I have a KindergarteWe ner....End of August but beginning of a new phase

So......today was the big day! It was Easton's first day of school. Before I get into that I will do a brief update on the other two kiddos.

Benny: A few weekend ago we had our niece, Baylor, over for a sleepover. We went out to dinner and ice cream, played in the hot tub, and watched movies all night! They had a blast. Benny just mostly follows them around but they are good to him so he actually thinks he's part of their "gang"

We have also accomplished potty training this child. It was a huge nightmare, but we have the daytime potty thing down pat now. He rarely has accidents and when he does it is because he waits until the last minute and we are not close enough to a bathroom.

He's done pretty well with Easton no longer going to Mary's with him. This is day 1 so that could change, but something tells me this kid is loving being the big Kalasek there now. He continues to either make us take deep breaths so we don't lose our tempers or make us cry with laughter....If there is anything Ben is its one of a kind and unpredictable. Should be interesting that he is starting Pre-K in a month. He was counting for Brian in the car the other day and right before he got to the number 20 he said "what am i even doing? I don't know how to count....I need to just sit here" Literally we never know what will come out of his mouth.

Iron Man Benny

Having a Zesto's in walking distance could get dangerous

hot tub'n

STUD

:) HAHAHA

his new obsession is hopscotch. Dad made him one that went from #1-#80

Paxton is doing awesome. Close to sitting up and FINALLY using his arms more to push against the ground and hopefully start building up those shoulder muscles. He is still doing PT/OT twice a week and at a year we will add some speech into that as well. His schedule will continue to get busier but that also means he is ready to do more and catch up quicker with "typical" kids his age.

He is quite possibly the happiest child ever. He goes with the flow and smiles all the time. He will let you know if he is upset but in a more subtle (and heart breaking way)...he has the SADDEST of sad faces when he chooses to use it.

We had our second sleep study and got great results. His central apnea is completely gone. Central apnea is when your brain doesn't always tell you to breathe or it forgets to tell you to breathe (scary huh)...so the fact that this went from severe to non existent is HUGE! That means that his brain is growing and developing correctly and on track. His obstructive apnea went from severe (a # 16) to now only a #5. At 0 we will be able to take away the oxygen machine at night, but this significant improvement in only 9 months time shows us that we don't have much longer to wait for that O2 machine to leave our home. Praise Jesus!

brother movie night!

somewhat sitting up in the shopping cart now days

sleep study #2

bath time fun! 

watching his brothers play outside! soon enough little man

Ok so now onto todays big day. First of all let me just preface this by stating that Easton has NEVER been excited about starting school. He loved Pre-School, but more than anything he LOVES MaryPat and starting school not only means going to a place he's never been, being with a group of kids he's never met, but it also means not seeing Mary everyday or his friends there. These kids have literally grown up together. His BFF Landon is only about 5 months behind him in age so they were tiny babies together there. These kids consider each other family so not seeing them on a daily basis is a little tough to swallow for him (and kind of for me too if I am being honest). Not to mention the other 2 boys starting Kindergarten from Mary's crew are going to the same school and the school that Mary transports too so they will continue to stay are her house before and after school. Now obviously Benny is still there and Paxton too off and on so she is still a GIANT part of our lives. Easton will still go there on days when they don't have school and in the summer so that somewhat helped to ease his pain about leaving her yesterday. He asked if he could bring her a card and flowers so that is what we did yesterday. He wanted me to help him spell on the card "thank you for watching me for 6 years" Seriously the kid has a heart of gold. 

