Week Of Bundle

Here is Bundle with her sweet little buddy (okay actually I claim him as MY sweet little buddy) Max as they flee away from school after dropping off the big kids on the first day.  Yes, she's in bare feet.   I pictured myself being all super organized and put together on the first morning of school....hahahaha yeah right.  So yes, we were in a hurry and my daughter wore no shoes to walk the big kids to school.  I tried to remind her that once her own class started, shoes would be a requirement.

Once the big kids started school I had one full week with my little Bundle all to myself.  This felt alternately eternal and light-speed.  That little gal was SO READY for school, and was so excited and didn't like that she had to wait a whole week for her turn.  She coped with this by talking non-stop for the entire week.  I myself was more than ready to start my summer-recovery program but I knew that I still wouldn't be able to get a single thing done so I just let it go and spent what time with Bundle I could.  It was so bizarre to realize that really and truly life would never be the same once she started school.  Alone time with us will now be pretty rare, and the thought that I will never be setting up daytime play dates and outings for her again while the other two are away at school kind of blows my mind.

Speaking of playdates, I did have to set up one final round with her best frenemy (this cute neighbor friend of mine who has the most adorable kids but her 5 year old and Emma have a fiery relationship - best friends at times and at others....not so much.)  On the day I sent Bundle over there for a couple of hours I got a text from my friend with the following amazing pictures.  I guess Bundle's favorite thing over there is to dress up like Elsa, and I can't get over how these pictures turned out.

My friend is basically a professional photographer.  She should try getting paid some time.  I think she'd do well.

Bundle and I chose a couple of outings for just the two of us.  Her first pick was the Children's Museum.  I was so overdue on taking her there - I think she got some tickets in her stocking.  Bad mommy!  But we did eventually go so....all is forgiven? (These photos were taken with my cell phone...not quite up to the same level as the Elsa ones, but hey, I took pictures! Yay me!)

Oh she just loved that museum.  She was so into all of the pretend play in that giant room - she was all over each of the professions she got to imitate - farmer, grocer, mailman, builder...she just ate it up.  So fun to watch.

We also had an impromptu tea party on the back lawn together.  I feel that I have to confess that I was actually lying down on a pillow as I took these pictures.  I told Bundle that we could have a tea party if she got me something soft to lie on.  Also I basically just handed her a spoon and the entire sugar bowl and let her have at it while I lay there.

Happily, Bundle also picked an outing to the zoo.  Usually when I'm there I'm with all my kids plus another family or big group or cousins and that's always fun but this time I got to just focus on one kid and what she wanted to do.  What she wanted to do ended up being the train, the carousel, the train again, the gift shop and blue ice cream.  I think eventually she even saw a few animals.

That ice cream cone was bigger than her head.  And she ate the whole thing.  I wish I had taken a picture of the lunch she ate right before the cone - she insisted on packing her own lunch in her brand new (and very tacky) Monster High lunch box.  I really wanted to get her a cute little lady-bug lunch box or something but it was her very first lunchbox and I let her pick it and.....Monster High it is.  Anyway, she packed her own lunch which ended up consisting of sunflower seeds, grapes, old crackers and a capri sun.  She did a pretty good job!  She ate it all very carefully before letting me know she was ready for some ice cream.  

So yes, we had a fun week together.  I couldn't really get my head around the idea that things would be changing so drastically so soon, but I did just try to enjoy spending time with this very happy little girl I'm blessed to call mine.