Riley Starts Kindergarten

Glimpses - Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Glimpses are a preview day to see the classroom and meet the teacher. Riley had fun meeting her teacher Miss. Morgan and learned where to put her things. She is going to have a great year!

First Day of Kindergarten - Friday, August 25, 2017

With backpack and lunch bag in hand Riley was ready to go to her first day of school. We have been walking down to the school to avoid the traffic jam of parents, which has been going well. Riley already knew some of the kids in her class because they were at Northwood Preschool with her but she is already coming home with new names of people she has met. She is learning to eat faster but still has a lot in her lunchbox when she comes home. The first few days the teachers came out to meet the students and lead them to their rooms then after that they would be expected to find their rooms on their own. She was nervous to do that for the first time but did well and is now gaining more confidence in herself which is great! Our baby is growing up.

Fly Iowa Air Show- Ottumwa, Iowa - Saturday, August 26, 2017

 Our kids love airplanes so when Stacy told me there was going to be an airshow in Ottumwa we were in the car and on our way!  It started out cloudy but was a nice day. Mom made tons of great food for before and after!  The show was from 1-3 with other entertainment before and after but we just went for the air show. I saw planes do things that I didn't know were possible, like fly sideways or straight up and do lots of turns. The kids had a great time and a few were a little sunburned but happy.  Keenan has always loved planes so it was exciting for me to watch him sharing that with our kids!

Nora is 10 months

    This month I didn't even realize Nora was 10 months already until the 22 when someone was asking how old she was at a family orientation day at Riley's school. I said "she is 10 months?" in disbelief that I didn't realize it until that conversation. Whoosh. It has been crazy with the garden, cloudy eclipse day, and getting ready for Riley to start school.
     Nora is amazing! I feel so happy to be her mommy and get to watch her body and mind grow. She has been crawling since shortly after the reunion so probably right around the beginning of August.  She gets around the house very quickly now and can get pretty much any thing she wants.  I love the way the face of a child lights up when they accomplish something new and they know that its big and exciting.  She has also been eating just soft chopped up food since the same time too. Bye-bye making baby purees. She also eats things better when they are seasoned well, she knows the good stuff. None of this just steamed veggies stuff. 
    She loves to swing and play with the big kids.  She also thinks it is hilarious when she is crawling away and I call after her saying her name in a funny voice.  She starts laughing madly and crawling really fast.  She loves to give me big, wet, open mouthed baby kisses and laugh some more.  So I guess we like the full spectrum of emotion in this house. Laughing and crying, often in the same 10 minute period.  Life is pretty good.

Riley starts school on Friday so we have been getting ready for that by getting supplies, attending a new family open house then meeting her teacher and seeing her classroom. Her teacher is really nice and I am not worried about her at all.  The next post will be Riley's first day of kindergarten.

Family reunion 2017

Swimming, food, fun, and food! Yes, I said food twice. This weekend was about getting together, enjoying each other's company and eating a lot of really good food. My favorite part of summer is the variety and availability of fresh foods that I often miss during the winter.

I loved watching the kids play!  I think the time they spend together and the close relationships that they develop are really important. The imaginary worlds and secrets that they share are part of the magic of childhood. I am a little wistful watching them because it makes me miss it, but being on the other side has its own joys! Riley and Piper have become really close and it has been fun to hear her talking about the Abbott girls as well.

Riley will be starting kindergarten soon. Too soon. August 25th will be her first day and we will have a Preview Day the day before.

Nora has learned to crawl really well! She started really going shortly after we got home from the reunion weekend.  She has also taken really well to eating finger foods and has stopped eating purees, which has been interesting. I like not having to make purees anymore but am uncertain what to do with the ones I have left. Keenan says good luck sneaking those into his food!

   Riley had an eye appointment today (August 14) with a specialist for Amblyopia. Riley has a laundry list of diagnoses for her eyes. She has amblyopia in the left eye, hyperopia of both eyes and astigmatism (click on each word for a rundown on what they are).  Her left eye isn't working as well so the right eye is doing all the work. For the last 2 months we have been patching the right eye for 2 hours every day while she reads or colors to help the brain learn to focus the left eye properly.  At the appointment, the doctor said her left eye had made noticeable improvements, which is a great sign.  I guess children only have till they are about 7 to train the brain and then after that you can't do much to change the condition of their vision. She has a new prescription for her glasses. She also has another appointment in 2 more months. This doctor said that while doing focused activities while patching can sometimes bring more change to the eye, it is not what she exclusively recommends. So I think we will do 1 hour like we have been and 1 hour doing whatever she wants, which will make the whole patching thing less stressful (getting a 5 year old to sit for 2 hours straight is .... yeah).  We will be doing this for 2 months until the next appointment. Not sure what to do with school but I think we will do it once she gets home.

 Group Pictures