Last night we went to Franny’s Back To School Night.  Everything and everyone was abuzz with excitement; kids wanted to show their parents their classroom and all the fun things they do during the day; some kids were taking pictures with their teacher and their new friends.  And, then there is Franny.  She wanted us in and out as fast as possible—and absolutely no pictures that was for sure!  In these two pictures she is holding the checklist of things to see in her classroom.  She was starting to relax some as she was starting to have fun checking the items off, but pictures were most unwelcome, to say the least!

Besides the fact that we did make Franny uncomfortable, it was a fun night.  We were able to really see her learning environment and some of things that she has been talking about.  She was a little more enthusiastic about showing us the cafeteria, library, and technology lab.  I am hoping to volunteer in her classroom a couple of times a month, so I also hope time will provide her with more ease to our presence at school.  It was obvious, however, that she is having a really good time in school and has adapted quickly to everything.  We were told by her teacher and by one of her new little friends, that she is definitely not shy when we aren’t around.  So, I am optimistic that she will eventually welcome us at a later opportunity.  We’ll see!

Today, Cole and Delaney enjoyed their playgroup at Magnolia Park.  After lunch, Cole wanted to go back and play some more, but we really needed to get home for Delaney’s nap.  To avoid having to walk through the park back to our car (which would have been shorter), I thought it would be kinder to walk along the street and not rub salt in his wound, so to speak.  We ended up passing these tennis courts, and Cole was immediately fascinated with the players and their game.  One of Cole’s favorite games at home is for us to toss a ball to him and have him hit it with his plastic magnifying glass, which is about the size of a ping pong paddle.  He clearly saw the similarities between that and his game, and wanted to watch them for awhile and take a closer look.  I love seeing these kinds of interests develop with the kids—they are all so individual and take away very different things from similar experiences.  If his interest continues, hopefully we can find a little tennis class for him to do.  Until then, however, I think he is very content with his magnifying glass!

Having young kids can make even the simplest task challenging—this is true with one child, and I can say through my own experience that it is even more so with two.  And, three…well, let’s just say that three has stripped me of my poise and left me a frazzled mess on more than one occasion.  While some things I have reconciled that I just cannot predict or control, I do like to have a plan and teamwork is the only way for myself and the Trio to get around with success; and, I define success as going from Point A to Point B and back to Point A safely and calmly.  Happy is really nice, but it’s not a requirement to be a success.

With the Trio, even just a simple drop-off or pick-up at preschool is really not so simple.  I could write a 20 page essay on the trials and tribulations of this daunting task. But, this is where my belief in teamwork really developed, and it has saved me.  One big part of it is that everyone must carry something.  It’s easier now, but for several months we had two backpacks, two lunchboxes, two thermoses, and on some days, two sharing items.  And even this simple rule had regular battles.  I think it was these battles that left the strong impression on Delaney that everyone must carry something, because from the day she started walking into the school she insisted on carrying Cole’s lunchbox.  It is very cute.  Although, over the last month or so, her sense of ownership with the lunchbox has increased to the point that she doesn’t like to leave it in the classroom!  She doesn’t just protest, but she throws herself down on the floor screaming and crying.  I’m still working to find an effective strategy for this one, but it goes back to my point that the simplest tasks are just not always so simple.

Franny and Cole spend a lot of time drawing and coloring, and Delaney loves to sit and color with them.  But, she insists on standing on a chair, which is a little precarious—not to mention unsafe—and it is also hard for her to keep the paper steady as she draws.  Today, I finally pulled out the easel for her.  The kids haven’t used it for close to a couple of years, but with it out for Delaney, it quickly became the new favorite toy.  Their interest did, however, solve the problem on how I would get Delaney off her chair with Franny and Cole still in theirs! 

The kids had fun helping Rick mow the lawn.  It took much more time than usual, but on a beautiful eighty degree Fall day, it was just good fun. 

Franny loves the catalogs that come in the mail—Hanna Andersson, Pottery Barn Kids, Lands End Kids, to name a few.  She will scour every picture, style, and ensemble until the catalog is reduced to a pile of loose pages.  When a new one arrives, she will even opt out of bedtime books just so she can read the catalog instead.  She spends so much time with them, she even recruits Cole to look at them with her.  They have quite the discussions about everything they see.  Do you like this one,  Cole—it’s green!  or If I get this one and you get this one, we’ll match!  or Look at the sparkles—that is soooooo fancy!   Unfortunately, Franny has expensive taste and the list of things she’d buy if she could is very lengthy.   But, she is learning early that there are limits and that is a good thing—she did a very impressive job of shopping within a budget during our back to school shopping trip.  I must say, she does put together outfits that are very nice.  We’ll see how long her interest lasts, but it is something that is fun for her and important to her, right now.  I think I need to get on the mailing lists of some less expensive stores!

