Family of Fish: Breaking a sweat

No, I don't work out. But once a year, I attempt a kind of "first day of school" type photoshoot with my uncooperative kiddos before we head out the door for our first day of Community Bible Study. And I always break a sweat.

This year, I took 172 pictures. Inside. And none of them turned out. So I took the kids outside, let them run off all that pent-up anger that comes from being told to sit still and imagine various types of made up creatures perched atop mom's ahead in an effort to get them to smile, then posed them again. Fifty-three frames later, I managed to snap a shot that meets my low standards of decent family photo: at least 2/3 of the children are looking toward the camera, at least 1/3 is smiling, and no one is screaming or falling over.

First day of CBS

September 2011

Abby (4), Caleb (2.5), Jacob (10 months)

Abby couldn't wait to meet the new kids in her class this year, and adorned herself with a bunch of smiley face stickers she found that she planned to give away to all her new friends. "I'll give each friend a sticker," she explained, "and tell them 'Hi, I'm Abby. What's your name?'" After class, she informed that she needed more pink stickers next time. Apparently there are more girls in her class than she'd anticipated.

Caleb reassured me over and over again that he would not cry in his class this year. Not even during music time, which was a particular point of angst last year. True to his word, he marched right in without so much as a wave goodbye for dear old mom. I guess he meant it. There are lots of trucks in his classroom, and their memory verse was one he knew from last year, so he's feeling pretty good about going back.

Jacob, being the good third child that he is, was content to ride around on my back in his comfy Ergo while I got all the other kids settled, and didn't seem to mind being dropped off with some hurried instructions about naps and bottles before I headed out to my class. My, how things have changed since the days of leaving just one little one in childcare.