We have been enforcing our new bedtime routines and getting closer to them actually listening and falling asleep before 9pm. We read two books, brush teethe, and then Benny and Easton listen to a CD of stories as they fall asleep (or play with flashlights and who knows what else that we find sprawled out across their bed and floor in the morning). They definitely are getting up earlier and happier each day so thats a huge bonus. Last week we went up to find out his teacher, put money in his lunch account, get his yearbook photo taken, and just walked around the school. He was pretty clingy and not really into it that much. Luckily his actual teacher was up there helping out so he got to meet her. She can talk like Donald Duck so that was very impressive! Then Tuesday of this week we went back up to school to again meet his teacher, see his classroom, put all his supplies away in his cubby, see his desk, and did a scavenger hunt around the school to find all the rooms he will be using (library, music, gym, cafeteria, bathrooms, and office). A little boy way down the street that we had not met yet was actually in his class and sits next to him at their table! His name is Casen and he is SUPER outgoing and talkative....which is exactly what Easton needs since he is so shy at first. His teacher is Mrs Thompson but they all call her Mrs T (and she's actually older than Brian and I which i loved). When we were walking around during open house I was shocked that so many teachers looked SO YOUNG! Reality really slapped me in the face during this whole school ordeal haha. Time to get the night creme out ;)

OPEN HOUSE!

This is where his backpack goes

FireRidge Elementary here comes Easton

Ready Confetti

Easton's self portrait lol 

Sweet dreams little man...tomorrow your next journey begins

so far all smiles

my heart

Last year he wanted to be Luigi so we are moving towards a more realistic plan :) 

I don't want to let go....

Mrs.T

Coming out after his first big day!!!! (Casen is the boy behind him in the red)

perfect first art project he made today.

Last night we read "The Night Before Kindergarten" and put some ready confetti under his pillow. We went over what item he would choose for lunch so he didnt get flustered during that. They get 4 options and each morning they put their little lunch slip in the cup on Mrs. T's desk stating what they want for lunch so she can order it up. Then when they get to lunch they pick a milk out of the fridge, grab their tray, get the item they pre-ordered, and pick a piece of fruit or veggies/salad and go sit down. Way more sophisticated than when I was at school. They asked parents to wait at least a month before we start going up to have lunch with them occasionally......I will be counting down til its "appropriate" for me to do that. Anyways...we tucked Easton in last night and he fell right to sleep. I on the other hand tossed and turned until my alarm went off a little after 5am. Part of that was anxiety for today and the other part was that Ben jumped in our bed around 1am and he likes to fling himself all over the place and I got a couple of feet smacks to the face...

