We wrapped up the summer by going on our first family vacation as a family of four. The girls and I tagged along at the end of Rob’s last camp of the summer out on Long Island and after camp ended we spent the rest of the weekend with no set agenda except for playing in the pool at the house where we rented a room.
At first I thought we could rent a house like we’ve done in previous summers... but this year the last camp the HUNYC coaches were hired to coach at was held in Southampton. So after looking at our options and realizing how expensive it would be to rent a house there over a holiday weekend, we booked a room instead, lol! The room was comfy, we had a queen bed - already an upgrade from our full size in the city. Lucie had a twin blow up mattress and Felicity was comfy in a pack n play. We had full access to all of the amenities in the house, and spent most of our time in the pool everyday and eating any meal we could out on the patio. Rob and I both kept our phones at bay for the weekend which wasn’t hard because the reception out there is super limited anyway. We mostly used them to take pictures, and we got some great ones. I know we’re all incredibly thankful for that time away.
Now that we’re back, our daily rhythms will become a bit more consistent, and Lucie will start Kindergarten. I can’t even.
Reflecting on all that she has gone through to get to this point inspires me so much. The countless hours of therapy, family meetings, progress reports, and developmental milestone markers that came and went but were achieved in her own time. Wow. I’m just so blessed to have a front row seat into the life of this sweet, strong girl.
Since the cutoff in NYC to start kindergarten is Dec. 31st, Lucie will be one of the youngest in her class, and won’t even be turning five until a good three months into the school year. With all the work that she has put in to be on par with her peers, we are praying that this new set of expectations will only continue to propel her forward, and that she will once again, thrive. If things start to prove extra challenging, we are thankful that we will be able to voice our concerns throughout the year and if absolutely necessary she can repeat the grade, rather than face even greater challenges from being advanced to the next grade while continuing to work through certain minor less obvious delays.
In the mean time, she is feeling all the feels. One day she tells us she is excited and ready, the next she says she is nervous because she will only know one kiddo in her class. We tell her that it is okay to have all of those feelings, and that everyone in her class will be new, too! She loves her new backpack and lunchbox, and we already let her start wearing her new sneakers because they were so fun and comfortable. I think I was just as excited as she was to get all of the items off of her school supplies list.
Wishing you all a great start to the new school year!
Love,
Los Hicksons
My loves
Titi Eli
Twinsies
Two city girls at story time in one of our favorite cafes.
One of Lucie’s new silly faces
Mottley Kitchen’s cookies are the best
Felicity napping al fresco
NoGlu gluten free recipe for the win for Titi Eli
Our reader in the making
They took a trip on the ferry to come visit me at work one afternoon
Lucie loved the headset
Notice her baby, Cupcake, on her “carrier” she made from a blanket crocheted by Abuela.
Rest time in her tent
Impromptu ice cream on a hot day with a friend is just what summer break is for
Rob has been having chiropractor appointments to help with some back pain. While Lucie is on summer break she has joined him for a few, and they stopped on Park Avenue to smell the flowers and take pictures.
Love this girl
Sisters laughing
A photo by Lucie
The view from New York Harbor while I was on our annual summer work outing
There she is!
Getting extra wiggles out at our neighborhood playground
Lucie says, I have so much energy, you need to get it out of me, and then we’ll pick her up and give her a shake lol
Measuring up at the drs office
We were actually there for Felicity’s appointment so we tried to see if we could measure her as well but she didn’t quite reach yet
She rolled over on her own!
Showing off her new sneakers for school to Mauro
Tate’s!
More Tate’s!
Breakfast at one of our favorite discoveries from last summer
<3
We may have eaten this for breakfast over the course of the weekend.
Making silly faces in front of the Sag Harbor windmill
Just like Trixie does in Knuffle Bunny Free when she goes on a trip with her family
Summer!
Dinner at LUNCH
Home sweet home
I received a record player for my birthday and we’ve all loved listening to the music. Lucie adores Adele’s powerful voice and it’s probably the most frequently played record in our home, it also inspired the title of this post. The line is from Sweetest Devotion, a song Adele wrote about becoming a mother, we call it “the family song”.
Getting the chalkboard ready for tomorrow’s big day: Lucie's going to Kindergarten