Bad blogger

First day of school

I have been a bad blogger for sure. We're finally (I think) to the point where we don't have too many more firsts for Keeghan. She's settled into school pretty well. She does still hang onto my leg when I drop her off but typically there are no tears and she comes home telling me about what fun things she gets to do at school.

Sleep is ok. Keeghan still (usually) naps for me after lunch which we both need. She goes to bed around 7:45 but has been up CRAZY early lately (read that as 5:30am) which is NOT going to be good once we hit the time change. We actually had 2 days over the weekend that she slept in until 6:30 or 7 but that seems to be over. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that the big kids are up bright and early and aren't terribly quiet. Overall, though, sleep is ok. We certainly aren't getting up 20 times a night which I am very thankful for.

We took Keeghan to her first country fair yesterday. She was excited to go and see animals. She petted a cow and touched a sheep and fed a goat. We also managed to get her on a carousel for the first time. She wasn't so sure at first that it was a good idea at all but once we got on and started going she let go of my neck long enough to wave to Ba Ba and her siblings. We also went on a giant slide which was not such a hit. There were a few tears once we hit the bottom but she calmed right down and wanted to go back on the carousel...so we did. Keeghan also got to fish for a duckie, try fried dough, see pigs, ox, horses, rabbits, chickens and all kinds of other stuff. We had a fun day as a family which was nice.

Pre-School

Keeghan started pre-school last Tuesday. I was dreading it. I knew leaving me was not going to go well. I tried to keep the thought light and we all talked school up. Tuesday morning she was ok driving to school and even getting out of the car. We walked up and got in line all without tears. She held the hand of one of her teachers and went off into school. I was stunned. So stunned that I went into the office to sit and was going to sneak down to peak in and make sure there were no tears. One of the secretaries (Keeghan is going to school at the same elementary school where the 3 big kids went so I know a few people thank goodness) went down and came back to report Keeghan was fine. I left, and headed off to do a few errands by myself (almost forgot what that feels like!) and then home to do some cleaning (Keeghan is NOT a fan of the vacuum so I vacuumed without having to carry her around which was a joy!). Picked the princess up after her 2 1/2 hours of school. She said she had fun though her teacher said she did cry for about 10 minutes at one point during the day. I knew that day 2 would not be pretty. Now Keeghan knew what was going to happen and that would involve me leaving. I was right. I got "NO SCHOOL" all morning and though she went to the car and didn't flip once we got out of the car Keeghan was hanging onto me so tightly that I didn't need to actually hold her. I told her I would walk into school with her but that MaMa couldn't stay. Or....MaMa could stay for a good 35 minutes while Keeghan was not happy. I finally told her it was time for me to go, peeled her screaming 3 year old arms off my leg, climbed over her, and left. I stood outside the door listening to her scream for another 5 minutes and then thought she had stopped. I walked down the hall and ran into the assistant principal who say the tears in my eyes and took mercy on me. She walked down and went to check on Keeghan for me and returned to tell me that Keeghan had stopped crying and was sitting at the paint table...a bit standoffish but not crying at all. Phew. I took off to hit my Wednesday morning kickbox class...very late mind you but I REALLY needed it come then. Pick up was fine. Keeghan was happy and told me about her day. Thursday morning we started again with "no school!". I had decided I would simply drop her off and go knowing full well that her teacher would call if she needed me (she was kind enough to send me a few pics of Keeghan having a good time painting and playing with friends on Wednesday). Again, had to peel Keeghan off me while she was crying and saw that she was still crying as I drove by to leave but the report at pick up was that she had stopped crying before they even went inside. Again, phew! Keeghan was again very excited to see me at pick up and repeated over and over "You pick me up!". Friday is a no school day for the little princess so we'll see how Monday goes after a long weekend off. I'm going to stick with the drop off and go theory and hopefully there will be less tears each day with the assurance that I will be back to pick her up.

Pictures

Summer is winding up

I'm very sad that our summer is coming to a quick end. We've had some great trips to the beach, a fun time at a Barenaked Ladies concert, an awful stomach flu, good times in our own backyard, and a few fights, but overall it's been an awesome summer and it's pretty much over.

This week started soccer practices and the big kids go back to school next week. The girls start Tuesday while Devon gets a bonus day off and doesn't go until Wednesday since he's an upperclassman. Kennedy and Carson will both be in middle school (8th and 6th grade) and Devon is in his sophomore year of highschool. It was nice to have them home for the summer. They are awesome with Keeghan and help keep her entertained. I'm going to miss that.

