We Survived Back to School!!

So, this girl has been MIA in the blogging world as of late.  Don't think I've had an extra minute to spare in over a month!  With going back to work, back to school, back to daycare, and back to juggling full-time working mommyhood, it's been a busy month.  Here's a bit of what of the fun that we managed to squeeze in amongst our busyness:

We kicked off August with our first day of school on August 1st!

And Liam's first day at WA Wright's Learning Center

Chan's pretty happy that Mommy is at his school this year

Our big kid sitting at his new desk as a bona-fide 1st grader

And with his new teacher, Mrs. Richman.

Our first weekend in August, Liam did some mud-stompin'

And Chan cooled off in the creek.

BIG thanks to Wendy Hardin for capturing these shots for us!!

We spent a lazy Sunday afternoon at Aunt Ora's catching up with the Flatt family..but missed those who couldn't be there with us!

Chan and Mommy went to the Back to School Swim Party

And played with buddy Greyson for a bit after pool time.

Last weekend we took our annual trip to the Wilson County Fair.

We buzzed around for a bit,

Played on some really big tractors,

and rode a few rides,

but not too many since Liam was one inch too small for most of them :- /

Last Saturday we went to the Titans game.  Liam's first!

Chan enjoyed watching, and Liam had a great time until we ran out of food.

And last night we went to outdoor movie night at a friends' house.  Plenty of food, friends, and fun while watching Epic under the stars.  Has me ready for fall!  We had a blast.  Thanks Marlo!!

 

And speaking of fall...

"The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August,

 and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst

 the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes~

Till next time friends!

Brittany :)

P.S.- Did I forget to mention that IT'S FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE?!?!?!  Geared up for some Tennessee football my friends!

My Kindergarten Graduate

Well, we did it.  We survived our kindergarten year, and this Momma cannot believe it's already come to an end.  I mean, really....I say it every year, but this one went by too terribly fast.

Let me just say that I could not have been happier with Chan's kindergarten year.  Really.  We have LOVED it.  From having the best teacher ever (shout out to Mrs. Capley!!), to some fabulous experiences, to learning so very much...it was simply the best year of kindergarten that I could've asked for.  (And trust me, I have some high expectations after teaching kindergarten for 8 years).

So, to recap, here is Chan's kindergarten experience in a nutshell:

He had his first day of kindergarten on August 3, 2012 and loved it,

Had a kindergarten picnic with new friends in September,

Took a field trip to Shuckle's Corn Maze in October,

Played Joseph in the Christmas program in December,

Had lots of playdates with buddy Sam,

Celebrated 100 Days of School in January,

Participated in the first annual Lakeview Fun Run with his class (and made front page news for it),

And ran 41 laps in that Fun Run,

Hiked through the woods with some buddies on a field trip in May,

When the class took another field trip to Long Hunter State Park (yes, Chan is crying and whining in this one),

Had indoor field day since it was raining,

But didn't really seem to mind too much,

Even had tug-of-war indoors (and won 2 matches!),

Performed in the Kindergarten Spring Program,

And held up his number 3 like a champ!

Received his Kindergarten Diploma

From his very favorite kindergarten teacher!

Played in the water on Kindergarten Fun Day,

Spent one more recess playing with his buddies as kindergarteners,

And ate one last lunch with Momma in the cafeteria as a kindergartener.

And here it is....the difference that this year of kindergarten has made in my sweet Chandler Keaton:

First day of Kindergarten in August & Last day of Kindergarten in May

First day with Mrs. Capley & Last day with Mrs. Capley

And his first & last time to sit at his kindergarten table in Mrs. Capley's class

Cause this little kiddo is headed to the 1st grade in August! 

Chandler has had a super, great year and the pictures above aren't even the half of it!  I am so thankful for his school, administration, teachers, staff, friends, and everyone else involved that have made this year so successful.  Especially BIG thank you to his teacher, Mrs. Capley.  We SO wish you would just go ahead and loop up to first grade with us!

I am going to end today's post with this writing by Erma Bombeck that I read at the end of year celebrations for each of my kindergarten classes.  (Mommas who are reading, get ready for tears.)

