Oliver Rides the Bus

The most nerve-racking part of starting kindergarten was NOT starting kindergarten, but rather, riding the bus.  I was nervous, because I was going to be sending my little guy on a giant bus with many unknown kids driving 70 miles an hour down the most dangerous highway in the country.  

Oliver was nervous, too.  But now that we're two weeks into it, he doesn't mind.  In fact, he usually gets to sit by one of his two best friends at school, so that is GREAT!  (The first week though, he kept insisting to me and Joel that he "wouldn't step foot outside" in the mornings....but when he found out how much worse it would be for him if he missed the bus, well, he came around.)  :-)

Oliver's First Day of Kindergarten!!!!!

What a fantastic day we had!  Oliver woke up, got dressed and came out for his special breakfast:  a school bus cake!  (Okay, so he did have eggs too, and I made it out of cinnamon bread....so it's kind of healthy, right?)  

No first day of school is complete without a myriad of pictures...and that is what we have!  I tried getting a nice picture, but instead, I got a camera full of hilarious shots!!!!  I love looking at these!!

Once we got to school (he's going to Walton Elementary, an ag-focused elementary charter school) we went into the gym where all the classes were gathering.  We got to stay for a few minutes while the staff sang a silly song together.

 

 (Mrs. Roux is in the pink)

(Brahm was very entertained, too!)

Oliver was SO brave!  He had a little meltdown yesterday, but after I explained that no, he would likely NOT end up in the principal's office this year, he was okay.  (Not sure where THAT came from!)  We visited his room last night and met Mrs. Roux, his teacher, and after that, he was SO excited!  All that was left this morning was smiles and a readiness for school.  He hugged and kissed us goodbye (and kept kissing Lily too) and then walked off with his class.  

 

 

He came home just as excited, and even asked if he could go full day!  (That will come in October.)  For now, we're thankful for a slow adjustment, and for a SUPER first day!

Brahm {9 months}...the post we almost didn't write...

Joel and I seriously considered NOT publishing this post because, well, if we're honest, this was NOT the best month of Brahm's short little life thus far.  But, I suppose we should write up a little something, so that we'll be able to laugh and joke about the "fun" that we had:

I called him my little "8-month-old newborn" this month, and here's why:  The day after he turned 8 months old, he started waking up at 11pm....this is after having slept through the night for months.  Normally, this wouldn't have been much of a problem.  We're "those parents" who let their kids cry themselves back to sleep.  But, Joel's mom and friend had just arrived at our house that evening...so we figured it would be common courtesy to let them sleep.  (Did I mention Brahm is also the loudest of the 3?)

So he wasn't just up at 11pm, he woke up 2 other times that night screaming.  Grrrr.

The next night?  Same thing again.  Only worse!  He woke up at 11pm SCREAMING.  I couldn't calm him down.   Joel moved downstairs to sleep for a while, but around 12:45 came up and took Brahm.  They ended up spending the night IN the van, at Joel's shop.  

To make a long story short, we only had 5-6 nights all month long that we either didn't have company, or weren't on a vacation, sleeping all 5 in the same room, wary of waking up an entire house of other people....so we catered to Brahm's middle-of-the-night crying episodes and fed him.  He is one little guy who KNOWS what he wants! 

In addition to not sleeping well, Brahm got 3 different fevers.  Unfortunately, one happened while were in Ohio visiting Joel's family at his family reunion, and it pretty much knocked him out for 5 days.  He just ate, slept and cried.  Oh yeah, and did I mention that he got 3 teeth this month?  

(enjoying the beach at Lake Michigan)

 

The funny thing is, once he got well--we found out that he has learned quite a bit this month!  He is babbling (saying dadadada, and babababa, and more recently, "yayayaya"), he learned to climb stairs this last weekend, pulls up constantly, crawls everywhere, and is oh so funny!  What a silly little boy is turning out  to be.  
 

 (his new favorite toy?  A remote....)

 (and he LOVES playing peek-a-boo!)

He is the funniest little guy, and since coming home, has started sleeping through the night again, just like before.  Little stinker.  Needless to say, although I'm a bit nervous about sending Oliver to school this fall, (and Lily starts preschool, too!) I will enjoy having more one-on-one time with Brahm.  He is such a sweetheart!  *And I know, I say that EVERY month.   But I guess looking back, this is one month we'll remember FOR SURE!!! 

Brahm {8 months}

(Shhhh!!  Don't tell Brahm that, in true "last-child" fashion, I have been too busy to post this last month....and I can hardly remember what happened during his 8th month!)

I DO know....

*He got both bottom teeth in!

*And a top, I think....

*He continued to be a champion eater--eating more table food than baby...

*Brahm is the happiest little guy EVER!

*He is quite a momma's boy...crying anytime other people hold him, but flashing them a giant "ha ha!" smile as soon as he's handed back.

Just wait and see what month 9 held in store!!!!