Preschool, Chick-fil-a, and Six Months

Hooray! Preschool starts today!

That's what I thought when I woke up this morning. We have soooo been looking forward to this. And then I immediately felt guilty. Why am I so excited to get rid of a kid, to be down to just two? Am I that tired? Surely not. Well, maybe...but it's more than that. It is so good for Conner to get out, stay busy, and be with other kiddos his own age. He's one of those kids that thrives around other children, I think he probably even learns more when learning alongside his peers. He was so excited as we were leaving this morning. I had a hard time getting a picture because he wouldn't stop jumping up and down.

But really, it's even more than that. I've been fighting guilt for not signing Micah up again this year. He loved school last year, and he thrives being around other children, too. It's just not going to work for him to go to preschool this year. Maybe next year when Conner's in (free) public school... As the summer drug (well actually, it flew) on, and I worried about Micah being upset about not getting to stay at school with Conner, I started thinking about what we would do while Conner was at school. The more I thought about it, the more excited I got. I don't get much just-Micah-time. I guess it's one of those middle child things, I don't know. I get lots of cuddle time, reading time, playing time, but it's hardly ever with just him. With Conner at school, Micah and I could do all sorts of things while Josiah takes his naps. Like painting, for instance. Micah loves to paint, but rarely gets to do it. It's just too stressful with everyone around. Since we don't do it much, he's not real good at it (translate = messy), so we don't do it much, so he doesn't get any better at it, so we don't do it much, you get the idea. I've got all kinds of grand plans floating around in my little head.

So really, there's lots of reasons to be excited. Everyone is getting something good out of this deal. And today didn't disappoint. Micah was only a little bit upset when he didn't get to stay at school this morning. It was nothing that a promise of Chick-fil-a didn't quickly fix! We called Bret and he even managed to meet us there. As we drove there, Joey slept and Micah sat in the seat directly behind me (instead of in the opposite back corner where he normally likes to sit), where I could actually hear him talking. We talked about what he wanted a Chick-fil-a, about red lights and green lights, and about Backyardigans. It was so nice to just talk to him without someone else needing something in the middle of it. I thought Micah would be lost on the playground without Conner, but it didn't even phase him. He got his own kid's meal (usually he and Conner share because neither one of them tend to eat much when we're out), his own fruit cup, and even got to get ice cream.
And Daddy made Joey's day. He seemed to like that ice cream much better than the green beans we tried this morning!
Conner came home from school excited about a birthday party invitation, his new "favorite best friend in the world" (a girl named Ava), and the book that Mrs. Kendra read to them. Micah was just excited about his Chick-fil-a trip. What a great way to start the school year off!

And I can't leave Joey out -- Today he turned six months old! Such a milestone age...He's sitting up, pretty much able to get around the living room floor via rolling around and a semi-army-crawl-pivot, and has two teeth. He loves his coach, rice cereal, thumb, and big brothers.

Here's Conner and Micah, respectively, when they turned six months.

What a fun and special day we had -- we look forward to lots more! And I don't feel guilty...