Like Karen With An "M"

Thursday, August 13, 2009

First Day of Kindergarten and A Glimpse of the Future

The first day of school started early - 6:30 am, to be exact. Apparently Spencer thought he needed plenty of time to get ready. (The bus doesn't come until 8:30!) But no worries; I took his excitement as a good sign and silently prayed that the excitement would die down to waking up at 7:00 tomorrow.

I made pancakes for breakfast - Spencer's favorite. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention to how high the electric skillet was set and kinda burned the first side of their pancakes. Oops. But again, no worries - Josh thought the darker spots were melted chocolate chips and both boys happily ate their 'dessert' pancakes. (Good save, Joshie!)

Finally it was time to go wait for the bus. I got the boys outside to take a few pictures with our friends the Polmateers, only to realize that Spencer had his shorts on backwards. Bah! Much to Spencer's consternation I made him go back inside and rectify the situation. (Normally I probably wouldn't care - but c'mon, on the first day of school we can make some sort of effort.)

I got exactly one picture of Spencer (why oh why did I have him say 'school'?)...

... before Joshie had to make his presence known.

Poor Joshie. He was quite jealous of Spencer and all of the attention he was getting. Oh the hard, unfair life of a little brother! But Spencer was quite gracious about it all.

Here are Josh and Spencer with our friends the Polmateers. Bolton is in 2nd grade and Austin is in 6th. These boys are so good and kind and were really excited to help Spencer with his first school bus ride.

What a fine bunch of young men!

You can't really tell in the pictures, but Spencer's polo shirt has little white pirate skull and crossbones dotted all over it. Combine that with his red backpack and laminated name tag and you have one really cool Kindergartener!

It was time to head over to the bus stop, which is kitty corner to our house. (Nice, right?) Spencer was so excited; he was first in line. The bus pulled up and he dashed right on in, no qualms whatsoever.

Austin even let Spencer sit next to him. What an awesome kid - how many 6th graders would let a little Kindergartener sit next to them?!

Now, I'm definitely not one of those moms who cries when their kids reach big milestones, like going to school for the first time. I get a sense of pride; I know I'm doing well at my 'job' as a mom.

But as I watched Spencer wave happily through the window as the bus pulled away I couldn't help but feel a bit nostalgic. In my mind's eye I suddenly saw the future Spencer as an unsure middle-schooler, then a gangly high-schooler, an ambitious college student, a confident missionary, and finally a handsome, successful young man. How quickly our children seem to grow! What a short amount of time we have to raise them and teach them all they need to know! Is he ready for this? Have I really done my best?

My reverie quickly ended with Josh tugging on my hand, asking when his bus was coming. It took my best distraction techniques to get around that tantrum waiting to happen. (Okay, I bribed him with fruit snacks.)

I picked Spencer up from school three hours later. After one day he already seemed older; he looked taller, spoke more cohesively, and rolled his eyes at my jokes.

And now he's eating like an older kid, too. We had a special celebratory 'first day of school' lunch with Lance at Pizza Hut (Spencer's choice). Spencer ate a full six (!!!) slices of pizza. Lance and I joked that once the boys were teenagers we'd only be able to afford to take them buffets, and even then we'd probably get kicked out from the boys eating too much.

I wistfully pondered about my growing boys on the way home. I joke a lot about wanting them to grow up and having the house to myself. But seriously, I can't really imagine that yet.

"Spencer," I asked, "is it time for you to move out of the house now that you're a big kindergartener?"

He contemplated this for a few moments before replying "Nah, maybe next year."

Looks like I still have my little boy - for a few years at least.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

This Is What Happens When...

... your two year old (three in one month!) decides to wake up at 5:45am, storms into your bedroom and wakes you up by demanding lunch, runs around like a crazy mad man all day, and then refuses to take the afternoon nap he so desperately needs. (I found him like this at around 5:15pm.)

... your five year old gets a special treat from his new Kindergarten teacher during this afternoon's open house. (Lollipop nirvana.)

... you realize that today is Wednesday, not Tuesday, and that you forgot to post a self-portrait yesterday. Oops.

... your baby demands to be fed while your right in the middle of making dinner. Sorry bubby, you poor unloved third child. (He doesn't seem to mind!)