Besides anxiously awaiting the arrival of our newest daughter, the past three weeks have been full of other activities for us as well. On August 21, Liesel started preschool at her new school. We opted to put her in Pre-K for one more year, just to make sure she was totally caught up. We couldn't be happier with our decision! We found a wonderful University Model Christian school in our area, that also utilizes a classical education model. What this means for Liesel, is that she goes to school on Monday and Wednesday, and then I home school her on Tuesday and Thursday, using lesson plans and curriculum provided to me by her teacher. We have a "satellite classroom" in our kitchen, complete with a calendar and white board. So far, it's going quite well. The home work is minimal, and it usually takes us 1.5-2 hours to complete everything. We are all enjoying having Liesel home more, especially Juliet. In addition to loving the new school, we love how cute the school uniforms are.
She also has a little skirt she can wear with her white shirts. Her regular clothes are fun too, but I have to admit, she does look super adorable in her school uniforms.
Juliet also is experiencing a first this fall. I enrolled her in a Mom's Day Out program at a local dance studio. I had the option of enrolling her for two days/week, but I opted for just one day/week. On Wednesdays from 9am-noon, she goes to the dance studio and learns basic ballet, tap and jazz. They also do some singing, drama, stories and crafts. She has gone for two weeks now and loves it! This week, she came home and showed me how she learned to "walk like a penguin" in tap class. Also, this past week was "bring a buddy week" at the studio, so she brought her friend, M. They had such a good time together.
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| All ready for dance on her first day |
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| Juliet and her buddy, M. |
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| Bring a buddy week...so much cuteness |
In addition to the girls' school activities, Liesel is continuing her studies at her Chinese school. During the fall semester, she will go to a local Chinese school one day/week for two hours to work on her Mandarin. She also went during the summertime and loved it. The fall semester starts back up on September 3, and she's looking forward to going again. She also has begun a bit of physical therapy. Her neurosurgeon recommended it back in May. She was evaluated in the beginning of August, and her evaluation revealed weakness in her left side, due to her spina bifida. As a result, she now sees a PT two times/week. She really likes going to the PT because to her, it feels like 45 minutes of play-time. Plus, she gets a star after each session which she can use to buy little trinkets. She's been saving her stars for something really fun! Although Juliet is not enrolled in any other activities, she and I will soon resume MOPS for the fall semester. I know I'm definitely looking forward to that!
As of today, I'm 9 days overdue with Lydia. In the last two or three weeks, hubs and I have tried really hard to spend a lot of extra time with the girls. For example, last night, hubs set up his tent outside, and he and the girls camped in our backyard (even though it was 105 yesterday!!). This morning, he's taking them to the swimming pool. I've been taking the girls all kinds of places during the week. We had donuts for breakfast one morning, we went to see Despicable Me 2, we've had lunches at various restaurants together, we've gone to the park, the bookstore to pick out books, etc... All this extra activity has been hard on me, but it has also been very rewarding. I've made some fun and lasting memories with my girls in the last few weeks that I certainly wouldn't trade!
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| Taking a walk 2 days past my due date on some local trails |
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| Face-painting fun |
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| Donut breakfast |
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| Making cupcakes with Aunt Theresa and cousin M |
Before we know it, Lydia will arrive. I'm scheduled to be induced at 42 weeks if she doesn't arrive before then. That is when things will get really chaotic! As I look back over this summer, I can't believe how fast it has gone! There are times when I've felt like the days were just crawling by, but really, these past three months have been such a a blur. I'm so thankful for a summer full of long, lazy days, swimming, VBS, time with Grammie and Grandpa, family dinners and time to just BE TOGETHER. What a blessing it will be to add Lydia at the end of such a sweet time. As we close out our final summer as a family of four, we anxiously and expectantly look forward to becoming a family of five!
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