Today we soaked up some late summer fun at the pool.  It seems that most days this summer we’ve found ourselves here.  Some days we invite friends.  Some days we make friends while there.  And some days it’s just Lauren and me.  Whatever the circumstances of that particular visit, one thing is a constant…LP loves to swim and she’s getting pretty good!   Click here to see some pics.  

Don’t let that sweet face fool you – she’s a complete mess!

Both Lauren and I have survived the first two days of kindergarten.  She seems so excited and has adjusted so well it has helped me.  Of course, I’m missing out on my LP time so we chat about our days on the way home.  Here are a few of her comments from our conversations about the first two days of school: 

“I was at school so long today I thought I stayed all day and night!  Was I there for two days?”

“Mom, I have a million rocks in my shoes!”

“This is hilarious!  Today I used a potty that was so low I had to squat instead of tiptoe.”

“Mom, I think the teacher got confused today and we went on the playground three times!”

“I was surrounded by boys.  I was boy-trapped!”  (Grrrrrr)

“I haven’t learned anything yet.  All we talk about are the rules.  Guess what the #1 rule is?  Be safe!”  (I love the rules!) 

After a tumble on the playground that the teacher claimed she was such a tough girl.  She said, “I fell off the monkey bars, hit a pole, scraped my leg and I must have hit my face on the ground because I was eating rocks after.”  The literal definition of biting it when you fall.

As the owner of a pet shop, Lauren was trying to persuade me to buy a lizard and a gecko “since they are married.”  I was considering my budget, so she gave me a deal, “buy one get one half off.”  As if reading mind, “And don’t worry.  All the pets that I have that are married I’ve done that thing to them so they can’t have babies.”  Yes, Maggie recently was spade.  She also got into a disagreement with a boy at the gym.  She insisted that for a dog to have puppies, they must be married first.  The boy informed her animals don’t get married.  She laughed and laughed when telling me this story since he was obviously so misinformed.  (8/7/12)

We decided on a large pizza tonight so we’d have plenty of leftovers.  When the pizza arrived, it was indeed huge.  Lp exclaims, “Dad that pizza is bigger than your head!” When Ryan asked why she decided to compare the pizza size to his head, she declared, “It was the biggest thing I could find.”  (8/12/12)

After seeing a huge flock of birds flying LP started singing over and over “They’re going to an official bird meeting.”  (8/17/12)

Passing a billboard for a local casino:
LP:  “I know ALL about casinos.”
Dad:  “Do you want to go?”
LP: “No Dad.  I’m not going to spend all of my money…or yours.”
Guess she does know a thing or two.  (8/18/12)

She’s not even 6 yet.  There are days that she seems to be growing so fast – too fast.  And then there are moments like these that remind me that she still has so much growing still to do.  I’m so grateful for her uncensored, sweet innocence.  The beauty in the purity of a child is priceless.  Check out my attempt to capture it, click here.

Today, on her first day of kindergarten, Lauren’s teacher read The Kissing Hand.  This is a book that we have and LP is familiar with already.  However, the main character from the book, Chester, a raccoon, is apparently leaving the class notes.  My ever practical child is skeptable.  She presented her case to me on the way home: 

1)  Raccoons aren’t smart enough to write

2)  Raccoons can’t get into school because there are too many doors to open

3)  And most importantly…they are nocturnal

Really hard to argue with all of that logic.

As the summer quickly comes to an end, there’s a mad dash for us to get in one more trip here or one more visit there.  This week Lauren and I were so excited to get to spend a day with Ryan at the aquarium!  Then we were blessed with some unseasonably less hot weather and LP and I headed to the zoo.  Both outings were lovely and fun and omittedly a little bittersweet for me. 

To see more pics from the aquarium, click here.  For our zoo visit, click here.

Why must summer end?  Why must babies grow up?  Trying to embraced these next few days before Lauren starts kindergarten, however, feeling a dreadful ache in my heart that I fear will not subside.  Hoping the tears that I shed over the next week will enable me to make it out of her classroom on that first day without breaking down…

Snapped a few shots of my baby today.  Click here to see them.