Joseph's First Day of Kindergarten

The big day finally happened! We have an official kindergartener on our hands! (And a proud little sister)

Joseph helped pick out his clothes last night and laid them out so we wouldn't have any issues this morning. We were a little surprised when he woke up before Maddie, got dressed and was downstairs playing well before he's normally out of bed. I was a little worried about rushing to get first day of school pictures, but it wasn't a problem this year!

Obligatory monster/silly faces. We'll work with Maddie on how little girls in skirts should sit for pictures!

 After about 10 minutes, Joseph was begging to go wait at the bus stop, so we headed up. It's just at the top of the cul-de-sac.

 Jack had no idea what was going on, but he was super happy to be out and about on such a nice morning!

After what seemed like ages to the big kid, bus 52 finally rounded the corner. It's just him and another little girl at their stop, but I'm glad he at least has a new friend!

 Without hesitation, Joseph followed Charlotte up and onto the bus, without stopping to say goodbye or wave at us. This kid was READY!

I'm so glad that he picked a seat on our side so I could capture these next few pictures. He looks so little on the bus, but finally saw Joe and started waving as the bus pulled away.

 When Maddie realized what was happening, she was NOT happy. A Maddie sized tantrum ensued.

 We (ok, I) wanted to see him get into his classroom, so we loaded Maddie and Jack into the car and headed up to school. I'm glad we did, because somehow he got missed coming off the bus and Joe found him wandering down another hallway, going the wrong way. Hopefully it goes smoother tomorrow!

Once inside his room, he was happy to see Ms. Mehwald again. He remembered right where his desk was, sat down and pulled out his pencil box to start coloring. He definitely seemed confused that we were at school, so we kept our time in the classroom short and headed out to a new family gathering in the library.

He's so big, and yet still so little! After a very long wait at the bus stop (40 minutes after dismissal!), bus 52 finally rounded the corner of our street. Joseph didn't realize where he was and was hesitant to get off. He was all smiles though, and happy to start telling me all about his first day. Favorite thing about school? The lunchroom! Silly kid was fascinated by the gravy machine for the mashed potatoes that were served with the hot lunch. He loved getting to play whatever center he wanted, meeting new friends, and thinks his teacher is great. When I asked if he was excited to go back tomorrow, I got a big "yes!"

 

I'm sure he's going to crash tonight, and next week will be rough as he adjusts to such a long, filled day. But I'm so glad he had a great first day of kindergarten and is ready for more!

3 month Jack pictures

Ok, so I know we are halfway to his 4 month birthday, but since I never posted these, here's Jack at 3 months!

 

 

It's safe to say we all love this super happy, smiley little guy, right down to his clammy, stinky boy toes!

Back to School

This has been a fun and exciting last few days of summer for all of us. It's hard to believe that Joseph only has one more day of summer vacation before real school begins for him! I think he's really excited and a little nervous, but we are both very glad that he knows so many kids that are going to his school too.

 

Our friends Katie and Doug organized a kindergarten dinner party Sunday night, which was a great way to start the week. Katie made school bus cookies with the kids' names - they were a hit!

We decided to hop on the trend of putting your kindergartener in a large tshirt with the class year, so we can take a first day of school picture each year until they are seniors. I offered to make freezer paper stencils so the kids could paint their own shirts. They seemed to have fun and didn't mind the break from playing in the backyard too much.

Monday morning we all met up at the front of the neighborhood to take group pictures in the shirts. They turned out so cute! It's hard to believe that they'll be filling these shirts out in no time. For now, they look adorable.

 William and Jordan are in the same kindergarten class this year, and while Ellie and Joseph are in two of the other classes, they will be on the same bus. So glad there will be a few familiar faces on the bus for him!

 Of course the little sisters didn't want to be left out! We'll be doing this all again in a blink of an eye for them!

 The obligatory Jeppson kid picture. This makes me smile. Could they be any cuter? I don't think so!

The little sisters really wanted to stand on the rocks. The moms really didn't want the little girls falling into the waterfall, so we compromised (as if that can be done with 2 year olds!) and let them take one more group shot on the rocks, next to the waterfall.

 

Tonight was Back to School night. Joseph got a chance to meet his teacher, Ms. Mehwald, put his supplies in his desk, check out the lunch room and gym again, and get a shaved ice afterward. He was super shy around his teacher, but was excited to see all of the fun things in her room.

 

 

We stopped for a quick picture in front of the school sign. Too bad the back to school information was posted on the other side, facing away from the building! His school is just under one mile from our house, which will be so convenient. He'll only have 10-15 minutes or so on the bus each morning before getting to school.

 

 

After Back to School night, the kindergarteners who live in Riss Lake all met up at the neighborhood playground to take a big picture. I helped organize this and was so excited to see so many kids come out for it. It's hard to believe, but we are actually missing about 5 other kids! Hopefully we will still be here when it's time to repeat this as they graduate from high school and will be fun to look back on how little they all were.

 When I asked Joseph what he wanted to do on his last day of summer, his response was: Go to Disneyland! Oh, I wish there was some way to make that happen! Maybe someday. But for now, I think we are going to settle with a day spent hanging out with friends, at the pool and playing with our new water guns that he is really excited about. To be a kindergartener again!

Jack's big week

My training coach had a big week last week! On Sunday, July 26th, he rolled from belly to back a half dozen times, as if it was no big deal! He doesn't do it often, but has rolled over repeatedly this week. Then a few days later he discovered his feet!

So far he hasn't tried to get them in his mouth but I'm sure that's coming soon. For now, he has fun laying on his playmat, batting and kicking the toys hanging above him. 

A few more days passed and he started playing with his tongue- sticking it out at us and trying to blow raspberries. He is definitely growing so quickly!