Well, I did it again. My biggest blogging hiatus ever.
I have felt so overwhelmed with the magnitude of the events of the past few months (and having the kids home over the Summer) that I felt paralyzed. How could I possibly cover all of these events and do them justice? Unless I sit down and really give myself adequate time to reflect on each moment and write it down (which I know I will not do), it will just fall flat.
Having so many big events back to back made the task very daunting. How could I write about preschool graduation when I didn't write about ballet? How could I write about swim team when I didn't write about preschool graduation? And so on, and so on.
And so, I did nothing. I feel guilty about it. Very guilty.
And so, I did nothing. I feel guilty about it. Very guilty.
Fast forward to two weeks ago. There was one event that made me come back to the blog because it needs to be recorded. And I will explain why after I show a quick recap of our amazing few months.
I'm not even going to try to write as much as should be written....if I do that, I will get overwhelmed again.
With that said, here is a brief recap of our amazing and milestone filled few months.
With that said, here is a brief recap of our amazing and milestone filled few months.
After a year of Georgia's ashes sitting on our mudroom counter top, and then in a cabinet, we finally put sweet Georgia to rest. (I will never forget Miller asking, while looking at the small bag we brought home with Georgia's ashes inside "Are you sure it's not just her face in there?)
The kids decorated a cement stone and we buried Georgia down the hill from the mountain house. We each took a turn putting dirt over her ashes.
Lee asked the kids if they would like to sing a song or say something, and they chose the Pledge of Allegiance. So we crossed our hands, bowded our heads, and said the best Pledge of Allegiance we could.
Maybe it will become our tradition to ride past her stone and say the Pledge. Usually, Lee rolls down the window and says "Pup-eee!" (which is what he called her)
Colby misses Georgia most of all. This usually comes out in his school work; he draws pictures of her, says she is his favorite animal, and often asks if we can get another dog just like her. Or go find her babies. It's funny because when she was here, it didn't seem like they interacted all that much. Georgia always tried to take his food, and he was always crying over something she stole. She would take things right off of his plate or out of his hand. But that's what he grew up with....I guess it was his normal. I think it is just having her here that he misses. She was here when he came home from the hospital, so it's all he has ever known.
This year in art class (First grade) the teacher asked them to draw a picture of their favorite place. Colby came home with a drawing of a house and it said "Old House". I asked him why, and he said "Because that's where Georgia was." He is very a sentimental boy, and that is more and more apparent as he gets older. He likes to hold on to momentos and will wear a wrist band from the water park or a local event until it literally falls off in shreds so that "he can remember and won't forget."
All the Kindergarten classes at Colby's school put on an adorable end of the year performance about children around the world. Colby's class did Ireland and they did an Irish dance.
He spoke loudly and clearly in front of everyone!
And did great with the rythm of the hand motions...we have it all on video and it's pretty funny.
Miller had her first ballet recital. She was one of the youngest and also the tallest. She did great and seemed to enjoy her time in the spotlight. She was definitely one of the leaders.
It was so special for Miller to have Nan there to watch her performance, although Nan almost got me in to trouble laughing at other performances. One little girl's skirt fell off and it was hysterical watching her try to recover from that and keep dancing.
Colby was so proud of his sister.
This might be the cutest ballerina tush I've ever seen.
Kindergarten orientation...they heard a story, rode the bus, and had a snack. Miller thought it was amazing. She was/is sooooo ready for the big leagues.
Preschool graduation. I held it together a little better than Mother's Day. But not by much.
Miller is extremely confident with her singing. She belts it out and knows all the words and dance moves. Her teacher said she is the leader of her class and outsings them all. I feel like I am bragging....Ok, I am. If I can't do it here, where can I do it?
Miller absolutely adored Ms. Susan. And Ms. Susan adored Miller. We will really miss her.
Colby's class had an "author share" where they each wrote a book and read it to all of the parents in a microphone. We were so proud of Colby.
Miller's princess tent became a full on doctor's office for wounded dolls and animals. (Thanks to the cute Disney show Doc McStuffins, which has inspired her). Looks like there might have been a little tea sipping also.
She sets a great table and puts on elaborate feasts. I don't think she gets it from me.
She loves to make animal parades.
We are so lucky to have cousins who are so sweet to Colby and Miller. Spending time with them at the mountain house is definitely the highlight for Colby and he often writes about it in school. (And Miller loves it, too)
Colby had an amazing swim season. He won a ton of first place ribbons for his relay, freestyle, and backstroke.
Heat winner ribbons were abundant this year. As were first place ribbons.
The championship meet was held at UVA. Below you can see the six and under relay teams holding hands as they walk to the starting blocks for the relay. Colby is second to last.
