1st Day of Elementary School

Despite Devin's hesitancy and nervousness he had a great first day of first grade!! To quote Devin as he came off the bus with a huge smile, he said "It was great! I made a lot of friends and didn't even get in trouble!"  I am so proud of Devin and happy for him. I know that not knowing the other kids or what to expect at a new school was nerve-wrecking for him (subsequently making it nerve-wrecking for Mama!) Devin likes his teacher, Mrs. Marques, and feels comfort in knowing that she "won't make him do anything he doesn't know how to do" though I think Devin won't find that an issue. ;) He does wish his classroom space was bigger, but there is not much anyone can do about that!

Nadya also enjoyed her first day of second grade and talked a lot about the "work" and the shelter in place drill that they had. She has several friends in her class again this year and found great comfort in that. I know she will do well with Mrs. Martin.

 Bus Stop

 Here he goes! Off to first grade!

I hope that both of these kiddos have a wonderful school year- full of learning, friendships, and pride.

End of Summer

Labor Day signifies the end of summer. The nights get cool, most days are still warm. School buses navigate the neighborhoods and kids are excited at the prospect of a new school year beginning. Here are a couple of end of summer pictures and an interview with the kids.

You may notice that Devin is nervous about beginning first grade~ new school, new teachers, new friends and a bus ride are a few of his worries... He plays it off by trying to be "funny boy"  I think I'm in for it....

Hmmm....not working....will get the video up if I can.

Special Days

One thing that I did with the kids this summer is give each of them a "Special Day."

For Devin's special day we went to a super-fun place called "Mel's Funway Park" where we went mini-golfing, go-carting, played laser tag and arcade games. It was great to spend some one-on-one time with my boy. I previously had taken for granted all of the time alone I had with him...now its precious time. Devin was so funny about his mini-golfing, at first he was taking slap shots, at one point having to chase down his ball! haha And then he became super serious- planning each stroke and checking out the course ahead.

For Nadya's special day we went to Barnes and Nobles to get her free book for a book log,  got her hair trimmed, and spent a few hours painting at You're Fired. I requested that Nadya choose a bank to paint- so she picked a princess bank. I painted a small bowl for my bureau (for loose change and such) and then together we painted a ring holder for window sill by the sink. It was nice to have some time alone with Nadya and to teach her something new. She definitely has a creative side and enjoyed decorating her princess.

I hope that the children got as much out of these special days as I did. <3 br="br">

Summer Fun in the Pool

When the kids are not at summer camp (which they LOVE- sports, sports, SPORTS for Devin and crafts, cards, and girlies for Nadya) we are most often found at our development's pool. For Devin and I this has been our summer ritual since he was 2. We've now turned Nadya into a fish!

Here is a (quick) video of the kids playing with the Cespedes boys and Lexi in the pool yesterday.

New skills in the pool this summer include Nadya becoming proficient in the deep end and sustaining swimming for longer periods of time without a life jacket. Devin has been exploring with jumping and has had some success with diving. His swimming skills have remained strong and he can swim the breast stroke from one end of the pool to the other (the long way!).

Well Hello There...

The past 10 months have been crazy for us, but you can not tell that from my lack of blog posts. Because of the complication of our situation, I had stopped blogging. I now realize that was a poor choice. During some rare solo down time the other day I read through my blog, watched the videos, and admired all of the pictures (of varied quality). I realized what a true time capsule my time spent blogging had become. I realized that I wanted to continue this- for memories, record, and pleasure.

Let's play catch-up!

Last October, due to extenuating circumstances, a relative's child came to live with us. Now that we are "legal guardians" I feel that I can and should include Nadya on our blog.

Nadya is a spirited 7 year old. She is artistic and eager to learn. She is full of energy and attitude. We hope to help Nadya grow into a kind, responsible, and loving young adult.

Devin and Nadya have semi-adjusted to their new roles as "siblings." For Devin this has been a whole new world. Devin spent 5 1/2 years as an "only" and was thrown into sharing EVERYTHING in his life with another child- a child a year older than him who has had many bumps in her road. For me, Devin's understanding-heart-of-gold and ability to adapt has been confirmed.

The kids fight like siblings and perhaps this has been one of the hardest things to adjust to. It was not a gradual grow into the arguing, blaming, accusing. It was a flip-of-the-switch. Between their rivalry and my teaching children of the same age- my life became quite an exhausting, stressful whirlwind. I am hoping that as we (I) better learn how to manage all of these roles, it will get easier.

For now I leave you with this picture (from my birthday at the New England Aquarium) and a promise that I will be back SOON!

(I wish Devin were looking in this picture but that would have been TOO easy! LOL)