First Day of Kindergarten

Wow, I can't believe the first day of school is over! Allie woke that morning with a huge smile on her face. She quickly dressed in her favorite pink color and requested pancakes for breakfast. She ate a few but I think she was too excited to eat. I wanted to have plenty of time to savor the morning so by 7:15 am we were ready to go. We took a few pictures and then headed out the door. Justin decided to come along with us. We got to South Bosque, parked, and started walking toward the school (I videoed her every step). Once inside, we had to wait in the lunchroom until they dismissed the students to the rooms (pretty dumb on the first day of school I think). Walking to her room I started getting really nervous/anxious/excited for her. She couldn't wait to get there. She hesitated for just a short moment then walked into the room followed by mom and dad. She said hello to her teacher, Mrs. Czimskey, and then found her seat. When there was a break in kids coming in, I sent Allie to her teacher to get a picture. She also gave her teacher the book we bought her, Mrs. Bindergarten Tales. I made her go to the restroom before we left (I wanted to make sure she knew where it was). As she sat down at her table she stared looking around. I think it just hit her that she didn't know anybody. She looked up at me, grabbed my hand, and said, "Don't leave." I knelt down and gave her a kissing hand and she gave one to me. We waved goodbye and walked out the door. We made a beeline to the front door and to the car. It was quite sad without her. I knew that I had several friends who have gone through this that were praying for me so that's how we were able to leave her and drive off school property. Justin took me to breakfast but I wasn't really hungry. On the way to the grocery store the tears began to fall. Allie always goes with me to the grocery store. We stop by chef David's to see what he is cooking and taste all the samples. This time, I was all alone. I began to put food into the cart but decided to head over to the toys just because. I ran into another mom who had just dropped off a Kindergartener and we laughed that we met on the toy aisle. It was nice to talk about how kids, the difficulty of leaving them and things we would change about the school. We talked for about 1 1/2 hours just standing there in the aisle slowly moving our cart forward and back for other people to see the toys we were blocking. It just felt theraputic to discuss our circumstances and for a short time, we weren't dwelling on the reality. I rushed home to put my defrosted food in the freezer. I ate lunch, picked up and then around 1:30 I began pacing the house. I made a poster for Allie on her favorite pink color and hung it on the front door. Then I made some cupcakes for snack. I set the table with cupcakes, icing, and all types of sprinkles for her to choose from. It was only 2:40 now. I picked out a movie for her to watch knowing that she would be tired. I made a pallet on the floor with her down comforter and pillows. 2:51 p.m. I didn't know what else to do. Thankfully Kristina (neighbor down the street with a Kindergartener) called and asked what I was doing because she couldn't concentrate on anything. Feeling her pain, I packed up some cupcakes and icing and headed to her house. We prayed for our girls when it was time for them to board the bus. The arrival time was suppose to be 3:41 pm but we knew this first day it would be behind. Still, in 104 degree heat, armed with camera and video camera we couldn't wait any longer. At 3:30 pm we headed to the corner of the street, the bus stop. Another mom was already there waiting. Finally around 3:56 p.m. we saw it. I can't believe it but I think I heard all of us scream. As we ran to the other side of the street I videoed the bus coming down. The doors opened and 3 older kids got off, silence and a long pause. I was headed to the steps to climb aboard when I saw Erika headed down. I immediately began snapping pictures and holding the video camera at the same time. I didn't even bother to say hello to her; just kept filming and snapping. When I felt I had enough, I grabbed her up and squeezed her to death. She was so quiet and tired. I couldn't wait to grill her but she wasn't in the mood to talk just then. We shared cupcakes, milk, and M & M's, cuddled on the pallet and watched Curious George. Slowly she began to share more but this first day wore her out! It was a great learning experience for us both. We have begun a new season in our lives (Justin admitted that actually none of this affected him since he is at work all day) and are thankful that God is leading us through it. The paths He has for us are numerous and I'm slowly taking steps to see where they lead.

