Tuesday, September 22, 2015
Today is Maddie’s 3rd day of school. I can’t believe she is so grown up! She did such a good job last week when I dropped her off. She went right in, put her backpack in her cubby, and sat down at the table and waited patiently for class to start. And, when I checked on her a couple minutes later through the double sided mirror, she was participating: singing and dancing to head, shoulders, knees and toes. I was so proud! And then came the moment when I turned around to walk out the door and leave her behind. I held back tears (a few may have escaped), but I was overcome with emotion, thinking about how independent my little girl is. I thought about how she doesn’t need me as much as she used to and the fact that a season in our lives has passed. She is no longer the little baby she once was, always home and playing with mommy, but she is now a pre-schooler, learning things from people other than me and experiencing life out of the confines of our home. I am so happy, proud and sad at the same time. I tried so hard not to let time pass me by, but it did anyway.
 |
| Maddie's first day of school! |
 |
| She went right in and started playing. She loves her classroom! |
I had a good plan, though, for the first day of school. I kept reminding myself of how nice it will be to just have alone time with Sarah, so I said to Sarah, “It’s just you and me, now,” and I took her to the park for a solo run with her in the jogging stroller. The run really helped to take my mind off of Maddie not being with me, which also helped me keep the tears at bay. Then, on Thursday (Maddie’s second day of school), Sarah and I went to Baby Story Time at the library alone together for the first time! It was so nice to be able to experience Sarah and be fully attentive to her smiling, clapping and excitement for the music. She was such a little show-off. She kept crawling away from me to sit at the front of the class, turn around, and raise her hands up in the air with a big smile as though saying, “here I am!” She loved the attention and clapped and “talked” throughout the class.
 |
| We spent a day apple picking a couple weeks ago. It was a blast! |
 |
| Sarah loved all of the trees and Maddie really really loved picking the apples. |
She has become so talkative, just like her big sister! She mimics so much of what we say and it sometimes sounds like she says full sentences in her baby talk.
 |
| They love each other... |
 |
| ...so much! |
Maddie is also excelling with her talking, too. She thinks she is so funny. Every morning when she wakes up, I ask her what she wants for breakfast and she’ll say, “mac and cheese,” or “a sandwich,” and then wait for me to react. She knows these are lunch items, so she pauses then says, “ nooooo. that’s silly.” She is picking up so much from other places that I’ve never even said to her before. The other day, I told her we were going to get coffee and she said, “swell. that’s wonderful.” haha!
 |
| Sweet Maddie in her new homemade skirt. |
Sarah is getting around and navigating tough terrain. She finds ways to crawl over, around and through all kinds of obstacles that I have in place to prevent her from getting to certain areas. It makes keeping track of her very difficult. She also just started pulling herself up this past week and does it in her pack n play and crib a lot. EEK! She’s going to be walking around in no time and then I’m going to really be in trouble. I can’t believe she will be a year old in just under 2 weeks!
 |
| What a big, tall girl! |
Other quick updates (before I have to run off to pick Maddie up from school):
- Sarah’s EEG came back normal!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!! The test itself went really well. She fell asleep and stayed asleep right when she was supposed to and Phil and I had a nice quiet time of reflection and prayer (and later a little light so we could read) while we waited for the test to be over.
- Maddie started Cubbies through our Awana program at church last week. She loves it and has been doing a really good job memorizing her verses. She earned her vest and a green patch this week.
- I finished my 20 mile race on Sunday! I am so grateful to Phil for his support and all the time he spent watching the girls while I trained.
Well, Sarah is trying to get me and is telling me to get off the computer! So, I’ll have to end here.
 |
| Another sewing project of mine: ready for the cooler weather (I guess....) |