"I see children as kites.  You spend a lifetime trying to get them off the ground.  You run with them until you're both breathless...they crash...you add a longer tail...they hit the rooftop...you pluck them out of the spout.  You patch and comfort, adjust and teach.  You watch them lifted by the wind and assure them that someday they'll fly.

Finally, they are airbone, but they need more string, so you keep letting it out.  With each twist of the ball of twine there is a sadness that goes with the joy, because the kite becomes more distant, and somehow you know it won't be long before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that bound you together and soar as it was meant to soar---free and alone.

Only then do you know that you did your job."

~Erma Bombeck~

from Forever, Erma

Till next time friends!

Brittany :)

P.S.- I don't know how I managed to read that to a gym full of parents and students every year without losing it...I am sobbing like a baby now!

First & Foremost

This has been a week full of firsts in the Koehn household.  Let's start with mine and Liam's firsts, shall we?

Liam and I had our first day at Mother's Day out this week!  Thursday was our open house morning, so I got to meet my new class.  I am pretty sure that they are gonna be great!  I have 10 super sweet kiddos.  I am still reveling in the fact that I have such a small group!  I am used to a full house of 20 kindergarteners, so this is kind of nice.  I am super excited to have our first full day (9:00-2:00) next week.

Sweet little Lamb may not be as excited about going to his new school.  If you know Liam at all, you know that he is a bona fide Momma's boy.  And spending the summer at home with me everyday has definitely strengthened our little bond.  Here he is before we headed out the door for school.

Gosh, could he be any cuter??!!  He was so happy to be heading out the door with Momma.  He loves to go anywhere; outside, for a car ride, for a walk.  He is constantly taking my index finger and leading me around the house to the back door.  But, what happened next he did not like so much...

He totally didn't see that coming.  Here he is with his MDO teacher, Mrs. Stephanie.  Trust me, he was fine after a minute.  So pitiful though!  He had a good time; played ball, music, took a nap.  Overall a great first day (as long as you don't judge it by his face in this photo).

And what about Chan's firsts for the week?  Well, he completed his first full week of kindergarten!  Yay!  And Tuesday he pulled his first strip for breaking a rule in kindergarten...and Wednesday he pulled his second strip for breaking another rule in kindergarten...and Friday he pulled yet another strip for breaking a rule in kindergarten.  (Are you kidding me, Chandler Koehn??!!)  Oh, but wait, I'm not done yet.  Friday afternoon he told his first lie to his Mommy in an attempt at covering up said pulled strip.  OH.NO.HE.DIDN'T!!!!  But, yes, friends...it's true.

Let me just go on record as saying that I never expected my child to go into school having a perfectly clean slate everyday.  He had a very fun, very busy, very exciting first week of kindergarten!  But, let's all remember that Chandler is full of fun, busyness (funny business???), excitement, and silliness.  (He does take after his father, after all.)  I expected him to need a week or two (I'm hoping not three, but we'll see) to adjust to his new school, teacher, friends, and rules.  And as a former kindergarten teacher, I also know that you have to lay down the law the first few weeks; you cannot let anything slide or those kids will rule the roost for the year.  So, we talked about the reasons for his pulled strips & ways that he could've behaved differently.

What I did not expect was for him to lie to me to try and cover it up!  Where in the world do these little creatures get the idea that they will get out of trouble by lying about it??  As a teacher there wasn't a single year that went by that I didn't have a student doing the exact same thing.  So, we had a heart to heart about the importance of being honest and always, Always, ALWAYS telling the truth.  I sure do hope that it sunk in with him.

Overall, I would say that Chan had a great first week of school.  A couple of slip-ups, but something that we will work on until it gets better.  And if it doesn't and he ends up in the principal's office...I am so sending Justin Koehn in with him! :)

"Children are natural mimics who act like their parents 

despite every effort to teach them good manners."

~Anonymous~

Till next week friends!

Brittany :)

Chandler Koehn, Kindergartener

Stop now.  If you didn't read "Twas the Night Before Kindergarten" post from this morning, do that first.  Yes, now.

Okay, here we go...Success!  First day of kindergarten completed!  My kid owned it.