His relay won first place (out of 17 teams) and almost broke the league record. They missed it by less than a second. He placed 5th in freestyle and 7th in backstroke. (out of more than a hundred boys). Pretty amazing. (especially considering he barely made the top 100 just one year ago)
After champs are over, the league combines all of the meets and all of the teams and comes up with a "Top 50 times" for each age group. Colby had the fourth fastest freestyle time in the league with 23.44 seconds (he swam that time early on in the season), and the eighth fastest backstroke time in the league with 29.37 seconds.
This was the first time in twenty two years that our team has beaten Fairview and won first place at Champs. It was a huge deal and was on the front page of the paper- not just the sports section. It was also written up in our local small town paper, and Colby's name was mentioned twice.
A last minute victory party was held at the pool the night our team was announced as the winner. Sometimes it's ok to keep them up past their bed time.
Savannah had double hip surgery because of a genetic defect. The first week was very rough for her, but she's doing much better. She still cannot jump up on anything, but otherwise she is pretty normal. (I hope it's a long time before I need to do physical therapy on a cat again)
Colby turned 7!!
He had a laser tag in Richmond and got to bring three friends, and of course, his cousins.
Tickets are so fun to win! Helping your child spend hundreds of tickets on tiny little trinkets that are each worth only a few tickets must be sort of what Hell is like.
My big girl is 5!!!
She had an amazing time at her Hello Kitty Bounce N' Play party.
Colby took a trip with dad to Colorado to watch a big mountain bike race.
One last hurrah of the Summer.
First day of school! Miller was ready.
Sniff.
Miller had a great first day and has loved every minute of school since. She is the top reader in her class and one of the youngest. We are so proud.
Colby, however, cried after the first day and did not want to go back. He said it was "boring"....he was literally bored to tears. FIRST DAY! This was (and still is) a big red flag for me. What is the prognosis for the year when the first day was painfully boring? And how does that even happen?
I'm worried about his teacher being a good match. There are other more experienced and dynamic teachers in the grade, and I can't help but think he would be happier there. I'm also worried about his behavior...because Colby + boredom does not equal success. Kindergarten was a really great year for him (after working closely with his fabulous teacher), so it was very important to us that he stay on a positive track.
Another issue for him is that none of his buddies are in his class. This is especially hard for him because they are together in another class and he is the one left out. Keep in mind also that Colby has had some hard times with school (and behavior at school) in his past. All of this has caused a big of separation anxiety, so Colby has been asking us to have lunch with him.
My concerns for Colby are definitely much more behavior related than academic. He is an extremely bright boy, but he doesn't really love reading as much as he loves other things, and that's ok.
I just want him to have fun, enjoy school, and act NORMAL (respectful, not goofing off, not annoying people). The bar is set low, people!
Here is the event that has brought me back to the blog:
Last week, I met Colby for lunch. When he sat down next to one of his classmates, the little boy kept moving away from him. Colby would get closer, the boy would move way. This is a little boy who seems like a good kid, and one who could be a good playmate for Colby. Concerned, I asked the little boy why he didn't want to sit next to Colby, and he said (in a very emotional tone):
"Because for three days, Colby keeps telling me that he has a dead bird in his lunch box. THREE DAYS! And when he sits next to me, he tries to take my cookies."
He had me at dead bird. This may seem like no big deal, but this was after two weeks of crying about school and not having friends in the class. All I want is for Colby to act normal and make friends, and I find out he has been telling this boy (and who knows who else) that he has a dead bird in his lunch box.
What in the world must these kids think? Who even does that? And God forbid the kids have told their parents, which I'm sure they probably have....what do they think of US? I wanted to call all of the moms and say "We are normal! We are good people! Colby is a good kid!"
It was too much for me. I actually shed tears over this, and Lee almost did, too.
However, when I called to tell my mom about it, she thought it was hilarious. Peepie Miller thought it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.
My mom said that I should write it down because it WILL be funny one day. I can see how it will be funny one day, but I'm still not laughing. So here it is in writing.
To my future self: Is it funny yet?
As for Colby and first grade, we are still hoping it will get better. We are still assessing the situation and doing what we can (meeting with his teacher, principal, observing, etc.).
To be continued....
While I'm on a roll, here we are at Miller's school field trip to the apple orchard. I plan to volunteer in her class every week and soak up all things Kindergarten. I know I will look back and miss this time, but I will know that I was there and involved as much as possible.
Miller's artwork is really getting awesome and I'm loving it.
Miller drew this picture of an apple tree during the four seasons. Is she a genius or what?
She can even make a proper rainbow.
And that is six months in a nut shell.
The kids are looking forward to a visit from Nana and Granddaddy in October, and they are planning their halloween costumes. Colby is desperate to have a "spooky" house this year... I guess I better get to work!
