[First Day of School]
Beniah started Kindergarten at a new school this year.When I asked him how he felt about going to a new school he replied, "New school means new friends." Oh sweet boy, how right you are.
We have been an Academy of Tucson family by way of Dave being a teacher in the school district the last 8 years. He proudly would remark that our kids would attend Academy schools early in our marriage and I would rolled my eyes because no-way-would-we-still-be-in-Tucson-then. But, here we are, and Beniah is loving Academy. He loves his teacher and her great stories (and by the time they get to me, they really are great stories) and enjoys learning so much. His favorite thing right now is learning how to read and spell-he eats up signs when we are out and about, trying to sound out and read the words.
Since Haneul started preschool mid year last year and since she is a Fall birthday she is in the same class this year. Initially I was concerned since they would be at separate schools (and Miss H. does love her brother B), but the transition has gone so well and Haneul loves school. Haneul adores her teacher, Ms. Ashley, and is doing her best to be a leader while resisting the urge to be bossy. We've had some great conversations about what being a good friend looks like and she continues to mature day by day. She continues to love being creative and paint is still her choice method. As per usual, she is intrigued by whatever Beniah brings home so by way of influence she is learning all the more.
We celebrated the first day of school with a trip to Starbucks: smoothies, cake pops, and puzzles = a new LePeau tradition.
[Haneul's Family Day]
August 24th marked Haneul's Family Day. She has now been living at home with us longer than she has lived anywhere previously. This is a milestone, of sorts, and I still feel relief knowing she is home. Our wait for her, though not as long as some, was filled with so much anticipation and longing. Occasionally my mother in law will look longingly in Haneul's direction and remark, "Shes really here, huh?" I don't have those moments quite as much as she does, but that night we channeled our inner Phyllis (we all have one in us!) and recalled the trip we made together as a family. We watched the video and told Haneul all about the time we first met her. For days afterward Haneul showed off her scrapbook from that trip proudly to whoever walked through our door and she spent many moments alone looking through pictures and piecing the story together. It's becoming her story, one that I pray she cherishes with joy. We celebrated simply by sharing Hotteok-a delicious Korean street truck dessert that I (too) often enjoyed when I lived there.
[Beniah turns 6]
This year we went low key for Beniah's birthday and choose to honor him in a couple different ways.
On Monday morning he proudly wore his birthday crown around school and helped pass out the popcorn I brought for his classmates. That night we had a few friends over to enjoy a Lego cake and he got to open his gift from Halmoni. He loved everything in his package: stickers, clothes (his favorite being his furious & fast orange t-shirt), and remote control car...but he was quite upset with me when I "stole" a part of his gift...
15. What is your favorite breakfast? Cereal
16. What age is a person an adult? 90
17. If you could drive, where would you drive to? the Mall*
18. Where is your favorite place? Mimi & Poppo's house at the Lake*
19. What makes you angry? When someone takes my favorite things
20. What do you love most about Haneul? That shes my sister!
[Haneul turns 4]
This year Haneul will have a big birthday party (which will happen once volleyball season wraps up), but on her actual birthday I got to take her out for her birthday breakfast: she had apple juice, a cranberry white chocolate scone, and a quiche at Beyond Bread. We took our time while the boys were away and she enjoyed every single bite. She has been looking forward to her birthday for quite some time (the two months wait between their two birthdays is passed with her asking "is it my birthday yet?" everyday). At dinner that night I asked her, "What was the best things about being three?" Without hesitation she responded, "[That I'm] going to be four!"One of the many joys of parenting siblings is watching their relationship grow. On Saturday we recieved a package from Halmoni, which I knew had presents for Haneul in it, so I made the kids wait until the next day to open it. That morning Haneul came into our room and excitedly asked, "Can I open the package from Halmoni?" Beniah was still sleeping so I went to wake him. He came into our room, all groggy, wrapped his arms around Haneul and said, "Happy Birthday Haneul". She was beaming- and so was I!! Its so sweet and fun to see them love on each other!
15. What is your favorite breakfast? Daddy's Smoothies
16. What age is a person an adult? 15
17. If you could drive, where would you drive to? The Lake
18. Where is your favorite place? The Lake
19. What makes you angry? When Beniah hits you
20. What do you love most about Beniah? Hitting his bum like a drum
There you have it-my very belated Fall celebrations post!
