A quick word about Valley View. By the time you read this, Ian has already been at kindergarten for weeks. He’s a big boy. We’ve gone over talking with strangers, we’ve gone over trying to be careful. He has a teacher or playground staff watching out for him. For these reasons I have stopped trying to hide where Ian goes to school, or his teacher’s name, Mrs. Lanham; unlike with his daycare… which I think I avoided naming and/or airbrushed said name from pictures. I will continue to protect Nina until she is around this age as well, because I’d rather play things safe for a reasonable amount of time. I will continue to exercise some caution, but let’s face it — eventually we need to let the kids live their lives. And with that… Ian’s orientation at Valley View.

August 27th was Ian’s Valley View orientation. Here he is in the parking lot! See this image larger.

Making his way toward the Vally View campus. Ok so “campus” is a pretty strong word. See this image larger.

This may be the last time I bring my iPhone for a job like this. Lots of blur. See this image larger.

He’s excited! See this image larger.

Kind of an odd policy. They have us buy supplies, as if for our kid… and then dump them in a community bucket, from which any kid grabs stuff when he/she needs it! See this image larger.

Sharing is cool! Well, at least in this way. See this image larger.

Ian listens carefully to Mrs. Lanham! See this image larger.

The guy in the foreground is somebody’s dad. See Ian? See this image larger.

Ian in line for his bus ride with Principal Siegel! See this image larger.

(Well it was supposed to be with him, but there were two busses, and Ian ended up with somebody else.) See this image larger.

This was a hilarious moment. The parents were done with their part, and so we all stepped out back between the school and the playground. We stood around looking awkward and mostly not talking to each other, sort of lost without our kids. See this image larger.

And then came something straight out of “the running of the bulls” but instead of bulls, it was about 50 kids ready to get to a playground and show the world what they’re made of. See this image larger.

Ian on a swing! See this image larger.

Distorted Ian on a swing! (Thanks iPhone!) See this image larger.

Alright that’s fine. See this image larger.

Ian and some kid that doesn’t know how to ride on a swing! See this image larger.

Ian and Mommy, who just kicked some kid off a swing! (not really) See this image larger.

I’d tell you what Ian’s on if I had any idea what to call these. Mushroom jumpy thingamadoos. Thigh scrapers? Slip n’ Falls! Balance bongos! Super Mario Poppers. Whatever. See this image larger.

And finally, Ian is returned to daycare… who were at a park. As you can see, the mulch level is particularly low versus the sidewalk. Ian would eventually trip on the sidewalk and get scraped up pretty bad. Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy went to see Brave, and had a good time taking a day to ourselves. See this image larger.

Chris’s memorial had many moments. I admit my camera didn’t take too many, and I apologize for that. My shutter finger just wasn’t working so well that day.

Suffice to say, a whole lot of people put time into getting there and making it happen. Grandma Marcia managed the whole thing and had it perfectly scheduled. That burden was mine and I could not bear it. Grampa Dave did a whole lot of carting people around, including us. Grandma Sue, Aunt Anne Marie and her parents came up all the way from Florida. Great Grandma Betty made it over despite the heat. Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia’s friends Mary, and Pat and Eric all came to lend a hand as well. If I haven’t already said or sent a thank you; thank you to all of you for all of your hard work on a day when we all needed a little propping up.

Ian and Nina ready for travel! See this image larger.

Nina anticipating a boat ride. See this image larger.

Ian honored his Uncle Chris by wearing his Giants jersey. See this image larger.

And by doing something else I think we sometimes forget about… smiling. See this image larger.

There was play to be had! See this image larger.

Sometimes the best toys are the simple ones! See this image larger.

*I see you, Nina!* See this image larger.

Gathering family… See this image larger.

Gathering friends… See this image larger.

Kids making themselves at home. See this image larger.

We’re just not having fun until all the toys are out of the tub. See this image larger.

An accomplished color-er-er! See this image larger.

A quick shot with Aunt Annie, and then good-bye! See this image larger.

August 8th, Nina plays with some of the toys at the cardiologist office. It was a time we hoped would be filled with good news. Instead the doctor’s appearance terrified her, and it was pretty much wasted time. See this image larger.

We went to return Nina to daycare, to find her class was outside enjoying some water activities in the summer sun. The problem was, nobody was inside to help us find Nina’s lotion… nobody except for Nina! She led us right to the right spot! See this image larger.