We prepared last night by reading seven bedtime stories about kindergarten/back to school.  Here is Chan with our top three favorites.  Froggy Goes to School was a very close fourth...he thought it was hilarious that Froggy went to school in his unders (in a dream).  I told him that going to school in just your unders is completely unacceptable.  (Because if anyone would try it, it would be this kid.)

This morning, as nervous as I was about how the events of kindergarten drop-off might play out, I got him up and got breakfast started.  He was super excited.  Okay, good sign!!  Breakfast was hard to force down...we don't normally eat at 6:15 in the morning.  Teeth brushed, got dressed quickly, fixed hair like a rockstar, got backpack on within five minutes.  Record time compared to last year.  And, first day front porch shot went smoothly.

We had new shoes for school, too...but they didn't match this outfit, so the trusty Chucks it is

I was amazed about how excited he was!  Didn't seem nervous at all, until we pulled into the parking spot.  Most people wouldn't have even noticed, but I did.  One tiny little look in his eye told me that he was a little nervous.  But, he got off the car like a champ, backpack on and when we began walking we heard this crazy lady on the street yelling "CHANDLER!  CHANDLER!" OMG.  He couldn't have been more excited to see Mrs. Wendy and his buddy Maddox driving up for car rider line!!!  Boy, those feet started moving then!  (Thanks, Wen!!)

We will do this every year, whether he likes it or not :)

By the time we got in the door, he had already met the librarian's assistant and fist bumped the principal, Mr. Bannach.  (He was pretty impressed that Daddy knew just about every adult we met along the way...that really came in handy.)  After stopping to purchase a couple of new Lakeview Eagles t-shirts (he chose a royal blue one and a gold one, because the gold one looked like Daddy's Predators shirts).  He wanted to show Daddy how to get to his classroom on his own.  My kid proudly walked straight through that gym (thanking a little girl for her compliment about his shirt), down the hallyway, turned right at the corner, and went straight into his classroom.  ROCK ON!!  Such a big boy!  Here he is going through the next few steps we'd talked about:

Found his own cubby: #8

Unpacked his rest towel, lunch box, and snack.  Hung up backpack.

Found his chair at the table.  Put on his name tag.  ("Why is it sooo long??")

My big boy at his table!  (BONUS: he recited his lunch number from memory!  Thanks, Mrs. Susan!)

Proud parents!!  So happy that he was this excited!

Chandler with Mrs. Capley, who I've known since I was teeny.  So thankful he got her!!

Gave Mommy & Daddy a hug & kiss, said "Bye" and got busy!  And look at that perfect crayon grip! (Thanks, Mrs. Susan!)

Boy, was this house quiet today!  When I started blogging it really hit me.  No tears this morning, but boy they came when we got home.  But, 1:45 finally rolled around and it was time to go retrieve the Chan Man.  I was hoping and praying that he would have a super, great day.  (Okay, I knew that he had one because his teacher emailed me before the end of the day. Thanks, Mrs. Capley!)  I couldn't wait to hear what he had to say about it though!

He had a lovely lady (PE teacher I believe) escort him to the car; he totally wasn't paying attention when we passed :)

This is the face of a happy kindergartener!  Thanks, Mrs. Capley!!

Did he have a great day?  Yes!!  "Mommy, kindergarten was awesome!" He answered a few questions for me before telling me "I'm done, Mommy...you're asking too many questions."  What can I say?  I like details!!  He did tell me this: he did make new friends, but he doesn't remember their names; he went to the library he "finks" but they didn't read any books; he played on the playground with lots of new friends and it was awesome, they played Jake & the Neverland Pirates; he ate his lunch and his favorite part was the foot-long fruit rollup which he squished into a ball and crammed in his mouth; he went to music class, but they didn't get to play the keyboards; he really likes his teacher but he is not sure if she likes chocolate as much as Mrs. Susan; he rested at rest time, but didn't sleep; he played in centers.  All in all...he had a great first day!!  Then he told me, and I quote: "Mommy, stop now.  I have to go rest me-self cause I'm tired."

Yay!  This is one happy Momma.

Oh, and incidentally (again), Liam finished Chandler's lunch as soon as we got home:

 "The important thing is not so much that every child should be taught, as that every child should be given the wish to learn."

~John Lubbock~

Till next week friends!

Brittany :)