The Minton Family.com

I had asked Levi a couple of weeks ago who his friends were at school.  He said that he had 4 friends, but he didn’t know their names.  So, the next time I picked him up, I asked him to tell me who his friends were.  The only friend he mentioned was Lila.  She has long blonde hair.  After we left, he asked me if I liked Lila and did I think she was pretty.  This was on Monday.

Last night, after the kids were in bed, I heard Levi yelling for me.  I went back to his room and he said “Mom, do I have school tomorrow?” .  I told him yes.  He then responded with, in a very soft and shy voice, “Lila’s going to be there”.  I told him yes, she would be there and instructed him to go to sleep.

This morning on the way to school, he had silly bandz on his wrists and he informed me that he was going to give one to Lila.  He had a grin on his face and a bounce in his step.  This was the first time he was excited to go to school!  We got to his room and I checked him in and we realized that Lila was not going to be there…she was on vacation!!!  Levi’s smile fell, his shoulders slumped and his eyes welled with tears….I thought I was going to cry.  His teacher redirected him and told him about Lila’s vacation and told him she’d be there on Monday….when I left, he was crying

He perked up and was in a good mood when school was over.  His teacher assured him that Lila would be there on Monday….I sure hope she’s there…LOL

For Lana’s 7th birthday, she wanted to visit the American Girl Store.  So, over Labor Day weekend, we went to visit Grandpa and Gram in Schaumburg.  We got in around 9 on Friday night and the kids played will all of the fun toys that Grandpa and Gram have until very late!  The next day, we all took a train ride into the Windy City.  Then, we got to ride in a “taxi car”, as Jonah likes to call it!  The American Girl Store lived up to the girls’ expectations.  With their money that had been saved from birthdays and allowance, Lana bought a new doll, which she named Dakota, and Jada bought an outfit and glasses for her dolls.  Gram also bought them each and outfit for their dolls and got the dolls’ hair fixed.  Josefina REALLY needed a new do!  On Sunday, we did a little shopping and went to the park…it was a perfect day!  We headed home on Monday and stopped by to see Jennifer & Patrick’s new baby, Derek.  All of the kids were begging to hold him (he’s only 8 days old) and didn’t want to give him up when their turn was over!

Levi & Jonah started school at St. John’s Lutheran Preschool today.  They were very excited to get into the van and go!  We hung up backpacks and went to Jonah’s room first.  He gave me a kiss and was on his way.  Then it was Levi’s turn.  He was more timid when it was time for me to go.  After I signed him in, I realized that I hadn’t signed Jonah in and had to go back to his room.  When I got there, he was standing alone looking at the firetruck that someone else was playing with…when he saw me, he said he wanted to go home and got very clingy.  Finally, the teacher took him and redirected him to the toys.  After school, they both said that they had a good time, and Levi had a good note home.  He did admit that he cried because he missed me

The girls are back in school..WOOHOO!  They both got their preferred teachers and are so far doing great!  I took popsicles to Lana’s class yesterday to celebrate her birthday since she has a summer birthday and can’t bring in treats then.

Having the boys at home during the day has been…well, interesting. We have spent some time outside when the weather has been nice, including a trip to the park.  Right now, Levi is taking his turn on the iPad while Jonah colors and I’m making lunch.

I took the boys to meet their teachers this morning.  They were both surprisingly clingy for the first little bit, but then neither wanted to leave!  They will officially start next Wednesday!

We are heading to Grandpa and Gram’s in Schaumburg for Labor Day weekend.  The girls are looking forward to the much awaited trip to the American Girl Store in Chicago and getting to visit with Grandpa and Gram!

We had a great time in KY the first part of August.  Jada and Dale spent most of their time in the pool!  Levi got brave enough to let go of the side of the pool and doggie paddle around (his swimsuit has a floating part to it).  Jonah loved playing with all of Dale’s cars!