First Day of School

Thanks to a sleepy reaction to Benadryl, Davey adjusts well to the 8 hour time change between the East Coast of the US and Bahrain. So he was all adjusted and ready for his first day of school (pre-kindergarten) on September 15th.

I had had a really hard time choosing a school for him to go to, mostly having a hard time just with sending him to school for such a long day (8:00-1:45) every week day. When was I going to have time to spend with my darling Davey? After each school tour, I left emotional and teary. Before that experience, I never thought I'd be emotional for my children's first day of school. And - I was right. I guess by the time school finally started I was resigned to the idea and my usual non-emotional self was in control

Dave was very excited for his first day. Both Dave and I accompanied him and his teacher had advised us that we should stay in the room with him until he was comfortable. Well, the second we all stepped in the door, Davey was shooing us out of the room. He was ready to be independent and has never looked back. He absolutely loves school.

Davey in his uniform in front of the school.

Davey and his teachers. There are 11 children in his class.

Davey's school picture

I will always think Davey is so adorable and handsome but I think this picture is terrible. Seriously, could someone not have combed his hair and straightened his shirt? He had just had a nice hair cut (I made sure it wasn't too short) and it was nicely combed when he left the house. So much for "professional" services.

Anyway, Davey still loves school (4 months later as I write this) though he does get tired by the end of the week. He gets up at 6:30 in order to leave the house with Dave at 7:30. I am so glad the school is less than 5 minutes from Dave's work and that he's not an early-to-work guy so he can take him since the school is 20 minutes away. I just pick him up in the afternoon.

Davey's teacher is a lovely lady with lots of teaching experience and gushes about Davey every time I see her. He gets along well with everyone and will never pick a favorite friend. They are all his friends. I miss him during the week but he is always so excited to go that I don't regret putting him in.

One More Summer Post

Now that I'm feeling motivated to get caught up on blogging again, I found some hidden summer pictures and I can't resist posting them. I end up taking so many pictures when we're at the cottage I guess because there aren't many distractions. Just focusing on the here and now :)

Davey really got into playing croquet and is pretty decent at it for a four year old. We now have a set in Bahrain and it gets pretty regular use.

Touring the recently de-comissioned Ice Breaker Mackinac was really impressive!

We took a lake tour of Harbor Springs on a beautiful old wooden boat, the Pointer. The boys loved playing with Hot Wheels cars around this table. Luckily the captain didn't mind.

A lighthouse on the lake

It was a gorgeous day and wonderful ride until Davey lost his favorite car in the depths of the lake. He cried for hours.

Carrie and Katie are so fun and always trying to make the kids laugh.

The boys had no trouble joining in the silly fun.

Pretty view from the cottage window

A family picture after lunch with GiGi Featherly at the Midland Country Club

And that's all folks! (Until I find that download cord... :)

Summer Wrap-Up

I've finally come to terms with the fact that if I wait to blog until I find the download cord for the camera with the rest of our pictures on it, I will never finish and move on. So I will wrap up our Summer 2010 adventure with what I have...

Most of the rest of our time in the States was spent at the cottage. We had a lot of fun exploring further the area around Cheboygan and the "Tip of the Mitt."

A great view of the bridge from downtown Mackinaw City

Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse built in 1892

Fiery sunset over Mullett Lake

An old fishery train car used to stock the lakes and rivers with fish. We tried to tour the fish hatchery a couple times but their hours were too limited for us to catch them open. But the boys still loved the train car as you can imagine.

Charlie and Dave enjoying a lunch in Mitchell Street Pub, Dave's favorite place to eat in Petoskey. They do serve a mean grilled cheese.

Look at this face!

Charlie started making this face all the time this summer while he was playing. It made me laugh so hard and if you tried to do it back to him he had no idea what you were doing (i.e. no idea he was doing it himself). He kept it up for several months but has mostly grown out of it now.

Labor Day weekend was our last weekend in MI and Up North and Dave's sisters and brother-in-law joined us for the weekend (Dave's parents were of course up there the whole time). And Labor Day came in in true Michigan style with a cold, wet, windy storm ushering in the fall weather.

We also had a nice visit from Dave's aunt Sue and cousin Brian and his family.

Kissing cousins! Charlie and Abby got along pretty well.

So did Davey and Emma, showing off their skills. These two were born just a few days apart.

Our two families mirroring each other. And now both Sue and I are pregnant again at the same time with number three!

We returned to Detroit two days before our return flight to Bahrain and spent lots of time doing our final stock-up shopping and seeing my family. We were also able to see Mark & Amy one more time.

As much as we were sad to leave our family and friends, I was also ready to get back into some routine. I was very aware of Davey's school starting on Sept 15th and we were only leaving on the 9th. It was a wonderful summer and we certainly look forward to next year... it won't come soon enough!!

The Best Alarm

I woke up this morning hearing Charlie on the monitor: "I like Mommy. I like Mommy. I like Mommy..." He melts my heart.