First Day of School

Today Genevieve had her first day of school.  She's visiting Alex's school this week while Ryanne is on vacation.

It was an unqualified success!  She was already excited this morning before we left the house.  Getting to take her very own backpack was particularly fun.  When we got to school, the teachers in the "Toddler" room (which she will grow out of in exactly 9 days when she turns 2) were extremely attentive and welcoming.  We came during circle time, so all the kids were sitting quietly and listening to stories and songs.

Dana and I were reluctant to say goodbye, but Genevieve didn't seem to mind very much.  I admit that I thought about Genevieve all day long and worried that she might not be comfortable or happy.

As it turns out, I did not need to worry.  When I arrived at school to pick the kids up, the Director told me that Genevieve had enjoyed her entire day, and was one of the best children the teachers had ever had in class.  She was happy, engaged, did what the teachers asked, and fell right asleep at nap time.  She ate all of her lunch and even got to visit with Alex in the afternoon.

Happy girl after her first day of school

Genevieve will be in school thru Monday, then will return part time later this summer or fall.

In other news, we made a small investment in nap time and bedtime at home.  We bought a set of blackout shades for the West-facing upstairs hallway windows.  With these installed now we can darken all of the upstairs at any time of day.  This has made it slightly easier to get the kids down for naps on the weekend, and to move them towards bedtime in the summer while it stays light out until 9pm.  In the winter we'll still be able to leave them wide open to help wake the kids up in the mornings.




This past weekend we visited Old Town Fort Collins to walk around on a sunny morning.  We had breakfast at a great little restaurant called Ingredient, and then walked around for an hour to burn off some pancakes. We stopped by the Starry Night Cafe, which is where Alex first met Ryanne almost 4 years ago.  It is amazing how much has happened in our lives!

Alex and Genevieve outside the Starry Night

Big Girl, potty time, excellent

Today we bought Genevieve her first pair of big girl underpants. It's very strange to think we will someday soon be done with diapers. She loves the new underpants by the way, although she needs some practice - she went thru 2 pairs in 10 minutes after her bath tonight.

Speaking of underpants, Alex has now gone almost a week (since last Sunday night) wearing underpants to bed without incident. We still wake him up a couple of times each night to go potty. He doesn't really wake up at all, just kind of slumps over half asleep, but it gets the job done.

Someday, as parents, we will again resume sleeping thru the night. But I am afraid that at about that same time we will have to begin staying up late waiting for one of the kids to get home.