Janie, the day before yesterday
My First Baby is officially a third-grader now.
My husband and I spent the morning watching the K-5 classes file across the stage. They all looked impossibly young, except for Janie, who looked impossibly grown-up to me, at eight years old.
Janie, this morning
The days are long, but the years zip by . . .
Earful of Cider 
Even if the years zip by, she’ll always, always be your first baby. ❤
When I tell her that, she rolls her eyes at me . .
As is required by the law of kids. 🙂
It’s a 3 kind of day! My son just turned 3 today as well 🙂
It’s so weird – I don’t remember how I used to fill my time before he was born!
Happy Birthday to him!
i remember sleeping more and worrying (and arguing) less, and spending far less time in the car . . . but it’s a fair trade (most days).
My little guy is finishing 3rd grade next week, but my oldest is graduating high school. HIGH SCHOOL! Just the thought of it gives me palpitations.
You know, if my husband and I had decided to start a family right away, Janie (I guess it wouldn’t have been her, though?) would be graduating, too, and we’d have four more years before an empty house . . . but I can wait!
*lol* See, I slept more and spent less time in the car, but my husband and I argued far more before Marcus. Mostly because I was cranky and bored a lot of the time. Marcus gave me something to do.
By the way, congratulations to Janie! I meant to say so before but I got distracted. Is she receiving an award in the photo?
Also – what time of year do you start school over there? It seems a weird time to be switching grades. In Australia we start the grade year in February and end in early December.
I think I was far too complacent before Janie . . . then again, I wasn’t sleep deprived, either.
She did recieve an award for participating in that writing conference, but the certificate in the picture is her 2nd =grade completion certificate—I refuse to say diploma for another nine ceremonies.
School starts here in late August or early September, more or less, and end s in late May or early June, more or less. This puts the school season over our winters, traditionally to keep farming families free during the growing season, I think (anyone?).
I love the caption.
I got a lecture last night from my 6 year old about how he was fine with hugs but the kisses were out.
His mother, the nutjob that she is, did not take it well. She expressed displeasure, knowing she was acting like a petulant 3 year old, no offense to his more mature younger brother. She also took to talking about herself in third person to ease the stress.
It ended with a very calm statement.
“I carried all 10 pounds of you in my stomach for nine months. I walked you nine hours a day for two months straight while you screamed in my ear. If I want to kiss the top of your head, I am going to kiss the top of your head.”
i think she handled it well…
At the beginning of 2nd grade, I was forbidden to write notes in lunches, walk with her into the school (I didn’t mind that one), or to kiss and hug her good night. I agreed.
It took one week for Janie to tell me it was unfair for Sunny to get notes when she didn’t—and one night for her to decide that she missed being hugged and kissed, at least where her friends couldn’t see.
i am still forbidden to call her oogie-woogie-sweetie-pie-sugar-bunny in public, but that’s a preeemptive strike—I’m not the one who made that up.
The times are certainly changing. I love her baby picture, with fists clenched.
I used to teach Kindergarten and then, briefly, 3rd grade. For the former, I would come home each day with “pull at your heart string” stories. For the latter, not so much. I’m sorry to say but by 3rd grade, kids just aren’t as cute. On the positive side, they can walk a lot farther without getting as tired so I guess it’s a fair trade off.
Janie is 5 hours old in the photo—the woman who took it told me that she was one of the few kids who didn’t have to be tricked into looking straight at the camera. She doesn’t now, either.
Sunny is definitely cute—she looks like Shirley Temple and Marissa Tormei (in Oscar) for Pete’s sake. But Janie, for all her drama, is one cool kid. And you’re right, she doesn’t wantt o be picked up and carried anymore, which is a good thing!
The days are long but the years zip by.
Ain ‘t that the truth – thanks for the reminder.
nothing like having kids to teach you just how fast time really is. my first born is now officially a second-grader and our new blanket excuse for why she:
can’t fall asleep in mom and dad’s bed
has to pick up after herself
put her clean clothes away and bring her dirty clothes into the laundry room
“you’re a second grader now…”
(of course, we tried this same theory when she was, “a first grader now.” i’m hoping it carries more weight this year.
Good luck!
Janie still can’t seem to hit her hamper the first time—she wears a different colored sock on each foot not to set a fashion but because there’s a heap of single, dirty socks under her bed. The rest of her room frightens me.