25 weeks | Baby #4

3/26/17 | 25w1d

Twenty-five weeks seems really far along, doesn't it? I mean, fifteen more weeks until my due date or about 3.5 more months? That's insane, I can hardly believe it.




This week baby is the size of a cauliflower and his kicks keep getting stronger, consistently happening whenever I eat, sit down, or try to fall asleep. I told Nate that 8pm seems to be this kid's most active time and we agreed that seems to be par for the course. I've caught myself wondering what it would be like to have a child that sleeps well, within his first year of life. I cannot imagine and know I shouldn't even get my hopes up to have a 'good sleeper'. 

In that same vein, Porter slept through the night last night for the first time in weeks, perhaps months. Can I get an 'amen'? Sticker charts really work for our children, point taken. Hopefully he keeps this up, mama needs some freaking sleep because I'm tired. My sleep is still fairly light and restless but at least I didn't have to physically get out of bed until 7 am this morning---the glory. 

Completely unrelated to pregnancy but I'm plunking it here anyway: Truman lost not one but BOTH of his top teeth this week, within 24 hours of each other. I'm not sure why these teeth got me, but they did. My biggest boy, weren't you just cutting those teeth yesterday? He looks so different. So big. Hold me.







Let's talk about this comparison for a second. Yes, my hair was crimped. 1988 was a great year. And come on, people who say Truman only looks like Nate!

Back to this pregnancy...

I had my first comment of, 'Oh, you are due in July? That is so SOON. You are going to have your hands full, aren't you?' I mean, don't we already? Our hands were full a long time ago, this will just be a new dimension of 'full'. But of course, our hearts will be even more full than our hands, with more love, more loudness, more memories to be had with our bigger family. I've been feeling overwhelmingly blessed this week and humbled by this baby in my belly. Bear with me here, I feel lots of emotions coming on during this post.




Also, I've noticed a gross, acidic taste in the back of my throat after I eat. I don't know if this is heartburn or reflux or what, but it's pretty annoying. I've never had heartburn before and figured it would be more in my chest--this feels like my food is too acidic, if that makes sense. It doesn't matter what I eat though, everything makes that taste appear. It's not painful but it makes me want to drink water and not eat as much food. Novel concept!

There were several more hours spent in the attic this week, sorting and purging and creating boxes to go to Goodwill. I finally went through my 'keepsake baby boy' boxes and nearly cried when I found that I've saved lots of tiny boy clothes. Anything remotely sentimental, with memories attached from the other boys, were in those boxes. I love hand-me-downs so much (it's the comparison thing, I can't help it) and am so happy that I didn't actually purge everything we own last summer and fall when I couldn't handle our attic anymore. It's looking really great up there! I have three bins of girl clothes that I'm trying to pass down to our friends, but everything else has been donated or stored for safe keeping. The baby has two bins of toys that I'll keep. I think we found a car seat to purchase from a friend. Still looking for a mamaroo. And of course, no nursery to decorate until the fall or winter when our addition is fully finished. 

OH, and the floor plans changed again. We have decided not to mess with the attic because the beams are not the correct size and there will be many structural issues if we push for the walk-up attic becoming a fifth bedroom. (Read: TONS of money). Instead, we have a new plan for adding a fourth master bedroom, master bath, master closet, and a fifth kids' bedroom in our second floor addition. This fifth bedroom will probably be the baby's room and will be the same size as Porter's current nursery. I've wanted five bedrooms since we started this process and to see it all drawn out is so satisfying! Now we just need the structural engineer to make his recommendations and then we sit in front of the board for our suburb and cross our fingers that everything passes. I'm guessing we will break ground in May or June. Really hoping we have a roof on our house when I give birth but we will take it as it comes, I suppose!

I must be highly emotional today, this is the third time I've almost started crying when typing this post. Hormonal pregnant woman alert.

With Porter, we were coming off a horrible round of illness for the family and I had gained 17 pounds so far. This time I'm at about 15 pounds according to my (rarely used) scale. With Cecelia I hit the 20 pound mark at 26 weeks, and with Truman I was at 18 pounds at 25 weeks. I know, NOBODY CARES about my weight gain and when it happens but these things are fascinating to me. I love comparing pregnancies and also my children, as bad as that sounds.

