Kindergarten Connections

Eli will be graduating high school in 2024. Everything about that statement feels surreal! I can't believe it's almost time for our baby boy to start Kindergarten! On April 29th, I took Eli to his Kindergarten Connections which was a little orientation at his Elementary School. Turned out it was geared mostly towards the parents and therefore a little long and drawn out for the pre-schoolers, but it was still definitely worth the time. Just recently, Keira's voluntarily stayed with Dendi for a few hours at a time once a week. It's usually so that I can vacuum -- she detests the vacuum and will happily go where it isn't. Now, we've expanded our Dendi visits to include haircuts, appointments and a few pre-Kindergarten activities for Eli. The few hours that I've had completely childless make me feel like a real grown up again. It's amazing. But, I digress, back to the Kindergarten Connections...

When we first arrived, I saw the Class of 2024 sign and asked Eli to pose for me. Unfortunately, the first picture with a decent expression didn't turn out and you can see how excited he was to pose for the second picture. ;)


Eli's expression for the camera was much improved when Daddy showed up. Scott had said he'd try to meet us, but he wasn't sure if it would be possible. That's one of the first of many perks of Daddy working at his school -- Scott will be able to attend Eli's special events without taking a day off.


After going over a bit of basic info for the parents, one of the Kindergarten teachers called all the future Kindergartners up to the floor and spoke directly to them. She went over a few things they should work on over the summer like: tying their shoes, opening bananas and milk cartons and learning their address and phone number. Eli turned around at the mention of his phone number to proudly tell me and Scottie that he knew both of our cell phone numbers.



After the talk, we all headed around the school for a tour. Eli will proudly tell you that he already knows his way around the school. But, it was still nice to look at everything with fresh eyes and to tour the Kindergarten hall with actual Kindergartners working inside. As we walked through the halls, I felt like I was walking with a celebrity. Scores of adults (many of whom I didn't even know) came up and talked to Eli, telling him about how excited they were that he would be starting Kindergarten etc. It was amazing. I guess you reach celebrity status when your Dad is the only male teacher at school. :)

Uncle Jason and Auntie Andrea's Wedding

On April 16th, Uncle Jason and Auntie Andrea got married in an intimate ceremony on a local boardwalk through the trees. It was a beautiful ceremony in a gorgeous spot and we were blessed to take part in their special day.



Eli served as the ringbearer and he was extremely excited about his important job.




Keeping the kids still and quiet during the service was a little challenging as you can tell from Keira's laid back posture. I figured if laying down kept her happy and quiet it was worth it. After the service, we took a few quick pictures and headed to Dendi and Bapa's for the small reception.





At Dendi's, Uncle Jason and Andrea did a few of the traditional wedding things like the first toast. Eli was excited to do his first toast with milk. And, Keira was trying to share my glass of champagne.



All in all, it was a beautiful, low-key and intimate event. Congratulations Uncle Jason and Auntie Andrea!

Tracey, Ron and Ella Visit

As I've said, these posts will be a little (or a lot!) out of order. Here goes... On April 1st our old friends Tracey, Ron and Ella came to visit. Tracey and I met through a prenatal exercise class, when we were pregnant with Eli and Ella. They drove all the way from Texas to spend the weekend and were fortunately able to squeeze in a few hours with us on Friday. It was wonderful to see them, and we always hope they might move back to Georgia someday :). Unfortunately, Eli and Keira were on their worst behavior in memory. Ugh! They had both missed their naps and alternated between being fragile and grumpy. As you can see from the picture at the top of this post, they were not being very cooperative. (I took this photo from Tracey's blog -- thanks Tracey!)

Tracey is a professional photographer and despite their moods, she was able to snap some great photos of Eli and Keira. Here are some of my favorites.

Elijah's Fifth Birthday

This year, Eli's birthday was the most exciting yet. He was old enough to anticipate it and enjoy all the accompanying activities. His birthday week included: special grandma days, celebrating at school, birthday dinner at IHOP, and his first birthday party with kids. One of my favorite parts of the week was making chocolate, chocolate, chocolate cupcakes with him to bring to school. He carefully iced each cupcake while occassionally sampling some of the yumminess for himself. After finishing the cupcakes, he performed a chocolate-covered celebratory birthday dance.

