First Day of School

In hot, humid Houston our first-day-of-school photo is a little fuzzy because the humidity got to the camera lens! I woke Ace up and started singing "I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it" which he wanted to sing all the way to school!

He indulged me with a photo in the hallway. When we got out of the car he wanted to know if I and Lily Kate were going to stay in class with him. I was scared to tell him no but he didn't seem to mind. Phew!
His little backpack is even bigger than he is!
Here's the play-by-play of him going into his classroom...
"Peeking" in to see Mrs. Maywald.
The teacher asked him to get his little lunchbox out.

He put his lunchbox in the designated basket.

Then he put his backpack on the table.

Then he found his name on a little monkey and picked out his cubby.

After he stuck his name on his cubby, Mrs. Maywald said he could go play and he said, "Thank you" and went straight over to all of the plastic animals he played with at his classroom visit last week. He didn't even tell me goodbye. I swallowed the lump in my throat and snuggled Lily Kate all the way back to the car.

Can't WAIT to hear how it goes!!!

Best Big Brother EVER!

Ace has SHOCKED me with his treatment of Lily Kate. He constantly wants to hold her and kiss her. He told me the other morning, "I'm going to give Lily Kate all your kisses!"

Right now, his big thing is for her to lay on his chest. He says, "Mommy, I want Lily Kate on my chest" and he pats himself with his sweet little hands. Melt my heart!
He really likes for me to tell Lily Kate about him. He'll say, "Mommy, tell her I'm her big brother," "Tell her I love her," "Tell her my name is Ace." This morning, we listed all of the things he'd teach her. His list included: all about Blue Angel airplanes, how to wear a hat, how to pee pee in the potty, how to kiss, how to brush her teeth (when she gets some) and how to play Transformers...just the important things I guess.

If I can just keep him from smushing her and poking her head. Wish I understood his fascination with those. Golden Rule: Never leave him alone with her!

But I am thrilled that they love each other so. She stops crying every time he holds her and just stares up at him with what I imagine to be complete adoration. I'm loving it while it lasts. It's not likely to go much past her ability to grab a monster truck!

Classroom Visit

Though I wish he'd stay little forever, my little man is getting big and getting geared up to start school next week. This week started with a home visit from his teacher. This was THE best thing that could have transitioned Ace into school. The home visit was awesome; I got to ask all of my "stupid" questions and his teacher got to meet Ace in his environment which made him so comfortable. I feel really fortunate for the home visit to be a part of this experience for us.

When we visited his classroom today, the ONLY reason he went into the room was to see Mrs. Maywald's familiar face. Here he is outside his school.

He was really scared to go into his classroom so it took us a while to actually get IN to the room. But he said, "Mama, I want to see Mrs. Maywald" and I peeked my head in the room and told him she was there and his face lit up.
Here he is outside his door. (Nope, he didn't have to go to the bathroom. Just posing.)

It was fun to see all of the stations they have set up around the room and learn all of the skills he's supposed to develop at each one. He gravitated to all of the animals (JUST like at home) and stayed there the majority of the time.

It was funny when he told me, "Mommy, don't touch my computer." Hmmm, he's heard that once or twice!

He really had a great time and didn't want to leave. He even told Mrs. Maywald that he loved her!

He impressed me by being very well-behaved: sharing, no tantrums and very little whining. Of course, he was the loudest kid there (no surprise as we have been asking ourselves lately why he talks so loud and so much). I warned Mrs. Maywald about his talking.

I'm so excited for him to start this little class. The kids in his class seemed pretty shy (Since Ace never knew shy, he should be good for them!) but really sweet and friendly too. They all stuck pretty close to their parents. I can't wait for him to tell me all that he learns when he starts next week!

P.S. Lily Kate was a trooper through it all. She just hung out in the Baby Bjorn the entire time. She and I are headed to parent orientation tonight. Wish us luck!

How it's going...

Everyone asks, "How's it going?" So here's an update.

We are alive.

Today was my first day at home alone with both kids. My head is pounding and I had a tiny breakdown (but got rid of it with the thought of a bath and the Bachelor Pad).

Ace doesn't want to take a bath with Lily Kate yet. I think he likes the one-on-one attention he gets during bathtime. Other than this, he's pretty much wiling to share anything with his little sister.
Jonathan and I are both trying really hard to make Ace feel special. Jonathan was convinced that I should get out of the house and go to the mall (on tax-free weekend...a circus). A carousel ride with Daddy was super special.

And Hula has not been forgotten in all of the excitement (although I think she wishes Ace would forget about her - he terrorizes her so).

Overall, Ace is a great big brother so far. He is constantly saying he loves her and wants to know where she is every minute. He wants her to tuck him in for naps and asks for her first when I wake him up in the mornings.

I hope his sweetness towards her continues. The only thing I've had to watch closely is he likes to snuggle/ smush her. He isn't quite as jealous as I worried he would be.

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Hopefully more smiles.

Ace is coming home!!!

We are sooooooooooo excited!

Acey is coming home tomorrow!!!

Our hearts will be complete again!

Ace spent the first week of Lily Kate's life at B's house. The next Tuesday, he went to San Antonio to spend the week with Honey and Sashi. After too many tears to count over the past two weeks from missing him, Ace is coming home tomorrow. Yippee!!!

When Ace was born, I told everyone I wanted nothing more than to be alone at home with Ace and Jonathan. When Ace was a c-section, I realized how bad I needed help. This time around, I called in the troops and they were AWESOME! B took Ace so that I could take advantage of Honey at home with me and Lily Kate. Ace could not have been happier anywhere else - B personally knows the present fairy and she came to visit Ace every morning! He's had a blast at Honey's but hearing his sweet voice say, "Mommy, I want to come to my house," just broke my heart into a million pieces.

Mudflap, Skids is soooooooo ready to kiss all over your face tomorrow.

Finally photos!

Lily Kate is two weeks old and I am finally getting back in the swing of things. I've been spending all my time trying to remember how to care for an infant. I can't believe the past two weeks have passed as fast as they have. Here are some shots I took of Lily Kate on a random afternoon.

Pink is her color.

Nope, red is her color.
Maybe she makes any color beautiful to me.

Lele, Brookelyn and Braedyn made a 10 HOUR car trip from Arkansas to meet Lily Kate. (All my other photos of LK and family are stuck on my iPhone!) They wanted to hold her so bad that Tata gave in.

For some reason, Honey and I found Lily Kate's yawn totallly precious. Every time she yawned we were late with the camera until this pic...you would have thought we won the lottery when we saw we'd captured the elusive yawn.

She is a complete treat. She looks so much like Ace that I find myself calling her "Bubba" and feeling like I'm dressing Ace in girls' clothing! Though I doubted my ability to love anyone as much as I love Ace, Lily Kate has taught me how wrong I was. I feel like I have loved her my entire life.