Life as a 3 year old

I thought Rachel would have a tough time with Ethan being at school all day, but honestly she loves it.  Don't get me wrong, she counts down the minutes until 3:15 every afternoon just like I do, but she is loving having me all to herself.  This past Tuesday she had meet the teacher at preschool and we started yesterday.  She has Mrs. Pam - the same teacher Ethan had at three - and she's the youngest in her class.  She had a really rough start to preschool last year so this week I've been chanting "no tears in preschool" to myself (all you church of Christ folks out there are probably singing that to "No Tears in Heaven" right now...you know you are!).  We talked about how there is no reason to cry because she's a big girl now and I'm right there and yadda yadda yadda.  God answered prayers and she made it almost all day without getting sad.  I saw her when her class was coming out of stretch-n-grow and she was sad.  Later that night she told me it was because she didn't think I knew the teacher (the normal teacher was out yesterday) and she didn't know if I would be happy about that or not.  Hilarious!  According to her, the best part of the day was eating a cupcake for William's birthday and playing with the Dora castle.  It was SO WEIRD driving up to school with just her.  Ethan and I have made that drive together every Tuesday and Thursday for the past 3 years so it was quite a change - and a lot more talkative trip.  Should be a fun year!

With Mrs. Pam at meet the teacher

Ready for the first day of school

First one in class (a perk or curse of being a teacher's kid)

Playing putt-putt on Labor Day

Getting some air at gymnastics last week

Sporting her first french braid pigtails (Amy - I had flashbacks of braiding your hair on Friday nights before the game!)

Playing dress-up with Tatum & Olivia

Posing - she got dressed in this outfit and walked around the house saying, "I look really good in this...really good."

Kindergarten days are here...finally

Ethan has been ready to start kindergarten since we took a tour of the school back in February.  It's all he could talk about this summer and honestly we were all getting pretty excited.  My mom even made him this kindergarten countdown poster and that's the first thing he did every morning.

The Thursday before school started we had meet the teacher.  I think I was probably more excited than Ethan or Clay!  We have been praying so hard that God would provide the best teacher for E.  We asked our church family to be praying for us, too, as we learn how to parent a school kid.  I know God heard our prayers and provided Mrs. S. because she's been teaching for 25 years and has pretty much seen it all.  I had a one-on-one meeting with her right before school to discuss Ethan's allergies and she was attentive and asked a lot of questions but didn't seem overwhelmed by all of it.  Yay!

Fast forward to Sunday morning at church.  Clay usually sits at the back to run the projector and computer so he gave Ethan a big hug when church was over.  His first question was, "Does he feel hot to you?"  And it pretty much went downhill from there.  He had a very high fever that evening, I cried a lot, he rested, I cried some more, Ethan still had a fever - the pattern was set.  I'm pretty sure I turned into some sort of thermometer police because I was checking his temperature every 10 minutes waiting for something miraculous to happen.  I came to the realization that it's pretty sad when you need the school's sick policy before school has even started.  Monday was not a day I'd particularly like to remember because I threw a big ol pity party for myself and Ethan that day.  But, the fever was still there and when I accepted the fact that we'd still be home on Tuesday I had to change my attitude.  We played games and went for at least one Sonic run (I will admit nothing else) and actually enjoyed the day.  He was fever free all Tuesday afternoon so we knew he would be fine to finally start on Wednesday.  We read the night before kindergarten book and laid out his clothes and I think I finally got to sleep after tossing and turning for 2 hours.

He woke up Wednesday morning feeling great and ready to go.  I made his favorite breakfast - waffles - got everyone dressed and ready and we were off.  I guess I cried all of my tears on Sunday and Monday because I didn't cry at all at drop off.  I'm sure the other parents got a good laugh out of the mom and dad taking tons of pictures on the THIRD day of school, walking into the classroom, giving lots of hugs, etc.  If they only knew.

He found his locker and his chair and immediately got to work on his paper and we were off.  Clay headed on to work and Rachel and I indulged in some shopping therapy to help the time pass more quickly.  I don't think an afternoon has ever dragged on quite like that one, but 3:15 finally came and Rachel & I picked up a very happy boy.  He said his favorite part was playing on the playground and eating lunch.  I'm not surprised.

And except for a random fever Tuesday night which resulted in another missed day on Wednesday (good thing we weren't hoping for that perfect attendance award), he's been feeling great and loving school.  Last Thursday - his second day of school - he asked me if I could NOT walk him in and just drop him off at the door.  At least he has the self-confidence thing going for him.

I held it together...almost

We're living life with a pre-k graduate over here.  Preschool programs are always a little hectic since I have my own class to escort, get ready, etc.  The interesting thing is that this year all 3 pre-k teachers had a child graduating - needless to say we were a bit emotional.  I actually held it together until the very last song.  The kids sang a song about how they'll be friends forever even though they may not see each other again and things like that.  I think the writers and producers of songs like that are in kahootz with the kleenex companies.  Not fair.  Rachel's class also sang a couple of songs on stage so she left feeling pretty good about herself.  Ethan said the best part of the night was when Mimi, Nana & Poppa all gave him money.  At least he's honest.

The weirdest chicken I've ever seen

Last week at preschool we had a petting farm come for a few hours as a treat for the kids.  It was a really cool setup and the animals were all great, but they had the WEIRDEST chicken I've ever seen.  The picture doesn't really do it justice, but it creeped me out a little that Ethan was hugging on it. 


