Please meet Mr. Sparkles, the bear.

Ana was star student this week.  As part of the honor she got to bring home the class mascot, Sparkles the Bear, to care for him all weekend.  Part of the care was introducing him to his wife, Serena (also known as Ana's new build a bear) and son baby S.
FUN FUN FUN!

Oh the joy in Ana's face- she told me last night that she is so happy she can't stop smiling- I wish I could say the same for poor little Tay (she cries more than laughs now days- new school without Ana, new house, no daddy and mommy in class at night is a bit too much for her).

Our new house.... if all goes well we close 10/28

4 Bedrooms up PLUS a 5th Bonus room- HUGE!

SUNROOM with Teak Ceiling

Full Finished basement with TV, minibar/kitchen, sauna and more

NEIGHBORHOOD PARK- just down the road (about .1 mile away, 1-3 blocks down) the girls have nature at their finger tips. Here they are breaking in the new 'hood!

Taylor's First Writing Journal

9-1-11  I love my cat  Cat my sat luv to plae.  My cat love me.  My cat love to sleep.  My cat love to hid (e).

8-26-11 My fish.  My fish is gld (gold). I luv My fish.  My fish luve ME.

In memorial of Princess

For those of you who know us well you know we have (had) two pet goldfish.  One was won at a fair and is still with us (5 months later) and the other was bought by Ana with her prized birthday money, the first of her life (6 years old and getting money for birthday- cool, huh?).  She saved that money for many many months, waiting for the perfect thing to buy.  A friend for Butterfly, our fair fish, was her choice at last.

Princess, she named the new all white goldfish.  Well... sad to say, but Princess didn't survive the move over to the apartment.  It seems the stress was just too much (I know how she feels!).  Here is her grave that the girls made for her.

May she rest in peace.  We love you Princess.

A moment of sadness.....

I'm sitting here in our new apartment, Daddy back in WI and girls sleeping away in their rented beds wondering where and when did they become SO BIG...

I guess I've been so busy these last 2 years that I missed the transition from toddler hood to school-aged and it makes me really sad.

Scrolling back through my pathetic attempt to capture our life on blog has proven to me that in the not so distant past Tay was just a baby, complete with curly Q's and chubby cheeks, and Ana was a pre-schooler in the fullest sense of the word.   And as I scroll down memory lane I think about our day today- frustration on my end because I couldn't get all I needed to get done, frustration on the girls end because that toy was with sister #1 WAY TOO LONG, and exhaustion at bedtime.

But look at their innocent little cheeks, smiles and eyes.  How could I let myself miss this all???????

It's just another reminder that we are doing the right thing by moving home and getting the family some roots.  I'm SO SICK of transitions and I'm sure the girls are too.

Hug your kids tonight, and laugh just a little more, especially when they're frustrating.  It seems to me that those are the times they can be the cutest.... I know I will.

Tay's open house

 Here we go folks- the beginning of next 12 years of our lives.... public education!

Taylor signs in herself- LOVE the natural formative assessment.

Tay was a little shy and wouldn't leave Justin and I's side so we played on the floor with her .

still a little unsure of this whole school thing- you can see it in her eyes.

Ana's Open house

Here she is:

DRUM ROLL.....

Ana and her soccer buddy meet up up unexpectedly; not only are the in the same class, but at the same table too!

Welcome to First Grade Ana Lu.

A sampling of the curriculum- of course an open house night with Mrs. Mommy wouldn't be complete without an interrogation of the curriculum and materials... oh the poor girls and their teachers... I really AM TRYING to keep to my mommy self.

A shot of Ana's desk to help her remember what it SHOULD look like (figure I might need to pull this out in a couple of weeks as a visual aide).

Ms. Wade gave each student a sweet note and an apple. I LOVE HER already!

Ana, Ms. Wade and the apple. 

Kindergarten and First Grade Day #1

We made it through day one with 1 bus debacle, 2 lost girls, 1 Corduroy hunt, 1 Kissing Hand and 2 packets of homework... here we go folks- school's back in session!

Let me explain... today the girls began life as bus riders.  Our new apartment is on a bus route with some of our best friends.  "YIPPPIEEE", we all think.  That was until the bus driver never showed up this morning.  No worries though, we hopped in our family bus (also referred to as the family car) and drove the girls to school.  And, all though this made them late for their first day the girls were all smiles.

THEN... after school I anxiously waited at the bus stop, camera in hand, but NO GIRLS get off the bus.

They put them on the wrong bus.  

Luckily policy doesn't allow bus drivers to leave 5 and 6 year old girls at random bus stops.  "What did they do?", you ask.  They gave them a private escort on their own bus, 45 minutes later, to our OLD HOME'S front door (remember we are moving into the apartment this week because we sold the house).  And it all worked out  just fine because, thankfully, daddy was working from home today.

In the end, the girls  saw no problem with the whole bus dilemma;  I made sure to call school, many times, and send many e-mails to avoid future dilemmas; and, even with the bus drama the girls were all CHEERS for the new school, and quite proud of themselves.  

Ana did a hunt through school for Corduroy and Taylor did a project with the Kissing Hand.  All in all it was a great first day.

Taylor dressed up for day 1 in her all time favorite dress and new sparkly scarf

Ana, excited as ever, sporting her new school clothes for day 1!

Girls and their new neighbor/long time friend heading to the bus

The bus gang- look how nervous Taylor is... despite her nerves Taylor did GREAT (remember this is her first time EVER IN HER LIFE without Ana by her side)

Notice.... NO ANA & TAYLOR PRESENT--- "WHERE ARE MY CHILDREN?", I think to myself.

Friendly, substitute bus driver, explaining why NO BUS showed up this morning... still no Ana or Taylor though.

Our new nightly routine- snack and homework- Taylor practicing her name and Ana practicing her NEW home address (very important given today's bus dilemma)

We're back....

Something about the first day of public elementary school has inspired me to get back into the blogging mindset.  So....we're back on blogger (for now at least).

I actually have a free minute and decided to come on here and update you all, assuming of course that some of you actually still read this after my LONG delay of posting.

October already. Time flying has taken on new meaning in our house. I cannot believe that we've been through 2 months of our new life already. Part of me feels as if it's gone by in a flash and another part really feels as if this has been the longest two months of my life.

Things are good. I am being humbled as a doctoral student in Special Education and Educational Administration and Policy studies, Daddy is embracing his new Mr. Mom role with skill and the girls are trying out their new role as full time students as well; and, as if one would feel when breaking in new shoes, there has been some pain along the way.

The good news is that we're still having a ton of fun! We've managed two trips to Disney, entertained our best friends the Mckinney's as house guests and gotten to see a whole lot of Nani and Gagi, to name a few!

What else:

-Here is Taylor and Ana drawing in Taylor's new class.... isn't she so happy here?

-Cute little School Girl Ana getting ready for her day.

-Daddy partook in another bike race. This one was for Brain Cancer research and he rode in honor of Grandpa Bobby (btw he took 2nd over all).

-Above you see the girls as true ballerinas taking their first dance class with friends (oh what would we do without friends). They are the two in the far back side by side.