First Week Of Preschool 4's

My sweet girl started 4's preschool this past Tuesday, September 2, 2014.  Last year she only attended school three days a week but, this year she is going five days a week and an hour longer.  She also eats lunch at school now.  The purpose of the schedule is to help the 4 year olds to prepare for kindergarten which will be an even longer day.  I could easily have done three days again this year because I am not needing that much time away from my love bug but, on the other hand being six months preggo and counting...I am wiped out and this morning break is a huge blessing for my weary mind and body.  This year Daisy has a lot of friends in her class.  Some new friends and some old and that made this year an easy transition.  She enjoys her teachers and each day after class she usually tells me one favorite thing about that day.  I've heard that she cooked one day, read a book to her friend, went potty 3 times (lol), showed all her friends and teachers her nail polish and her teachers complimented them etc.  I love the little tid bits that she gives me but, I have learned that I can't pry too much because Daisy needs to decompress after school for a while.  

Daisy loves being home with me.  I think she would be content to stay inside and do crafts, workbooks, cook, help me clean and do imagination play etc. with me all day long.  She is a Mommy's girl for sure and she is a home body...just like me.  lol  That being said I expected that she would be a little anxious on her first day of school and during the first week but, I also know that Daisy is very brave and resilient and I knew she would have fun once she got into her class with her friends. 

(looking a little serious in this pic...that is her nervousness coming through a little bit:).  Still I appreciate that she lets me take these pictures of her and is such a good sport. 

I could tell she was excited and nervous on her first day because she was happy and agreeable but, she was much quieter than usual.  She is a thinker and I could see that her little wheels were turning.  I prayed for her while I was making her lunch and getting her ready and that helped to give both of us some peace of mind.  She gave me lots of kisses and then walked bravely into her new class.  I'm so proud of my kiddo.  (side note: this pic was the day before school started.  My kiddo sometimes like to get dressed all pretty and I just loved the sweet smile she gave me when I asked if I could take a picture of her cute outfit:).  

There was a funny misunderstanding on day one.  Daisy is now doing a carpool pick up after school each day.  She is not familiar with that term and for whatever reason she thought her teacher was telling her that she and the other kids were going to a new pool after school.  Seriously cute...LOL.  So when I finally got to the front of the carpool line and picked her up she was so excited about the new swimming pool we were heading to.  I was confused of course but, quickly figured out where the confusion came from.  I did my best to explain a carpool and I apologized that we were in fact not going to a pool that afternoon.  She was devastated (and over tired from a fun day at school) and had a little melt down on the drive home but, she quickly got over it.  Still I thought it was pretty cute.  

(lately Daisy loves being in her room...preferably with me.  It blesses me that she feels calm and peaceful in her room.  She goes in to relax, to cook, play with her babies or get into her piggy bank as she is here in this pic. I'll admit that I love her soft pink room too.  It's so feminine and relaxing and I often lounge on the bed with my huge stomach flopped on a pillow so I can play with her. lol)  

All in all it's been a great first week.  Daisy is definitely enjoying school and I am so proud of how far she has come since last year when she started her 3's preschool class.  Tugs on the ol' heart strings to see her getting bigger, smarter, taller....I just love her at this age.  4 is so much work energy wise but, the relationship I have with my daughter at 4 is priceless.  So thankful for my little girl and all that God has taught me about life and love through her. 

 

I love you to pieces my sweet, thoughtful, silly, creative, sensitive, beautiful, Daisy Love!

Catching Up

So, I think I've decided that one of my new year's resolutions will be to try and get one blog post up a week and since I tend to "break" resolutions by about mid-February...I thought I should start now so that I might get a couple of extra weeks in. lol.    

I seldom make resolutions at the start of the new year but, I do enjoy the fresh perspective that a brand new year gives me and it often motivates me to take a little more action in the areas of my life that I had been neglecting.  Do you like to make new year's resolutions? 

On that note, I am going back in time just a wee bit because if I don't post these priceless images now they will soon fade away in the land of digital file space. 

Daisy wanted to be Belle for Halloween.  She has been a princess every day for the past 2.5 years and then some and I mean that she literally dresses up like a princess almost everyday.  Soooo...I was a little bummed that I couldn't convince her to be Supergirl or Shirley Temple or ANYTHING besides a princess again.  I kept my opinion to myself and made my 3 year old's dreams come true by sprinkling her hair with sparkles and dusting her cheeks with blush.  She was the sweetest princess in the land.  We went to a trunk or treat at my friend's church a week before Halloween and she had a blast!!

A few days later I happened upon a Minnie Mouse costume at a consignment shop.  It was her size and I just couldn't pass it up.  I showed it to Daisy and she said, "it's princess Minnie's dress!"  For that reason alone, she was willing to wear it and I didn't bother to explain to her that Minnie is in fact not a princess.  This way we both win. 

This year we went out a little later to trick or treat.  I think we got out close to 7 and stayed out until close to 9. We had our traditional Martinez/Bailey burritos before hand with Granddad and Beej (Daisy's great grandparents) and then Granddad passed out candy and the rest of us headed out. We treated with a group of neighbors and it was so fun to watch the kiddos go door to door together.  My little girl is getting so much more independent and well, she's growing up. tear. tear. 

