A visit to Pre-K

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After school today we took a trip to Eve’s future Pre-K to drop off her enrollment paperwork. I was going to just mail it, but a few days ago she said she didn’t remember the school or the teacher, despite the fact that we went there darn near every day for a year bringing Lex to Pre-K. She insisted she had no recollection. I told her we could drive the paperwork over and when Lex heard that he said he wanted to come too! So this afternoon I picked Lex up from school and we took a field trip to the other school :) The timing worked out perfectly and we got there just as afternoon Pre-K was ending. His teacher saw us walk in and she got so excited! She gave him a big hug and asked us to come to the classroom for a visit. Of course! Eve didn’t seem to recognize her or know where the classroom was, so perhaps she really didn’t remember. Lex knew exactly what was going on though. It was so nice to chat with her and she was so happy to see both of the kids!

When he was in school last year they planted bean plants in the spring and brought them home towards the end of the year. We planted his in the garden and it grew a few beans. I took a picture (below) of him eating one of the beans and emailed it to her. In her classroom today we saw the picture hanging on her bulletin board. She said she printed and laminated it because she loved it so much. She has it hanging by her desk and used it to show this year’s class what they were planting. It was such a lovely visit! I love when people are that excited to see my kids! :) We also bumped into another parent of one of Lex’s old classmates. Her son will be in afternoon Pre-K with Eve. I’m sure Eve doesn’t remember him, but they played together last year at pick-up time each day.

lex

Lex, July 2010

I left with such a feeling of happiness inside! The good feelings continued as we went to the shoe store and both kids behaved super well. The salesman (the owner actually at our awesome local shoe store) asked what kind of shoes they wanted, measured their feet, and got them shoes. They both loved the first ones he picked out. Then he picked out running shoes for me, which I also loved. I felt a little odd not caring about the prices, but turns out the prices were decent and I was willing to pay about anything for the wonderful, smooth process! (Thanks for the gift certificate at Christmas, Grandma!)

shoes

I meant to take a picture of us all wearing our new shoes, but I forgot until after I took mine off. Then I was too lazy to put them back on. It would have made for a better picture though. Oh well.

Then we stopped at a barber shop, on a whim, but when it was Lex’s turn he got scared and wouldn’t sit in the chair, so we left. He’ll be shaggy haired and sweaty headed for a bit longer. Then we went to the playground for a little while, then home for a lovely (pick-your-own) dinner and a smooth bedtime.

Overall a busy, but very nice day on the home-front!

A hike

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I was lucky enough to get to go on a hike with the entire kindergarten class today. It took some coordination with a friend because Eve (and all other siblings) were not invited. My friend’s son is in Lex’s class and her daughter is Eve’s age so we shared a babysitter. This week at her house and next week, when the K class has another activity, we have a shared babysitter at my house. It works out really well!

The hike was fun. Each adult got a few students to be in charge of and we walked up the mountain and back down. The whole thing was maybe 40 minutes, not too bad, and the kids had a great time.

up the hill

trail of hikers

fallen tree

class picture

posed smile

Posed smile

real smile

Real smile!

Crossword coins

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I left the kids with a babysitter this afternoon and came home to find they had emptied out their “piggy banks” to play with the coins. Lex decided to make this…

crossword coins

Can you find all the names? There are five.

While we’re speaking of Lex and his genius, I mentioned earlier that he is finally willing to talk on the phone, right? At bedtime tonight we called Alan (who is at his dad’s house… more on that when I’m emotionally ready to write that post) and both kids happily chatted for a few minutes. When we hung up Lex said, “Phones really are amazing things. You can talk to people more than a mile away!” Then he asked how they worked and I did my best to explain. :)

