This morning my little girls started second grade! I say this every year, but geez oh peats, I have second graders. Second graders! How is that possible? Seems like only yesterday they were iddy bitty babies.
The start of this school year was so calm and normal; it was awesome. When they began Kindergarten two years ago it was bittersweet because we were still trying to sell our old house and they were beginning in a school district we had hoped to move out of before they even began school. That all worked out and we ended up really liking the school and their teachers and we sold our house mid-year. Last year we were waiting on our new house to be built and living with in-laws at the start of the school year and that was a bit nutty because we were living with in-laws and because we had to drive the girls to school each morning half an hour away. This year? We woke up in our own beds, in our own house, in our permanent, forever awesome home. It was so cool.
Last night Lydia had trouble falling asleep! She was too excited or too nervous. She woke up this morning all smiles though. She kept telling me this morning that she was dreaming that it was morning, and that it was time to get up, but then would open her eyes, and it was still nighttime. She said she heard Daddy get up and leave this morning and was thinking, yay, it was time to get up, but it was still dark. Daddy gets up early!
Arlene wakes up like I do ... it takes awhile to get all of her gears going and it's best just to leave her alone and not touch or talk to her for about five minutes. Each morning, I wake Lydia up first, and she's chipper and happy (she takes after her Daddy) and she hops out of bed and goes downstairs to turn on the lights for me. I then go into Arlene's room and start talking from the door - 'it's time to get up, Arlene!' and I inch my way toward her bed, touch her once, make sure her eyes are open, then I leave the room quickly and walk downstairs. Lydia and I are usually in the kitchen chatting away as I get breakfast ready and we hear Arlene stomp through her room and down the stairs, then she comes into the great room, which is right beside our kitchen, and lays down on the floor, staring at us. Once their breakfast is on the table Arlene drags herself up and is usually somewhat with it at that point. I set a timer on the clock to keep things moving, because once their breakfast is ready I have to run upstairs to shower to get ready for work. Lydia is usually upstairs and dressed before the timer even goes off. Arlene is usually just finishing up her breakfast when the timer goes off. It usually all works out and everyone gets ready in time for the bus, but I feel like a recorder, giving out constant reminders: 'did you brush your teeth?' 'get your comb' 'Arlene, get on your glasses!' 'did you turn off your bedroom light?' 'Lydia, don't forget your book!' 'Arlene, I already told you once to get your glasses, put them on your face!' 'I told you to brush your teeth!'
I can't say this enough - it's scary crazy how fast these kids grow up! I can't believe the girls are going to be 8 years old in a little over a month!
Too bad Arlene's eyes are closed because this is a cute shot!
Perhaps my favorite from the morning.
Or maybe this is my favorite. Notice Lydia's all in blue, her choice - blue shirt, blue earrings, blue shorts, and a blue ribbon in her hair. {She even had blue underwear on but that's a secret!}
Except, we realized right before the bus came that she had one white sock on and one blue-tipped sock! Totally my fault! I accidentally folded the wrong pair together. Whooops! Lydia was cool with it though - she said some girls wear two different socks to be stylish and since she didn't have time to run up to her room to get a matching pair she was just going to go with it! Ha!
Last year I hardly ever walked them to the bus stop because it's pretty close to our house. I always watched them from the door. This morning they both asked me, "Are you going to walk us to our stop?" I asked, "Do you want me to?" they both said, "I don't care, you can if you want." I think they really wanted me to.
"You coming Mommy?" Yes, I am.
I refrained from taking the classic embarrassing photos of them getting onto the bus because they are second graders and that means they're too old for that kind of thing, duh. They said goodbye to me, no hugs necessary thank-you-very-much and hopped on the bus like pros. But as the bus was pulling away I caught them both craning their neck to see me and I waved and blew a kiss and got two huge grins in return.
What is it about the beginning of school that makes all of us parents so darn sentimental? I think it's easier for me because there's two of them - they have each other and I think that fact settles me a little. I know that they'll be there for each other and that thought gives me comfort. I still get a tad misty eyed though! This year was the easiest emotionally, by far, because we are settled now, but I did get a tad emotional once they were on the bus and gone. I remember when they got on the bus for Kindergarten I was so nervous for them - they were just, gone! Off to school in the care of people I didn't know. It scared me. I got used to it and it got easier each day. They are in a looping classroom this year, which means that they have the same teacher, same room, same bunch of kids that they had last year. That has made the world of difference. They weren't nervous about starting fresh because they knew everything and the routines. Still. How are my little babies in second grade now?!
I love these progression photos!
