As yet unnamed!

One week down...

One full week of school down and the kids are settled in and having fun. Every morning we take the bus to school and the kids fight over who gets the window seat. I tell them to take turns and sometimes the aisle seat kid gets to sit on my lap to take away the disappointment of not having the window seat. 

In this photo the kids had been punching each other up until the point I asked them to smile for a photo. Immediately afterwards punching resumed. Good times. 

Noemie is enjoying year 2, loves her teacher who I think is either shy or nervous as she hasn't really spoken to any of us parents yet. I have managed to force a hello and smile from her so far though by being in her face and not really giving her the option to ignore me. The kids all seem to be happy though so that's the most important of course. N managed a 10/10 on spelling her first week back and is just about to go up to the next reading level so all is well. 

Charlie has already charmed his way around school. He has earned himself the nickname Cheeky Charlie for his little dimpled smile. He bounces into class each morning and cuddles his teacher and the assitant. Apparently he smiles and cuddles his way through the day as well and they say he brightens their day with his enthusiasm and cheerful personality. He's made some friends and the teachers and other parents have reported back that he's a kind and thoughtful kid. One classmate had forgotten his towel for swimming and Charlie volunteered to share his towel without prompting. And another time he collided with someone else in the playground and apologised and asked the other kid if he was okay. Glad to see him being a good boy even without me there to nag at him! 

He's already reading books in his class. They started him on level 1 and the next day moved him up to level 1+. Even that is too easy so next week he'll be moved up again to level 2 I'm sure. I think most of the rest of the class is still working on the alphabet. It was the same thing when Noemie was in Reception with some kids reading right away and other kids learning the alphabet. They all get there in the end so it's cool but it's a nice feeling to be one of the Moms with a kid who's one step ahead  for a change. Long may this continue!

 

The official first day of school photo 2013

I took so many photos this morning trying to get the "perfect" shot of the two kids before we left for C's first full day and N's first day back at school. Could I get them to both look at me at the same time, smile a normal smile, not fidget, not tell me about Xbox games and not dance around? Nope. I think it turned out well though as this photo captures the two of them perfectly. N doing her usual crazy face and making noise. C looking up adoringly at his sister. Never mind that he spends more and more time pissing her off and poking at her lately and when K or I say something to him, he's all "huh? me? I'd never irritate her, I love her. See, what me look at her in adoration". 

N had a good first day back and seems to like her teacher which is nice to hear. She's from France apparently so at least she'll be able to pronounce N's name correctly with ease. C's class has two Charlies I'm surprised there's not more of them with such a common name. Rather than differentiate with last name initials, the other Charlie's Mom insists her son is called Charles (despite the little boy wanting to be called Charlie). So our C could just be CL right? Nope, he's known as "Cheeky Charlie". And so it begins... 

3 Sep 2013

Charlie had his first session at school today. Only a quick 2 hours though. He starts tomorrow with the full days. They like letting the Reception kids have the school for a day to settle in before the bigger kids take over.

Charlie had a wonderful time. He knows around half of his classmates already as they are siblings of Noemie's classmates as well as one from his nursery class. He's anxious to go back tomorrow to play some more :)

After school we went to gambado where Noemie was at a birthday party. We stayed afterwards and the kids played with some friends until mid afternoon. C fell asleep right away at 7pm and N better be asleep before 8pm!

Stars Wars Pancakes for Dinner

We got these pancake molds in the US last month and tonight K decided to try them out. Our usual buttermilk batter is too thick though so I think I might try again tomorrow night for dinner. N has a playdate over so that would be a fun dinner for the kids. 

Both the kids love Star Wars, well, mainly Lego Star Wars thanks to C playing endless hours on the Xbox and N watching and playing as well. I had to talk C out of a repeat of a Lego Star Wars themed birthday party as we've been there done that last year. This year it's apparently Angry Birds. Must get thinking about what kind of cake I'll be doing.

 

A random photo of the four of us from earlier this year in April when we went to Disneyland Paris for N's 6th birthday. I've got so many photos from that trip, many that have yet to be edited. One of these days I'll get caught up!