Fall: there is so much to celebrate. I love the color of the sky, the smell of the leaves, the warm afternoons and cool nights, cider donuts and apple picking, pumpkin crafts, waxing leaves, and the flowers that are just beginning to burst. Of course, the downsides include the early darkening sky, the the cold mornings so you need to change- sometimes numerous times a day to keep up with the temperature shifts; but then there is the main shocking part of fall that always seems to cause me to pause and reflect: how in death and decay there can be such beauty and brightness. Having lost too many people that I have been close to in my life, I would like to think that they each experienced the same sense of wonderment as their lives came to an end. To some, I might seem to be looking too deeply into something that we all see every day this time of year. I find myself thinking this each fall: not only is the turning of leaves an amazing sight, it is the color of death. The leaves are dying but giving one last display for us all to enjoy. So enjoy them I will!

Although the picture is not of a changing maple tree, the seedum in my garden looked so "autumnal" with the evening light....and it is the opposite. It is the start of a flower that waited for this cool weather to bloom. Ok, enough waxing poetic about the many pretty sights of fall...

Memories

When I think of fall, one of the first things that rushes to my mind is apple picking. We have routinely gone as a family and snapped a few "classic" pictures. This year, however, we were lucky enough to capture some of my favorites thus far. The red, shiny apples were covering the trees, so we had our pick, no pun intended(ok, well maybe a little)! From start to finish, we spent the whole morning watching the kids play on the wooden castle, pirate ship, and those funny wooden cutouts where you can put your face in the open circle. But, then, as we headed up to the apples, we picked, ate, laughed, watched Paisley skip(a brand new skill), watched Harper try to skip...laughed some more and soaked up the sunshine on an amazing fall day full of special family moments. Today we made memories. Good memories.

                                          No words are needed for this one in my mind!

                                                 How could I feel anything but lucky?

Though these seem staged, they are not....Harper giggled her way through her pumpkin lounging, while Paisley thought that the apple "with hair" was hilarious!




One of my favorites I am hoping to make-maybe with the girls.....

Closet cooking apple crisp

Harper's First Day at Housy:
  
Harper celebrated just as she had watched her sister do on her first day of school

The school moments and school excitement just isn't getting old! Harper was beyond thrilled to be going to her first day at school. It is the first time she is in a school(daycare) without her sister. She walked away from me confidently and eagerly ready to play with the playdough that was out! She had a great first day...a well-adjusted second child!!

The Crown on Your Head

I have always loved children's books...for as long as I can remember. People often gave me various special children's books for graduations, birthdays, and the little(big) moments. I can vividly remember the first time I received, Oh the Places you'll Go by Dr. Seuss from my sister. My grandparents gave me one about Lily and the Whales that our kids now read and love, and then there were the Beatrix Potter and A.A. Milne classics....along with others. 

Now, although I am only partially finished with two of my own children's books (I have yet to do anything with either of them other than save them on my desktop), I love reading to the girls. Lucky for me, they love being read to, and in Paisley's case, beginning to read on their own. Dave and I gave the girls Wherever you Are, by Nancy Tillman for their first Christmas together. I love her work: the beautiful writing is matched by the illustrations. Her newest book, The Crown on Your Head, strikes a cord with me. The message is an amazing metaphor for both the literal/physical crown and the uniqueness that each child brings into this world. I will let the words speak for themselves; it is only a glimpse, but you will get the idea....if you are looking to buy a copy, Amazon has it cheap!

http://wn.com/the_crown_on_your_head_by_nancy_tillman

"Mrs. Pressman is magical"

Not sure if this will go through, but how could I not attach this picture?! 

Paisley has thrived in her first few days at Pre-K. Yesterday, she had her first full day(until 3) and then we quickly whisked her home to change into her leotard and tights and off we went to her first day of dance. Though her parents were hesitant as she had not seemed overly excited about the idea of dance, shocking I know, she nearly ran in the door and onto the dance floor to begin twirling. If there was an ounce of trepidation in her mind, it did not show! She came alive on the slippery floor, her sister and parents watching. Her grandmother was there and she looked to wave and smile once or twice, but otherwise, was off in her own world. It was amazing having the chance to watch her follow the teacher's every word. She was eager to please, yet entranced by the movement. It is just one more example of how time moves so quickly despite our efforts to absorb each moment. In just one brief week, she has grown exponentially, seeming so much older, so much more mature, and so poised to attack the "new" that is thrown her way. I had to attach a video to demonstrate what I witnessed at Dance from the Heart. 

