Libby's new big-girl bike

Yesterday, Libby had a big day shopping with my parents for a new bike for her 6th birthday. Her starting criteria was "purple and glittery with training wheels, of course". She found a Hello Kitty bike that she loved, but it was just a bit small for her. She eventually settled on a blue one with iridescent tassles. (I never would have predicted that she would choose blue!)

She is thrilled with her new bike...she rode it last night until her little legs nearly fell off. She barely took the time to let me cut the tags off of it!

My sweet Kindergartner!

It's official! Libby started Kindergarten today! It seems like just yesterday that I was bringing her home from the hospital on August 18, 2003!

This morning, she was so excited! She had her new glittery shirt on, her iCarly backpack and her new Skechers high tops. She wasn't really nervous until we walked into the gym and she saw ALL those kids. Then, she held on to my arm pretty tightly!

She made a couple of little friends pretty quickly, and seemed to be doing fine. My mom and I were standing off by the wall, trying not to sob as she lined up and headed for her classroom. All morning, I've fought the tears. Libby is handling this better than me! I can't wait to hear all about her day when I pick her up at 3:45 this afternoon. A new phase of our lives has begun!

Whose child is this, REALLY???

Ok, I admit it. Almost every day, I ask myself "Where did this boy come from?" It's not always because Roan has done something to drive me nuts (which he does often enough)...sometimes it's just because he can be so different from me. He is super social, loves everybody and never needs to be alone. He is 100% comfortable in his own skin. He likes who he is and doesn't care what anyone thinks of him. Case in point, last night:

Libby and Roan are friends with the kids across the street; they love to play together in the evenings. Well, Roan suggested playing dress-up. This was his outfit. Over his monster truck t-shirt, you will see a lovely boa tiara (or as he used to say: "tee-wa-wa"), a silk scarf, pink beads, and peeking from beneath his shirt, a little red sequined tube top that he made into a belt. And, please, note the pose with his hip hiked in the air. Who cares that he's a boy? He marched across the street as big as you please, loud and proud in his dress-up outfit.

According to Roan, this picture shows that he has both a tough and tender side. He's being the Incredible Hulk, btw. Hulk in a fuzzy pink tee-wa-wa.

From the time he's been a little squirt, those of us who know and love him swear that he will grow up to be: 1) a Thespian ('actor' is too generic a term for him); or 2) a rock and roll singer along the lines of David Lee Roth... (minus the butt-less chaps, I hope).

It may be a challenge raising him, but I sure love this boy!

My Soccer Man...or iCarly star?

I'm officially a soccer mom! Roan is having the best time playing soccer. His team is called the "Dragons", which he thinks is super cool. He has never played before, but he is very good at it! He loves his uniform, and wants to wear it everywhere we go. He loves his cleats (or as he says "cleeks") and always wants to wear them to town. He's having trouble understanding that they're only to be worn on the grass.

He does really well at practice...he follows the coaches' instructions, participates without fussing (Roan can be really good at fussing) and is friendly with his teammates... until he starts getting tired. Then, he starts acting silly and quoting lines from iCarly. (Those of you who know Roan are familiar with his ability to lift multiple lines from TV, movies, etc. and act them out in fine detail). Friday night, he started in with an iCarly episode... "Who's throwing turkey bacon? Who did it? Fine, I'm keeping it" complete with the actions that go along with it. It was hilarious if you're an iCarly fan, but his teammates and coaches were clueless. I think they thought he was a little off his rocker!

Soccer picture day on Saturday... all decked out in his uniform!

Being a DRAGON!

My little guy in action at practice.

At practice Friday night, my parents came to watch, and so did Ted. When Ted arrived, Roan came over to my mom and said "Nana, Daddy's here, so you be good!". Then he went and said the same thing to Ted. It was hilarious!

Kindergarten Open House

Libby and I went to her Kindergarten Open House last night. It was very exciting! We got to see her classroom, meet her teacher and get organize her school supplies. She also got to tour the library, see her art room and computer classroom and meet those teachers, as well. We also bought her "student agenda", the notebook where they record notes about her day and give the homework assignment. Wow, Kindergarten sure has changed!

Libby outside her classroom.
Libby with her teacher, Mrs. Shuey. I think they're going to be a good match!

Libby with her supply cubby at her desk.

She is disappointed that she is at a table with a group of other students, and won't have a single student desk to herself. (Could she be more like her mom?), but thinks she can adjust! Each student has a satchel that hangs over the back of their chair where they can keep supplies and pencils. She thought that was pretty terrific.

After meeting the teacher and seeing the classroom, all the Kindergartners went to the cafeteria for a little meet 'n greet with the principal and the teachers...then out to the playground for popsicles. Libby says she feels a lot less nervous about her first day, now that she's seen her room and met her teacher. Mom?... not so much!

Wild times in Peculiar...

Saturday night, we went to Libby's AHG Cookout. We tried to make it home in time for the PREMIERE of the new iCarly episode, but we missed it. Luckily, they showed it again at 10pm. For those of you who know us, you know that we take bedtime pretty seriously at our house. Well, it was a Friday night, and it was the iCarly premiere.... so we stayed up until 11pm! Yowza. Well, some of us stayed up...

Roan made it through about 20 minutes of iCarly, then fell asleep in the recliner.

Here's a peek under the quilt... he was wearing his favorite ninja PJs. Now this is a big deal. For a very long time, Roan not only wore Libby's dresses, he wore her nightgowns, too. To get him away from this, we made him some nightshirts with "boy" fabric. Thankfully, it worked. To see him independently choose BOY pajamas is a HUGE accomplishment!

The final phase of this story... trying to get him to his bed. It's official. He is too big for me to carry anymore. I tried, briefly, but my good education from Cleveland Chiropractic College told me that if I persisted, I would seriously hurt myself! I finally woke him up enough to help him walk to his room...while he complained "But I'm soooooooo tired!!" Good times :-)

American Heritage Girls BBQ

On Saturday evening, Libby's American Heritage Girl troop hosted a 'Welcome Back BBQ' at our local park. It was a fun way for the girls and families to meet each other and have a great time. We had a potluck buffet and some games for the girls to play. Libby has made fast friends with a little girl named Hannah... so cute! Roan came along, and made friends with the little brother of one of Libby's friends. I was really proud of him...he is good at making most things about him, but he let Libby have fun with her friends without interfering. It was a good thing! Nana and Papa came along, too. There were several people there who were from Wisconsin, so he loved talking the "cheesehead" talk with them.

Libby and Hannah... so sweet!

Libby breaking a water balloon over her head during a balloon relay. In case you didn't know, when you're 5, getting totally soaked, in your clothes, with permission is awesome!!