 Look how small my baby girl and her friend look sitting up front together.  Sometimes they seem so big until you see them from far away and then you are reminded that they are still so little...I need those reminders from time to time:)

You can't tell by looking at her facial expression but, Daisy really enjoyed the puppet show.  It was her very first puppet show as a matter a fact.  The church did such a great job creating a fun, family friendly Halloween even for the community. 

 this is a terrible night shot on my phone but, I had to post it because it's the only one we got of our neighborhood crew before we set off on our trick or treat adventure.  

We got done trick or' treating around 9 and I put Daisy to bed shortly after.  She couldn't wait to dump all the contents of her bucket out first thing in the morning.  She immediately organized (yes she loves to organize just like her Mommy) the candies and picked her favorites.  Lolipops are always a top fave and her chocolate bars went really quick too.  This kiddo loves chocolate and she didn't get that from me:).

Fall on the east coast is gorgeous.  Growing up in Southern California we didn't experience much change in seasons.  Even after living on the East coast for six years the gorgeous fall colors never cease to take my breath away.  This pretty red leaf came off of the tree in our front yard.  SO red and lovely.

 Daddy and Daisy carved pumpkins together.  I was glad to take a year off.  Carving pumpkins is fun and all but, it's a lot of work and if I recall my hand felt like it was going to fall off after three hours of sawing pumpkins, with a tiny toothbrush sized saw last year.  It was nice to stay inside where it was warm and take pictures while sipping coffee this year. hehe.   

Last year Daisy was not impressed with the goop inside a pumpkin.  This year she was all about it.  I was so proud:).

I have to say that I was really impressed with my hub's pumpkin carvings this year and I thought it was really sweet that he carved the pumpkins with Ariel and Minnie Mouse just to make his little girl happy.  What a Dad:)  See for yourself. Pretty impressive huh.

And She loved throwing leaves around this year.  

 

I got to visit her at her fall school party.  She was so happy to have me there and it melted me to see my little girl in her class acting so big.

she was pretty tuckered out after her party as you can tell:).  Kids look so angelic when they sleep doncha think.  Lately I've been letting Daisy take her nap in my bed to make it more worth her while and more often than not I take a little nap with her and then quietly sneak out when she has fallen asleep.  She may be almost four years old but, she still looks like my little baby when she is napping:).

Now off I go to watch Walking Dead, sip tea, snuggle under a blanket, and work on my photography website.  Good night all. 

Preschool Begins

Two years ago I was no where near ready, emotionally, to send my baby off to preschool.  I would get a knot in my stomach just thinking about it and couldn't imagine ever feeling "ready" to let my little girl go.  Even a year ago, I was no where near ready but, this August, I am very ready, though still a little sad.  I am so thankful that God allowed things to work out like this.   

A few factors made the decision to send my daughter to preschool this year easier. One: the school is in a familiar setting for both me and my kiddo.  That put both of us at ease because there is something comforting about a familiar setting.  Two: She knows a handful of the kids attending her school and I know a few of the parents.  That made me happy and it got Daisy more excited about starting school because she was eager to "play" with her friends more often.  Three: It's only 3 mornings a week MWF from 9-12.  It is such a short amount of time in all reality but, it's a wonderful little break for us both.  The truth is that I have been desperately needing a little break each week and this will be perfect for refueling my very fried mommy brain.  And for the record, it's not fried entirely because of Daisy...just life in general.  Mom life, wife life and life life.  Four:  It's a change of scenery for my kiddo and it will present some new challenges to stretch and grow her.  She is a super smart girl and she likes to explore new things and I'm not the best when it comes to creating a new activity every day like so many of my mom friends. School gives her many chances to discover and create. What could be more fun when you are 3??

I started talking to Daisy about preschool a few weeks in advance but, more intentionally the week before.  She got to pick out a lunch bag from the store although she doesn't technically need it as she only takes a snack to school.  Of course she picked a princess lunch bag. The kids don't take their own backpacks to school.  Instead the school gives a canvas tote to each student so we decorated it with lots of glitter, flowers and birds per her request.  She was very happy and I was too.  

I attended a meet the teacher night with my hubby just a few days before school started and that was such a surreal first time experience for me.   I vividly remember all of the nights that my mom came home from parent-teacher meetings that she had attended for me and my 3 siblings and it still blows my mind some days that I am now the adult...and the mom meeting my child's teacher and seeing her future classroom.  

I looked around her adorable classroom and imagined all the fun things Daisy might do.  Then I saw the dress up station and knew that she would most definitely be doing that and I chuckled to myself.  I smiled as I saw where her tote would hang and where her art would someday adorn the classroom walls. Oh how the night tugged on these fragile mommy heart strings. 

Bittersweet.  It's one of the most perfect adjectives for describing motherhood.  Even though my heart is finally ready to give my little girl wings and let her soar into preschool, I still ache inside over how quickly time flies and how fast my little girl grows.  

