Preschool Open House

Anna had her Preschool Open House today.  It went great.  She woke up excited and ready to go and I was thrilled.  With Anna new things can either go really well or she can cling to me and cry.  We were lucky it was a good day.  We got to spend an hour in her new classroom.  Anna met her teacher, Ms. Chris and she also got to meet some of her classmates.  She ran around the room checking it out, she wanted to get everything out for a second and then run to the next activity.  She is a busy a little girl, but I have never seen her quite like this.  I think she was on sensory overload!

Her teacher had several trays set up with activities on the table.  Anna starts looking at them and starts mixing up all of the items on the different trays.   The teacher in me had a slight freak out moment and thought oh no!  Her teacher noticed and came over to help assist her in putting everything back.  Oh my I think this little girl will be keeping her teacher on her toes.  I do have to say that I'm so excited that Anna loves her classroom and she can't wait to go back.  On our way out Anna did find the instruments and was playing the cymbals and the drums.  She loved playing them and I'm sure the rest of the kids, parents and her teacher loved her music.

I must say today's experience with Anna was completely different than when I took Drew to his preschool open house.  He sat quietly in the corner and took it all in.   It sure would be boring to have two kids exactly the same!  Now we wait a week before the official first day of preschool!

 we got there a little early, so we were trying to wait patiently in the car

Gymnastics

Anna started gymnastics a week ago.  She's been twice.  The first class did not go well and I ended up leaving early with Anna crying and clinging to me.  The second time she left laughing and very proud of herself.  I am so thankful I contacted the lady in charge (it helped that I knew her b/c I had her son in class years ago) and she personally took Anna to class and helped her get settled.  I'm pretty sure Anna loved the extra attention and she did absolutely amazing.  She's pretty darn good at gymnastics.  She amazed the teacher by doing a flip over the bar.  I was amazed how she walked on the balance beam too.  I can't wait to see how she does at her next class!

 Anna and Ms. Angie

Our angel baby

I've debated about whether I would blog about this or not and when it comes down to it, this baby is and always will be part of our lives.  With that said, I was pregnant and due on March 18th.  Last week I had a sonogram and found out the baby's heartbeat had stopped.  It was devastating!

There are so many different emotions we've gone through since learning we lost our baby.  Feelings I never could have even began to imagine before this happened.  It has made me think back to when I've heard friends have had miscarriages in the past and makes me wish I could have said more or done more for them.  I just didn't get it before it happened to us.  We also had to share the news with the kids, since we had told them about the pregnancy a week or so prior.  It has been hard trying to explain this to them, but at the same time they ask the sweetest questions.  One night Drew asked if our baby had other babies in Heaven to play with.  Anna wanted to know if it was a boy or a girl and I tried to explain to her that we didn't know, her response was "Well if it had boy pjs on it was a boy and if it had girl pj's on it was girl."  If only it was that simple!   We pray that God takes care of our baby each night and as sad as it is, I'm glad we can remember baby number 3 with the kids.

I keep hearing it gets easier with time and I sure hope that is true.  Regardless we will always remember and wish we could have known our sweet angel baby number 3!

Drew is officially a kindergartner!

Well we did it, we let Drew go to kindergarten.  Mike and I weren't sure we were going to let him grow up and go to school, but we decided he was ready and it was time to let him go....

We are thrilled that we decided to have Drew go half days this year.  Originally he was singed up for full day before I decided to stay home this year.  We thought... why send him all day, if I'm finally home with him and he's got the rest of his life to go all day?  Next reason our decision turned out perfectly...he is one of 12 kids in his class(7 boys and 5 girls) and he has played sports with four of the boys.  So he's comfortable and will get a lot of one on and one attention.  This class size is every teacher's dream, so you can imagine my excitement as a teacher/mom.  Most classes half or full day can have up to 22 or 23. So this is a great way to start such an important milestone!  

Drew's teacher is simply amazing.  This is her 18th year of teaching half day kindergarten, so he's in great hands and you can tell this lady LOVES teaching!  His teacher's name is Mrs. DeCastro, but the kids call her "Mrs. D."  Mrs. D sent out a postcard before school started, Drew thought that was pretty cool, but I was especially impressed with the phone called we received on the morning of his first day.  Mrs. D. called Drew here at home while he was getting ready for school to tell him she couldn't wait for school to start.  Talk about an excited little boy (and parents).  So we just know this  is going to be an awesome year for our big guy!

 breakfast of champions - waffles with peanut butter, nutella, and syrup...yummy!

 love our big boy

 so proud

 Anna and Lucy wanted to get in on the action too!

 proud mom

 proud dad

 goof balls!

 we didn't want to be late...so we may have been the second family to school that day

 play doh - waiting for all his classmates to arrive

 Anna wanted to be part of it all too!

