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I sure love these little faces.  JJ's joy, Aaron's intensity and Davey's wise little stare.  I am amazed--and occasionally freaked out-- that I am their mother.  They are special boys.   

 ...which is why my job is tricky.  I want to give each of them better than my best.  And it gets kinda hard when their needs and wants collide.  I need to get better at juggling.  But for now, we're all practicing patience with each other and with me.

This was a week of new beginnings.  Aaron started his first official year as a kindergartner. I tried to make the night before school began a special event.  A yummy dinner, decorations, crowns adorned with sparkly names...   

But the goblets were the biggest hit, by far.  The boys went to bed early...or at least we put them to bed early.  The excite-o-meter was running on high and they didn't succumb to sleep until at least an hour later. 

 Seven o clock came sooner than expected (especially when I was up most of the night feeding Davey.  But, Aaron awoke happily, and put his first day of school plans quickly into motion.

 He chose his yellow pants, red striped shirt and matching red shoes.  I surprised him with a spider man backpack that he thought was pretty cool.

 Then he rode his bike all the way to the bus stop.  JJ, David and I followed him in the car, clicking a few pictures along the way.

 When the bus came, I helped him get acquainted with the driver.  Even though Aaron is a big kid for his age, he looked so small up against the bus with all the other big elementary kids. 

 And as he drove away, I couldn't let go.  I stalked the bus from stop to stop all the way to Oakwood elementary.  I warned Aaron this might happen.  He smiled when he saw me with JJ and Davey at the school.  He hopped off the bus and said, "all of the kids are going this way!" then he followed the train of children to the playground.  I got in line too, happy to see that I wasn't the only parent there, tagging along with their kiddos on the first day of school.

 I watched him play among the sea of boys and girls and hoped that he would find his stride, that he would make some friends, that he would know where the bathroom is, that he would hear his teacher, that he would know when to come in from the playground, the he would find his class, that he would get on the right bus home, that he would avoid bullies, that he would make good choices and follow our family rules, etc, etc, etc. Most of the time he was so brave, and tried to make me believe that it wasn't a big deal at all.

But then there was a sweet, brief moment of pause.  He strode up to me from the playground with his "I'm trying to be brave" glossy, wide-eyed expression.  I could tell something was wrong and I immediately thought of chasing down the twirp who hurt his feelings.  But, when Aaron came close he said softly, "mom, can you tie my shoe?"  I exhaled, said "of course buddy," then bent over to tie his laces.  When did so he reached his little hand into my pony tail and twirled my hair through his fingers...like he always did when he was little...and still sometimes does in the most special moments.  I eyes filled with tears and I was so grateful for the little reminder that he still feels like he needs me.

 The rest of the week was a mess of highs and lows.  We worked on a video for Aaron's class called "Cochlears 101" to help introduce the other kids to cochlear implants.  They were good sports, in spite of my prodding to repeat and repeat certain questions.  Aaron had a hard second day of school...and so did I. It's easy to tell when Aaron is stressed.  He doesn't like to talk about his feelings.  He acts them out...which made day 2 a wreck for me.  But we got through.

 Plus, we began the messy business of toilet training with JJ. Definite highs and lows on that front. A high was his first, "Mom, look it's a poop snake!" And the lows of potty training need not be mentioned.

All in all, Davey had been a patient little dude.  He is a sweetie.  Aaron still loves to hold him whenever he gets the chance--asking before and after school.  He coos to him and tells him stories.  JJ loves to check on Davey whenever he is sleeping.  We are still working on being gentle, but both brothers adore David.  He has been such a great addition to our family.