Paige's 6th Birthday Party

We had a family party for Paige on Sunday.  She woke up to gifts on the table and Sleeping Beauty decorations.  This was her pick this year.  I've tried to stay away from commercial stuff for as long as possible.  This must be the possible length.  :)  She got Sleeping Beauty toys and clothes.  The we headed to the local bowling alley for bowling and pizza with my mom & aunt.  It was really fun!  Both girls really enjoyed it.  Then we came home and had cake and opened presents.  The My Little Ponys from Auntie and Nanny were THE BEST.  I can hardly believe she's 6 years old!  Happy Day my sweet Paige, Bumblebee. 

 

Sleeping Beauty Decorations

Presents!

Princess playdough

Nanny

Paige's first ball!  They have ramps and bumpers. 
They both scored really good games!

Auntie

Mama

Our Family.  <3

Pizza at the bowling alley

Birthday girl!

Dada

6 lbs balls.  Strong! 

Sleeping Beauty Cake.  Buttercream frosting and chocolate cake. 

So sweet

Loves the ponies

The First Week of Kinder

Paige's first week and half of Kindergarten has gone splendidly!  She is transitioning very well.  She walks right onto the playground with only a small hug goodbye.  Her work looks good too!  We skipped tutoring the first week, but she was right back at on Monday morning.  When she arrived at school at 10am after tutoring, Mrs Glennen said she transitioned very quietly into the classroom without disruption.  They read The Kissing Hand the first day and it appears they've done lessons related to it throughout the week.  I'm so proud of her. 
She said that she missed Hailey in her class and wished that she would go to kindergarten with her.  The second day she said she didn't have any friends, but he third day she said she made a new friend named Audrey.  She also complained that the boy next to her was too playful and distracted her.  I told her she could tell that to Mrs Glennen.  I think she did, because she was moved to a new seat next to our playgroup friend that we've known for years.  It's fun to have them sit right next to each other. 
When she gets home, we read a story on our bed and then they each go to their won rooms for some quiet time til 4pm.  Then she has been wanting to play with Hailey and color.  However, by 5pm, I see that they are running around the house.  So she must not be getting enough outside time or exercise at school.  Today I think we will get in the pool after quiet time.  She has also been a bit mean to Hailey and me around 5:30ish.  I think it's just because she's tired.  But she has been corrected. 
I'm really proud of her making the adjustment.  It's HUGE.  It's really big for Hailey and me too.  I definitely miss Paige in the day and I'm pretty sure Hailey is also.  I'm so happy to see her at pickup time.  I hope she feels the same. 

First Day Of Kindergarten for Paige

 

Paige's first day of kindergarten went so well!  They had pancakes for breakfast and she got dressed so nice and hair done.  Hailey was helpful too.  We all walked to school as a family and when we arrived the hall was FULL of parents and children.  We finally got Paige to her class and I was able to go in with her and we put away her lunch box and backpack and she sat on the purple square on the rug she had chosen at Meet the Teacher Night.  I only had a couple tears when she said goodbye.  She had none.  (Hooray for preparing her!) 

After drop off, Brian walked Hailey home while I went to a PTO meeting.  Of course, I already signed up to volunteer for picture day.  I'm excited.  I hope to be present for both girls at their school. 

Then Hailey and I went to ballet class only to find out that it was cancelled.  So we went to go see Auntie who is in town for a few weeks to visit.  Then we came home and did laundry.  By then it time to pick up Paige.  We got in the car line at 2:34pm for a pick up of 2:50.  We were 8th in line, but it still took til about 3:05 to actually get Paige.  So tomorrow I think I'll get there early, but park and walk to the gate to retrieve Paige. 

When we got home, we did a bit of quiet time.  I went in to help Paige calm herself after our story and she spilled everything about her day.  They read "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn, which is a book we've had for years and read quite often.  They then took a tour of the school by seeking out Chester the Raccoon's, the character in the story, hand prints, which were taped to the walls of the school.  She doesn't remember what she saw, except for the raccoon hands.  I assume they showed where the library, cafeteria, etc were located.  She brought home a Chester Raccoon puppet that she colored and glued together.  She then got out our copy of the book and told me the story and even used words that she learned in the book.  It appears she had a great day and learned too!  I'm so happy. 

