Zoe height / weight

I took Zoe to the doctor today for a cough.  She is 49" tall and weighs 51 lbs.

 

Ryders 1st day at new Montessori

He was super brave (again), and had a great 1st day at Country Montessori.

Ryder's 1st day of Jr. Kindergarten

Today was Ryder's 1st day back at Oak Knoll Montessori after the summer break. Based on last years experience, We were worried that the departure was going to be rough. Ryder was super brave and didn't cry a bit! When we got there, he immediately started playing with his buds in the playground. We watched for a few minutes and figured we should get while the gettin was good. We said bye to him, he gave us both hugs and kisses and went right back to playing. We left and I went back to work and Kia went home to an empty house. It is always bittersweet.

Here is some video of Ryder showing off his cool new backpack:

 

#current events

We just moved to a new condo in Rancho Bernardo. And the A/C leaked and we had to get a ton of work done. Temps were in high 90s.

US is contemplating intervening in Syria civil war

 

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Zoe 1st day of 2nd grade

Zoe began 2nd grade today.  She has Mrs. Sawyer and is in a split class with both 2nd and 3rd graders.

Just like last year, she was super brave and walked into class without looking back.  Me, Kia and Ryder were there to see her go. 

Video of Zoe pulling her 1st tooth

 

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Zoe finally loses first tooth

After months of Zoe having her first loose tooth, it finally came out. Better yet it happened on her 7th birthday. We tried to pull it a few days before but it wasn't quite loose enough and Zoe lost her nerve and didn't want to risk it (totally understandable).

So on her 7th birthday, she pulled it herself! We got it on video to. I'll post video ASAP. In the meantime, below are some pics. The tooth fairy came and left her 4 quarters.

Another cool thing that happened is there is a birds nest outside our home and the bird had baby eggs. They hatched on Zoe's birthday to! Pretty cool.

Ryder's art

Here is a sample of Ryder's early art:

Ryder is learning to spell

This morning at 6:30 am sharp, Ryder came out of bed all excited and says to me: "Dad, I wanted to come tell you I can spell Wat. R.A.T.". I said how'd you know that? And he said "I just sounded it out in my head. Aww.ah.t. Wat."

Note: during school week, we have to shake Ryder out of bed to get him up at 6:30. Weekend? He's out of bed and raring to friggin go.

Pool - Ryder

Been forever since I posted, I know this. Harder and harder as life takes over. Got an iPhone with the Blogger app, so I should be able to post more frequently. It's all about convenience.

So, Kia is in Las Vegas his weekend with Her girlfriend Tiana. I took kids to the pool yesterday and we had a blast. At some point, this muscle bound freak came in. Zoe swims over to me and whispers in my ear: "he has more muscles than you". I really had no comeback to that. It was a fact.

Ryder is now calling Zoe "Zo Zo". It's cute. He used to call her Ya Ya.

Scare!!!!

This morning, as Kia and I were "enjoying" our coffee, the kids were playing in their room. They usually play really well together w/ the occasional dust up - where one of them comes whimpering out of the room crying.

Well, this morning, as we were trying to chill, we heard Ryder crying and then Zoe screaming "MOMMY, DADDY, COME!!!!!" So, we have both kids in their bedroom crying and screaming, NOT your ordinary cry or scream; the kind that sends parents into an instant panic. We've only heard that scream once before in Virginia when Zoe fell on top of her Princess Crown and it poked her in the back.

Anyway, Kia and I, once we realize the severity, go into "parent panic" and run to their room. As we get in there, Ryder is behind Zoes bed - between the wall and the bed - and Zoe is standing there freaking out. Not knowing what the hell is going on, I lift the bed and scream for Zoe to get out from underneath the bed - meanwhile, she is behind me, near the door to the room - not even under the bed. Ryder is screaming and crying, but seemingly OK.

When the dust settles, it turns out that Ryder, in an attempt to exit from underneath the bed via the back, got his head stuck between the bed and the wall. I believe his nose was in the way.

Jesus... that probably took 6 months off of Kia and my lives.

Here is Ryder giving the "thumbs up" sign:

 

 

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Ryders 1st day of school

Yesterday was Ryders 1st day of school at Oak Knoll Montessori. He was a bit uncertain at 1st. As we'd try to sell it to him, he'd deflect - for example: "You can go and do art projects and learn your letters..." He'd reply - "I can do that now at home with you Mommy".

 

 

So, we were unsure how he'd react. Anyway, we the day finally came. We dropped Zoe off at her school and then took him.

 

We got there and met with Ms. Candy. We took Ryder to his class and the teachers took him right in. He was immediately swept up and began doing Montessori stuff - the 1st thing he did was build a "wood tower" with Mrs. Brisson. We watched him for a few minutes - from a distance and then said good bye to Rydie and left.

He didn't cry or anything. He sat there with Mrs. Brisson doing his tower as we left. Kia picked him up at 12:15 and he'd had a great day!

 

Here are pics:

 

 

That is Mrs. Brisson:

The hat is a "George Washington" hat and is his 1st project in his new school:

 

Another Birdsong kids milestone...

 

 

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Scrabble

Yesterday, Kia and Zoe played Zoe's 1st game of scrabble. Her 1st ever scrabble word was "Load":

They played again today and Zoe started the game off with the word "Zoo" utilizing 2 blank tiles! Later in the same game, she played "Jewel".