Conor's Prayers of the "Fateful"

All week long, Conor has diligently practiced his two prayers of the faithful (or as he calls them "prayers of the fateful") for mass this morning. Each week, one grade helps with mass by providing greeters, readers, and people to present the gifts. This week, it was the 1st grade's turn to help.

By the end of his week of practice, Conor was ready to go. Just like his big sister a couple of months before, he had no qualms about standing up in front of the entire school to speak. So proud of him!

Enjoy!

First Day of School: 1st and 3rd grades

Our little chickadees returned to school on Tuesday and were full of excitement* as the day approached. (* Annika wants it pointed out that she is NOT excited about homework.)

A few days before school, the kids went to their class meet-and-greets with Eric so they could see their new classrooms, find their desks, and drop off their school supplies. (Whoever decided that was the way to go was a genius!! I love not having that on our first day of school to-do list!)

Conor was so excited for his first day of first grade that he was up and dressed in his uniform before I knew what was happening. Annika was only slightly less revved up for the day. (She arrived at the breakfast table still in her PJs.)

Before long, it was time to do the last-minute checks (teeth and hair brushed? check! backpack? check! coat? check! shoes? check!) and head to school to start another year of academic adventures. I couldn't help but think back to last year and how apprehensive Conor was about being a big kid in kindergarten; he clung to my hand as we walked from the van to the school. This year, I could barely keep him from sprinting through the parking lot!

The kids had a blast seeing their friends (many of whom they hadn't seen in 3 months). As for me, it was fun to see them interact with their buddies and to see how much some of the kids had grown over the summer. There were new hair cuts, lost teeth, and many kids who grew quite a bit over the summer.

School let out at noon and as an extra bonus, I brought my sister with me to pick up Annika and Conor. It was fun to see their excited "back to school" faces get even MORE excited when they saw her and exclaimed "AUNTIE ZUZANNE!!!" (No, not a typo.... that's how they say her name.) :)

Both kids had marvelous first days and couldn't stop chattering about how fun it was to see everyone, how nice their teachers are, where their desks are, etc. Not every day will be filled with this much enthusiasm, so I soaked up what I could from this day to carry me through the "bumpier" days ahead, when homework is a chore, friends are mean, and life is just terrible.

We wrapped up their big day with a celebratory trip to Menchie's for fro-yo. Seriously, our kids couldn't have been happier!!

Annika; First day of 3rd grade

Conor: First day of 1st grade

Each year on the first day of school, I take their picture in these shirts to
show their growth, One day, these adult-sized shirts are going to fit
them... and then I'll be a blubbering mess.

Off they go for a new year of learning, adventures, and growth

Last day of school 2015 photos

Last Friday, Annika had her last day of 1st grade and Conor had his last day of preschool. (Excuse me while I take a moment to wipe away a few tears...)

The day started out a bit more relaxed than more mornings because Eric and I both took the day off of work. So, the kids were able to sleep in a bit and we didn't have to rush out of the door quite as hectically as we do on most other school days. Both kids had the opportunity to sleep in a bit, which was good practice for the upcoming summer break! With the kids getting out of school quite early, Eric and I had a more leisurely morning, too... no lunches/snacks to pack, homework to track down, etc. No complaints!

Naturally, the kids were very excited about their last days of school, but Annika was also a bit down because she was going to miss her first grade teacher (Mrs. Portolese). I tried to comfort her by pointing out that the 2nd grade classroom is next door to the 1st grade room, so they'll very likely still see each other at school.

Before we left for school, I took a some photos of the kids so we could compare the first day and last day of school photos. It astounds me to see how much the kids have changed and grown over the school year. Academically, they have soared, but also as maturing little people. What a wonderful journey!

Annika's first day of 1st grade

Annika's last day of 1st grade

Conor's 1st day of preschool

Conor and Stop 1's last day of preschool

Eric picked up the kids from school at 10 (I was helping clean out my Aunt June's house, so I had to live the day vicariously through texted photos!) and that afternoon, he took the kids to pick up Annika's first pair of (reading) glasses. She had been anxiously awaiting them for days and was thrilled when the big day finally arrived. Doesn't she look adorable???

Pretty girl who can see better!

Annika's school talent show performance

Last Wednesday while I was volunteering in her classroom, Annika told me she wanted to participate in the school's annual talent show and the deadline to sign up was that day at noon. (Nothing like waiting until the last minute!) I asked her what talent she'd like to perform and she was unsure, so I suggested standing on her head (she's really good at it and no practice required ... unlike last year's violin solo). She liked the idea, so I signed the permission slip and all was good.

Fast forward to today, the big show. I am so grateful that the school's talent show falls on my work from home day! I am so impressed (and entertained) by the kids who decided to perform. There were everything from magic tricks, gymnastics and hip hop routines, jokes, singing, and head standing.

Without further ado... I present Annika!!

Annika's First Soccer Game

Yes, it is official, we have a soccer player in the family. Annika is on her school's 1st grade soccer team (correctly, one of the 1st grade soccer teams ... it is so popular, they had enough kids for 2 teams!) and she is loving it.

The setup is ideal -- the kids practice one hour per week and then have one game per weekend. They learn the basics of the sport, as well as how to take direction and balance fun with maintaining a work ethic.

Soccer is an ideal outlet for her competitive nature, desire to run, and love of cheering on her peers. She doesn't feel the need to be the star of the team or hog the ball, but sure love kicking the ball down the field and wound up making two goals during their game this weekend!!

The kids played hard, were appropriately aggressive, and cheered on their friends like true good sports!

Run, Annika, run!!

Annika passing the ball

Trapping the ball

Post-goal thumbs up

Post-goal thumbs up with attitude

Annika's last day of kindergarten

Today, I dropped off the kids at school. I do that most mornings, so what's the big deal and why does this merit a blog post? Well, the big deal is today is Annika's last day in kindergarten.

About 9 months ago, we set her off on a new academic adventure called kindergarten. Over the school year, she got 2 adult teeth, lost 3 more of her baby teeth, developed a love of math, started learning how to read and write, started to learn how to speak and understand Spanish, took a jump roping class, went on fun field trips to places like a pumpkin patch and Greenlake (to test out the sea worthiness of the wooden boats they made), and so, so, so much more!

We feel so blessed to have had Mrs. Galvan and Mrs. Silva teach Annika this year. They are incredibly gifted (read: intelligent, patient, humorous, creative, etc) women and true assets to our school.

This has been a wonderful year. We are sad to know it has come to an end, but are consoled to know that so many more adventures are on the horizon.

Next stop: 1st grade!