All three times before this we had named our baby by 25 weeks. This time we are down to two names and of course I prefer one while Nate likes the other better. I might just agree with his top pick, since I did choose both names anyway and love that choice also. Or I might keep working on him to fall in love with my top name choice. Or maybe we will just wait until the baby is born to decide but that thought makes me panicky for some reason. (Type A, so different than what we've done before this). 

Now, reading back through my three previous blog posts at 25 weeks, something really sticks out to me. This was me at 25 weeks pregnant with Truman:

That's it... jumping back on the fitness train, and packing on the lbs marks my twenty-fifth week. I really love being pregnant you guys. At least right now, at this point in the process, I'm feeling incredibly happy and blessed and ready to pop out another 3 after this one. But I suppose I should bite my tongue until I experience the glory of labor and delivery, the frenzy of living with a newborn, and lack of sleep. Call me naive but I cannot wait:)

Huh, I guess I AM going to have three more kids after Truman. Who would have thought? 

And then this was me with Porter's pregnancy, and what I said in response to that paragraph from 2010 with T:

Everything and nothing has changed this time around. I still adore being pregnant and frequently want to cry over my love for the process. I still believe I could 'pop out another 3 after this one' in some ways, but in other ways I feel very at peace being finished with this stage of my life. I still get excited thinking about labor and delivery, life with a newborn, and the changes it will all bring. Even now as 'an old pro' I cannot wait, even though I know it will be hard as hell along with being more amazing than I could have imagined back then. I could have never imagined how life would change going from 0-1 kids and it's every bit as special and exciting going from 2-3. Every bit.

Spot on, Julia of 2014....except for the part about being 'finished' with the baby stage in your life. I mentioned this a lot in my weekly posts with Porter, trying to wrap my head around him being our last baby. And I still think going from 3-4 kids will be every bit as special as the other transitions we've had. I have perspective now, age and wisdom, and a boat load of tiny human beings to remind me that time freaking flies. They are not lying when they tell you this, mamas. 

It's better than I could have imagined and it's also so much harder than I thought possible. It's both ends of the spectrum, EXTREMELY amazing and extremely difficult, to be a mother. The good outweighs the bad though, for all of it---pregnancy, labor and delivery, newborn life, a growing child. This has been the most incredible ride of my life and I get a little teary when I think about doing it all over again. Four kids. Holy cow. Thank you, God. 

I can say with certainty that I don't want to pop out three more kids after this, however. Mark my words, this is our last, and I'm soaking it in for all that it's worth. Bring on April and a real spring! Let's do this.

Truman is Seven!

I remember writing Truman's six year post really well for some reason, feeling like it was very in-depth and captured him perfectly. I remember being proud of that post because it fully encompassed the personality of my biggest boy. I will attempt this feat again, but I'm not sure I have the creative energy or words for this guy anymore! Truman turned seven last week and in some ways it seems like he's been seven forever, but then I see a picture of him when he was a baby. And THAT was a different lifetime ago!

Today? Truman is the HANDSOMEST. Seriously.


Loving: Truman still loves routine, loves to follow the rules, loves school, and loves the fact that he's getting another baby brother in July. He'll mention the last part to any and everyone that will listen, no innocent grocery store attendant stands a chance;) He absolutely adores Nate and would play catch with a football all day long with his dad if they could pull it off. Truman gets very demanding with Nate's time at home, actually. He still loves me and also his siblings very much but Nate is top dog to our guy. He played outdoor soccer in the fall, and a session of indoor soccer this winter, and truly enjoys soccer (and basically all sports) so much. He loves math and numbers, loves Legos and building things, and wants to be outside playing with friends in any weather.



That dimple, tho.


Best ring bearer ever!



