Beach Day

Eli and Bella had "Beach Day" at school one day this week. After talking about it for a week, they were both so excited when the day finally came. That morning, Eli woke up and started getting his clothes ready. I thought he was picking out the clothes he wanted to wear after the water fun was over. No, that was not the case. When Eli asked me if it was going to be a long drive, I replied, "No, we're just going down the road to school." He said, "To the beach??" Oooohh no. Poor baby. He thought we were actually going to the beach. He was so disappointed when he found out we were not going. I felt so bad for him. I guess I need to make it up to him by planning a "real" beach day soon.

Bella's class was the first class to go out for beach day. I love the next two pictures of her.

She had fun playing, but was cold and wanted to get dressed. She wanted to sit on her towel and wait for her popsicle.


When it was time for the class to go in, Ms. Kristie had all of the kids hold onto this stick. They looked so cute walking in like that.

When I left, Bella, once again, made the sad face she makes each time I take her to school. She has been doing good about not crying, though. She holds back her tears, but this face just looks so pitiful...
Eli's disappointment was short lived, when he started to play in the water and the bounce house.

Where Does the Girlfriend Sit?

Eli has had a love of motorcycles for a long time, getting excited each time one passes us in the car or we see one parked in a parking lot on our way into a store or restaurant. This evening, on the way into church, there was motor scooter parked right along the sidewalk. Well, that is what Eli called it, "Look, Mommy!! It's a motor scooter!" "It sure is, baby." Standing there, I could tell he was thinking about something. The seat on this motor scooter wasn't nearly as big as the seat on a motorcycle. So, naturally, his question would be, "Mommy, where does the girlfriend sit?" Laughing, I told him that the girlfriend could still sit on the back. Then I suggested, "Maybe it is a girl who drives that motorcycle." Aunt Kathy has a motorcycle, did he forget that? He must have because the next thing that came out of his mouth... "It's not a girl's job to ride a motorcycle, Mommy." "It isn't? Well, what is a girl's job?" "To be a Mommy."

Off To School We Go...

And so it begins...
Today was the first full day of school for Eli and Bella. Well, a full day for them- three hours.
Our morning began at 3:30 a.m. when Eli crawled into bed with me. It took me a long time to finally go back to sleep. After finally falling asleep, in walked Bella, who stood next to the bed crying (in her sleepy, raspy voice), "Mooommmmy, Mooommmmmy." Somehow, I ended up in the middle of them both. Once again, I could not go back to sleep. I finally crawled out of bed around 5:30, somehow managing not to wake either of them from their peaceful slumber.
Whew! I really wanted their first day to go smoothly, and that starts with a good night of sleep. Side note... Yes, Bella is wearing Eli's pjs. She really likes wearing his pjs... and his undies.

When Bella woke up, I immediately started pumping her up for school as I knew she may be a little apprehensive. In a way, I think I was pumping myself up, too. I was not excited about taking both of my babies to school! It made me sad. We have fun together. I knew I was going to miss them. Bella helped me make a yummy breakfast, and then we went to wake Eli. This is very rare. Usually Eli is the one who wakes up before anyone (except Grandma).

After a good breakfast, they both got dressed, brushed their teeth and were ready to go.


They were both so excited when I told them we would be walking to school. What a fun thing to do! I was so glad we left early since the .4 mile walk took us 25 minutes. That was okay, though. We talked about what they might do at school today and sang songs as I urged them to stay out of the wet grass and on the sidewalk.


Eli and Bella held hands, tossed their backpacks in the air, and were just as carefree as ever.

All of that changed for Bella once the front doors of the school opened. She immediately glued herself to my leg. As we walked to her classroom, the sobbing began. I told her how much I loved her and that I knew she was going to have a great morning. I assured her I would be back and then had to peel her off of me and hand her Mrs. Kristy.

Mr. Eli was a different story. As we walked up to his classroom, he put his backpack on his hook and began to walk into the classroom. "Wait a minute," I said, "Can I have a hug?" He hugged my leg for a quick second, let go, did not even look at me, started walking and said, "I can go by myself, Mommy." I don't know what I expected, but it definitely wasn't that. I wanted to cry right there. Instead, I gave him a hug, told him I loved him, and let him walk himself into his classroom.

On the way out, another mom shadowed me as I inched past Bella's classroom. Her cries were silent, and I could not let her see me pass by her room. As I walked out the front door, Lyla in hand, and made my way way home, alone, I thought a lot about my sweet babies and wondered why they have grown so quickly. It made me so thankful for those years I have spent with them, doing things together each and everyday. We will still have our Friday mornings together, and Bella only goes to school two mornings a week. No matter how old they become, I will always see them as my little babies...

Bella's First Day of "School"

Yesterday, Bella and I had a conversation about going to school today. It went something like this...
Bella, are you excited about going to school tomorrow?

No, I not excited.

Ooohhh, you are going to have so much fun at school! Your teacher, Ms. Kristie, is so nice. You are going to like her.

I don't like Ms. Kristie. She is not nice.

Oh goodness...

But, this morning was a different story. She was excited and ready to go!

I honestly think she was so excited because she was finally getting to wear her cute backpack. She really associates backpacks with school. I know she felt like such a big girl.

