Emmy's 1st Day of Kindergarten

Emmy rocked her first day of kindergarten! And of course Mommy went a little crazy with all the pictures! 

It was a busy morning as we gathered supplies, packed the car, made a last minute shoe-change, and headed off to school. We took Eli to preschool and had breakfast just the three of us at Kernersville Bagel. Emmy didn't express any nervousness until the night before, when during bedtime, I overheard her telling Boomer that she couldn't remember the teacher assistant's name or the schedule for each day. He calmed her nerves, and even though she was quiet and reserved, she walked bravely through the hallways. Emmy's teacher gave us such a warm welcome, and there was a short meeting in the classroom for all the parents. When the time came to say goodbye, I was gathering papers when I looked up to find Boomer gone! His goodbye was pretty quick, while I lingered for another minute or so. We wish we could hold her close forever, but we are excited for this big milestone and for the year ahead of growth, friends, and learning.  

Boomer and I switched hats from Mommy and Daddy to Dr. and Mrs. Kennedy as we headed off to work. It was a busy day, but I frequently checked my phone and loved getting updates from my sister and my parents. I am so thankful for their help to make today a success. Since I had Open House until 6PM, Grammy and Grandpa picked up both kids, fed them, and delivered them to me at home later in the evening. When I finally got to hear about Emmy's day during bedtime, I learned that her favorite parts were seeing Aunt Megan and her cousins, finding Pete the Cat in the classroom, sitting on the colorful mat, and riding the bus. I pray that her excitement continues all year long as she conquers kindergarten!  

Our Summer To-Do List Recap

It's the last night before the start of the school year, and I am always sad when summer comes to an end. It helps to look back on all the fun memories we made and to know that there is the promise of another summer to come. We accomplished almost everything on our list, and some things, we did several times, like movies and pool days. Summer 2022 sure was a good one!

 

1. Minnesota Twins Game

2. Milwaukee Brewers Game

3. Atlanta (Braves & Luke Combs)

4. Trip to Woodstock

5. Practice riding a bike

6. Ocean Isle Beach

7. Visit Daddy at work

8. Picnic at Wake 

9. Find the best burger

10. Lake trip (over Labor Day!)

11. Go to the movies

12. Pool days

The Three Amigos

Although I had been to my school a few times already in August, my first official workday was this past Monday. The week included a lot of meetings, professional development, and back-to-school prep. While Emmy had tagged along with me earlier, we made arrangements for her to join her cousins at Grammy Camp. And boy, what a week they had! My mom sent pictures throughout the day, and although you will not see her in any, she planned fun activities that all three cousins enjoyed. They played at the park, swam at the YMCA pool, built forts, made arts and crafts, played putt-putt with Grandpa, walked on a nature trail, and went for a paddle boat ride. Judging by how fast Emmy fell asleep at night, she must have played hard each day keeping up with Zander and Maddox. Thank you, Grammy, for watching these three amigos!

On Thursday, Boomer and I coordinated to ride together, which we don't do very often, but I wish that we did. I enjoyed the 30-minute car date during the commute. Our district's Opening Celebration was at my school that day, and Boomer had the important role of emcee and t-shirt thrower (haha!) After the workday, we picked up Emmy and Eli, and we made our way to Emmy's school for Open House. Boomer stayed on Eli-duty, while Emmy found her desk and explored the classroom, and Mommy filled out forms and picked up the handouts. I am sure it will hit me on Monday when Emmy has her first day, but for now it seems like I have stayed distracted by the shopping, labeling, and paperwork to be too emotional. We are very excited about the year ahead with Mrs. Wooten and Mrs. Dalton, and we are especially excited for Emmy to join Aunt Megan at her school!

Eli has continued to have good reports from school. He had one accident the first very day at the beginning of August, but he has been staying dry, even in underwear during nap time. I had to snap this photo of his cubby with the cute picture his teachers took. 

On Friday evening, despite being tired from the work week, we took the kids to the Dash game. It was Wake Forest Night, so we put on our black-and-gold and headed to the ballpark. There was a small sprinkle before the game began. Even though the car was covered, Eli was so excited to pose by the race car at the entrance. Luckily the rain cleared, and the first pitch was only delayed by 15 minutes. We had a delicious dinner: barbeque, baked beans, seasoned potatoes, and corn, plus all the other meats, cheeses, hot dogs, chips, popcorn, and fruit that they have at each game. We held out until the 6th inning before having ice cream; then shortly after the 7th inning stretch, we made our exit to the car. We had hoped to stay for the Friday night fireworks, but at 9:30PM and two more innings to go, we decided to head home for bed. It was a fun evening with our baseball-loving crew!