Summer days end and school days begin

Okay, so I failed. Failed to do a blog post a month. Since I don't have a camera and use Instagram so often now, there's never much motivation to blog since most people have already seen my photos on Instagram and Facebook. However, I still want to blog so I have a log of what's been going on, so excuse the redundancy of the photos in this post. And, again, excuse the camera photos.

Paige and Jack did swim lessons in June after we returned from our road trip. This proved to be the best $300 spent, as both kids have become proficient swimmers. 

Paige gained a lot of courage (almost too much courage) and learned to jump from the wall into the water, will swim face in the water wearing goggles and dive to the bottom to pick up dive toys. 

Jack worked on perfecting his stroke and diving into the deep end. He also worked on endurance and learning how to be a stronger swimmer. His swimming has gotten good enough that mom can actually do some relaxing at the pool now (or mom can focus on Paige) while he swims totally unassisted.

We got at least one scalloping trip in this summer, too. Jack learned how to spot the scallops and dive down and collect them. Paige did a lot of floating around behind the boat or hanging out with Nana while we hunted for scallops.

One of my favorite memories of growing up in Florida was stopping at a boiled peanut stand on the way home from the coast. I'm so glad that I get to share that experience with my kids. Nothing says summer like hot boiled peanuts!

Jack got to host his very first sleepover at home with his friend Kent. It was very exciting! The following week, Kent (and his parents) returned the favor and hosted Jack at his house.

That same week, Jack lost his first tooth. It was really wiggly and Ben convinced him to let him wiggle it. Ben got a good hold and popped it out. It totally caught Jack off guard, but he was so excited with the tooth being out that the gushing blood didn't bother him at all. That night, the tooth fairy brought him a whole dollar and a chocolate coin. With the old one out, the new tooth has really sprouted up and the other neighboring bottom tooth is well on it's way out now. It's true that they seem to lose them in the same order that they came in. I guess next will be the two front, top teeth.

Just before school started I decided Jack needed a hair cut. The day before Ben got a terrible hair cut from the cheap barber shop that he frequents (and I've now had to fix it the last 3 times he's gone there). So, I took Jack to my salon since the kid's salon that we used to go to closed. As I was talking to the young man that cut his hair I told him that Jack would really love it if I let him get a mohawk. After he finished the cut, he offered to style it in a mohawk with a little gel and flat iron. Jack was super excited about his new do.

Nana made Paigey a few cute new dresses this summer. One was this pretty white gown that when she put it on made her look like a sweet, little angel. So glad we have a talented Nana!

It's funny how their little personalities develop so early. I've noticed lately that Paige likes to organize objects. Whether it is lining up beach shovels on the beach or organizing magnetic letters by color. Should I be concerned about early signs of OCD?

We had Jack's first grade orientation in mid-August and found out his new teach would be Mrs. Ortolano. He had two little girls from his Kindergarten class in his class this year and the rest are all new faces. We really like Mrs. Ortolano.

Starting first grade was such a different experience from starting kindergarten. Jack was like an old pro when it came to the first day of school. Although, he did have a few nervous butterflies on the way there, as soon as he walked into the door, he sat right now very quietly and started working on their first worksheet. I was really proud of how mature he has become.

Paige started school the week prior, but I knew that she'd want in on the first day pictures, so we pretended it was also her first day.

It's hard to believe summer is over. I'm still a little bit in denial. Getting back into the swing of a routine has been hard, but now with Labor Day behind us, it's true, summer really is over. ;-(

Time to welcome in Fall, football and hopefully some cooler weather.