Even More Easter -- Dinner at Dendi's

We went back to Dendi's house on Easter night for Easter dinner. Both kids got their share of chocolate as you can see evidenced on Keira's face. While Keira was in the high chair we took an opportunity to take a family photo of the four of us.




Of course, as usual, the best part of the occassion was watching the kids spend time with their family. Keira enjoyed performing all of her story time songs for her grandparents and the Summervilles while Eli loved flying Uncle Jason's helicopter with the boys. Keira was interested in the helicopter, but wasn't impressed with the noise so she covered her ears. Later, Keira got in a little Daddy Love time on the hammock.






One of the joys of living on the same street as Bapa and Dendi is the short commute and the alternate modes of transport. Elijah rode his bike home while Daddy walked with him.



Keira and I took the golf cart home, but not before she held court over her admirers. After chatting with everyone from her car seat, she insisted on getting a hug and kiss from each family member before we left.

More Easter -- Dendi's Easter Egg Hunt

I'm woefully behind on this blog. To try and catch up I'm going to attempt to do short posts that won't necessarily be in chronological order. Here goes...

Late Easter morning we headed to Dendi's house for Easter Egg Hunt #2. As usual, Eli wasted no time running to find his eggs, although he did borrow a habit from his sister and pause here and there to examine an egg's contents.



As for Keira, she seemed to understand the whole concept of hunting for Easter eggs much better. Her overall speed increased and she needed no coaxing finding eggs. She did continue to methodically open each egg and examine it's contents before moving on to the next one.

Easter

As all of the holidays are, Easter was full, exciting and fun. Here are some of my favorite highlights...

I colored Easter Eggs with Eli for the first time this year. I've bought dye and eggs in years past, and never got around to it, or never figured out a way to do it with Keira's help. Eli had dyed eggs before with Dendi, but this year was the first year I got to experience it with him. One afternoon the week before Easter it worked out perfectly -- Keira took an extra long nap and Eli and I were able to take our time. I relish the time I have with each child, individually.




First thing Easter morning was just as magical. When Keira and I got up, Eli told me a bit forlornly that he'd looked all around the house and hadn't found a single egg. Turns out, the Easter bunny had left a note on his bathroom mirror telling him to find his eggs up the hill in the backyard. Whenever we go out these days, we all wear hats for sun protection, even though I tried to dissuade her, Keira insisted on wearing her hat for the egg hunt. :) Following along in her interesting wardrobe choice was her brother. As he did going into school with his Easter basket, he chose to wear his on his head. He said it was part of his detective costume. :)




Eli couldn't get up the hill fast enough, but the Easter bunny had left explicit instructions that he'd left twelve eggs for each child. Eli zoomed around and easily collected his twelve, while Keira took her time. She was still getting into the swing of things. As I helped her find each egg, she took the time to happily open each one, inspect the contents and dump them into her basket.



A wild animal helped themselves to a few of our eggs before the children had a chance to find all twenty-four. We ended up having each of them find ten or eleven. Still, Eli was an incredibly good sport. Once he'd collected his allotment, he patiently led his sissy around the playground and pointed out eggs to her. He even watched as she opened each one.



Finally, after all the edible eggs were collected (not counting a few that were mangled by the wildlife) Eli and Keira got down to the business of enjoying some chocolate. They sat at their new picnic table under the play structure.



One of the most beautiful parts of Easter morning for me was spending time outside on a crisp morning with my three favorite people. After enjoying some new play structure time, especially some swing time, we packed up and headed over to our subdivision's playground and tennis court. A few weeks ago, we invested in some sporting equipment including tennis rackets and tennis balls. Eli showed some early interest in tennis, but watching both of them on the tennis court by myself didn't allow for much practice. However, with two adults, the numbers were more in his favor, and Eli got in some good practice time. He practiced hitting the balls that Scottie bounced to him and even got about five good shots over the net.