First Few Days

So far we are 3 days into kindergarten and I can already say I LOVE Alex's teacher. On Monday evening she emailed me a pic she took of my sweet girl. She also wrote a little about her first day. It made me feel so good to know her teacher took the time to email me, and every parent, so help settle nerves :) 

We continued with our milkshake tradition we started last year. I think it's one of my new favorite things. This year Josh joined us. It was so sweet to sit and share milkshakes with my two loves while Alex shared all about her first day of school. 

On her second day of school Alex told me she had to go to the nurses office. Poor baby got a nose bleed at school. :(

We have moved Alex's bed time from 8:30 to 7:30. She wakes up so tired. I know it's just because she is getting used to longer days at school. It feels so weird to put her to bed while it is still light outside. After her bath each night we snuggle on our bed for a little while and play games on the iPad together as a family. It's such a sweet little ending to our day. 

The one thing I am still trying to figure out is drop off and pick up. I've walked Alex into her kindergarten pod everyday so far. She has decided this morning will be the day she goes in alone!  It takes about 5 minutes to drive to her school and another 15 to actually get through the line to drop off. The afternoons are crazier. Parents seriously start lining up a little after 2 for carpool. School gets out at 2:55. I'm still playing with what time to get there. Yesterday I arrived at 2:30 and was so far back in line I wasn't even in the school zone. Its hard to tell in the pic but this is just the line waiting to turn into the school. Once you turn in, you still have to snake through the parking lot.  They actually have sheriffs out directing traffic every morning and afternoon.  By the time I had Alex in the car it was 3:15. I've heard it gets better as people get used to drop off and pick up, but I've decided for now I need to take a book with me and be used to spending 30-45 minutes waiting in line for pick up. 

First Day of Kindergarten

My sweet only child started kindergarten today. I had mixed emotions. She was so excited about it. At meet the teacher we found out she has 2 friends in her class. That was such a huge relief for this mama. We only knew a handful of kids at this school and we were lucky enough to get 2 of them in her class. 

From what I hear, her teacher is AMAZING! She has taught first grade in the past and is now teaching kindergarten. We know several children that had her and they only have positive things to say about her.

Alex's school is a pilot for different concepts they are looking to roll out to the whole district. One is very short tables with the kids sitting on the floor. So far Alex thinks it pretty cool! Her class has 16 kids. At her school several teachers "loop" with the children so they have the same teacher for kinder and first and they keep the same class mates. There is a very good chance that Alex's teacher will loop since she has experience in K and first. We are crossing our fingers this will be the case!

We kept a our tradition of going for a milkshake after school to talk about the first day. The first thing she told me was that she LOVES her teacher!  She talked non stop about her day, her friends, new friends she made and everything she did. I am so excited to see what the year holds for her!

Kindergarten Prep

Alexandra will start kindergarten in less than 1 week! We have been talking about school non stop and doing lots of things to get ready for school. School supply shopping, hair cut, lots of play dates with friends we won't be at school with and of course, supplementing her closet with school friendly clothes and shoes!

We received our invitation for meet the teacher so Friday Alex gets to see her actual class room for the first time, meet her teacher and hopefully see a few familiar faces in her class. Most of our friends are going to a different school than Alex, but she will have a handful of friends at her school so I'm hoping she will have at least one friend in her class. 

I can not believe my girl will be starting school Monday. I'm so excited for her but my heart aches a little every time I think about it.  I had grand plans of using this week to work on waking up early and getting Alex used to waking up before 8 so school won't be as hard next week but that plan flew out of the window. Instead we've had semi lazy mornings snuggling and enjoying our last week of summer. 

We met Alex's 4 year old teachers for lunch Monday along with a few friends from the class she won't be at school with. 

5 year checkup

Alexandra had her 5 year checkup today. At her 4 year checkup we talked about our families history with high cholesterol so Dr. Henderson decided at 5 we would start monitoring Alex's cholesterol. We discussed it with Alex and she was very anxious about having blood drawn.

