Too Early?

Lance said the kids were a little hesitant when they arrived at school this morning, so the newness and excitement may be wearing off a little, but yesterday when I picked them up they both complained that I was too early!  That is somewhat of a first, especially for Katie.  When she saw me walk in the first day she was playing and didn't run to me as usual, but yesterday she finally came to me and the first thing she said was "why are you here right now."  When I asked what she meant, she said I wasn't supposed to be there yet and Tyler asked, too, why I picked them up at the wrong time.  It was actually 30 minutes later than usual, since I have to drive to get them instead of putting them in the car with me when I get off work - but they were having fun and obviously weren't ready to leave!  The new school is much smaller, and seems to be less structured and I think they are having fun with the new toys, but also that it seems less like a school environment and more like playtime.  I am good with that - I firmly believe they learn a lot from playing and they will have plenty of "school" in their future, and it is nice that they seem to enjoy being there, for now.

The teachers are still singing their praises, and telling us how sweet (ha) they both are.  Tyler did have an incident yesterday (related to me by Katie who is loving being in class with Tyler now so she can spy on him).  He apparently started crying on the playground because he wasn't allowed to go into the "big kid" area.  He said that he IS a big kid and really wanted to play over there.  Katie looked at him and said very sincerely, "Ty, you are a big little kid and only big big kids can go over there."  He got over it, I think, but he was still distraught enough about it that when I asked him if he had a fun day he said "yes, but I didn't get to go on the right playground."  He is Mr. Independent nowadays and I am really trying to let him reach this milestone without too much interference.  He wants to do literally everything himself, and will keep working on it for well longer than it should take just so he can get that sense of accomplishment.  Opening straws on Capri-Suns, opening the tricky applesauce cup, climbing up on the bed, getting dressed and undressed, opening doors, buckling carseats - you name it, he wants to do it himself and gets very frustrated if you try to step in.  At dinner last night when he was struggling mightily with the applesauce (and after he had broken his banana trying to un-peel it, which really upset him) I did tell him that sometimes it is OK to ask for help and that Mommies and Daddies and Teachers and Grandparents like to help sometimes too.  So, he did finally ask me to help him get the top off and maybe he learned that there is a balance between doing everything on your own and realizing when a helping hand is good (wishful thinking probably).

It is supposed to be really, really hot tomorrow through the weekend so I don't know what we have planned.  The kids want to go to the waterpark as a reward for being good at school, and Tyler wants to go to breakfast at Pancake Pantry - so those will probably be on the agenda since neither should be too hot!  Saturday, a friend of ours is celebrating his birthday and I suggested to Lance that we try to get a sitter, but since he hasn't called his friend that knows of a girl who babysits yet, I am assuming that he is still resistant to anyone watching them who isn't family.  Other than that, Lance still has to work Saturday and Sunday and the only thing I have planned is to get a haircut and finally cover all these grays that insist on popping up more and more daily - but I am sure we will sneak in a few pictures of whatever we do with the kids to liven up these posts!