Update #6 - September

First Day of School

Well, Kaia started school this fall. I can't believe how fast the years go. I was told over and over again how emotional this would be for me. I would cry for sure as I saw her go. I have to say, that didn't happen. I was SO excited for her. She was just SO ready to go. Sure, it's a sign that my baby is growing up, but I really get a reminder of that every day. She is such a bright little girl, she is constantly observing everything and trying to learn from it. It's for this reason that we put her in French Immersion. I had to keep her mind busy. This is my little girl who literally knew her whole alphabet by recognition at 22 months of age (and she asked me to learn it). She knew her colors and shapes and numbers shortly after. If asked, she will tell you that her favorite thing in the world is to colour and learn. Who says that?? Kaia does. She is constantly putting things together. Always asking questions and even correcting people who she thinks aren't pronouncing things properly etc. (She gets that from her Granni Cahoon - hehe). So, when Kaia went to school this year, I was beaming with pride and so excited for her to be in a place that will provide her a great environment to learn. We started the day off with French Toast (a Mullen family tradition for the first day of school) and a Father's Blessing.....and then, of course, a little picture shoot. Jarett didn't start school until the next day, so I was able to walk her to the school and have a special moment with her. Her teacher, Madame Kahn didn't really impress me right off the bat. She seemed a little scatter-brained and didn't seem to care about parents etc. I now can see that it was due to her moving to a new school and just getting ready for the new year and adjusting to a new system. Her teacher is great and is right on top of everything. She has neat activities constantly and is very structured and organized (something that Kaia really needs in order to thrive). Kaia had a rough first week. She was really enjoying school, but she was wetting her bed every night and was really grumpy around the house and crying a lot. I found that she was upset because she was so worried about breaking rules etc. She didn't know how things were working at school and she didn't know the structure, so she would get reminders to not bring juice or not to "bud" (she didn't know what that meant) and she would interpret this as her being bad. Once she found the structure and knew the rules, she has just thrived and has loved school. She has picked up reading (in English) phenomenally well. She's already sounding out crazy words. Today she sounded out appreciate and because and beautiful. As I said, she was VERY ready for school. I'm SO proud of my little girl and all she's doing at school. Report Cards are next week... and then parent teacher interviews. Anyway, here are some pictures of her first day at Brander Gardens Elementary School...

Kaia right before her blessing.....with her best friend, Kienna.

It's always great to have a familiar face at a new school.
Mary Grace Anderson is in her class and they've become very good friends.