First Day of Kindergarten!!

All ready to go at 7:09 this morning!

Waiting in the car pool line listening to the loud welcoming music at the school . . . can we say excited??

One last look back for mama to snap a picture, but this girl is full steam ahead for her first day of kindergarten!

Well today we did it! I survived dropping my first born off at the front of Providence Spring Elementary, Savannah LOVED her first day of kindergarten and Preston managed to make it through the day without his sissy! I have to admit that I was quite shocked at how dropping her off effected Preston. He whined most of the morning for "sissy, I pay (play) sissy." That was heard A LOT. Actually for the first time ever he didn't even want to go into his WEE school class for orientation because he missed her so much. Anyway, back to my big kindergartner . . . she had a fabulous day.

Savannah has talked non stop about reading brown bear, searching for the animals around the school, getting chocolate milk from the cafeteria line, knowing her numbers, and lots of other things. There were only 4 kids in her class today since PSE does a staggered entry system, but she thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it there. Our only disappointment is in finding out that she cant' go back until Wednesday!!!

I was so worked up over whether I had done enough to prepare her. I mean there are lots of things for a new kindergarten mama to worry about . . . did we write enough letters (obviously not since she tells me she got mixed up on the s and c today. Really? Your name starts with s, silly girl!), does she know what to do if someone is mean to her, will she be safe, is she really ready for the big bad world of public school?? I could go on, but today the Lord gave me a sense of peace. Peace in knowing we've done all we can do and peace in knowing it's time to let her soar and become the lady He has planned for her to be!

Time for our first official school night at Chick fil A, Savannah's restaurant of choice, to celebrate a special day today!!

Meet Mrs. Hindman!

Tomorrow is the big day for Savannah!! At 7:15am she will officially become a student in CMS and although she is more than ready, I've decided that I'm not sure I am!

Today was the official meet your teacher day and we have been super excited about meeting Mrs. Hindman. Every single person I've talked to has raved about what an incredible teacher we were lucky enough to get so I was anxious about meeting her. We arrived early and had a bit of time to visit the booths set up in the gym. We also ran into Jack, Savannah's friend from church.

Savannah and Jack waiting to meet their teachers

Getting ready to go in for the first time!

Putting her name on the excited for school to start board

Savannah with her new teacher, Mrs. Hindman . . wearing her funny glasses as promised!


There she is, Savannah, an official PSE rocket!

Now I just pray for a good night's sleep for us both. I pray that the Lord will give me a peace knowing that she is not only in good hands, but that she is ready to go . . . ready to begin the plan He has set for her little life.

Paci Free!!

Well after the dentist visit, I snipped three of Preston's pacis. That lasted one day. He obviously was losing interest and almost immediately gave up walking around the house with one in his mouth. Then we lost them, all 3 of them. We really lost them, I wasn't just trying to hide them. So by the weekend we were running with ZERO pacis! As the days have gone by he has requested them less and less, usually only once a day he'll ask for his "pai pai". Yesterday he didn't ask at all. So we are officially paci free!!! I won't lie and say that he's sleeping just as good because honestly getting him to go to sleep has been a nightmare. He no longer requests his "pai pai" but I think he's just having trouble going to bed without sucking on something. However, once we finally get him to sleep he is sleeping like normal.

I never dreamed getting rid of the pacis would be so easy, now if potty training would follow suit I'd be one happy mama! :)

A Winter Show

While I was on the phone with a friend this morning my crazy kids found these winter mittens and hats in the coat closet and decided to try them on. They then decided to put on "a show".

The Excitement Begins

Tonight Savannah's teacher called to introduce herself to us and I'm not sure who is more excited, me or Savannah!! I searched online and found a picture so Savannah could put a name with a face. Now we await the big day . . . 6 days to go!! Here's to an amazing year of kindergarten with Mrs. Hindman and her 19 students. :)

Dentist Dread

I absolutely hate the dentist! So when this morning arrived and it was time for Savannah and Preston to go for their regular dentist appointment I was nervous for them. They were super excited, mainly about the token they would get for the prize tower in the lobby, but none the less they were both excited! I had my doubts about how Preston would do since this was only his second visit and the last time was a disaster (granted he was only 18 months at the time). It took Savannah at least 3 visits before she would allow them to properly clean all of her teeth so I was completely shocked when Preston laid completely still for his entire dental cleaning!! It was so sweet how half way through he calls "mama" and then says "hand". He just needed to hold my hand to get through. Way to melt my heart, little boy! He was a little antsy by the time the dentist came for the last check and fluoride application, but overall he did AWESOME!! However, we got two bits of news that did not make this mama happy . . .