The appointment started off great. She aced her hearing and vision test. She weighed 41.2 lbs and was 44.5 inches tall. She's grown 3 inches in a year!!!

Then it was time to have blood taken. Thankfully it was just a finger prick, but she did not take it well. We also had to get a urine sample. I'll just say getting a kid to pee in a cup...not easy.

We waited for her results and found out her iron counts are low. I need to make sure her vitamins have a good amount f iron in them. We also received her lipid panel. Her overall cholesterol was in a good spot, her bad cholesterol was a little bit high, her good cholesterol was low and her triglycerides were at an acceptable number. So her next screening will be at 9, unless he sees a need to do it sooner. Since she is active in many different activities and slender, he doesn't see a huge need to be concerned at this time. So to be proactive, we will make sure we stayed physically active and try to get omega fats in her! My poor girl with he bad cholesterol genetics :(

Happy 5th Birthday!

 

Dear Alex,

Here it is...your 5th birthday already.  It feels like just a month ago that I was carrying you around in your car seat, and now you're so close to starting school!

It's funny, you have hit an age that I can remember myself.  Each day is a new fun adventure and the smallest things make you giggle and smile.  In a way, it makes me sad to know you just keep racing ahead, growing older every second.  In another, it makes me so very happy and so proud to watch you grow.  And in even another way it makes me reflect and appreciate those tiny things that make you smile so much.  It's easy to lose sight of the small wonders we all see every day and without you I would miss them, I just know it.

Not a moment goes by that I'm not thinking of you and everything you mean to me.  I miss you when I'm at work, but I know that I'm there making sure you have the best possible life and that you never have a worry in the world.  I miss the days when you just sat there wide eyed and cooing at your "dada" but I look forward to the things we get to do every day and the things we have yet to do.

I love you Alexandra.  I have loved you from the moment I first saw you and you will never have a moment in your life where you are not loved completely, fully and truly by your daddy.

Happy birthday my sweet bunny.

XOXO - Daddy-O

My girl,

How are you already 5? The last five years seemed like they passed in a blink of an eye.  I can't believe this is the year you will start real school, spend the majority of your time with your friends and teachers away from me.  I cherish every single minute we get to spend together.

I have been so lucky to spend my days with you, watching you grow, playing with you and having you fill my days.  You are the sweetest little girl I have ever met.  You are so funny, caring and thoughtful.  I could just sit and watch you play and laugh forever.  I love hearing you sing in your sweet little voice from the back seat when we are in the car.

You have truly changed my life.  I never thought I could love anyone as much as I love you.  You complete our family in a way I never imagined possible.  You light up our house every day.  Every night when you go to bed, Daddy and I talk about how much we love you, how cute you are and how you crack us up all day long. 

You are my baby, you always will be and no one will ever love you as much as we do. 

I love you now, forever and always,

Mommy

 

4 Year Check Up

***So I just realized I never posted about Alex's 4 year check up, and we are almost ready for her 5 year check up!  She still talks about the shots from this appointment :(

Alex had her 4 year well visit Wednesday.  We have been talking about it for weeks.  I knew she was going to have shots so I wanted her to be prepared.  She picked out her own bandaids to take and she took her bunny, Princess, to comfort her.  She had a hearing and vision test, then she said she was ready for her shots.  She did much much better than I expected.  The first 2 didn't seem to bother her, the 3rd one she said hurt and the 4th made her cry.  My poor girl.  Her legs were so sore later in the day, she insisted on being carried.  Dr. H said everything looks great! 

She is 36lbs (53rd percentile) and 41.5 inches tall (83rd percentile).

Mini Olympics

On Saturday Alex attended her gymnastic clubs Mini Olympics.  It was seriously cute (and long)!  She has been taking gymnastics since she was she turned two.  It's crazy to think she has been doing it more than half of her life!

 

This year she developed a fear of the bars, but she made us so proud by participating in every event and doing a great job!