So she went right outside and joined them! See this image larger.

The kids really enjoy “painting” the building with a fresh coat of water. See this image larger.

At home on the 11th, Nina sets the table for five, knowing that Grandma Sue would be showing up soon! See this image larger.

Inspired by recent news in space travel, Ian built his own Mars rover! See this image larger.

Nice job, buddy! See this image larger.

August 12th, staying at a hotel with Gramma Sue on the way to the cottage… I have a six pack of abs, but they’re more like Capri Suns, than bottles. See this image larger.

We braved the cold water, and had a lot of fun! See this image larger.

The kids were carefully escorted through the deep end. See this image larger.

A warm spot from the sun! (I hope.) See this image larger.

Nina got a ride too. See this image larger.

You’re going to have to excuse the lack of updates lately… Melissa and I trying to find each other and ourselves amidst the stress, the new schedules, and chaos of life. And now, let’s get July out of the way so we can head into August, shall we?

Dialogue, July 2nd
Nina impressed me with the following conversation… I left my side out of it so you can see how much she held her own: “I eat it all gone.”
“Daddy you give me more cereal?”
“Put it in da bowl.”
“Can put more milk, in dere?”
“I help you.”
“I Bring my bowl to you.”
“I help you put it in?”
“I help you. Please.”
“Don’t spill it.”
“I need a napkin to wipe it up.”

Dialogue, July 9th
Ian: “You shouldn’t fall asleep on the potty, because if you start to fall over and you flipped over your hair would go get wet.”

Dialogue, July 23
Daddy: “What makes you happy, Ian?”
Ian: “Mommy and Daddy.”
Daddy: “What else makes you happy?”
Ian, while galloping around the room: “GRAMPA DAVE BOAT TRIP! GRAMPA DAVE BOAT TRIP! GRAMPA DAVE BOAT TRIP! GRAMPA DAVE BOAT TRIP! ”

Dialogue, July 26th
Ian explains Strawberry Shortcake, the cartoon: “It’s strawberry girl, or whatever.”

Dialogue, July 28th
Nina, watching toilet refilling: “It’s loading!”

Dialogue, July 29th
Nina, quoting the Spiderman opening sequence from the 1960’s: “Spideman, take a wook, overhead.”

Dialogue, July 30th
Nina, regarding playing the iPad while observing Ian at Tumble Time: “Ian went to a different kind of Tumble Time today I made cookies on the iPad and eat them num num num num ”

Journal Entry, July 30th
I sometimes write little journal entries just for kicks… this one seemed important: “So today was the last Monday, probably. For five and a half years, I’ve spent my Mondays with my little boy, and two and a half of those years with my little girl. Ian will go to daycare for five days of the week, until he attends kindergarten in about a month. Nina will go to daycare five days a week too. Very easy to look back and be disgusted with myself for not doing more with those days, but we had a pretty good run. Perhaps this will teach me to better cherish the time I get with my children.

It’ll be interesting to see if I am less stressed out. The kids do stress me sometimes, but in this case I’m talking about the stress that has come from trying to make a four day week as productive as a five. Melissa and I have both been stretched pretty thin for a good long time, and it is pretty easy to blame the days of the week where each of us stays home.

It’ll also be interesting to see if this lasts. We don’t have a choice with Ian, but I foresee us possibly going back to three or four day schedule with Nina. It’d be more fair if she got five and a half years of Mondays and Tuesdays with her folks too; but we shall see.”

The people taking care of Nina in her new class? No longer write the date on the daycare sheet. So here’s some random entries… maybe I’ll get to put them in some kind of order someday… Some are probably from July and some might be from August.

RANDOM DAYCARE NOTES (I did find some of the dates, but let’s face it, it isn’t going to make much of a difference in the long run… so these will stay out of order. Ian’s aren’t very interesting at daycare, Nina’s are worth a read.)

“Happy Friday”
Nina’s Caregiver: “In dramatic play Nina fed her baby a bottle then she made a long track for a train. Nina loved making a Smore and eating it! she was so excited to play in the tent and tunnel have a great weekend”

“Thursday”
Nina’s Caregiver: “Nina was singing E I E I O while building with Lego it was so cute! She really enjoyed our circle time songs too.”

“Thursday”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina had a wonderful day. She had a lot of fun shaking the colored test tube shakers. She also enjoyed painting an orange ice cream with Miss Jillian.”