1) Savannah has two loose teeth! Ahhh!! The thought of teeth coming out and blood make me want to throw up. That will surely be a daddy task! Being curious, I asked about braces and Dr. Bird said that you really can't tell until the permanent teeth come in, but as of right now chances are high that Savannah will NOT have to have them. Yippee! We'll keep praying about that one. :) BUT,

2) Preston is already showing signs of having to have braces! He has to give up the paci, and according to Dr. Bird, it needs to be done ASAP! Who knew that sucking a paci can reshape the bones in your mouth?!? I asked about some creative ways to get rid of them and she suggested slowly clipping the end of the nipple until he can no longer suck the paci and therefore no longer wants it. As soon as we got home Savannah, being the big sister helper that she is, immediately rounded up all of Preston's pacis and told him we had to throw them away. He went crazy and I told her that we were going to try to clip them instead. So I got one and clipped it a little too short. Preston kept signing "broken" and screamed for a long time. So I got another one and clipped it only slightly . . . this is going to be a process for sure.

Birthday Weekend

This weekend has been awesome. We enjoyed a fun day yesterday (well, if you don't count having to get new brakes on the van) that ended with a delicious dinner at Red Robin and some pretty great presents too. I specifically asked Dave not to get me a birthday cake because I'm desperately trying to start the diet again, so instead he got ice cream cupcakes AND ice cream cookies from Coldstone! They sure aren't part of my diet, but the treats sure are delicious!!!

The birthday gifts continue as I'm now in a quiet house!! Preston is sleeping and Savannah has finally gotten her wish of being able to go to a baseball game with daddy. We've been trying for awhile to find a date that would work for them to go to a Charlotte Knights game together, but it turns out that finding a weekend game when we were actually in town was quite difficult. None the less, I bought a living social deal and they are off to enjoy an afternoon at the ballpark! We plan to finish the weekend with a fun event at church tonight. Thanks to my wonderful husband, this has been a great birthday!!!

Consignment Fun

Yes, it's hard to believe, but consignment season is upon us!! Our bonus room has already turned into chaos as I've started sorting through the kids closets. In case anyone is interested, here is the info on the first sale:

THE POSH CLOSET, FINE CHILDREN'S CONSIGNMENT SALE

Wednesday, September 14 ~ 7-9pm (presale for pass holders)

Thursday, September 15 ~ 10am - 5 pm (public sale)

Thursday, September 15 ~ 6-9pm (discounted sale, 30% off)

This is a great place to get some nice church outfits and also high quality school clothes at awesome prices! They will be selling boutique brands along with Gymboree and a few other nicer lines.

A Reunion in the Mountains

Yesterday we drove to Boone for a Mt. Vernon church reunion. This is the church that I attended while in college and the place where I learned a lot about having a relationship with the Lord. The friends I made in the college class at Mt. Vernon are truly friends for life! It was such a neat day to celebrate with so many other students who passed through the Critchers college class and to see how we have truly been fruitful and multiplied! Here are a few pictures all from our park picnic before the big reunion. I decided to take limited pictures and just enjoy time with my sweet friends!

Our family

The 5 Mt. Vernon Girls


and their 8 children!!!


Our entire "little" group that attended from the class of 2000

There's only one thing better than a perfect summer afternoon in the cool mountains of Boone and that's sharing the afternoon with such special friends!

The Sweetest Note Ever

Today Savannah received an e-mail from her precious friend, Anna Kate.

Dear Savannah,

I love you! I miss you! I am wearing my necklace. I wish I could play. Bye bye.

Love, Anna Kate

I have no words, just tears, as the Marions depart the US tomorrow night.