Abby's 1st Day of "School"

Today was a BIG day in our house. Abby went to daycare! We signed her up for a day school program this year on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00-noon. The school is at a Methodist church just 5 minutes away and we've been happy to learn that several of Abby's friends are also enrolled. Her sweet friend Layla from my mom's group will even be in the same classroom. (Abby tends to smother Layla in hugs every time she sees her so hopefully she learns to give her a little space!) 

Our little stinker slept in this morning so I had time to swap out all of the items from her much loved diaper bag into her new backpack. Official transition moment, right? 

I know, I know...I totally splurged. This is my first purchase from Pottery Barn Kids. I think the kitty cat print is so, so cute.

I eventually had to go into Abby's room around 8:45 and rub her back to wake her up. She had a quick breakfast and then off we went. I reached back a few times on the drive there to give her hand a little squeeze. And when we got to the classroom? She walked right in like she owned the place and didn't look back. Such an independent little girl! I blew her a kiss while she was vacuuming with the play vacuum and that was it. No tears from either one of us, I was so surprised!

The house felt strangely empty when I got home. I think there have only been a handful of times when I've been in the house without her the past few years. I took my French horn out of the case and had a really great hour-long practice session. I got through my warm up and then played some Bach cello suites and a few movements of the Brahms Horn Trio. I enjoyed practicing so much. I tend to have a love/hate relationship with my Horn but today definitely felt warm and fuzzy. 

I kept looking at the clock and wondering, "what is Abby doing now?" and by 11:00 I officially missed her and wanted to go pick her up. Finally it was noon and here's her daily report: Full of Smiles! (Notice also that they checked "Clean Plate" for her snack. No surprise there.)

I sneaked a peak through the window when I went to pick her up and she was happily playing. Her teacher said Abby did great and that she spent a large part of the morning dancing. (I'm guessing they had music playing?) They thought her swaying back and forth moves were pretty entertaining.

Abby was ready for a big lunch when we got home and apparently she needed to squeeze in some coloring time. (She still tends to go for the black crayon first.)

Serious concentration.

So we made it through the first day! I think this is going to be a really great experience for both of us. Abby is one of the youngest in her class and I'm hoping she will start talking a little more after being around the older kids. She says a lot of single words but is still not stringing them together very much.

I love you, little school girl! When did you get to be such big stuff?

Staycation 2014

Why hello, August! When did you sneak up on me? I can't believe my college teaching starts back up in just 11 days and my middle school and high school horn students begin lessons the following week. Where did this summer go? I've always loved the beginning of a new school year, though. As a little girl I could barely contain my excitement when it was time to pick out Lisa Frank pencils and a new Trapper Keeper. I'll admit that I still feel practically giddy every year when school supplies start showing up in the stores. 

Summer isn't over yet, however, and this morning we braved the heat and humidity and visited the zoo. Our Zajkowski Family Staycation 2014 is drawing to a close. Robert has never really taken an extended vacation from work the past four years and he has a decent amount of time built up. We knew we could use some good time together as a family after the rest of this crazy summer, so he decided to take this entire week off from work. It's been glorious! We considered taking another trip but then realized many people come to Florida for their vacations and we're already here sooooo why not just stay? We talked about all of the things we could do and see just a few short drives from our house. As it turns out, we haven't really done much of anything the past few days. We ended up mostly resting and keeping things simple. Boring, I know. But just what we needed.

We had a treat at the zoo this morning. The tiger was out! Usually he's nowhere to be seen.

See Abby's tiger shirt? Earlier this week Robert told her we'd be going to the zoo in a few days, and Abby ran off to her room. She came back holding the tiger shirt, ready to go to the zoo right now! I now understand why parents spell things such as p-a-r-k. Just the mention of the zoo or the park sends her running for her shoes.

Abby chose the panda on the carousel this time.

Well, that's it from the zoo. We felt like we were melting after just one hour. We changed into fresh clothes when we got home and anytime Robert wears his Wichita State shirt with WuShock, Abby runs off to her dresser to get hers. Seeing a toddler wearing a shirt that says "Play Angry" makes me laugh every time.

I remember when I first found out we were going to have a little girl, one of the things I loved to dream about was the future tea parties we would have together. My sister gave Abby this Green Toys tea set for her birthday and we have had so much fun with it. Lately we fill the teapot halfway with water and Abby practices pouring into the little cups. (She's pretty terrible at it.) Sometimes we have picnics with cheese cubes, crackers, and fruit but today we used her play felt food. Here's panda enjoying some bacon.

What could possibly make this day any better? How about a walk around the corner after dinner to get soft serve ice-cream at Dairy Joy?

I'm so grateful for this family time. We wish you a restful end of your summer, as well. Now let's hurry up and bring on Fall, football, and comfort food!