 

All set for Kindergarten

Sisters forever

Paige and Me

Walking with Dada

Table on the playground at school

Waiting to go into class

"Good Morning Mrs. Glennen!"

Meet the Teacher 2014

 

Paige's school has a Meet the Teacher night before school starts.  When you find out your teacher you are also given a supply list to bring with you that night.  So I stocked up and donated a bunch to the classroom.  Because really, $40 for the year is much less than even the enrollment fee for preschool.  CHEAP!  Paige got to meet Mrs. Glennen and she seems very nice and excited to start a new year.  Her classroom was BIG and seemed well organized.  She sits at a large table with 3 other students.  I was really happy to note that it wasn't decorated with a bunch of bright & loud colors.  Calm is so much better for Paige.  Her school has many things for parents to volunteer and it appears her teacher will want volunteers in the classroom.  I look forward to being able to participate in that and be active in both of their educations.  Being present, I understand, makes a big different in how they will perform.  I'm excited and happy for my Jacobson Jet, but also feeling a bit sad that she is growing so fast.  Time really does fly.  Hooray Paige! 

 

Outside Mrs. Glennen's classroom on Meet the Teacher night

Last week of summer free play

 

Pictures of stay at home afternoons for the last week of summer:

 

Play area...puzzles, coloring, and playing with toys

Hailey has a habit of biting her nails and Paige puts her fingers in the mouth. 
I bought this bitter tasting polish...and so far it's WORKED! 
Mean mama, but yuck. 
Germs in the mouth and a new kindergarten classroom is disgusting!

Paige still loves her Barn

Paige decorating cookies

Hailey

Silly girl! 

We achieved our summer reading goal!!! 
We finished 1005 minutes in 6 weeks. 
Their reward will be a party put on by Paige's tutor. 

Swim Lessons

For the last week of summer I got the girls into a swim lesson class thru the city.  I put them in the Seahorse level.  They did super well which proved to be much lower than their needed level.  They were advanced to the Turtle class which is for 8 year olds.  I'm not sure how I will enroll them next time since neither of them are 8?  Overall, they had a lot of fun and hopefully got in some learning of how to pay attention and listen to an instructor.  On the last day we stayed after until the pool the opened to the public and enjoyed the water slides.  They each also went off the diving boards into 12 foot water!  Very fun week. 

Hailey

Paige

Paige on her back

Listening to their instructor

More listening and waiting

Sisters before class

Paige

Crawling on the wall

Paige down the slide!

 

Hailey down the slide!

Hailey dived off the board. 

Sister Sleepover?

For the last official Saturday of Summer (school starts July 21!) I went to my mom's and got the little pup tent that I used as a kid and set it up in the playroom for them to have a Sister Sleepover.  They really liked it until the lights were out.  They giggled and played in the dark for about two hours, which meant it was 9:15pm by then.  Paige accidentally kicked Hailey making her mad, so she decided to sleep in her own bed.  However, Paige slept in the tent the whole night. Not sure how fun the "sleepover" was, but at least we tried it. 

 

Birch Aquarium at Scripps

On our way out of town we went to the Birch Aquarium at Scripps in La Jolla.  Brian and I went there when we were dating and it's still just as fabulous.  The girls really liked seeing all the creatures and having been at the beach the day before helped the experience and the info to sink in a bit more.  The really liked seeing the leopard sharks and the sea horses.  The tide pool exhibit was great.  They touched everything, sea cucumber, sea anemone, algae, sea urchin and sea stars.  Really fun time for all of us. 

Gray whale statues at the enterance

Seahorses hanging on to the sea grass

Leopard Shark

Giant kelp

Tide pools

The view of Scripps Bay in La Jolla.  So relaxing to watch.

Leafy Sea Dragons.  They loved these! 

Shark Attack!