Tuesday, September 20, 2016

A fall day at the beach

August was a good bit cooler than usual, even for this area I think, but September brought some sunnier days and warmer weather. We were even able to head to the beach in Germany the 2nd weekend in September for a few hours. It was lovely, we'd never been to this beach. The kids had a blast, Rags had a blast, and we ran into some other friends there. We also were reminded that we should really not plan any more picnics on the beach, we always wind up eating a lot of sand, ha!



This time we headed to the beach in Ueckermünde, Germany, about an hour away. It is on the Szczecin Lagoon instead of the Baltic, so it is not only closer, but warmer and calmer than the Baltic. And it was less windy! There is a dog friendly part of the beach, so Rags was able to run around ad have a good time. Of course it is also next to the nude part of the beach. Hey, bodies are bodies! But I was glad that curious Emmy didn't seem to notice, so we didn't have to get into any discussions about that.

It was a lovely couple of hours there, we were so glad we went and checked it out!





I have long said that Emmy is never happier than when she is at the beach. Still true! 



They could walk out so far and the water was super shallow. Matthew had a blast! 

Gosh I love these two! 


Rags and her new friend.

That is the best daddy right there playing with his kiddos.

Time to build sand castles! 

Friday, September 16, 2016

First days of school

Emmy started P3, 2nd grade, on September 1st. She is having a good year so far!

All of the children in her class last year have returned for the new school year, and three new students have joined the class. The new little girl visited last spring for a day, and Emmy and she instantly connected then, and picked right up when school started. Emmy is excited to have another girl who is "little, like me!" Emmy is one of the smallest in her class and she likes having a pal her size.

Overall, she has a good class. Her teacher from P2 told me the other day she really misses their class, they are a wonderful group. Her teacher this year is also lovely and she said that when the kids came into class the first day they all said "Good morning Ms. Edyta, how are you?" which Ms. Magda taught them to do last year. She loved it, and I love that they not only were taught that, they remembered!  She likes her teacher this year, she knew her already, so that was nice. It is the first time that she can remember starting a new school year as an "experienced" student from that school. The last time this happened was in CO when she four months in the 3 year old class when we moved there, so that fall she started Pre-K back at the same school. Anyways, it was nice for both of us this year, we knew the routine, she knew the children and the students, I knew other parents. It has been a good transition.





Waiting on the opening ceremony to start. 
Two handsome dudes. Matthew was as patient as one could expect a 2 year old to be during a very long ceremony. Thankfully it was on the playground, and there were other little friends running around. 
Emmy chose KFC for supper that night. Then she got sick overnight and had to miss school the next day. We aren't having KFC again for awhile. 


 And then, Mr. Matthew started preschool! He's such a big boy! Originally I thought he would not be starting until the end of September, when their new building was ready, but when I went to go pay the deposit and fill out paperwork, the director said, oh he can start Monday! That was on a Monday, so then the teacher in the class said to bring him an hour or two the rest of the week for "adaptation". So, I took him again Tuesday and Wednesday while Emmy was still in Summer camp. Then that Thursday was the first day of her school, so we did not go to the preschool. And, unfortunately, Emmy woke up Thursday night and threw up. So, Friday we all stayed home. The next week, he went for a few hours each day before he finally stayed for naptime. By the 2nd week, he was waving good-bye to me and walking on down the hall on his own! His best pal is named Hania and he seems to be doing great. They are warm and kind. He has a music class and the learn some English and some German. Several other families from the barracks send their children to this school, so it is a good place to be.

This is the main building of the preschool. 

And this is where his class is. There was a change in the Polish law, so now kids can stay in the kindergartens a little longer, so they needed more space at his school. They opened a 2nd building nearby for the littlest ones. It is very nice! 

Getting help with his inside shoes from his big sister.