First Day of School Blues

Today was Liv's first day of "big girl" school. When I say "big girl" school I mean, it's public school, they wear uniforms, and take attendance. There is no Tuesday Thursday option, or even a half day option. I am not allowed to keep my baby home on Friday just cause I miss her and want to spend the day goofing off together. In fact all this "big girl" school business is making me realize that my baby is no longer a baby! She is in fact a big girl. It's not just a line anymore..."Okay, let's act like a big girl today". She really truly is a big girl, and it is absolutely breaking my heart.

So, yes, I am having a very unexpected break down with this whole first day of school thing. Liv, however, is acting totally cool, and very much like the big girl she is! When I dropped her off this morning she was very excited to play with the other kids. No crying, no whining, no asking me to stay, not even an extra long hug. And I must say she is absolutely the cutest in her little uniform with her red mary janes! She says her favorite part of school is her teacher Ms. Runder and her new friends she has made. Her "school family" is called the Runder Rockets and they do cute things like give each other "firecracker high fives" and have cute little songs to sing with every type of activity.

Anyway, I am so proud of her, but somehow this whole school thing feels like the end of a really special part of her childhood that I am really going to miss. Yes, I know that this is all going to be a lot of fun too, but it still stings. Okay, I am going to stop my boo hooing now and take a trick from Liv and be a "big girl" about all of this!

Fun at the Fair

As a general rule I avoid the fair at all costs. Lots of scary people (not just the carnies, either), lots of monies spent, and a pretty much guaranteed tummy ache. However, Liv has just now reached the 36'' neccesary to ride the rides, and I really felt like I shouldn't deprive her of something she would love so much. Soooo, I sucked it up and went. Surprisingly it was a great day! We brought Liv's step brother Sam, and he was the perfect big brother. The two of them together are so cute! He held her hand and helped her to navigate the rush to get in the rides. He even rode the "scary" rollercoaster for her. Liv loved every minute of it too. I swear the girl has no fear. Anyway, it was a lovely day (=

Pumpkin Patch

Last week Liv had her first ever field trip. It was to the pumpkin patch, and I was able to help chaperon. All the kids had a great time and it was awesome to see Liv interact with her classmates. Liv goes to Children's House Montessori, and I highly recommend this school. She is in a class with 3 to 5 year olds. This is a great situation for Liv. She is "just so shy" as one of her little friends put it. Having the older kids in the class to hold her hand and involve her is just wonderful.

While at the patch we got a couple of our own pumpkins and brought them home to carve. I was really proud of mine until I realized that noone can tell what it is I carved. Very disappointing. Let me know if you see it...

Anyway, here are some pics!

My Little Miss Doolittle

Hyland and I purchased a zoo membership this year and it was probably the best spent $50 all year. Liv and I frequent the zoo quite often. It's a great place for a picnic lunch, weekend outing, or just a quick one hour treat for Liv right after school. I myself love watching the gorillas. There is a new baby and it is really cool to see how human like their interaction is with their child. They discipline, tease, and even put their little one down for naps! I just love it! Liv really likes the snake house (odd, I know) and the lions. So to celebrate the good week Liv had at school we headed on over to our favorite hangout.

Ever since Liv has been able to talk she has been talking for both herself and all animals she comes in contact with. She was always telling us what the animals were saying...and most of time I do believe she is right on. Some examples that immediately come to mind... Once at the zoo we were watching two snakes in their cage and one was slithering all up on the other. Liv busts out with, "that snake is telling the other to sssssssscootch over." The baby goat at the petting zoo who was making all kinds of primal screaming noises was saying, "I want my mama!" The antelopes and kudus are always staring and asking, "what are you looking at?"

Today's best interpretation came when we were feeding the coy fish. I really dislike these nasty fish. They flop all over eachother for a little pellet of food. Not sure if you have ever seen them swarm, but they make some really gross sounds when they're fighting each other for that food. Anyway, Liv goes, "that fish says 'I need some space!'" All the grown ups within ear shot laughed, and I was extra amused because that is a statement I tend to make on a regular basis. When we got home Liv interpretted for our dogs Annie and Albert, "You guys never take us to the zoo with you!" That was pretty darn funny too (=

Liv on Codeine

I doubt it is proper etiquette to write about your child's first experience with opiates on a blog, but I am going to do it anyway. So Liv has been averaging about 1.5 upper respiratory infections a month. It's very frustrating because the poor thing just keeps coughing and no medicine seems to bring her relief. She tosses and turns all night, whining, coughing, and keeping her momma awake right beside her rubbing her back and praying for some relief for her. So when we made our monthly visit to her pediatrician this time I was not leaving without something more effective. This is when the doctor comes clean with the fact that countless studies have proven that cough medicines don't work. The only cough medicines found to be effective are those that contain either hydrocodone or codeine. So I am of course nervous about giving my daughter such a heavy duty medication and ask both the doctor, pharmacist, and my ever helpful friend the internet if I should really be giving her this. The consensus: it won't harm her any more than the complete lack of sleep she is suffering with now...just make sure she wears sunscreen if we spend an extended amount of time in the sun and to keep in mind this will make her very drowsy. So with these assurances I start to look forward to a restful night in the Herring home.

About thirty minutes before Liv's regular bedtime I decide to give her the 1/2 teaspoon dose of phenegrin with codeine. About twenty minutes later my little party animal emerged. She insisted on a slumber party with Mom. This meant that I would have to put Momma make-up on her, paint her nails red (not pink because pink is for babies and she is almost a grown-up), and tell spooky stories. I have no idea where she got such a concise idea of what a slumber party is, but it was actually really fun. She was super goofy and super hyped up (nowhere near the super drowsy I had envisioned). After her nails dried and our impromptu photo shoot were over we got into bed and told out stories. I swear the girl would not go to sleep. She told me a very non-scary story about a purple unicorn named Garp, and severel silly stories about a little girl who kept monkeys in her bedroom. I think I might have fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of a story about a brown horse named Chuck.

Fast-forward to about 1 am. I wake up a little disoriented and find that Liv is no longer in my bed...mild panic. I get up to check out her bed...moderate panic. I head to the playroom, living room, dining room, bathrooms, still no Livi...serious panic! I run back to my bed and wake up Hyland, "Where's Liv! Did you put her somewhere?!" (looking back I wonder where I thought he might have put her). That's when I see this little hand poking out from under the bed. Liv is sound asleep on the floor under our bed. How and when she got there I have no clue, but I was just so glad to be able to pick her up and hold her in my arms. So I carried her to bed, and once again all was right in my little world. Did I mention this cough syrup actually works on the cough?