Hating: Tru can be a little rigid with his routines, so he is not a fan of trying new foods (see below), or being told that he cannot do something he is planning to do. I'm noticing that he also likes to rule the roost with his younger siblings, so if Porter or Cecelia don't respect Truman's idea of what needs to happen, T loses it. For instance, if Truman wants to read a book to Porter, Porter BETTER WELL sit still and listen or else Truman just gives up and doesn't want to bother, maybe even pouting if he's really tired. I can't blame him really;) Truman is a pretty chill dude though, and recovers well if he can't always get his way.

Loves snow and is super bummed that we haven't gotten much this winter.


Loved helping me make these giant elf crafts for his class during their Christmas party. Aren't they hilariously huge?


Loves being outside. Ah, summertime, we miss you!



Eating: This is a topic of heavy conversations in our house. Truman remains the pickiest of picky eaters, and prefers about five foods total. He eats the same thing for breakfast these days: Oatmeal Squares cereal and whole milk (two big bowls). He eats the same thing for lunch, and I pack a PBJ sandwich, an applesauce pouch, a Kids Clif Bar, pretzels or chips, a special treat (Girl Scout Cookie), whole milk and a note from me. Dinner is a battle zone if I deviate from any of his three favorite 'meals': cheese pizza, chicken nuggets, or cheese quesadillas.

We decided to implement a plan going forward for our guy, after a few events were the 'last straw' recently. I mean, I don't want Truman to grow up fearing new foods, especially as he is spending more time at friends' houses with potential sleepovers. So! I made a food chart with different options listed. We've started with burgers, avocados, soups, tacos, chicken (anything but nuggets count), and deli sandwiches. Each time he eats a good sized portion of these foods he shades a square. Nate and I decide on portion sizes, we've started small and work up to a full serving of these items. He needs seven days of each food, plus one time eating out or at a different location other than our house. THEN he gets a special one on one date with a parent, or an activity, or maybe a toy. This has been working like a charm, and he's almost earned those seven slots for both deli sandwiches and burgers. We are super proud of Truman for branching out, eating foods that might not be his favorite, and rolling with the punches if I put other random things on his plate at dinner time.

I only list all of this here because I'm sure we are not the only parents with a picky eater, and not the only ones who struggle with how to handle it. Do you just ride it out and assume 'someday' he will eat a freaking salad? Or do you push a little bit now and encourage growth even though it's awful, especially when solo parenting most nights of the week? I know I was a horribly picky eater until college, and I want our kids to enjoy different foods while they are young. Super proud of Truman and what he's done here in the past few months!



Note the food chart in the background, and this next photo is proof that he does look like his mama sometimes. Right?


Our guy and his spiky hair.



Reading: It's clicked for him this year and he's reading to himself and often to his siblings. His teacher says Truman can read and comprehend at a third grade level, which is huge growth since the beginning of school when he tested right at a first grade level. He doesn't get stumped on many words anymore, although he does sometimes gloss over words that are 'hard' and makes them up instead of sounding them out. He loves the book Press Start, joke books, and super boring informational books about bugs, or snakes, or football or whatever he finds in the library at school.



Porter and Cecelia LOVE to have Truman read to them. Note her hand placement. <3


Writing: Truman's penmanship is a lot better all of a sudden! I love reading what he brings home in his backpack each day and I have a photo album in Flickr of all the stuff I want to remember but don't want to actually KEEP (physically) forever. The little notes he will write on the back of the post-its I send to school? That's the good stuff in life, I think.

I mean, seriously. His loving parents. And 'going savage'?


"Happy Monday, Mom. Have a good day at work. I'll do more bottle flips at home." All on the back of a post-it, that I sent in his lunch bag, with my love letter on the other side. Have you seen the bottle flipping family on You Tube? Pretty insane.


Love.


His love for his teacher runs DEEP.



Drawing: I feel like art has never been Truman's favorite thing. He rarely sits down and just DRAWS for fun (unlike his sister, holy cow). He has always tolerated the crafts I've done with him, simply because he knows I love crafty stuff so much. But this year? We got a note in his backpack saying Truman's artwork was selected as one to be featured at our local grocery store for a district-wide art show. To say we were all incredibly proud and made a huge deal of it would be an understatement.

