Bye bye summer hols - back to school!

Finally the summer is coming to and end, or rather, school is starting! Tomorrow is orientation day; a chance for the children and Mums to meet teachers, visit class-rooms and see classmates old and new. I am looking forward to it! 

It's not really the end of summer here yet; we are still enjoying sunny and warm weather here day after day but I am sure we will get in the "autumn-back-to-school-mood" soon enough. 

The past two weeks here in Greece we have kept busy;

visiting the wonderful Attiko Parko (zoo)

where we saw a family of hippos keeping cool in their mud pool

 

and amazing feathers and coats

We also liked dressing up and dancing

 polishing up our looks

going for short walks

jumping on our new trampoline

 visiting friends...

 having lunch in outdoor malls

 painting plaster figures

 being brave at the park

 making play-dough cookies while Mum and Dad lazed in front of the telly for once

 climbing olive trees...

and lots more!

Anyway, goodbye summer, we are happy to have enjoyed you but we are welcoming school back with a smile. 

Hello belly, good-bye feet & Emma update

I recently ordered a belly book on Amazon so that I could chart this pregnancy's progress and have something to give the little one later in life. (I also did one for Emma but it was sent to me from Singapore from my sister and hence a slightly different format).

I realize now how easy it is to forget certain details - like, who knew that my tummy was already this big at nearly 10 weeks?!

and I am sure all of us will enjoy reading up on bits and looking at the (by then) out-dated ultra-sounds just like we already love looking back at pics of Emma and exclaiming at what a big girl she is.

Speaking of which...

Emma constructing a lego house

Emma on her way to school for her first day in the bilingual bigger kids class

Emma at the breakfast table in her bilingual class with her doll Nicky next to her

How is Emma doing in her new kindergarden group? Well, it's been a week now and the first few minutes are still a bit heart wrenching because Emma always asks me to stay and cries a bit when I don't but it thankfully only lasts for about a minute and then she dives into the activity at hand.
She still goes back to the younger group to take her nap after lunch and they all come together after that for tea-time and play. Every afternoon when I pick her up she yelps with joy and is happy to show me what she has done (baked a muffin, made a puzzle/collage, etc.) and some new toy she has discovered.

The other day she even said "Emma, sit down" (in English!) before sitting down to put her shoes on to go to school. I think she really enjoys languages - nearly as much as she likes music!

Next week we go to our first trial music class... I'll keep you posted!