August 2014

I have been waiting for this month all year. It's baby girl's birth month and Jake started Kindergarten. Now that August is here-and quickly ending!-I just cannot believe it. By far the most exciting event has been Jake starting school (little sister isn't here yet so we cannot count that ;) He was a champ and so very excited. He is attending a small town school-seriously, all three schools are in one grouping of buildings-but they have a true love for their students it seems. The school already knew Jake from the summer and remembered him and myself. I think it may be a "country school" thing but they offered students the chance to have summer school. We almost didn't do it but they offered after school care and I am so glad it all worked out. Jake got the chance to ride the bus to school in the morning and practice what it would be like to be in a school setting all day. It made his first day of Kindergarten perfect. He got on the bus like a pro and listened well in class. He wasn't afraid at all. I was much too excited seeing him so excited that it didn't fully hit me until I was dropping off Andrew at daycare. I looked in my rearview mirror and saw Jake's empty seat and realized I wouldn't be driving him to school anymore and he was officially out of my care for 8 hours a day. 

He has finished up his first full week this week. It's so much fun to look in his book bag at things he has completed and hear him talk about his day. We just need to work on having him eat more of his lunch. One day, he literally only ate raspberries. Ryan does a really good job making him yummy and healthy lunches so I think it's a matter of time management.  He has made a few friends and one rides the bus home with him in the afternoon so they sit together. His name is Cole and he has orange hair. Jake enjoys recess and runs the fastest and no one can catch him in his new Sketchers. I do worry later about Jake getting bored in class; the first assignment this week was to work on pencil holding and writing their first name, but I know that is something we can mention to the teacher at conferences. Jake has also started putting necks on his people drawings now and nike signs on shirts. I imagine he sits next to someone that has that on their shirt. And the North Carolina symbol. That was on a drawing, too. He loves to draw and color now.

Andrew has made the adjustment well. The first day he wanted to get on the bus with Jake, but now he is content to watch Jake get on the bus. I would say having only Andrew in my car makes the drive in and back quieter, but that child is anything but. He is constantly moving and talking and singing. I don't know how preschool teachers of 3 year olds do it daily. Andrew is still very much a boisterous, brute of a child with the sweetest hugs and kisses around. He has been pointing out letters and saying that's my name (as in, the letters he recognizes are in his name) and can count to 20 now. His favorite friend is still Austin, but he has been playing with Elena more. He loves to be a tiger and dinosaur and growls at complete strangers sometimes. Lately, he has had a bit of an attitude and has been working on expressing his feelings. Like, "You hurt my feelings" and "You don't take thing out of people's hands!" Oh, age 3. 

As of today, I am 38 weeks 3 days pregnant and feeling every day of it. She is much too comfortable in my uterus and I really think I am going to see my induction date on Wednesday. I never thought I would ever have to be induced but with family coming in to town next weekend, I made the decision she has to come out. We go too far in between months seeing one another and I cannot miss this opportunity. Plus, I just really, really, really want to meet her. As does everyone else :) She has hair and I cannot wait to see it!

So far, I have been pretty good with the change that is to come. In the back of my mind, I do worry about how I will feel seeing her and thinking of Daniel, but we plan on stopping by his spot once we leave the hospital so she can see her oldest brother and we can make Daniel a part of his sister's life. I know that stories will be shared about him so even though she will not meet him on this side, she will know he has been watching and is very much a part of her life from the other side.