First Day of School?

First, forgot to take pictures but had the camera, Wednesday was also Auntie Christy's birthday! They just came home from the WI Dells so we went over for dinner and birthday cake! Happy birthday Auntie Christy!


Last March we had Joey start school a few months early, and he was only there March, April, and May for 1 day a week before summer vacation. In the fall he went back 2 days a week like a regular 3 year old going into preschool, and we called the fall his first official day of school. Joey has been and continues to be more of our homebody, perfectly content to play at home and is most comfortable in this environment. Jillian is the polar opposite, wanting to be out for her dance class paying attention to her teacher and ignoring me (rightfully so), always talking to other kids in bigger settings, and being much more the outgoing one. So, the decision was made that she could also start school one day a week after she turned 2 and was allowed into the 2 year old program.

Joey is usually not thrilled to say the least about going to school, he loves it once he's there, but again the issue of leaving the house is not up his alley. So last week we had gone out to get Jill a new backpack for school, and Joey kept saying now he'd be able to stay home...um, no. Even on Thursday morning he kept saying he didn't want to go, I told him he had to show Jill the routine, even though she is always with me for drop off and pick up, but somehow it all clicked with Joey and once they got their backpacks to head to the car they were both super excited (Jill never had a hesitation to begin with) and Joey showed her how to hang stuff in her cubby, where and how to go potty, wash hands, and since he starts 15 minutes before her, he told his teachers that his sister would be in school today as well. They looked at me with raised eyebrows knowing he usually is complaining at this time asking me to not leave, but I told them that Jill would be across the hall. Joey nodded to them and ran in to go and play, no crying, complaining, nothing! Settling Jill into her cubby I was able to peek into the window of Joey's room and saw him doing very well, not being held by a teacher, not crying, but happily going about his business. He does like school, the first 5 minutes or so though he usually sits with a teacher to read a book for a little extra comfort before he warms up, but not today.

Jillian walked right into her classroom and handed her teacher her Cuddle Bear- a bear she decorated and put a picture of our family on. The teacher asked Jill who was in the picture and Jill pointed out each person included Minnie, to her teacher. She never looked back or said goodbye. I left to go and teach a class, and then had some time to go grocery shopping solo! Upon coming back Jillian's teacher said no one would have ever known she was new or it was her first day. She said she played well and interacted with everyone and has a very clear and broad vocabulary. Jill even told another boy "no" when he took a toy from another boy. I laughed and the teacher said it was good that she helped set the boundaries, I told her she was just a boss! She also played really well laughing very hard according to her teacher with another boy playing with play fish. When I got there I was towards the back of the pick up line, and the teacher said she told Jillian I was there and she wasn't phased one bit. I was chatting with the teacher this whole time and Jillian barely turned to look at me. Once she did notice me, she was saying "Mommy, come on" wanting to show me all the things in the room. I told her we had to get Joey and I actually saw him sitting on the rug in the other room waiting to be dismissed, he saw me and smiled really big. He said he had a very fun day, didn't cry at all, and loved it. We finally got Jill to leave after a hug and goodbye to her new teacher. Mrs. K had Joey for those few months last year so she knows how different they are and was quite amused by their contrasting dispositions, although she said they do act very similar in some ways as well.

Anyways, here are some pics of the school girl getting ready for her day with a yummy breakfast, getting on her coat and back pack, and going to the car. Such a big girl!


On Friday, we went to the Arboretum to meet Auntie Miya, Nathan, and Jacob. It was the last day of the Enchanted Railroad so we wanted to go and see the trains one last time. Joey and Jillian had a lot of fun playing around before heading in to see the trains. Jillian was talking to Nathan and playing around with him, but she is a bit too outgoing at times and I think Nathan thought she was a little too much as she tried to hug him and chase him a bit. She had to go potty and there are no potties in that area, so I took off with her and left Joey with Auntie Miya and Nathan. Bad Mommy didn't tell him I was heading out for a minute so Jill and I came back to a not so happy Joey to say the least! Sorry Joey! Of course that set the stage for a mini meltdown where Joey just wanted to go home, not even to Auntie Miya's for lunch or to play. We hope to get together with them again soon and I won't up and leave him to wonder where we went and ruin the day...so sorry! But we did have fun in the short while we were together!

In the evening it was make your own pizza night where the kids really just wanted to eat cheese out of their bowls.

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve day the kids spent some time showing their new Christmas presents off to Nonna and Grandpa, and then after naps it was off to Grandma's for our evening celebration. We had a yummy appetizer kind of dinner with all the chips, dips, poppers, pizza, you name it there! The kids were playing very well together which was very nice to see, and we put on A Charlie Brown New Year's Eve special for them to watch. Daddy found a countdown clock for Grandma's computer so we counted down til 8pm where we celebrated the new year with a parade, horn blowers, hats, and excitement. Java even came along for the celebration, but we were home by 9:15 and in bed for the real new year!


New Year's day we had Jillian's birthday party with friends and family. Just like Christmas, Jillian appreciated each and every gift she got whether it was a toy or socks, she was sure to show everyone and shout out some exclamations of how awesome each gift was. She really enjoyed everyone singing happy birthday to her and looked what seemed like at each and every person, even those hanging out in the kitchen to make sure they were singing to her. She did her best at blowing out her candles and had the best Tinkerbell birthday ever!


Here are the kids parading in some of their new dress up items:


And finally today Jillian had her 2 year appointment where she did very well. As I was answering questions for the nurse, another asked if Jillian would be okay to walk with her to the scale. I told her yes, and Joey asked if he could follow them and took off out the door to catch up. He came back and said "20-40 Mommy." Jillian walked in and said "I stood on the box!" And then finally the nurse walked in and said "27 pounds, 6 ounces." The nurses and our doctor were very impressed with Jillian's achievements and couldn't get over the fact that she was in her big girl underpants! Here are her stats:
Height: 35 inches 78%ile
Weight: 27 pounds, 6 ounces 76%ile