First Week(s) of school

This is a big year at our house! Lily is starting 3rd grade, which is officially upper elementary! Crazy! Only 3 years left until she's off to middle school. No, this is not real. Not possible. Except it is. And my baby is off to Pre-K at a real elementary school this year! They are doing specials like music, P.E., art, and STEM, and eating lunch in the big cafeteria, they're learning to read and write and follow directions just like the big kids. When did my babies get to be so big? I'm not ready for this.

Yesterday, we were all lounging on the couch watching a movie and I asked Louisa to come sit on my lap. She is getting so big, but I'm going to try to keep my baby little as long as I can. She's always been the best little snuggler, but seriously, that teeny tiny baby is GONE!!! I started showing the girls pictures of them when they were little, and we all couldn't stop laughing at BALD little Louisa! She was so bald for about the first 2 years of life.

Oh how I wish I could go back to this sweet little face--just for a day! I loved that little bald head! As much as I would love to keep them little, time marches on, and I know I just need to cherish each moment. My favorite saying when it comes to raising kids--"the days are long but the years are short." SOOO true. Some days I am just counting down the minutes until it's bed time and they can just be asleep already. And then I look back on the time and I think, "wow, when did they get so big?!?" I'm sure every mom feels that way.

Lily. She grew up a LOT this summer. I've seen her become so independent, taking responsibility for herself and helping her little sister so much (she has more patience with Louisa than I do sometimes) and really tries to teach her stuff. She is funny, courageous, and a good friend. She is very bright and understands way more about life than I realize, and I'm so proud of the little young lady she is. I am excited to watch her grow in 3rd grade this year! Already, she is waking up by herself to her alarm, making her bed, getting herself dressed, hair combed, teeth brushed, and packing her own lunch and snack. So proud of this girl!

Louisa. Oh my heart. This girl is a beautiful crazy mess. If you would've asked me last year who the "easier" kid was, I would hands down say Louisa. This year, definitely not. My goodness. This girl is IN-DE-PEND-ENT!!!!!

So, her first day of school was actually 2 weeks ago. They started the Pre-K class earlier than the rest of the school because they wanted to get them acclimated to school life before the big kids came. On the first day, she refused to get dressed. Apparently, she figured if she didn't get dressed, she wouldn't have to go. Even Lily tried to convince her it would be okay. She'd have fun! But no. Then, I bribed her with Chick-Fil-A for breakfast thinking that would do the trick. She wanted the Chick-Fil-A of course, but she wanted to eat in the restaurant. No, we'll take it to school and you can eat it there. She wasn't having that. The whole way to school she cried huge crocodile tears. "No Mommy! I don't want to go to school. I don't like you Mommy. You are making me so sad. I don't want to go to school! Please Mommy! Let me stay with someone! No Mommy! You're making me so sad!" It was pretty much that on repeat the entire way--luckily only about 5 minutes, but when it doesn't stop, Mommy is about ready to cry!

Thankfully, I checked in with her sweet teacher a couple hours later and she assured me that she was just fine. Happily playing and had stopped crying right after I left. Phew!

We are still working on our morning routine. This morning she was tired and didn't want to wake up and get dressed. Meanwhile Lily was doing her usual: happily getting up to her alarm, getting dressed, packing her lunch, etc.

I'm happy and excited for this new phase of our lives though. With both girls at school, it's been fun to hear about their days and the things their learning, the friends their making, and the funny stories they share.

Last week Louisa told me she got married at school. I asked what the boy's name was and she said she didn't know, but he had a green shirt. At least she knows what's important in finding a mate. Ha!

Lily insists she doesn't like boys, but we hear an awful lot about a particular boy who was in her class last year. He's not in there this year, but she still sees him on the playground at recess. ;-)

Elementary school is fun!