ready to go although her face doesn't show it

walking to the car

the backpack: Allie had talked all summer about what type of bookbag she wanted. It had to be darker pink and have all the princess that she wanted on it. It was difficult to find because most bookbags that we found only had 3 or 4 of the princesses. We went to Academy to look but didn't find the one she wanted but did find a lunchbox. As we were in line to check out I looked on the wall at the front of the store where they had more bookbags hanging up. All of a sudden, my eyes were drawn to a bookbag at the very top. There it was! A bookbag with all the princesses that she wanted on it and it looked like the gaudiest bookbag I had ever seen. I knew that it wouldn't be long before she noticed it but I wasn't going to say anything. Then I heard a gasp and she turned around and smiled. I knew she had spotted it. I finished paying and then we headed to the wall. I couldn't get anyone to come over so I grabbed a bookbag, climbed on the first shelf and knocked it down. It was love at first sight for her and I knew I had to let go of my idea of her having a bookbag that I was thinking of and let her enjoy this one. I still think this thing is tacky with all the roses on it but she loves it!

I missed her walking in the door so I made her go back and stand in front of it.

Allie and Mrs. Czimskey

this is blurry but i love the expression on her face when she found her name!

playing at her table

allie's poster read: happy 1st day of Kindergarten Allie!

getting off the bus

i think the bus was hot

allie and erika

I'm so glad the first day is over!! I can't wait until next summer!

Preparing for the big day...

These last 2 days Allie and I have spent time together. It's really no different than any other day other than the fact that I perceived it different. I was trying to soak every bit of her up hoping that would make up for the fact that she will be leaving me tomorrow to go to Kindergarten. WOW! Can't believe that day is here. We've practiced getting off a pretend bus, opening milk cartons, carrying a food tray, and gone through pretend situations where she had to make a wise choice on what to do (if your friend is walking up the slide and wants you to join her what are you going to do?). Cheesy, I know. But I have always guided her and corrected her. Tomorrow, she will have to use what she has learned in the last 5 years to make her own choices without me being there. 40 hours a week she will be in the hands of someone else who has 18 other children to teach. Thankfully, God will be with her. I pray that the Holy Spirit surrounds her and continues to guide her footsteps. I will miss her. After Meet the Teacher last night she was so ready for Kindergarten. She made a new friend, Amy. She is so excited and can't wait. I couldn't eat dinner tonight. I'm so nervous and anxious about this new season of parenting. I know it's just the beginning but it is the end to the way things have been since God gave her to me. I'm excited for her and can't wait to hear all about her day! Here are a few pictures (137 to be exact but not all included) of our days together.

On Monday we headed to the zoo to see the new orangutans and komodo dragon habitat. It just opened and even though it reached 107 degrees that day, we had a great time. We met friends Michelle, Sarah, and Matthew there.

walking up the ramp to the new part and checking everything out

thought she saw something


komodo dragon: this one was more fascinating. the real one is only 2 years old and pretty small

i love the play area in the new habitat

allie's favorite: walk on chimes

eating some celery. they really are cuties (behind the fence)

playing in the spray area of the playground

soaking wet

leaving the school after Meet the Teacher night

She got to pick where she wanted to eat for lunch today. Chick-fil-A of course! Thanks to Libbie, we now have icecream when we eat there! She is pretending that she is freezing while eating her icecream. She loves to see Mr. Jake there and looks for him at every visit. Thankfully, he came out and talked with her.

she ate the whole thing

Yes, she talked me into letting her ride in the little cars at the mall

After lunch, we headed for a mother/daughter pedicure. A special treat for the two of us. We missed out on one when Grammie was here!

She enjoyed the back massage from the chair and soaking her feet in the blue water, just like Mommy's.

playing outside in the 103 degree heat!

enjoying some watermelon

my sweet little Kindergartener! I love you!!

