First Day of School

The house was all a flutter this morning.  I thought I was completely prepared for the first day of school, yet I still woke up at 4:45 this morning.  After 17 years of "first days" as a student, and five years of "first days" as a teacher, the first day jitters still flow through my blood.  Thankfully, my little loves were EXCITED and READY for school!

Clare started first grade at Seffner Elementary.  Her teacher, Miss Camilliti, was named teacher of the year last year.  There are 17 students in her class, and she gets to start specials this year.  She had her first day of P.E. TODAY in a dress and sandals.  We'll be better prepared next time.

 Isaac started VPK (4's pre-Kindergarten) at First United Methodist of Brandon.  His teacher, Mrs. Mahan, is a veteran teacher...full of grace and tenderness for these newbies.  There are 9 children in his class, and he was definitely the MOST EXCITED person I know about school starting.

They miss each other during the day, 

and it will be fun when they are in the same school next year.

In order to get a few decent pictures, I had to oblige and let them take an equal number of ridiculous pictures.

This little honey came home with pink cheeks and a hungry belly.  Here are his repsonses (verbatim) to my after-school questions:

- What was your favorite part of the day?

"Going to the playground and seeing Tessa."

- Was there anything you didn't like about the day?

"Just one thing...I got all sweaty."

- What did you do in your classroom?

"Ummm...we did some puzzles and books, and I have something to tell you...can we go to Chuck E. Cheese tonight?"

It's amazing watching our children morph into little people...full of their own personalities, wit, and senses of humor.  We can see certain traits that come from certain people.  Thankfully, Clare's sense of style is different than that of mine in first grade. 

                            Corrie in 1st grade - 1988                                                            Clare in 1st grade - 2015

Clare's first day of school was "so much fun!"  The only bummer of the day was that car line was so backed up (SHOCKER!) that I couldn't get to where I pick her up as a walker.  I had to park almost a half a mile from the YMCA (where we pick her up) and walk to meet her.  I had Myles in my arms, and I literally dragged Isaac by the arm.  My car thermometer read 101 degrees, so we were all rosy cheeked and peachy when we finally got to her ten minutes late.  Sorry, Clare.

Clare's highlights:

- Making "Jitter Juice" in her classroom.

- Making a "new best friend."

- Finding a $5 bill while walking over to the YMCA.

 They LOVE their new backpacks, and they were wearing them around the house for days before school actually started.

And this...

One of my favorite little moments of the day!

Isaac and Clare were talking to each other outside,
and I captured their silhouettes in the rising sun.  

And now...

The sun has set on the first day of school.  It was a success.  All is well.  Everyone is happy.  No tears were shed.  To many more...

Golden 7

Our sweet and spunky Clare turned 7 last week.  

SEVEN!!!

I can distinctly remember Clare's first birthday.   

 Knowing that the next six years are likely to go by even faster than the last six...we will have a TEENAGER before we know it.

In the past week, a number of people have remarked on how seven is the "best year" or "golden age."  While every age seems to come with its own challenges and joys, we can see Clare's personality really developing into something special and beautiful.

 She continues to LOVE nature, water, animals, and being outside.
Genetics are remarkable. 

She is fearless, adventurous, spirited, and social.  She doesn't want to miss a beat.  She carefully weighs all options to ensure that she is right in the middle of the most fun.

She loves her brothers, and she ADORES Myles.  She always wants to get him out of bed in the morning, and she acts as his second mama.  However, she maintains that she is fine with just two brothers.  According to her, "that's more than enough."

She LOVES fishing...especially with Daddy (let's be honest, she's never really gone fishing with Mommy)...and especially on "the big water."

One of Clare's natural gifts is drawing.  She has an amazing eye, and she can freehand almost anything.  I love watching her in art mode.  Her focus, precision, and attention to detail tickle her first-born button.

Clare's eyes through her eyes.

She used chalk to create this Egyptian portrait.

