p+j | first day of preschool 3's

well, its the start of another school year.  we dropped the big girls off for their second first day of school. Parker was up with the sun while I was making their lunches.  we woke Jolie with breakfast in bed and all grabbed a shower and picked out the perfect outfits for their first day.  Jolie insisted on braids by daddy (because she knows her mama is terrible) and Parker requested her hair to be worn down (hence the reason for the new 'do.. she's always asking to wear it down!) 

we arrived a little early to maybe help them get reoriented to a new school year, but honestly they walked in like it was literally no big thing- didn't even turn around to tell us goodbye once we set their lunches and water bottles in their normal spots for later.  about 75% of their class was filled with their little friends from last year, so it was like they never skipped a beat as they walked in.  

first day of school drop offs are always chaotic, and trying to herd Parker and Jolie in the correct generally direction while carrying a baby Baker in my arms, sweating like I just ran 3000 miles.. you know, like all the other moms doing the same, but I managed to snap a few pictures of drop off this morning.  

these two are getting so big.

how much great can my heart swell with pride over my children.     

first day of preschool 2's (they were SO LITTLE)

back to school with Zappos + Stride Rite

I cannot believe we are already halfway through August!  I have seen about half of my fellow world wide web mamas send their babies off to preschool, kindergarten, FIRST grade!  I cannot even imagine fast forwarding a couple years to that moment of Parker and Jolie's (real) first day of school. the twins are going to preschool again this year (they started when they were two) and start back in just a couple weeks.  when I started thinking about preschool-friendly clothing and shoes for them to run and play and get dirty in, I knew we needed another pair of 'go fast shoes' for this new school year.  

ahem, that would be sneakers in P+J speak, for the big girls.

I've teamed up with my friends at Zappos.com to share Parker + Jolie's favorite pair of shoes EVER.

literally.

I forced sweet Jolie out of them so she could take a bath and the entire time she was trying to convince me her reasoning for why she needed to wear her neeeeeewww shoes again after she got out.  

"mama, I can wear my pink go-fast shoes with my jammies, you know."

gah.  I love her.

 of course the bright cotton candy colors of the Stride Rite Leepz caught their eye when I pulled them out of the Zappos box, but when they realized that they LIGHT UP I thought they were going to have a stroke.  I told them their new shoes were for when school starts, and well, that basically opened a can of worms.  they asked me about 11 times between dinner + bathtime + bed if they were going to school "tomorrow"? 

 I would totally be freaked out if school started tomorrow. and I wish you could hear Parker say tomorrow.  she doesn't have a country girl accent like Jolie's (and J's is thick for some of her words..) but when she says tomorrow, she drops the 'ow' from the end of the word and replaces it with an "ah".

ANYway..

even if I would have waited to the last minute to figure out shoes for school, I would totally be confident in ordering from Zappos- these came in just one day!  ONE!  shipping was fast and free and  their 365 day return policy and helpful customer service would allow me to exchange sizes if I needed to. I honestly kind of took a guess as to what size I was going to get them in sneakers this year..I feel like my kids are in giant sizes, and when I ordered Parker the 10.5 in the Leepz; it was no longer toddler sizing.  *tear.

 aside from the twins absolutely loving the look of these shoes, the girls are completely capable in putting the Leepz shoes on by themselves.  how easy is it to tell them to go put their shoes on and they can actually do it without a meltdown of needing me to help them tie the laces.  school encourages clothing and shoes that are functional for little hands (think potty breaks and nap time) to be able to help themselves, and I think these are right up that alley.

 we are SO excited for preschool to start! 

that.. and any reason to see our new go-fast shoes light up.

thank you Brittany for capturing the color and joy of my sweet girls in your amazing photos and to Zappos.com and Stride Rite for sponsoring this post.

P + J | First Day of Preschool 2's

Yesterday was Parker and Jolie's first day of preschool and let me just tell you- it was so much fun!  We survived and not a single tear was shed.  Actually.. when their teachers opened the door to their classroom, the girls were like "see yaaaa, mama!"  They didn't even give me a hug or kiss or even turn around to tell me goodbye.

