And we have a Kindergartener

After  Lissie graduated from pre-K back in May, I knew I wanted to make the most of the summer.  I even opted not to work the month of July at my school's summer camp so that I could be with my own children because I knew that our lives were going to change when Lissie started big-kid school.

I'll do a separate post on our summer (hopefully) soon, but here are my thoughts on Lissie as a Kindergartener:

I know that I have been blessed to be able to stay at home with my kids for as long as I have and, when I did start working (part-time), it's been at their preschool where I can still pop in to check on them if need be which is probably why this inevitable transition to kindergarten is hitting me hard.  She's my oldest, of course, as well as my shyest.  She's been with me pretty much day in and out for the last five years, and while she's oh-so-smart and absolutely ready for kindergarten, she's also my timid little introvert who is used to hiding behind me (or her not-shy-at-all little brother) to be her voice.

Which is why I'm so very grateful that we've opted to send her to the same school where I taught for several years leading up to Lissie's birth.  I know she'll be in excellent hands - the teachers are amazing, and I even "mentored" her kindergarten teacher when she first started at the school!  Even better is that it's such an intimate setting and she's in a class of just eleven kiddos - and she's already familiar with three of them either through church or old friends.  It definitely makes letting her go a little bit easier.

Luckily in the craziness of the day, I didn't have the tears that I thought that I would be choking back.

This boy had a really tough time letting her go.
Tears and fussing until he realized we were going to a Boo-Hoo special breakfast afterwards.

In fact, I know that I'm going to enjoy the extra one-on-one time with Xavier as a result of this, especially since I have almost two weeks before the two of us start school back up, as well!

Thrilled to have our special time now.
We opted for a trip to the library for storytime this morning!

But it's still hard thinking about my baby girl growing up.  Yesterday, on her specially requested trip to the splash pad to celebrate her last day before beginning her formal education, I couldn't help but ponder the cliche'd "where in the world did the time go?"  And I just have to hope, pray, and trust in God that I'm laying the best possible foundation for her to build on now that she'll be in school with more outside influences beyond my control.

I mean, seriously, wasn't this just yesterday?

Our last day before K.

And now we're here???

She did have a wonderful first half day, and we even begun a First Day tradition of getting a yummy ice cream treat afterwards.

 Even Lolo and Lola are proud of their first grandchild!  Life is good all the way around!

Cincinnati 2016

Only a few months late, but here's a recap of our weekend Cincy trip we took back in June:

We seemingly have started a tradition to visit our Cincinnati friends every other year (and on the years we don't visit, they come down to Nashville to see us).

It had been tricky coordinating a trip up to visit them this year, what with Justin's crazy every-other-weekend work schedule, their schedule and crazy life, and a newborn baby thrown into the mix.

Then in early June, I got a random call from our friend asking if we were free to come up to visit that weekend.  Somehow, that happened to be the only weekend we were free anyway, and so up we went to Cincy just a few days later!

It was a supershort visit, but a fun one nonetheless.

We started our trip with lunch with Ann, a friend who moved back to Cincinnati from  Nashville a few years ago.  It was great catching up, and I'm glad we were able to squeeze in a quick visit!

Afterwards, the kiddos were ready to reunite with people their own size, so onward we went.  The original plan was to head to a Reds game, but the tickets were sold out (which was a blessing since it rained anyway).  Instead, we walked around a bit and hung out at a cool park for a little while before the downpour.

The kids also enjoyed their first real sleepover (in the past, the kids slept with us in the guestroom).  We could hear the giggling coming from the kids' room, but the boys still managed to conk out relatively quickly.  The girls, though, were up wayyyy past their bedtime telling stories and just catching up.  It was great, though, seeing how young friends who only see each other once a year could still have so much to say to each other!

The boys fast asleep and the girls wide awake.

The next day, we went to Mass and walked around Xavier University.  Xavier, of course, loved seeing his name and all of the Xes on campus!

We went back to their house to have a scrumptious brunch with some other former Nashvillian-turned-Cincinattian friends.  It was great catching up with everyone and seeing all of the kiddos running around and playing with each other.

We left just before another downpour and decided to stop in Louisville for a little bit just because we could.  We splashpad-ed and quadbiked and found a yummy Indian restaurant for dinner before heading back home.

It was a great weekend spent with friends!  Can't wait to catch up with them again, whenever that may be!

Lissie's Busy May

May is typically a busy time of year for any kid, what with the rapid winding down of the school year and all of the fun end-of-year activities that come with it.

For Lissie, May was super busy for the same reason.  One particular week, though, was extra chaotic and crazy with the hustle and bustle of both her pre-K graduation, her first ballet recital (and dress rehearsal prior), on top of Daddy's birthday thrown into the mix.

It's still hard for me to believe that Lissie graduated from pre-K and that she will be a super big kindergartener in the fall.  No longer will she be just across the hall from me in her preschool.  Popping in to say hello or simply to peek in to see how she's doing will be a thing of the past.  I've seen her grow leaps and bounds while she's been at school - she's come out of her shy shell more and more and she has become so sweet and kind and has learned an incredible amount in such a short time.  I know she's ready for kindergarten and all that it entails. I also know that it will be hard for me to let go.

Surprisingly, I didn't cry at her graduation, although I probably would have if I wasn't distracted by how thrilled she was to be up there with all of her sweet friends.  I love that her class was not only so small but had all girls, and they all became such great friends.

Getting her diploma from Ms. Kelly

Performing her song.

Best Friends

Ms. Nicki had Lissie for two years,
and she gave her the most thoughtful medallion
that was absolutely perfect for Lissie. 

We're so lucky that Ms. Danielle goes to our pool -
Lissie is thrilled to still be able to see her teacher
throughout the summer!

And, oh my.  Ballet.  I was never into dance, so I wasn't ever intending for Lissie to take it.  But she had begged me for a while, so I signed up for a giveaway for free dance classes last summer.  I won them, and she loves them.  I was surprised since she didn't know anyone at first, and she was so shy in the beginning.  But, boy, did she come into her own throughout the year.  In fact, even I was shocked by her commanding stage presence and sheer glee of being in front of a crowd!  It was awesome to watch, and you can bet she wants to do it again in the fall!

After her recital, we celebrated with a family meal at Loveless Cafe.  Yum!

Congrats on everything, Lissie!  You never cease to amaze me.  As much as I'm going to miss you when you start kindergarten in the fall, I have no doubt that you are going to do some pretty incredible things with yourself, and I can't wait to watch!