Rhubarb

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rhubarb

I have a lot of rhubarb in my freezer. A lot! Through the CSA we’ve gotten it for two weeks in a row now and I need to figure out what to do with it. The first batch sat on my counter for far too long and I finally decided to throw it in the freezer for awhile. A quick google search sent me here (a great site I frequently end up on when I have questions about preserving fresh produce) and the freezing process went smoothly enough. Rhubarb is really annoying to peel! Did you know that? It’s all stringy and weird and smells like celery (not a veggie I like!) I persevered though and now have a ton in the freezer… What do you suggest? Strawberry rhubarb pie was my first thought and the obvious answer, but I just can’t motivate myself to make a pie. I found this site with 9 Perfectly Pink Rhubarb Recipes and I’m thinking about making the Rhubarb Buttermilk Mini Muffins but I’m afraid I will eat every last one of them. Not good! Hmmm… ideas?

Lex’s six year check up

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We had an awesome visit to the doctor’s office today. Seriously. Lex had an appointment at 9:15 and he chose to go to school for an hour first instead of just going in late. The surprised me a bit, but it worked out well. He happily left with me when I came to pick him up. He did an awesome job at the appointment. He behaved well, he cooperated with the doctor and did everything she asked him to. It was just awesome. Then, to top it all off, he happily went back to school! He was chatting with everyone along the way, on the way out telling people where he was going and on the way back telling people that he was growing well and very healthy. It was adorable and by far the smoothest part of my day! How often can you say that about a doctor’s appointment.

checkup

His stats are all good: 50lbs (73rd percentile and up 8lbs from last year!) and 44 1/2″ (31st percentile). I, and the doctor, think there was a measurement error last year. His record said 44″ at his 5yr checkup, but we all agreed he’s grown more than 1/2″ this year. My oh-so-formal pencil on the wall measurement system had him at 42″ last year and 44 1/2″ this year. I think that’s more likely. She agreed.

Somewhat unrelated to the doctor visit, but very related to his turning six, Lex had a new milestone yesterday. He actually spoke on the phone!!! I had Alan on speaker phone and Eve was talking to him. Lex ran over to see what was going and then he started talking too! Right at the phone! :) I doubt Alan could understand what either of them were saying because they were both talking excitedly and over one another, but nonetheless Alan was excited to hear Lex’s voice over the phone! He is growing up.

I was just reading some posts from when he was three and four years old… I get lost in my own blog sometimes. I can spend hours, seriously, reading about what happened in my own life, in my own house, years ago. I mention this only to say that Lex really, truly, has come a long way. There are so many posts about struggles with him. Fighting. Yelling. Pure exhaustion. He is such a sweet, nice boy now. He was then too, but it’s different now. Minor issues still, but nothing, nothing!, like it was before. I feel like I’ve weathered (or conquered?) a storm and now have a beautiful, nearly calm sea to explore. I truly am fortunate.

Mr. Independent

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lex

Lex has entered a new phase of independence the past few days.  Will it last?  We shall see.  He has been protesting bath a lot lately (gently, not forcefully, luckily for me) so a few days ago I told him he was dirty and needed to get clean and I gave him a few choices on how that could happen.  When I mentioned a shower he jumped at the idea.  Since then he has been taking showers on his own.  He can do the whole thing without help.  It’s pretty amazing.  I wondered when the time would come to switch from bath to showers and it seems, like many things child-related, you just know when it’s time.  Or they just tell you :)  Yesterday was a super busy and exhausting day and Lex started to meltdown around 5pm when we were cleaning up outside and heading in.  I gave him the option of helping us clean up, or heading in for a shower.  He ran right in.  By the time I got in (after more cleanup and chit-chatting with my friend who was visiting) he was done and stepping out of the shower.

He also has taken to making his own breakfast and dinner.  As long as dinner means sandwiches, bagels, oatmeal, and/or yogurt.  He still needs a bit of help in the kitchen and makes a bit of a mess, but he is motivated and learning!  As part of our summer activities I’m going to have cooking or “kitchen” sessions and I think (hope!) he’ll enjoy them.  I’m getting excited!

