The Beach

Look what we did today!



Yup, it's January.





8 miles from our house.



And we were here...TODAY!



AND we met up with some friends from Cleveland who live here now too!

Averie is Izzy's age and they are both in kindergarten at the same school


Kendal is her 2 year old sister and I LOVE her...she is a piece of work and I would steal her if I could. Chances are her mama would know exactly where to look if she ever went missing though :)


And Austyn is her littlest baby sister who hung like a champ in the breezy beach weather.


Did I mention that today we went to the beach? and it is a mere 8 miles from our house? and it is January? ...did I?

Halloween 2010

So many pictures and events have happened that haven't made it to the blog. In an effort to remember them all years from now I need to play a bit of catch up so they make it to the blog book.













We have such a fantastic time when we trick or treat. The street we go to has a party (they even print up cups!) prior to the mad dash of kids to houses. Last year there was even a hay ride for the kids, but this year with Halloween falling on the same day as the church's "Trunk or Treat" we didn't have one.

No problem - we had a golf cart!



Izzy was a candy corn witch...and in true 5 year old girl fashion, Izzy's trick or treating buddies followed this year's "theme".

The Grider Girls Visit

We had our first Greensboro friends come to visit us this past weekend. Look who came to visit...

Do you recognize this cute little face?


That's Mia. The little sister of one of Izzy's best friends (Izzy and Delaney met back when they were 15 months old and have birthdays one day apart).


Unfortunately Jen forgot her camera and I only took my camera with us to the park on the last day of their visit. We didn't really do much as far as "exploring Charleston" went, but the kids had a blast just playing together!

Being the super awesome mom that I am, I used my birthday money and a couple gift cards to buy this sweet ride for Drew.

That is him saying, "pull over! pull over!"

The weekend was spent with the three big kids just playing playing and more playing! Drew would chase the girls in the Barbie car (they were the "Bad Barbie Girls"), pull them over and write them a ticket.




If things got really out of hand then he would break out the cuffs.



Kuddos to Izzy and Delaney for being such great sports and including Drew in most of their weekend play. However, every once in a while Drew didn't get to be directly "next to Izzy" (during a meal, on a swing, on a see-saw, etc) and he would have one of these moments...


The kids did super together. Other than a couple Drew moments, and Mia freak outs regarding Chloe (in my opinion she did much better than I thought she would) it was a perfect weekend. I think the girls had one argument over the need for a flashlight?

Those Griders were the most perfect houseguests and are welcome back anytime! We miss them already :(

The Star Wars Room

As luck would have it for our Star Wars Lego Wii loving son, his room at the new house is Star Wars themed! I have no idea who did these murals, but check them out.









However, the week before we moved here I bought bunk beds for Drew (yes, I SWORE I would never have bunk beds and I blame this purchase on Pete) but not seeing the room prior to the purchase I wasn't aware how very small Drew's room would be.



The entire room is now bed!





It works just fine because we have a bonus room which holds all the kids toys. In fact I wasn't sure I would even be able to get the drawers open (on the far side of his bed) for his clothes, but I am! The stairs leading to the top bunk are also drawers which provide more storage. One of my biggest reasons for not wanting bunk beds was because of the ladder aspect, and since I picked out this beauty in 10 min. flat with no feedback from Pete (other than a "go ahead to buy"), I was able to get these! ...so the kids are happy and if we had to get bunk beds at least I got the set I really like.

*Izzy does have her own room at this house, but she chooses to sleep on the top bunk. Chloe sleeps on the bottom bunk (a full bed) with Drew. I rather like having all my babies in one space :-)

First Day(s) of School...Charleston Edition

I am over the moon to report that both kids ROCKED their first day of school! I on the other hand certainly got a near failing grade for all the nail biting, aimless wandering, nervous eating that I did. The only reason I won't give myself a failing grade is because I did manage to get to the chiropractor as well as make a couple Christmas returns.

Here's the recap...

At 6:20 am my alarm went off (Izzy was in bed with me because Pete was out of town). I went downstairs to turn on the oven and make cinnamon rolls for the kids for breakfast. This seems to be the breakfast of choice when a "special" option is given.

6:35 I wake Izzy up. As she is slowly waking I look out my window and notice the bus is waiting at our neighborhood bus stop. Did you catch that it is ONLY 6:35!!! I told this to Izzy and she said, "I don't care how early it comes, I want to ride it." I don't think that will happen.

