The kids are all right

September 1 and all's well!

Jon is still riding a wave of productivity and inspiration in his academic and working life. Pray he remains inspired!

I am enjoying work and am savoring my time in The English Novel like it's a chocolate dessert. I have a paper idea already that the back of my mind is ruminating.

A couple weekends ago we had the weekend of the child's birthday party. One on Saturday, and one on Sunday. Both were brilliant, though very different experiences.

The Saturday one was an outdoor event. I was gratified to see Miles join in with the kids' zombie game. I'm not sure he knows what a zombie is, but the other kids found the pretending very compelling. He imitated and inserted himself with confidence. He usually prefers to play on his own, and waits for an invitation if he's going to join a group game.

Kindergarten seems to be doing him many kinds of good.

The smiles of kids about to eat pink cake.

Speaking of kindergarten, 

I think he's on his third homework right now. He loves kindergarten; he tells anyone who asks. 

Here is a writing sample:

 Note the favorite tv show: Cosmos
And the favorite place: Price House

 This little girl has had two sick days already for mild bugs. Welcome back to school, immune system!

We take turns having quality cuddle time with Tiniest. It's a kind of holiday.

Meanwhile, she's been double-dipping on the dance classes during August, for the special one-month double-dip deal at the studio. She now not only participates but practices.

 This morning I was doing tree pose during morning yoga. Adele goes, "Mum, you doing passe!"

I have been so glad she's been taking these lessons. She looks forward to it all week, and it makes her feel sooo important, and unique. For a 2nd born, such experiences can be hard to come by. 

 In mid-August, our family was featured in the local paper after we had our picture taken at Steppin' Out. No fewer than 5 people, since then, have sent us or given us the picture. Small town life! We're local celebrities for the month:

 Filling up the kids' calendar lately have been birthday parties, a trip to the Frog Pond , and, today, a trip to Dixie Caverns. I hear they enjoyed it! I couldn't tell you firsthand, though; I work today.

Oh, and the other day, we grabbed dinner at Chick-Fil-A and were visited by this bovine:

 Imagine being able to make children look this happy just by putting on a suit:

They didn't let her go for a while.

Happy children keep us moving over here.

"Come on with the rain, I've a smile on my face."

It's been yet another lousy news week. 

On the home front, however, we've been getting on just fine. Adele made it through 3 days of daycare before she had to take her first sick day (just some intestinal distress- nothing worrisome! She's fine!). But other than that, the machine of our schedule has been humming along efficiently. 

Miles got off the bus after his first day of kindergarten (after 4pm! such a long day!!) with a huge grin on his face. And, but for occasionally complaining of being tired and of kindergarten being too long, he's been very positive on his new life as a kindergartener. He cheerfully announces that he gets to go back to kindergarten in the morning, and is smiling and happy about the prospect. 

  

Here is some artwork he did on the topic on his first day: You notice that he highlights "excited" and "scared" as his emotions upon starting kindergarten. The drawings on the right show Miles and Papa holding hands (top) and Miles and Adele in the bath (bottom). 

Adele is back in day care and, but for the mild bug she seemed to have, is doing well. She's been bumped up to the big kids room, where the 3s and 4s usually go. They had to move some kids because of required teacher-child ratios, and Adele was one of the more verbal and mature among the toddlers so up she went! So far, so good. Her little BFF got moved with her, so she's not complaining. 

Our Saturday was packed! We got up early to get a good hour of scrounging in at the church garage sale, where, among other things, we picked up some new dress up clothes:

All hail Princess Miles! 

After the garage sale, it was off to Adele's dance lesson, followed by a trip to Christiansburg where, our friend had tipped us, there was a huge free kids' open-house party. The only disappointment there was that our old back-up camera chews through batteries so quickly that I wasn't able to take photos. It was the whole kid fantasy event: bouncy houses, and obstacle course, free food, and a guest appearance by Princess Elsa herself! The kids were in fankid heaven.  

