A Week of Firsts (Kindergarten & Slumber Party)

Last week was Katherine's first week at Kindergarten. She was very excited to start school with her new teacher and friends. Matt and I took her to her first day of school. We went into the classroom and hung out a little bit until she got settled in. She was a little disappointed that her and her friend Rylie were not sitting together, but that probably is a good thing for those two "chatty" girls to sit apart for a little while :) She sat down at her desk and started to color waiting for her day to start. Matt and I told her goodbye and we went to a breakfast that the PTO was hosting of kindergarten parents called the "Boo Hoo breakfast". I know all the questions are if I cried dropping her off at her 1st day.. No I did not. She was so excited and we were so excited for her, no tears, just smiles.
After we left the breakfast, Matt and I took the rest of the day of to celebrate our first child going off to "real" school. We headed down to Galveston and went shopping, ate lunch on the seawall and of course has a few tasty beverages at The Rum Shack. It was a hot, but pretty day. We came back and even got in a nap before picking up the kids. Katherine had a great first week at school, she came home very tired each day, all that learning. She has a daily behavior folder she brings home and she got excellent marks each day. She is enjoying Kindergarten so far, hope she keeps it up.

This weekend Matt went out of town to help trim trees at his grandma's house in Corpus in the 100+ degree heat. So it was just me and the kids. Friday night, we had a great dinner over at my brother's house. Yummy Lasagna and chocolate chip cookies. The kids had so much fun and so much to eat, they were both passed out on the way home.
Saturday we had a very eventful day. We had a birthday party at Chuck-E-Cheese (which now Colin can say and chant very well). Then that evening Katherine had her very first slumber party. She was so excited with her sleeping bag, suitcase, and pillow pet all packed up and ready to go. She has spent many nights at family's house, but this was her first time at a friends house. It make it easy that it was a family we have known for years and they live in our neighborhood. We went over there that evening and Colin and I joined all the girls and moms for a movie in the park.. Tangled. All the girls were well behaved, but Colin was the best behaved, he LOVES that movie and was very much into it. It was a little hot but not too bad. After the movie, we told Katherine good night. She was fine with us leaving, but Colin wanted to stay.. He was not sure why HE wasn't invited to the slumber party. But on the whole 3 minute car ride home, he was passed out asleep from all the day's excitement. Sunday was a record high of 109 here, so we just played inside, took naps, and waited for Matt to come home.

Meet the Teacher Night - Kindergarten

Last night was parent orientation and meet the teacher night for Kindergarten.. Yes, I wrote that correctly, my little girl starts Kindergarten next week. How fast 5 years has flown by. I can remember everything about being pregnant with Katherine, her birth and hospital stay, sleepless nights as a baby, all her first milestones (crawling, walking, talking). And in a flash, she went from a little toddler hugging onto my leg to an independent little girl who can write all her ABC's, her numbers, who can add and subtract, and who has the most beautiful imagination I have ever met. She is an amazing little girl and me & her daddy love her so much! I know in another flash she will be in Jr High, High School, then off to college (Texas A&M of course.. She is even wearing her Aggie Princess shirt today).
Katherine's teacher is so cute and peppy, just what you would imagine for a Kindergarten teacher. Katherine has two friends in her class, one of her best friends Rylie and our next door neighbor. I did put in a special request with the school for her and Rylie to be in the same class. With Colin and his Fontan surgery timeframe pending (could be anytime from now until 5 - the goal is 4 or 5 but he might need it sooner), I wanted to know a family in Katherine's class that we could count on if we happen to end up un the hospital for any reason. Knowing that Rylie is in Katherine's class eases my mind just in case. Plus it will help Katherine's transition from daycare to "real" school.
We are ready, we have done all school supply and school clothes shopping! Katherine is excited yet a little nervous. She did warm up to her teacher last night and when we were leaving, she went and hugged her and said "See you on Monday". Matt and I will be taking her in on her first day, another milestone of many more to come.

I know she will do great (if she can keep her talking to a minimum, she has a tendency to be a class clown). She loves to learn. The other night we sat down to do a few pages in a kindergarten workbook she got for her birthday. It has 40 pages, she completed 24 of them with hardly any mistakes at all. Then she wanted to write out all her letters and practice writing numbers, now if I can just keep up that enthusiasm and concentration for the next 16 years! We are already so proud of Katherine and the little girl she has become. No matter how old she gets, she will always be my little princess.

Where Else Would We Be????

It's August, it's Texas... record temps dating back to 1980, record drought dating back 100 years, where else would we be? Good thing we only live about 45 from the beach! The kids love the beach and so do I. I find it so relaxing to spend time in the sun, sand, and waves. We went to celebrate my sister-in-law's birthday, what a venue!

Katherine and cousin Kannon playing in the water

Colin loves buckets and watering cans. He can spend hours filling up one in the other, dumping it out and starting all over again.

Kannon playing in the sand, trying to be good and not eat it

Daddy swimming with his two fishes!Cool kids with their sunglasses!

Katherine the sand mermaid! Colin is trying to cover her up with MORE sand. He did not like getting in and getting buried!

The person behind the camera and blog, you rarely see me, because I am the one with the camera glued to my hands.It was a great day at the beach.

Our trips to Corpus Christi

We have spent the last two weekends in Corpus Christi for very sad matters. The first weekend we went down to see Matt's grandpa, who's health had been declining rapidly over the last few weeks. We made it there in time for Matt to spend a few hours with his grandpa before he passed away. It was very sad to see how rapidly his health declined. I am very glad that Matt got to spend sometime with him in the end.

We went back to Corpus early Thursday morning for the funeral. We dropped Matt off at his parents hotel to get ready and I took the kids to the Texas State Aquarium. I would have liked to attend the service, but our kids are just too young to be at a funeral. Plus it gave Matt sometime with his family. The kids and I met up with a college friend of Matt and I, actually one of the girls who set us up, and her 2.5 yr old daughter. The Aquarium was real nice with a dolphin show (the kids LOVED), sea otter, jelly fish, sea turtles, AND a really nice splash pad area. I am so glad I got to spend time with our friend, I wish we could see her more often. After the Aquarium, we went to Matt's aunt's house for the family reception. Matt's grandpa was loved by many, there were a lot of people there to celebrate his life.

The next day we went to the beach with a good amount of Matt's family. We got lucky that the tropical storm hit south of where we were and we got no rain or bad weather. The tide was high at the beach and the currents strong due to the storm at sea. The current was so strong it concave some of the sand and made a "natural water slide" that Katherine enjoyed floating down. Colin of course loved playing in the sand and taking a nap on the beach.


The next day we went crabbing with Matt's parents and out to eat for lunch. I think it was a good break for Matt's dad who had been down there for weeks helping out. And we got ice cream :). Then we went to Matt's grandma's house to visit before heading home. Our hotel was nice that we stayed at. It faced the bay and marina. The kids loved standing on the balcony and looking at all the boats. I wish we were there on better circumstances but at least Matt's whole family got to spend a lot of time with us and the kids.

Crabbing, we got a few, just couldn't get them through the seaweed to shore

View from our hotel balcony, the kids loved it! Katherine wanted to stay there "forever"!

Shark Attack - The entrance into a gift shop

Oh no, it got Matt and Katherine :)