Seeing my sweet little Bella with her backpack on, ready to go to school, but really not knowing what to expect, reminded me so much of Eli's first day of Mother's Morning Out. He was so little. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. How can he be old enough for PreK? Oh me, that post will come next week when Eli starts school. I feel tears coming just thinking about it.

I remembered this picture Dad took of us on Eli's first day, and I asked Eli to take a picture of Bella and me. This is how it turned out...
Uh, at least part of Bella's head is visible? So much for a first day shot of Bella with Mommy.

As we got to school, Bella's cries were also reminiscent of Eli's cries the first several months of school. As the three of us entered her classroom, spoke with Ms. Kristie, and met the other children in her class, Bella wanted nothing to do with any of them. She knew I was going to have to leave, and she wanted me to hold her. After trying to get her to talk to some of the other children, play with the toys, dress up in a costume, do a puzzle, etc.. I had to kiss her, tell her I would be back, and then hand her off to Ms. Kristie. The entire time, she was screaming and reaching for me. It was as if I could feel her little hands pulling me toward her. Walking out the door and feeling so very sad, Eli and I continued down the hall to the room where we would have orientation. Halfway down the hall, Eli shouted, "It's okay, Bella! School is fun!" I needed that laugh. I love that boy! After a few minutes, I could no longer hear her cries.

After the orientation, when I went to pick her up, she was drawing at the table with the rest of her class. When she saw me, she bypassed Eli, ran to me, and clung to me for dear life. Sweet baby girl! Ms. Kristie informed me that after sitting on her lap for 45 minutes, Bella was fine. 45 minutes? I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

This is only the beginning of many first day of school experiences, my sweet little girl. Daddy and I are looking forward to each and every one of them.

Sweet Boy

Today, Eli made his bed without even being asked. He closed his door and told Bella he didn't want her in there. A few minutes later, Eli came out and said, "Mommy, come look." My thoughts? Oh goodness! What did he do in there? But, when I walked in, he said, "Look Mommy. I made my bed." I, of course, praised him. Grinning from ear to ear, he was so proud of himself. I hope it continues. He actually did a really good job.


Over the past week, it seems as if Eli's feet have grown a lot. Today, we went shoe shopping. After visiting three different stores, we found the Spiderman shoes he wanted, the coolest shoes he's ever had, so he says. He was so happy, excited, and most of all appreciative. It makes a mommy happy when she hears her child use good manners, like please and thank you. I always try to make sure Eli and Bella are polite, but to see and hear actual appreciation, that really makes my heart melt. More than once since getting home this afternoon, Eli has thanked me for his shoes. "Mommy, thank you so much for getting me my new shoes. I really like them." I LOVE THAT! While looking through pics on my phone, I found this picture Eli snapped.

One Amazing Weekend

What happens when you put five women (all related) and seven children together for a weekend? They all have one amazing weekend, that's what!
Friday morning, Mom, Aunt Kathy, Eli, Bella, and I loaded the van with enough clothes and snacks to last a week, and we were on our way. Jenny and her sweet baby girls, Ryan and Darby, were not far behind us. Destination: Brandon, Mississippi. We were all headed to Kim and Kevin's gorgeous home for the weekend.

When we arrived, there were hugs all around, of course. Bella immediately wanted to get her arms around her baby cousins. The first thing she wanted to do was hold baby Darby.
I know. I know. Little Miss Darby is the same size as Bella. This didn't stop her from wanting to try to pick her up... multiple times. Joseph, too. We heard this statement many, many times this weekend, "I want to hold Baby Darby/Joseph." The funny thing was neither Darby nor Joseph wanted to be held by Bella very much. Imagine that.

After Eli saw the girls dressing up, he wanted to join in. Obviously, he didn't want to wear a dress. What to do? Kate had an idea! Eli could be the beast and wear Jack's Halloween costume from last year. Kim made this beast costume; she's so talented! Eli didn't seem to mind that they fit him like capris. He and Kate had a great time playing together.
They all did...

While there, we celebrated Kim's 30th birthday. Jack isn't a happy camper in the picture below. He really wanted to eat some cake! Bella enjoyed the cake so much she had to be sure she devoured every little speck of icing.

After everyone finished eating, Mom and Kim disappeared. I was informed that Mom was getting dressed in mummy attire AKA toilet paper. Mom is always doing silly things to make the kids laugh. She had been acting like a zombie and chasing them around. Dressing like a mummy is the next logical step, right? While waiting for the Mummy to appear, Aunt Kathy had a great workout, catching one child after another as they jumped off of the ottoman onto her. Finally, we were given the secret signal (a knock on the bathroom door) to let us know the mummy was about to make her appearance. After scaring the children, came the big reveal... Then, of course, all of the children wanted to dress like mummies, too. When the babies went to bed, we had a lot of laughs. The most laughter came when Jenny decided to straighten our hair. After admiring all of us with such nice, silky, straight hair, Aunt Kathy asked if Jenny could do her hair, too. Aunt Kathy, sat there patiently, looking at all of our long locks, imagining her hair straight. I really do wish I had a picture of what Aunt Kathy's hair looked like. We were all too busy laughing to the point of tears. No one even thought to take a picture. What a wonderful weekend we all had together!