That at church on Sunday were the sum of our outings. I came down with a weird bug and needed  to be home, making the house more livable. Jon was a lifesaver on Sunday when he took the kids grocery shopping and then to the playground so I could putter around the house. 

Just after they got back from the playground, the promised rain done showed UP. Jon jumped up and suggested a dance in the rain. The kids couldn't hardly believe they were going to be allowed to do this, but their joy took off before long. 

Doing "Rainbows" (from dance class) in the rain

 There was dancing, singing, shrieking, giggling, and all that you might expect from a puddle-jump/rain dance. I feel like I say it every blog post, but I'm just so grateful for the kids' example in enjoying life. I sometimes think 75% of my laughs are due to these two tinies (the rest to Stephen Colbert & John Oliver, combined with Jon and our video-game hijinks).

Way to be ALIVE, kids, and way to make it look so good.

I just had to include: this is Miles' latest drawing. Cats that look like cats! For the next post, I'll show Adele's innovation: faces that look like faces.

By the way: If you are paying attention to the news coming out of Ferguson, MO, (and if you're not, please look into it!) please pray. Pray for peace, but also pray for justice. I hope very much that some good and needed changes will happen in our country's conversation on race and integration, but for tonight, I just hope Ferguson can make progress toward not being a police state. Let the kids go back to school! 

On your marks, get set...

 This is the smiling face of someone about to get on a bus for kindergarten.

Do you like his new lunchbox?

It is a brave smile. He was nervous. He said a few times, "I'm tired..." which is usually Milesspeak for "I'm feeling overwhelmed and inadequate to this task." When we reminded him that he was going to be able to see the class pet when he got there, he brightened, and when we recited Winnie-the-Pooh together he was positively cheerful.

And as solemn as he mostly was, each time we held up the camera he smiled, big, willingly.

Do you like his new Miles Davis shirt?

 Adele was admiring, affectionate, and her usual enthusiastic self. She crawled all over the bus stop, got dirt all over her face, and gleefully pointed out ever cicada shell she found.

I laughed at the enormousness of Miles' ID tag, until it was time to put him on a bus by himself.  Grateful for it, now.

Like his new backpack?

Now you can see his surlier face.

(Really missing my good camera about now)

 There was just one other family at the bus stop, a man and his son. After a few minutes, I said hello and asked what grade his son was going into. He told me his son was a 4th grader, and asked about mine. We chatted about their ages and it was clear immediately that he was an English language learner. I said hello to the 4th grader, and he smiled confidently, and silently, as I introduced him to Miles. That's when the dad told me: he and his family had just moved to the US three weeks ago. His son's English, he confided to me, is "very poor."

Guys, how am I supposed to feel all worried about my poor baby on the bus all alone, when he is in his own town and speaks his own, native language? The courage of that child, to move to a new country and hop on a bus full of people whom he can barely understand, to go to a school taught in a language he is only beginning to learn, just took my breath away.

Miles smiled at him when we told him his new bus stop mate was from China, and when we asked him how he might best say hello, said "Ni hao!" and got a smile in return.

Did I mention that he went to a day care friend's birthday party on Saturday where all the adults spoke Bengali? Did I mention how much I love Blacksburg?

Well, all of a sudden the bus was there and it was time. I was prepared to be a bit sad about this milestone, but because he's been in daycare and preschool for so long, I kinda thought there wouldn't be too much of a difference in kissing my kindergartener goodbye.

This is different, guys. Putting him on a bus for a full day of school is waaay different. And, I wasn't prepared for the way, in a flash, his whole babyhood seemed to rattle by like a train leaving a station. 

 Adele gave her hero a hug and kiss, and he was straight, tall and brisk as he boarded the bus. When the bus doors closed, Adele said, "Miles was brave!"

Brave is the theme of the day. Keeping Miles and his 4th grade companion in mind as I try hard to be brave, too.

Go. 

