.....two at Holmes school......

.....the days are long, but the years are flying by.....

.....we certainly felt like that during Elsie's first year of Kindergarten.....she grew so much in that year.....socially, academically, emotionally and certainly physically.....she even looks so much older in the picture of her last day of school.....I remember that day so clearly because it was only 9 weeks ago......and here we are celebrating a week where all of our friends are back to school......the new backpacks, the supplies, the shiny shoes and the butterflies of excitement in the belly......

......Elsa (she has preferred Elsa over Elsie since Frozen was released) has been gung ho and ready for first grade all summer and Callie has been hot and cold about starting elementary school.....

......the first day for Kindergartners is actually an orientation......they tour the school with their new teacher, the parents get to see the classroom and mingle with one another and then we go home and continue on with the routine of summer......we play outside, have some snacks, and play with the neighbors.......life is good......

......so our first morning was really a run through, but for Elsie, it was the real deal.....

.....and Brody asked several times when it will be his turn.....he doesn't like to miss any of the fun......

......we raced to school to meet Elsa when she got off the bus......

.....and she posed for a snapshot, but was determined to go about her own way.......she had friends waiting for her that lead to conversations about bus rides and lunch boxes......

......and with sweaty palms, but a brave face; it was Callie's turn to head into her new classroom and see where she would start her love for learning.....

.....and then her anxiety began about the bus ride......the same bus that she waved to every single day last year......the bus that she was dying to get on with her sister and watched it drive away down our street for 9 months......all of a sudden when it was her turn, she decided, "I am NOT gettin' on that bus tomorrow" the eve before her first full day......

.......we hugged, we talked, we reasoned, we listened.....

.....she sobbed......

.....she woke up this morning and I gave her one of my necklaces.....it is an old necklace, but it is green; my favorite color and it has a big stone in the center......I asked her to hold it and close her eyes anytime she felt scared or lonely and to think about how much she is loved.....

......I fastened it.....she touched it.....she smiled and she slowly started to come around as the morning progressed.....

......she sprinted toward the bus the instant she heard it coming up the street and I had to ask both girls to come back off to give me big hugs and kisses.......

.....she rocked that bus ride......and sister kept such good care of her......I was so proud of Callie for her bravery and Elsie for her compassion and adoration for her sister......the other mamas at school were crying because they missed their babes; running off and beginning a new world of independence......I was holding back the tears because the girls made me so proud.....their sisterhood is such a gift to me and one of my greatest joys has been watching it unfold......I am so happy to see them enjoy this experience together.....of course I miss them and have the fleeting feeling that time with little kids in the house is running low.....but more than the sorrow of that chapter being closed, I am so joyful watching them enjoy this time in their young, little lives......

.....they will have as many memories this school year as they did this past summer.....there are too many to list, but we played and we played hard......

.....we had friends visit from near and far, lots of days of glorious sunshine, swim lessons, beach days,  fruit picking, pool days, BBQs, holiday parades, and enough ice cream to start our own parlor......

.....we came 8 short of hitting our summer bucket list to full capacity......Bowling and apple picking will have to be picked up during a chilly fall day in our near future......

......and we will suck the life out of those days, too.......so long summer......from here on out, I will await you with two arms open, waiting to have my oldest little ones back at home when they are all mine again......

......but for this season, we are celebrating structure, excited about learning, anticipating newness and expanding our comfort zones......

.....and it feels so, so good......

......so proud of you Elsa and Callie......

Xx

.....stream of consciousness......

 ....he melts my heart, truly......this momma/son experience has been such a blessing and I tell him daily he is my favorite boy......glad he's got that going for him because it awes me how many of his "firsts" get watered down by the commotion of our bustling home......


........Elsie's first day of nursery school was huge.....grandparents sent cards, I took a million pictures and we shopped all summer for her backpack.....the one that she had eye balled the spring prior to school and talked about for months.....

