The Darbys: Fall!!!!

Oh, golden trees, how I love thee . . .

Last year when Mimi was in Kiddie College she began playing "school" at home. She pretended to be Miss Kelly, and I can remember her asking, "Mommy, what is the season?" to which I would respond, "Fall." Then she would say with much enthusiasm, "What did you say?! Say it louder!!" And I would have to yell, "Faaaaallllllll!!" And I was quite happy to yell about my favorite season.;) And I'm even happier that my blog is finally catching up. Fall!!!!

Mimi started her soccer classes at Lil Kickers again, and we had plans for Mack to love it as much as she does. He had other plans. Those plans were not joining the class and running away at every chance. After 15 minutes of this, Clint threw the little monkey over his shoulder and informed me that we can try again in the spring. Mack didn't seem to mind.

Being silly before she ran her little legs off in soccer.

Dogpile on Coach Gomez!

Mimi is also taking karate. Hi-ya!!

Her class is at the Little Gym and is about half karate and half gymnastics, which is really fun for Mimi.

Mack also started taking a class at the Little Gym, and this is what he has to say about it . . .

Just kidding:) He loves to run around and jump on bouncy things and hang on rings and fling his body against mats. The Little Gym was made for my monkeys.

And now for the update on the public/private school dilemma I had (that you can read about here). By the way, thank you so much for your suggestions and words of encouragement because there are WAY too many educational options in this city. A few days after my post I toured the perfect little school and the potential four-year-old class for Mimi where Mack attends. The girl who gave me the tour is named "Mimi," (I'm not kidding) and she did a wonderful job of showing me the perfect little classroom, teacher, and students who sat perfectly still in a perfect circle. They were absolutely precious and I was comforted to see how well they listened to their teacher and worked together. She gave me some background of the school and told me about their goals and mission, and she explained the way they teach and why. It reminded me sooo much of where I attended preschool and kindergarten. She was amazing, and I loved her and the school. Here's the problem -- I wasn't sure Mimi would love it. I don't think this is the right place for my free-spirited little monkey. She craves chaos and imperfect circles. Suddenly the decision that had been eating away at me for days became quite clear -- I knew as soon as I left the building exactly where she belonged.

As soon as the teachers and Rahm got it together, Mimi returned to her school. I noticed on the first day back that the students appeared to not have skipped a beat. As soon as Miss Jami appeared, they ran to find a place in line in their new school shoes and backpacks that are bigger than they are. The parents appeared happy and friendly, and Mimi talked nonstop on our walk home. She loves to step out our door and meet a little girl who lives down our street to walk to school together. Mimi eagerly grabs her hand and talks her head off without even remembering her name sometimes. She is excited to see her friends each day, and she met me at the gate Friday dragging a little boy behind her who she said was "adorable." He is twice her size and so, so sweet, and I'll have to admit that he is quite adorable. Miss Jami and Mrs. Vickie seem to enjoy Mimi's silly personality (which was a relief -- not all appreciate her), and Miss Jami told me that she loves how Mimi is nice to everyone and has no problem saying how she feels. Uh oh. I asked exactly what she likes about Mimi saying how she feels -- because my Little Bit doesn't hold back. She said she doesn't flip out, but she definitely lets others know when they've crossed the line. Ms. Jami told me this is great because many of the others don't use their words yet, and they are learning how to do so by watching Mimi. Wow. She's exactly where she's supposed to be.

And I'm excited that she's in a school that still needs a little help from the parents. So I made some pillows for the toddler room.

Yay Jahn!

I'm also in the process of cutting out about 45 orange pumpkins and loving it. Hooray for being a preschool mom and using construction paper!

It's fun to get Mimi from school and share a snack with her on the couch while she watches Spiderman cartoons.

But some days this is what we do instead. Preschool is even too much for my energetic monkey sometimes.

In other news, my building has continued to be awesome with a new family with two little girls. Mimi is in heaven and asks me every morning before her eyes are open if she can go downstairs and play at Izzie's house. For the first time, we're actually having play dates without one mom being present. I mean, we're in the same building so why not?

Here's Mimi and her new BFF Izzie at the zoo munching on snow cones.

And being princesses . . .

Chicago is awesome, by the way. One really cool thing that happens at the beginning of fall is Circus in the Parks. This year the park 30 feet away from our front door was able to host a circus, and it was amazing!

The Big Top!

Can I honk your nose?

Mimi and one of her boy BFF's, Spiderman. His love of all things super hero has prompted Mimi's new infatuation, which is awesome because I was getting a little tired of all things princess.

I feel like my hubs always gets the shaft in my posts, so here he is, the infamous Mr. Darby. He's the head of our family, pro-golfer wanna-be, and lover of dogs:) A few weeks ago we ventured to the northern burbs to visit a sorority sister from college, and that is where he met this sweet baby. By the way, do you see that screened in porch and green yard with trees? Makes me start to consider the burbs . . . I just said consider -- don't get your panties in a wad. We're city folks for now.

We're trying to soak up this wonderful fall weather as much as possible with daily trike and wagon rides because we know a Chicago winter is right around the corner.

Back to the monkey on the left for just a few minutes. I'm still madly in love with him, but he's such a stinker. He's doing great in his little 2-year-old class at his school, but the teacher has definitely pointed out several times how he's much younger than the other 2-yr-olds in the class and how it's sometimes difficult for her to pull him down from climbing on everything. And I began feeling all self-conscious and defensive. I mean, it's a two-year-old class, and Mack acts exactly like a two-year-old. My sister told me to just stop asking how he's doing, and I think she has the right idea.

During Mack's class, I get some fun Mimi time. His school is near downtown, so I love taking her to see some sights.

I think the Trump Tower is gorgeous.

Mack and his buddy, William, who is another sweet neighbor (This post is all over the place! Sorry for being unorganized). They are practicing crawling through the trenches, I suppose.

Mimi and some buddies at the park.

Buzz is making sure the animals get to the farm.

Mack loves push toys, so this Strider might be perfect for Christmas.

We took a building field trip to a pumpkin patch. It was fah-reezing but such a fun day. Love my little pumpkins.

Because of a late spring frost, the apples are tiny. That didn't stop Mack from occasionally stopping to taste a rotten one.

Bethany throwing my monkey around.

My husband, the Unibomber.

Awww, the Darby fam.

Just pulling on a couple of tailfeathers.

The two little ones in my building, Lucy and William. I could eat them up. So stinkin cute.

Sweet girls.

Remember Mimi's new love for super heroes? Check out the Halloween costume. Love, love, love it. I think she's even talked a few of her BFF's into also being Supergirls. :)