First bus ride

Once Anna got over her nerves and saw what all the other kids were doing, she was ready for the bus. Here she is waiting (on the wrong side of the street bc I had no idea what I was doing).The actual bus stop is our front yard so we don't have far to go. The bus driver does not give you time to be sentimental, hence the blurry picture of her boarding the bus. 

On her second day of riding, Anna got in trouble for (repeatedly) standing in her seat. I told her that if she comes home with a bad repot from the driver again, she will not be able to ride the bus for a week. "Nooooooooo!!!!"  She has been well behaved ever since. :) Anna says that she loves, loves, loves riding the bus. 

 

I can do it myself

Ian is using a spoon and fork now. Despite the amount of food in his face in these pictures, he is actually pretty efficient in shoveling it in. Basically, he will do anything for eggs, meat, and pasta. 

Anna's first day of school

After much anticipation, Anna had her first day of kindergarten. She was very nervous and very excited. Rob and I took her to school and we all were one of the first families there. We walked in and waited for the bell to ring in the cafeteria. Anna met the lunch ladies. We took her up to her class and Rob hugged her about ten times before the teachers gave me the signal to get him out of there. :)  there were no tears, but we definitely felt the heaviness of ending our baby phase and starting our big kid phase of life. 

Anna's first lunch in her bento box. 

Haygood church is next door to Anna's school. Ian will start preschool at Haygood in a couple of weeks. The church staff was waiting on the sidewalk to take Polaroids of families on the first day if school and offer tissues and Starbucks to the parents. 

Rare form

I had to post these pictures. These kids made me laugh so hard today.  

Ian had blue food coloring for breakfast and smeared the leftovers all over the kitchen floor. I should have been suspicious when he was trying to crawl into the dishwasher that I was unloading. He was SO proud of himself. If he weren't so cute I could have wrung his neck. 

I told Anna to be ready and dressed to meet her teachers when I got home from work. She was so proud of the outfit she had choses I didn't have heart to laugh or tell her to time it down. She felt so special when she met her teachers and is now excited about school she told her Barbie that kindergarten is going to fun and that she wants to rude the bus. It was a good turning point for her. 

Baby Patrick's baptism

We had a quick trip to Pcola for Patrick's baptism. He wore the gown that his father wore (and that Ian borrowed). There was some arm flailing when the water was poured over his head but no crying. Patrick was as calm as ever (P3, not Pjr, it was a "can of biscuits" day for Pjr).

Papa was showing Anna his new guitar skills. 

We took a break to go swimming, and Ian was more interested in the hose. 

Goodbye Mrs. Shondra

Today we said good bye to our first nanny. Shondra was Anna's three year old teacher and has been with us since Ian was born. She is leaving to be closer to home as she has her third child. Anna and Ian have thrived under her care, and we will miss her. 

Cashiers in the summer

We had a mini family reunion in Cashiers last week. Anna had loved riding the horses on precious trips, so we arranged for her to go again to Arrowmont. Smokey Joe and Crescent are still alive, but Tipper gave her a ride this year. 

We went to the slippery rock falls for an afternoon. 55 degree water is really cold! Anna wouldn't come out until she was blue. 

Coon skin cap 10/12 and 7/13

All better

Ian has recovered from coxsackie and his ear infection. He got his one year old shots at today's follow up appointment. The nurse who gave the shots said,"wow, he's strong. He's going to be tough at four!"