More First Day Stuff - Kindergarten Orientation

On the first day of school we had Kindergarten Orientation with all of the parents for the first two hours of the day.....then the parents were dismissed. We heard from the principal, toured the classroom and listened to Ms. Gilbert (Chad (and Kylie's) teacher), looked around the school, had a snack, and played on the kindergarten playground. It was a busy morning, and I could tell that Chad was ready for the "real" day to start. He got a little antsy and I think he wanted me to leave. Check him out in his new environment........

First Day of School

So the day finally came...and the kids could hardly wait. Kylie was a little nervous when she woke up, but also VERY excited. Chad woke up and acted like he had been doing this kindergarten thing for a long time. He was so cool and relaxed about it like it was no big deal. They both followed their morning routines very well and got themselves all ready. It was a busy morning but they did a great job getting back into the school routine. We had fun doing a mini photo shoot that morning! Two down...one to go (unless we decide to have another little Ferguson -more on that later.....no.....not pregnant).

Cameron was happy and excited at this point...that is until he realized that

BOTH of his siblings were going to be gone all day! He called out "Cha, La-La" a lot that day, hoping that he could find them somewhere around the house. So sad!

Here they are on Friday - wearing their Promenade spirit shirts.

Chad was so excited to finally wear his own!

I Have to Wear What????

So...just after the countdown began...Chad injured himself. I'm surprised that it didn't happen sooner. Chad is definitely a boy and loves to jump around all the time. We had some friends staying with us for the weekend, and they decided that it would be fun to jump off of the couch into some pillows on the floor. This is not something he is usually allowed to do - BUT - I decided to play the "laid back" mom card for a night. I covered up the fireplace brick, and let them know that they had to take turns jumping in one person at a time. MISTAKE!!!!! Now I know why I was a paranoid mom to begin with....yeah - I was right.

Chad was laying in the pillows too long and one of the other kids jumped right on his hand and bent his thumb backwards. By the way that he was crying, I was a little bit concerned. But like normal, everyone told me to chill out and that he was fine. We gave him some tylenol, put ice on it, and he went to bed. The next morning his thumb and hand were VERY swollen and purple. He could still move his thumb around (sort of) so I decided to wait it out. He has had a sprained finger before and this looked similar - so I decided to wait it out. I became really concerned when he woke up in the middle of the night the next night in pain. We went to the doctor the next morning and when she first saw it she was sure that it was broken.

Chad then had his first experience with prayer. We knew that kindergarten was coming, and that his awesome 5th birthday party (with water play) was coming, and that he couldn't have a cast. This would have been AWFUL timing. He said a prayer to Heavenly Father that his hand would not be broken and that he wouldn't have to have a cast. AMAZINGLY (well..sort of...with Heavenly Father's help) there were no broken bones. Chad got to see the x-ray and was very excited. The doctor was surprised....but we weren't.

Needless to say we were very relieved. He tore a ligament and has to wear a splint wrapped up on his hand and wrist for two weeks. Could have been MUCH worse!!! We are hoping that he learned a little lesson that day......but in reality we know that this is the first of many more injuries!

Bummer dude!

And here's what it looked like when we finally got to take the splint off...eeewww....

I was surprised how bruised it still was. It's getting better every day now.

What really happened is that three days before we were SUPPOSED to take the splint off, he forgot he had a splint on and put his hand down in the bathtub. So...we had to take it off early.

Countdown to Kindergarten!

I remember when Kylie started Kindergarten....we had to make it a big deal. (She does come from a family of teachers). We started out with a countdown on the door ten days before school started. We went to the library and checked out as many books about kindergarten that we could and then read them for bedtime the week before kindergarten began. We visited the school to find out who the new teacher would be, and met some friends there along the way. We bought some new clothes and cool shoes, and even picked out a brand new backpack. We made a morning schedule of what to do in the morning to get ready. We practiced.....and then the day finally came!!!!

Now that it was Chad's turn - we got the chance to do it all again! We had so much fun and it was great to see how eager Chad was for school to begin. He was so laid back about all of it and seemed to be playing it cool - probably because he has a big sister and can follow in her footsteps. It was very cute....I can't believe Chad is actually going to school. He is such a fun kid and I know he is going to love every minute of it.

Checking out the countdown on his door for the first time....(sorry - I didn't realize that he was flipping off the camera! :))

This Feels Weird

Kylie recently lost one of her front teeth. They have both been loose for a while - but one finally decided to come out. The kids were playing downstairs and came running upstairs in a hurry. I wasn't sure what was going on - I just saw blood pouring out of Kylie's mouth. I scared her when I quickly asked what was wrong, not knowing it was just a loose tooth. After a little bit of yanking and twisting, (and squealing), the tooth came out. Kylie was very excited and was excited to see if she could talk with a lisp. The tooth fairy even let her keep this tooth - probably because it was a special one. There's a GIGANTIC hole in her mouth now, and the first thing she said was, "This feels weird mom." It took her a while to get used to it and she was excited when everyone noticed on the first day of school! Now for the other front tooth.....not sure how long that one will take to come out. Wish I could help it a little! :)

The Greatest Show on Earth!!!!!

Thanks to a client of my Mom's, we were able to go to the circus this year! The kids were able to go with Grandma a few years ago, but they didn't remember much. This year we got to sit in a private box with great food and snacks....all FREE! We had lots of fun and it was great to watch the kids' faces with each new act. Thank you mom for taking us - we loved it! I took a TON of pictures (which Cameron enjoyed the next day)! Here are just a few....

Looking out from our box seats!

Yummy cupcakes...

and carameled apples!

LOVING the show!

Oma, Chad and Kylie

Being silly like the clowns!

I loved the elephants the most....

They got a little nervous at times, but were amazed at what the acrobats could do!

It was fun to see them get a little bit scared...what a great face!

No More Soccer - How About Gymnastics?

Kylie decided this year that she was finished playing soccer (after two years of not really LOVING it). We were good with that and glad that she tried - but especially glad because this would be Chad's first year and we were worried about juggling the two schedules! She takes a tumbling class at dance class and really started to enjoy it. We read about a Parks and Recreation gymnastics class through our city, where the kids would be attending a great local gymnastics company called KIPS. It is a great gym and we have many friends who do gymnastics there (that do not do dance).

I made sure that Kylie knew that she was able to do this for eight weeks, instead of soccer this year. Needless to say, she loves it and wants to continue. Yeah right - like we have time for one more thing in our schedule. It is very expensive if you sign up through the gym....so here is my solution. I think we might continue to sign up each season through Parks and Recreation and continue to do the much cheaper eight week sessions, once a week on Saturdays. We'll see....I know that I always wanted to be a dancer that could tumble (would have helped in my cheerleading days)....but I never continued my training in either area. I started when I was young - not sure why I wasn't able to keep going to classes as I got older. If these are the things she loves and is going to stick with - I want to support her.

Anyway...here's a few pictures of some of the fun things she has been doing in the gymnastics gym! More pictures to come when she learns more!

Using the vault...

Hand Stands

Getting ready for a back walkover and handspring!

On the Beam....

I was impressed that they were already doing handstands and somersaults on the beam!

She is having lots of fun and is doing a great job!