Cole’s favorite new toy is an old yo-yo that he found in the kitchen drawer.  He can’t quite get it to come back up, yet, but he definitely has a great time trying! 

This evening, Franny and Cole had a great time playing together at the park.  Although we were only there just under an hour, it was great quality time for the two of them.  They laughed and yelled and I don’t think either of them stopped smiling the entire time we were there.  By the way they stuck by each other, you’d think they hadn’t seen each other for a week.  Maybe for them it feels that way.  Regardless, they make me smile; it was a really great way to end the day.

Is he reading his book?

No—he’s out like a light.  Must have been a good day!

Delaney is the youngest member of the Trio, but she tries hard to act in line with Franny.  It doesn’t matter what it is, she wants to be hanging with the big kids.  She has to eat what they eat, with a plate and a fork or spoon.  If they are sitting in chairs, that is where she wants to be.  If they are running around acting silly and yelling Go Ducks, Go!, she is running around just like them and yelling something that sounds remarkably close to the same.  When we take Cole to school, she screams and cries when she isn’t allowed to stay.  Delaney wants to be wherever they are doing whatever they are doing, and anything less evokes a most emphatic protest.  She is a remarkable little girl, but she is growing up much too quickly—although I am sure that she thinks quite the opposite!

The last week or so I have been on the lookout for new projects, crafts, and fun things for the kids to do when the weather turns.  One of the things I picked up this week was some Model Magic. It’s simiilar to play doh, but it has a lighter, more spongy texture. The colors can also be kneaded together to make new colors (we had great fun with this), and it is not as messy as play doh can be.  The kids loved it!  Even Delaney played with it (until she started to eat it, that is!) Franny started out making a ladybug and Cole made a snake, which made way for much more creativity throughout much of the morning.  It was definitely a good find, and I’ll definitely be picking up some more!

Weekends have always seemed too short.  But, now with Franny in school, every minute seems so important.  I never even thought about this one change would impact every day.  Cole seems to be struggling the most with the adjustment; it is quite obvious he is feeling a loss with her absence, which is understandable given they spent nearly every minute together throughout much of the summer.  Delaney is also thrilled to see Franny return every day.   I know everyone will adapt and soon the new routine will be just our normal routine.  While the process isn’t easy, it is an affirmation of how much love is shared between these three beautiful kids.  And, it does make us cherish every moment of our weekends together all the more.

The kids—and especially Franny—love going to the Raccoon Lodge.  We don’t go during the summer months because the outdoor seating is rather poor, and they have been very patient waiting to go.  But, with the rainy weather, tonight, they finally got the opportunity to return.  For the kids, it was a great ending to a fun and relaxed day.  With the onset of kindergarten, Franny and Cole have really missed each other.  Today, they played and laughed, and enjoyed being reunited.  Hopefully, they are also starting to rejuvenate from a very big week—just one more day and we are right back into the new routine.  Our updated schedule is extremely full and busy; I have to really concentrate on focusing on each moment and each day and not letting it all pass me by too quickly.  They are such amazing kids!

This week, we have a number of days that has limited the amount of time the kids have been able to spend outside.  After a very moderate summer, they have all become accustomed to a majority of their free time outside.  Delaney has especially found the adjustment to indoors difficult.  We now have to keep the garage door locked because she will open it and make a break for outside. I’m definitely going to need to start planning some fun indoor activities for this girl for when the weather changes for the season or I am going to have one unhappy toddler!

Franny ended her first week of kindergarten with her first soccer practice and scrimmage.  The rainy weather subsided long enough for Franny to have a lot of fun—along with her daddy coaching—before finally taking a break for the weekend.  There are 26 kindergarten girls participating, including her newest friend Kate.  They divided up into three groups and ran some drills as well as a small scrimmage.  She was naturally anxious about it all at first, but it was obvious once it was all over that she had a great time!

Delaney has just started to use a spoon. I am trying not to think of the messes that the future holds, but only to encourage the independent drive that continuously motivates her. With that said, she has no shirt on because she refuses to wear a bib. Silly girl!

Spoon from T on Vimeo.

This afternoon, Franny and Cole watched a little Clifford together.  The novelty of seeing the affection these two have for each other never wears off for me.  They looked so cozy cuddled up together I really didn’t want to intrude by taking a picture, but in the end, I just couldn’t resist.  

Cole's new car has definitely brought more fun to our driveway...

Speed racers from T on Vimeo.

