Saturday, September 16, 2017

Alexa June is 7!

My first born is 7 years old. In the last year, Alexa has really matured. She no longer does the preschool type behaviors. She is socially aware of her actions and is more emotionally in touch with her own feelings. She is a bubbly, talkative and sweet girl. At school she has taken on a leader role (probably because she is one of the older ones). She is smart, focused and motivated. Sometimes she does talk during class, but she is working on that. At recess she enjoys monkey bars, hiding in seek and other group activities. She seems to play mostly with girls but a big variety of them. Lunch is still a challenge for Alexa. She eats through her lunch time and usually with the next lunch as well (when 1st graders are playing). It is more important to me that she is eating her lunch, then getting a third recess each day. 

Alexa is involved in lots of activities. She enjoys soccer. Her best position is defense, followed by goalie. She does gymnastics with her sister during the week as well. It's a good physical, indoor activity for her. She likes it because it doesn't involve running. Alexa has piano lessons one day a week, and she practices on her own every other day. She is getting ready to have her second recital in just a few weeks. Both girls are also still in AWANA. This is the first year Justin and I are volunteering. It's a lot of fun to spend the evening with the girls in this environment. Alexa is learning lots of verses and how to use the virtues she is being taught. Lastly, Alexa is joining a Lego FIRST team. It's STEAM+ based and ran by an engineer. We are excited to see how she enjoys this one.

Alexa is 45 inches tall and 40lbs! She is taking after her Momma in size, but still growing as she should. She is still on the charts and expected to be over 5 feet tall. We will see if that happens before too long. 

Alexa is a sweet sister and daughter. We are so proud of the girl she is becoming. She goes out of her way to show kindness and be helpful. Lastly, Alexa LOVES to read. I cannot keep a book out of her hand. I know it sounds silly but sometimes I want her to get out a play. She prefers reading and rereading her books. Currently she is working her way through the Puppy Palace series. 

Alexa's birthday was celebrated at school with a class donation of a game and then prizes for her friends. She gave eraser puzzles. They were a hit. Her actually birthday fell on a soccer day. We brought cupcakes for her team. The following weekend we had her party at Pump-It-Up-Poway! Alexa had a fantastic time with all her friends. 

Friday, September 1, 2017

First day of School

Addison started back at school first. She is starting a new school for the third year in a row. Unfortunately the school we had her in last year was not the best fit for her. I felt she needed more structure and more academic focus to get her ready for kindergarten (or Transitional Kindergarten if he decide to hold her). Addison is now going to school at our church. The school has preschool through 12th grade. It's a fantastic school and we are even considering moving Alexa there at some point. For now, Addison is in the pre-k program with the intent of sending her to Alexa's public school next year.

Addison's school has cute uniforms. Addison wasn't excited about them at first, but now knows they means it's a school day and she doesn't complain. They also make our mornings a bit easier. Addison's class has 16 kids in it with two teachers. She LOVES her teachers as well as her best friend named Danica. It was a huge relief that she took to school so easily. We have only received positive feedback from her teachers. Addison is also eating lunch at school everyday. The last two years she has had a few lunches at school but not consistently. This year she packs a snack and a lunch. I like the independence it is teaching her. It should also make the transition into kindergarten a little easier. She has learned the pledge of allegiance and several other fun facts (like how many bones cats have).

The only complaint from Addison is that she is one of the first to leave each day. The school options are until 12:30 or 2:30. I opted for the 12:30 pick up since she is now going 5 days (compared to 3 days last year). However, I made a deal with her that if she stops having accidents then she can stay all day. Win-win?

Alexa started this week. She found out her teacher name and the kids in her class a few days prior. I could tell she had some mixed feelings. This is her first year at the same school back to back years. She ended up with one close friend in the class, 1 child who challenges her academically (she likes this) and 2 others she wasn't friends with from her kindergarten class. She had 6-8 good friends from kindergarten and has hoping more of them would have been in her first grade class. She was very excited to be back on the first day. She has been playing with her friends from last year, but also starting to make new friends. Her class has two new students. One of them lives in our neighborhood. We have already had one play date and have a second one planned. Not a bad first week.

I cannot believe my girls are at school everyday. I am a bit lost but finding my new identity. Overall I am just happy that the girls are happy, healthy and thriving.