Kindergarten Countdown

I have a distinct memory of sitting in Mia and Ava's NICU room calculating the year they'd enter Kindergarten.  At the time, 2016 seemed so far away, but here we are.  Here we are: happy, excited, anxious . . . ready.  We're ready to see what new experiences await them.  We're ready to see what they can accomplish on their own. We're ready to be their safe place when they face disappointments and challenges.  We're ready to hold back when our instinct is to hover.  Part of being ready for this big milestone was making sure we had some quality time with each of our girls before we send them off:

 We were so excited to take them school supply shopping for the first time. 

 

 Mate took just the two of them to Skyzone for some fun and a pep talk about Kindergarten. 

 I stole Mia away one evening for an adventure.  At first, she was very concerned that her sisters weren't going with us, but I convinced her that we needed to spend some time together before school starts. 

 Eliana will be starting preschool in a few weeks, so she got a turn to have some one-on-one fun, too.  

Ava was not very excited to leave her sisters and made me promise we wouldn't be gone too long.  Thankfully, her first taste of Starbucks and a bit of shopping made her forget all about the girls at home.  By the end of our evening, she was asking if we could do this again before 1st Grade. 

It doesn't happen often, but I love my one-on-one time with these little ladies.

 

 Mate and I weren't the only ones who wanted to spend some special time with the girls before school starts.  On Friday, they spent the first part of their day painting pottery with my mom, sister and nieces and the second half shopping and playing with Mate's mom and sister.

We're so thankful for all the love that surrounds these girls.

 No matter what their future holds, we're ready for the ride.