A sweet moment with my big girl

95% of my mornings when Matt is not traveling I take Mallory and only Mallory to school.  It started a while ago and has been that way.  Just the two of us out the door and starting our day. Some days we chat, some days she sleeps, some days we call Memaw Donna and some days we just listen to the radio.  Every once in a blue moon either Maggie or Cale will join us, but that is rare and Caden is almost never with us.  It's usually Mal Mal and momma.

The other morning I was trying to get to work early to get caught up on a few things.  I was getting ready to walk out the door and Maggie came bounding down the stairs and asked if I could take her to school.  My first instinct was to say no and that I was in a hurry but something stopped me and I said sure we just needed to get moving.  I am so glad my inner momma voice was talking and listening, it was a great few minutes together just us.  We had some great conversations and I realized just how much she is growing up.  We even took time to make her some hot chocolate since momma had her coffee.  It was only a total of 20 minutes but it was 20 minutes where I reconnected with my spunky little 7 year old who lives life fully.

I am so grateful I had that morning.  So much is going on in her little life and had I not said yes to taking her to school that morning I may have not known.  She reminded me that work can wait and slowing down some days and getting in the office at 7:00 AM vs. 6:30 AM on a Friday is okay because it means I got to connect with my family.

Maggie Lynne, I am grateful for you and so happy we had this morning.   You were a joy and made my day.  You brought me a perspective that morning that I did not know I needed.

I love you and look forward to many more mornings of coffee, hot chocolate and chatting.

The last day of school - here we come 2nd Grade!

Maggie and Caden have completed 1st grade and we could not be more proud of how much they have grown!

Both had an awesome year, largely in part to the awesome teachers at LPS.  We are extremely blessed at our school to have so many great influences for these kids and to have had amazing teachers once again this year.

They made new friends and kept in touch with the old. They learned to WRITE and READ so much - something I keep telling them they will need no matter what for the rest of their lives.  They really blossomed on their own and did great despite not having their twin in their class with them.  They were still competitive with each other on grades but in a healthy way and they know they are two very different people who are smart in different subjects but we saw them push each other in a way no one but your twin can!

From day one to the last, they sure have grown:

And since they would not take a photo together check out the twin in the window!

A special thank you  goes to Mrs. Sampson and Mrs. Fox, you two are amazing and were a blessing to not only the kids but to our family .  We love you and the kids and I will definitely miss you!

Caden and Mrs. Fox, so glad to see him bloom and go on his own and LOVE his teacher

Maggie and Mrs. Sampson, she loves her Mrs. Sampson!

It was a great year in 1st Grade - we are now officially ready for 2nd Grade but first lots of summer fun!

Hanging with William from China and Aubrey

Our 2nd Graders!

GRADUATION! Good Bye Pre K Hello Kindergarten!

May 21, 2015

It's Pre K Graduation Day and we have two happy little people

They have practiced and waited for this day for months.  Momma is ready with her Kleenex in hand and a smile on my face because they want me to be happy that they are graduating Pre K and are on their way to Kindergarten.

I honestly can say I only cried a little bit, these kids kept me laughing and smiling the whole time.

They all did great and had a ball.  You can tell they are close to their friends and loved every minute with Ms. Lauren and Ms. Mandy

Opening gifts, a new jersey and new earrings!

Our graduate!

Because Silly Faces are FUN!

She picked out her dress with Meamaw Donna

They had us laughing the whole time!

Mallory with her award, Teacher's Helper

Cale with his award, The Entertainer 

Our graduates! They did it!

The 6 Cools - always an odd photo!

Mal Mal with Ms. Lauren and Ms. Mandy

Cale with Ms. Lauren and Ms. Mandy

Our babies with Ms. Lauren - our Lorax!

I think I have teared up more looking back at these photos than I did during graduation.  Their buddy Brecc kept it funny, he yelled, "good job ______" to each graduate as they got their diploma.  He kept us all laughing. Cale took a relaxing approach to the risers and kicked back.   He made me think Dazed and Confused, let's hope not.    I truly just enjoyed the moment with these kids.  They have worked hard and it showed.

We cannot finish out Pre K without thanking Ms. Lauren and Ms. Mandy.  They put up with all of those boys and the few girls each day to teach them so much and to help them grow their minds.
We are grateful for their patience and laughter - it is what gets them through the day I am sure.
And Ms. Lauren, you know you are my Lorax, you have helped all 4 of my babies grow and you are the keeper of my trees!  I am forever grateful and so glad we have formed a friendship.

To Cale and Mallory, we are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished.  You will do great in Kindergarten and I am sure you will miss Pre K but remember you are ready and you can do anything you want to!  We are blessed to have you two in our lives and cannot wait to see what your future holds!

Kindergarten Round Up Round Two!

April 16, 2015

It is once again Kindergarten round up day for Lawrenceburg Primary and we have two more little ones ready for the next step in their little lives.

It really is different this time around for so many reasons:

• They are June babies, that means younger in class and some doubt by their momma if they are truly ready.  Ms. Lauren assures me they are - not so sure momma is!
• I know what to expect, they grow so much during this year and become so independent it hurts to think about them starting
• They are my BABIES - they are not supposed to grow this fast
• They are ready and talk about going almost everyday.  Caden and Maggie did not talk about Kindergarten starting nearly as much

Mallory and Cale could not wait for this day.  They are ready I know that, they are smart kids and will do great.  I just cannot believe how fast time has gone and how quickly this day has come.  When I came home with them and had 4 kids 2 and under I was so tired and overwhelmed I never thought we would see the day they all four would be in school under the same roof!

We started our day out right with breakfast at Stateline because you need to eat before registration!

They literally ran in the door and could not wait.  When we walked in Cale said with a grin on his face, "mommy, you know what is in there (pointing to the office), it's the principals office"  My official reply was, "you are right buddy, you better never have to visit Ms. Gregory in there for being bad!"  He just grinned and kept on walking!

They were looking for Mrs. Albright and were excited to go in and show the teachers what they knew.

 

Matt and I headed off to register them, thank goodness it is all online now - such a time saver when you have to do it twice! 

They came back from meeting with the teachers and were so excited to share. They are ready I know this it is still hard and I know I will cry that first day when we go.  They will do awesome, momma will not.  I am not ready for this at all!

We finished up our morning at LPS with a visit to 1st grade to see Caden and Maggie, they were excited to see us and Maggie was writing a narrative about her family.  She has to take a minute and capture a photo of  us all so she could recreate our outfits from the day.  It turned out awesome and who knew a 1st grader with an iPad could be so creative. Thanks to Mrs. Sampson for snapping the photo - too cool they can do things like that now.

After our visit to 1st grade the littles headed to Pre K and were excited to share their day.

That is it - they are registered and ready - watch out LPS here come 4 Cools at once!  

Mallory and Cale, you are entering an exciting time in your lives, you are the Class of 2028 and we are already proud of you!  We cannot wait to see what the next few years bring and the changes that will come for sure.  

We love you and you are now officially a Tiger!