First Day of School

 

This past Wednesday was Kerala's first day of preschool. From what we could tell, it went really well. We did not have any separation issues (well, at least not on Kerala's part) - Kerala basically kissed us goodbye and then walked into the classroom. She hasn't talked a ton about school, but every so often she will say something which gives you a little bit of insight into her new world. For instance, she has talked about a favorite seat next to some bookshelves as well as playing with a little boy named William. She hasn't told us a ton about her activities, but she did say she painted last week. She also said that when the teacher wants them to be quiet she turns off the music and that they also have to get in a line for carpool time (the time we pick them up). Overall, it seems to be going well.

 

Kian is doing great. He is definitely a bit more adventerous than Kerala. He can now climb up the slide in our backyard whcih is no small feat. He also loves to get on top of the kids' play table and look at you with a very devlish grin. It's cute because he knows when he is being mischevious.

 

First Day of School Tomorrow

 

Tomorrow is Kerala's first day of preschool. We are really excited for her - she is going to love it. This past weekend I had orientation at her school and was able to see the classroom set up for the students and it was wonderful. It was really neat to see the various stations that I know Kerala will absolutely love. Her teacher visted us yesterday and said there are a lot of really sweet girls in the class this year, so I think Kerala will make a ton of friends. Kerala's teacher seems to be really sweet and has a very calm presence, which you probably need in a room full of 3-5 year olds. It was also really nice for me to meet the other parents at orientation and I exchanged e-mail addresses with another mom who has a son Kian's age and a daughter Kerala's age - sounds perfect. We will post tomorrow with updates on how the first day went.

We are still unpacking and hope to be completely unpacked and situated sometime next month (after the painters finish painting up a couple of rooms). This has been a long process - I can really see why people never move. We are enjoying our home more and more and have really loved our backyard lately. The kids just love to run around. I bought a play golf set for the kids. So far they love the golf clubs - they like to take them and hit them against one of our trees to knock down leaves. Kerala also likes to use the club to crush cicadia shells, which she refers to as "taking care of the scadas."

Kian is doing great. I am not sure how he will adjust to Kerala being at school in the mornings. He loves his sister so I think he is going to miss her. This morning he kept climbing into her bed trying to wake her up by laying on top of her and saying her name. Kerala wasn't a huge fan of that method of waking up at first, but in a minute or two both kids were laughing. It is really sweet to see the bond they are developing.

Back from Vacation

 

We had a fabulous time in Michigan last week. We went to Michigan with four other couples that we have known since college. Each couple has children now, so it was a great family vacation. All of the kids played very well together, although we did have some sharing issues. Kian and Kerala were particularly fond of their buddy Emmett and every time Kian would here Emmett cry he would scream out "Emmett!" It was really sweet. The weather was great most of the trip and we spent almost every morning at the beach. Both kids loved playing in the sand and Kian loved the water. He was actually a bit dangerous because he would attempt to walk straight into Lake Michigan and keep going. He also did not seem to mind it when big waves would splash him in the face and he even asked for "more waves" a couple of times. We definitely need to enroll him in swim classes since he likes the water so much. Kerala got to experience her first campfire and seemed to really enjoy the vacation once her buddies Val and Rollie arrived. Kerala has been asking about doing a sleep over with Val ever since. The girls were really adorable together - holding hands and just playing.

We are still in the process of getting settled into our home. They did some work while we were away, but work seems to always be ongoing. Right now we have quite a large hole in our living room ceiling so that our plumber can fix some horrible pipework that was causing some issues with one of our bathrooms. The plumbing work should be done tomorrow and then the hole will hopefully be patched up on Saturday. The nice thing about this whole process is that we found a really great handyman, so if anyone needs a recommendation please let us know.