Preschool Begins for Grace!

 

Yesterday was Grace's first official day of preschool.  To say she was excited is to put it simply.  I'm not sure there was another preschooler there who was more ready to be dropped off...over the weekend when we asked Grace about preschool, she said, "Daddy, are you going to stay with me" (like he did at Open House).  When Brian said no, Grace's response was "Yea!!!!" :)  Then, she basically made Brian walk behind her into the classroom because she wanted to do it all by herself.  He said he followed along while Grace put her "fish" into the bucket (attendance method with the theme of fish this year) before helping her find her cubby.  And that pretty much sums it up.

 

Brian picked up Grace and her friend Maggie after school and got the report from Mrs. Kane that both the girls did great.  Shannon reported that Grace was very excited (and sweaty) when she arrived and asked to take a nap after lunch!  Guess following rules can be pretty exhausting!  When I picked up the girls from daycare, Grace only reported that she had gotten to have goldfish for snack, played in the kitchen, had lots of new friends whose names she couldn't remember, and got to color a lot.  I'm sure there was more, but that sounds like a pretty fun day to me!

Other school news:  Olivia continues to love school - she's still a bit shy when it comes to climbing on the bus but also continues to say that she likes the bus and wants to ride it home after the baby is born.  We've had plenty of early bedtimes around our house - can't say I totally mind them - and our mid-night "check in with Mom" times have disappeared too.  Weather-wise, this week has been interesting.  It's been very hot and humid, so we've had early outs Monday-today (Wednesday), and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if the same happens for tomorrow and Friday as well.  Hot temps explain these pictures of Grace - running through the sprinkler has been a favorite activity of the girls the last few days, and I have to say that I've been nearly tempted into joining in instead of just watching the fun!

 

I had to include that last picture because it's just so "Grace"

(as is the cheesy smile one from earlier on!).

First Day of Kindergarten!!!

 

Today was Olivia's first day of school!  Wow - I've been thinking about this day all summer, and I can hardly believe it arrived so quickly.  Hard to believe I started teaching again too, of course - summer goes so fast.  Liv's been pretty excited about school, and her excitement level ramped up even more a few weeks ago when we tried on all her school uniforms and created a "school drawer," but I was curious to see if this excitement would stay strong when the day actually arrived.  Well, she was up at 6:15, dressed shortly there after, and asking me when the bus was going to come by 7:00 - 7:35 was slow to arrive!  A couple of weeks ago, we got together for a trip to Phelps Park and Whippy Dip with Olivia's neighborhood "bus buddy" - a 6th grader around the block who also goes to St. Ben's.  Liv totally took to her.  Once we got out to the bus stop (our corner), Liv was a bit quiet, but when the bus arrived it was so sweet to see her let go of my hand, grab hold of Ava's, and climb on the bus without any noticeable hesitation.  I had a few tears in my eyes, but I think I hid them pretty well.  Oh, how I wish I could be a fly on the wall in her classroom!  :)

 

Liv's at the top of the stairs.

You can see she's holding hands with Ava still.  :)

Olivia's First Day Comments:  It was super fun!  She loved riding the bus, said Mrs. Kuennen was really nice and that she got to have crackers and milk for snack and a hamburger for lunch in addition to going outside for two recesses!  Also mentioned were the fact that they got to work on handwriting and numbers, that they do hard "things," that one kid got moved down on the "behavior lily pad," that they sang "Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory, Glory," and that she had a boy teacher for PE today but that she couldn't remember his name.  And, since she and Grace have been playing school ever since we got home, I'm guessing she had a good time.  :)  Oh, and she also told me she'd like to go back tomorrow!

Random Fact:  At Olivia's 5 year-old-check, she looked great, weighed in at 37.5 pounds, and was exactly 42 inches tall.  She also somehow managed to be both conversational and fake-shy with the doctor.  :)

Today was also Grace's open house for the 3-4 year old preschool at Saint Ben's.  She was excited to wear her backpack, but not excited about having to wear something other than dress-up clothes and/or a leotard and swimsuit with pants.  Sigh.  I've got some ideas to work on her motivation to get dressed in the morning without a fuss - I'll keep you posted.  Grace will officially start preschool next Tuesday.  She'll go two mornings a week from 8:15-11:00.  (I'll have to try for another picture next week since she was all about silly faces this morning.)

