It's A Wrap

We had our very last class party last week, what a great year it's been.  We couldn't have asked for  better teacher for Riley and it was a really great group of very sweet kids.  I loved being a class mom, I only wish that I could have spent more time in the class.  In honor of summer, we moved the party outside.  I even cooked hot dogs in the crock pot, which came out surprisingly well.  I am super sad that the school year is over and the class must move on, the moms volunteering today all tried to convince Riley's teacher to move up to 1st grade (she used to teach 1st) and to keep the kids together, while she agreed it would be a great class to move together, it's not going to happen.  So sad to move on from such a great teacher.  Fingers crossed that Jacob gets her!

Open House

Riley's class had Open House a few weeks ago and Riley was SO excited to show us around and show off her work.  Her teacher also had a "Guess How Many Starbursts in the Jar" and guess who won...little dude!  He sure does love his Starbursts!

It Was A Good Day

Today was another whirlwind day but it ended up a good day, at least in the eyes of Riley. 

We started the morning off with Riley's first report card parent/teacher conference.  Riley got a very, very good report card and update from her teacher, we were very proud!  I got to pick her up after school because she had a 2:00 appointment with Dr Hoffinger. 

We grabbed a quick lunch at home before heading to her classroom so I could meet with her teacher to plan the Thanksgiving Party for her class and then we headed up to Walnut Creek for an appointment with Dr H.  I was pretty nervous, Riley's right foot has seemed a little stiff so I was concerned we might be heading down a relapse path even though I haven't seem any curvature.  While I was meeting with her teacher, Riley colored a picture for Dr Hoffinger thanking him for fixing her feet.  We also brought a kindergarten picture for Beverly.  We got there and luckily they weren't too busy so we only had to wait a few minutes before going back.  Riley handed Beverly her picture, which she LOVED!  Bev has always loved Riley, even when Ri was a baby, Bev used to scoop her out of her car seat and walk her around the office before Riley had her casts removed and re-applied.  Riley always calmed down in Bev's arms.  And of course we can't forget when Bev came to visit Riley in the hospital after her tendon transfer.  She's equally important in Riley's treatment as Dr H is. 

Then it was time for BossyMan.  He came in and Riley handed him her picture, he loved it and gave her a huge hug and then she told him about her Dashing Dolphins and her 6 dolphin tails.  He couldn't believe that they had a running club for 5 year olds but was very happy to hear about Riley's excitement over it and her participation.  He did the usual inspection and after watching her walk said he saw absolutely no turning in on either foot.  I let out a big sigh of relief and told him I was concerned because that right foot seemed tighter than usual and he said he felt that it was tighter as well but the position was good and there was no turning when she walked.  (Sad, that I can feel the tightness in her feet like a well trained orthopedic surgeon).  He also said that at this point (2 months before her 6th birthday) that it would be extremely rare to have an issue at this point on that foot.  He felt like we would have seen any issues if we were going to see them.  The surgery seems a success, the right foot looks good without surgery so there might just be a light at the end of this long journey that we've been traveling.  I am cautiously optimistic that we may be finally putting clubfoot behind us.  She's come so far and I'm so proud of her strength and the way she just lets it all roll off of her.  She could very well use her clubfoot as an excuse to not participate or do stuff but Riley has never let clubfoot get in her way.  I often wonder how a child who spent the last year and a half in casts and AFOs ignores all that and is able to run around and participate as if she's never been through any of this.  It blows my mind!

That's Riley and Dr H on the right side together

Check out the flexibility on those tootsies!

Miss Sassy!

Our traditional picture!

Since we were in Walnut Creek, Riley wanted to go to my office.  So we headed over there for a little bit, enough time for some Kellogg's treats!  There were only a few people in the office but Riley still enjoyed herself.

And I wonder why she likes coming to work with me!?!

Like most days; it was busy, chaotic, and exhausting.  But it was a good day!  I'm so proud of Riley's great report card, thrilled that her feet are looking good, and happy to spend the afternoon with her.  Work has been awful lately and Friday was a good reminder of what is really important in life!

