Dancin' girl

Adele started dance classes this year.

After the fun she had with gymnastics last year, I gave her the option of doing another year of gymnastics or trying out a dance class.

And as much fun as gymnastics was...it was a no-brainer.

The first few weeks she and her teammates started learning some basic dance terminology and techniques, and (mostly) learned a simple routine to a short song.

And then their practice outfits came in.

And then they were given their performance outfits. AND they performed at the Oklahoma State Fair.

And if she enjoyed dance before, she LOVES it now. She's definitely cuter than me...

School changes...for all of us.

So Adele started school this year. Pre-K, technically.

Her school is right around the corner from us, so we drive past it every day. Ever since we registered Adele for school last spring, she points out her school as we drive by. To say she was excited is a bit of an understatement.

Two days before school started we went to the Meet The Teacher night. She got to see her classroom, find her cubby, dance around on the rug a bit, and introduce herself to her new teacher.

Naturally, even though she is in the afternoon group and doesn't need to be at school until noon, she was standing beside our bed early in the morning on the first day of school whispering loudly "I get to go to school today!"

Like most moms who are sending their kid off to school for the first time, I spent a lot of time attempting to prepare Adele (and myself) for school. We talked about what she might expect, things she might do, things she was excited to learn. We got her dressed, hair done, ate lunch early, took pictures, and felt like we were ready.

And like most moms, I swallowed the lump in my throat and wore my sunglasses to mask my eyes filling up with tears as she lined up with her class and walked bravely and excitedly into school.

Unfortunately, with all the preparing Adele and I had done, we seemed to forget to prepare Henry.

All morning long, when Adele would say "I get to go to school!" he would reply "me too!" When she got her backpack, he went and found one as well.

When we took her picture on the front porch, he wanted one too.

When she lined up with her class, he begged to get down and stand next to her.

When all the kids went inside, he stood at the door begging to go in with her.

And finally, the poor kid gave up and gave me a big hug, burying his head in my shoulder and sobbing so sadly.

On the positive side, I was forced to focus my energy on something other than my own empty feeling.

And of course, I should mention David's school changes. He finished up his Masters this past spring (YAY!!!) and rolled right over into the PhD program this fall. So proud of his accomplishments!

I didn't want him to feel left out, so I snapped a picture of his first day of school this year too as we dropped him off. :)

The ones that make me smile

It's now been over 4 months since I've written in this blog. Each time I've sat down to write, I've gotten overwhelmed at the idea of starting up again - I mean, where do I start?

Maybe later I'll touch on some of the important aspects of the past 4 months. But for today, here are some funny things heard around the Hille House as of late:

-Adele started Pre-K earlier this fall, which has brought lots of funny moments. We use essential oils on our kids a lot. But, the night before her first day, we opened a letter from her teacher and read a poem about "jitter glitter". Adele was excited to sprinkle the glitter under her pillow before going to sleep...however, not more than 5 minutes later she looked at me and said "Mommy, I just don't understand how this jitter glitter is supposed to help me sleep! Can you just go get my oils instead?"

-A few days into the first week, Adele told me about a girl who speaks no English. I asked her what she spoke, and she answered confidently, "Nicaraguan!"

-Adele is in afternoon Pre-K, which has meant she has totally given up naps. One day after school Henry was bugging her in the car. I told him to stop because she was crabby, and she chimed in "Yeah I've had a long day with school and dance class and church and I DIDN'T get a nap today so I'm crabby!"

-Adele's deep thoughts: one day she was sitting on the toilet doing her business, and she told me "it's too bad poop is brown. If it was pink or purple I would want to poop all day!"

-And a glimpse into Henry's world: he was attempting to sing the ABCs (fairly successfully, much to my surprise), so I tried singing other kid songs with him. We were NOT successful until we came across some of his favorites - "Frosty the Snowman" and "Let It Go."

Silly kids. :)