So tomorrow is "Move Up Day"...

Where the heck did this school year go? Tomorrow is the last day of school (AKA--Move Up Day--the kids get to meet their new teacher & classmates for the next school year) , and my baby will become a FIRST GRADER. Can I just tell you how freaked out I am about this? And next week she turns six. SIX. Sometimes I feel like I'm stuck in some sort of time warp or something. It makes me sad. It's going by too fast. Again, I dwell on the whole only child issue. Adam and I agree that it's time to do something about that....

Speaking of babies...this photo is from the End of the Year picnic last Friday night. One of Kira's teachers went on maternity leave at spring break, and her beautiful little girl was born the day after my birthday. I ended up camped out on our blanket on the lawn with this little sweetie for the whole night while Mrs. D chased her almost two year old son all over the playground. I loved every minute. I swear, I think people sitting nearby could probably hear my biological clock ticking, (including the top candidate for Multnomah County Commissioner who plopped down right next to me). I so needed me that baby fix. And how adorable does my girl look holding a wee babe? She thought she was pretty cool--the only one in her class who got to hold little Miss A. And of course, she is cool.

Really, I'm excited for summer. I don't mean to sound like a broken record, but I can't help it. I get my girl back. She's excited too, and is surprisingly excited about having "summer home school" with me. I fully expected moans and groans when I announced that we'd be doing some homeschooling over the summer, but she's totally into it. She even asked if we can start on Thursday! Today she asked me if we can have "morning work" (ie--lame worksheets that make me cringe). She explained to me that during morning work her teacher(s) usually use the computer and get stuff ready. Okay, sure--I'm all over that! Anyway, this hasn't exactly been a stellar year--certainly not what we expected from a school that has the reputation that this one does. There have been some pretty significant staffing issues, and let's just say that I'm not sad to see the year come to an end. It's time to let go of the frustration of these past months and move on. We've got some catching up to do, academically. Kira is so ready for more--the expectations just haven't been there for her. I am hereby committing myself to helping her realize and achieve her potential! She's one smart cookie, my girl is. And at homeschool, learning will be hands on and FUN!! (Plus there will be tons of field trips!)

This photo is from last Friday when we celebrated K's birthday (10 days early) at school. I really love it. It's just so Kira right now. Sweet, confident, gap toothed, and way into paper crafts. (YOU KNOW I LOVE THAT!!) She was working on her birthday crown with Adam while her classmates drew pictures for her Birthday Book. We brought butterfly sugar cookies from Helen Bernhard's (looked lots nicer than they tasted--which was unfortunate because they cost a small fortune!) We also found fun little blobs of playdough in fruit shaped containers for Kira to give to her classmates.

I'd better get to work on these teacher cards and gifts for tomorrow. The downside of all the kooky staffing in K's kindergarten this year is that I have FOUR teachers to thank! (And you know teachers need to be thanked, even if--and maybe especially when-- they've had a rough year.) So ready or not, here's to Move Up Day!

Edited to add: Kira got assigned to a great teacher for first grade who has been at her school for more than 20 years! I'm SO GLAD I wrote my pushy letter to the placement team! Also, she has her two best pals from kindergarten in there with her. She's super excited--I just hope the three of them don't drive their teacher nuts!