 

 I hate that this picture turned out fuzzy because it perfectly shows her concentration face.  I love it!

 When all the kids finished each event they came out in their tee shirts with their trophies!

 They all had their names announced as they stood on the podium.  Alex has decided for her kindergarten year, she wants to stick with gymnastics and drop dance.  Hopefully this will be the first of many Mini Olympics!

 Alex and her coach for the last year and a half, Konea.  This was her last session to teach, she is starting her internship and will now be our number 1 go to babysitter!  Konea did such an amazing job with Alex.  She pushed her, but not to the point of being scared, she helped her overcome different fears that came up during classes and promised her each week that she would never let her fall!  Alex adores her!

Last Day of Pre-K

 

 

Last Thursday my girl "graduated" from pre school.  It was her second year at the school and we will miss the sweet teachers soo much! 

 

 

Her school did a school wide program with all of the kids participating in chapel.  They performed songs and little dances then they ushered all of the kids out while a slide show featuring every kid was shown.

 

When the 4 year olds came back, they had on caps and walked across the stage one by one to receive their diploma.

Alex and her class, minus one boy who was out of town.  She has made so many amazing friends this year.  I love all of the moms and we will miss them all next year when all of the kids move to different elementary schools.  Alex will have one class mate at her school next year.  Her mom and I are hoping they will end up in the same class again!

 Alex made her first best friend this year.  She has lots of great friends, but they were friends because Josh and I were friends with the parents.  This is her first friend she made on her own.  Victoria!  Because of their friendship, Josh and I have become great friends with her entire family and we love hanging out with the Brooks family!

 Alex and her fabulous teachers, Ms. Geralyn and Ms. Susan.  They are the sweetest women in the world.  The LOVE my girl and what else could a mom ask for in a teacher?

 Our family.  I love that Josh was able to take the day off to see his girl graduate!

 Alexandra in the garden after the graduation.  She is so ready for kindergarten! 



Our little garden!

I've been wanting a garden for years, but our backyard is on a slope and makes planting anything hard. This weekend, Josh and his dad built us a garden! It looked like lots of hard work, but it turned out great!!!

In addition to the garden, they planted a tree that Alex insisted on helping with!

I love that she enjoys doing stuff in the yard. While they were working on the garden, we went and bought seeds. I let Alex pick everything. I figured we'd start with seeds and if they don't do well we will move onto small established plants.

If all goes well our garden will have 2 types of lettuce, tomatoes, pole beams, carrots, cucumbers, onions, 2 types of basil and strawberries!

Little Projects

I tend to get on project kicks! Like organizing the craft/game closet, organizing the pantry, tossing 90% of the stuff in the freezer and starting over. By far my favorite projects are Alex projects!

Sometime last year I made her a chore chart. We aren't perfect when it comes to using it, but it keeps Alex pretty accountable with little daily task she has.  She is in charge of at least helping to clean up all of her toys, feeding Cooper, helping to set the table for dinner and clearing all of her stuff when dinner is done and gathering her clothes and shoes that always seem to be strewn around the house and putting dirty clothes away and shoes where they go.

I made it using a magnetic dry erase board, scrapbook stickers and buttons with magnets attached to the back.

One of my most recent projects was inspired by Pinterest, of course! I'd seen the oil drip pan magnet boards for some time and I finally decided Alex needed her own so she has a place to display all of her little things. I couldn't leave hers silver so I gave it a few quick coats of spray paint and we were good to go! I covered magnets with purple and clear jewels so now she can hang whatever she wants!  It has only been up for 3 days and it's full of pictures we have colored. 

My most recent project was inspired by Alex. She turned her playhouse/bed into a bedroom for her American Girl doll. All of her clothes have been in a trunk so she lays them out everywhere. I decided she needed a clothes rack for her doll clothes so I built this cute little rack with a shelf for shoes and accessories. I was so thankful we had tons of wood that was already cut from the bed so all I had to buy and cut was a dowel rod and of course screw everything together! It's currently being painted and adorable little hangers are in the works. Alex will get to see it Easter morning when the Easter bunny brings it! I'm so excited, I know she will just love it!!!