Tiny Dancers

 Jon and I have been telling each other for months that this was going to be the year when the kids could start a lesson or activity of their own to learn. It's important to me that they get to choose, themselves, what to pursue and practice. Not only do I want them to have all those cognitive, social, and emotional benefits from the activity, but I want them to be fully alive. To be alive, to be connected to the world, means doing something you love, and doing it with your whole heart. For what else were we made?

Though I had assumed my climbing, balancing, tumbling second born would probably be inclined to gymnastics, she's surprised me by talking for months about being a dancer. Every time she wore a skirt, "I am a dancer!" she'd crow. Since she was so determined, we investigated and found a free open house at a nearby studio. Today was Adele's first ballet/tap lesson.

She was born ready. Even in her rain boots. 

We spent a while in the supply store looking for shoes small enough for her size 5-and-a-half feet.

 At last, she was ready to enter the studio.

Her first ballet bun.

I got to watch via a closed-circuit tv station:

Um... yeah, she's the little one on the end. 

She followed directions muuuch better than I'd expected. 

 Some exercises involved staying on a dot or star on the floor (each child was assigned one). Miles and I were in gales of laughter watching her pick her star or dot up when no one was looking and move it to a location she liked better.

The smallest tap shoes there... still a bit big. 

 It was a whole day of free classes, so when the next age group, ages 4-6, was preparing to go in, I asked Miles if he wanted to give it a try.

He did! We fitted him for some size elevens and he was in business. I spent most of his lesson chasing Adele around the waiting area, but I noticed him trying very hard and often succeeding to do the ballet, jazz and tap moves he was being taught. He was the only boy, it almost goes without saying, but no one raised an eyebrow, which I took as a good sign about the studio.

 Well, he had a blast. It's really important to me, as I've said, to let the kids determine their interests and styles. If Adele has no use for princesses and dolls and prefers blocks, no problem. If Miles has his nails polished (and he does) and wants to dance, again, no problem.

Still, he says what he wants this fall is to take piano. So, I am inquiring at the music school and he should begin lessons in September. He should also begin his Chinese lessons within a couple of weeks! Another of his interests (this season) is all things China. Imagine our delight when we found out the local Chinese School would be giving language lessons at all public elementary schools, once a week, after school!

I'm going to try not to let him get worn out, don't worry.

 If we have to cut something out, we will. If we have to miss a lesson, we will.

They are, after all, still children. 

Camera Drama

 We've been quiet, you may have noticed. Fear not; no tragedy has struck besides a bit of camera drama. We've left our camera in Maryland! And it may be a while before we can be reunited with it. In a couple of months, then, I hope to be able to show you pictures from the end of our Rochester visit, and a few of our time in Washington, DC.
Fortunately, our old Kodak was at home and will serve in the meanwhile.

So I have no pictures to show of Steppin' Out Festival (our fifth one in Blacksburg!), the ice cream shop and river play during our visit to Radford, or the lego party at the library. And you know, that's okay. Not everything needs to be photographed. Not because not everything is significant, but because there is more than one way to enjoy something, and to remember it.

That said, you better believe I'll be using the heck out of this auxiliary camera on Tuesday, when Miles gets on the bus for his very. first. day. of. kindergarten.

Hold me.

As the days tick down to the end of our summer vacation (I go back to work Monday), I'm trying to do some simple, low impact, peaceful things in the NRV, in hope that we will be able to just float peacefully into the new school year. I don't want boredom that may become anxiety, and neither do I want exhaustion that will make The First Day seem overwhelming.

Today, we saw that the historic Alexander Black house, built by the family for whom our town was named, was having a grand opening event. We thought we'd crash the gala for a little while.

Good luck for us: the event planners had hired a very talented face painter!

Zebras are on her favorite animal list.

My little hippy. It says "love."

 Exploring the little kid area inside:

 We were invited to share our favorite things about Blacksburg in drawing and in written form. The kids noticed that no one had mentioned the Price House, so we got to work drawing and writing about our love for the nature center.

Adding the lawn & trees. 

Note Miles' pink snake on our Story Board entry. 

 What a delicious, golden summer it's been. We flourish like green bay trees.