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Franny has been talking about going to kindergarten since she was three years old.  During the last two years or so, she has loved to visit the school, play on the playground, and talk about what it must be like to be in kindergarten.  And today, she finally was able to see how her imagination lined up with reality.  When she got on the bus she was all smiles.  She didn’t even need a nudge—the bus stopped and she got right on.  She was still smiling when the bus drove away.  When she returned in the afternoon, she was confident, excited, and it was obvious that she had a really good experience.  It was such a big day with tremendous changes and expectations on her, but she handled it all with incredible poise.  Although I am not surprised how she did, I am still so proud of her.  She is such a wonderful little girl and I am very excited for her and this first year of school.

Today, Franny had her assessment with her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Nelson.  While Rick and I filled out some last minute paperwork, Franny showed her competency on some basics—letters, phonics, numbers, to allow her teacher to know where she was at academically.  It was a short meeting—about a half hour—but I think it was good for Franny to see her classroom, meet her teacher, and just be in the school.  She seemed much more at ease when we left; she is still obviously anxious, but does seem to be absorbing everything and mentally preparing herself for Friday—there is much more chatter to herself and Cole about school things.  And, it was very important to her that I wash her new lunch cup so it would be ready.  For us, it was not only fun to see her classroom and meet her teacher, but to get more information about the different special things they have going during the week—tech lab, library day, two PE days, and ‘Big Buddies’ with one of the third grade classes.  And, although she insists she doesn’t want to eat cafeteria food, we did get the year’s menu and I an hoping she will eventually decide to eat the school food once a week.  Some other good news was that class sizes are down this year—by eight kids!  Everything is pointing to this being a wonderful experience for Franny, and it all starts in just two short days!

excited for school, but not for taking pictures

her classroom

Franny received her princess nightgown for Christmas when she was three years old.  It quickly became the equivalent to a security blanket.  She slept with it every night, without exception.  Even when the kids had their matching pajamas—by her own request—she would wear them and then, after she went to bed, she would change back into her nightgown.  When she was upset, she’d put it on, and she was at home, she would wear it nearly all the time.  For some time, I was concerned what she was going to do when it just became too small for her to wear.  I tried to find the same one, but couldn’t find it in her size.  She probably wouldn’t have worn it, anyway—for Franny, there was just something very special about this nightgown.  Then, a few weeks ago, she began to wear other things to bed.  Sometimes it was another nightgown, other times it was just sweatpants and a shirt.  She would go back to her nightgown, forego it for a while, and then, go back to it again.  The day before we left on our vacation, she officially gave it to me to put away with her other outgrown clothes.   She said that Delaney could wear it when she got older.  Although I agreed with her, what she doesn’t know is that this nightgown will go in a very special place I have for very special Franny memories.  

I don't know if she is actually kissing her hand or clucking her tongue, but I do know that it is just too cute!

Kiss from T on Vimeo.

This week, Franny definitely tore up the bike trails. Hills—uphill and down—were no problem. We went on many short rides, but also had two very long rides—both were about two hours—and she didn’t miss a beat. She was very impressive. I really get a kick out of how much she loves to ride! But, Franny’s confidence on her bike is no more apparent than when she tries to ride without her hands…

Delaney has just a handful of words, many of which probably only I understand. But, the one word she says very clearly is Cheese!, which she says everytime I try to take her picture. It’s very cute, but I’d really rather just have a smile that isn’t so “cheesy”.

On our first anniversary, Rick and I discovered the most beautiful hiking trail—Broken Top #11.  We had started at Todd Lake, and hiked up to the trail junction and then beyond.  It is incredibly beautiful; we took Franny on it when she was a little over a year, but haven’t been back since.  To do something special for our anniversary this year, I wanted to get as far as we could, retracing our steps from that first discovery.  To keep the kids’ interest, I gave them little journals that they could stop and draw things they saw and liked.  Franny especially liked this, but then wanted to stop and draw more than she wanted to hike.  But, I must give her a lot of credit—she hiked for nearly 4.5 miles, the majority of which had a continuous incline!  Unfortunately, we didn’t make it to the junction, much less beyond, but I couldn’t have asked for more.  We almost made it to the Soda Creek Junction, and far enough that we got the spectacular views of Broken Top, South Sister, and Mt. Bachelor.  Someday, we will all hike the Broken Top trail together.  I look forward to that.  But, for now, this was enough. 

Drawing in their journals; Franny’s drawing of the Camp Robbers that they fed cereal to

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Tonight we took the kids on a special bedtime bike ride.  They got ready in their pajamas, grabbed their special blankets, Franny also brought her twins, and we tucked them into the bike trailer and bike seat.  Then, we went on a beautiful bike ride until dark.  We started at 7:00, so we were able to have a really pleasant ride; we saw a nice sunset over the Deschutes River, we had the trails to ourselves, and because the was rather warm today, it never got too cold.  We got home at 8:00 and the kids loved it!  I wish every day could end this way!