Day 2 and 3

We still got dressed in the car on day two but he was super independent at school and wanted to wear is "ackpack" and walk in all by himself.

 

 

 

 

 

Today there were bubbles!  Hooray for bubbles!

 Once we transitioned inside, he received a mirror polishing lesson.  He had been interested yesterday but we left before he could receive a lesson.

 

 

Today he fell asleep rocking with me.  I held him the entire time.  I missed my sweet boy.

Day three for Killian, we were actually able to get Killian dressed (with some help from big sisters) before school.

First day of school for Killian

Killian is going to school Tuesday-Thursday in the mornings so we started him the next day.  Things did not go as smoothly.  He really, really loves his pajamas.  Really just about three pairs of his pajamas and wears them all the time.  He changes out of nighttime pajamas into daytime pajamas sometimes and sometimes just wears the nighttime pajamas all day.  So, it was quite a rude awakening when I told him he did, in fact, have to go to school.  Last night when I told him about school for him, he simply looked at me and said, "no thanks".  This morning he kept saying, "no school me."  When it was finally time to get dressed, there was a major mutiny.  Fortunately for all concerned, this is my third go around with these battles.  Instead of fighting, I just loaded him up like this.

I was very hopeful that he would allow me to dress him when we got to school.  Even if he didn't, I wasn't worried.  Because we go to Montessori schools, they are all about promoting independence and I knew he'd get dressed for them when we got there.  Kayden went to her toddler class a handful of times in just a diaper because she, too, refused to get dressed.

Fortunately, when we got to school, he let me get him dressed and take some pictures of him.

At the school, the toddler classroom introduces the children to the environment slowly.  That means a few shortened days with Mom there.  Then a few shortened days when Mom leaves after a bit.  Then a few shortened days all by himself.  Then a full day (well, just the morning for him) all by himself.  I love the theory of this and I love it for this particular Momma's boy too.

The children have outdoor work time for about an hour when they first get to school.  There are regular play items and also more practical life type activities.  Killian loved filling up his watering can from the bucket and filling up the bird bath.

He also loved experimenting with sink and float items in the water tub.

Beautiful play area surrounded by trees and with a few of the school's creek.  Perfect for a toddler.

Passed out on the floor.  He refused to get into his crib so we laid on the floor together until he fell asleep.  Sweet baby.

 

First day of school!

 First day of school for the girls.  Momma was super nervous to embark on this adventure of both the girls being gone all day and at a new school.  We woke up early and, miraculously, were ready in plenty of time to take pictures and head to school.  We have a first grader and kindergartner.  Crazy.

 

 

Love these sweet girls so much.  We are going to miss them during the day!

Random pictures

The kids had a meet the teacher/orientation before school started while I had a new parent meeting.  Well, the girls had the meeting.  Killian played with Dad in the parking lot because they don't start the toddlers that way!  Anyway, after the orientation, we headed to Chick Fil A.  One of the owners came over to chat with us and Keeley was so friendly (the other two were still playing) that she offered the kids free ice cream.  The kids were thrilled!  Still working on getting all three to look at me and smile at the same time...

Good shot of girls, Killian too focused on ice cream.

Good shot of Keeley, but Killian has his awesome "cheese face" and Kayden is trying to lick the ice cream off her cheek!

Then next day, Keeley lost her 8th tooth.  I love, love, love her little toothless grin!

   Oh boxes.  Who knew they could be so fun?  Silly, silly boy

 

 

Circus

Grandma called and asked if we'd like to go to the circus again this year and, of couse, we said yes!  This is the first time I've been able to go with the kids because I have always been out of town the other times.  We had such fun!!

 

You'll notice Keeley put on of her dolls right at the glass and the other is on her lap.

Out of your seat good!

Both dolls are now watching :-)

Killian and Mom.

 

 Thanks, Grandma, for inviting us again!  We had a great time!

Beach - Last Day!

The girls wanted to see the stars at the beach so I promised to wake them up early.  I checked the sunrise time and set my alarm for a bit before.  Apparently, I didn't need to do that, however, because the girls work up at 4:45.  Yes, that is correct. 4:45.  I sent them back to bed and waited until my alarm.  At that point, however, the sun was already too high for the stars to be seen well and the cloud cover too thick.  We decided to go on a morning walk instead.

 

Kayden wanted to collect sea shells and Keeley wanted to get close to that bird. 

  

 

A tiny fish she found..dead.  She liked it because it was like the ones we'd seen the day before swarming in the water close to the beach.

 

While we were walking we saw a bunch of dolphins.  I was the most fascinated of the three of us.  Keeley was the least.  She was hungry.  Much like her mother, when she's hungry, that is all that is on her mind.  We headed out for breakfast outside (so we didn't wake up the other adults).

 

After breakfast, the girls said they didn't want to get in the sand.  They just wanted to play in the water at the pool.  Because rain was threatening, the facility wasn't turning on the water features so it wasn't much fun.  After talking with management, it seemed that they were going to likely be off all day.  A pre-5 am wake up, kids not wanting to swim, and rain threatening all day all pointed to Mom making the decision to head home.  While Oma played with the kids, Mom and Dad packed everything up and we got on the road right after lunch.  All the kids were asleep within minutes.

 

 

 

Killian wearing my sunglasses!

Kelly drove late, late into the night and we were home that night.  Sleeping in our own beds was wonderful!  Because we left a bit earlier than planned, we had some bonus "vacation" time with dad at home.  It was great.  We had a wonderful time and all three of the kids want to go back!

Beach - Day 4

We started the day at the beach even earlier today than we had been.  After a leisurely breakfast on the balcony, we were still at the water before the sun was really up too high and certainly before many beach goers were down there.

We had been enjoying some really fun wave jumping and splashing when we noticed a man walking down the beach waving at us.  When he finally got closer he told us there were hammerheads just at the second sand bar (maybe 100 yards from where we were).  Well, we quickly decided that was not for us and got out of the water.  We turned around and, sure enough, we watched just past where we had been playing to see the sharks (yes, plural) cruising the sand bar.  Scary!  

We headed back up to the pol and played for a bit before going in to eat and rest.  Because we hadn't played too long, we had a bit of time before lunch so the kids set to work on the KiwiCrate that I had packed. 

 

 

The rain really rolled in during the afternoon so we hung out in the condo with only a brief departure for some souvenir shopping and then dinner. 

After the kids were in bed, Kelly and I went out for a bit on our own.  We walked down toward the boardwalk to watch the fishermen.  We talked to a man in a kayak who was fishing for shark.  CRAZY PEOPLE!  Who fishes for shark in a kayak?!

 

As it got dark, we started looking for the crabs that everyone was searching for.  We found a ton of them.  Crazy little creatures.