Note the 'owl painting on black paper' above our guy:


His people are much more detailed now, lots of conversation bubbles, and then this description of 'love'...


I thought this Pete the Cat was pretty impressive!


Kind of love this shark, too.


Doing: So much! Aside from going to first grade all day long, you can find Truman playing football with his super sweet 'sticky' football gloves on the playground at recess and after school. He will happily put together train tracks for Porter and is a whiz with spatial relations. He got a ton of Lego sets for his birthday and all of a sudden, he can put them together without any assistance. This is huge! I think most of the sets are in the 8-12 year old range and it was amazing to see him focus and whip through about six sets in two days.



He also got Snap Circuits, Jr. from Memaw and LOVES creating different arrangements. Again this toy is sort of beyond my level of thinking but he rocks it.


If he isn't at school, isn't playing football, entertaining his siblings, or reading you could also find Truman helping around the house. He can now pour his own milk, basically get his own breakfast and snacks, will open up the blinds in the house on weekends, will pull Porter out of his crib some mornings, and happily grabs food from our second fridge in the basement when we ask. He is just so genuinely HELPFUL, it's hard to put into words how wonderful this is. He can tie his own shoes, rides a bike really well, and has lost four teeth. Legit big kid status!


Talking About: I don't have to tease out details of Truman's school day anymore, he will usually tell me bits and pieces throughout the evening on his own. He'll alert me to any homework that is due the next day, if anyone was sick, which special class they had, and what they played at recess. He will talk about his friends quite a bit, and of course his teacher, and he loves discussing the baby. The size of the baby, naming the baby, how many more weeks until baby comes out, and how he can't wait to meet this baby....all frequent topics. Today he randomly said, 'Mom? I wonder what the baby's first word will be!?' Since it was before 8 am and before my coffee, I couldn't even guess the answer, but now that I'm thinking about this question, it's really cute.

Wasn't HE just my baby? The night before coming a mom, and the night before Truman's seventh birthday. Be still, my heart. He's too big. TOO BIG.


He's such an amazing leader to this pack!


Singing: Truman isn't big into singing, but we do our fair share of dance parties around here. Aside from a wicked 'moonwalk move' that he's perfected, Truman loves to dance to Major Lazer, Everything Is Awesome, and Turn Down for What. Anything fast and manic will win in his book, and he taught us how to 'dab'. Kids these days.

Christmas morning, so fun with three kids this year!


Wearing: T really prefers athletic pants and short sleeved tee shirts, but has been wearing more long sleeves and lined khaki pants, too. He will oblige me and wear 'nice shirts' randomly, and I know this was NOT happening last year. I mean, button up shirts on this guy? Too much!




He has to be busting out of his size 1.5 shoes these days, we should really get him another pair. He needs a 7-8 or sometimes 8-10 top for the length. Pants are a solid size 7 and slim fitted styles are really best for this string bean. I have no idea how tall and how much he weighs...he tells me he is 52" and he's about 57 pounds. This also reminds me that I need to schedule a well child check for our birthday boy.

Watching: Truman can watch one show before school once his other tasks are done, and gets about 30 min of iPad 'screen time' while I make dinner at night. He will watch Zig and Sharko on Netflix, or Ninjago, or Skylanders Academy. On the iPad he is a sucker for the Skylander Family on You Tube. I'm told he wanted to name this baby 'Rose' if he was a girl, simply because the Skylander Family as a dog named 'Rose.' They must be doing something right, their channel has millions of viewers and I think they make a fortune from playing video games on camera.

At Truman's class Holiday party this year. We have a nearly identical picture from last year! Hope I can make it a tradition.


Sleeping: This kid goes hard all day long and then crashes at night. There have been evenings that he excuses himself from the dinner table and promptly passes out on the couch at 7pm. Bedtime is usually 7:30-8 and he is always awake right at 7am. There is no such thing as 'sleeping in' in our house, ever, but I think clocking 11-12 hours at night is pretty amazing. He sleeps deeply and if we bump into each other in the bathroom at night, he is clearly not fully awake and barely grunts in my direction to say 'hi, mom.'

