M.I.A.

That is how I have felt for the last few weeks. Between getting back from our vacation, celebrating Laiken's birthday, school starting, and my promotion at work that is requiring more hours, I have had no free time. I finally got a grasp on a few things this week and am starting to get caught up. We are all settled back into our school routines; soccer and baseball games have started; and each day runs according to the color-coded calendar on the wall--so we are officially out of summer mode. :-(

Back To School

As usual, the summer ended too quickly and we were all forced back into a routine of schedules, appointments, and obligations. We were kind of ready for the transition back, but as always, more than a little reluctant to give up our free time together.

The kids all got great teachers again this year and have lots of friends in their classes. We are so excited about everything that they will be doing and learning. I'm not sure how it happened but I now have a fifth grader. I clearly remember almost not being able to leave the building on the first day of Kindergarten, so I am not certain how so much time has passed between then and now. Neither she nor Carson needed me to walk them in this year, but of course I did anyway and I got my first day of school pictures. I am thinking that Laiken will ban me from walking her into middle school next year and I will deal with that when the time comes. I was doing fine on this first day of school until she announced as we walked through the doors, "Well, this is the last time I will walk through these doors on the first day of school." And, then the air left my lungs.

A few days later, as Nolan was off for his first day of preschool, I realized that in a few years I will be a 38 year old Kindergarten mom. I will be doing a field trip to the zoo when I am 38....sigh....

Birthday--Part 2

While Carson has always been a fan of smaller birthday celebrations with a few close friends, Laiken loves the big parties. This year, we planned a joint party with one of her oldest friends, Kaitlin, who turned 10 about a week after Laiken did. Laiken and Kaitlin were in the same Kindergarten class and have been close ever since. It was great that they got to celebrate this special birthday together.

The girls then (age 5):

The girls now (age 10):
We rented out the Thunderbird Skate Center for the night, invited all the friends we could, and watched as our daughters celebrated their final birthdays as elementary school students. It was a really memorable night.

Laiken Turns Double Digits

Laiken's birthday this year was long-awaited because she finally turned 10. I remember when I turned 10 and I can recall thinking that was such a great milestone because my age was finally a double digit number. Apparently, the appeal is the same today because Laiken was very excited to see her big day finally arrive.

On her birthday, we met Grandma, Papaw, and Joe for bowling and then lunch at Brio. It was Nolan's first attempt at bowling and there were times that his ball was rolling so slowly that it would stop on the lane. We laughed as he discovered the hand dryer and then used Joe's towel to try to clean the floors.

After lunch, we came back to the house for cake and gifts. Laiken got some new American Girl stuff for her doll and as she opened the gifts, the dichotomy became obvious. She is balancing between wanting to be all grown up and wanting to still play with her dolls. Laiken is such a great daughter and a wonderful person. She is headstrong and independent and has a love for life and for people. She has so much self-confidence and self-awareness. I remember holding her in the hospital after she was born and thinking that nothing could be more perfect. She's not perfect, of course, but I still have that same feeling of awe when I hear her talk or see her smile. As much as I don't want her to grow up, I am excited about getting to know each layer of the person she is becoming.