September days at school

Joy's teacher Mrs.  Janika does a great job of taking pictures each week. Joy has been- doing art projects about fall, coloring shapes and playing a lot of baby dolls. 

Joy now leaves bear at home but always brings either tiny baby or chrysanthemum  with her. A few days ago when I told her to get dressed because we were leaving for school she said "how many more times do I have to go to school?" The answer is many many many days (probably 20+ years left) sweetheart. 

Joy now stays for school lunch. She wanted to since the first week of school but I thought it would make the day too long. It only adds about 40 min  but she loves it!

Fall

We are loving fall! It has been so fun to walk through piles of leaves, snuggle inside when it is rainy and play outside on crisp cool days. 

Look mommy...

... I made a big brown monster :). Joy was making a tree at school but as usual she loves to keep adding colours until it is one big brown blob. A few of her classmates had the same inspiration  :) 

Undies

Look who is as excited as ever that he gets to wear undies......

Potty training started yesterday and Simon is doing a great job. We even went out all morning (he wore a diaper but it stayed dry) and he asked to pee while out. Pez and gummy bears are the greatest motivator for this boy! 

Three weeks of school done

(Drinking her smoothie on the way to school, a special treat if she eats all her oatmeal) 

Joy has been at school for three weeks and is starting to get the hang of it. 

Some new things 

- bear was left at home only get dolly joined her today

- this week she found a couple friends at school who like to play dollies too (carina and Michael). 

- she has learned many of her classmates names. 

- gets dressed right away with no tears (even with long pants and long sleeves!) 

- says goodbye to me and starts playing 

- has been asking to stay for lunch and the whole day

- is only napping three days a week roughly but will stay in her room for as long as Simon sleeps which is amazing

Joy we are so proud of you and all the new things you have learned in three short weeks!! 

Morning walk

After dropping off Joy at school we leave the double stroller (at school) and Simon and I walk home. The weather has been cool and sunny so we take as long as we want. Simon like to say hi to a few motorcycles that we pass and limb/ jump off every stair and curb we pass. His morning aerobic circuit is quite intense. 

Establishing a new normal

We have been in Estonia for one month. Like most times of transition it feels like an eternity and a blink of an eye all at the same time. Our new normal is slowly being established, although it is so different from what normal looked like last year. 

* We are adjusting to Joy being at school every morning. She is still hesitant to go in the morning but there haven't been any tears or freak outs (which is huge for her). 

 Brad sneaking a peak at Joy while she plays outside at school. 

-Simon and I are really enjoying our time together. Doing most tasks with only one kid is so much easier (and Simon is so calm without joy around). 

-We spend our mornings cleaning,doing laundry,  grocery shopping (which was very weird for me and is getting more manageable!) checking out what is on sale at H&M (which is dangerously close!) and this week we have set up some play dates with other moms (which is helping life feel more normal). 

each set was only 1€! We are playing dress up with them now to get "used" to how they feel. 

-Joy and Simon have been playing so well together the last few days. Also Joy has been playing alone really well since starting school. It is fun to see the two of them become friends. 

*We are adjusting to changing seasons. I feel like a kid again (oh wait I grew up without any seasons) and am really enjoying the beginning of fall. I'm sill getting used to cold rain, but the cool crisp fall mornings are pretty amazing. 

-Joy is having a very hard time adjusting to not wearing short sleeves and shorts everyday. Don't even get me started on socks and jackets. Winter is going to be brutal. Getting her to wear long pants is a battle everyday.. Today was a win so that is all that matters! 

* We are adjusting to life without a car. All this full fat dairy we are eating won't get us fat with all the miles we walk! Most days it is fine however when it is rainy at 8:15am and I have to load two kids I. The stroller I have a bad attitude. It is getting more normal! 

And the weather...

....is changing! The weather has been great and the last few days it has been getting a bit cool and wet. The pros - it has been fun to see the leaves change and have cool breezes. The cons- walking in the rain is brutal but with my new coat (not the one pictured) I'm no longer wet so that is good! Also my kids won't wear long pants....hopefully this will change soon.