Roll on!

For Alex's 4th birthday she got a new bicycle. We had a little tumble on her first ride and she has refused to ride it since.

Sunday afternoon I told Alex I had a conversation with her rapunzel doll and she really wanted to go on a bike ride. I explained I was too big for the bicycle, daddy was too big so then I suggested Cooper. Alex then informed me Cooper couldn't ride her bike because he has too many legs. She finally decided she needed to be the person to take Rapunzel on a ride. She rode up and down our whole street! Josh and I were soo proud of her! She's asked to ride the last 2 days. We go for a ride after school then she and Josh go back out while I make dinner. I love that my girl overcame her bike fear and now loves to ride (slow an cautious)!

Cowboy Day

Alexandra had Cowboy Day at school yesterday. Her school plans so many fun activities, brings in a petting zoo and a cowboy to do lasso tricks! It happened to fall on a day where I do lunch for all of the students and what goes better with cowboy day than barbecue?!?!

It was so unbelievably cute seeing all of the boys and girls dressed in their cowboy and cowgirl attire. Alex loves her some boots!

My cute little cowgirl and a pic with her bestie, Victoria!

Alex: 0 Sidewalk: 1

My poor girl had a run in with sidewalk yesterday. Unfortunately the sidewalk won this battle.

I got a call from school that she had a head on collision with a boy in her class on the playground. Somehow she ended up face first on the pavement. She had a bloody nose so she got to spend the rest of recess in the directors office with an ice pack on her nose. Thankfully there was no swelling, just lots of scrapes. My poor girl.

At least she was in great spirits when I picked her up from school!

Daddy Daughter Dance

Josh and Alex went to their second Daddy Daughter Dance last month.  Alex had a blast! Josh had fun, but experienced being dumped for her friends for quite some time.  Mommy got to get together with girl friends for dinner and wine!

It was so much fun to help my girl get all dressed up for her big date!

PJ Monday

My girl started feeling not so hot last night.  We had some friends over and by the time they left, she was on the couch, curled up with a blanket just zoned out.  She had a fever before bed, but by this morning, her fever was gone, but her energy was still low.  I decided to keep her home from school.  We've had the best lazy stay!  We are both still in pj's!



 



My little artist has been coloring most of the day.  She LOVES to draw.  Last week she drew every girl in her dance class performing on stage with Josh, my parents, his parents and myself watching in the audience.

This morning she painted our first family portrait.  I love it!  I plan on framing it and including it with our pictures we plan on hanging in the hallway. (if you can't tell, she is the one with brown hair, Josh is in the middle and I have black hair, and we are all holding hands)

Long Weekend

Josh had to travel for work last week. It was the longest trip he's taken. 6 night! It just happened to fall on a week Alex's school was closed Thursday for teacher training. We loaded up the car and headed for my parents on Wednesday after dance. We spent Thursday in Dallas having lunch to celebrate Josh's grandma's birthday then we went to see my best friend and my favorite baby boy.

We spent the rest of the time at my parents house. Alex loved drawing on the windows with we new window markers and playing outside. Cooper had the best time playing with his BFF, Lucy. They adore each other.

We went out for pizza Friday night. It was so much fun to go on a date with my parents and my girl. My dad and all of his girls :)

I'm so grateful we were able to spend time with my parents. I know josh was too. I'm sure I would have gone a little crazy at home for 7 days without him here!

Christmas

Better late than never. These pics pretty much sum up our Christmas. Santa's elves worked so hard to create a new big girl room for Alex. She LOVES it! I am so thankful for our parents and josh who helped our vision become a reality. We started with plan on a piece of paper and a truck bed full of wood! I never could have imagined her bed would turn out as amazing as it did!