Grace's First Day Comments:  Grace told me she wanted to stay at preschool and not go to Shannon's anymore.  She also said she played with lunch toys and baby toys and with her friend Maggie.  I imagine I'll learn more in the future!

The Traveling Circle

Right after our trip to Dubuque, Brian, the girls, and I headed out on a little traveling circle that involved visits in Wisconsin with both my grandparents and my aunt and uncle in Wausau, a brief stop at my brother's in Minnetonka before a wedding north of the Cities, followed by an afternoon/evening at my parents' house (they had watched the girls for us overnight), and completed with an evening trip home to Decorah.  It was a very full, quick trip (Thursday - Sunday), but I'm very glad we did it as it was great to see everyone!

Here was our timeline...with, unfortunately, only a few pictures as I didn't do a very good job of getting my camera out.

Thursday evening / Friday morning:  Visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Hanz!  The girls did well on the car-ride over (although Grace's "When are we going to be there?" question did get rather annoying), and were excited to get out of the car.  They warmed up quickly, and especially enjoyed getting to meet Uncle Lyle and his convertible!  Brian, Grace, and my grandpa walked down to Lyle's, and while Brian went for a little jaunt with Lyle, Grace walked back with my grandpa.  He reported that she talked the entire time!  :) Liv and I took a ride too, and Liv couldn't get enough of the loud engine and the wind blowing in her hair.  My grandpa and Olivia also discussed plans for a joint 6 and 90-year old birthday party next year. Sounds excellent! Guess she was in the mood to show her adventurous self!  Friday morning, while Brian, my uncle Bob, and my grandpa Roiger went golfing, the girls and I headed back over to extend our visit (we had stayed overnight at Bob and Michelle's).  We enjoyed some delicious pancakes (Grace ate four!) and good conversation!

This picture of Grace scares me already!

The rest of Friday:  After breakfast at the Hanz's, we headed to the Roiger's for lunch - I don't think we were ever hungry on this trip!  It was great to be there and get to tour my grandma's flower garden and my grandpa's vegetable garden.  Once early afternoon hit, the girls were pretty tired, so we headed back to Bob and Michelle's for a nap - myself included.  Then, we hit up the fair where Olivia continued to be adventurous loving the medium-sized roller coaster and the tilt-a-whirl especially while Grace cried about the carousel but loved the cars that pretty much bored Olivia and Evan out of their minds!  :)  We'll keep working on her! In the evening, my grandma and grandpa Roiger came over for a delicious steak dinner accompanied by fresh vegetables from the garden.

Saturday:  We headed out pretty early arriving at Nathan's around noon.  The girls crashed for a good chunk in the car which was good because they spent the day at a climbing gym and pool before heading to Northfield with my mom and Mark (Thyme was camping with a church group).  We made our way to our hotel, attended the wedding, and then enjoyed a fun reception with a fabulous live band.

Sunday:  We got to sleep in!  However, we were still in Northfield by noon, so our days of truly "sleeping in" are apparently over.  My mom was already in the works of taking the girls swimming, so I headed down to Medford to do some baby shopping!  The girls were sleeping when I got back which gave my mom and me some nice chit-chat time.  We stayed for another tasty dinner before leaving in time to get back to Decorah by nine.

Quite the four days, I would say!

Visiting Max, Mya, and Ivy!

 

Late July, the girls and I made a day trip down to Dubuque to hang out with Max, Mya, and Ivy (and Beth too, of course!).  The girls were super excited, and we hit the road (with the girls still in their jammies because all Grace wanted to do was put on dress-up clothes with Mya) by 7:40...and, that was after we stopped to get air in one of the tires.  Speaking of Grace, she probably asked...hmm...about 100 times "When are we going to be there?" on the way down - sigh.  Anyways, it was awesome to arrive early with plenty of time to play; and, in case you were wondering, Grace was true to her word and had a dress-up outfit on within five minutes of arrival!

I especially enjoyed getting to spend some extra time with the littlest cousin, Ivy - or Ivers as the girls like to call her.  There couldn't be a cuter, spunkier little girl, and I loved her willingness to dish out cuddles and her total obsession with shoes!

