School, Harper's first day

We are officially over back to school and in a normal school routine around here.
Mornings are still an adjustment for us all.
HG does not like to move quickly in the mornings.
I typically get Hailey up, dressed or hair washed then dressed, get her eating and I do a mad rush to wash my face and change into something decent.  Lately, she has been wanting to wash her hair in the morning and have me french braid it in two braids.  So we scrub at night and wash hair in mornings.  Yes, we have to adjust our wake up times some.  I wake Hudson up once HG is downstairs eating, change his diaper then grab Harper and let her potty and brush her teeth before heading down the stairs. If it is a waffle day, Harper's organic cookie monster blueberry waffles are cooked and cooled you know she can't eat anything normal  and we grab it on the way out the door. Strap the two little ones in and we are off to the bus stop. When my mom was in town, I was able to leave the little ones asleep or playing with her, that was incredibly nice.  I have hopefully had a cup of coffee or enjoy one spill it all over me on the way to the bus stop catching up with our newly made friends.

She has grown so much in a year.

It is an adjustment that she has handled well.

Hello Kindergarten attitude and sass, I had not idea you would hit me so hard.

Some days I feel like I can't pick myself up off the floor.

Others, I feel like I am the meanest person alive.

She LOVED going to school at St Francis.

Last year, first week of school

Harper started school today in a class of 18 months up to 3 years old.
She did fantastic, huge change from last year.
While she misses Mrs Margaret more than we all could imagine, I promised she would grow to love her new teachers.  Surely, they will be wonderful too.
Many of her classmates cried lots of tears and I felt for those moms.
I was the one being brought in for meetings trying to decide what to do.
Harper was crying so much and missing mom that pulling her out all together was almost what we did. She fell in love with one of her teachers and began to look forward to school.
Today, she kissed me and told me she was okay, I needed to go.
It was incredibly sad on her first day of school last year, Kindergarten was sad this year, but this.....This broke my heart. My girl, the one that has needed me more than any of my children ever, grew up standing  before my eyes. She hugged other children telling them it was going to be okay and that their mommy was going to come back and pick them up. She told them she was Harper and their new friend. She asked to hold their hand and to hug their neck.
I think I cried more tears over that than any school adjustment so far.
Her behavior is changing, she is growing up.
Don't get me wrong, she still hates her car seat and screams 85% of the time in the car.
Seriously.
Hudson too.
But, she is outgrowing all the baby and toddler stuff and becoming a little kid.
Like a little kid going to school, it is so awesome and so odd at the same time.
I am so proud of her, we all are.
It is so fun to be around her majority of the time and she typically has the best attitude.
She still has her moments but is scared to death of a spanking she doesn't have enough meat to cushion it like HG does and does not like time out.
Our neighborhood already loves her and labels her as the smiley, bouncy child.
She is, she is so loving and caring.
She waves and says hello to everyone.
She hugs and pets the neighbor pets.
She worries that the annoying geese are hungry so we go buy expensive crackers to feed them.
She seriously can't sleep at night if she worries about someone or something.
She has such a good heart, I see many people in her but my grandfather Whit shines through.
He gave and gave through his heart for as long as I can remember.
He loved everyone.
Their hair is so similar.
I can't wait to enjoy age 3 with her this year.

She got lunch of her choice today and chose a bakery similar to Panera.
She ate sun chips, yogurt, strawberries and a cupcake.
healthy huh?

The silly sun was so bright today!

Such a pretty girl.
She is loving school, her teacher and friends.
Momma bear has only had to come out once and it was handled nicely.
I'm all about friendly hugs and kisses but forceful kissing after being told not to, I am not okay with.
She doesn't like getting up in the mornings and isn't sure why she has to attend school.
Begged more than once for me to teach her.
Oh sweetheart.
She has eaten breakfast 3 days in a row and not thrown up in the car or bus.
Score.
Breakfasts aren't incredibly healthy, a granola bar or chocolate chip muffins, but it is staying down on the ride. She doesn't always eat lunch at school either. We pack her lunch, sometimes she enjoys the school lunch or eats a pizza pack a school. They offer PBJ packs too but she is still working her way to PBJ.
Speaking of but butters, Harper ate Nutella and kept it down. HUGE in our house. HUGE, massive, enormous. I thought that since she handled Nutella, I would try JIF chocolate spread. Yeah, fail. She threw it up on the kitchen table after she swallowed it. All over our dinners. Sweet.