.....Callie also had her fair share of attention on her big day......Elsie played with friends while I took Callie to class and absorbed the experience with her......we stopped for ice cream afterwards and slowly shared our treats with one another......

......Brody has three pictures from his first day, a fourth one taken by a friend who captured his unwillingness to pose any more and I neglected to carry in the canon to snap pictures of him as I watched him explore his new classroom......I meant to grab the canon, but the bus came, Elsie hopped on, Callie was excited for her first day of school, we didn't want to be late and half way into the drive it occurred to me that I never ran back upstairs to grab the canon.......after school was out, I threw the kids in the back of the car to get a latte because I needed a mid morning caffeine fix and every time I asked Brody about his first day, his sister jumped in to throw in a cool highlight about her new 4s class......

....oh, my sweet boy who is surrounded by the chit chat of women......bless you......

......I am going through a phase in which I know that I can not do it all and I am actually OK with it.....it's liberating to know that trying my best is good enough.......I barely have it together with three children and in 6 short weeks, we will have another sweet babe to care for and I am at peace knowing that our baby will be lucky to have even just one picture taken on the first day of nursery school.....

.....but in between the lack of capturing moments such as these, there will be a lot of love, laughter and cherishing because that's one thing we do well in our brood......

.....three weeks into nursery school now and I am finely in tune with how fast the year will pass.....I especially notice myself carving out time with Callie while Brody naps because I know in just 10 short months, she will be joining the bus with her sister to begin her long days of learning......she will leave this haven of comfort with familiar faces and enter the same new big world that Elsie is engulfed in this year.......

.....she will explore new things and learn in ways that enrich her and I will not get the sneak peeks from her teachers as to what she does when she is away from me.....she will be one of many more children navigating her way to find her own niche and she will have to soar on her own......

.....and just as I have with Elsie, I will ask myself as Kindergarten approaches......did I do enough when I had her home with me?.......did we read enough? play enough? bake enough? have good talks? take spontaneous adventures?.......will she remember the five years she had at home five years from now?.....am I capturing enough pictures? writing down our best times in this blog? creating moments of laughter and adventure?.......

.....some of my answers will make me proud of my momma job and some of my answers will have me tweaking things for Brody's sake and his soon to be sibling's sake......it's how we mold and change and grow and improve and it's all healthy and good and uncomfortable, simultaneously......

.....Elsie is gone from 830-330 pm everyday......she is gone 35 hours a week, not to mention the time she wants to take piano lessons or run the soccer field.........on the weekends, we have 48 hours to make up for that time and I am balancing it with two and soon to be three other children and a husband who I need and want to carve time out with, too.......

.....it's a crazy game of balance......of ebb and flow and some days I win and other days are tough defeats.....but to keep it simple, I engage whole heartedly, keep our schedule simple and refuse to commit to too many things that diffuse our time together......

.....I watch my babes play, join when they ask and try to encourage their quest for learning......

.....I have always tried to savor, savor, savor.....it's part of the mantra of this blog......but it wasn't until my oldest went to Kindergarten and the first month of school passed, allowing time to settle and for me to feel the lack of her presence upon the home that I realized the time is really vanishing......

......Callie is next and in less than a year, two of my four will be gone for long days and my early years with both of them will be memories......the new experience will be great, yes......and clearly, there are days when the simplicity of less kids at home is liberating......but the acknowledgement that time is slipping by is greater in my world today than it was only a few short months ago......

......my last ultrasound......ever......

.....the anticipation of a third baby when the girls were still so little is starting to be a long time ago because my girls are not so little anymore......

.....pregnant with Brody at 32 weeks......

.....pregnant with new baby #4 at 32 weeks......

.....our house bustles, the weeks zip by, I forget the good canon camera on Brody's first day......so we may have less pictures for his big moment as a new 2's class nursery school student......

.....but I am keenly aware of the precious little ordinary moments that make up the most important ones for our brood......and those are the ones that really count.....