First Day of School

Last year was such a whirlwind that we just started preschool without much fan fair. This year, we've talked about it for weeks and actually got a first day of school picture. Wow. We'll see how long I can keep up this "good mommy" charade. 

Erin is starting at Zoom, a Spanish immersion preschool  (or "Spanish emergency preschool" according to Erin) near our house. She did a camp there this summer and had a great time. Her Spanish skills are really taking off and soon will be way more advanced than me, although for now I still win because I understand the concept of conjugating a verb and sentence structure, however, my days are limited. 

We're trying out afternoon preschool this year because that's what was available. I'm still bracing for disaster with no naps.

Erin is very into the Little House on the Prairie books. We've read several, listened to them in the car, cut out the paper dolls and played "Laura and Mary" at home. Interestingly, Erin always chooses to be Mary and then other characters are assigned (Nora is usually Pa) but often times Laura is forgotten. Today I made her a prairie skirt and apron. They turned out pretty cute considering I had not patterns and have only a very basic understanding of how to put in an elastic waist (turns out I did it wrong, better luck next time). 

Nora is getting bigger and bigger. At some point recently she stopped being a baby and is now very much an independent little girl. She loves to do things for herself. She can feed herself her whole bowl of oatmeal with a spoon. She does great with a real cup or water bottle. She loves shoes and will bring a pair to one of us to put on first thing in the morning. Her vocabulary is expanding (including a few Spanish words) and she's picked up a few new signs (please and thank you). She is still quick to get frustrated, but is doing less biting these days. She is much friendlier with everyone and likes to wave at everyone regardless of whether they are paying attention. She likes to pretend to be a kitty and crawl around meowing. All in all, she's a very funny little girl who gives us lots of laughs.