Oregon beach this summer, not his first time to see the ocean but the most memorable!


Playing after school, probably starting a football game.


Feelings about his family: He is a baby pusher from way back, and it's no secret that he loves having younger siblings. He loves his dad and loves me. He loves his grandparents. I'd say that he and Cecelia have the most volatile relationship, as they enjoy pushing each other's buttons more than the rest. But they also have a connection unlike anything else. They fight over who comes downstairs first but they don't want their own bedrooms just yet. Cecelia always wants to 'help' Truman with Legos but then declares them boring within a minute. Truman ran over to tell me that Cecelia fell on the playground the other day, and was genuinely concerned for his sister (she was fine). As much as they annoy each other, I see the two of them being best of friends growing up.

And Porter just worships the ground that Truman walks on, while Truman tolerates his antics. Tru is still proud of his 'baby brother' and is happy to oblige Porter's requests for a hug and kiss goodbye each morning. 'The boys' are so sweet together, in a totally different way that Truman and Cecelia are to each other.

My favorite note Truman wrote to me!


Obviously I will buy them matching outfits until they flat out refuse. Then I'll make Porter and this current baby do it instead. Bwahahahaha.


Party: We celebrated Truman's seventh birthday with seven of his friends and our family. We rented the same soccer place as last year, and Truman requested that they play soccer AND football with the parents. We ordered pizza, brought Gatorade, water, Pirate's Booty, grapes, Gogurt, and a store bought Skylanders cake. The kids all had a blast, as did the parents who played non-stop (and you better believe they were sucking wind, keeping up with the kiddos). Mom and Memaw both flew in for the party and stayed from Wednesday through Sunday. Truman had an excellent birthday AND party and I remembered why people host parties outside of their own homes. ;)




Birthday Interview: This was about a week late, but we still had to do it!


Truman is just such a great person, you guys. One of the dads on the street was telling his son that he shouldn't blindly follow this other kid, who can be kind of naughty. The dad said, 'you are only allowed to do everything Truman does, nobody else.' Do I sense a 'What Would Truman Do?' bracelet coming up? We love him so much and even though we tried to convince him to say six years old forever, I guess we are alright with age seven. But no bigger, buddy, do you hear me?

First Day of School | First Grade + Junior Kindergarten

So we sent TWO kids off to school this morning, and nobody cried. This fact deserves special attention, since last night I was holding back tears and my chin got a little quivery when talking to Nate about it. I believe my actual words were, 'They are going off to school, and someday they will hate us, and they'll leave us, and we will be so lonely.' Note to self: go to bed at 9pm to avoid the late night crazies!

Yesterday was the official last day of summer, and I worked during the day. But we had pizza and a movie night as a special treat...in the middle of the week, even, shocking! The day before was my own 'last day of summer' with the kids, and we had a jam-packed day with Cecelia's first gymnastics class, card game marathons with Truman, then dinner at Kopps along with Reeses PB Kupp custard. Locals understand how fantastic Kopps is and it was the perfect way to cap off an awesome summer.

Then last night, I started getting in sappy-mom mode as I prepared for this morning. I mean, my babies are in first grade and 4K. HOW??

I'm excited for school to start because I know Truman and Cecelia are beyond pumped for this occasion. But I'm definitely going to miss the leisurely mornings and I dread the school day rush SO MUCH. I think this is the main reason I was in a funk last night---change is hard, and I love routine but I don't love having to get the kids up and moving for the 8:15 school bell.