As we walked away among the crowd of parents dropping their babes off for their first day Jordan asked me "well, what do you think??" I fought the tears.  I honestly wasn't prepared to tear up like that or even feel compelled to cry at all - but the emotions came flooding in that instant.

When was it time for them to get so big!?  While I could have let all their big-ness completely break my heart, I decided that instead was God giving me grace.  I'll take the happy + easy adjustment over losing their minds while I am forced to walk away and leave them for half a day.  

The preschool program is at a church we have visited multiple times, so they were completely comfortable and almost knew what to expect - sort of like walking in on Sunday morning. 

I had hyped up school and their teachers for a few days prior- and on Monday night we made their lunches, packed their backpack and laid out their clothes for the first day of school.  I figured through all that they were understanding at least some of what was happening.  It became clear that they knew exactly what was going on when at 5am I woke to Parker standing at the end of my bed in her jammies, wearing her backpack and chirping "ready to go, mama?"

No.  I'm not.  But, she was ready.

They looked so flippin precious as we loaded up the circus to head to school. 

 backpack / skip+hop

 glitter bow headband c/o shelby chic boutique // dress c/o mikoLeon

necklace c/o lil mar + co // moccs c/o freshly picked

nap mats / amazon  

I was so proud of them for having such a great day.  When I came back at 2pm to pick them up, Jolie literally wouldn't get up out of her chair to come home with us.  I had to promise that she was returning later this week!  Heres to the perfect start to the school year:)

Preschool Favorites + Meet the Teacher

Parker and Jolie are just days away from embarking on the next big milestone in their two and a half years of life.. 

p r e s c h o o l.

They have never been in any kind of program outside of the home aside from Sunday morning kids church and right now would be the perfect transition to getting them into some sort of structure after their world has more or less been turned upside down with the introduction of Baker into the family.  

I am SO excited for them to be starting this 'new adventure'.. even if its just two days a week.  I have been preparing them and myself (physically and mentally) for their first day and have rounded up a few of my favorite preschool things.

1 // 2 // 3 // 4 // 5 

These Itzy Ritzy wet bags have been a favorite this summer- we have one in our pool bag for wet bathing suits and one in my diaper bag just in case theres a baby blow out.  I put one of these filled with a change of clothes and extra panties in each of P+J's backpacks // I was first introduced to these smart planet silicone lunch boxes via Jen and after reading her recommendation of them, I placed a quick order on Amazon (less than $15/each) to see what I thought.  When they arrived a few days later I fell in love.  So easy to use and perfect size compartments for Parker and Jolie's lunch.  As badly as I wanted to try these fun lunch boxes out, I couldn't bring myself to spend that much on not just one, but two lunch boxes // Our preschool program still encourages nap time for the older 2 year old class and I liked this mat because it has a larger blanket and a pillow all wrapped into one mat // nothing is cuter than these backpacks.  They were on the twins' christmas wishlist and have been patiently awaiting their use for this fall // We've used these labels since the twins were born (got them as a baby shower gift) and LOVE them.  We started using them on their bottles and then transferred them to their sippy cups once they got older.  These labels are dishwasher friendly, and after 2.5 years of wear and tear, they are still in excellent condition - not even so much as a fade in color.  I also got a few of these monogram adhesive labels for other items that need tags as well. 

--

Last night was 'meet the teacher' at our preschool and as stressful as it could have been - it wasn't at all once we arrived.  I was more stressed out because I wasn't exactly sure what to expect at all. Parker and Jolie's teachers are absolutely darling and the girls walked right into the classroom (Farm Friends), shook their hands and sat down to start playing like they owned the place.  We got to meet a few of the other parents as well - this year is going to so much fun!   

School starts next Tuesday at 9am.

..I also signed up to be 'room mom'.  

This is happening:)