 Clare weighed in at 53 pounds and 49.5 inches at her 7-year well visit.  She is down three teeth...although she hasn't lost any of them on her own.  This little honey has had the worst dental trauma of anyone I've ever known, and it turns out that it is likely from an adverse reaction she had to an antibiotic when she was just a baby.  Go figure.

Clare LOVES:

- Art and Gymnastics

- Swimming and Fishing

- Helping with projects

- Cotton Candy Blizzards from DQ

- Fruit...ALL kinds

- Her brothers

- Michigan

- Frozen bananas with cream

- School (at least 80% of the time)

Clare DISLIKES:

- The Dentist

- Trying new food

- Independent reading

- Natural disasters

- Wasps and bees

This is ME, Corrie, on my 7th birthday.

And this, my beautiful daughter...

I am so thankful that Clare is my daughter.  She challenges me to try new things, to love without conditions, to not take things too seriously, to laugh throughout the day, and to grow in patience, grace, and understanding.  I look forward to our years ahead, and I trust that we will continue to shape one another in beautiful ways. 
Happy 7th Birthday, Clare Bear!

These Three

On a Sunday afternoon, at the end of May,
I have only the time to record a few quick thoughts.

Myles is 19 months old and full of vim and vigor.  His eyes express reluctance and hesitation until you are in his inner circle.  Once you're in, you are blessed by his amazing sparkle and charm.  His favorite places are outside and in Papa's arms.  He detests his car seat.  He eats an embarrassing number of "pouches" every day (the little fruit puree push-up genius inventions).  He knows how to open the cupboard and get them out, and he would gladly eat them for every meal and every snack of the day.  I still want him to be my baby, but I also want him to start talking and using the toilet.  If I had to choose, I would go with the latter.

One of the other mothers from Isaac's class told me the other day that Isaac is "so charismatic." I wish that I could see what he is like in school because I get the sense that he has multiple personalities.

 He is certainly a ham, but he has the sweetest little spirit.  He is thoughtful, generous, giving, goofy, and tender.  He is pretty proud of his recent accomplishment of diving to the bottom of our pool's deep end (8.5 feet) and collecting multiple rings.  His has become our second little fish and spends hours in the pool.  He just finished his first year of "school," and he literally LOVED EVERY MINUTE.  He had the most incredible teacher, and he wanted to go 7 days a week.  He is very sad about summer vacation, and I already anticipate the countless times he is going to ask when he gets to go back to school.

Clare...

She has changed a lot in the past few months.  It seems like she's really grown up, and her desire is always to please others.  Rather than always being first, best, fastest, and victorious, she now defers to her brothers and delights in their successes.  She loves being our little helper, and she doesn't want to miss a beat.  She is the last one asleep at night and the first one awake in the morning.  She wants to make her own pancakes every morning...start to finish...except for the clean-up part.  She's gotten very good, and she has yet to get sick from the copious amounts of batter that she's eaten.

She is definitely Daddy's girl when it comes to loving animals.  Phil brought home a hornbill that needed round-the-clock care, and Clare was always on feeding duty.  She and Phil share an innate connection with animals that is fascinating to watch.  Regarding nature vs. nurture, it is definitely in her nature because Isaac is seemingly as uninterested as she is interested.

We have a pair of hawks that hang around our house, and Clare spots them before anyone else.  She is incredibly observant, and she notices things that I completely overlook.  The other day, she saw her "little buddy" on the fence, and she kept saying, "Birds are just so beautiful."  Only the daughter of an ornithologist. 

  So much more to say, but this has to do for now.

All is well.  Very well!

This and That and A Little of the In-Between

I remember when I used to blog regularly, and I held onto the presumption that that would always be the case.  I really believed that I would still make time to document the little things in the midst of the fast-paced life that continues whizzing by us.  Alas, it is the fifth month of the year, and this is only my fourth post.  I missed the month of February altogether.  Anyhow...here I am attempting to refresh some memories of the past few months. 

 Easter was extra special this year because Papa and Mema were in town.

Phil and I graduated from the Easter outfits that we've worn for the past ??? years,

2012

  

2014

2015

...but we still captured the ceremonial family shot in front of the house. 

