Happy 4 Months, Natalie!

 This month Natalie:

--went to the nursery for the first time at church

--stopped being swaddled

--started sleeping on her tummy

--quit taking a pacifier (sad day!), sucked her thumb a few times, but finally settled on her fingers.  gross.  At least thumb sucking is cute.  finger sucking??  Oh well, at least she has something that soothes her

-rolled back to front

--blows raspberries

Back to Front

Red Day

Every month, Kate's school has a color day to reinforce the color they are talking about!  This month was Red!  I discovered we don't own any red clothes, but Kate's friend, Audrey, came to the rescue!

a why not add one of this cute kid....

Duck Tail & a Bubble

I got to Kate's school a little early today & happened to catch them lining up to go outside.  It's so fun to see her start to learn "school" things!

A Great First Day

David stayed home the first day & let me take the big girls to their first day of school without toting a baby along.  We had all gone to meet-the-teacher, and with Natalie crying the whole time it was a bit of a disaster, and this plan worked much better.

Kate finally getting to wear her "yack-cack"

Didn't even tell them to pose like this.  Sweet sisters.

I dropped Hannah off quickly with few pictures, since she doesn't really get this whole thing anyway, and as to be expected at 20 months old there were a few tears.  They were over before I got down the hallway though!

Hannah's cubby

 I spent a little longer getting Kate settled.  You can see her "x" on the front row, 2nd from the right.  This is where they do their "circle time".

 This is her spot at the table where they go when they first arrive.  She loved the lacing cards waiting for her.

 I tried to take her picture with her teacher - "Mrs. Tina", but she was having none of it.  By this point she realized I was about to leave & was not thrilled.

 She did cry when I left & even though I wasn't surprised I hoped it wouldn't last long.  She always has a hard time with new things, and since she knew no one I expected it.

This chubby cheeked girl & I spent the day running a bunch of errands to get ready for the start of our MOPS year, and enjoyed a quiet day together!

Hannah actually took a nap on her first day & none of her report surprised me either - happy, outgoing, friendly, & busy.  That's my Hannah girl.

Kate definitely did NOT sleep which didn't surprise me.  Her teacher said she had a great first day though, and we are looking forward to a fun year!

First Day of "School"

The girls (mostly Kate!) were so excited to get to go to "school" this morning!  I basically had to pry Kate's backpack off of her last night!  She wanted to sleep with it on.

I caught a few pictures of them before we headed off for their very first day!!

 Oh my sweet middle child.  I could just eat her up.  

 So, so full of life!

My big girl!  So grown up these days - always ready for what's next...

 Seriously.  Too much.

 Love 'em.  Just love 'em.

"School"

When baby #3 entered our house, a very wise friend advised David to suggest that my big girls go to Mother's Day Out.  Oh.my.goodness.  I was so thankful.  The simple things like the grocery store, running any type of errand, or the dishes had become pretty difficult with three kids 3 & under.  So I went on the hunt, and found what I think is going to be a great "school' for the girls.

They will go Monday & Wednesday from 9-2:30.  The curriculum includes a music day, a bible class day, "career" weeks, field trips, letters, numbers, etc. I'm nervous about how naps will go - seeing as how Kate is a mess to get to take a nap these days & Hannah's still in a crib.  (But, these people are used to these things & I'm sure they'll work their magic!

The past few weeks we've been collecting all the necessities - backpacks, lunchboxes, and I decided I'd make their "nap mats".  Whew!   Definitely didn't realize what I had gotten myself into (many, many, many hours) until it was too late, but I was happy with the results.

I combined a few different patterns to make them.  Kate's I left the pillow & blanket detached since she is used to having it that way.

all three together

The nap mat

her pillow

her blanket

On Hannah's I attached the pillow to the top since she's not used to sleeping on a pillow usually.  I hope it keeps it from getting away from her.

Hannah's nap mat

close up of her pillow

her blanket wasn't done when I took these pictures, but this is the fabric that is on the back of it.

And here are their outfits laid out & ready to go!

can't get this picture to rotate for anything...oh well.

I think we're ready to go!