Graduation day…

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Eve had a little “graduation” yesterday and today, her final day, was spent having a “field day” at the playground. They played games, ran races, went on a nature hunt, etc. Parents were invited to come. I had errands to run, but I made it for the second half of the morning. It was cute. At the end all the teachers were saying goodbye and the kids were running around hugging everyone, but Eve found me and snuggled in to my neck and refused to hug, or even acknowledge, anyone. I think she was very sad that it was all ending. She cried a bit. It was sweet. The class and teachers took a school bus to the playground and when the bus came to pick them up again I asked Eve if she wanted to get in the car with me or ride back to school on the bus. She picked the bus and cuddled into one of her teacher’s arms. A few other kids followed her to the bus. I followed the bus to school and picked her up there. :) She was happier there and said her goodbyes nicely. It’s always sad to see the year come to an end. She will be in Pre-K next year with one of the girls, but the rest of the class will be doing other things.

When I picked her up at school yesterday we (the parents) walked in to find all the kids wearing construction paper mortar boards and garbage bag gowns. It was ADORABLE! and we were all bummed that we didn’t bring cameras. I didn’t even have my cell phone with me! Eve was nice enough to put it back on when we got home. She wanted to show Alan and I wanted to snap a few pictures. Win-win for everyone :)

cap and gown

The graduate. She also got a little certificate.

close up

Always silly

After several days of 90° temps it was a chilly one today. I started off in shorts, but zipped home to change into pants and a sweatshirt before the playground. I think the kids stayed warm enough with all their running around though. :)

ducklings in a row

Little ducklings in a row (and the parent paparazzi standing by)

take down

Between activites the kids decided to chase and subsequently take-down one of the teachers. I don't think she minded. :)

eve

Eve pretending to be shy.

Each kid also got a “yearbook” to take home. It’s a bound book of pages of photos of themselves, their classmates, and their teachers. Each teacher wrote up a favorite memory, and each kids was voted for something. Eve got “Best Dancer.” I’ll agree with that!

Beachin’ it!

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We took our first trip to the beach today! Well, the lake anyway. Welcome summer! I have lots to say and lots of photos, but it’s late (again) and I’m tired (always) so this will be brief.

Eve and I picked Lex up after school and we went straight to the beach. First things first, snack!

snack

Happy children!
lex digging

lake

Eve named this the "Laka pino Johnson"

smiling boy

happy swimmers

splashing

Tired children, heading home for dinner and baths.
tired

I was playing with camera settings and “continuous” photo shoots. I have lots to say about that. Also I’ve been thinking a lot about the seasons of parenting. Thoughts on that. Right now I’m tired though. I can’t wait for summer vacation. I’m really, truly excited for it. Possibly more so than the kids :)

 

I just linked this post to a blog hop (my first!) from another local blogger, Rub Some Dirt On It. I don’t know her, but I know lots of the local areas she talks about. She’s super crafty and into photography… I’d love to take some of the e-courses she has taken.

Photobucket

New bike

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I’m so excited! I found Lex a new bike at a yard sale this weekend. I’ve been thinking about it for awhile, but not taking much action (that’s how I roll!). Friday night I got an email saying there would be a multi-family yard sale one street over from me! The kids and I walked over at 8am on Saturday morning and found not one, but two bikes just his size! What luck! He chose a blue one with a bell and we brought it home. Someday my kids may have shiny new bikes, but for now I pride myself for never having spent more than $5 on a bike for them :) Lucky for me they both love their bikes! Lex has been practicing without the training wheels, but he tires quickly and reverts to his old bike. I reassure him that it takes lots of practice! Today he went out to practice with Alan.

new bike

Lex practicing on his new bike, without training wheels!

alan on bike

Wait, who got a new bike?!

This is just a picture I took at snack time today. I was bored and trying not to eat their snack, so I started snapping pictures :)

feet

Ahh... summer!