Relief

Molly is having such a good first week at school and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I've been so worried about the change in routine -- mine and hers. I was afraid she wouldn't like the after school program or that she'd be bummed we weren't there to pick her up at 3:30 with the other parents.

But all of that worry was for nothing! She's fine. She's having the time of her life. She was doing the limbo in the gym after school today and didn't want to leave. She loves having so much access to the playground. And in a couple of weeks, she'll start tennis and gymnastics on Mondays and Wednesdays after school, which should keep things interesting. I wasn't going to sign her up for any extra programs, but a couple of her friends signed up, so why not?!

There was an ice cream social at the school playground this evening from 6 to 7, so I got to see Molly in her element, running around and mixing it up with her friends. The playground was so chaotic with kids from every grade crawling over every piece of equipment and Molly was right there in the middle of all of it, which shocked me. I'm so used to her hanging back and clinging to my leg whenever there are too many kids around...it warmed my heart to see her running around and having so much fun. As we were walking home, a kid stuck his head out of the window of a car and screamed, "bye Molly, see you tomorrow!" which also warmed my heart.

Some aspects of this whole Kindergarten thing are more difficult. Planning and packing lunch every morning has been kind of a pain. I feel like I'm going to have to be way more on top of our grocery shopping. And they kind of loaded us up with activities and meetings the past few weeks. Don't even get me started on the scheduled days off I've had to add to my calendar.

But the after school program covers a bunch of those days, and Jason and I are both able to work from home occasionally. I'm starting to build a network of mom friends who have offered to help out and have Molly over after school. I haven't taken anyone up on it yet, but it's nice to know I can.

It's early, but I'm feeling optimistic.

New stuff we like

Besides Kindergarten, of course, we're liking...

• Family walks after dinner. It's good family time aaand gives me extra steps for my fitbit workweek hustle competition, which I am determined not to lose this week. I don't need to win...I just don't want to end up dead last (again)
• Chapter books. Molly and I started reading The Junie B. Jones series in preparation for Kindergarten. Really, I'm just trying to get her ready for Harry Potter. Sooon!
• Show Me a Hero. The new HBO miniseries about the housing struggle in Yonkers in the 80s...sounds riveting, right? It IS. Very, very good TV
• Bloodline. Also really good TV. It's an intense family drama starring Kyle Chandler and set in the Florida Keys. I could not stop thinking about the final episode. I will be back for Season 2
• New location at the Bucktown Arts Fest. I believe Jason and Jon will be in Booth 50 this year, which looks like it might be a high-traffic area right at the start of the path from the main street into the park. Repeater Printing and BC Print Media have a ton of new stuff to show. Check it out this weekend if you can! 

First day of Kindergarten!

It's official, Molly's first day of elementary school is in the books....and she loved it!

The morning went pretty well. Jason and I both worked from home, so there was less pressure to hurry through our morning routine. We walked over early so Molly could meet the before school care teachers and get a little time in on the playground. She seemed happy and excited...all up until the last couple of minutes before she went inside.

It wasn't a terrible meltdown and a couple of the other kids even tried to make her feel better, which was sweet. One of the teachers ended up guiding her in and I heard from a parent who peeked through the window that she was smiling and laughing a few minutes later. Phew.

When we picked Molly up at the end of the day, she was smiling, bouncing, talking to the other kids, and SO happy to see us. She said she liked Kindergarten even better than preschool, so hopefully that means drop off will be less dramatic tomorrow :)

Here's the Kindergarten Kid:

Excited for school

Molly's first day. It's a little hard to read, but the sign says she's 5 and wants to be a nurse when she grows up. Awww

Molly's cubby

Right when Molly started crying that she had no one to play with, her friend Bianca showed up! I just wish they were in the same class...

Who would guess this kid was nervous and seconds away from a meltdown?

Great day at Great America

We made a semi-spur of the moment decision to go to Six Flags Great America last weekend. Northwestern was offering discounted tickets for alumni, so we decided to take advantage of the deal and seek some thrills.

It's kind of awesome to go to a theme park with a five-year-old. Molly can't go on any of the major coasters with the long lines, but there are tons of smaller rides and family friendly coasters that you can pretty much just walk up and ride. I think our longest wait was about 30 minutes for the Logger's Run, which was well worth it because it was about 90 degrees and we wanted to get soaked.

Some of my favorite memories from childhood were the trips my family took to Kings Island in Cincinnati. I think some of my favorite memories from being a parent are going to be trips like these to Great America and Disney World. I looove roller coasters and it turns out Molly does too. She will hold her arms in the air for the entire ride and scream around every turn. It's so cute. Only 14 more inches to grow until she can go on the really fun stuff like Batman and Vertical Velocity!

Carousel ride

We didn't go on the Yankee Clipper (line was too long) but had to take a photo since we were married at a hotel with the same name!

Red Baron

Around and around she goes

Enjoying everything Great America has to offer -- roller coasters, stuffed animals, cotton candy, and sugary drinks

Happy first birthday to George

My nephew George turned one yesterday! Where did the last year go? He's walking, starting to talk a little, and just about the cutest thing you ever did see. James commandeered most of the birthday gifts, but I think George was happy enough just to dig into his first cupcake:

I think he liked it.

Preparations

Molly and I went to Target last weekend for round one of back to school shopping. On our shopping list -- a backpack and lunchbox for Kindergarten.

I was planning to let Molly get whatever she wanted, but found myself talking her out of a Frozen backpack. I feel like that's something my own mom would have done back in the day...yeah, yeah, I get it now. I just don't know how long Frozen is going to be cool with the Kindergarten kids and didn't want her hounding me for a new backpack after week 2. Instead, we picked out a somewhat obnoxious looking light-up backpack with plenty of swirls and butterflies. Hope she likes it for at least a little while :)

Ready for school?

Bento box lunchbox -- still don't know what I'm going to pack for the kid who won't eat sandwiches :)

Next weekend, we'll pick up the rest of the stuff. It's kind of a funny list -- markers, crayons, pencils, and a bunch of cleaning supplies. No folders or loose leaf paper or notebooks. Times have changed!

Here's my girl, ready to take on Kindergarten

The tooth is looth

Molly has her first loose tooth! She didn't even notice. I thought her teeth looked a little crooked and when I touched one, it wiggled. She told me she wants a gold one when it falls out. Ha!

Bottom front left. It's getting ready to go!

Can you feel the excitement?

Notice that Molly has goggles around her neck. We had her first private swimming lesson tonight. It went so much better than her last group class. She loved the one-on-one attention from the teacher and actually (gasp!) looked like she was having fun in the water.