“Wednesday”
Nina’s Caregiver: “Nina had a great day. She spent a lot of time playing with the magnetic dress up doll’s. She tried very hard to cut with scissors this morning.”

“Thursday”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina love playing on the big playground! She tried the climber the bikes in the steering wheel! Nina did a great job putting spots on her giraffe and she tried hard to use her thumb!”

“Wednesday”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina had a great visit today! She enjoyed the water activities outside. Her favorite activities were painting the wall with water and playing with windup toys at the sensory table. She did say she wanted to see her other friends and mommy a few times but she seemed very comfortable over all and shed no tears!”

“Wednesday, July 11th”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina enjoyed playing with a baby in dramatic play! When I asked her what she likes to do at the beach she said build a Sandcastle with mommy and daddy she had fun making a hand-print octopus this morning!”

“Thursday, July 12th”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina had so much fun coloring with markers this morning! She played with Ava a lot! Nina was very talkative today and used her words very well. She did have some trouble with hitting and pushing her friends. Nina loves playing with Lego dinosaurs!”

“Friday, July 13th”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina loves playing with Legos this morning on the circle rug with Miss Chelsea. They built houses and then made one big one together.”

“Wednesday, July 18th”
Nina’s Caregiver: “Nina had fun splashing her hands in a tub of water! She kept listening and looking up for airplanes when we were outside. Nina enjoyed painting the wall with water.”

“Thursday, July 19th”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina tried so hard to hold her scissors the right way. She’s a great job cutting paper! She also built a sand castle at the sensory table. She enjoyed playing with fish at the flannel board and shared them so nicely with a friend.”

“Wednesday”
Nina’s Caregiver: ” Nina pretended to go on a school bus ride with me at the park! We even buckled our seatbelts! She loved chasing tennis balls and shared one so nicely with a friend.”

“TGIFriday”
Nina’s Caregiver: “When Ms. Joanna asked how many legs and octopus has Nina said “I have 45!” She enjoyed reading books and watching the little mermaid. She did a great job identifying animals in the movie!”

“7/11/12”
Ian’s Caregiver: ” Ian had a great day he really likes playing with the train tracks set. He didn’t eat any oatmeal at breakfast or any pasta for lunch.”

“7/12/12”
Ian’s Caregiver: ” Ian did not go in the sprinkler but enjoying dumping water and using the spray bottles.”

“7/13/12 Accident Report”
Ian’s Caregiver: ” He was climbing up the steps on the climber he tripped and fell on his right knee.”

“7/13/12”
Ian’s Caregiver: “Ian said he liked playing on the climber and going down the slides”

“7/19/12”
Ian’s Caregiver: ” Ian liked riding his bike for a second day”

July 28th, Alright so… see that thing in Ian’s hands? He built it completely by himself. It is basically a backwards bow. The black dot where the two yellow things meet is a bolt with threads. The yellow parts are pushing out and away from each other, locking the threads of the bolt in place until the lower yellow part is pulled back… the more one pulls it back, the more the yellow bits become bowed, ready to spring forward; also the more aligned the yellow bits become, the less friction holding the bolt, until suddenly the yellow bits fling the bolt across the room. Genius? Prolly. See this image larger.

A better shot of the bow. See this image larger.

Ian about to deploy the bolt into my liver. See this image larger.

Ian and I decided to try a little camping in the sunroom! See this image larger.

There’s an Aero inflatable bed in there, the tent was extremely inexpensive and a perfect fit for the room, and for the bed. I do think we’ll try this outside at some point, to answer the question that’s on your mind! 😉 See this image larger.

Ian enjoyed seeing the stars and moon out the windows! See this image larger.

There was plenty of laughter, book reading, flashlights and then sleep! See this image larger.

July 30th, Sometimes the kids just… play. They play together quietly and, sometimes even with the same toy, and there is nothing but joy. (And then sometimes there’s screaming and freaking out.) See this image larger.

Hi! See this image larger.

Also sometimes the kids just want to be alone and make up adventures and stories! See this image larger.

So cute! See this image larger.

July 31st… Here, Ian is… you know I don’t… I’m not even sure what’s going on here, so uh… next slide, please! See this image larger.

Ian drew an EXCELLENT picture of Brobee from Yo Gabba Gabba! Well done, kiddo! See this image larger.

Nina made this one for her Ian! See this image larger.

I think Ian took this one, I’ll have to ask him what it is! See this image larger.