1st day of 1st Grade

It happened.  What I have been anticipating and counting down to, happened this morning.  As much as Emily was SO ready to get back to school, and as much as I was ready to not have a bored 6 year old to constantly stimulate and entertain so she wouldn't do what bored kids do (tease and annoy their siblings)...now there is no getting her back.  She boarded that big yellow bus this morning and will gone all day now.  9:15am-3:30pm.  It will be the very best thing for her development in every area, and will free me up by 1 child to welcome in this newborn in a few weeks...BUT...I can't help but be nostalgic and filled with emotions today.  So here I am writing about it, after not blogging in MONTHS!

She wanted to wear her new "I am a child of God" necklace that she got for her birthday from the ward Primary teachers, a side pony tail that was curled, her new glittery headband she got for her birthday and of course, leggings!  She ate two bowls of Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, and her dad gave her a really sweet blessing before we walked out the door for the bus stop.  Of course as soon as we opened our front door to walk to the bus stop, we saw the bus already there!  Picture it; me 9 months pregnant, James on my hip, holding Claire's hand, big camera around my neck wacking both me and James as I hussled all of us down the sidewalk trying not to stress Emily but definitely not wanting to miss that bus on the 1st day of school!  We made it, she met her bus driver, I snapped a quick picture and off she went...just like that.  I didn't even have time to impart motherly words of encouragement one last time before our seperation.  It was like ripping a band aid off.  Maybe it was better that way.  And now I can't stop thinking about what she might be doing right now, who she might be meeting or playing with, how she might be feeling.  I cannot WAIT to hear what she has to say about everything she experienced for the first time today.  

Now I have 2 weeks until my due date with baby #4 and Claire starts Pre-k 3 mornings a week.  I honestly cannot believe that we have mae it to this point and have gotten through SO MUCH with ending Devin's residency, closing our life down in Illinois, moving our life to Utah, settling in and setting up that life here, James' birthday, Tranter family vacations, Emily's birthday, well check ups for the kids and OB appointment for me and now Emily is in school!  We are on the home stretch until the next big change we have been anticipating for months hits our family.  2016 has been and will be the biggest year of my life!

Saturday at the Finch Farm

Devin went down to Payson early Saturday morning to help haul hay to feed the cows for another year.  The kids and I met him there after the work was done so we could visit with grandpa and spend the afternoon with the kids on a farm.  They loved the atmosphere!

Emily turns 6

In March, when we told the kids that we were going to have another baby in September, we laid out the time line of all that was in front of us in the coming months before her arrival. 

Dad's birthday the end of March

Claire's birthday in Lake Forest right before we move

Dad finishing residency

The big car ride from Illinois to Utah

Mom's birthday right when we get to Utah in our new house

Tranter family weekend  trips in July

James' 2nd birthday at Bear Lake

Emily's 6th birthday right before starting a new school

Emily starting 1st grade

Mom having the baby and Claire starting Pre-k in the same week

I feel such a sense of accomplishment and relief for only have 1 more thing on that list.  Our normal, routine life has been flipped upside down for months, and it has been such an adventure experiencing it all with our 3 littles in tow...watching them go through massive amounts of change with virtually no problems (beyond excessive sibling fighting/teasing/annoyance as a manifestation of whatever they are processing through in their emotions).  

As we would go through that long list of all the events that we would pass through and enjoy before the baby arrives, Emily's birthday was obviously on the forefront of her brain.  She would dream out loud about how we would be living in Utah when she turns 6, just before 1st grade, and how we would be living near almost all of her cousins and how she wanted to have them celebrate her birthday with her.  Her birthday plans became elborate and expectations were growing with each dreaming session.  For as busy as the past few months have been, as exhausted as I am increasingly becoming, as busy as Devin has been with his new job and as much work we have done to re-accumulate home furnishings, prep everything for the arrival of this baby and settling into the home we will be living in for the next 2 years....Devin and I dug deep and pulled off a great birthday celebration for our Emmie Girl!  

We held a cousins birthday party in mom and dad's backyard, complete with pin the tail on the donkey, duck duck goose, dancing, pinata wacking (that the kids homemade with Devin), cake, outdoor movie (The Good Dinosaur) projected onto a big sheet, homemade cotton candy and popcorn!  All of the cousins came except for Reagan and Cohen in San Francisco and baby Katie.  It was awesome, and Emily was thrilled.  Mom and dad for the win!

Emily's actual birthday was on a Wednesday, so we held her party on Friday.  We had 2 days of celebrating.  On the day of her birthday, Uncle Josh came over in the morning to surprise the kids with little water guns, candy and out of the ordinarycompany.  The kids and I met Amber, Isabell and Thea at a pool in Park City for an all afternoon swim session before meeting Devin in Salt Lake for bowling, after he finished work.

  

Fell asleep after swimming, on our way to meet dad for bowling.  

Ready for her very first birthday party!

That blurr is Claire