We spent the day playing!  After letting the kids play around the house for awhile, which they would probably happily have continued doing all day, we headed to Jumpin' Jane's (a big building filled with blow-up slides, a climbing gym, etc).  The afternoon involved more playing while Ivy napped.  Beth got out Mya's convertible and Max's four-wheeler for the girls to try out.  They were in love, and I only wish my pictures showed their smiles better.  As for me, it was like a blast into the future watching them drive around on those things!  Other favorite activities were a trip out for ice-cream, playing babies on the swing-set, and playing with the water table.

 

 

 

We headed home later evening after a little fuss about wanting to stay from two very tired, once again jammie-clad girls.  They were asleep within ten minutes of leaving, and neither moved till we got home.  I carried Olivia in first, and after getting her into the living room, told her to head upstairs.  When I came back in a minute later with Grace, she was lying on the living room floor completely asleep.  She didn't wake up at all as I carried her limp-limb-body upstairs - no small task with a growing five-year-old or a growing baby belly!

It never ceases to amaze me how well the kiddos get along.  It's so fun to watch them play and make memories together while clearly building a great family bond.  Even if that does sound a little cheesy - it's totally true and I couldn't be more happy about it!

 Playtime at the park after going for ice-cream!

Nordic Fest 2013

Every year, Decorah hosts Nordic Fest - an annual festival celebrating the town's Norwegian heritage.  It's quite the touristy event with special performances by the Nordic Dancers, yummy traditional (and not traditional) food, a beer garden with bands (is this considered Norwegian???), craft shows, a parade, and fireworks.

This year I finally, embarrassingly enough, got the girls down to see the Nordic Dancers (opening pictures).  They definitely enjoyed watching these kids perform traditional Norwegian dances in "fancy" dresses (according to Grace).  What's especially fun about the dancers is that Grace may have the opportunity to be one...if she makes the tryouts, that is!  Brian's sister, Beth, was a Nordic dancer, so hopefully we'll have a little family in.  How to explain...every five years a batch of potential Nordic dancers is born - and one batch happens to be kids born in 2010 - Grace.  So, when she's in 3rd grade, she'll have the chance to try out, and if selected, be a Nordic dancer for the next 10 years.  It's entertaining watching them, and while the experience is definitely a commitment, it's a one-of-a-kind, unforgettable, beneficial one at that.  We'll see - but Grace is interested (as is Olivia...rather complicated trying to explain to her that she won't get this opportunity)!

 Enjoying watching the dancers.

 Not a great picture, but the girls loved the train!

 Watching the parade...notice the clothing and keep in mind that sweatshirts were eventually added.  Had to be one of the coldest Nordic Fest parades ever!

Swimming Lessons

The first two weeks in July both girls took swimming lessons.  Grace did two rounds of the pre-school lessons (1 week each), and Olivia was in Level II this year.  It was really nice for me to have so much more ease at drop-offs than in previous summers!  Liv was occasionally difficult to drop off last year, but this year, her overall maturation made it quite simple...and it probably didn't hurt that she could see her sis right across the pool.  Grace did well too - she probably like seeing Olivia too; plus, she totally had a crush on one of her teacher!  :)

Anyways, Grace passed the pre-school lessons with flying colors both times and had a super fun time.  Olivia will continue in Level II next year, but I was pretty impressed with her growth overall in terms of strokes, etc.  We're hoping to get her into some private Luther lessons this fall - everyone says that that's where their kids really showed the most improvement, and it will be a great "big girl" activity for her.  Overall, it definitely helped that our lesson time happened to be the hottest two weeks of the summer too!

Here are a few pictures from the last day of class when they open up the slide - you'll notice Olivia didn't get nearly the photo attention that Grace did (whoops).

Olivia's favorite thing about the pool this year...getting to go down the slide by herself!  She was tall enough this year, and it didn't take her long to figure out how to propel herself to the side when she hit the bottom to get out of the current.  I'd say that on average she goes down the slide 15-20 times each time we're at the pool!  It's awesome for her to have such a "big girl" and independent activity.

While Grace was a huge fan of the slide last year, she was NOT a fan at the beginning of the summer. However, after our Wisconsin Dells trip, she seemed to come back around to the whole idea.  Just like she does with Brian and me, Grace took a few trips down with one of her teachers before gathering the courage to try going down by herself (being caught at the bottom because she's not tall enough yet).  I'm convinced that she did this purely because Mitch wanted her too (see below)!  :)

 Grace, he's way to old for you!

Grace and one of her swimming pals.