First Day of Preschool (Camp)

I can't believe it, but Piper and Fletch are just about preschoolers. Last week, they said goodbye to our wonderful daycare provider Claudia (who will be caring for Deacon in the so it was more like a "see you later"). This week, they started preschool camp at Rose Hill Academy. Here is a photo from their first day.

(It's still impossible to get them both to look and smile at the camera at the same time.)

During the summer, Rose Hill offers summer camp for preschoolers, and then the real "academic" stuff (if that's what you can call preschool) starts after Labor Day. The preschool camp has awesome activities like bringing in performers, a petting zoo, camp olympics, a weekly water bounce house, etc. It reminds me of my days at Camp Evergreen.

For weeks, we'd been mentioning to P&F that they'd be starting school soon. Thanks to an episode of Blue's Clues about going to school, they were both so excited and couldn't wait. In fact, on Sunday night on the way home from Target, Fletch started crying because he thought we were driving to school and not home. He was heartbroken he'd have to wait until the next morning to meet Mrs. Bonds, his new teacher.

Needless to say, by Monday, the school excitement was palpable in the Woodard house. Eric and I drove them there, and they both ran in the door, without a moment of hesitation. We met up with Mrs. Bonds, and she took them to the cafeteria for breakfast. Piper shouted a quick "bye bye" to me, while Fletch was so excited he didn't even turn back to look at us. The only tears that were shed were mine (my babies!) and Deacon (fussbucket).

Since Monday, they've had a terrific time each day and have gotten good daily reports. They're even using the potty there!. In fact, picking them up at night is a bit of a disaster because they both don't want to leave. Thank goodness for their sweet afternoon teacher, Mrs. McDaniel, who works some crazy teacher magic to get them to come home with me. I'm so happy that they love school so much and that they have adjusted so quickly. And, I think it's actually calmed them down a bit. They are coming home tired and less clingy. Let's hope they continue to like it--for at least the next 16 years or so.

Deacon: 1-Month

Deacon turned one month old yesterday and had his pedi appointment this morning. Here are his stats:

Birth: 7lbs 9oz, 20.5 inches
2 weeks: 8lbs 9oz (49%), 20.25 inches (32%)
1 month: 10lbs 8oz (66%), 21 inches (31%)

The doctor said he's doing great. He has some eye gunk that are just clogged tear ducts, and his neck is a bit stiff due to how he was positioned in my belly, so we'll work on that, but overall, he looks good.

So what's Deacon like? He's a cuddly little boy who doesn't like to be put down. He prefers being in someone's arms to being anyplace else and is generally fussier than P&F were unless being held. However, every once in a while, he'll sit happily in the Boppy or on the floor and gaze lovingly at Fletch's old friend--ceiling fan. Some of his favorite snuggles are from Piper and Fletch, who love to give him kisses and hugs.

When Deacon isn't cuddling, he's eating or sleeping. Right now, he's eating 3-4 ounces of formula every 2.5-3 hours both day and night. Every once in a while, he'll sleep 3.5-4 hours at night, but that is VERY rare (but hopefully he'll start giving us longer stretches soon). He sleeps right next to us in his Rock n Play while swaddles in his Miracle Blanket.

As far as fitting into our family--it feels like he's been here longer than a month but also feels like we still have a lot of adjusting to do to get our new routines in place to keep everyone happy. That's still a work in progress.

July 4th

We had our first holiday with Deacon last week--July 4th. Piper and Fletch spent the day with Eric's parents, so Eric and I could catch up on some stuff at home, including some sleep. This three kids under three thing is no joke. While we were at home napping, Piper and Fletch were in DC having a great time. Take a look at this video of them dancing at the Kennedy Center. They are way more cultured than me.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B7eZkSvIC2L6MTItUGFidU1nUDQ/edit

In the evening, Eric, Deacon, and I drove into DC and met up with Eric's parents, Piper, and Fletch. We started with dinner at Bertucci's in Foggy Bottom. It was pretty cool to see the kids there since Eric and I spent many dinners there in our young and foolish days. Here is a picture of all of us after dinner.

After pizza, we loaded Piper and Fletch into the wagon and set off to see the fireworks. From Foggy Bottom, you can get some great views of the DC extravaganza.

I was pretty sure Piper and Fletch would love it, and they did. Fletch was especially enamored with them, and they both sat very still in the wagon the entire time.

I teared up a bit hearing Piper and Fletch ooh and aah over the fireworks, thinking of my dad and how he used to take me to them as a kid. I'm sure he was ooh-ing and aah-ing over the fireworks and the cute kids somewhere above us.

As for Deacon, he slept through the whole thing. I guess he'll have to wait to enjoy them next year.

Overall, July 4th was great, and as you can see, we're slowly easing into life as a family of five.