Week #2 of School/Quarantine Chronicles/Brady is a Bike Rider!!

Unfortunately, our second week of school didn't go quite as expected. There was a COVID case in Hadley's class {the very first in our school since the pandemic began last March}, so she and I had to stay home all week due to her class being closed. {The rest of the school remained open.} Hadley was totally fine all week, but Brady was a little congested so he stayed home with us all week & Shelby {who picked up the stuffiness mid-week} stayed home with us Thursday & Friday. Neither one of them had more than a little sniffle, but with the current climate of the world & me already being home..it was a no-brainer. The stars aligned, and our sudden wide-open schedule for the week coincided with Brady showing interest in upgrading from his balance bike to a pedal bike...and on top of that, we had slightly cooler temps. In what could have been a very blah week, silver linings abounded.

{helping Mommy "telework"}

In the picture below, Hadley is proudly sporting two of her prized Polly Pockets. One of them was a surprise gift from Shelby on the first official morning of Hadley's quarantine b/c she wanted her to have something fun to enjoy while she was at home missing school. I was so proud {but not at all surprised} of Shelby spending her own money to be kind to her sister when it was her birthday week!

And now get ready for video overload! Brady went from his balance bike to a small pedal bike {passed down from our neighbor} to a bigger pedal bike {passed down from his sisters} all in a matter of five days! This first video is from Monday morning at a park near our house.

This next video below was two days later on Wednesday when he'd gotten the hang of starting himself on his bike. {On Monday, I had to give him a boost to get started every single time he stopped...which is why the first video is from the back only.}

Upgrade to a bigger bike on Thursday!

Last video is from Friday morning back at the park...the difference between Monday & Friday was unreal! 

Every chance he gets now, Brady wants to ride his bike! It's been such a fun week watching him achieve this milestone! 

First Week of School 2021

The first week of school is in the books! These kiddos are ready to rock Kindergarten, 3rd grade, and 5th grade this year!

We celebrated our first day of school the same way we did last year--by picking up special treats from the bakery in Old Town Helotes on our way home & enjoying them al fresco while I read aloud to them.

A few more pictures from the first week of school...

All three of the above pictures were taken before we left for school in the mornings.  I had set the alarms pretty early for the first day since I knew we'd be taking pictures, etc. I had intended to bump their alarms a few minutes later each day until we found the "just right" time to get us ready & out the door each day, but we decided we kind of liked keeping their alarms on the earlier side so we had more time to enjoy our mornings instead of rushing out the door frantically every day. We had time to read on the couch together, play outside, water our flowers...it was such a breath of fresh air!

And lastly, a picture at the end of the afternoon on Friday! We went out to lunch with friends and then came home for the kids to spend the next hour playing with a suuuuuper long finger knitting Hadley brought home from school. They literally tied it from our back door knob to our front door knob and then just jumped back and forth over the finger knitting again and again....and again! They had the best time!

August

I feel like August came & went in the blink of an eye! And somehow we're already almost half-way through September--whooops! I feel like the alternate title of this post could be "So long, sweet summer." Second alternate title: "Excessive pictures of a sleeping Brady and poolside kids." ;)

{the girls were hard at work creating their own board games}

{We heart the library!}

{my cute lunch dates at Panera!}

{After seeing their cousin Leland's "bayblades" toy set earlier this summer, they created their own bayblades set up with magnatiles and spinning tops. They played this together for hours one morning.}

I took Brady on his very first {and very belated} annual trip to Barnes & Noble to pick out a birthday book and then out for a treat with Mommy. It was such a fun evening!

Shelby worked hard to create a set of "easy reader" type of books that were personalized for Brady to read independently. He LOVES them, and they're seriously perfect for him.

{playing doctor}

{setting up her new agenda for homeschool curriculum...this used to be one of my FAVORITE things to do EVER! We are cut from the same cloth for sure!}

{Barnes & Noble}

Family date night at Cheesecake Factory...

The next three pictures are of our very first trip to Duck Donuts! It was so fun! 

{piano recital}

{piano recital}

The pictures below are of the kids holding their letters/pictures they got in the mail from their new teachers before school started...they were SO excited!!

{Hadley has mailed countless letters to her friends this summer!}

Below is a picture of Shelby post DOUBLE tooth extraction. Shelby needed to have a tooth pulled for orthodontic reasons. When the dentist extracted the tooth, the tooth next to it {which was already loose unbeknownst to me} practically fell out. So we got two for the price of one, ha!

The kids' first trip to Top Golf with Grammy & Grampy! They were big fans!!

And the grand finale...my very favorite picture of the bunch! My parents--for the second year in a row--have put their lives on hold to come hang out with our crew while I had my teacher work-week prior to school starting. What a blessing it was to have them here holding down the fort so I could shift my focus to prep for the new school year. It is always such a joy to have them here with us. Thank you, Grammy & Grampy!!!