a day in the life of kindergarten.

kindergarten day #5.

children throwing up. as daily a practice as naptime.

reading books together. learning to use scissors.

glue. markers. and playdough.

how do I open my milk?

housekeeping center.

walking in a line.

and...

one pull of the firedrill.

by one of my very own kiddos.

followed by lots of real firetrucks.

and a stern talking to from the Fire Chief.

one of our best days yet.

little miss laundry.

happy weekend continues.

weekend update.

happy weekend.

school night craft.

trent and I were in need of some qt.

and he wanted to make an impromptu craft.

so between dinner and bed we made bookmarks.

leftover tags from our craft box.

pictures cut from those free digital picture indexes.

sequins. or farkles as trent calls them.

and some bits of ribbon.

he then had me write special messages for their recipients

"thank you Jesus" "I love you" and "kachiga" 

(the noise the Chick Hicks makes in the cartoon Cars).

a little mess. a little time. a lot of fun.

first day of school.

top three favorite parts:

1. One sweet boy showed up this morning with two oranges.

one for me.

and one for the ever popular Mr. Burket 

(who he met last night at open house).

2. A child was speaking and after he finished a girl shouted

"I don't know what he is saying, 

he is only talking a bunch of spinach!"

(kindergarten translation= Spanish)

3. Dismissal.

I missed my babies so much it aches.

new trick monday.

I love her.

green eggs and ham.

scrambled eggs with basil. avocado pieces. organic bacon.

dr. says little miss is just a bit too little.

so we are on a mission to acquire more rolls and dimples.

tonight we had burket style green eggs and ham.

oh, the things we do for love.

what to give a one year old.

lilabelle got some great birthday presents

 so I thought I'd share some

in no particular order...

books. wooden pull toy. and a babydoll.

dresses and leggings. the perfect one year old attire.

in all shades of pink.

a dollhouse 

(garage sale find from mom & dad)

and some things to treasure.

hand stitched nightgown from her gigi.

a painted plate that reads "Jesus loves me" for her nursery.

and the most incredible scrapbook to record her faith journeys ahead, 

written by our dear friend! more on that later.

and this.

I hate to say I like one a bit better than the rest.

but you know. I do.

a little scrapbook.

Lila's Scripture Cards.

filled with favorite verses.

picked just for my sweet little girl.

this might be one of the sweetest gifts ever.

and my mind is just filling with all the great 

celebrations and occasions to make a book like this.

to handpick scriptures for the moment or person.

a birth. a birthday. a wedding. an engagement.

or going back to school.

I can whisper these precious words in her ears now.

so that she may hold them dear in her life ahead.

birthday girl.

We celebrated Lilabelle's first birthday 

with a good ole ice cream social.

We had a sundae bar. and cupcakes in cones.

We watched a short video of lila's first year.

and then gave the birthday girl her first cake.

She took her time. was very neat. 

and even shared it with her bestie.

It was a great way to celebrate a sweet year 

and a sweet girl.

happy friday.

life is about celebrating.

and chocolate gelato.

happy friday.

and happy birthday lila.

little miss one year old.

meet little miss one year old.

you can usually find her

sitting by the back door hanging with the dog.

or eating blueberries. peaches. and watermelon.

she loves dancing. hollering.

and playing with her matryoshka dolls.

she no longer cries when we she goes to sunday school.

and is crazy about her daddy.

she smells like sweet milk.

and has hair long enough for a bow.

she is full of sugar.

and our favorite baby.

happy first birthday lilabelle.

we are all so in love.

one more book.

another idea for you back to schoolers.

making books.

I do this for all my babies and my kiddos. at school.

we've done shutterfly books using photographs.

and more craftier versions.

like using plastic page protectors to create a book with kids.

or even construction paper with drawings. 

making a book is a great thing in times of transition.

I made this one when Lila was born for trent.

I am thinking a back to school book.

pictures of his school. teacher. 

take pictures of his new routine and schedule.

that way he knows what to expect.

the books I. we. make tend to be favorites.

so splurge on the hardcover.

baby.

little miss lila is 11.99 months old.

in just over a day my sweet baby will be one.

and technically a toddler.

I got upset when we moved to size 3 pampers.

size 1 and 2 have baby elmo. baby big bird. baby cookie.

and then comes size 3.

 big kid elmo. big kid big bird. big cookie.

don't you know we returned and bought size 2

and squeezed her chubby little bottom back in for another month.

I cried in target when I went to shop for pajamas.

I looked and looked for baby ones.

and do you know what 12 month pajamas look like at target?

no onepiece. no pastels. no footies.

I love babies.

I love everything baby.

especially this baby.

and I know it sounds weird but I feel like I am mourning a loss.

I know she will get bigger and that is such a blessing

but little miss 11.99 month old baby lila will be a face I wont always be able to see. 

A drooly slobbery mouth I wont always be able to kiss. 

Chubby legs I wont always be able to rub sunscreen on and in.

you have to get in all the rolls.

and thats a big  reason I do this blog.

So that I can capture these little things.

These moments. smells. noises. and feelings that are our everyday life.

It is so easy to let it all slip by.

Blogging gives you the chance to really enjoy. capture. and relive 

all the daily blessings.

Our life is a sweet reality.

This year has been so filled.

and we are so so grateful.

and as sad as I am about having my baby grow up on me.

I cant wait to see what God has in store for her.

and what she is going to do next.

I finished her scrapbook yesterday.

I scrapbook only the first year.

and the last page is my hope for her...

lila, fall so madly and deeply in love with God.

and the rest will all work itself out.

love, mom

ps. you will always be my baby.

back to school reading list.

for mom. for your little one.

for a laugh.

for your bigger little kid.

for you teachers.

for Dad to read to the kids.

Amelia Bedelia is Toms favorite!

for all your Kindergartners.

and this one.

and for that big night before.