Drew and Mrs. D

Drew's teacher, Mrs. DeCastro - a perfect match!

3 years 5 months

Dear Anna,

You have had a great month.  We've had lots of fun and have been enjoying our summer.  You ask to swim every day.  You just love the pool!  We are going to miss the pool when it closes down.  You are getting so good at riding Drew's old bike.  It is so fun watching you pedal and my back enjoys that you can do it on your own now.

The best way to describe you right now is your non-stop talking!  And I am not exaggerating at all.  Now, I know people that see you outside your comfort zone or out in public, may think I'm crazy.  But at home and with people you are comfortable with (like your grandparents) you honestly don't stop talking. You talk fast and don't typically need to have anyone talking back to you, you are fine just talking to yourself, your toys, Patton, or even the wall.  Drew has noticed this talking and gets a little frustrated at times and just yells, "stop talking Anna."  Daddy and I often have to ask for a little quiet time, and it doesn't last more than 30 seconds typically.  In the car I often turn a movie on, just so I can concentrate and drive, I don't always feel like mom of the year when I do that, but I've got to get us places safely!  You just can't help it.  Now luckily in dance you were quiet, so I'm hoping you aren't too talkative in school, but I also don't want you to be so shy you don't show your true personality either.

You are so excited for school to start.  Whenever anyone asks if you and Drew are in school, you are first to speak up and say you are going to preschool soon.  I love it!  I hope you transition well to school and don't miss me too much (ha ha-I think you'll be running into the classroom at this point).

You have taken more of a liking to Lucy again.  You love your baby girl.  You call her "my daughter."  You talk to her in a baby voice and often Lucy gets blamed for things you do (like yelling in the house).  The other day I got your up from your "rest" (or shall I call it your play time in your room) and you and Lucy were dressed in matching pink tutus.  I have a hard time reinforcing the rules of staying in your bed when I go in there and see what you've been up to.  You are hilarious and I'm not sure you know that you are funny yet. I think you have a very fun little personality, that may get you into some trouble in the future and be a bit troublesome for daddy and I.

We love every little thing about you.  You spice up our lives!

Love you,
Mommy and Daddy

5 years and 10 months

My boy is almost 6!  And almost in kindergarten!  I am not sure daddy and I really ever thought you'd be so old.  What happened to that sweet little chubby baby with a great smile and big eyes?  You've grown up!  We have enjoyed this past month.  We've swam, played outside, ate ice cream, stayed up late, played with friends, and more.

You are continuing to work on your reading and handwriting.  You like to do those things when it is your idea though.  You still continue to work on your math.  You love math and do a lot of your calculating in your head.

You have been busy playing with superheroes and your cars.  You also just like running around.  You love running in the house, too bad mommy isn't a fan of that.  You have been working on riding your bike.  You are extremely cautious but daddy and I are trying to get you to ride a little faster.  We can't even go on walks around the neighborhood with your bike, because you are so frightened of the hills here and there, so that is something we are hoping to help you overcome.  Then we'll start thinking about taking away the training wheels...just not there yet.

You are getting ready to start school and I think you are pretty excited and just a bit nervous.  You also are about to start soccer again.  So many fun things to come!  We love you so much and are enjoying watching you grow and change.

We love you,
Mommy and Daddy

Dance Preformance

Anna had her last dance class.  They put on a little performance for the parents.  It was very cute and I loved watching my cute little dancer.  Anna wasn't so sure of the big crowd watching her.  She loves blending in and doing the dance moves with the others, when she had her little solo she did NOT want to perform.  I can totally relate, so I was wanting her moment to hurry up and get over for little sake.  She also had a few tears, which she hadn't had since the first day.  Another parent stopped me and said that her tears may have been due to the fact her teacher was very stern with her when she thought Anna didn't have her ballet shoes (which in fact she did have them, her teacher misunderstood her).  I wasn't thrilled to hear that and I hated seeing Anna upset, but we are all human and overall the class was a great experience for Anna.  She has chosen to try gymnastics next and I have a feeling she'll want to do dance again soon.

Anna did have quite a group of fans watching her.  Both grandmas came and her little friend, Livi, and of course Drew and I enjoyed her performance too.  Love watching Anna do big girl things, but at the same time I can't believe she's old enough to do these things!

A Visit to Powell Gardens

We enjoyed a visit to Powell Gardens last Friday with Pa & Ma.  There were so many beautiful flowers and they also had a butterfly festival going on.  The kids enjoyed seeing all the sights and taking part in all of the kid activities!

two sweet kids

Drew and Daddy worked very hard to catch a butterfly!

Daddy and Drew touching a HUGE cockroach - yuck!

still searching....finally daddy caught one!