Our very own river

Thanks to Isaac's rain we've got a lot of standing water in our backyard.

Grace calls it a river.  Probably because I dug a tiny little ditch to pull the water behind our back fence where the creek is.  And that water does move fast and solved most of our drainage issues.

But neither Grace nor Faith were concerned with that.  They just wanted to play in the rain and splash in their river.  And I let them both sing, dance, and splash all afternoon.

Playing in the hurricane

Hurricane Isaac is coming to visit.

We're taking full advantage of all the rain.

We've danced to our hearts content.

And even put pots on our heads.  Actually, Grace was supposed to fill this pot up to water our hibiscus trees on the front doorsteop.  She did and then she wanted to wear the pot as a hat.

And Isaac did bring us a good bit of water.  Here is our finger pier almost under water.

But thankfully we had no damage, just a lot of rain.

Asleep outside

Faith wanted to swing outside today.  This chair swing is one of her favorite activities.

 

 

Even so, I was quite surprised to see her fall asleep in it.

On second thought, I shouldn't have been surprised.  This baby can sleep anywhere.

The first week of school is finally over

The first week of school is finally over and we've developed something of a routine.

I wake Grace up and get her ready for school, a quick breakfast that's only halfway eaten, Faith comes dashing down the stairs just in time for us all to go outside and wait for the school bus.

Grace is still enjoying each day of school. 

Faith still misses her "see-sur" (sister) and waits on the doorstep for her to come home.

Then after Grace gets home, we have a snack and some quiet time, before we play, play, play for the rest of the day.  I do need to mention that Grace asked if she could BUY her lunch next week.  It will be interesting to see how she likes cafeteria food... 

Funny lunch

I'm trying to keep school lunches fun for Grace.

So today I made octupus hotdogs.

And sent her a little note on her napkin reminding her how much I love her.

Baby

While Grace is at school, Faith has some quiet time to play.

And she likes to play Baby.

She takes her baby, puts her in Benjamin's carseat.

And then tells me she's "Doeing to duh doe-see door wiff my bee-bee" (Going to the grocery store with my baby.)  Ah. My sweet little baby girl is growing up and turning into quite the little Momma...

First day jitters

Grace came home from school with all kinds of neat schoolwork.

They started their first day of school by drinking "Jitter Juice."  Grace explained to me that when we doing something different for the first time sometimes our tummies have little butterflies flying around inside.  When you drink Jitter Juice it makes all those butterflies take a nap and then you aren't nervous any more.  And it works! 

Then they read the Kissing Hand.

And wrote their names with star stickers.  Her first day of school was a fantastic success and she can't wait to go back.  I hope she keeps her enthusiasm throughout the year.

Grace came home wearing this little necklace that shows her which bus she will ride on throughout the year.  It's clever of the school to put a picture of an animal on each bus and a matching tag on each kid.  Then the school bus driver stands outside the school bus checking names off their list as the children come on board.  In addition, if any child is found roaming the hallways, the adults know just where to take them.  It seems to be very efficient system.  And I like it.

Car rider line

Faith, Benjamin, and I picked Grace up from school today in the car line.  I was one of the first mom's to arrive - car number 6 to be precise - and I arrived at 2:45.  School gets out at 2:55ish.  But, Grace did not get into my car in 3:15.  Fortunately for me, it was a gorgeous day out and both Faith and Benjamin napped in their car seats while we waited for Grace.  It was interesting to watch the school's process for sending students home.  The bus riders are loaded onto their buses first, and only after the buses pull out do the car riders start loading up.  The craziest thing was we got home only 5 minutes before her school bus arrived.  Going forward, I think Grace riding the bus home is a fantastic idea.   

First day of kindgergarten

Today was Grace's first day of kindergarten.

So I packed her a hungry caterpillar lunch consisting of turkey rolls, cheese, brocolli, and grapes with honey mustard dipping sauce.  Trust me, it tastes better than it looks...

And here's Grace very excited for her first day of school.

She has her backpack, lunch box, and sparkley shoes.

And just because she has to wear a uniform, that doesn't mean she can't be sparkley and cute!

And yes, we let her ride the school bus to school.  The pickup spot is directly in front of our house which made it a little easier for me.  We had planned to drive her but she has diligently asked to ride the school bus.  She begged for a whole week before we gave in.  And when that school bus pulled up to our stop, Grace bounded up the steps without looking back until she found a seat.

Apparently, nowadays, all the cool kids ride the school bus.  It wasn't like that when I was in school.

And as it drove away with my little girl, I waved until it was out of sight.  My heart sank a little and my eyes started to water.  My little girl isn't so little any more.  She's a full-fledged kindergarten growing up much faster than I like.  I'm really gonna miss her for the7 hours a day that she's gone.

And so is her little sister, Faith.  Faith had been asleep while Grace got ready and headed off to school.  As I turned to come back inside the house I saw Faith standing solemnly there at the window just watching.

When I came back inside she asked, "Ware my Race-y doe?"  (Where did my Gracie go?)

She was heartbroken and replied, "I wun my Draycee bat!"  (I want my Gracie back!) 

 

And that melted my heart even more. 

Benjamin smiles

Benjamin smiled today for no reason other than seeing his Momma.  My little boy is turning out to be quite cheerful and laid back.  He certainly takes after his Daddy.

All the small things

Faith is such a special little girl.

She makes the funniest of faces.

And has little beauty marks all her own.  Like this one above her ear.

On her ankle.

And her belly button, too.

It's her little quirks and tiny marks that make her so darling.  My, how I love this little girl.

Playful snacks

Grace wanted a special snack today.

So we made butterflies out of pbj, grapes, carrot sticks, and cheese.  Yum!

All the little monkeys swinging from the trees

Today the kids were looking out the window trying to decide what to do.

Why not climb a tree?

They could play Tarzan and Jane!

Or swing like monkeys.

They love to climb in the trees while Faith and Luke stayed on the ground.

They all get along so well.

And now we have two more.  Scarlett and Benjamin.

I hope they always remain best friends. 

Visiting MeeMee and Pappy

We are in Charlotte visiting our family.

David and his kiddos got a quick picture with MeeMee.

 

Stephen and Grace are best friends.

Stephen is a bit of a camera bug, too.

And here we all are together.  One big happy family.