Although I am working at the school, too, I do much less than my husband; much less. In the past few days, due to meetings, opening boarding school moments: helping children feel welcomed miles from their homes and families, he has missed a few of the smaller(bigger) moments in our house. I know that this has eaten him up inside and torn at a little piece of him. So, I decided to blog to say thank you to him. His time away has meant that I am able to be with the girls in these moments. Today, I spent almost 4 hours just with Harper: something I rarely have had the opportunity to do. She was excited for the time, eager to show me her painting skills, gain my attention, and yet, also eager to show me how she was happy playing on her own and that she is capable of being independent(particularly in the bathroom!) In the brief glimpses we had of Dave, the kids mauled him, he ran pushing Paisley in the stroller, and he patiently and diligently left to head off to his teaching. The first day back into teaching is always exhausting, but when you compound that with the hours of dorm duty, his day will be almost 16 hours long with a mere 1 hour break(the run)! I wish I had taken a picture of him. He was all dressed in his tie and new clothes, a result of his shedding 50 pounds and managing to keep it off. 

I am so proud of him. I am so thankful to him. I am so lucky to have him as a husband and as a father to our girls.

The first day of Pre-Kindergarten!

These are the before pictures of Paisley as she headed off to the Indian Mountain Lower campus for Pre-K!!

  

This particular shot is from the back as the pout on her face wasn't going to make a good picture! The dropoff was rough, but then the day proved a wonderful experience as evidenced by the shots below:

 She was smiling so wide and true; her hands were saying "first day of school"

Anticipation

Purple....one of Paisley's favorite colors. Tomorrow the next chapter begins for her. Today she had her "break the ice" picnic with us present, and tomorrow she will spend the day at Pre-K without us. Dave and I spent a few brief moments talking about it today, amidst the start of school for us, and we quickly found ourselves asking, "have we done enough?" While I watched her dangle from the monkey bars, yelling in fear, though only 1 1/2 feet from the ground, I was tempted to say, "jump" and tempted to run and catch her on the way down. I acted somewhere in the middle: walked towards her, though slowly enough to allow her to fall. I thought I should show her my support, yet permit her the space to discover that she CAN do it. She fell, so my plan backfired! There I was holding her, her screaming in both fear and embarassment, as other parents looked on, most likely thinking, "we've all been there, and I'm glad it's not me today!" However, as I felt her hold on, I was sure I wanted to say, "it will be ok, I know this is more about the greater fear: the fear of this new school, of this next road you are about to travel, and less about this little fall that left no bruises." But, I quietly rocked her, calmed her, and on we went with our day. Not wanting to lose the opportunity, we spent time talking tonight while she ate her dinner. I told her about how so many feelings swirling inside of us can make us emotional, how to calm herself in those moments, how to reach out to others when she feels she needs support in a new, sometimes, lonely, but oh so exciting place. The look in her eyes seemed to say, "I know mommy and I'm so glad it's ok to be scared." As she was drifting off to sleep with me rubbing her back, she looked at me and timidly said, "I'm not ready." Not ready I thought. Of course you are ready...you are in your pj's, lights are off, songs are sung, stories, read....yet that thought was only fleeting as it was evident she meant so much more. She has always been a bit of an old soul, and this was one of the glimpses of who she is, who she will be, and I wasn't sure what to say. How often children leave us speechless. I paused, hugged her and said it was ok. I was with her...my love is always in her heart and she is never alone. I wonder what we will discuss in the next week. I wonder what will go through her reeling brain. She is excited. She is scared. She is nervous. She feels special. She feels like a big girl. So do I. 

It is with all of these emotions that I will take her tomorrow, take her picture, hug her, and watch her go off on her own, full of similar emotions. I can tell already that tomorrow's writing will reflect my broader thoughts on how as mothers, we constantly worry that we are doing, thinking, acting, saying, and being enough....and that time is the ultimate answer. 

Below is the website for the school for all who want to follow what Paisley and her classmates will be doing.

www.indianmountain.org