Shameless Brag Post

So I'm going to straight up admit that this is a shameless brag post but I just can't help it, I'm a proud Mommy, what can I say!  I had a super crappy week at work last week.  I have a new boss who does nothing but cut me down and thinks that ending emails in three-?s will garner a quicker response (he does this to the whole team so he's not singling me out, he's just a straight nasty person).  Let's just say I have never felt worse about myself in my entire career and on top of that, I have major mommy guilt because I have had 0 interaction with Riley's teacher, which I am so not ok with but I now feel as if I have no flexibility in my job, which is ironic because I took the job because it originally offered a ton of flexibility. 

Last week was such a bad week that I went to bed one night at the same time as my kids and before you think, "well, that's not that early," my kids go to bed freakishly early at 7:30.  Thursday I had a meeting at Safeway from 3-4 and decided to just pick the kids up early and take them to the Farmer's Market because they have been begging me for weeks.  I needed some quality time with them and needed to clear my head from the week.  At this point, you're probably thinking, how is this a brag post??? (Three ? in honor of my jerk of a boss).  Well here it comes...

I came home to a message that I could have only dreamed of. I wish I could somehow post it to save it forever but Riley's teacher called and left us a message, it started with "Hi this is Riley's teacher, don't worry there is nothing wrong..."  Ha! She must know parents.  It went on to tell us that she just wanted to check in and let us know what a delight Riley is in class and how well she is doing.  Suddenly all my anxiety from the week was gone, they may think I'm and idiot and incompetent but at least my kid is doing well in school and really in that moment, I realized that really, that's all that is important in life.  I am SO incredibly proud of Riley, she's matured so much in the last two weeks, it's truly amazing.  And what makes me even prouder, is the way she takes her brother under her wing and takes care of him and protects him.  We were at a park party today and she heard a toddler crying and she yelled out to make sure it wasn't Jacob and to see if he was ok. 

I was so proud of her I even treated her to a new Lego!  I refuse to erase her teacher's message.  (And have I mentioned how impressed I am that her teacher reached out to contact us!  We got super lucky getting her, Riley's love for learning just keeps growing and growing.)  

Homework Central

Riley gets monthly homework packets which is nice because we can plan and adjust what is done when according to our schedule (which is why her teacher does it this way).  She has certain assignments due each week including, worksheets, a reading log, and a monthly calendar of things to do.  She has homework every day of the week on the calendar, including Saturdays and Sundays.  This week's Sunday homework was 10 sit-ups which was pretty funny to watch!  With all of these moving parts, I need an organizational system and somewhere where I could put her homework so little two year old hands can't reach it.  So I crafted this,  I also would love to have a file box for school papers but this will do for now!

She has online math and reading programs and she looked so old working on it by herself the other day

Little Artists/Back to School Night

Jacob's school had a Silent Auction Art Sale on Thursday and all of the kids made art projects to be auctioned off to raise money for Bright Horizons.  Jacob's class did canvas paintings and I must say, I was quite impressed!  I especially liked the title of his piece: "I Like Blue"  Bwahaha!  SOOOOO Jacob!

After the Silent Auction we had Back to School Night...Elementary School just got REAL!!!  Did I mention that Riley spiked a fever the first night of school and had to stay home sick Thursday and Friday???  Poor girl was so sad!  She really wanted to go to Kindergarten.  At Back to School Night her teacher saw us and came over and asked how Riley was, that she was worried and to tell her that she didn't miss much.  SO SWEET!  She also sent home the art project that they did on Thursday so Riley could do it at home.  The principal and vice principal did a presentation and we were super impressed with them, then we headed over to Riley's class and learned all about the homework, class, schedule and etc.  We have heard great things about Riley's teacher and so far we are SUPER impressed! 

First Day of School

Well our drop off went off without a hitch.  I held myself together until I got into the car and then started bawling the entire drive home.  I took a walk for a coffee after I got home and it felt so weird to not have one of the kids with me. 

We took Jacob to school and then headed over to Riley's school for the first day of school.  I can't believe my 4lbs of fury is a kindergarten, time really flies by!

We got to school super early because we had a ton of supplies and they had record number attendance this year, at her school in particular.  As we're walking in kid after kid is saying hi to Riley, I was like "Riley do you know everyone at this school already?"  She says "I don't know everyone, but they're all in the Stingrays or EDCC with me."  I asked her why she was so nervous if she knew so many kids, I honestly had no idea how much networking Riley had done this summer!  My little social butterfly!

