So much!

It's been a while, so much has happened since I last wrote. The kids started school and are loving it! Well, miss kindergartener didn't start off so great, but is doing much better now. She was scared to death of those self flushing potties! Who in the world chose to put those in a kindergarten room anyways? They're loud and they flush whenever they choose. So after several day so her having horrible fits and crying about not wanting to go to school we came to a solution. She had been holding it all day and wasn't using the bathroom at all until she got home. That's 7-8 hours without going potty! Not healthy at all. I talked with the teachers and they decided to use tape to cover the sensors for her while she sat on the toilet. After a couple of weeks she is finally feeling confident and ok with it all. Thank GOODNESS! It was heartbreaking to see her so afraid and to see her upset about going to school. Now she is eager to go, having fun and learning so much already. We've been blessed with two of the best teachers that our school district has to offer! They're both very dedicated, organized, kind and nurturing. And, they both welcome parent volunteers! :) We're so thrilled. DD has some friends in her class from preschool, so that helps her also. She enjoys taking her lunch to school. I've been making some bento style lunches for the kids and they love that. They're more fun, creative and full of their favorite things. Here's a link to some great bento lunch ideas:
http://laptoplunches.com/ideas.html
Be sure to check out the photo gallery for more ideas!
The kids are now coming home with empty lunch boxes and full tummies!
Nathan is LOVING school. The only part he isn't totally sold on is all of the writing. He's never been much into sitting and writing for the 'fun' of it. I don't think he'll be leaning towards a future in journalism or anything. ;) I've encouraged him to stick with it and keep practicing. He just gets frustrated. Our dd is our writer. She would sit and write for hours and hours (and does). I can't keep enough paper in this house!
Our 1st grader is doing enjoying reading, spelling and math very much. He had his first math and spelling tests last week and got a 100 on both. We're so proud of him. His teacher is really great about recognizing his strengths and is letting him borrow some of her chapter books to read during their literature time. The class divides into groups and the teachers and aides work with a group based on their abilities. It's a great system. I love that he loves reading so much!
He also likes taking his lunch, but does eat at school occasionally. Pizza day is a big hit!

Both of them are looking forward to the rest of the school year and are very enthusiastic! YEAH!
Ds #3 is very excited to go to preschool. He'll be starting beginning of October. I can't believe he's big enough to go already. Makes me a bit sad, but excited also. He's so eager! I hope that he has the same enthusiasm that the older two do for many years to come.
He's been counting, sorting, drawing, cutting, painting and working on his letter sounds every day.
We've been blessed with three amazing kiddos!