Changes

The next week is going to bring lots of changes for the Harding - Wheeler family. All five kids are headed to school full time at Noah Webster. Peter moves us to the middle school, Molly is in 5th grade, Annie is in Kindergarten and the twins are in seperate pre-K classes. I know that part of  my anxiety comes from the fact that I have no babies at home - it has been a while for us! Another part of my anxiety is that we have lots to do to prepare and I haven't exactly prepared the kids yet for 6:15 alarms, 7:30 packed in the van and ready to head out! And then there is the fact that every one of my children now become someone else's responsibility for 6 hours a day. I mean - how can I be sure that if there was a fire the 5 Harding - Wheeler kids would be the first ones out of the building right??? And seperating the twins for pre-k feels like a terrible idea to me despite the fact that every teacher, educator, parent and physician has said it is the right thing for both kids! The thought of Ellie and Lizzie not being able to lean on each other during the school day is hard for me to imagine. And then there is another part of me that can't wait to see how independant and empowered they become - especially Lizzie who has never been to school before and has no idea what a treat she is in for. Lizzie reminds me alot of Molly at this age - Molly couldn't have loved school more and dreaded Fridays in pre-K.
I took the kids to Noah Webster the other day for a meet and greet and in alot of ways it felt like going home after a long vacation. The teachers and principal were warm and friendly, all of my friends who are parents at the school were hugging and catching up and the kids reveled in the love of the teachers they have known their whole lives. No school is perfect but if I had any doubts that we were where we are meant to be  - Friday put my mind at ease. At this time and place NW is a safe, loving learning environment for all of our children and we can't wait to get back into the swing of things!
Grammy and Papa are making the most of the last few days of summer and getting in some quality time with the grandkids! Last weekend the littles spent the weekend at the beachhouse and this weekend it was the big kids turn. They were thrilled to get there and we have gotten quite a few pictures of them swimming, eating , running and playing! They are so lucky to have my parents as their grandparents. Since the big kids are away we decided to grab Katie and have some fun with the little kids! We went to Dinosaur park where I opted to leave my camera in the car and just hike and have fun with the kids. Then we headed to Friendlies for dinner and the home for a movie.

The four little girls ready to watch the Lorax.

The four little girls ten minutes later - Ellie was the only one still awake - it could have been the five hour nap she took this afternoon!

When Lizzie was a baby I used to spend way too much time watching her sleep. She has such perfect little features and sleeps like a little angel even now!

I love that Katie sleeps with those adorable curls all over the place - even in her face. When I tried to brush them away from her face she pushed my hand away - look at how long her eyelashes are!! She is such a joy to be around - nothing fazs her - not even her three cousins competing for her attention in some very obvious ways!

Bob says that Annie sleeps like me - apparently I also drool and frown in my sleep! I will never get tired of looking at that sweet face and counting those beautiful little frekles.

The girls were little angels and we were thrilled to have them all here with us! Tomorrow we have alot on the agenda from Taylor's Place to Payless Shoes (Katie's choice)! The last days of summer vacation are drawing to a close and we are preparing for the long fall ahead but Annie keeps reminding us that there's still time to go in the sprinkler so that's what we'll do!

GNM - ILY!