun. That she makes new friends. That she eats her lunch (which I am packing with every Hello Kitty lunch mechanism out there!). That she minds her manners and is sweet to her classmates. That she talks to her teacher and lets her know she can count to 100+, spell words, add and subtract. That she does have a sweet little voice and she loves to dance and sing and play. I hope her teacher takes the time to get to know our Ella and her kind heart.

All normal worries of a parent on their child's first day I'm sure.

But she's my baby. And this whole school thing is way harder than I ever imagined.

We read this book and The Kissing Hand before going to bed. I cried during the Kissing Hand. Twice. 

We had a donut picnic during the day. Gosh, I love when they get along and are just so adorable;)

 Then we had a late lunch at the beach with our friends. 

 Sweet face. 

One last little snuggle with my big Kindergartner. 

PS. I'm totally pulling a helicopter mom and stalking the bus tomorrow to make sure she gets into school just fine;) 

Block Party Tiiiiime

We took a quick trip to the other Island this past weekend. My Aunt throws a huge block party every Labor Day weekend and once the girls got word of a DJ, bounce house, and swimming...I didn't stand a chance at saying no to them. However, for a week straight I used it as bait for them to be on their best behavior. It worked to a certain extent. Beds were made. Laundry put away. Not as much fighting with each other. I might need something else to bait them with...hmmmm...

On the ferry

Ha! Ella's face mid-jump cracks me up!

How Madeline scoots around...adore her!

 Gambling is always fun! Live horse races (using people and dice instead)...we won the first round. Not so much luck after that though! 

 My aunt and uncle have four frozen margarita machines in their garage. One was a non-alcoholic slurpee:) The girls loved it and their guitar cups!

Night time! Corn hole, glow everything, and italian ices!

Ella told me that day how she planned on staying up all night with her cousins. I told her to go right ahead. Once midnight hit, I told her to get into her pajamas. She said "but mom, I am not ready to sleep." I said "Ella you stayed up all night. You made it to Sunday!" She was so excited and put on her pajamas and as soon as her head hit that pillow, she was out. Very proud that she "stayed up til the next day" hehehehe

Kindergarten Orientation

Ahhhhhhhhh I am in disbelief that my baby girl is starting Kindergarten next week. Cue the waterworks please. (No, seriously. I cry all the time about this. I need a 12 step program about letting go of your firstborn) It's inevitable. I was holding back tears at the darn orientation for gosh sakes! I can't help it. Ella is totally ready for school, but mama is not! I know I'm going to worry about her riding the bus, not getting lost, opening foods at lunch, making friends, not being bullied. I'm hoping she talks enough in class to show her teacher she does have a voice;) There are so many worries going through my mind. The mom in me will forever worry about my babies, but I am really excited to see Ella flourish as well. I know I have done my part to prepare her academically and socially for Kindergarten and now it's time to let go...a little...and watch her soar. The world is at your fingertips, sweet girl. Go get it.

**off to go cry...again...**

She will be attending a brand new school! It's huge. 

Touring Fort Adams

We live on a state park. Did I mention that? When my aunt brought the girls home, we decided to show her and my cousin around the area. We took a quick, self-guided tour of the Fort and then walked along the harbor. I will say, it was very impressive. It's a beautiful fort. Originally it belonged to the Army and was an active duty post until 1950, but we gave it to the Navy in 1953. Wouldn't all my Army wives love to have this place on a list of duty station possibilities? I love how they still use it for the annual Jazz and Folk festivals. You can't beat the views... or that you're partying inside a National Historic Landmark.  Life at the Fort hasn't changed much since the 1840's either apparently. It was always known for an active social life, and that still holds true today:)

Love, love, love life at the Fort. 

Krissy (baby girl in belly) and Ella

 Sam is in there behind Ella!

 Inside old Non-commissioned officer quarters

 A cement model of the fort

 Lion King?