And here's Rachel with her friend Payton checking out the animals (one of the perks of teaching there is being able to snap photos at random times of the day)


And in other preschool randomness, all of the pre-k classes had a picnic yesterday which meant I got to eat lunch with E which was fun


And here's R cheesing it up before school yesterday

Back to school

Preschool started last Thursday...finally.  For some reason it seemed like the never-ending start this year, but we're in full swing now.  I have a class of 10 four and five year olds and I think we'll have a great year! 

Ethan was very ready to get started since he's big man on campus this year in pre-k, and because he has Mrs. Jenny (Brant's mom).  He gave me a courtesy hug when I dropped him off, but was really most interested in playing with his friends.  The end of day report from him was that he had a great day and he and his buddy Luke told jokes to everyone during lunch and put on a little comedy routine (I'm already blaming this on his relation to his Uncle Bryan!). 

I'll admit I was a little anxious about Rachel's day because this is her first year in preschool.  She put on a nice little pouty face when I dropped her off and quickly realized how much fun she was going to have.  The end of day report from her was that she had a great day and that she went around bragging because she pooped in the potty and got some M&Ms.  Nice.  She said her favorite part of the day was dancing in class. 

Should be another great year!

How many things can you cram into 6 days?

I hate going days (okay, fine - weeks) at a time without updating the blog because then I'm overwhelmed just thinking about it.  Things have been so busy around here that I just haven't made the time to sit down and do it.  But for the sake of recording our lives, here's what we've been up to since last Thursday:

Thursday - Our preschool program - my pre-k class had graduation and Ethan's class sang a couple of songs.  It was a lot of fun and thankfully my kid wasn't responsible for any of the close calls on the stage.


Friday - The kids and I drove to Tyler for a wedding of a family friend.  It was actually a girl I used to babysit so I spent most of the evening feeilng really tired and old.  It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and the reception included a candy bar and a kids buffet which made the whole thing that much more enjoyable.  Well, that and watching my kids and their cousins shake it on the dance floor.
 

Saturday - One of Ethan's school friends had a birthday party that morning that ended up serving as a really cool AFC reunion.  That afternoon we infected watched Lauryn & Allison for a little while.  I picked them up perfectly healthy and returned Lauryn back home with a 103.7 temperature.  That evening Rachel and I had a girls night out to see Josie's dance recital.  It was at a really cool, restored theater and I really don't think Rachel and I have ever had that much fun together.  She sat in my lap the entire time and kept saying, "Mommy - this is so much fun.  I love you soooooo much."  Upon leaving she had a big ol' sad meltdown because she wanted to get up on stage and dance.  How early can you sign them up for dance class?


 

Sunday - I don't remember Sunday.  I was tired.

Monday - The kids and I went back to Tyler for my great Aunt Ann's funeral.  She has been sick for a while and finally went home to be reunited with my Uncle Ray who passed away last June.  It was a beautiful service to honor a beautiful lady who truly reflected a servant's heart and spirit.  Ethan, of course, had a ton of questions about how and why she died and what she was doing in heaven.  I tried to explain that what he saw was just Aunt Ann's body because her soul had already gone to heaven.  About an hour later he said, "Where did they cut Aunt Ann's body?"  I told him that no one cut her body.  He said, "Yes they did!  They had to cut it to get her soul out." 
 


Tuesday - We had fun day at school that meant a lot of sweating but no lesson plan so it was a success for me.  That evening some friends had us over for a wonderful taco dinner.  Rachel tortured played with the kittens while Ethan forced the other kids to play with him on the trampoline. 





Wednesday - Rachel finally got her first haircut...hallelujah!  I told the lady to please just try and make her hair look intentional, and I think she granted my wish.  When we walked in Ethan said, "Wow!  Rachel you have a rock star cutting your hair!" 



Throw in 3 chiropractic appointments a week for me to try and whip this back into shape and we're blowing and going.  Thankfully today was the last day of school so now we can look forward to the summer.

Flashback Friday

Dad's breakfast at preschool - April 2008


Dad's breakfast at preschool - April 2009

Family, Friends, Fairies, and Fire Trucks

Last week was a whirlwind of activity.  Monday night we got to meet up with Cara and co. and Kat and co. at Chick-fil-A since Kat was passing through on her way "home."  The kids had a blast and it didn't hurt that it was on free kids meal night. 



On Tuesday we were able to spend a little more time with Meme - my grandmother.  She was still here from going to Levi's birthday party with us over the weekend.  I hope my kids know how blessed they are to have an 80 year old great-grandmother who not only drives here to see them, but also lays on the floor with them to work puzzles and play Sequence.  My life is blessed beyond measure through this woman.


Wednesday was a lot of fun because my cousin's wife - Jess (one of the generous souls who keeps my daughter clothed) - and her daughter flew in from Illinois and stopped by our house on their way "home."  My aunt picked her up at the airport, so those 3 girls plus my mom and grandmother all gathered here for lunch.  We were also able to celebrate Makenzie's 3rd and my aunt Nancy's ... um, 29th ... birthday! 





Thursday was community helper day at school and Ethan was beside himself with excitement over the firemen being there.  It was about 39 degrees outside and drizzling, but that didn't stop the kids from wanting to see the fire trucks.



Thursday night Clay mom and niece were able to come over for dinner and hang out for a while since it was Lanee's spring break.  We also celebrated Mimi's ... um, 29th ... birthday while she was here.  Rachel couldn't take her eyes off of those cupcakes!



Friday quickly rolled around and Ethan had a friend from school over all day and I kept one of Rachel's friends all day as well.  The kids certainly were not bored last week!