first day of preschool

Here is Ivy right before leaving for her first ever school experience. 

My mom is bossy and not as funny as she thinks she is.

She picked out an outfit and posed for me.

Vogue.

Then she pointed out that I forgot to buy her a backpack. Which is true.

Tough luck, third child.

There was no nervousness--Ivy just wants to throw herself in. I've been going back and forth about whether I really wanted her to do preschool this year, but watching her pleasure this morning sold me.

This wonderful amazing Ivy-girl is going to have a wonderful amazing year. I just know it.

tiny dancer

soccer players

Soccer began last week, and if Saturday was any indication this season is going to be so, so fun and also a little bit complicated. We had two games to get to, one right after the other on opposite sides of the valley, at the same time as Ivy's preschool open house. So Chris took William and Charles to William's First Ever Soccer Game, and I took Ivy and Michael to the open house and Michael's first game.

All the way to the field, Michael kept saying, "You know what I wish? That William and I BOTH win our first games." 

brothers.   awwwwww.    and also ARRRRGH!

Now, technically William's level doesn't keep score: it's about fun and skills, not competition. But let's be real, those kids keep score. And our kid, he wants to win. (He's half Bennett. He can't help it.) 

So it went down like this: William's team was losing 0-4, which frustrated him. The next time he went in he played very hard and scored 3 goals. Then another teammate scored a goal. Then William scored a fourth time ... and his team won 5-4. 

Not officially, of course. Officially, everyone had fun and learned a lot about soccer. And also about watching out for the crazy kid who wants to win.

I know what happened at the game because William told me about it, then told me about it again, then reenacted it for me, then told Michael about it when he came off the field. 

Which was good, because then Michael got a little ... inspired, we'll say, if inspired is synonymous for competitive, and promptly scored for his team.

Which was also good.

So yes, both our teams won. It was a great weekend for sports. Next we'll work on having great weekend for sportsmanship, i.e.  GLOATING IS NOT COOL GUYS.
(Sorry everyone around us/who knows us. It's the genes, I swear.)

William's First Day of Kindergarten

time for some learning, yo.

William was nervous this morning. It wasn't a surprise -- William is sort of a little anxiety-prone? -- but it did mean I spent a lot of time in the last two days having conversations like this:

William: Mom, how will I get to my classroom? I don't remember where it is!

me: When you get off the bus at school there will be people who take you to your classroom.

William: Who will it be?

me: Someone who works at the school.

William: But who? What will the name be?

me: I don't know. But don't worry, someone will be there to help you.

William: BUT WHO?

me: William, I don't know whose job it will be. BUT. There will be people. Right when you get off your bus. And they will take you to your classroom.

William: What if they lose me?

me: They're not going to lose you.

William: But what if they do? What if they don't know I need help?

me: Then tell them and they will help you.

William: BUT I DON'T KNOW WHO IT IS AND WHAT IF THEY LOSE ME?


 We have gone over the procedure exhaustively, and I have assured William (MANY TIMES) that there will be plenty of help along the way. He's excited, but my literal-minded and precise William does not like to feel so out of control.

star wars backpack!

We walked to the bus stop together, holding hands the whole way. There was already a crowd of kids there (most older), and when we stopped one of William's friends came up to him. "Hey, that's right!" she said, "Today is your first day of kindergarten! Are you excited?"
"I think, maybe, a little nervous?" he replied.
"It's going to be great. You're going to love it."
When the bus pulled up a minute later she ran to jump on, but stopped and turned around. "I'll save you a seat on the bus, William. You can sit by me."
So William hopped onto the bus (knowing where to sit on the bus was one of his many (MANY) concerns) (his mind couldn't seem to wrap around the idea that you can sit wherever you want (THE CHAOS!)) and sat beside his friend in the front and waved excitedly to me as the bus pulled away.

And all of a sudden I got so nervous. Seriously, WHAT IF THEY LOSE HIM?
As we walked home from the bus stop, I said to Ivy, "Ivy, I'm feeling a little nervous!"
 and she took my hand and said, "Mom! Don't be nervous. William is going to love kindergarten."

She's right. But I might wait by the phone today, anyway.

2nd Grade

summery violin

When my niece came over to do some pictures for the invitations to her Book 3 recital, she told me she wanted them to be casual and summery. We had so much fun. I really love to do invitations these days.

Birthday Girl

Ivy had her first ever birthday party this year, and she was so excited. She talked about it for weeks. Finally! Her own party with her own friends!

the birthday girl, showing her own Lellow hair before receiving a giant red wig that she would like to wear forever.

I talked her into having a water party, because that sounded easier to plan than a fairy party. But what do I know? At the end of the day, I still felt like I was run over by a train.

some of the attendees. I couldn't manage to get everyone gathered for a picture.

Anyway. After much waffling she decided she wanted a cakepop cake.

it's possible the wind blew out her candles before she started blowing.