6:45 Izzy is dressed and sitting at the table eating a cinnamon roll. I go to wake Drew (and Izzy follows because she wants to wake him).

6:47 wake Drew who is upset that we have to take Izzy to school because he wants to play Wii. I tell him that he can stay in his pj's but he insists on putting his clothes on.

7:05 we are on our way to Izzy's school. We park and walk a distance that takes FOREVER because Drew is still half asleep and walking at a snails pace.

7:30 I leave Izzy in her classroom :(

Drew and I then come back home where he is now allowed to play Wii while I shower. He then has a second breakfast while I pack his lunch for school.

I dropped Drew at 9 (walked him in) and then went about running errands until I picked him up at 12:30.

Drew typically gets dropped off and picked up in a car line (except on Fridays when I go in to pick him up). Once Drew was loaded in the car I began asking about his day.

Me: DREW!!! Tell me about school! Did you have a good day?
Drew: Hey! Hey! Hey Mom, I 'fink' I met a new best friend!
Me: You did, that's GREAT! Do you remember his name?
Drew: It's Brock.

One kid down and one to go...

For the first couple weeks I will pick Izzy up as a "walker" This means that the teacher will walk her out of the school and hand deliver her to me at the end of the parked buses (many people do this as it seems to be faster then going through the pick up line). Once she finds a buddy in the neighborhood she may ride the afternoon bus.

I was able to see Izzy walking long before she spotted me. She was just marching along with the rest of the "walkers" and didn't seem at all out of sorts or anxious. Once she saw me she broke into a big ole grin :-) Her day was just as exciting as Drew's with the meeting of a potential new best friend. Once we got home and I was able to look in her folder the teacher had written a brief note stating that Izzy had a smile on her face most of the day.

As I type this Izzy has had school for 3 days and Drew twice. Izzy has commented about not wanting to go to school but when asked for a reason she tells me it is because she misses me. She has also stated that she misses her old school and friends. Thankfully these just seem to be brief passing comments and have not brought much opposition to going or lots of crying. Izzy even brought home a certificate (good for a free kids meal at Chick-Fil-A) and recognized for: respect, joy, determination, kindness and a double dose of courage! Drew did FANTASTIC on his second day. On our way to school I asked him if he wanted me to walk him in or drop him off in the car line. He asked "what does Brock do?" I told him he gets dropped off in line. Drew said, "den dat's what I want to do!"

Perhaps the funniest thing was when I picked Drew up (remember Friday's we go into the classroom to get them) as I was walking towards his class I heard him say to another parent, "Hi, I'm a new student at this school. My name is Drew and I am 4."

Barbie Car, Scooters, Pj's, Oh My!

Look what Izzy got 3 days after Christmas :-) It was the ONE thing that she asked for and thankfully it wasn't a gift from Santa.



The kids have tons of fun riding all over the backyard, as well as on the neighborhood streets and golf cart path.



Izzy is ALWAYS the driver, and surprisingly Drew has not pitched a fit. I think he is happy to control the radio - which plays three fantastic tunes!



And as long as they are in the backyard, you can be assured that Chloe is not far behind.



Another super fun outdoor gift are these scooters. Again, perfect for street and golf cart path riding. Once the little legs get stronger and endurance is built up then I see many rides to the grocery store in our future. I'd certainly be willing to ride a mile for a sweet treat and I'm pretty sure these guys will be to. ...but first I need to get them some knee pads - Drew has ripped two pair of jeans so far!





And after all that outdoor play, there is nothing better than snuggling up in these super cute jammies. Nora, my brother Andy's girlfriend, got the kids these for Christmas. She is currently living in Alaska so the kids refer to these as their "Alaska pajamas". How cute are these?



Drew's say, "I MOOSE have a hug" and Izzy's say, "Bear Hug" and the bear paws continue around to the back of the jammies.

New Schools

I have been dreading this day for the last two weeks (though I think I will dread Wednesday more). Today was simply to see the school, get paperwork in order, and possibly meet the teachers.

