Ivy had her first day of preschool today! Leo’s is tomorrow! I can’t believe summer is over and we are heading into fall and school already! Just crazy! We had such a fun summer as we opted for less camps/plans and more fun! We spent so much time outside swimming, playing, and swinging! So sad to have it over! But also sooooo ready for a consistent schedule again. The kids are ready to see their friends on a daily basis again too!
Ivy and Leo are both at Central Preschool this year. Ivy is a Playful Penguin M-Th and Leo a Humpty Dumpty T/Th. Only 9-11:30, just a little something! We’ll have Fridays off so that can be our fun day!
I’m excited for Ivy to get better at recognizing letters and writing! I can’t believe how much she learns each year! And Leo is ready to play he says! Ha! Continue reading →
Ivy had her first day of preschool today! It was so exciting for her!! I was a teacher for eight years before staying-at-home with the kids, so I’ve really been talking up school, and learning, and the teachers! I think mostly she was excited “to play!!!” but, I am most excited for her for learn new things and interact with other children.
We walked in today and she marched STRAIGHT into the classroom! I didn’t even have a second to give her a hug goodbye! But that probably made it an easier transition on us both :) No tears from either of us! Total proud Mommy seeing her strut her stuff into the room without turning back. Such a confident little girl!
So proud of you Ivy! And I can’t believe how grown up you’re getting already! We love you so much baby girl!! Muah! XOXO
And last night, I had to do a questionnaire with her to see what she had to say at this age, and the answers were so hilariously cute!!
Here’s the video! LOL!
Ivy
What’s your name: I-VY
How old are you: Two and a half!
What’s your favorite food: Chicken strips
What’s your favorite toy: My lamby (Her little lamb she got for Easter that she is all of a sudden obsessed with)
What do you like to do for fun: Play with Shannon!
What’s your favorite color: Pink and purple!
What do you love the most?: Mama! And I love Leo too (I DIED. SO SWEET!!! Sorry Daddy, hehe)
Who’s your teacher? Miss Sonya!
Ivy starts preschool this fall! I’ve been SO LUCKY to get to spend this last year with her staying home, but I am excited to get her into something instead of relying on play dates all the time to keep us both entertained ;) She starts September 6th and she is so excited! We’ve been talking about school and behavior, because, well, my previous job was a teacher for eight years, so I’ve been telling her about teachers, and school, and all that fun stuff! She is pretty anxious!
I have already been seeing tons of pictures online about the kids’ “first day of school,” and I have to start thinking of ideas and what she is going to wear and the picture we are going to take! I remember this being SUCH a big deal as a kid and teenager, back-to-school shopping, filling my binder with organized mechanical pencils and gel pens and pretty folders, and looking all cute for the boys at my first day back, haha! Remember those days?! Kinda miss that! Well not looking good for the boys, but all the fun new school supplies! I was obsessed! A great pen still gets me :) Anyways! Ivy doesn’t need to look cute for dem boys yet, but we can start out with clothes and a backpack first! And OMG, the backpacks out there, GAH!!! 💔
Here’s some back to school inspiration, holding back the tears! ;)
And now what to do for “THE PICTURE.” I’ve been seeing tons of chalkboard ideas out there and those are soo cute! This one is cute, has a ton of info. Or this one is more simple, kinda like that. Or, if you have great handwriting, go for it and do the writing yourself! I just took a handwriting class and I might actually do this, if I get brave! Might copy these printables. Love this handwriting!
But I think I’m loving most, are letter boards! Look at this picture from @letterfolkco – LOVING THIS! Plus you can use the board afterwards for funny or uplifting sayings. Their insta feed is so funky!
So many fun choices!! Either way, it’ll be very proud MOMent for me and Daddy! Our little girl is growing up. Smarter and smarter (and sassier!) each day! :) We love you IVY!
We had a splendid Christmas indeed! Full bellies, good faith, and surrounded by friends and family. The night even ended with “White Christmas” as the snowflakes softly fell to the ground. It was magical and a perfect ending to a memorable holiday. This year, I was quite anxious for Christmas since Ivy was another year older. She tore through the presents, sang Christmas carols all day month long, and was a jolly little girl all day. Unfortunately, still scared of Santa, buuut, she was happy Santa still brought her presents! Christmas is so magical with children around. It brings me back to my childhood and all of the family gatherings to celebrate the “most wonderful time of the year.” And this year was even better than the last, with two children to wake up to on Christmas morning. To cuddle and hug and wish them a Merry Christmas and sing out with glee that SANTA was here! And to cherish these memories that we make together as a family, pretty special times! Here’s a little glimpse into our Christmas as a family. Hope yours was a Merry Christmas as well :)
Our fun started on Christmas Eve! John and I hosted and we had a huge ham to cook! We went to church and headed back to our house for a big feast with my family and John’s family. YUM. The ham (recipe here) turned out sooo delicious.
The table turned out pretty good for working with what I happened to have at home! Here was my inspiration for the table decor and the place setting cards
The next day it was Christmas morning! I couldn’t WAIT to get the kids and tell them “It’s Christmas!!!” We had been talking about it every day with Ivy as she would try to take a present from under the tree! So now it was finally time to open the presents!!! Ivy was a PRO! That’s maybe not a good thing ;) And we can’t forget…. it was Leo’s FIRST Christmas! He just got all clothes, since I apparently bought every toy imaginable for Ivy : / #handmedowns
Cutest little outfit. That reindeer butt.
Ivy is obsessed with Calico Critters right now – she got the camper from Grandma and is SO excited about it!
We also got Ivy this dollhouse, and I finally found the BEST doll family for it! I had been looking forever and they were all so strange looking. They’re from Hape and there is a grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, son, daughter, and a youngest daughter. They’re really awesome and bendable! I really like them!
We celebrated the morning with the Kochs and the evening with the Keatings (my family) and by the end we were totally completely exhausted AND stuffed from delicious food!!!
Ivy even blessed us with her singing of “Jingle Bells”
Leo with his cousin Tya!
And later that night… SNOW. Pure magic. So beautiful! “May all your Christmases be whiiiiiiite”
Santa – maybe Ivy will let go of the death grip and actually sit on Santa next year. Leo didn’t seem to mind, haha.
Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!
Now on to the New Year! I already bought this “party in a box” from Target to celebrate! Can’t wait!
Ok, so YES, we had a baby. And I’ll get to that. BUT, the weekend before was so much fun that I couldn’t skip it! And there were some really great pictures, soooo, obvs had to include them. Plus, it was my birthday weekend and we had a few friends at our cabin in Yankton. Beach and boating were highlights. Oh, and ice cream :) SAYONARA MATERNITY SWIMSUIT!!
Summer favorite – hard ice cream in a cake cone! RAINBOW SHERBERT ALL DAY
My little explorer. She’s discovered the weeds that you blow and all the fluff comes off – she couldn’t stop picking them. She’s for hire, folks! ;)
EEEEK! And then the next day I had a baby! CRAZY! We barely made it back from Yankton Monday morning before he was born! It’s so bizarre to me that one day you’re big and pregnant and the next day you have a teeny baby. Humans are so interesting! Koch party of four now – WHEW!