Alas, last night I was on my mom game because I wanted the first day of school to be fun and not as rushed as it will be in a few more weeks;) I pulled out their backpacks and cleaned out random junk that was living in there over the summer. Filled up water bottles and put them in each backpack for the kids. Added a granola bar and a kids Clif bar to Cecelia's bag for her morning snack---have you see the veggie Clif bars? I think they taste disgusting but Cecelia loves the orange and the green (spinach) ones. Then I started prepping Truman's lunch the best I could without it getting soggy and nasty for his meal. Whole milk in a thermos, frozen string cheese that thaws by lunch time, a frozen Danimals smoothie that thaws, a small PBJ sandwich (they do allow PB in the cafeteria but not in the classrooms!), some watermelon, some Cheez-Its, a Clif bar (chocolate, no way would he ever eat the veggie kind), some squeeze applesauce, and a special candy treat. I will be shocked if he eats 50% of this meal today but I didn't know where to stop with the food! Also, had to write him a little note, since I did it last year and he loves them. Now that he can legit read I get even more into it, but I didn't write a knock knock joke for him today. Instead I stuck with the sappy love letter. I hope he doesn't roll his eyes when he reads it!



After getting all of that prepped, I laid out three bowls and spoons and vitamins for breakfast. I made the coffee and set the timer for 6:30. I laid out my running shoes since I knew I had to run super early this day, and then I reminded myself that this amount of preparation the night before will surely never happen again. But maybe!

This morning I got up and ran my five miles at 5:30. I finished making T's lunch, made breakfast, showered, and then the school kids were awake at 7 (Porter was up at 6:30 ready to go). We had a nice morning together, not too rushed, and this is the first year that I've remembered to ask Nate to take off of work for help with the kids. I wasn't sure how I could even do it all without him, since both Truman and Cecelia's teachers said parents could come up to classrooms on the first day. It was awesome having Nate home to help move things right along, and of course Truman demanded that they wear their matching shirts for the first day of school. And Truman's spiky hair is reminiscent of a seven year old Nate---I should find comparison pictures someday.

Cecelia wore a new to us Ralph Lauren dress I scored at a consignment shop, and I'm just crazy over this dress. I braided her hair last night after her bath and it actually stayed in pretty well without getting too fuzzy (will be out of control by tomorrow, I'm sure). She has brand new tennis shoes to wear, and so does Porter--but you'll notice that P didn't make it into a single picture this morning. He was busy playing trains in the basement and let's be honest, it's way easier to do pictures without our buddy!

Truman helped me with his chalkboard sign, which I scored on Etsy from seller KellerKustomKreation and am obsessed with this version of the new classic;) It's wood and has white decal stickers, so you can write with dry erase markers. Also the back has a 'last day of school' stat area which is important to me since I'm all about bookending the school year with posed pictures!

So, this is the first time I've ever heard Truman say he wants to be a teacher. But he would be an excellent one, if I do say so myself. His teacher is crazy-energetic, and young, and excited about the school year. He has just 16 kids in his class which is manageable and the biggest news is that Truman's classroom has standing desks for the kids! Nate and I helped organize a big fundraiser through the school last May, all in the name of standing desks. It was wildly successful and I am pretty sure Truman's class is the first in our city to be fully outfitted with standing desks. Nate is really into the research behind them and there is a lot of great info here if you want to learn more. We are hoping to continue to raise money for the entire school but we started with first grade, and Truman's teacher was incredibly supportive of this move which helps tremendously.



Anyway, Truman as a first grader? It blows my mind. But I know he is ready and is such an amazing school kid, he'll have a great year and he wasn't scared or nervous to return to school. I'm sure going to miss my big guy though, all day school is no freaking joke!







Cecelia helped me with her sign, too. At first she said she wanted to be a lion when she grows up, but then quickly changed her mind to a fairy. Then it became 'the tooth fairy' and eventually 'SANTA.' We stuck with the tooth fairy for the sign and I will admit that taking her picture with this sign is when it really hit me right in the gut: my baby girl is a big girl now. Young but practically grown, you feel me? She will have a whopping twenty-seven kids in her class, with the same teacher that Truman  had two years ago plus a newly hired aide. There was some talk about splitting the class into an AM and a PM, but none of the parents wanted PM so we are forging ahead with a gigantic class of four year olds. If anyone can handle these numbers, it's Cecelia's teacher. We just love her to death and her girls have babysat our kids some this summer, and she's the most energetic and positive person I've ever met. I can't wait to see what Cecelia learns this year!