Riley told me her teacher came over at lunch yesterday and sat at the table with she and her friend Ryan and chatted with them for a while.  This morning she saw Riley and put her in charge of telling all of the girls to put their snacks in the green bucket.  I am so excited for her to have this teacher, I think she might get Riley and appreciate Riley's spunkiness.  (We had to fill out a student profile and I was very honest about my child, they then tried to match the kids up with the appropriate teacher while balancing the classes based on the assessments.)  A few minutes later we were invited into the classroom to get the kids settled and take pictures.  Riley is seated next to her friend Quinn and knows 5 of the 26 kids in her class from the neighborhood, EDCC, or her old school.  We'll see how long she and Quinn stay seated next to each other!  When it was time for Marc and I to leave she didn't even care.  She was beaming.  Oh and did I mention her teacher has the room decorated in owls, I'm in heaven in there!

Can't believe my 4lbs of Fury is off to kindergarten!

A little support from baby bro!

Room #3!

With her friend Quinn!  (They're sitting next to each other!)

Time moves too fast!

She was getting sick of the pictures

Owls

At her seat, putting her backpack away

As you can tell, she's miserable!

More owls!

With her teacher!

 



From walks in strollers as newborns to classmates in kindergarten



Well I picked Riley up after school (oh and I got there right as the bell was ringing to let them out and all of the parents were already lined up, working mommy fail!  No one told me you had to be there 5 minutes before the bell rang and I didn't ask since most times she'll be going to EDCC afterwards) and she had the BEST day!  She said she almost cried a little because she missed Jacob, which I didn't buy since she hasn't gone to the same school as him in 3 months but ok, but that Kindergarten was awesome!  They read 3 stories, did art projects, only went outside one time (I explained to her that she was only there for 4 hours) and that her teacher told her she was her best girl and she loved her teacher.  All in all she was in an extremely chipper mood!  She also told me that everyone looked so pretty and handsome today, good thing I made her wear a skirt to school today!  (See mom does know best!)

I took her to Fuddruckers for lunch (her pick, a switch up from The Habit which I was a little disappointed about but it was her special day).  Then I took her to the mall to pick out some clothes for her Build A Bear as a special treat, we grabbed some ice cream cones on the way out to cheers a successful day at Kindergarten.  Then off to Target to grab some stuff, home briefly and then we got Jacob.  When we got home, Riley requested popcorn and a movie on the couch where she promptly fell asleep despite the best efforts of her brother to keep her awake.  Anyone who knows Riley knows this is NOT like her, I asked her if she was ok and she said "Yeah, just tired.  I had a rough day!"  LOL! 

A little Fuddrucker's for lunch to celebrate making it through her first day!

Cheers to kindergarten (and earning two stars on the first day for good behavior!)

Exhausted

Jacob was pulling her hair here and she's still sleeping!

To My Riley-Roo on Your First Day of Kindergarten

Riley,

Daddy and I just dropped you off at kindergarten for the first time, you have been in day care your whole life and have been on campus all summer but still, today, dropping you in your kindergarten class, it felt as if time has flown by.  I'm sitting at home and the house feels so big and empty knowing you are at school, which is weird because I've never stayed home with you full time but knowing you're now school age it feels like a void exists.  I can't wait to pick you up a lunch and hear all about your day.

 I feel like yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital as a newborn, my 4lbs of fury, and here you are exuding confidence on your first day of public school.  Words can not express the pride I feel for you Riley.  I am so proud of the beautiful girl that you have become - on the inside and outside.   I hope you love school as much as I loved school and I hope that you find your way academically.  You are a bright, social, fun-loving girl who brightens whatever room you walk into.  You've overcome a lot in your 5 1/2 years of life, you have strength that people can't dream of having and you have a smile that glows. 

I know you are destined for great things and today is the beginning of that journey. 

I love you Riley and I know you will have a fabulous year in kindergarten!

Love
Mommy

Twas The Night Before Kindergarten...

and all through the house not a creature was stirring, except for a very choked up momma
The supplies were packed with great care, in the hopes that Riley would have a great year
(And mommy wouldn't get called into the principal's office too often)
Her backpack was hung, outfit carefully chosen, the jitters worked out
Can we get the year started without so much as a pout
New teacher, new friends, new learning,
Let's get Kindergarten off in full swing
Reading, writing, arithmetic,
I can't wait to see all of your new tricks!

