September 2018

Happy "I-can't-believe-we-have-a-Kindergartner-month!"  But before we cry our eyes out over that, let's enjoy celebrating Labor Day with our best friends!

We hustled right back from Campland on the Bay, hung around the backyard for Labor Day, celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary, and before we knew it, it was the night before Kindergarten.

Mila was so excited to start school, and I think that made it easier on me.  Shockingly, I didn't shed one tear on the first day of school, which is a miracle in itself.  Had she been sad and upset, though, I know it would've been way different.

It was a family affair on the first drop off and then Nellie and I were able to sneak away for some alone time (more on that later).  Mila felt so officially with her backpack and matching lunchbox and was so excited to have her very own desk.

We're now a month in and she still enjoys it so much!  She loves going to school and loves all of the "big kid" stuff she gets to do, like go to the library, computer lab and sit in the chairs at chapel (preschoolers sit on the ground in the very front row).

While Mila was at school I took Nellie to get her haircut...

And then shopping for school supplies and shenanigans....

All because, the next day we had to do it all over again and Nellie had her first day of school!  She's in the violet room this year, which she was in for summer camp, but is super excited for all the new activities and the fact that she is older than three of the other rooms and constantly talks about the "babies" (two year olds) in the white room and how they're SO cute.

We capped off a great first week with gelato with friends; these particular friends were from our mom's group and preschool but now go to a different elementary school. It's so nice we can still get them all together.

Soccer has started for Mila so our weeks are filled with practices and games.  The girls chose their own name this year and came up with a good one...

We asked Mila what she wanted to do for her birthday this year and, true to fashion, she said she wanted a smaller party with just a few friends.  We decided to have a waterslide party at the house and it was so much fun!  It was so manageable with just a few friends and it was fun to hang out and watch the girls have a great time.

Robert has an uncanny ability to hear the first notes of a song and immediately know what it is; we have learned recently that Nellie has this same gene and can sing or hum to so many songs that she's only heard a couple times or that have only been on in the background.  Not only is it super impressive, it is absolutely adorable to hear her sing.

While we tried soccer the past couple of seasons, this fall she wanted to try ballet.  The very first class I wasn't sure if parents would have their kids in leotards or workout clothes or what so I just sent her in shorts and a tee shirt. She was SO embarrassed and hid under a table for most of the class. Afterwards, we bought her a pair of ballet slippers, a leotard and tights and now she fits right in and is enjoying it much more.

She is SO happy when it's time to put on her leotard and go to class but insists that I don't watch :( because it makes her nervous!

We did have a scare around the middle of the month and thought Roscoe might be on his last leg (well his last three).  He came in one night and wouldn't put any weight on his back leg.  We tried to figure out what was going on but he was so pathetic looking and kept staring at us with these sad eyes, like, please help me.  I am usually the crazy one but when Robert said maybe we should take him to the vet I about lost it!!!  I started taking final pictures of him with the girls and could barely keep it together for them to tell him goodbye before they went to bed in case he had to stay at the doctor (forever).

We even texted Garret and asked him to come stay with the girls so we could take him to the emergency vet. Just when it was time to go we wanted to see if he could walk to the car or if we needed to carry him and that fool got up on all four legs and was perfectly fine!! So now it's a running joke in our house that he faked his own death. So now we're trying to give him extra attention (he's SO needy) and I know I will not be prepared for when his time will come!

We ended the month with a trip to one of our favorite camping spots, Crystal Cove, to celebrate Robert's birthday.  It's seriously THE most beautiful place to camp and it's so nice to relax. We spent most of the time just hanging out at the campsite but Mila and I did have to come back to HB Saturday for her soccer game and Sunday for her soccer team picture, but we were able to work in a trip to the beach and so much family/friend time.

What we're looking forward to next month: camping at Ventura KOA, staycation in Surfside, CA and Halloween!

Mila's 6th Birthday Interview

Birthday Interview

***Mila is 6 years old***

1. Who is your favorite person in the whole world? Lexi

2. What is your favorite color? Purple

3. What us your favorite television show? Vampirina

4. What is your favorite outfit? A dress

5. What sport do you like best? Soccer

6. What song do you love? (anything by) Kesha

7. What is your favorite cereal? Golden Grahams

8. Who is your best friend? Kira

9. What do you want to be when you grow up? A teacher

10. What is your favorite book? Jasmine (Aladdian)

11. What are you really good at? Doing art

12. Where do you wish you could go on vacation? San Diego

13. What is your best memory? When my friends came over to my birthday

14. What would you buy if you had $1,000? A cooking class

15. What vegetable do you hate the most? Brussel sprouts

16. If you could have a wish, what would it be? that Lexi was here

17. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Bubble Gum!

