Kinder- WHAT??

I will admit, I've been putting off this post for far too long. For about six weeks now (maybe more, I've lost count!), Colin has been in KINDERGARTEN! With an October birthday, he misses the deadline by a few days but we decided to have him start kindergarten early this year at Little Red so that he will be extra prepared for kindergarten next year. We weren't sure if he would be able to handle it, which is part of the reason I have delayed posting this. But he has adjusted to the structure and the workload and is doing so well! We are very proud of him!

On his very first day of kindergarten, Colin picked out his entire outfit. Including the tie. He said he wanted to look just like Dad because he had to 'go to work'. So sweet! 

Stay tuned for more kindergarten adventures!

Summer 2013 {Part 1}

This summer is flying by! And I have been horrible about keeping up. On the blog, at least. Here is a picture-overload of our overloaded summer:

End of School Year Party {Little Red School House}

Blueberry Picking {Evan's Orchards in Georgetown, KY} 

Hiking at Big Bone Lick State Park {Union, KY}

{Home}

Colin's 1st Fishing Pole

Ode to Teacher Jessica

Words cannot describe how grateful we are for our Teacher Jessica!

Colin switched rooms at the beginning of the year, leaving behind his friends and his beloved Teacher Tina (and Stephanie!). He was in a completely new environment and a little out of his element. Within a few weeks, we were given notice that he was going to have yet another new teacher as his current teacher was leaving the school. Colin had already struggled a bit with all of the changes. I remember him telling me one day that he didn't have a class (or friends) because he felt like he was constantly moving around. Now he was going to have to go through it all again.

Enter Teacher Jessica. How she does it, we will never know. There were days when I couldn't even handle just stepping into the room to pick Colin up. 10 four-year-olds is more than any one person should handle at one time! But she does it. And she does it well!

Colin quickly adjusted to his new teacher and his new friends. He was excited to go to school again. And as a working parent, there isn't anything more that we could ask for! We couldn't have hand-picked a better teacher for Colin at this season of his life. She got him. She understood his quirkiness and, even better, encouraged it. And he began to thrive again because of that.

The end of the school year came too soon! We are sad to leave behind yet again another great teacher. Colin will miss you greatly, Teacher Jessica! Know that your impact will always be fondly remembered.

Teacher Debbie

Of all our guests (no offense to the rest of you!) we were so excited to have Teacher Debbie come to Salem's birthday party. He recently moved up to a new room so she is no longer his teacher but she took care of him from the very first day that he started school. From 12 weeks on, she has tended to him and loved him in our absence. And what a special bond these two have developed!

Throughout the party, Salem wanted only Teacher Debbie. She carried him around until it was time to sit down to eat and every time he opened a gift he would carry it over to her to share it with her. As a parent, it was so awesome to see that he feels so comfortable with her and, more than that, adores her! We have always liked our school and both boys seem to do well but this was much more than we could have asked for! Without a doubt, our boys are well taken care of while we are away at work.

We are so thankful to have teachers that continue to pour into our children's lives. Teacher Debbie has been such a blessing to our family. We were honored to have her as a guest in our home :)

Colin's Pre-School Check-Up

Saying 'Colin keeps us on our toes', is an understatement. The kid is active, funny, smart, sweet, and creative- all wrapped up into one. He brings us so much joy but can also be very challenging at times. But the good times definitely outweigh the bad!

From our latest parent-teacher conference, it is clear that Teacher Jessica feels the same way about our little man:

Colin quickly grasps our weekly concepts and is able to share his knowledge with the other students. When he takes his time with his work (notice, she said WHEN), his handwriting, gluing, cutting, coloring, and other fine motor skills are impressive. He does occasionally rush through his work but I try to give him one-on-one time so he can display his full abilities. Colin is very creative. He has a great imagination. Recently, he turned a paper airplane from our afternoon art into what he called a 'shipwreck'. It was very impressive. He is also quite talented in solving puzzles. Although he can occasionally be reluctant to join in class activities, he is often thoughtful and generous toward other students. Most recently, he has been giving his favorite classroom puppet to students who are upset.

Excited (and a little bit nervous) to see what the future holds for this little man!

Little Updates

Nothing big, just some little things here and there that I do not want to forget:

1. Colin went to his first yoga class and owned it!
2. The other day, he told me that he wants to call his Dadda 'Dad'. But not until he gets older. Right now he just wants to call him 'Dadda'. And that made me smile inside.
3. Salem ate black beans and rice for the first time. Refused to eat his baby food. He wanted to eat what the rest of us were eating. So he did.
4. Colin begged to say the blessing before dinner the other night. We held hands, bowed our heads, and heard 'I pledge allegiance...'. In its entirety. I kid you not.
5. For Halloween, Colin was Buzz Lightyear. For two days, Colin demanded to write 'Buzz' at the top of all of his school papers. We will see if this new habit continues after the holiday...

Halloween post coming soon!

Another Year Down...

This week Colin had his end of the school year luau at Little Red. These moments are a little bittersweet for me- he's getting older and smarter, which is awesome, but he's also GETTING OLDER, which makes me sad! I didn't cry this year but that could be because I know he's going to be in the same class again next year :)

Either way, we are SO proud of our little man! The class sang their ABC's for us, counted to 20, sang the days of the week and months of the years songs, and then counted to 10 in both Spanish and German! We didn't even know that he new Spanish! Kind of. He sort of lip-syncs his way through those two. But still, very impressive indeed! The highlight of the night was watching the kiddos 'dance' and 'hula' to Blue Hawaii. That video is a keeper. Kind of like our little man...

With Teacher Tina

With Teacher Stephanie

With his Momma

And guess who won the award as Mr. Smiles?

THIS GUY

"Whether we are doing circle time or he is off playing with his friends, Colin always has a smile on his face. We love his genuine friendliness and happy outlook. Thanks, Colin, we love your smiles." - Teacher Tina

Little Man, we are so proud of you and all that you have accomplished! You are growing into a bright, fun-loving, young man right before our eyes. We pray that you never lose your child-like spirit and, of course, your cute smile! We LOVE you OH so much! - Momma and Dadda