five.

When I look back at Ella's baby-hood, the thing that sticks out to me is that she wasn't really a baby for very long.

To start at the beginning: we got off on the wrong foot. She crossed her legs and refused to move during her 20-week ultrasound. This fact, plus an unfriendly ultrasound tech, reduced her very hormonal mama to tears.

For two days.

I eventually recovered just in time for a semi-traumatic delivery. My doctor's direct quote the next day: "I was so glad to see a pink baby." The trauma was enough to scare all of us: my doctor soon after stopped delivering babies.

So I was left sitting in a hospital bed holding my baby girl (shocker! I was sure she was going to be a he) with blue eyes (who knew?) and we were both lucky to be alive.

We went home. Life was good for the first two weeks. I was actually a little worried because she slept so much.

And then she woke up.

And she cried. And cried. And cried.

And I cried.

We swaddled, shushed, swung and soothed. {thank you, Dr. Karp}

And she still cried.

My mom told me one day (over Ella's cries): just wait, you'll see, she'll be the sunniest toddler after this.

I didn't believe her.

They tell you it will stop around 12 weeks - which is a small consolation when you are on week four - and like clockwork, at four months old, she stopped crying.

She refocused the energy she had previously put into screaming and put it into smiling, finding trouble, winning our hearts, and climbing on tables.

She crawled at 7 months, stood up and walked at 11.

She chased her brother and wanted to do everything he was doing. They are two years apart in age, but in so many aspects I've always said that they seem more like one year apart.

She's my baby that really wasn't a baby. There wasn't a lot of cuddling or coddling. She never slept between us in our bed because she wouldn't stay still long enough to fall asleep. She's either been mad or on the go, and she's a hard one to keep up with.

Her birth order and sunny personality (yes, my mom was right) mean she goes with the flow and doesn't demand a lot from us.

It was just finalized in our school district that Kindergartners will switch to an all-day, every day schedule next year. I understand the reasoning and I knew it was inevitable. Ella will be fine - she's old for her grade and smart as a whip.

It's me I worry about.

Our little blonde-haired girl is suddenly growing up way too fast. Sometimes it seems like she's five going on 13.

And I just want to keep her little.

Can you blame me?

room mom-ing

No one tells you

when you bring your baby boy home from the hospital

that someday you will be up later than you would like

(while he sleeps soundly upstairs)

baking reindeer cookies

with pretzel antlers and M&M faces

for his kindergarten Christmas party.

And no one tells you

the next day

 

you will be so glad that you did.

school days.

We attended kindergarten orientation last night. I remember two years ago feeling vaguely overwhelmed at preschool orientation - I think they might have handed out a calendar and there were newsletters here and there. Now that we have two years of preschool under our belt I figured kindergarten would be a piece of cake.

I was wrong.

A lot of people worry about their child starting school - will they cry when you leave? will they make friends? will they be able to keep up with the school work? I have to say I'm not too worried about Dylan. He'll like the challenge and he'll love the big playground and he'll finally know the answer to 12 + 27. I'm worried about me.

First of all, the sheer amount of paperwork is overwhelming - lunch forms, snack calendars, "specials" calendars (i.e. which days you need to make sure your kid brings gym shoes), Scholastic book order forms, bus tags, classroom policy forms, forms for the office, forms so you can volunteer...get the idea?

And then there are the volunteer tables - as you are surrounded by hoards of sweaty children and their parents in a tiny non-air-conditioned hallway They would like to know if you would like to help out with the Valentine's Day party...or perhaps Santa's secret shop...or maybe popcorn day? Oh, and could you pick up some extra hand sanitizer and glue sticks for the classroom too?

Seriously, however, I am very excited to volunteer and be involved and I am glad the opportunities are available...it's just a little hard to decide as a first time kindergarten mom what is too much? too little? (Not to mention the big question: will the other mom's like me?? Nothing like being in a school setting to trigger all sorts of school-aged insecurities!)

And actually - truth be told - I love school - love the structure, the learning, even the forms. I'm a rule follower at heart, but I think that's also my problem - there is some mild paranoia that I am going to forget something - and how terrible would that be?? I had JUST mastered remembering to send show and tell to preschool every two weeks. This is a whole new ballgame.

All of this is just the tip of the iceberg because there is also an emotional level to all of this kindergarten business - my child has a locker, and a bus stop, and he's eating lunch in the school gym - where did my sweet chubby cheeked little boy go? Have I prepared him adequately to go out into the world? Can I cross everything off those checklists they keep handing out (pop quiz: does your child know his address? his birth date? his mother's social security number? (kidding on that last one - or am I?)

So just when I've slowed down, taken a couple of breaths and realized this all really going to be OK (and possibly purchased one of those obnoxious super organized mom calendars), I realize...oh wait, there are two more little ones coming behind big brother. Can someone please explain how you juggle more than one school aged child's schedule??

Here's to a new school year - full of change, possibility, and forms.

kindergarten conundrum

Dylan goes to preschool this year two mornings a week - not a completely necessary activity, but one that we both enjoy. Our main goal with sending him this year (he was only 3 1/2 when school started) was to get him some social interaction - we figured it would teach him to stand in line, meet other kids, and have someone besides his Mother telling him what to do. Anyway, it's been a great experience for him and I'm glad we did it.

The original plan was to send him to pre-K next year at Hudsonville and then kindergarten the following year. I know that sounds like a lot of school, but since he has a November birthday that's just how things worked out. I am very confident in our decision to send him to school "late" - Matt has a November birthday and he went when he was older too, and every teacher and parent who has been there before has very much recommended that we do that with him (and later we will do the same with Ella).

However, if you've been paying attention to the media, pre-K and kindergarten funding is up in the air depending on how the state mandates funding for them (the push is for all-day, every-day kindergarten in Michigan). At this point it's really sounding like Hudsonville and most other districts won't be offering pre-K next year; they will need the space and the teachers for the all-day kindergarten programs, and they won't receive enough funding from the state to keep pre-K programs going.

Sign-ups just started up again at Mapletree, so we decided to sign Dylan up for their Four Years Old & Beyond class. We're risking a $50 deposit, but the peace of mind was worth it to me. This will allow some time for the situation with the state mandate to work itself out and also reserve a spot for Dylan at Mapletree.

As we have been weighing the pros and cons of both, it's starting to occur to us that it probably makes more sense to send Dylan to Mapletree again next year regardless of what the state decides. The upsides to pre-K (if they continue to offer it) is that's its free :) and the hours are more convenient for the parents. On the other hand, I think an all-day (8:50am-3:40pm), every-other-day schedule would be a little overwhelming for Dylan. The Mapletree schedule (4 mornings a week) involves more driving back and forth, but as long as Matt can keep taking him to school on his way to work, it's not a big deal for me to pick him up. And the extra money we spend on tuition is just an investment in his education, right?? :)

SO, I guess the point of this long post is just to state that we're leaning towards sending him to Mapletree again next year. The class he's signed up for next year has different teachers in a different room with a different curriculum so I think it will feel "new" to him while also feeling comfortable since he's familar with the school. I talked to a few moms at MOPS this morning who have kids in the Four Year Old & Beyond class this year and they had a lot of good things to say about it.

Anyone else out there with 4 year olds?? I'd love to hear your thoughts on the topic too.