It's also quite perplexing to think that when Truman had his first day of 4K, Cecelia was the same age that Porter is right now. Such a blurry time in my mom brain, but I know this type of growth happened basically overnight. Also, I think Cecelia will always be our strong, independent little fighter because she really wasn't nervous about this transition at all. I DO remember Truman being scared and near tears that first day of 4K but not this lady. Who has time for being sad when you are off to conquer the world?



Big backpack for a little girl.


These kids! We are so proud of them.










So both T and C go to the same school and they are just a few classrooms apart! The first bell rings at 8:15 and then I pick up Cecelia at 10:55. Yes, that is a crazy-short day, I know. Truman is released at 3:20 which brings the number of times we will be walking back and forth to school up to THREE per day. Crazy. But I'm so glad we can just walk and we don't have to drive, although pick up at that 3:20 time will likely be during Porter's nap, so logistics will be a struggle at first.

Back to the detailed account of the first day: Tony came over around 8:00 to stay with Porter, then Nate and I walked Truman and Cecelia to school. Both of them line up on the same side of the school, thankfully, so we got to chat with other families and the excitement was palpable. So many kids, so many squeals and smiles and the back-to-school smell was definitely in the air. I walked up with Cecelia and Nate went with Truman, although I really wanted to be able to do both drop offs somehow. I gave Truman one last high-five as he passed and then I saw Cecelia give him one, too---a special moment in a morning filled with a lot of overwhelming feelings.

Family walk...




Up in Cecelia's classroom, with twenty-seven kids and at least that many parents, it was fairly chaotic. We helped our kids find their cubby, hang their backpack, drop off their folder, find their name for attendance, and then find their chair for sitting. After that, the teacher said we could leave (i.e., come on, parents. Suck it up and go already!). Nate came into the classroom right as I was telling CC goodbye, since Truman was already deposited in his room and first graders apparently don't need their parents to stay for more than two minutes:( We both hugged Cecelia and I swallowed hard as I walked away. I turned around one last time and saw that she had gotten up out of her chair, and I was worried she was scared and was following us out. But nope, she was just sitting back down and she made eye contact with me, and waved to me with the sweetest grin on her face. My big girl. Sigh.



I had two patients to see this morning which was a good thing, because I'm sure it distracted me from getting too emotional. When I finished at work, I met Tony and Porter on the playground where Cecelia had been released 30 minutes prior to me arriving. I'm telling you, 10:55 comes awfully quick!

The boys had a great morning riding all around town and hitting up two playgrounds. Tony said it was 'weird' just having Porter, but fun. Cecelia came running up to me and gave me a huge hug, showing me the stick she just found on the ground. We all headed home and Tony left, then I tried to get more info out of Cecelia. All I know is that they played with play-dough and the teacher said they even have SPARKLY play dough to use at some point. Cecelia told me that her favorite color is 'sparkly.' She made several new friends but can't remember their names, used the potty one time, and ate both of her snack bars (!). She was starving when we got home and ate the largest lunch I've ever seen her eat before! Somehow she didn't want to nap with me on the couch though, apparently I'm the only wimpy one that wanted a real rest today.

Truman's first words to me, when he came at me full speed with a running hug, was 'it was awesome.' He said they had art class and it's a full hour this year instead of a half hour, they went to the library, they learned a song about popsicles, and that his teacher is 'really awesome.' He actually ate 75% of the lunch I sent and didn't touch the candy treat because he didn't finish the sandwich. This boy! He was still amped up all night and didn't want to go to bed.



Can we do this for a second? First day of 4k, 5k, and now First Grade. My how he's grown, right?


And then the two of them at the last day of T's 4k, first day of T's 5k, and first day of C's 4k.I like how she always comes to the same spot on his neck every year. Keeping up with each other!


I just wanted to ramble at you about the first day of school today, because these are exciting but bittersweet times. Several of you mentioned on Instagram that you've been reading my blog since before Truman was born. And now here we are, with a first grader, a junior kindergartener, and a wickedly funny two year old that thinks he is five. How, blog land, how?