Anna Grows

Today Anna is officially a kindergartener! She was very excited about her first day. She was spinning around the house this morning in her new uniform. When it was time for Mom and Dad to drop her off, she signed her name at the door and marched off to her table without so much as a goodbye to her parents. Clearly she knows the drill with school. Mom and Dad have some things to learn. First lesson is the carpool line. Catholic schools are noted for their rules and the carpool line is no exception. Joe spent 30 minutes in line attempting to pick Anna up today (major traffic jam in the parking lot). The next lesson will be packing nutrious lunches that Anna will eat. Anna has half day kindergarten this week and will begin full days next week. This week she will be spending the afternoon at Ms. Be's. Today when she arrived, the other kids were sleeping. Anna changed out of her unifor m but insisted on putting it back on when her friends got up so that they could

After 4 years and 8 months, Anna will soon be leaving Ms. Be's as she begins kindergarten. Ms. Be's has been a second home to Anna and she has done so much to prepare her for not only kindergarten but life with other kids. In honor of this milestone, Be and Mr. Phancy hosted a graduation ceremony for Anna, complete with cap and gown. There were speeches (by Ms. Be and Mr. Phancy) and Anna was suppose to address the crowd of parents and well wishers in attendance, but opted not to. In fact, Anna almost was too shy to attend her own ceremony until her friend William reluctantly agreed to don a cap and gown to join her for the occasion. The graduate marched down the aisle to the "ABC" song, accompanied by Mr. Phancy on the guitar. She received her diploma and applause from the crowd. Among the money things that Anna learned from Ms. Be and Mr. Phancy: A schedule (Be has all the kids on one) Sharing with other kids Helping with the little kids Spanish Sign

Anna got to spend 4 days on vacation at one of her favorite destinations: Grandma and Grandpa's house. Disney World has nothing on Grandma and Grandpa's place. There is non-stop activity, food, and always someone to play with. Cousin Aidyn was also at Grandma and Grandpa's place, giving Anna the opportunity to experience first hand what it would be like to have a little brother. They had a good time together (although some refereeing was needed) riding tricycles and the John Deere tractor and swinging in the yard. There is always the daily surprises from Grandma, which included giant bubbles, a kid's cookbook, and a rope-skipping ball that goes around the ankle (Grandma had a little incident while trying to demonstrate the use of this toy and has since given up any type of rope skipping). Mom and Dad had a nice weekend too. Their activities included catching up on sleep, riding bikes, and eating Ohio sweet corn along with too many desserts. Joe got the