And I made Pina Colada Shakes.

Which, alright, yes, that was mostly for me. I love all things pina colada. But they were excellent! And the kids really liked them! Plus, adorable umbrellas!

Her favorite part was opening presents.

Her other favorite part was the PVC sprinkler we (Chris) built.

It was a lovely day.

cousins!

just to make sure Maggie knows Gray had a great time

The End.

princess time

Ivy Elizabeth's birthday party was yesterday, and her Grandy sent her what she really and truly wanted more than anything in the world:

Her Grandy is nice like that.

Lucky girl.

Please notice her teeth. We still need to talk about this.

Her friends couldn't wait to come over this morning and help her try out her new costume. And then, of course, what good is a princess without her princess friends?

A Posse of Princesses. And now they are busy fighting Obi-wan Kenobi (William) and a clone trooper (Michael) for the safety of the kingdom.

In conclusion: Grandparents are the best.

The Wizard

All of my kids loved playing with remotes as babies (because, buttons! lots of buttons!) so it was no suprise that Charlie, upon learning to crawl, was instantly smitten. Then about six weeks ago I was reading in the living room when I noticed Charlie on the floor doing this with the remote:

And for six weeks it has been one of his favorite games.

I can think of two possible reasons: first, we have a savant on our hands! Or second, my kids play too much Mario Kart.

A couple of stories about Michael and Easter and also a few pictures of our easter egg hunt

So, do kids really believe in the Easter bunny? Is that actually a thing? Because I was under the impression that it was a fun story but nobody really perpetuated it as truth. And that's why I took my kids with me to buy candy for our easter egg hunt. We were standing in line at Target, our basket full of plastic eggs and treats, other Moms eyeing me discreetly, and Michael asked why I was buying so much chocolate. So I told him, "It's the Easter bunny chocolate."
He looked at my sideways, then shook his head and said, "Mom, the Easter bunny brings his own chocolate."
It took me by suprise, but it was loud and crowded and I decided to let it go.
Then on Sunday morning while I was brushing my hair for church he asked when the Easter Bunny was coming.
"Michael, we did our easter eggs yesterday, remember? With cousins?"
"Yeah, but that was you. When is the Easter bunny coming?"
"I am the Easter bunny. The Easter bunny is just pretend, just for fun. Parents are the Easter bunny. " I glanced out of the bathroom to see Michael and William and Ivy and Christofer all staring at me. "...I thought you knew that."
"Okay," he said.
Christofer stared at me meaningfully.
"Uh, does that make you sad?" I asked. "Is it alright?"
"It's fine." He shrugged. Then he went downstairs to wait for us while William and Ivy and Christofer and I finished getting ready.


Picture interlude! On Saturday I hosted a big Easter egg hunt for the kids and cousins. We hid plastic eggs in the back yard, then the big kids had a treasure hunt inside the house to find the big treats. (I might have gone overboard with the clues, there ended up being around 45.)

On Sunday nights we have Family Home Evening after dinner. We say a prayer, sing some songs, have a little lesson, then usually eat a treat or play a game. While we were cleaning dinner up, Michael got out his notebook and a pencil and told us he was writing a talk for our Family Home Evening lesson. It took him about five minutes. This is the talk he wrote (with some spelling corrections; everything else exactly as he wrote and read it):

I am having a talk about Easter. Easter is very important. We celebrate
Easter because Jesus was resurrected and because he died on the cross.
Easter is not about hiding Easter Eggs. It is not about the Easter bunny. It
is about Jesus. I have a testimony that Jesus died for us. In the name of
Jesus Christ, Amen.

basketball

Michael just finished his first season of Jr. Jazz.
He tells me he was the 2nd best player on his team.
That may or may not be true; regardless, he did a great job.
He loves to shoot. He doesn't love to pass.
His coach told me that is common at his age.
(You'll notice how his tongue is sticking out in almost all of the pictures. He looks like my older brother, Dave, who always played basketball with his tongue hanging out, too.)
I hope this is the first of many basketball seasons to come.
(I happen to like basketball.)

and then Charles turned one

and he found the whole thing mostly...concerning.

Until he realized there was cake. Cake is very reassuring.

Happy birthday, Charlie! Now stop aging, this is pretty much perfect.

visitor

This is my sister with my nephew (looking good, guys):

They're visiting from Michigan and came to spend yesterday afternoon with us.

It mostly consisted of her patiently helping me deal with children/housework/homework/church stuff/dinner. I am not an easy person to visit. You should know this in advance.

It was still really wonderful. I love my sister.

good times.

IN RELATED NEWS:

well, hello Daniel:

and in other (non-related) news:

These two will not stop bickering and fighting today so let's take a moment and remember they are not all bad OR ARE THEY:

eh, they're pretty cute, I guess. Maybe I'll let them out of timeout after all.