Halloween 2014

There were lots of great opportunities to enjoy Halloween fun and get dressed up this year.  Jocelyn chose to be Ms. Kitty, or as close as she could come to her Beenie Boo Ms. Kitty that is.

She had lots of fun at My Gym's Halloween Party.

We discovered a parade at a local grocery store.

Jocelyn had a school field trip to a local farm stand and then we went back later to get another pumpkin...  but not the 498 pound one...

There was the Halloween Parade at school.

And then of course, the best part - Trick or Treating Halloween night!!  Happy Halloween!!

Fall Fun

The daily routine of back to school means there aren't as many highlights to write about these days.  Jocelyn is finally getting used to the work expectations of 1st grade - and yes that was a struggle because it was unexpectedly much more actual *work*!  And I have gotten into my own routine managing the house and volunteering at school.

Here are some of the exciting moments of the past few weeks.

In September, I discovered a Sunflower farm about an hour from home.  It was so beautiful!!  Jocelyn and I drove up so I could selfishly take advantage of a photo op!  Unfortunately, we have to wait another two years for the sunflowers to come back due to crop rotation.

In early October we celebrated Memere's 70th birthday!!

Love this picture!

Later in the month, Jocelyn and I went back to Touch a Truck - another fun thing that only happens every two years!

In early November, we made it to Disney Frozen on Ice and this time we got to bring Daddy with us!!!  We had such a great time, we can't wait to do it again!!

Sven, our new addition to the family

chowing down on popcorn

Now the weather is FREEZING outside, winter has come way too early this year.  We'll have to see what fun things that brings with it.

FINALLY!!!

I can't believe it took this long, but Jocelyn finally lost her first tooth yesterday!!  It's been wiggly for only a couple days but then yesterday morning it fell out!!  It had a little help when Jocelyn was pretending to be a doggie carrying her clothes in her mouth.  When the clothes came out, so did the tooth and then it took another 10 minutes to find the teeny tiny thing!!
As my luck would have it, I missed the whole event because I was at Jury Duty when it happened, but Daddy got to be there for this first, so it's not all bad.

Last night we hung up the Tooth Fairy Pillow for the first time 

in hopes that something wonderful would appear, but....

Jocelyn did not want the Tooth Fairy to take her tooth away, so she dictated a note....

Dear Tooth Fairy,
I want to keep my tooth forever until I get sick of it.
Please do not take it.  Please really don't.
Love, Jocelyn

And the Tooth Fairy obliged.   AND she left 8 shiny quarters too!!!

Now I just have to figure out how Mommy can get the tooth back to put it in a safe place and save it forever!

The Time Has Come - For 1st Grade!!

Yesterday was the first day back to school.  I officially have a 1st grader!!  And since I have not been allowed to call Jocelyn a 1st grader all summer, it really is official!!
We've had a really fun summer and I'm going to miss my little shadow, but she's so ready to get back to school!

Jocelyn has a tendency to bring up important subjects right before she's supposed to go to sleep.  I am sometimes torn between not wanting to shut down something that is really important for me to address, and my desire for her to just go to sleep!!!  

This week I knew she was stressing a bit about school because for a number of nights she would bring up this new school year and her worries -- Will I see my friends?  Will I like the teacher?  How will I know how to find my classroom? -- So much of her worry was about the unknowns of the first day.

But Friday we went in to the open house so she could meet her teacher and see her classroom and desk, and yesterday morning when she got off the bus, her teacher was there to greet her.  

Her school has a really fun routine for the first day.  Parents put their kids on the bus and race to the school to be there when they get off.  Hundreds of parents cheer on the kids and follow them to class to help them start the day.   I love this event.  Last year it was so hard not to cry!!  This year, I knew it meant security to her.  She thrives on routine and predictability and this was the start of that for her.

By the time we said our goodbyes, 45 minutes later, I knew she was ready to go.

Being the helicopter parent that I am, I've already had a number of emails sent back and forth with her new teacher.  I am thrilled that she welcomes parent volunteers (Happy Dance!!) and she is so receptive to my ramblings about Jocelyn's belly issues, and my need to be overprotective.  I'm sure she's seen it before...  

With Mrs. Rutan Jocelyn's 1st grade teacher

At the end of the day, I couldn't wait to get down to the bus stop to see her again and hear about her day.  At 4:05 she bounded off the bus and declared "I HAD A GREAT DAY!!"  I could not have asked for better than that.  So as much as I would like to stop my baby girl from growing another day older, I am one proud Mommy today.  My sweet girl is a 1st grader -- off to new adventures, out to solve new mysteries, and ready to take on the world.  I love you my girl.

Remembering 9/11

Earlier this week, I had the chance to go to NYC to see the 9/11 Memorial and Museum.  I have now been to all three memorials of the events of that tragic day, September 11, 2001.

Shanksville PA

Pentagon Memorial Washington DC

As emotional as those two locations were, by far, I was struck the most by NYC.  I expected that I really didn't have any concept of how big the area of Ground Zero was, but I was so overwhelmed by my feelings when I got there.  We got off the subway and walked around the corner, and there was the new World Trade Center 1 building.  It is HUGE!!  I love this photo with the reflection in the World Trade Center 3 Building.















It took my breath away just to be there, but as we walked closer and closer, I was overwhelmed by the emotions I felt being at the memorial and being surrounded by what I had been seeing only on TV all these years.  The pools are spectacular, and the PERFECT, serene memorial to those that were lost that day.

The 9/11 Museum is underground, under the pools, which is amazing.  You actually get to see the footprints, indicated by bases of the sheared off pillars that used to be the tridents around the towers.

Here is what's left of a fire truck, one of two in the museum.

One of the things that I was looking most forward to seeing was the Last Column.  I have read a lot about it and was very interested in seeing it for myself.  The column has an interesting story.  It was buried under so much rubble that when they originally went to remove it they had no idea how deep it went.  As layers were removed, photos, signatures, and memories were written on, or attached to the column.  Ultimately it was the last thing to be removed from Ground Zero, and was preserved with the expectation that it would one day hold this important place in the museum.

The Vesey Street stairs were the route 100s took that day to escape.

This piece is called Impact Steel.  It is the area of the North Tower where the Flight 11 plane hit the building.

As heartrending and emotional as these items were, there was a much stronger experience in a huge area under the North Tower pool, that we were not allowed to take photos in.  This area contained all the personal effects, photos, videos, and  memories that demanded respect -- and brought such overwhelming sadness.  

Being an amateur quilter, I could really appreciate this amazing quilt.  This is only about 1/4 of the entire thing and there is a photo of EVERY victim on this quilt.

The museum and memorial were incredible, overwhelming, and emotional.  But they were also beautiful, strong, and completely fitting, to remember such a difficult day.

No Day Shall Erase You From the Memory of Time