Grown up!

Gosh I have gotten so horrible with this blog!  I must have a half dozen halfway finished blogs to post and at least a dozen more that I haven't even begun to publish!  Shame on me!  I'll make no excuses. I'll just start posting!  

Above are some pics from Caleigh's fist week of school.  I just can't get over how grown up she looks in these pictures. Her clothing, her poses, her hair, and her facial expressions all scream " I'm so grown up!" And I can't stand it!  But I do love it. 

We Made It!

Well, we made it through Caleigh's first week of Kindergarten!  

Her first five days of school are in the history books.

She seems to love her new school and her teachers.  

She isn't always forthcoming with information and sometimes getting more than "good" and "fine" as answers to my questions can take some creative maneuvering on my part. 

As a special celebration of completing her first week of school, she got to choose where her and I went out for dinner since her daddy was working. Her restaurant of choice was Pizza Hut. 

We walked in, sat down, and Caleigh says "it's too hot in here!"  Our waitress comes over and apologizes that the air conditioner is out. Caleigh then wants to leave, so we do. 

Her next choice is IHOP. And so we end up chowing down on pancakes, chicken fingers, and waffles and being totally silly!  

M&M 27th Birthday

The clowns are in town!  Lol. Or it's just Megan and Molly!

They celebrated their 27th birthday on August 7th.  

This year's theme was The Circus!

Seems fitting since they are both pretty silly girls! 

Of course there were super cute decorations and themed party snacks.

Delicious birthday cake!

And adorable party favors in cute popcorn pails. 

Caleigh wanted in on the birthday fun and dressed up as a clown....she wore the wig in honor of Aunt Meggie! ; )

Happy Birthday my Rugrats!  

After School

We got her back!

After just over 7 hours, she was with us again!  We couldn't wait to get her!  We wanted to know ALL about her day.  She was in a GREAT mood when we picked her up.  She is waking up earlier in the morning than she ever has and I was expecting her to be tired.  And she was.  Thus, she didn't want to tell us anything except that her day was "Good."  

She eventually started to give us some details from her day and bit by bit we were able to piece together what she did all day.  She was very proud that she got asked to help the teacher and "watch the other kids" at one point in the day.  Family members were calling to ask about her day and she did NOT want to talk it.  In fact, it agitated her!  She would say to us, "I already told you about my day now you can tell them for me!"  She didn't want to be on the phone with anyone!

Her first day in the cafeteria was interesting.  The child next to her bit into their ketchup packet and sprayed ketchup all over her face and hair.  Didn't seem to faze her!  Her white hair bows came home orange tinted.  What a way to start a school year! 

I had the idea to create a "Welcome Home" party for Caleigh when she came home from school.  She loves her Barbies and so Chad and I set up this little scene and she LOVED IT!  

That night I had a folder full of work.....for me!  I thought I had filled out and turned in every single needed paper until she brought home a folder full of more!  Her homework the first day was to tell me  the name of her school and her favorite thing about her day.  Her favorite thing was "that the other kids are so nice."  Let's hope it stays that way!

This is the first thing Caleigh has brought home from school.  She had pictures on the front and the back.

So here are the infamous ketchup stained hair bows.  My mom suggested I make an OXY paste and rub it on and let it sit.  I went to get my OXY and it had fallen behind my washer and dryer.  I asked Chad to get it since he's taller than me.  He couldn't reach it so he tried using a bent coat hanger to help himself.  When he did, he accidentally caused a spark in the back of the dryer and started a lint fire in the dryer.  There were flames and smoke and a horrible smell that followed.  Caleigh was terrified.  Thankfully, there was no real damage and once the breaker was flipped back on, the dryer was working again.  AND Caleigh's hair bows are as good as new!  Maybe even better! 

So this was our very eventful first day of school!  We all went to bed a little frazzled and a little worn out.  Here's hoping that the rest of the school year isn't as traumatic as the first!

First Day of Kindergarten!

Chad had the day off of work just for the occasion.  We drove to the school and both of us walked her into her classroom.

We dropped off her inhaler with the school nurse in the front office and then she lead us to her class.  If she was nervous at this point, she sure didn't let us know.  

