San Ramon Ice Cream Social

Tonight was our first back to school event, so we all put on our spirit gear and headed to San Ramon Elementary to have a picnic with our friends, followed by an ice cream social put on by the PTA. Mackenzie was so excited to see all her classmates and get ice cream served to her by her new teacher Miss Colonna. After dessert the kids had fun chasing each other around the field and playing soccer together. The parents all had fun chatting. We are off to a great start and loving being a part of San Ramon.

Spirit Gear

Lindsey testing the air

Kyle

The Ingels & Lum Families

letting Emme have a little taste

The first day of school

After weeks of anticipation the big day was finally here. Lunches were made, back packs ready, and clothes were laid out. I had two very excited kids this morning. Our plan is to walk to school as much as possible so we headed out on foot at 8am. Our first stop was San Ramon elementary, Kenzie's new school. I was so excited for her but also a little sad. My first born baby girl was heading off to kindergarten. How did this happen? Didn't two scared parents just bring her home from the hospital to a small apartment in the city. As other parents are always saying to me "time really does fly"!  We got to the play yard early to meet up with friends. Kenzie was all smiles. Then it was time. Her teacher Miss Colonna came out to greet us. She had the kids line up, wave goodbye and head into the classroom. Kenzie waved goodbye without a care in the world. I waited until she was out of sight and then I shed a few tears. Happy tears of course. I was so proud of this outgoing little girl, and so excited for the future year that lies ahead of her.

Walking to school

Logan, Mackenzie & Kyle

 

 

Mackenzie & Miss Colonna

walking into school

Next it was Finn's turn so we headed to All Saints preschool. Finn has always been my shy guy so I was a little nervous for him. Luckily he's been there to drop off and pick up Kenzie many times. We brought him with the promise of fire trucks. He met his teacher Renee and didn't want to get too close so we sat him down at a table with a fire truck puzzle. Jim and I both gave him a kiss and disappeared while he was playing and hoped for the best.

 After drop offs Jim and I headed to a parents brunch with Emersyn. We had a fun morning chatting with other Moms, Jim was the token Dad of the day. Then it was home to work around the house for an hour. The house was unbelievably quiet. This is going to take some getting used to. I am sure that Emme and I will find lots to keep us busy but its been a long time since there was only one little person in the house. Before I knew it, it was time for pick up. I was greeted by two very happy children. Finn ran to me and gave me one the best hugs ever! Kenzie couldn't wait to tell me everything she had done in class. I'm so excited for my children. I think this is going to be a great school year. 

11 months old

Emersyn is ll months old and on the verge of walking. She can stand up and balance. Occasionally she will try and take a step, but then she gets down and crawls away. She's started crab crawling which is basically walking on her hands and feet with her butt up in the air. She loves to say Dada Dada. She has finally started eating more solids. She likes grapes, pasta, chicken, cheese and puffs. She is now sleeping in her crib and only wakes up once a night to feed, which makes Mommy very happy. I still like to bring her in bed in the early morning and snuggle with her. My baby is getting so big and I'm trying to hang onto every moment. Its such a strange mixture of happy and sad. I'm so happy to see her grow and explore the world but sad to lose the little baby. Just sitting here typing this I feel myself getting "misty" as Jim would say. I never could have anticipated the emotional roller coaster of being a parent, but I wouldn't change it for anything.

hamming it up for the camera

working the tongue

The first tooth

Today was a big day for the Malcolm household. Mackenzie lost her first tooth! Its been loose for about a month and after a little guidance from our neighbor Adam Kenzie pulled it out. She was so excited, she couldn't wait to call Daddy at work and tell him the good news. I can't wait to see what the tooth fairy brings.

Time for the training wheels to come off

This week we took the training wheels off Kenzie's bike and since then Jim has been getting in a lot of running. Every night he has gone out with her and ran up down the parking lot of the school. Tonight we got Uncle Levi in on the action, after we fed him dinner of course. She's really getting her balance, now we just need to work on the braking part. 

Fun at the Beach

This was our last full week of summer before schools started and I wanted to do some fun activities with the kids. One thing we had not done yet was to go to the local beach. This was mainly because I was afraid that I would not be able to handle everyone. I decided that there would be no bathing suits and beach towels. I packed up the kids and the dog with the premise that we were going to take a walk and look for shells. When we got there Finn surprised me by being terrified of the water. He kept dragging up the beach, he didn't he want to step in the wet sand. Maybe he still remembers his under water experience from Crescent City. Well it made my job easier. Everyone sat in one spot looking at shells while I threw sticks for Durham. The old man was in heaven. He doesn't go on a lot of field trips these days and this was always one of his favorites. After convincing Mackenzie that it wasn't a good idea to bring crab shells home we compromised on a white sea shell. It was a surprisingly peaceful afternoon with my 3 little cuties and my favorite canine.

Pony Camp

My little girl and her love of horses, its never ending! She truly has a bond with horses like nothing else, and she has no fear. She's afraid to ride her bicycle by herself but will stand on top of a pony and smile like its nothing. Today was the end of her week at pony camp. I brought Finn and Emersyn over to the horse farm to watch her perform vaulting. She was very excited to be riding her favorite horse pumpkin. She did all the moves like a champ. Then we headed over to the arena to watch her work on trotting and steering the horse around cones. She was all smiles, it makes me so happy to my little/big girl doing what she loves.

painting the horse

practicing on the barrel

trotting

Spinning Paint

Kenzie got a spinning paint and pottery set for her birthday.  Its a fun but messy activity. Today we finally took it out of the box to test it out. She decided that she wanted to save the pottery for her and Paige to play with but was willing to share her paints with Finn. They came to agreement Finn held the accelerator and Kenzie dropped the paint onto the paper. They both had a good time and surprisingly there was very little mess.