Happy 2014-2015 school year!







That's an entire bag of "suggested" donations.  So much for a free public school education!

Nothing Says Official Like...

A teacher and room assignment! 

I went over to Riley's elementary school on Tuesday and finished registration and as a prize we found out who Riley's teacher would be.  I really can't believe my little preemie is starting Kindergarten in 6 days!  It turns out she's in the same class as her buddy across the street, Ryan, another little boy from our street, Lucas, and a friend from EDCC (we also have a mutual friend) Quinn.  I can't believe that there are 3 kids from our neighborhood in her class, poor teacher!

I took the afternoon off because apparently every year we have to do fall check-in to confirm that we still live in the neighborhood so the lines were long, I got there at 2:30, the doors opened at 3:00 and I was done by 3:45!  I decided to get Riley early since I was off for the afternoon and I took her by her classroom so she'd feel more comfortable next week when she starts.  I was getting ready to pick her up to look in the window and the door opened, her teacher was in there and invited us in and showed Riley around.  It was super sweet!  It turns out her teacher is the teacher who assessed her for kindergarten.  There are 5 kindergarten teachers and 2 of them are fantastic, she's one of them.  Lucas' brother had her last year and they loved her and my couple interactions with her were awesome!  She was great with Riley.  So I am VERY excited that she has her!  The downside, she does everything alphabetically, and well, Riley doesn't like to be last.  Sensing this, the teacher told Riley that she would rely on her to make sure no one got behind her in line.  She needed Riley to be her helper and that was her important job for the year, suddenly being last wasn't so bad!  :)  I also warned Ms. Kiernan that Riley should probably be in the front of the class so she could easily be reminded that she shouldn't be talking in class, especially with Ryan in there. 

Kindergarten is SO real now!  Ahhh, what happened to my baby!?!

In The Blink of An Eye

Well it seems in the blink of an eye, Riley has grown up.  She successfully has had her first day of camp at her elementary school.  She's still a bit shy at drop off and hasn't make a ton of friends but once she gets warmed up and engaged, she seems to be having a lot of fun and she's been coming home exhausted and hungry!  I was so happy to hear that she had a "very very very good day!"  She was so worried!  Her only complaint from the first day was that people kept asking her about her AFO when she put it on to go outside.  She seems so much taller, older, and more mature now.  I can tell she does miss her friends and teachers at KinderCare because she keeps asking to see her teachers and tell them about her camp and wants me to pick her up before Jacob so she can go and see everyone.  I know she'll adapt in no time though!

 

Oh The Places You'll Go!

To My Riley On Your Last Day of Pre-School

Riley-Roo, where have the years gone!  In a blink of an eye you've transformed from a bright eyed baby into a vibrant little girl.  I don't know how it happened but onto kindergarten you go, and believe it or not, you are ready.  I know you are nervous, excited, and a little scared of what Monday at your new school will mean but rest assured child of mine, you will have no issues making friends and adjusting to your new school.  I worry about you on many things, but adjusting to new environments and making new friends is one area where you excel and I know you will come home on Monday with a whole list of new friends!  I on the other hand need to remember to start packing you lunches every day and need to get used to the idea that you are now an elementary school girl.  You've spent the last 5 years at KinderCare, learning, growing, and becoming an outgoing, compassionate, responsible little girl. 

Remember what Daddy and I told you today, it's good to be a big fish in a little pond for a while, but if you stay too long, you won't grow and learn to your potential, so it's time to move to the bigger pond and be the little fish for a while where you can learn and grow some more. 

I am so excited to see you grow and learn more, both at the EDCC this summer and then when the school year begins.  Your passion for learning will serve you well and it's only a matter of time until you've learned to navigate your new school.  Today is only the beginning of all of the new friends, adventures and learnings that life has to offer you.  I'm so excited about all of the places you will go!

I'm so glad the teachers gave us this class picture, your class was a special one with a bond different from many other classes.  I know you will continue to be friends with many of these kids as you have known each other since the baby room 

On your way to the last day of preschool

So long old friends!  Until we meet again!