Last Day

Wow...somehow we are at the end of another school year...how did that happen?!  Yesterday was Claire's last day and I was kind of emotional about it.  It wasn't her first year and it's not her last year of preschool, but it was such a huge year for her - full of so many accomplishments and changes.  I felt so proud of her and thrilled that she started and ended the year loving school.  Fielder and I came in to watch the kids sing songs and have a popsicle party to celebrate.  It was so adorable and Claire just beamed!

Claire and Mrs. Pendleton

Claire and Mrs. Smith

She made her teachers cards for the last day and I "interviewed" her and printed it out for the cards.  I think I will make this a yearly tradition!!

Was this a good year at preschool?  Yes.

Did you learn a lot?  Yes.  I learned about flip flops, bugs, car trips, and fruit.

What was your favorite thing you learned?  Flip flops and painting with our feet.

Let's talk about your preschool and the things you do there.  When you are at school, what is your favorite part of the day?  Riding my bike.

What else do you do with your friends?  My friends and I build with blocks.  We play in the pizza parlor, we play on the computer, we read books, we play house at the bookshelf, we play on the playground, we paint, and all that kind of stuff.

What is your favorite song at school?  "Today is Monday"
What is your favorite book that your teachers read?  "The Ferocious and Wild Beast"

Tell me a little about your teachers.  Do you know Mrs. Pendleton's first name?  No.
How old is she?  Mrs. Smith's age.  How tall is she?  2 feet

How about Mrs. Smith, how old is she?  Mrs. Pendleton's age.  (Ah, smart girl) 
How tall is Mrs. Smith?  2 feet

Please tell me more about your teachers and finish the sentence:
Mrs. Pendleton...has short hair.  She likes to....help us read.  I love her because...she's nice.
Mrs. Smith....has short hair too.  She likes to...help us paint.  I love her because...she loves us.
What is something that Mrs. Pendleton always says to you?  She says not to run into anybody.  She says "you have to clean up whenever it is time."
What is something that Mrs. Smith always says to you?  She always says "do not knock people's castles over."  She tells me "always get the animals back to their homes."

What does Mrs. Pendleton do to make you laugh?  She makes silly faces.
How about Mrs. Smith, what does she do?  She shows me a funny picture, like a picture of her holding a duck.

What does Mrs. Pendleton do when she's not at school?  She has to run errands.
Where does she live?  She lives at a teacher's house.

What does Mrs. Smith do when she's not at school?  She has to go to the store.  What else?  Nothing, just go to the store.
Where does Mrs. Smith live?  At a teacher's house.

If you could give your teachers any gift in the whole world, what would it be?  Flowers, maybe roses.
Is there anything you would like to say them?  Thank you.  (I swear, I did not tell her to say that!)

Memorial Weekend 2012

Welcome to the Rivah!

This was our first "summer weekend" at the river for the year and Fielder's first trip to the river ever!

Saturday morning, Rob and Claire headed to the river for some Daddy-daughter quality time.  I just wasn't quite ready for an overnight trip with Fielder so we waited until Sunday to come down.  From what I hear, Claire had a blast playing and riding on the boat, but the best part of all was sharing a bed with Daddy!  She was really excited about this and I heard that she kept asking Daddy to come to bed so he went to bed at 8 (and snuck out after she fell asleep.)

The next morning Fielder and I arrived to find everyone busy getting the house ready for the birthday/anniversary celebration. 

Claire helping Popa plant flowers



Later in the afternoon we went for a little boat ride while Abu watched Fielder.  Rob decided to take a quick dip to cool off and Claire wanted to join him.  Not 2 minutes later she started crying about something "itching" - I thought she was being dramatic about her life jacket.  Then she started screaming and saying "get me out of here!"  We realized she had gotten stung by a nettle and we quickly pulled her back onto the boat.  We hadn't seen a single one and normally Memorial weekend is too early for them to be in the water.  I felt so terrible for her and I'm quite sure that will be the last swim in the river this summer (can't say that I blame her.)  We rode back with her soaking wet and crying on my lap - by the time we were back to the house she had welts all on the back of her leg.  She handled it all pretty well and enjoys telling her dramatic tale of her battle with the stinging nettle.  We've told her she is now officially a river rat.

So Lucky to be a Mommy

Happy Mother's Day to me!  I have to say....best Mother's Day yet!  I am so lucky to have these two beautiful kids to call me Mommy.  I had a wonderful day and enjoyed spending some time with my mom too.  We spent the morning playing in Andy and Tara's backyard and then had a nice lunch.

 

  

Mimi and her grandkids! It's tough getting all 3 kids in one spot, much less actually looking at the camera!

Thank you Claire, Fielder, and Daddy for giving me such a great day!  And Happy Mother's Day to my Mom of course!!

Azalea Photo (minus the azaleas)

We were about a week too late on getting the annual photo in the backyard to actually include some azalea blooms.  Oh well, that's how we roll these days.

My how this picture has changed over the last 4 years!  Well......everything except for Rob's shirt.  :-) 

6 months

Happy 1/2 birthday to my little man!  Time can fly.  Fielder is now rolling all over the place, from front to back and back to front.  He is sleeping so much better (still afraid to actually say that out loud so I'll knock on wood now.)  He goes to bed around 7 and usually wakes up to nurse once before getting up for the day.  We also started "nap training" and he is officially out of the bouncy seat.  I can't believe for the first 6 months of his life he napped only in the swing or bouncy seat, but it was finally time to transition to the crib.  It's actually going really well and he seems to be napping a little better.  He's tried rice cereal, sweet potatoes, banana, and carrots.  No teeth yet, but I'm pretty sure they'll show up soon.  The latest thing he seems to be working on is sitting up.  It's not quite mastered, but he can make it for 30 seconds or so and then loses balance.  We love when he's in a happy mood and will lay on the floor "chatting" with us and rolling around.  What a sweet boy!

Busy Boy

Fielder has been a busy boy over the last few weeks.  We started "practicing" with solid foods.  First up was the rice cereal.  Kinda boring, but he got the hang of it.  He wants to do it himself which is fine when it's just some rice cereal.....

but not so much when it's bright orange sweet potatoes!  What a mess.  Looks like we might have a little Samara on our hands.

I love that he is finally able to entertain himself for a few minutes in the Johnny Jump-Up and excersaucer.  He loves to jump, just like Claire did!

A Day at the Park

Last weekend we spent a great afternoon at the park with friends (over 15 kids!!) and a pot luck picnic.  I forgot my camera, but one of the Dads took some great photos of the kids playing.....I'm officially saving up my pennies for my digital SLR camera!  Claire had a blast playing and meeting some new friends and Fielder took some of his best naps in months so I guess the sunshine did him some good too!

There were so many favorites of Katie, it was hard to choose!  This one is just adorable.