Firm Retreat to Barton Creek

Ok, I know I am slowly catching up on posts, only about a month behind! I was going to do a getting ready for Kindergarten post but words wouldn't come and after reading Angie's post on Ryan I got choked up trying to comment so I decided to hold off a little longer. Since school doesn't start for 2 more days then she is still a preschooler right? :) Homeschooling is starting to sound better and better!!

Back in July, Justin's firm had a retreat at Barton Creek Ranch in Austin. Spouses were invited to come along so we took Allie to a friend's house for the weekend and headed out. It was fun to actually talk on the way to Austin and be able to finish every sentence. We arrived on Friday early evening and checked into our room. We changed clothes for dinner and headed down to the resturaunt at the resort. It was delicious and very well presented. I enjoyed meeting some of the other attorneys and getting to know them and their wives. After dinner (3 hours later) we headed upstairs. We were going to watch a movie but ended up crashing and going to sleep. Justin had meetings the next morning through lunch so I ordered room service for breakfast(charged to the firm) and could pick from anything on the menu but I was still digesting food from dinner that night. I had the granola yogurt parfait with strawberries and cranberry juice. It was absolutely delicious!! And it was also the only picture that I remembered to take the whole weekend.

After eating and playing online for a while I met Elizabeth at the fitness center which was extremely nice. I can't stand treadmills so I ran on the indoor jogging trail while she used the treadmill. It was nice to say the least. I usually run outside early to avoid the heat but running inside with air conditioner blowing down was awesome! I barely even broke a sweat! I also enjoyed the other fitness machines for strenghth training. Nice change from doing dips on the park bench in the neighborhood and swatting flies away from your sweat. I could be motivated to exercise everyday with a center like that (a nice one that I don't pay for). After the workout we hooked up with the husbands at the pool. Enjoyed a nice lunch at the pool along with a my favorite drink~ pina colada (non-alcoholic). The nice thing was that I wasn't having to catch anyone jumping in or having to watch anyone do lots of tricks in the water. We just leisurely drank and sat on the bench in the pool. For dinner we headed out to Eddie V's in downtown Austin. It was one of those meals that you feel you need to be rolled out of there! See, when the company pays, everyone enjoys appetizers, salads, entrees and dessert! It has to be a sin to consume the amount of food that I did that weekend. After dinner, we went to Esther's Follies. It was a comedy (political satire) show on 6th street. Parts of it was crude but very funny overall. After another huge breakfast the next morning, we showered, packed and headed out (to the Round Rock outlets of course!). I was amazed that Haley and Olson invited the wives to come along for a free ride. Very generous of them! Justin works with a great group of men and I enjoyed being a part of this weekend!!

Jack, Jill and Frog

For the month of July, we have been watching a bird's nest in our backyard. When we found it there were 2 little eggs inside. One evening Justin put Allie on his shoulders to look in the nest. She said the eggs were gone. Assuming the nest was empty, I asked her what she saw. "Birds" she replied. Shocked, Justin put her down and went and got the ladder. Sure enough, there were 2 baby birds cuddled up in the nest. For the next few days we watched the birds grow until they barely fit in the nest together. The mother bird would fly away once we came outside but would always return after we went back in. It was fun to watch and of course we took pictures!

Checking out the new baby birds. I wish I had taken a picture of the eggs.

Allie named them Jack and Jill



not sure what this thing is. it would puff out it's neck and then keep going. Allie named it frog because of it.

frog walking on the fence

frog without his puffy neck

the flash was too bright but it was already dark when we checked on them

not sure why the mother bird chose this tree (puniest tree in the backyard)

we forgot to check on them for a few days.

I was afraid they were going to peck Allie's face because she kept sticking it in their nest

I didn't get the ladder out this time. I just stood on the ground, zoomed in, and held the camera up. You can see though that they barely fit in the nest.

again, taken from the ground but from the front. 2 days later they were gone! Jack and Jill come back to visit anytime but please don't poop on the swings (Allie's request)!