Back to School

August 27, 2012  First day of school!

 

 

 

Duch started Kindergarten!  She was very excited and did not seem too nervous.  She planned which uniform to wear for weeks!  Her teacher is Ms Holford.  She knows one other kiddo in her class, Aiden, because he is the younger brother of one of Bubba's friends.  She knows several other Kindergartners the same way.  At the end of the day she said it was a good day.  She went to PE for Specials, recess was fun, Ms Holford read a story about going to school, lunch in the cafeteria was fine, she got green for good behavior... The information about the day trickled out all afternoon.  She was one tired girl by bedtime!

 

 

Bubba started 2nd grade.  He was excited but disappointed that his best buddy is not in his class.  Some other friends are in the class so he is glad for that.  His teacher is Mrs Jenkins and he had lots of good things to say about her.  She has "a really cool rock collection," which makes her tops in Bubba's eyes.  He had Art for Specials which is first thing in the morning.  He saw Duch in the cafeteria, which she thought was super cool.  No homework the first week!

 

 

Splish, Splash!

We returned to Gulf Shores again this summer and had a great time! Once again the whole family was there. We swam in the ocean, played in the pool, hung out in the house... We didn't go to town much- once to go to the airplane museum in Pensacola, once to go out to eat and once to ride go-carts. We celebrated Aunt Sara's and Duch's birthdays with cake and gifts. Huck did not like the sand but wanted to go to the beach.  As long as he sat on a towel or someones lap he was fine.  Bubba did great swimming, in both the ocean and the pool. 

 

 

 

First morning, looking out over the water

Huck did NOT like the sand

Uncle Scott

Cousins!

airplane museum

 

 

Say AHHHHHH

Duchess had her tonsils and adenoids out last week.  She had several strep infections and had quite a mighty snore at night so out the y came.  She did very well with the surgery and has had a pretty smooth recovery.  We had been talking about it for awhile so she was pretty well prepared.  Over the month before her concerns were- What if I wake up?  What if I have a bad dream and can't wake up?  How badly will my throat hurt when I wake up?  What will the room I wake up in look like?  The only one I couldn't answer right away was the one about the bad dream, but after asking at work I learned that people do not have REM sleep under anesthesia so no worries for bad dreams. 

The night before

 

The GIANT tonsils

We took her up to the Children's location in Plano and I can't say enough good things about everyone there.  So friendly and every single person spoke to Duch.  They had toys waiting for her in the exam room and she kept busy serving us tea and playing on the toy computer.  She brought Get Better Bunny (from Cousin William) to the hospital and she was able to go back to the OR with her.

Get Better Bunny from Cousin William

She got a little "silly juice", Versed mixed with pain medicine, and off she went to the OR.  She was laughing as she was pushed down the hall.  Daddy and I went to wait and eat lunch and had not even finished eating when they were calling us back to speak with the doctor.  Dr McClay said she did great, that her tonsils and adenoids were "pretty big and nasty looking."  So good choice in taking them out.  We went back to the waiting room and in about 20 minutes they called us back because she was awake.  I thought she looked pretty good, I expected her to be more pale or something.  She drank a little and went back to sleep for about an hour or so. 

 

 

After waking up she said "Momma, I was in a movie."  I guess a dream?  Not too long after that she was playing Where's My Water and asking to go home.

 

 She was hurting by the time we got home so we gave her some pain medicine- which was quite a battle as it tasted very yucky.  I took it back to get some flavor added but it didn't really seem to improve it much...  An hour after we got home she looked almost normal- I totally did not expect that!  With a bowel of strawberry ice cream in front of her for dinner she was begging to eat pizza!  Several times I had to ask her to please not twirl in circles.  Later she caught herself twirling and I heard a frustrated moan and "How can I possibly not spin?  I spin ALL THE TIME!"  Which is true.

Day 3 & 4 were a bit rougher as she was a bit whinny and oppositional, but still not too bad.  As long as she got her pain meds every 4 hours she was pretty good.  She did only once moan "WHY did I have to get my tonsils tooken out?!"  By day 7 she had a pretty good day.  She slept through the night without waking in pain and only needed pain meds 2 times.  By the weekend before school started she did not need pain medicine at all!

5!!!!! Five Years-Old!!!!! Duchess is Five!!!!!

5!!!!!  Five Years-Old!!!!! Duchess is Five!!!!!

Duchess, at what age do you think a person is a grown-up?  26 years

If you could be invisible for one day, what would you do?  I don't know.  Just ask me a different question.
What is something that makes our family special?  Our last name?
Are you a good friend? yeah   Why?  because...  I play a lot of games

How would the world be different if animals could talk?  I'd go, like, "what the?" 

What is the best thing about being a kid?  that you could go and do stuff that grown-ups can't do, like go in a place that has a small little door

What is the worst thing?  nothing!

What is your favorite place in the world?  the pool

If you could give one gift to every kid in the world, what would it be?  a Barbie and a princess

Tell me 5 words that you would use to describe yourself.  good friend, I share, playful, silly, good dancer
If you could invent something, what would it be?  something good.  Can you just ask me the next question?
What is your favorite:
color: pink, purple, green, orange and blue.  Ilike red, too.
food: mac and cheese
song: twinkle, twinkle
book: Dora
activity:  decorating stuff, like crowns
toy: stuffed animals
Thing at school: play in the kitchen with Kennedy nad Chloe
friend: Kennedy, Chloe and Keanne
animal:  elephant
TV show: Dora
movie: Cinderella

What does Dad like to do?  lay on the couch

What does Mom like to do?   play with the kids

What makes you special?  I don't know!  (Daddy offers- You are a good sister.)  Okay!

What is one thing you would most like to do? play games!

What would you like to write a book about?  a little cat

Describe what you look like.  long, brown hair, light skin, brown eyes

What are you looking forward to this year?  going to the beach!

What new things did you learn as a 4 year-old?  something I do in school.  When we are talking about something, don't tell your friends something.  Tell your teacher something that has to do with what we are talking about.  How to do a sommer-sault. 

Anything else you'd like to say?  yes, can I write my name on the computer?

madison georgia knefley



We love you so much, Duchess!  You have had a fun year.  You did great in school.  Your teachers for Pre-K 4 were Ms Tori and Ms Clare.  You friends this year were Kennedy, Chloe, Kate, Charlotte and Keanne.  Your teachers reported that you were great at school- you played nicely, listened to directions, and worked hard.  The only thing you had trouble with was talking too much sometimes!  Your handwriting improved so much and you can write all your letters, both upper and lower case letters.  You know all your shapes, numbers and colors.  You have been a good big sister to Huck.  The two of you are learning to play more cooperativly and you are a little more accepting of the attention he needs.  You continue to play well with your big brother and you two come up with really fun imagination games.  You also like to play by yourself in your room sometimes, too.  (And you really DO NOT want Huck to go into your room!)  You had your first play dates without Mom there the whole time and loved every minute.  This summer your swimming continued to improve.  You continued to take dance, this summer it was both tap and ballet.  You LOVE clothes and shoes.  You'd be happy to get a new pair of shoes every day.  You prefer to wear dresses and skirts and like things fancy.  You are looking forward to Kindergarten! 

Daddy and I love you very much and are so proud of you!