Kindergarten Registration...for the last time!

I'm in total denial that this is happening! I mean, how can she be ready for school...all day REAL school. Come August, I will be a stay-at-home mom with no kids at home. A nine year long chapter in my life will be coming to an end. Everyone keeps telling me that my calendar will fill up, I will find things to fill the hours. And I know they are right.

So this morning we went. She met with the teachers from McGaughey and passed her screening with flying colors. She was so excited. I couldn't help but be happy and excited for her. I think she'd go to kindergarten tomorrow if they'd take her.

We celebrated with a daddy lunch date. He met us at Corona's and she got to tell him all about it. Who knows...maybe once all the girls are in school there will be many more mommy-daddy lunch dates.

1st day back

It was a rough morning!!! She was angry, she was acting out. She was having a full blown temper tantrum. Her little heart doesn't know how to do this. And she isn't ready to talk about it and tell me how she's feeling. Mrs. Weirman and I decided that she would come to school just for 30 minutes. She joined them for library time. Mrs. Weirman talked to the class and told them what had happened. She showed them a picture to try to prepare them.

She covered her face as we walked into school, but Mrs. Weirman gave her a hug and without hesitation she joined her classmates. They all said Hi, and good to see you. She smiled! She listened to the librarian read the stories and then walked around with her classmates, received so many hugs and picked out books like it was a normal Tuesday. We snapped a few pictures. Mrs. Weirman gave us cards that they made for her. And we made a plan for Wednesday. Tomorrow she is going for a half day! On the way out, we stopped at Mrs. Reatherford's class. Some extra hugs from our kindergarten teacher warmed her heart and mine. I'm so proud of my brave girls and her sweet friends that took her right in and loved her bruises and all!

Thankful for the 4 day weekend!

 To say this 4 day weekend came at the right time would be an understatement. I still can't get over the look of my sweet girls face. They told us in the ER it would get worse, but I never imagined. But also...I can see where the swelling is going down. The fact that her eye is peeking through makes my heart so happy. That means we are seeing progress and she's getting better. She doesn't see that when she looks in the mirror. But I see that and I tell her over and over again. I especially remind her how much I love seeing her baby blue shining through.

Someday this will just be a bump in road. A story into how she got so strong. How she gained empathy and compassion for the underdog. She is so nervous about going to school. She is terrified of what the kids will say. Mrs. Weirman, her teacher and I are communicating on how to best go about getting her back into the classroom.

For now, she likes seeing these side by side pictures. It's an easy way for me to show her how far she's come. So I'll keep making them until she is 100%...my sweet little Bug!

Little Fish

Since her last swim meet this little Fish has gotten an upgrade. In late January she was asked to move up to the Blue Elite swim team. They practice 4 days a week and they swim for an hour. Leah has tumbling on Thursdays so we could only commit to 3 days a week, but it's amazing how much she has improved already!

I was sad to miss her last meet, but I knew that Mitch would make sure I got to see her in action. They left for Bloomington around 6 AM to get there in time for 7 AM warm ups. Mitch messaged me right away that she was doing great. He knew it was her best times by far, but I never imagined she would knock almost 8 seconds off of her 50 free and almost a second off of her 50 back! So proud of this kid! Mitch thought she easily had her best time in her breast stroke too, but somehow she was DQ'd but its always her toughest event so she'll get there eventually. The Fly was a new one for her, and she's interested in relays so she wanted to give it a go. Love her little heart and can't wait to see her swim again!

Rough Weekend

My Poor Baby! But somehow she's getting by. Poor Leah was so scared when she saw her. And Hattie cried and wouldn't come near her. Last night, I didn't know what to expect...they told me it would get worse. But no one is prepared to see their baby like this. I let her have breakfast in bed while she watched the new DC Superhero movie I got her. She got Flowers from Grandpa Dave and Grandma Tootie. Baylee and Sam brought her a chocolate milkshake a teddy bear and a balloon and even Mrs. Weirman dropped off a stuffed animal and a rock collection.

Tomorrow we are going to see the Maxillofacial Surgeon and the pediatrician. She wants us to have panoramic scans done to be sure that her mandible isn't broken. She's not in any pain, and shes started eating solid food so I'm not too concerned but you can never be too careful.

Today we went to see the Lego Batman movie. She laughed and it was good to see her smile. She's so nervous about anyone seeing her face. It frightens her when she looks in the mirror. It hurts this momma's heart to not be able to fix this. But she's strong and I know she will get back up again!

The Bike Wreck of ALL Bike Wrecks

We've had a day!!! This sweet girl of mine is injured and it's breaking my heart. I had a doctors appointment today and my neighbor Holly so graciously watched the girls. After I got home, I walked over to say "thanks" and to tell the girls that they could come home. While I was talking to Holly, the girls were riding bikes. After a few minutes, Holly looked at me and said "is someone crying?" and I agreed that someone was. So we started to walk towards the cries. Kiersten was coming towards me and I told her to calm down, that she was fine. But I quickly realized she wasn't fine. It looked like she had a softball in her cheek.

I asked Holly to watch the other two and got Kiersten in the van and headed to St. Mary's Emergency Room. I was a nervous wreck driving her...I didn't want her to lose consciousness, so I asked her to sing songs, count to 20, and she answered question after question. She was so brave. She didn't cry until we were parking the car and she asked if she was going to have to get a shot.

They moved her into triage quickly, and in no time Mitch was there with us. THANK the LORD! They looked her over and then we sat and waited. They ordered X-rays and a CT Scan of her head. They checked out all her scrapes and cuts. When all the tests were done, they cleaned her up and got medicine and bandages on her. And then we had to wait. She started to get hangry, so a sweet nurse brought her a cup of jello. And shortly after they let us know that the radiologists said the X-rays and scans were all clear so they sent us home. I'm totally sleeping in her bed tonight. My poor sweet baby girl.

Funny Valentine

Hattie had her Valentines Party at school today...and I got to join her! I so wanted to join the other two at their school parties but I didn't have anyone to watch Hattie. I swear, next year I'm going to make it up to them. The girls are so loved! They got stuffed animals and candy hearts from Grandma Tootie and Grandpa Dave. They got a Fondue Kit from Aunt Lori and Uncle Todd. Gigi and Papa sent them a box of assorted Mrs. Fields cookies. Mitch and I got them the new Trolls movie and a board game, Beat the Parents. It's yet to be decided who will actually win!

Anyway, I had fun watching Hattie celebrate with all her little classmates. They got to make a valentine craft, they got to decorate heart shaped sugar cookies with frosting and sprinkles. They exchanged valentines with one another and had a great time playing in a bounce house! She has a great little group of friends and it will be fun to watch them grow up together. Happy Valentines to my little loves!