Nelson Family: September 2010

The Brief (pictureless) Nelson Update

We are still managing to keep some updates going here on the blog even though they are few and far between these days! But life is going well.

Mia started Kindergarten and attends the afternoon session at a Charter School here in California. We are really liking her school, she is having fun and doing well, and we're starting to adjust to life on a strict schedule.

Maddi and Mommy started their first week of Preschool (Maddi as student Mommy as teacher to Maddi and 4 other adorable students) that she teaches 2 days a week while Mia is at school and Ella is napping. It went really well the first week and we are both excited for next week.

Ella is getting really used to her stroller and car seat and has adapted well to her one nap a day at 11:30 sharp! :) We actually tried to deviate from this the other day and she was not a happy camper. :) She continues to find news things to get into around the house to keep us on our toes. Her latest thing that keeps us laughing is that she has learned to fold her arms when we say prayers (she puts both hands right on her chubby little belly). But in addition to this...whenever we say "Who would like to say it?" , she shoots her arm right up in the air and raises her hand (just like her sisters do). It cracks us up to see an 18 month old raising her and and in the right context. So like always, she continues to try and keep up with her sisters.

Lance is enjoying work and after traveling to Sacarmento earlier this Summer to take his practical licensing exam he found out that he passed....yeah! And is now an offically California licensed Audiologist. He's been fitting in some extra time for surfing and he finally used some Graduation Money to buy a road bike and is thinking about working towards his goal of a triathlon in the near future. :)

I had a lot of fun training for a 1/2 marathon with a good friend got up to 10 miles and then had to back out of the actual race due to injury. And this month I've been staying busy with Mia starting school and getting my preschool program ready. I enjoyed the first week of preschool and am excited for the year ahead.

And that's us!

Our "School Pictures"

After being spoiled by amazing photographer friends in Indiana, I may never set foot in a photo studio again. Plus I really enjoy the process of trying to get a "Print-Worthy" shot so for now, our family will have to settle for Mommy being the photographer. These are my current favorites for framing in our house. :)

My cute cute little Maddi

I find I have the fewest pictures of Maddi these days as she is always on the go, so when Mia had "Picture Day" at school we decided to have our own "Picture Day" here at home. I fixed Maddi's hair pretty and she picked out her own "picture day" outfit. And she was a willing subject for at least 3 minutes! I loved her little smile she was doing for these. :)

First Day of School

Mia's school had a bar-b-que for all the new families and Lance and I got to take her on our date night to attend the dinner. She was SO excited and had all her own ideas about what she "needed to wear". She said she just had to dress up! She met a couple of other little kids there who would be in her class and had fun playing with them and we got to peek in the windows of her classroom. It was funny b/c after peeking into the classroom she asked us if that is where the big kids go and we said, "Oh no that room is just for the Kindergartners" and then she asked us "Oh well where is the room where all the kids go together?" and we finally caught on at this point that she was referring to primary (at church) where you go to your "little class" with the kids your age for half the time and then go with ALL the kids to the big primary class. (Makes sense given her experience thus far in life!) So we had to explain that "school" is not quite the same as primary.

Going on a Special Date with Daddy the night before her first day. They went to the bookstore and picked out a special book that Mia really likes called "Thank You Mr. Falker". Sweet story about a teacher who helps a little girl learn to read after she's been left behind in every other class. At the beginning of the book her family has a tradition where the Grandpa puts a little bit of honey on special book and has the child who is starting school dip their finger in and tell him how it tastes. When they say "Sweet" he says, "Honey is Sweet and So is Knowledge, but Knowledge is like the bee that made that sweet honey, You have to chase is through the pages of a book". I love that quote.

The Actual First Day...I love how the backpack is just about as big as her!

So excited!

Maddi was definitely sad to see Mia go on her first day but is having fun getting to spend "Quiet Time" with Mommy and getting to be the Big Sister for a few hours a day. And we find them trying to get their fill of sister-playtime whenever they possibly can. Mia has had fun bringing home new ideas from things she's learned at school and we've all had fun learning along with her. And she and Maddi have added "School and Teacher" to their list of imaginative games they like to play such as "Church, Mommies, and Narnia"

Sitting at her table on the first day. She told me she felt "Shy and Excited". When I picked her up on the first day, her first words were "That was Long!". But I think it was a "good" long because she seems to be enjoying every minute of school.

Mia started Kindergarten at the end of August. She is in the afternoon 1/2 day program at a Charter School here in California. Although we've done Joy school and my Preschool Program out of our home she has never done an away-from-home school program so this was a huge deal in our home getting ready (the school supplies for her and the emotions for Mommy) but we got everything checked off and both felt ready on the first day (it helped that the Moms and Dads got to attend the entire first day WITH the kids!) I think Mia has been "READY" for Kindergarten since she was probably 2 but I have absolutely cherished the time I have had with her here at home with me. There is nothing like the free days where you don't have any appointments or places to be at and you can just curl up all together and read and read and read and learn about new things at your own pace and in your own way. We did a lot of that this last year and I am so glad for the memories it's created and the new traditions it's brought into our home that will always stay with us. And now...on to more Car Time, A Schedule, Room Parent duties, Backpacks and Homework! :)

A Run to the Beach and a Surf Contest

Oh these pictures bring back Bitter-Sweet Memories. One of the highlights and also sad parts to the end of Summer for me was signing up and training to run my 2nd Half-Marathon. My good friend here from Indiana had motivated me to sign up for a half marathon on the Naval Base here at the end of September. I had about 10 weeks to train and after thinking about it for a day I decided it might as well be now. I had a such a great experience when Lance and I trained for the Indy Half-Marathon 2 years ago and was in need of motivation to get back into running again so this was just perfect. It was so fun to have a friend to train with and we were doing awesome. The day I took these pictures was the day we ran from Dani's house TO the Beach for our 10 mile run. Our husbands and the kids met us down there so we could all watch some of a surf competition Lance had been wanting to see. It was a hard run but we did it and had fun. But bittersweet because this was the last long run I did. The next week I started having some issues with my ankle and after taking a week off from running and then 2 weeks off and then 3 weeks off I was still having lots of pain and decided it wasn't worth the risk to try and keep training and so I had to back out of the race. :( I was so so sad to do it but try to remember there will be other races. I still don't know exactly WHAT I did to injure my ankle but I'm starting to see some improvement so hopefully another 1/2 marathon will be insight later this year. No fun getting older, more brittle, and having your body not be able to keep up with your mind! :)

Soaking Up the Last Bits of Summer

I say "Soaking up the last bits of Summer" rather than Sunshine because here in California I guess the Sun is pretty much always there but it's interesting how life in general just forms "Seasons" for you even if the weather doesn't. Just posting these pictures makes me glad that I finally took a few pool pictures because I think this really was one of the last times (recently) that I've been to the pool with the girls. And looking at these pictures has me already missing the free-spirited days of our summer.

All the Random Parts of our Day

Trying out some new Hair-dos

Mia has become very interested in posing and taking pictures more recently. It's nice to have a willing subject!

Our Garden was not the success I was envisioning in terms of all the convenience of not having to do as much grocery shopping/spending...but it has definitely been a learning experiences for our whole family with a few little successes here and there. The girls really enjoyed their job of watering the garden and it's been so exciting for them to see things bloom and grow.