First Day of Sunday School

Clara's first day of Sunday School was a couple of weeks ago.  Actually, just two, but it seems like longer!  The days are absolutely flying by.  Here she is, in her standard issue White Memorial smocked dress with her diaper bag (Clara carry it!) and her animal cup.

My big girl:

 Julia and me:

All three of us:

Cheese face!

Typically I am not pictured, but this time, Quincy took the picture and there is actual photographic evidence of me in 2012 with a five month old baby and a two year old.  I don't have any feet, but if you look at the picture at the top, those are my feet shooing everyone out of the house.

There is no way anyone who is not a mom of two--or even a mom of two distanced from the baby stage--can ever imagine what it took to get to this point.  Two clean babies and a dressed up mama. A diaper bag (with everything labeled!) for each.  A bottle for Julia with a thermos of hot water to warm it with.  A cup for Clara.  Etc., etc.  Plus, Evan's birthday party was immediately after, so I needed the present, a change of clothes for Clara, change of shoes for me, and two cars (long story).  Well, Quincy ended up with both bags in his car and forgot them.  We ended up being 10 minutes late for our service, but it didn't matter.  We snuck up into the balcony and snagged the last two seats.  And then just like that the service was over.  Clara loved her first day of Sunday school and Julia spent the whole service grinning at people.  And off we went!

Plank Position & State Fans

Oh Julia.  SLOW DOWN.

Look at this child:

She spends HOURS in plank position or rocking on her knees and she LOVES it.  She can easily roll front to back.  Back to front?  Not really at all unless she does it by accident.  She can actually move herself forward and back a little on her knees, but, again, can't really roll over.  She can sit assisted, but not unassisted.

I asked Anita this morning--is it possible that she might crawl before she can roll over?  Anita's been doing this for 12 years and she hasn't seen that, but she has seen a baby crawl before that baby could sit up.  It could happen that way with Julia.

I'm really not ready for her to be mobile.  I just look around the room and shudder with the anticipation.  Clara does NOT understand choking hazards!  I guess we'll figure that out.

We had a great, busy weekend.  We went to Music on the Porch Friday and Saturday was the first NCSU game.  People ask me all the time how we deal with The House Divided.  And by that I mean one spouse attended UNC (me) and the other NCSU (Quincy).  It's really not an issue.  I went to UNC for seven years (undergrad and law school), but was raised a State fan, my dad having taught there since 1982.  Quincy went to NCSU but was raised a UNC fan with both his parents being alums.  So, we both have respect for one another's teams.  NCSU has a much better tailgate, but can't really compete in basketball.  We peacefully coexist, and when they play one another Quincy grumbles and I just cheer for whoever wins.  Anyway, I was in Wally World for baby stuff this summer and ran into the most adorable NCSU cheerleader outfits you've ever seen.  If they'd had UNC I would have gotten those, but they were picked over and only had 4Ts and 5Ts (have you seen the cartoon on the Internet that says "I have this NCSU shirt because I went to NCSU, you have that UNC shirt because you went to Walmart"?  Funny and ironic).

So anyway:

A Week of Firsts--Transition to 2s

There are two classrooms at each level at Bright Horizons.  About mid-way through Clara's time in infants, I heard that Toddlers-2 was the place to be.  But, when Clara went to visit, Toddlers-1 was where she wanted to be.  She instantly fell in love with the teachers, Darlene and Madie.  I thought about pushing what I had heard and getting her in Toddlers-2, but when I really thought about it, what was the basis for what I had heard?  Was it just gossip?  And what's better than letting my child choose her teachers?  So, we went with Toddlers-1 and boy are we glad we did!  First and foremost, Darlene and Clara absolutely love one another.   Both teachers have taught her so much this year, have been so patient with her, and have really allowed her to thrive in her own element.  It has really been a great year.  Clara could hardly talk or walk when she moved up to toddlers, and now she can run, jump, climb things, color, knows songs, her colors (in English and Spanish plus all of the signs), how to count to 10, and a million other new things.

And now it's time for another transition.  Starting last Tuesday, Clara started in the 2s classroom.  The cast of kids are the same.  Some of the kids she has known since she was 3 months old in infants.  But, the teachers, schedule and routine are different.  There are new things for her to learn and do, a much bigger playground to play on, and a great new set of teachers for her to get to know.  Clara and I are still a little sad.  She asks for Madie on the way in every day and we talk about Darlene (Doe Doe) a lot.

Here's some pictures of our big girl on her first day:

And here's some pictures of her first day in toddlers:

Can you even believe how big she has gotten?

For good measure, here's one of Julia while I was taking pics of Clara:

Last week was also the first week of Sunday school.  Stay tuned for pictures from that momentous occasion.

Photo Shoot Gone Wrong

We had everything going for us.  A slightly overcast morning at the beach.  Freshly bathed children that were not tired or (we thought) cranky.  Cute, matching outfits.

But.

Sometimes it doesn't work out like we plan.  Julia was fine, though she did have a hard time adjusting to the sun.  Clara?  Well, I guess I had better let the pictures speak for themselves.

Hey!  The sand!

The sun's pretty bright.

Oh, the sorrow

So pitiful.

Escalating.

Thinking she'd calm down if she got to hold Julia.  Nope.

This one is my favorite.  She's got that hand raised like "THIS IS TERRIBLE!  TAKE THAT CAMERA OFF OF ME!"

Yes, she actually got down to kick and scream.  She actually calmed down for about 30 seconds, it was pretty fun down there in the sand.

Julia, just looking on.

Clara, still at it.

Still at it and now mad because I had taken the dress off of her.

The tantrum started over her orange binky.  Then she didn't want to put on the dress.  Then she didn't want to take off the dress.

They don't call them the terrible twos because they are awesome!