Jenna - 7 Months

I'm trying my best to mark each month of Jenna's first year with a picture of her and "Big Bear".  This Bear was actually a gift from my grandparents to me when I was a young girl (maybe 5 or 6?).  It has been fun to watch the progress/change.

First Day of Kindergarten

 

I'm so late in making this post, but wanted to document it all the same.

Katie's first day of Kindergarten went extremely well.  She requested to ride the bus, so we let her. And then I got into the car and followed the bus to her school --- no, I'm not joking!  And yes, Matt came with me.

When she arrived home and got off the bus she had the biggest smile on her face.  She loved her first day.  I asked what she did, and her response was "we walked in a straight line.  And we got our table assignments.  Oh, and I got to see the playground where we will have recess."  And that's her summary of the first day.

The first week of school was long, and by Friday Katie was completely exhausted!  She asked me on Friday morning "Mom, do I have to go to Kindergarten all day, every day?"  I said, "Yes, you do.  Why?"  She said, "Well, this Kindergarten stuff is really tiring!"

We are about 6 weeks into the school year now, and it is going so well.  She loves her teacher and has made so many new friends.  It is still rather tiring, but she seems to have adjusted relatively well to the longer schedule.  I'm happy we made the decision to send her --- at this point, I think it was the right call.  But --- time will tell.

Big Girl - 5

Katie is 5!  Crazy, but true.  We celebrated her birthday with 3 separate events.  Grandpa Alfred and Katie have a birthday exactly 1 week apart --- so we had a family celebration for them together.  Just a little cookout and some presents.  Her favorite (as you can see from her reaction) was the slip-n-slide that Uncle John got for her.

Katie's second celebration came on her actual birthday.  We made her favorite meal (spaghetti) and she picked out a cake boss cake.

Then, as a 3rd celebration --- she and cousin Claire had a mini-party together at Chuck-E-Cheese.  Katie had visited Chuck-E's once before, and it was the first time for Claire.  They both loved it!  Especially the ski ball games.  So cute to watch them together....and it truly completed Katie's birthday week.

I had to include these last couple of pictures.  Claire gave Katie a pair of rain boots and an umbrella for her birthday.  Katie, of course, had to model them for us as soon as we got home.  Thanks so much you guys!!