School has STARTED!

Today is the day that many mothers look forward to more than Christmas--because it is like Christmas for us. It's the day that school starts again.

I know, I was SOOOO excited for school to be OVER in June. I couldn't wait for summer vacation. Then I realized something. I'm used to my kids being gone all day. They create a LOT of noise--I mean a LOT. And they're not used to being together all day, every day. So it was kind of a relief for school to start again today. I'm not excited about early mornings and I'm not excited about homework, but it will be good to have the structure back and get into some kind of routine.

The kids were kind of taken aback this morning when I was rushing them to take a picture before school--this is a tradition! I *need* a picture of each child at the beginning of the school year. So they appeased me and posed. Another tradition we have at the beginning of the school year is new shoes. Each kid gets a new pair of sneakers--look at their new shoes!






I think Hannah has kind of a Punky Brewster look--remember Punky Brewster? Well, Hannah loves to wear fun socks (that don't necessarily "go with" the outfit) and now she's got high top sneakers. She'd love to have pig tails again, and has asked me to put her hair in low pig tails just last week. And she's got a style that's completely unique. It was freaking hilarious to watch her walk onto campus this morning too. She was SOOOOO excited to go back to school. Social creature that she is, hanging out with just the 4 of us was not stimulating enough. But she walked around, flicking her hair with her hand, and showing people her new backpack--it's pink and it has a monkey on it. You'd have thought that she had a gold brick! I just love this girl!



Toph is trying to be more independent. He's in THIRD grade, after all. He found his line and walked to class on his own, but he also looked glad to see me when I found his classroom. Toph is getting bigger--as is evidenced by the size of his shoe! He's growing up, but I hope he always loves his cuddle time with Mom. He had a hard time sleeping last night, so I had to wake him up this morning. We didn't have that 15 minutes of cuddle time, so I hope his day wasn't completely "off."

Both kids are going to like their teachers, I think. Both teachers seem very nice and structured. Hannah was just anxious to go back. I think she likes the work of school, the challenge, and the social aspects. She definitely likes the playground and will be happy to get to play on the playground every day. I think Toph is going to like his teacher too. He's very structured and strict--but kind too. I know that Toph isn't necessarily looking forward to the work aspect of school, but he's missed his friends and is looking forward to renewing his friendships. I think this will be a good year for the Nickel Family.