First day of first grade

Kiira had her first day of first grade today. I'd like to say that it was fabulous but the poor girl was pretty nervous and scared about starting a new routine with new kids and especially a new teacher. She picked out a special outfit and although I stayed as long as I could - there came a time for mom to leave the classroom.

Bright side: three of her classmates from kindergarten are in her class. Two girls, Emily and Becca, that she loves to play with.

Bright side: there was a beautiful fog that was particularly low on the ride to school today



Bright side: fabulous teacher. Mrs. Abbie Ehrhorn. She had a really nice way about her. We were the first ones to the classroom this morning so we got to talk with her.

Not so bright side: Kiira woke up last night sobbing and screaming and saying she thought she was going to throw up. Bad dream. She dreamt I had button eyes. It took her a good hour and a half to calm down and feel better. Super tired for the first day of school.

Not so bright side: Kiira can't go visit her kindergarten teacher bc we just found out she was diagnosed with leukemia and is taking the first half of the year off (Kiira just knows that she is "sick") Ms. Ritola has a 3 yr old daughter. Apparently they caught it early so there is a good chance she can conquer this. Nevertheless, Kiira is bummed that Ms. Ritola is not there.

Not so bright side: Kiira got upset at the end of the day because neither of us knew I was supposed to meet her at the lunch tables vs. outside the classroom door. Poor sweetie just stood there for a bit not knowing what to do. I think that's what really got her. Ugghhhh...boy do I feel bad. I hope tomorrow is a better day for her.

Evan's first day of gymnastics

Ok. This one is definitely different than the first one. I took Evan to his first day of gymnastics today at the Little Gym. He is in the "Funny Bugs" class which is a class where mom or dad sits outside while they go in alone. I thought he might think twice about this arrangement. Nope. They opened the door, he walked in and never looked back. Gotta say - the kid's pretty athletic too. How pleasant to sit and be amused by my own child. Clearly he got along with the teachers too.

First canter, first jump, first fall

Well, Kiira is a real horsewoman. She has been inducted into the hall of falls. Yesterday was her first fall off of a pony. We still don't know why but after a nice ride, towards the end of the lesson, Kisses decided that he'd like to canter. Not only did he canter but he also cantered right over a jump. Not only did he canter, and canter over a jump but he also bucked. Kiira rode the canter and the jump well. In her words, "Mom, I stayed in my half seat for the canter and the jump, but well, it's the buck that got me."



And there she landed. Pride a little hurt but physically fine. She got back up on Kisses and walked around for the end of the lesson. Even today she has been saying, "Mom, I just can't stop thinking about jumping. I don't think I want to do that again." Luckily I was just walking into the ring with my horse. I handed him off quickly and peeled little Lulu off of the arena floor.

Yes, I explained, it happens to all of us. Many, many times.

Today she had a fine ride on Robin Hood. I am happy to report he was very well behaved.

Disclaimer: the above photos are only a reinactment. No Lulu's were hurt in the process of this bucking and falling :-)

Fractured

Ok - I am officially DONE with having tooth problems. After having some fillings replaced last year, I have had one root canel, one crown and now have discovered that one of my wisdom teeth has a fracture in it. I have already had the two on the left side of my mouth pulled so here's a chance for everyone to say, "Bub-bye Heidi's wisdom teeth on the right". Believe it or not, it is cheaper to yank them than to do root canals, crowns etc!

It will be a pleasure to be able to eat pain free. September 11 will be the magic day.

Now the question is - if I put them under my pillow, will the tooth fairy come for me too?

Loose tooth

Kiira finally has her first loose tooth. It got wiggly a few weeks ago and since then she is working that tooth hard so that it falls out. I think she is hoping that it will fall out before the first day of school (8/27) but I don't think it will. She has been waiting and waiting for this day as she is one of the last of her friends to lose a tooth. Her wish from the tooth fairy? A horse shoe of course. That's my daughter!

Pinch hitter

Who knows when the right time is? Am I asking for trouble? Don't know that answer either. For better or for worse, we switched Evan's crib into a toddler bed. He helped my pick out some special baseball sheets and he even helped me unscrew his crib to make it into the toddler bed. First night - he wasn't sure he liked it. Second night - much better. Let's see how long it takes before he realizes he can climb out at night. He has realized he can climb in so it is just a matter of time I suppose. Stay tuned!

The Maine event

Ithaca? Check! Maine? Check! Alan's family has a place in Ogunquit, Maine so we headed back east to enjoy some heat and humidity and, of course, the cousins!! I would say the highlight for me was riding an elephant. The highlight for the kids of course was seeing the cousins (that was a close second for me!) We got quality time with Alan's sister, brother and even his cousin Debbie and her kids.