Keeghan is starting pre-school at our elementary school so I have another 8 years to look forward to being a part of that school community. I am excited for her to start school but a bit sad too. I will miss her while she is at school but I know she will have a ton of fun making new friends and learning new things. We have been talking about school since last spring and she will tell you that when she goes to school MaMa goes to work (I used this knowing she understands that I go to work and she stays with BaBa or TiTi in hopes that she would start to process that I will not be going to school with her) but I'm pretty sure when it comes down to it my leaving may be an issue. We've come a long way in letting MaMa go to work and even on an errand or two without having a meltdown but new people and places are not a strong point. We've met the teacher several times and been in the classroom too. I'm hoping to get her in the classroom a couple times over the next week or so. Hopefully we can make a tough transition smoother.

This summer has brought about potty training. Keeghan had been ready for a while but I wasn't ready to push the issue. I finally gave up and just put underwear on her. We've had a few accidents but overall that worked. We still do a pull up at nap and bedtime but that's all good. It was generally an easy process though we are still working on pooping in the potty all the time. We'll get there I'm sure. Once we make the transition to school we will work on getting out of the crib as well.

I know I crave routine and school will bring that! It will also bring sports and way more running around. Carson and Kennedy both plan to play school soccer while Devon is going to play an indoor lacrosse league. Kennedy is also playing on a travel soccer team and Carson will be going back to gymnastics in a month once soccer is mostly done. I think school will be enough for Keeghan!

July 31st

Keeghan is officially 3. Her birthday was Thursday and we had a bowling party...glow bowling to be exact. We took her bowling over one of the winter vacations this year and she loved it so a bowling party just made sense. And really, what's more fun than some 3 year olds with bowling balls? Keeghan had an awesome time and did really well with not getting overwhelmed and out of control. She totally understood that it was her birthday and that we were having cake. Presents were a total after thought for her. Whenever we mentioned a present for her birthday she'd bring up Santa. She enjoyed opening her presents though once she figured out they were for her : ) She still gets very excited when something is hers. As far as 3 year olds go she is very good at sharing and waiting her turn (of course we have moments of not waiting to share but overall she is good). She's come so amazingly far in the 19 months she's been home. We sleep (most nights) and once in a while I get to run an errand and Keeghan will want to "stay here". There typically aren't huge meltdowns when I go to work. Sure we still have clingy moments and meltdowns and bad days after busy days but who doesn't?

Blowing out the candle.

Happy Birthday to you...

Bowling!

Awwww!! Keeghan and one of her very first friends...a travel mate, Maelin. The girls have grown SOOO much.

Some summer pictures

Summer is flying by

It seems summer is flying by us! Keeghan's 3rd birthday is next week which means it's been 2 years since we first saw her beautiful face. She's grown and changed so much and continues to amaze us. Her language is coming along but there are plenty of words that just don't come out even close to right so we continue with speech therapy and will be transitioning Keeghan to pre-school this fall. I'm not so sure that transition will go terribly well as Keeghan is still pretty clingy with me and will often give me a hard time about leaving for work and I really don't get much of a chance to leave her for anything else unless she's asleep. I'm thinking I need to re-visit some reading on anxious attachment and work on that. We have been talking alot about Keeghan going to school and that MaMa will go to work while Keeghan is at school and she says "ya!" and is excited to go "in my classroom and do learning" but I'm not so sure that enthusiasm will continue once she realizes that I'm really NOT staying. I'm going to put together a photo album of pictures to try and help with the transition...Keeghan getting ready for school, Keeghan getting dropped off at school giving MaMa a hug, MaMa waving bye bye, Keeghan in her classroom, MaMa coming back to pick Keeghan up, and Keeghan going back home. Hopefully the visual will help. She is understanding that MaMa comes back (and BaBa too) and will tell us that but it doesn't always mean MaMa gets to leave without tears or clinging. The teacher she will be with is fabulous and I know we'll make this transition eventually but it doesn't make it any easier for me to think about.

Speaking of transitions...Devon has been away this week at a lacrosse camp. This is the first time he's been away from us this long and it seems to be going well (thankfully he's sent me text messages) but I'm ready for him to come home. I'm interested to see how he feels about having been away for a few nights with strangers. Hopefully he's learned a few things and had some fun. I'm looking forward to hearing all about it.

And Kennedy, she gets to do a soccer camp in a few weeks that is being run by a major league soccer team...very cool. She's really looking forward to it and is really ready for soccer season to get going.

Carson did a gymnastics camp last week. She's been BEGGING us for years to let her do gymnastics. I've been saying "NO" for fear of the expense but we finally gave in and said, fine...one week of camp. I went to pick her up day one and they want to put her on a team. One of the coaches saw her flipping around and asked where she trained and when they realized she was mostly self taught (I have enough experience that I've helped a bit) they knew she'd learn quick. We explored the costs (UN-DOABLE) and settled on an option that lets Carson spend 2 hours a week in the gym with girls at her level and will not bankrupt us.

So far, so good for summer. Looking forward to some more time at the beach, a trip to the zoo, and whatever else this warm weather brings!