First Days of School

Kaelia's first day of school

Today Kaelia started her very first day of preschool.  She has been waiting for this day for a long time now as she saw her sister go to school last year, and she has been more than ready to go.  The school is a local South African school within walking distance from our house, so our nanny, Maria, will take Kaelia to school each day.  However, today Justin took the morning off of work and I took the entire day off so that we could take her to school and then so I could pick her up.  The three of us then headed out the door and walked up to Kaelia's preschool.

When we got to the school, Kaelia's teacher was ready and waiting to show her how to get started.  First, Kaelia put her backpack in her little locker cubby, and then she walked around the classroom, exploring all that it has to offer.  She especially liked the princess kitchen set.  Once she was settled, though, she waited on the carpet with the other kids for class to begin, and Justin and I said goodbye.  Kaelia certainly did not fuss when we left because she was so excited for her class to begin.

After lunch time, I drove up to the school to pick Kaelia up and found her waiting for me with a book in her hands.  Her teacher said that she followed the routine of the day very well and that she is a very happy and clever little girl.  The first thing Kaelia told me was, "Mom, I LOVE that lunch today.  I had chicken and rice, and I love it!"  Apparently the lunch left a good impression on her.  Kaelia also tried out ballet class today to see if she wants to join the activity.  She had a great time and even showed us the moves that she learned; she will try out a few more activities throughout the week, however, and decide on the one that she likes best.

When it was time to go, Kaelia insisted on first showing me the "Naughty Step" on the playground, and she ensured me that she would never have to sit there.  I guess a few boys had to visit the step during recess that day, so Kaelia thought it was worth showing me.  Her teacher told me that Kaelia was a pleasure on the playground and played with kids of all ages.  It really was a perfect first day of school, and we are all so happy that Kaelia had such a great day.

Taelyn's First Day of School

Last Wednesday, Taelyn also started her first day of pre-K at our school.  It was a very exciting and exhausting day for her.  For the first time, she got to ride with Mommy and Daddy to school, and then we got to drop her off at her classroom.  She chose her sparkly pink dress and heart tights as her "first day of school outfit" along with  sparkly shoes and a  headband to match.  When we got to her class, she said hello to her teacher, Ms. Cate, and was instructed to put her bag in her cubby and park her lunch in her spot up top.  She located her name in both areas, and did as she was told.  Then she went inside the classroom and played with Legos and puzzles while she waited for class to begin.  About halfway through the day, her teacher sent us an email saying that she was doing very well and was enjoying her snack with another little girl in the class.  We even got a picture of this!

After school, Justin and I met Taelyn at her classroom and walked with her to the buses.  There was a little chaos here with trying to find the correct bus and then finding out that her bus was full.  But Taelyn didn't really seem to notice because she was so exhausted - I have actually never seen her so tired before!  Justin held her while we tried to figure out the bus situation, and she just lay her head on his shoulder and camped out.  Eventually, she got on a new bus and took her first school bus ride home where our nanny, Maria, met her.  The first thing she said to Maria was, "I'm so tired, and I just want to take a nap."  So that is what she did.

To celebrate the beginning of school, we took the girls to our favorite family restaurant, Pappachinos, where we met up with Arianna and enjoyed great playgrounds and the kids' pizza-making studio.  The girls had a great time that night and had absolutely no problems going to bed when we got home!

I am so excited for this new stage of life and how well my little girls are growing up, but I also have to admit that I am so sad about how fast the last four years have flown by.  I sing a song to the girls before bed that reflects this feeling well, so I recorded the song this summer with our good friend, Rod, and have chosen the song for the slideshow below.

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Summer Time States Side

Once again, we had a very crazy and chaotic, yet really fun summer in the States.  After travelling to Italy and Florida, we camped out with family for most of the rest of the summer in Michigan with a few weekend trips here and there.  During our first weekend, we went out to Chicago to visit our good friends, Liz and Mike, and their daughter, Evie.  The girls had a nice time at the zoo and also enjoyed playing with the baby and the dog.  The next weekend, we also flew out to New York City so see our college buddy, Dave.  Here we spent late nights out catching up and seeing some Broadway shows.  Justin surprised me with tickets to Annie the first night, and then we experienced Wicked the second night.  Both were incredible.  We ended the trip with some karaoke in Atlantic City.

While in Michigan, the girls LOVED all of the time that they had with their cousins.  Kaelia especially bonded with Jacob while Taelyn was attached to Jayden every moment he was around.  She adores him and had such a special time when they were together.  Lots of cousin time was spent in Canada at the cottage where the kids played and swam all day long.  One day, they were at the beach for five hours!  Taelyn perfected her swimming by diving in and out of the water like Ariel, and she even had the courage to ask her daddy to through her up in the air and land in the water.  Kaelia loved playing in the sand for hours.

We also took quite a few trips to the mall this summer for the girls to play in some of their "Michigan favorites."  The ferris wheel, food court, Jeepers amusement center, and the Disney Store were all on the list.  Another highlight was Cooks Dairy Farm where the girls got to pet and feed some cows and pigs.  Kaelia experienced what it was like to get kissed by a cow while Taelyn was convinced that the pigs were going to eat her.

The girls also had a wonderful time with their grandparents and aunts and uncles.  They got to go swimming at the wave pool with Uncle Joel and Grandma and Grandpa Pepera, and they had lots of snuggle reading time with Grandma and Grandpa Walker.  We spent a couple of days with Uncle Matty and Aunt Brandy as well, and they had plenty of visits from Aunt Katie throughout the summer.  We all had a great time with friends and family while the girls also got to freshen up on their American culture - especially the food.  The girls are now obsessed with mac and cheese and Lucky Charms!

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