Quotable John Kenyon:
"This is probably the only time in the history of the world that a five-year-old has sat on the toilet, pooping, while singing The Flaming Lips."

This was Daniel's a.m. bathroom serenade:

It was a great day to be Daniel!

We participated in our third Get Moving for Healthy Kids 5K event this morning, mostly walking, but with some attempts at moderate jogging. We all crossed the finish line right around 51:30, but only in Daniel's age bracket was this good enough for a medal. Third place in the 6 and under category!

To say he was pleased would be a MAJOR understatement. His name was announced on the loudspeaker and they hung his medal around his neck. He carried it around all day and took it to Grandma and Grandpa's when we went for dinner tonight. I was worried it would break, but fortunately, it held up to his love and adulation.

In celebrating this achievement, we were very careful to note that Edward's age bracket included ages 7, 8, and 9, making it more difficult, competing with older kids. So we also cheered his 7th place finish and talked about whether he could be even faster next time.

It is also quite possible that there were only three kids under 6 to complete the course on foot. But that's not part of the discussion! Daniel now has his very own medal to hang in his room, allowing him to take a step toward keeping up with his big brother, who earned participation medals this spring/summer for both soccer and baseball.

It's the first day of school!!!!
(With apologies to my sister Nora for over use of exclamation points; and to my sister Ann for potentially causing an exclamation point shortage.)

There was much anticipation for Daniel's first day of Kindergarten 

and Edward's first day of second grade.

 Both tend to internalize any nerves, so we've had a few days of emotional edginess--crying at the drop of a hat, easily frustrated, etc. I hope this can all be attributed to first-day jitters, because otherwise we have some behavior issues to deal with!

Our good friends were coming up the hill just as we were walking out the door, so we got to walk--well, run--to school together. (David is in second grade with Edward and Elizabeth, leading the charge, is in K with Daniel.)

 They stopped long enough for a picture before crossing the street at school.

Edward is very excited to have so many of his buddies in his class (there are three 2nd grade classrooms.) Time will tell whether the teacher shares their excitement. It's also Edward's first time having a male teacher, which adds to his excitement.

Daniel's teacher is the wife of Edward's teacher--might be a bit of Kenyon overload for them this year. We know them from church and their son is also in Kindergarten, though not in his mom's and Daniel's classroom. She teaches in the mornings and then Edward's former teacher Mrs. Smith arrives for the afternoon--two teachers splitting one full-time teaching position.

Here Daniel is holding his first-day homework--a star with a family photo in the center and then decorated with pictures and stickers describing his interests. He chose sports (soccer, baseball, basketball), whales (he drew his own), books, and Lego. He was planning monkey bars as well, but I think that drawing might have been forgotten in the frenzy.

Here's to a great year!