One of the things on our "summer wish list" was to find a monarch catepillar. . . we searched high, we searched low, no milkweed patch was untouched in the yard or in the vicinity. Low and behold, a few weeks ago Alex and I went for a bike ride on one of our country back roads and a catepillar caught Alex's eye. I was astonished when it was a monarch. So we took the catepillar home, placed it in a large jar with some sticks, and lots of fresh milkweed. It gorged itself for a few days, and overnight it had spun itself a chrysalis. We counted the days until it was to emerge, and sadly we were up north over Labor Day weekend (when I suspected it would probably come out), there was no way I was going to risk that chrysalis falling in transport-just to take it along; so we rushed through the door and sure enough the catepillar had emerged into a beautiful butterfly. We transferred it to a netted habitat so it could fill its wings, and practice flying a little more for a night. And just as quickly as we found that ugly catepillar, we released that beautiful butterfly into nature. It truly was a testament to the saying that the most beautiful things cannot be seen or heard, but they need to be felt with the heart. The kids and I loved watching the entire transformation process.
Our lives have been in transition from summer life into the school routine. Alex began his 1st grade year off in a new school this year, so with that these first few weeks have been a time of change, new routine, new rules, and that daunting task of fitting in. After a few weeks of the routine I'm so relieved with our decision to send the kids to private school, and have been embracing all of the changes it has brought to our life-even the not so pleasant one's, such as my only "sleeper" turning into an early riser (even on the weekends!). Alex loves his new school, his teacher, and is making new friends on a daily basis-although he usually can't remember their names yet. I love the culture of his new school, and it's already reflecting in how Alex feels about school in the small amount of time that he's been there. Here's my big 1st grader, on the first day of school:
Laura is also adjusting, she goes to 4k three days a week. She enjoys resting up those two days she doesn't have school, and we keep ourselves busy running errands, going to the Y, or just hanging out at home. It's interesting to see Laura's personality from the home aspect, to school-at home she's kind of the loud boss of the house, but at school she's very reserved and behaves very well-she really exhibits how independent she is. While I see her playing well with others, she also has no problems just going off and doing something on her own which makes me very proud-especially considering she's a girl. Here she is on her 1st day of 4k, and yes she picked her own socks out:
And Ainslee, my little stinker. Her bed crawling and diaper taking-off antics haven't stopped, but she has seemed to ease up on her endurance. As in, now we only have to put her back to bed 1-3 times vs. 10. . . or just let her sleep in the closet;). This girl's vocabulary expands daily, she's went from being our quiet observer, to throwing her two cents in as well. Now I guess I really need to buckle down on that potty training thing. Here's sassy pants at her birthday party:
School starts up for me this week, and I have thoroughly enjoyed the last few weeks off. It couldn't have come at a better time, I'm not sure how I would have juggled the start of the kids school year w/ just that one more "thing" in the mix. The next 4 months are going to be intense from the schooling standpoint-some higher level and math courses. . . But after Christmas I think the remainder of my schooling will be at an even pace. Ahhhhh.
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