Believe it or not, it isn’t all about cats dying at our house. I haven’t written about the kids in a while, and here’s why: they’ve both started preschool now. We are now without our Anna. Her last day with us was July 1st, and the kids started their new school on July 5th.

Super-nanny Anna!

It was a bit of a rough ride at first. We had actually tried to start Maya at a more traditional preschool back in June. I won’t use the word “disaster” but it didn’t go well. The potty training in particular took a huge step back. I think they just weren’t in a position to offer her the kind of attention she needed. The other thing that bothered us is that we couldn’t figure out if Maya was really eating lunch. They served food family style and we’d get reports from Maya like, “the other kids got all the food first” and “I didn’t like anything.” It already felt so strange having her away all day, not knowing how she spent her time and who she saw and what she learned. Then to pick her up every day to find her pants wet and to wonder whether she had eaten was just too much.

That’s our girl!

The kids now go to a montessori school. We discussed Maya’s transition at length with them before we agreed to attend. What I was impressed with was their kindness. They seem to have a good learning environment and a lot of structure, but they temper it with what seemed like a clear concern for their students. I can’t say it hasn’t been without a few bumps in the road, but Maya is doing very well now. She adores her teacher and the potty training is actually going exceedingly well. Plus, I have to pack the kids’ lunches, so I at least have some feedback on how they’re eating.

Seriously, this guy!

Ian is Ian and of course has settled right in. These days, I come in to pick the kids up and several of the teachers (including the school director) tell me how much Ian loves them. I don’t bother telling them that he loves everyone. When they first started going to the new school, he’d cry every time a teacher came to take him. He’s still a bit clingy from time to time, but now, Sean barely sets him down before he’s trucking it back to his classroom.

Maya, not quite four and Ian, not quite two

Before school started, we bit the bullet and got Ian his first haircut. It made me a little sad to cut off his curls, but his hair was so long in front it was causing him trouble. By now it’s so long, we really need to get it cut again.

Ian’s first haircut

Maya as well had been telling me she wanted her hair to be short. Initially she wanted it to be short enough that she’d be able to see the skin on her head. Sean and I discussed letting her do it, just so she could see, but we were worried about her getting sunburned. Instead we settled on a sensible bob, and she loved it. That haircut suits our ability to get her out the door in the morning (no need to install a ponytail) and it suits her inability to keep said ponytail in for more than a few minutes.

Maya had her first piano recital over the summer as well. Her music school makes a point of having them perform early and regularly so that it simply becomes part of what they do and hopefully takes away some of the associated anxiety. She did fine of course, even adding her own little hop at the end before the final bow.

Maya posing on the ball at Target after a successful recital

With the start of preschool, the kids wound up getting sick A LOT. I thought we had done a pretty good job of getting them out around other people and exposing them to a good barrage of microbial life. I guess nothing really compares to the disease stew that is a group of toddlers and preschoolers. We were lamenting how our summer had evaporated without us really noticing. I think it’s because we spent the better part of a month and a half fending off one kind of illness or another.

I’d love to say we’re past all that now, but as they say, winter is coming. I expect a fresh round of awful is heading our way. I keep reminding myself that we’re building good, sturdy immune systems in those kids. Here’s hoping.

Maya posing with Hank from “Finding Dory”

Earlier in the summer, Maya got to enjoy her first trip to the movies. We took her to see Finding Dory. We were sort of on the fence about whether she could sit through it (spoiler: she couldn’t), but then we noticed that one of the characters was an octopus, and we all know how Maya feels about those. Then we found out that the Alamo Drafthouse was doing a little carnival. It was on. We actually took an afternoon off work so we could take her while Anna watched Ian. Maya had a great deal of fun at the carnival, and did an acceptable job of sitting in the theater. We made many trips to the bathroom, almost certainly because she was bored, and she told me repeatedly that the movie was too long.

Ian and Mom in the pool at swim lessons

The kids are both enjoying their swim lessons. Maya, while obstinate, is doing a good job of propelling herself through the water. Ian, despite also being capable of propelling himself through the water and even controlling his breath, now steadfastly refuses to do so. He will jump in the water all day long, but if you hold him in the water and ask him to cover three feet between the swim instructor and you, he will no longer do so. There’s not much for it but to keep trying. He’s very comfortable in the water; he just hates forced swimming.

At any rate, what we have to share right now are their school photos for this year. Maya has an interesting way of smiling when she’s doing it intentionally that looks more like a grimace. But we’ve had her take selfies before too, and she’ll work her grin around till it’s just the sort of grimace she wants. It’s not like she’s unaware of it. My original plan had been to fill in some of the things described above with photos; I suppose there’s an outside chance we’ll come back and do that in the not-to-distant future.