Brian got Easton up this morning and immediately there were tears. He was so nervous and knew that the day was actually here. Brian took Paxton and Benny to Mary's so we could have the experience of drop of with Easton be ONLY about Easton. I made him whatever breakfast he wanted (cinnamon pop tarts) and forced him to take a few photos and then we all jumped into the car and were on our way. Easton wanted me to climb in the "way back" and sit next to him during the drive so of course that is what I did. We held hands and just talked. The past few nights I have been asking him what he's nervous about and his answer is always "everything...especially making friends. I hear there are bullies at school" No clue where he got that. It could've been the older kids at Mary's or TV as Lord knows the media tries to scare us about everything and anything these days. Regardless I have been trying to explain to him the difference btw a stranger and a bully. So today we parked and walked up to the front of the school. We took some photos with his teacher and the big sign they had welcoming us. Everything was going okay. We saw his friend Ethan from next door and Casen came and joined his class at their official spot out front. Now drop off is at 7:55..thats when the actual teachers are out in their spots wrangling the kids. If we get there before then we need to stay with him until his teacher comes out. On normal days he will do walking club once his teacher gathers everyone until 8:10 when the bell rings to come inside. Today however there was no walking club we just hung out with him and the other kids/parents at Mrs.T's spot by the tree. 8:10am arrived and Mrs. T stated "everyone give moms and dads one last hug bc we are going inside. Easton grabbed both Brian and I and started crying. I kept my tears at bay as best as I could. Then I helped him get back into line bc he hugged us a bit longer than a lot of the kids. Then as he walked up the hill into door #3 I saw him grab his shirt and use it to wipe tears....(excuse my language) but I LOST MY SHIT! Brian, who is by far the more emotional one kept saying "wow you are crying real tears" lol. I keep a lot of stuff held in but I just couldn't with this. All my boys are everything to me, but Easton is my FIRST everything. I am sure we will be throwing a party when we turn Ben over to the Elkhorn school system (j/k kind of) and Paxton will be a whole other issue for a lot of reasons when that time comes. But its Easton. My sensitive, overly caring, incredible compassionate and generous son. And the time had come for me to release him and allow him to become independent and in a way this is the beginning of letting go....Im not sure Im okay with that but I am extremely aware that I have no control over this either....and luckily since Paxton's arrival I am a lot better and giving up control to higher powers. The school put on a Boo Hoo/Yahoo Breakfast for kindergarten parents and I got to talk to some PTO mommies (bc you know damn well Ill be involved with everything and anything that affects my kids). It was nice and a great way to calm us all down after we watched our kiddos march into school for their first big day. Brian then left for work and I chose to jog home. I needed to breathe fresh air, listen to a silly podcast, and also silently pray for Easton, his teacher, myself, etc. I spent the next 5 hours and 6 minutes working, and then grocery shopping (even though we needed nothing), and getting a manicure. I needed to be busy and do things that took up time. I never wish the days to go fast (especially when I have zero kids at home with me) but today was the exception. I then walked up to school (bc then I could leave my house earlier haha) and was there to watch him walk out of door #3. I prayed that his day was good and he would be excited about tomorrow. He looked around expecting to see my car. Then I yelled his name and the smile that came across his face was EVERYTHING! He ran up to me and just said quietly "mom I had fun!" Instant tears again for me! We walked home (even though he let me know he didn't want to walk home again...his legs were tired and it takes a long time lol). The entire way home I asked about friends, lunch, what he did, what he learned, and a lot of other annoying mom questions no kid wants to answer. I got some "i don't know" and "i don't remember" answers but I also got a lot of other explanations that proved just what a good and fun first day he had. We went to Zesto's for milk shakes and then he enjoyed being the only kid home for a few hours before we left to pick up Pax and Benny. Easton couldn't wait to tell Mary about his big day and give her a giant hug. We let him pick the restaurant tonight for dinner to celebrate (as long as it wasn't McDonalds)...he chose Applebee's so we went and had a super classy dinner lol. I still cant believe I have a child in "real" school. I feel emotionally drained and cant believe he is still awake and energized playing basketball outside right now with his dad and brother. I am so proud of Easton and the incredible human he is. I am excited to be sharing him with FireRidge and Mrs.T's class. I am happy we have such a close relationship where we can lay down together and discuss our days so I can hear about all his wins, fear, and silly events each day. I read a quote somewhere that said "do you enjoy your children or do you endure your children" Apparently a study showed that those who "endured" their children once their kids left the home for college or work or marriage or whatever they didn't come back home much. They spent more time with their significant others families, or they just found other places to be or people to be with than "home"... As frustrating as 3 little emotional boys can be, as hard as it is to have a child with "special circumstances", or a 3 year old who quite frankly is a bit challenging at times, to have a husband who travels, or me who tries to be a stay at home mom and a working mom simultaneously.....regardless of all of this I still ENJOY my children. I look forward to the day when they want to come home. When they bring their families home. When I can continue to spoil, love on, help out, and be blessed by their presence. Anytime I feel myself getting stressed, anxious, or at my ropes end I remember that study and the fact that this time is quickly passing....its not easy but its really not that hard either. Its not hard to look at these faces and love them whole heartedly. To watch them flourish and help them become the amazing humans I pray they will become. Life on this planet is short and I want them near me as much as possible while we are all here. 

Today was a big day. It was an emotional and hard day. But it was always a hugely rewarding day for both Easton and us as his parents. Listening to him outside laughing with Brian and Ben makes me heart so happy right now. Paxton and I are all tucked up together now that he has gotten his shot and I have my glass of red wine. Life is so so so good. I choose joy and I hope you all do too. God Bless!