We headed to Drew's school first. He will go M-W-F from 9-12:30. Funny thing - this class uses the same "frog" symbol for names/folders that Drew used at his old school. Creature comfort :) His class has 12/13 kids and is boy heavy. The kids went around and introduced themselves and told us something they got for Christmas. I think all but one boy talked about a gun/laser of some sort they received. 4 year old boys are the same no matter where they live!

Izzy's school is AMAZING! I was over the moon impressed with her last school, but this one might give it a run for its money. The one thing I don't really like is that is is HUGE - 15 kindergarten classes (there were 4 at her last school). Each class very large, very bright, full of toys and lots of fun "creative" learning elements. Another plus is that each classroom has a smart board - this is something the PTA was hoping to purchase for each class at Izzy's old school.

Our plan is to meet Izzy's new teacher tomorrow (Tuesday) and then both kids will start Wednesday. Wish me luck...I don't do well with both kids out of the house :-( ...and Pete will be gone too!

She's a "Loggerhead" ...and he wanted to get in on the picture.


*Izzy's teacher just called me and she was one of the teachers that I met today. We viewed her classroom and I was immediately impressed by all the different centers taking place at one time with all the students behaving so well (especially since it was the first day back after break!). She told her class that the little girl who stopped by today (Izzy) was going to be a new student in the class and the students all cheered. I told this to Izzy and she got a sweet little shy grin on her face.

The following note is a letter from Izzy's teacher in NC to her new teacher in SC. I was touched when Izzy's "old" teacher said she would write a note to help Izzy's "new" teacher get to know her. I was equally as impressed when I heard that Izzy's "new" teacher was excited that her "old" teacher took the time to do this. I am confident that her "new" teacher will be just perfect for her!

1/3/2011
To Isabelle Swyt’s kindergarten teacher:
I thought it might help to give you some information about Isabelle’s academic and social progress so far in kindergarten. First, I know you’ll love having her as a student. She has been such a pleasure to teach – always eager to learn and constantly giving her best effort. Isabelle (Izzy) is an excellent student, well-behaved and conscientious.
In math, we’ve spent most of the time doing lots of mental math and working with manipulatives. Izzy can count by 1’s. 2’s, 5’s, and 10’s to 100. She is able to write all numbers and knows how to compare numbers using the greater than and less than symbols. We’ve studied graphing, ordering, and positional words. We’ve just started learning 3D shapes so Izzy’s been introduced to the cone, cylinder, sphere, and cube as well as the 2D shapes. She’s just starting to learn to add single digit numbers.
In writing, Izzy is learning to come up with at least one sentence (plus illustrating it), using phonics to spell the words. Her fine motor skills are good and she’s able to write all letters.
In reading, Izzy was successful when tested at a Level 4 (using the Developmental Reading Assessment). That would put her above grade level in _ County. She’s learned many of the high frequency sight words. She’s also able to retell the story at a Level 4.
Socially, Izzy is well-liked by everyone. She’s a quiet leader in the classroom and is usually the one chosen to sit beside or play with when the others are given that option. She’s a kind friend, generous and quick to share her things. She may not always volunteer the answer or demand attention, but you can count on the fact that she’s listened carefully and has figured out the answer.
I know she’ll continue to do well in your classroom. Her friends and I already miss her very much.

Old vs. New

Things I miss about Greensboro:

-our friends
-our house
-our familiar routine
-our pool (once summer hits)
-that Costco was super close!


Things I LOVE (or think I will love) about Charleston:

-my family is together again
-the neighborhood is FULL of kids!
-we have a fenced in back yard
-we have a dedicated toy room!!!!!
-that people travel by golf cart
-that Harris Teeter is within walking distance (this may become a dislike at some point - or cause me to spend WAY too much on groceries)
-the people are SO friendly! ...even the kids have commented
-lots of friends are already planning to visit
-REALLY great restaurants
-fantastic shopping!
-the BEACH!!!!

The kids both start school this week, and once the adjustment is over and the tears are mostly gone then I can't think of any reason that I won't adore Charleston! I will cherish my memories of Greensboro - and there are some FABULOUS ones :-) ...and some of my best friends EVER are there, but since I knew we would be moving at some point I sure am glad this is the place we now call home.

*I've started some holiday posts but haven't added the pictures. This week should find my unpacking and beginning to settle in (it also means Pete starts travelling again) which should mean a post a day! ...even if the posts go back to the beginning of Decemeber :-)