The kids had spring break during the second week of March, and we did lots of day trips around the area.  We figured that we live in the middle of America's playground, where most others make their destination, so we could easily vacation in our "backyard."

 Adventure Island is always a hit.  Mema and I brought the big kids to the water park, and it was a mostly perfect day.  Our little Isaac, oh Isaac, made the lifeguard earn his wage for the day.  He jumped off the cliff dive area (a good 6-7 feet high), and his goggles filled with water.  That disoriented him enough to create panic, and the life guard jumped in to help him.  Oh mercy.  It happened to be in the 45 seconds that I was in the bathroom, and poor Mema witnessed from the sideline.  His name went in the log for the first rescue of the day.  Awesome.

Normally, I wouldn't remark on the next tidbit.  But, following the aforementioned story, it needs to be recorded somewhere.  A few hours after Isaac was "rescued", and his name went in the official log, he had another incident.  Oh Isaac.  He incurred a pretty decent rope burn, and he started bleeding in the water.  The life guard told us that we needed to go to First Aid to have him bandaged appropriately.  I stayed with Clare while my mom brought Isaac to First Aid.  Guess what?  They needed to document the incident.  My fast-thinking mother, who wanted to protect us from getting black-listed at a Busch Gardens' sister park, quickly answered with, "Pat Durham." 
Thank you, Mom.  Thank you!

As many "Oh Isaac" incidents as we have in a day (and there tend to be several), I still have the softest spot for this little one.  His cheeks are undoubtedly the most kissable on the planet.  His tenderness melts my heart every day, and his crystal blue eyes pierce through any frustration and make me want to squeeze him a little longer than what is considered normal.  Oh Isaac!

Phil shares a similar bond with Clare.  Those two are peas in a pod...an animal-loving, insect -inspecting, dirt-digging', wood-haulin', olive-eating, brilliant-negotiating pod.  Phil has been working with penguins for the past year, and he got to bring a few of them on The Today Show in March.  He did a test run with the penguins in Clare and Isaac's classrooms, and everyone thought that was pretty fantastic!!!

Much to their chagrin, we don't have skateboards...yet. 

Our neighbors let the kids roll around, and they LOVE it.  Ironically enough, Phil is the only one with a busted knee or blood.

Clare and Isaac love sharing a room roughly 87% of the time.  More often than not, we hear them giggling until they fall asleep.  Yes, they pester each other a fair amount of time as well.  But, for the most part, they have a special bond that is unmatched with any other, they comfort each other, and they love each other.  We have found them cuddled in the same twin bed on countless occasions. 

Clare is down three teeth.  She hasn't lost any of them naturally (another story for another time), but the tooth fairy still made a special stop at our house.  

Tooth #1

Teeth #2 and #3

The tooth fairy at our house is more of a superhero-type with testosterone and excellent fine-motor skills. 

Clare started art lessons a couple of months ago, and it is the highlight of her month.  A wonderfully talented woman at our church noticed Clare drawing one day and she remarked on her natural gift.  I kind of hate using that word, but let's just go ahead and say it.  I'm her mother.  I think she is a gifted little artist.

Anyhow, that same wonderful woman agreed to do casual "lessons" with Clare, and it is a win-win situation (she loves art and doesn't have a daughter to share it with, and I have a daughter who loves art but she has a mother who knows NOTHING about it). These are just two of her creations, and she is learning many different styles and forms of art.  This is one of those areas that I just don't possess any natural talent of my own.  "Draw" is one of the worst 4-letter words that I can think of, so I'm thrilled that we found this connection for Clare.

I haven't said much about Myles Man in this post, but he got his ink in the last post.  Since that made up 25% of my blogging for the year, I think we're good for now.  

The five of us are healthy and well.  We enjoy our pool almost every afternoon.  We're moving out of bonfire season and into oppressive humidity season.  We get excited when Myles does something new.  We love it when we have family in town (Papa is here right now, and it is like Christmas every day).  We started our Michigan countdown at 100 days, and we still have way too many days for our children's liking.  The kids are in the silly face stage for most pictures. 

We are blessed!