In which Luke becomes a Preschooler

Not to be outdone by his big sister, my little man started school too. Kinda. Luke will be attending Taylor's alma mater two days a week this year, giving me one day to myself and one day to volunteer within Taylor's classroom. I just love the preschool we go to, and when I brought Luke in to meet his teacher, Miss Gray, it was so comforting to be within familiar walls and be surrounded by such amazing care givers. 

And Luke was pretty pumped to be going to school too, especially after all the hoopla and fanfare Taylor went through the previous week in starting kindergarten.

His first day was just as successful and Taylor's, in that he went right into his classroom without clinging to me and had a wonderful day. I am one proud Mama. 

In which Taylor becomes a Kindergartener

I have no idea how this day came so quickly. I can close my eyes and still remember the exact moment I saw her squishy, newborn face for the first time. And now my precious girl, with her long legs, thinned-out cheeks and sweet personality, has become a kindergartener. And I cannot believe how we are here so fast. 

There was so much anxiety leading up to the big day. Not so much from her, but from Chris and myself. She was so ready to go to big-girl school, and see her friends from preschool and meet new friends in her class. We were very lucky in that her teacher, Mrs Jackson, is a friend of ours and her twin daughters are good buddies with Taylor, so the day we went in to Meet the Teacher was a breeze. If anything, it just made Taylor that much more excited for the upcoming first day of school.

So the morning of the First Day came, and my alarm started screaming at six bells, and Taylor got right up and fed and ready to go. Of course we had to save some time for pictures.

And as emotional as I was leading into the day, once we started going through all the motions I was more concerned about getting everything packed and keeping her happy. And she was SO HAPPY. 

We got her into the classroom, and I was calm and collected. The air was electric with first day excitement and jitters and emotions. And while I was relieved and at peace, Chris suddenly had to leave as all the, Where did my baby go? feelings bubbled over within him. Yep... Everyone's money was on ME crying. But when it came down to it, Chris was the one who couldn't control his tears. 

And after lingering for a bit and making sure she was going to be alright, I gave her one final hug and walked out into the hall with Luke. And she didn't even flinch. And the smile on her face when I picked her up that afternoon said it all... Best first day ever. 

Squeezing in one more summer trip

The countdown to kindergarten had begun, thus bringing with it the final days of my carefree, summer schedule. Once Taylor started big-girl school, my long-weekend trips to see my sister and Birmingham family would be few and far between. So I took one last summer trip down south to spend some time with my beloved family. 

July: The month of nonstop pool time

With all of our summer traveling adventures and out-of-town guests behind us, and the fact that the start of school was just around the corner, we spent as much time at the pool as possible. Which, as a result, provided us with some pretty fantastic tans and super aquatic children. 

Beeba and Budgie come to Asheville

We were more than happy to host Libba and Parker for a long weekend, where we smothered them both in hugs and kisses, practiced yoga, showed Parker some of our interactive toys and let my kids try Pop Rocks for the first time. Yeah... It was pretty awesome. 

Five year old problems

Um... What if I don't want to go to kindergarten anymore? Do I still have to get all those shots?

Spending the Fourth up north

After our memorable weekend of Majeski family fun in Nashville, Chris's parents took the kids and drove them 18 hours north to their house in Lake Nebagamon for ten days of grandparent fun. Yes, it was very sad to say goodbye to my little people for such an extended amount of time, but Chris and I were eager to have the house to ourselves and be able to do things like walk around in silence, play lots of golf, go out for dinner without having to pay a babysitter and lounge by the pool and read a book. And while we were indulging in our freedom, our kids were being spoiled with unlimited amounts of sugar, movies, trips to the zoo and many, many boat rides.

But for as much fun as it was to take a break from the stresses of parenthood for ten days, the reunion with my precious babes was that times a million. I missed them dearly.

And following lots of hugs and kisses was an epic family vacation up north with Chris's parents and the extended family.