Once inside the room, her first responsibility is to check in with her parapro, turn in her folder, place her lunch or money with the parapro, hang up her book bag, and then find her seat for her morning work.  She did all of this with little hesitation.

Once she found her seat, she seemed right at home.  She grabbed some crayons and set right to work.  

My beautiful girl kissed us bye and we walked out.  That was it.  No tears. No hesitations. No long faces.  Nothing.  This made me so proud and so sad at the same time.  I was proud that my girl has so much self confidence that she handled everything with such grace.  I was also so sad that I no longer had a "baby girl" who wanted deeply for her mother to be by her side.  Resigning myself to the fact that "this is how it should be," I headed home with Chad to spend the morning wondering what she was doing and being ready to go get her every hour until I actually could!

Ready For First Day

HERE WE GO!

The first day of Kindergarten has arrived!

I can't believe it is actually here!  

Caleigh is so excited but she is so nervous as well.  She has told me every morning and every evening before bed that she has a "tummy ache."  

I am 1000% sure it has to do with nerves.  But, surprisingly, she has no "tummy ache" this morning.

She has gotten dressed in her new outfit from Mish and Thomas and she is ready to go!

I am willing myself NOT to get emotional, especially in front of her since I don't want to start any drama that doesn't seem to be on the horizon.  

She is such a "big girl" now!  I can't stand it!

Open House

Caleigh was excited to go meet her teacher for Kindergarten!

The first thing she noticed was that the teacher spelled her last name wrong on the board outside the classroom!

Here is the first pic of Caleigh and her new teacher.

She got to color while I filled out all the necessary paperwork.  While coloring, she met one other person who will be in her class.

She's pretty excited about starting school.  She has told me the past couple of bedtimes and mornings that her stomach hurts.  I believe it may actually be that she is nervous to be starting at a new school with new teachers and new friends.  I know she is going to miss the comfort of her preschool.  I know I already do miss it!  But, here's to a new adventure for the both of us.

Kindergarten, HERE COMES CALEIGH!

Chad's Last Two Summer Days with Caleigh

Chad's last two off days before Caleigh starts school were on a Wednesday and Thursday.  We had made some wonderful plans to take her to Six Flags and out for special treats but the weather had other plans.  It decided to rain storm for pretty much the entire morning and afternoon.  By 6pm it was sunny.  : /

But I didn't want to let the weather spoil our fun so, I embraced the weather.  By lunchtime I was hoping the rain would stop but when it didn't I decided to make the best of it.  I told Chad to grab our Slip N Slide and set it up in the back yard.  He looked at me like I was crazy.  His response was, "It's raining."  

And I said, well the slide should stay nice and wet then!

Meanwhile, I blindfold Caleigh and dress her in her swim suit and she is totally confused.

We take her outside and reveal our plan to her!

She thinks we are crazy but she is excited and runs right out into the rain!

We recruited the neighbors to play in the rain as well!

And they all LOVED it!

The following day brought enough sunny sky to head to the pool.  We grilled some bratwursts and then swam until Caleigh was tuckered out.  We then headed home and got ready to head to Caleigh's school for Open House to meet her new Kindergarten teachers!

Teen Beach Movie

Caleigh has fallen in love with the Disney Channel Movie, Teen Beach Movie.  She has memorized all the songs and loves every second of the movie.  She has watched the original movie, the sing-a-long version of the movie, and the dance-a-long version.  

The dance-a-long version has a step by step video that teaches the dance steps to the finale song.  Meggie loves this movie too so she was more than willing to learn the dance with Caleigh!  They had so much fun and it was so fun to watch!

The best part isn't on this video.  It happened right before I took the video.  Megan and Caleigh had been practicing the steps and the video does everything at "half-speed" and Megan heard the instructors  announce that they were going to now do the dance full speed!  The following then took place!

More Fun With Buck

It is hit or miss with Caleigh and Buck.  One day she is terrified.  The next day she is in command and loves him!  On this day, she is all about Buck!  They played and played and moved so quickly my camera blurred most of the pictures!  I did get a few that captured the fun they were having together.

As an added surprise, Mish invited Caleigh's friends over for dinner and to play with Buck too.  These girls wore this puppy out!  The three of them played with him until well after dark and there was lots of running, giggling, and barking involved!