"Great" Grandparents, part 2

My grandparents and mom made the trek up to see us last week. We spent a lot of time hanging around our house and it was great to get to see them for an extended period. I'm really blessed to have grandparents that are not only healthy enough, but willing to travel to see us. Miles enjoyed being fed by Gigi.

 Until he got distracted by the camera.

 

The kids hanging out with Grandpa Charlie.

After they left on Saturday, we were also able to go see Grandma Audie. These two got their fair share of spoiling this week.

*September is flying by much too quickly. I'm obviously behind on posts and will get to them asap. I hate to neglect my loyal readers (i.e. my parents and in-laws).*

First Day

It's here. Today was Brooke's first "official" day of preschool. Granted, it was an abbreviated day (one hour as opposed to the two it will usually be. Wednesday she goes for an hour and a half. I'm not sure if it's to ease the kids, teachers, or parents in, but I'm sure it's a good idea on all counts.), but she was still going somewhere on her own. Without me, her dad, or one of her close family members. I was a little sentimental and had to take a photo of her at breakfast.

 

And at the front door. Which ended up making us a few minutes late. Didn't I call it? I think running late ended up being a good thing for me, though. I didn't have time to get sad. And she just stepped over the crying boy and the little girl screaming, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!" and went on her merry way into the room. I choked up a bit when I got back into the car after dropping her and heard her Princess CD playing. And for the record, I was the SECOND parent in line to pick her up, thankyouverymuch.

Her and Kali on the way out afterwards. I'm seeing an annual photo op....

We came back home and played on the playground. It was a beautiful day and I'm glad that she seems to be adjusting so well.

Little Big Boy

This little guy continues to coast along. Not a ton has changed. He's napping better in the afternoon (most days). He wakes up every morning on his tummy. I think he'll wake up happier once he's proficient at rolling back onto his back. (The blur in this pic is Ozzie's nose - not my finger.)

The Starbucks logo may be the first he recognizes. Kind of embarrassing. On a related note, I received my Gold Card from Starbucks the other day. Legitimately embarrassing.

Brooke always likes to pretend that the Bumbo is a train. He just goes with it.

He's much more of a fan of the exersaucer than Brooke ever was. It helps that he actually bears weight on his legs. He's slowly making the transition from horizontal to vertical worldview. Yay!

Family Fun

We've had some fun family outings lately. On Labor Day, we were able to get one last visit in to the pool. This isn't the best shot, but Miles had a decent time in the wading pool for the first time.

Brooke has gotten really comfortable there. She was walking around like she owned the place (with her sunglasses upside down). It was nice - I was able to actually sit in a chair and relax for a few minutes. Thanks for this pic, Jamie.

Last pool pic till Florida!

Brooke is really into underdogs lately. Receiving and giving them (to no one).

It wasn't an outing, but she helped me with brownies for the church potluck the other night.

And last Saturday, we took a walk over to watch the JV football game (Matt and Miles watched, I followed Brooke and her wooden frog around). We were able to catch the marching band practice and Brooke was mesmerized. No surprise there. We finished the morning off with a trip to the playground.

My budding photog.

Happy Fall!

Pee Skew

Brooke is going to a 2 1/2-year-old preschool (or "pee skew" as it sounds when she says it) this year and we had her orientation last Wednesday. I can't believe we're already here. How did that happen so fast?

We're at the "awkward photo face" phase. Now I'm totally getting why some of my friends' kids' pictures look the way they do. I apologize for thinking  your kids had weird smiles.

Here she is outside the school. Leading up to that day, I didn't really know how to feel. I would feel a little sad when thinking about my baby girl going to preschool, then nervous - finding things to worry about: "What if they don't understand what she's saying?"; "What if she has an accident?" - Matt reminded me that she's not the first 2 1/2 year old these teachers will have met - then excited for her. I always loved the anticipation of the first day of school. And let's be honest - I was kind of a nerd and really enjoyed school. I hope she has the same feelings.

Matt came along and we hung out in the room for the whole 45 minutes. She didn't seem to care that we were there. Which I know is a good thing, but c'mon, couldn't she have been a little clingy?!?

"Moooom, you're so embarrassing!" - she didn't really say that, but she was over taking pictures.

Afterward, we had a special "Girls Day" with her friend Kali, starting with mani/pedis.

Pink sparkles, natch.

She did well for the first 30 minutes or so, but then she was DONE. She ruined one of the flowers the lady put on her thumb almost immediately. This place was fine, but they did not specialize in kiddie mani/pedis.

"Cheese!"

Back at the ranch, Miles got to hang out with Grammie Deb and Grandpa.

We had a fancy lunch at Chick-fil-a (Complete with a play land meltdown, in case you were wondering. Someday she'll conquer that slide.).

And topped things off with a stop at Yogli Mogli.

It was great to spend some time with just my girl and we were lucky to have special friends to share the day with.

Dance party! Good thing the place was empty.

The "real" first day was today. I'll get to that update asap.