Monday morning was an exciting morning!  Daisy woke up early of course, just to throw things off but, it was evident that she was giddy and knew that that it was a special day.  I swooped her up in my arms and snuggled her up in her chair while I made her a special breakfast.  She watched a show and we chatted about her first day of preschool.  I packed her a snack and got her dressed and then it was time to take pictures.  I am familiar with the horror stories when it comes to taking pictures before school.  I had zero expectations and I also made sure to give myself plenty of time so that we were not rushing or stressed.  Fortunately, Daisy was more than happy to take a few pictures on the front porch and I made sure that both me and Daddy got in a picture with her also.  She felt special and that made me very happy.  

She was ridiculously happy to have new pink shoes to wear and she loved her new (used consignment) shirt because it had glitter on it.  Love my girly girl oodles and oodles. 

The pictures with the don't cry mom sign as well as the picture with her current interests and personality traits written down the side were inspired by Pinterest.  Thank you Pinterest for keeping my brain in creativity mode overload 24/7 but, also for giving me simple and adorable ideas like these. 

Love this picture of Daisy and her Daddy.  So very happy that she inherited her Daddy's brown eyes:).

I had been a little worried for Daisy only because she didn't know anyone in her class.  She is still getting the hang of the whole "play with other kids" thing and more often will play entirely alone unless encouraged otherwise.  It takes her a long time to learn a friend's name and even longer to connect with a specific person.  More often than not she would much rather talk with me and the parent's of her friends than with her actual friends.  I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable not knowing anyone or to get left out...you know, all the normal things that any mom would worry about for their kiddo. Those were the only factors that gave me a little cause to worry and I am so thankful that there weren't more!

The great news is that she had a blast her first week of preschool.  Thank you Jesus! We never had any tears or any sad departures at the classroom door.  Every morning she gave me a little kiss and then she bravely walked into her class without looking back.  I'm so thankful for that because it made it SO much easier for me to feel confident that she would be okay.  I felt peace.  What a blessing.

There is something very priceless about picking my child up from her school and walking hand in hand with her to our car.  We chat a little bit about how her day was, what she did and who she saw.  I don't ask too many questions because she doesn't like to answer if I do.  I've learned that she likes to go down a pink slide.  She didn't like that I gave her a "boring" snack. (?? and here I thought I was being really awesome giving her a smoothie and crackers! lol:) She dressed up and loved it (wow, shocker! haha).  She went down the REALLY big slide.  She saw her bestie Raelyn (who is in the other 3's class) on the play ground and gave her a hug and it made her really happy.  She needed to go potty, asked the teacher and the teacher said no (according to Daisy).  I am assuming because they are supposed to hold their potty until potty break.  Daisy is not used to someone telling her no when she has to go potty so this was a funny conversation in the car.  She painted her feet and made prints on a paper.  She said it tickled when the teacher painted her feet and she laughed really loud like this (and then she laughed for me to demonstrate).  She told me that she played with a mail box and it was a lot of fun.

  Honestly, I was impressed by how many facts she offered me and I always find it interesting what a child is most impacted by and what they choose to divulge. 

And in case you are wondering how I spent my first week of "FREEDOM?"  Let me just say, that it was not the week that I had hoped for.  I imagined coffee dates and long, uninterrupted chats with friends.  I imagined a glorious nap on the couch to make up for the last 3 years of not sleeping past 6:30.  I imagined a couple hours of window shopping at Marshalls without a single tantrum to navigate.  I imagined anything BUT, being sicker than a dying dog for 8 straight days.  Seriously, this has been one of the worst colds/sinus infections that I have had in years.  Go figure.  I was pretty much laid out for 4 days and had a head with a pickaxe in it for 8.  Lovely.  Some people said (meaning well of course), "at least you have a couple of hours to "rest" without Daisy bugging you.  Rest? Did you not read the part about the pickaxe? Sigh.  Nonetheless, I managed to pull it together to get Daisy to school and back and kept a smile on my face while doing it.  Thank you Jesus:). 

Today is the first day that my cold is giving me true relief and boy it feels great! I'm looking forward to a nap next week or maybe coffee with a friend.  Stay tuned.  

Anyways, in closing, I am SO proud of my little girl for taking on her first week of preschool with courage and joy!  

God Bless you my precious daughter, Daisy Love.

Cuteness

I was taking a few portraits of my husband's grandma in our backyard a few weeks back and every now and then Daisy will decide that she wants her picture taken also.  This is a rare treat because for well over a year she has not liked having her picture taken at all and usually I have to take them when she isn't paying attention or while she is enjoying ice cream or something:).  It is in little moments like these that I notice just how much my daughter has grown up.  She will do her best 3 year old poses and cheesy smiles (but, the kind that just melt my heart into a puddle with their cuteness) and I snap away with glee.  I only got four pictures but, I adore them all, in focus or not.  Just some sweet captures of my little girl enjoying the moment. 

Oh and have I mentioned that this little peanut will be attending preschool this Fall?  This will be her first year attending school!!  Three half days a week.  I know it will be great for both of us but, you better believe that I get a little teary eyed just thinking about how fast time flies and how quickly our little ones become more independent and free.  

Daisy you are growing up so fast and I am barely able to keep up!  I love you to pieces sweet girl of mine.  So blessed that I get to be your Mommy.