My travel jinx didn't kick in until the way home when we were informed after boarding and buckling in that there would be a 1-3 hr delay to take off because of weather. They ended up taking us off the plane and instead of arriving in San Francisco at 9:30 as planned, we arrived at midnight.



I have noticed that since Evan turned 3, things are WAY easier to travel. He is SO excited to get on the plane. He carries his own pull on suitcase through the airport, he gets right on the plane and buckles up. He even is patient with the delays. The biggest difference though is when he is sleepy, instead of crying because he doesn't know what to do, he simply leans in to me and says, "Monny, I little bit sleepy". So, I tell him to put his head down on my lap and have a rest. And you know what? Miraculously he does! I never thought that day would come BUT - here it is. Thank you!

See more Maine photos here!

Mama's helpers

Those KITTIES! 'Nuff said. Curiousity DEFINITELY gets the better of our kitties!

Fancy that

It doesn't matter if you are a boy, a girl, a toddler, a baby or even a grown up. There seems to be a fascination with high heals. Kiira always picks out the same pair to walk around in. Now, so does Evan. High heels on wood floor = loud!

The end of "school"

Evan has been in a class called yad b'yad. Translated (it is yiddish I believe) it means side by side. We have been going to this class together since he was 18 months old. He has forged his first friends in this class. He has bonded with Miss Melody. In fact, often when we are on the playground, he won't allow me to help him on the slide or monkey bars, he wants Miss Melody.

Alas, he is both too old and he is beginning pre-school this September so we are forced to say adieau to our old friend yad b'yad. Our last day, Kiira got to come as well.



Thank you for the finger paintings yad b'yad, for the new friends and the old friends. Thank you for the wonderful parents I've met and thank you for the parties we've attended. Thank you for the songs we've learned and incorporated into our lives - sleeping bunnies most especially. Hickily pickily bumble bee who can say their name with me? Who can say Evan? Who can clap Evan? Who can whisper Evan? Evan can - that's who - now that he's 3.

More Lansing High

Last night Jenny and I had dinner with an old friend that we have known since we were in kindergarten. Julie lives in San Diego now with her husband Jim and happened to be up here for an Aquabike (Julie) and an Ironman (Jim). They both did awesome in their respective races and we got to catch up over dinner. We realized we feel very lucky to be in touch with a handful of people that we were in school with from Lansing Elementary School all the way through Cornell University. From high school - Jenny, Cary, Chantelle, Julie, Monica, John and me. Basically 10% of my high school class (we only had about 75 people in our class!) ended up going to Cornell. Did I miss anyone Jenny? And really it is because of Facebook that we have all reconnected. Thanks Facebook!

Anyway - we spent about 5 1/2 hrs catching up the last 15+ years and had a blast. We could have spent another 5+ hrs gabbing but called it a night around 11 pm. Now that's late for me!

Firsts

Today was a day of firsts for Evan. It turned into a lovely family day as well. We started out at the dentist for both kids - they love the dentist! AND they get 3 toys at the end. Good checkups for all. Evan acted like a pro - the hygenist AND the doctor both said they rarely get a child this age that is so well behaved. Good job Evan. Kiira is an old pro and as usual - was also very well behaved.

Then, on to pick out new school lunchboxes. Evan starts pre-school in the fall and to get him (more) excited we picked out his first lunchbox.

After a quick bite to eat, we drove up to the JCC for swim lessons. Kiira worked on perfecting her crawl stroke (she is quite good at the doggie paddle and can swim across our pool on her own) and Evan had his first swim lesson. Evan is the antithesis of Kiira at 3 yrs old. While Kiira was shy and didn't like to try new things, Evan is just concerned about keeping up. So, of course he thought he could already swim when we got to the pool. While Kiira had the first lesson, Evan played in the pool with Alan. As he entered the pool he walked right down the steps into the pool. In fact his moxi took him right under water seeing as he couldn't touch after the last step. He literally forgot he didn't know how to swim and seeing as he also can't walk on water, the dip was inevitable. But, as usual, not much phases him. He shook it off and started trying to swim seconds later. Miss Tammy taught him the alligator (we have video of it!) and he was quite pleased with himself.

Friday night on Main

Tiburon, the last few years, has been trying to promote community and has started doing what they call "Friday night on Main" street. They close the street and the restaurants bring tables and chairs out for people to mingle and dine. They also have a band, face painting, a balloon artist and several other fun things for kids. It's a great way to bump into people you haven't seen in awhile or gather as a group in a place where no one has to clean up.



It was a beautiful night this past Friday so we ventured out for a night on the town. Evan got his face painted for the first time and the look on his face when he saw it in the mirror was unforgettable. A mixture of surprise and shock that slowly turned to pleasure. I can always count on him wanting and liking whatever Kiira does. Kiira had gone first. We topped it off with a balloon for each kid, some dancing and a quick sweet before we headed home. So nice!