Kaitlyn's first day of preschool

This morning after our walk Kaitlyn played with Max in his room while I took a very quick shower. She was so sweet with him, even giving him his "paci" and his "buddy" (a stuffed bear that he sleeps with).



Kate was very excited about going back to preschool. I don't know if it was the anticipation of the preschool activities that she remembers from last year or the fact that she can finally wear her new school clothes! She kept asking how many minutes till her carpool would pick her up, beginning with 105 minutes. Finally the time arrived, so I took some pictures of her in her new preschool outfit.



Kait's ride was late and it was getting warm sitting outside waiting on the front steps in the sun. The next thing I knew, Kaitlyn ran inside and got her sun glasses. We found some for Max, too.


Yesterday I posted a picture of Kaitlyn and her best friend, Raeya, and so today I took a picture of Ali and her best friend, Jaden, Raeya's brother. This afternoon after school, Ali and Jaden decided to walk around the neighborhood to look for jobs they could do to earn money. They were careful to reassure me that their moms had let them do this once before, as long as they only knocked on the doors of people they knew. They cleaned the glass doors to the back patio for me for 25 cents each--and they did a great job!


I have really appreciated Ali's help this week. She is always so willing to do what I ask and so kind and helpful to Kaitlyn and Max. Kaitlyn has been a lot of fun and she has generally behaved very well. She is very socially savvy and some of the things she says are hilarious: "FYI, I'm going to do [whatever]." And Max is a charmer! He stands up after being changed so I can put his pants back on and more than once he has surprised me with a big wet kiss or a crazy, raspberry kiss! He has insisted on sitting in a regular chair rather than his booster seat, and has generally done very well at meal times, maybe because his bowl/plate is closer to his mouth :).

This evening after dinner, I rushed to get the kids loaded into the car to take Ali to gymnastics. I had printed out directions and managed to remember to take books for Kaitlyn and books and a bottle of water for Max. The books didn't last long, so we went back outside and sat in the car and Max was entertained for the rest of the 50 minutes pushing every button on the console. He spent a good half hour yesterday at the kitchen sink, turning the faucet on and off over and over, and flipping a wet paper towel around. He is so delighted when he can make something happen. On the rare occasions when he hasn't wanted to do something (like go down for his nap or for the night), I remember that Nathan said his best parenting technique is distraction. I've tried that strategy and it definitely works, but I think Nathan and Megan are a lot better at it than I am!

In fact, I have such an increased appreciation for what Megan goes through every day, especially when Nathan is out of town. As she said the first time when Max got upset shortly after I arrived, "Welcome to my life!" She is amazing and it has been so clear this week how well she and Nathan have done in raising the children. Everyone knew the routine and the rules and they were very good at following them. Bravo!

Ali and Kaitlyn and I talked about having a tea party tonight after we put Max down, but it was too late when we finally got home. (I admit to getting a bit turned around when I tried to read the directions in reverse.) So we decided to have it tomorrow morning at breakfast. When I first mentioned it, Kait was all over it, but Ali said, "No, no!" (not being a girly girl). But she soon warmed up to the idea and now it seems she's looking forward to it.