Preschool

Jamie was gone for a bachelor party this weekend, so the girls and I had a good time hanging out.  My mom watched the girls on Friday, and Maggie and I took a little visit to preschool to meet her teachers and see her room.  Maggie did great and was so cute.  When she met her teachers, she gave them a big hug.  I got a good gut feeling about the school, so it was a relief!

Story time with Grammer

Saturday I was feeling ambitious and took both girls to the Ann Arbor Hands On Museum.  They had a really good time, though probably only saw about half the exhibits.  By the time we got home, I was pooped from corralling them all morning!

Checking out the ambulance

Flip-flop music

Gotta love Bernoulli

Stomp party

Sending coded messages... or just hitting random buttons

 

Trying to wink at me

It is NOT time to go yet

Sunday we went to church.  We did not have to leave the pew once.  Let that sink in.  It was amazing.

Afterward Maggie had her first friend-party at Michael’s (the store).  It was a really fun time, and I loved watching her interact with all her buddies from daycare.  I never really see that happen since we just do drop-off and pick-up.  I also got a chance to hang out with several of the moms; it was so nice to talk to people who are in my boat!  Maggie had an awesome time, and Evie had fun hanging with my mom at the house.

Arting

With the birthday girl

The adorable trouble-maker of the class
(according to Maggie)

Girl talk

Maggie started preschool on Monday, and she did great!  Jamie was planning to drop her off the first morning, but I couldn’t resist tagging along to make sure everything was in order.  I was so anxious the entire day, not knowing if she was sad, worried, feeling abandoned… of course, she came home perfectly happy and excited!  They take a short nap during the day, so Maggie was pretty tired by the end of the day.  She was also starving because she neglected to eat her sandwich… except for one tiny bite that forensic analysts could have missed.  So now I’m brainstorming some clever lunch ideas that I know she’ll eat – the internet is a wonderful place!

Ready to go!

Excited to get started!

In order participate in any school events, I had to take the “Protecting God’s Children” workshop last night that raises awareness of child sexual abuse.  Wow.  It was a really rough three hours thinking about such an awful topic, but I’m really happy that the school makes sure anyone dealing with my kid has had the training.  I also want to build an impenetrable bubble for the girls and destroy the internet… which is actually a terrible place also.

Maggie's selfie

Evie's selfie

Looking a little guilty... still not sure why

Taking a break from the dishes to do a photo shoot

 

Evie's favorite place in the house

Back to School

It’s that time of year again, boo hoo.  Jamie is back at school full time, and our schedules are back in full swing!

The best pose I could get...

Today is Maggie’s last day of daycare.  She will be starting preschool at Guardian Angels next week, three days a week.  I think she will love it, but Jamie and I are feeling sad about her leaving daycare – the teachers there are so great!  Evie will still be going to daycare, so shuffling the kids to two different places should be a blast!

Last day of daycare

Grandma had fun experimenting with curlers in Maggie’s hair this week:

Getting dolled up

Hey there, dollface

Poor Evie has a bad black eye.  She started to tumble off of Maggie’s bed, and by instinct, I tried to catch her… and ended up jabbing her head right into the corner of the bed.  Epic mom fail :(  Thankfully, she was just fine after a little cuddling, and now it’s just a matter of waiting for it to heal… and dealing with the side-eye glances from people…

You should see the other guy

Three days later...

Here's some others from the week:

Visiting Teddy at the park

Superstar!

Playing after church

Synchronized sliding

Our little explorer

Someone's a happy girl!

Maggie’s new favorite song is from Cinderella:

Getaway

We had a family getaway this weekend to relax one last time before the school year begins.  We booked a small cottage with frontage on an inland lake, and it was perfect!  There was a great deck along the waterfront, and a nice shallow area for the girls to play in the water.  Jamie and I enjoyed bonfires and long conversations both nights after the girls went to bed. 

Me and my girls

Lake selfie!

Maggie said her favorite part of the trip was going on the paddle boat.  It was a huge 4-seater paddle boat, that Jamie and I did our best to move around.  With a squirmy toddler on my lap, we made it about 50 yards… and then came back.

Not interested in my photography

Don't fall in!

Balance beaming

Morning shenanigans

Evie was very happy to go up and down the steps on the dock, and really wanted to walk out on the dock all by herself (but her mean mom made her hold hands).  She didn't like playing in the water much, but seemed a little more comfortable when Daddy was around.

Must. Climb.

Taking a stroll on the dock

Looking good, girls

Almost smiling!

Maggie was surprisingly unimpressed with roasting marshmallows.  She didn’t like being so close to the fire, so instead she just put marshmallows on the skewer and ate them “raw.”

Maggie tolerated this for about 10 seconds

Giving Daddy goodnight kisses

Looking for fish

Keeping her distance from the fire

We took the girls into Grand Rapids on Sunday, and they had a blast at the Children’s Museum!  I also really enjoyed the museum, it’s fun to be a kid sometimes.  

Mountain climbing

I want a bubble table at our house

Drum circle

Evie was very concerned about putting the doggy
down for a nap

Determined race car girl

A little light reading in the treehouse

"Vet Clinic, please hold"

Sisters in business

Evie kept trying to hold three balls, drop them while trying
to stand, pick them up, drop them again... 

How cute is this?

Peace