18. Who is your biggest hero? Wonder Woman

19. What do you like to do best with your friends? Play at school

20. What do you hope you get to do before your next birthday? Open presents

August 2018

Hello end of summer (except it won't feel like fall here in Southern California until December...) and here we come back to school!

We started the month with the end of swim lessons and Mila moving up another level.  I wish we didn't have to wait until next summer to get her back in the pool but her calendar is pretty full these days.

I can't believe she starts Kindergarten so soon but she is SO excited and looking forward to it.  We decided to keep her at Grace Lutheran for her kinder year for a number of reasons, including but not limited to:  one drop off for me, her home public school is under construction and the kinder teacher at Grace is apparently amazing; we're not looking forward to another year of paying for school but we are lucky we can afford it.

Robert and I were both able to spend one on one time with Mila preparing for school; Robert took her for ice cream and to pick out new shoes and I took her school supply shopping (maybe that was more for me than for her?!).  I think it will be a definite transition going to Kindergarten but we are definitely up for it and I can't wait to see what this little girl accomplishes!

Nellie will be in the Violet room at preschool this year, with our favorite teacher, Mrs. Teri.  This is the year when Mila really blossomed and matured, doing homework and being an all out joy to be around. I can't wait to see what the transition will do for Nellie and where we are headed next.

While Mila and Kira have been having sleepovers for what seems like forever, Nellie is always asking for Ariah to spend the night.  Of course she's too little to understand that Mila grew up with Kira and it's different and three year olds don't have sleepovers.  However, one night Ariah's mom was in a bind and asked if we could watch Ariah for the evening. Nellie was beside herself excited that she was coming over for a "sleepover" but understood that she would go to sleep at our house but wouldn't be here when Nellie woke up (her parents picked her up about 10pm).

Mila was  such a big help that evening, really taking on the role of big sister/mom. I walked into the kitchen and she turned around to tell me she was making the girls dinner <3

Both girls are still typically sisters, fighting like cats and dogs one moment and then the best of friends and playmates the second.  With Mila moving over to the school side for summer camp Nellie has really taken to finding her own friends, although she still adores Mila and her crew as well.

I need to stop and remind myself about the little things that will make a big impact.  For example, we were invited to a pool party at one of Mila's friends houses.  There was a ton of kids there and after everyone had a popsicle for dessert they all asked for a second; another mom said, how can we really say no when we're having 2 glasses of wine (!), they're just popsicles!  She is totally right; I am so quick to say no when most of the things are little and saying yes does little harm...and gives you such great mileage ("two popsicles?! you're the best mom ever!").

My work had an end of the summer trip to the Del Mar Race Track to watch the horse races, which was so fun.  We definitely need to take a trip down there next summer for the races; plus they have a kids club that's super cheap and they do all kinds of activities while the parents hang out!

August was our month of concerts: we saw three in eight days!  We started off the week with a date night to see Chris Stapleton; he was AMAZING.  Every time he comes to town we will definitely make it a point to go see him; he's so talented.

Next up was Darius Rucker, another one of our favs.  We went with a large group of friends to this one and then all went out cosmic bowling after.

The next day after Darius was rough but we had to get our act together because we had Kid Rock to see with our friends Kasey (my first roommate in California!) and Greg.  I LOVE KID ROCK; obviously because we wouldn't never done two concerts in two days but I couldn't miss him.  He is THE BEST.  I tried to add them all up and this was (I think) my 12th time seeing him....the first being 20 years ago when I was a junior in high school.

Then the next morning we rallied AGAIN and headed to San Diego for our annual family vacation.  We stayed somewhere new, Campland on the Bay, and had a great time.  The great/worst thing about going camping the last week in August is that all the kids (except our district) are back in school and the places are all ghost towns.  The girls had a blast at the San Diego Zoo, which was so great, and even met two girls their ages that were staying in the trailer across from ours. They spent nearly two days nonstop with them.  They were sad when we had to leave and they wouldn't see them again but I explained that's jut how vacation friends are and there would be many more in their life!

Looking forward to: Mila starting Kindergarten (!) and Nellie headed back to preschool, the start of Saturday soccer games, Mila's birthday, Robert's birthday and an end of the month camping trip to Crystal Cove