The Wheels On The Bus

The bus stops on our block for kids going to Sun Valley.  We decided it might be a good idea to let Maya ride the bus to school.  Maya thought it was a fabulous idea.   On Friday, we rehearsed what she should do after she gets off the bus including how to get to her classroom and where to put her stuff.  Today, we walked to the bus stop and our little kindergartener eagerly jumped on the bus as her very nervous mother tried to hold it together.  All went well and Maya is now an official bus rider.

Maya looks back after getting on the bus for the first time.

The doors close and the bus is on it's way.

Violet's mom, Yvonne, was kind enough to watch for Maya when she got off the bus and Violet greeted her with a hug.  Yvonne sent a grateful momma this photo.

Later that day, the bus appeared on our block again.

A happy girl made it back home safely.

Hooray for the bus!

Mother's Group Reunion

Our San Francisco mother's group had a mini reunion in honor of a visit from Julie, Tyler, Natalie, Noah who now live in far away Michigan.  It's hard to believe our little babies are now 5 years older.

Julie and Natalie with Maya.

fKathy relaxes while being tackled by three girls.

Natasha and Gabriel.

Clockwise starting with Maya: Maya, Olen, Gabriel, Natalie, Jonathan, Charlotte, Noah, Sadie, and Dexter.

5 years of friendship.

Driving Lessons

Our very kind neighbors let us borrow this cool car.  A couple people in our house like to drive it.

 Maya insists upon riding with Dex and showing him what to do.

Maya, Dex, and baby.

Dexter's sweet ride.

"Pickup from First Day of School" video

After school excitement...

Kindergarten!!

After much anticipation, the first day of kindergarten arrived.  In preparation for today, Maya went to Kindergarten Camp the prior week at her new school, Sun Valley Elementary.  That helped her get comfortable with the school.  It also helped that Naia, from Little Arrows, was in her class along with our our neighbor, Violet.  She was very ready for her big day.

 Our little lady.

Ready to go.

Her tiny backpack.

Maya and Violet.

Watching the kids get lined up to go inside makes Momma happy...

...and a little sad.

After several hours wondering how Maya was doing, we were relieved to see a very happy girl when the day was over.  Here is Naia, Maya, and Violet after school.  Calling them happy would be an understatement.

Heading home after the first day at her new school.

Dexter's New Best Friend

Dexter has become particularly fond of one of Maya's baby dolls.  He loves to hug it and give it kisses.

 Little D with baby.

Kisses!

Maya Gets Mathy

Maya decided to write out math problems for the first time and seemed to know exactly how to do it without any help from us...

"Radio Flyer, Dexter Edition" video

Dexter recently met the Radio Flyer walker wagon and fell in love.  It not surprising as his sister loved it too.  Dexter definitely wants to get walking as soon as possible.  Here comes trouble!

Oakland A's Newest Fans

One of the moms in my new mother's group works for the Oakland A's and got us a suite for an A's game.  It was all of our first for the whole family and we had a great time.  Go A's!

The classy way to watch a game.

Our view.

Baby chaos inside.

  

Dexter and his pals love crawling on the stairs.

Maya gives Dexter a love tackle.

Dexter looks more 'near death' than he really is.

Maya becomes an official fan.

Maya leaving the game...

...and 10 minutes later (yes, that is her tongue).

Cheetah Art Series and "Cheetah Drawings" video

Great art is always inspired by cheetahs...

 Girl Cheetah?

Not running and running cheetah.

Florida: We Love Destin

We got to spend a couple more days in Destin before heading home.  The weather was still problematic, but we tried to enjoy the beautiful area.

 Dexter pats his little cousin.

 Unfortunately, this is what we saw out the windows for a few hours each day.

Maya wearing Santi's clothes after a morning beach walk got rained out.

The sun came out and we decided to take the boat to see Nonnie.

Pop is sooo immature.

Chatting with Nonnie at her house.

Santi uses some nets to paddle his boat at home.

The next day, Daddy and Maya took a trip to Crab Island.

It's not a real island.  It's just a sand bar where lots of boats anchor and do stuff like this...

...and this...

...and this.