Thatch and Had.

He's her "Thatchy Buddy."

She's not always this sweet. :)

Our Newest Graduate.

What fun it was to celebrate Babe's Pre-K graduation with our family last Friday night!  I know I say it every time I write about this girl, but she LOVES being the center of attention and we love watching her in her "element."  Friday night was no exception.

We made it home from school and work in time to clean up a little, change clothes, take a few pictures, and pick up Chick-fil-a (Hadley's choice) for dinner before heading over to the church where the ceremony was held.

For the sake of time, we ended up taking our dinner with us to the church and having a semi-picnic in the parking lot.  Once we finished eating, we headed inside to grab a good seat and had a few minutes (once again) to snap some pictures before Hadley needed to get ready with her class.

The ceremony itself was long.  There were two Pre-K classes and two Kindergarten classes and each class sang two songs followed by a few Spanish songs as a collective group.  My Haddie did a fantastic job!

After the singing, we watched a cute slide show of pictures of the kids (and quite a few of Ben!) throughout the year while the graduates got dressed in their caps and gowns.  Emmy was restless by this point, so she, Auntie, and me snuck back into the gathering area and got to watch Had waiting in line for her big moment.

She did so well walking down the aisle!  I think she might have been a little bit nervous while she waited, but once her name was called, she strolled down like a pro.

She even made sure to pose for plenty of pictures once she accepted her diploma.  Man, I love that girl. :)

After the ceremony, we made sure to get picture of all of Hadley's fans (to include her "boyfriend," Aaron).

We finished off the night with the reception hosted by Primrose in the fellowship hall.  We didn't stay too long  but did manage to pick up Had's goody bag and diploma and eat a few snacks and some cake before calling it a night.

I can't believe she'll be starting Kindergarten in the fall!!!  She's grown so much this year...I can't wait to see what's in store for her future.

Pre-K Field Day.

Last Thursday, Primrose hosted a field day and family cookout to help close out and celebrate the year before graduation on Friday night.  I was able to sneak away from work in time to watch Babe participate in a few of the field day games.  Watching her interact with her peers confirmed what I know to be true:  the girl is silly, silly, silly.  And she loves her some Ms. Audra. :)

The weather was perfect for spending the day outside.  Ben showed up just as the field day games were ending and the cookout was gearing up.

Neither of us was able to stay for the entire lunch, but we enjoyed eating with our girl and her friends and their families.  Ms. Audra gave each child a candy "award" and certificate that best represented their personality while we were eating.  Hadley earned the "Bubble Yum" award for her bubbly personality. :)  

She was so excited to be given a pack of her very own bubble gum and to have her picture taken with Ms. Audra.  All the other parents always comment on Babe's big personality (I refer to it as "dramatic"), so I have no doubt she was the number one choice for this particular prize.

Ms. Audra always goes above and beyond and is so incredibly creative...the candy awards were a perfect example of how much she invests in each and every kid in in her class.  We are most definitely going to miss having her for a teacher next year!

Crazy Girl.

School ends this week.  While we're very much looking forward to the Summer of Fun, seeing the school year come to an end is bittersweet.  Both Babe and Harry have had such wonderful experiences this year that I hate to see it come to an end.

Hadley's class has been celebrating the end of the year with "Spirit Days."  She was thrilled to be able to participate in Crazy Day and LOVED rocking Harris' "World Best Brother" shirt.  After a year of uniforms, my little fashionista is loving all the "free expression" days!!

Muffins for Moms.

When I say that May has been a whirlwind of activities for our little family, I'm not exaggerating one little bit. Between work commitments for Ben and me, end-of-the-year activities for Harris and Hadley, articulation activities for Had, t-ball games and parties for Harris, and Mother's Day all rolled into the last two weeks of the school year, things around our house have been crazy busy.  Tons of fun, but crazy busy just the same.

Last Friday morning, Hadley's school hosted a "Muffins for Moms."  Because I couldn't bring myself to wake up and get moving early enough to get the babies dropped of at Ginnell's before the breakfast at Babe's school began, Emmy and Thatcher got to enjoy a little muffin time as well. :)

Hadley LOVED getting to show off the babies to her friends.  Emmy just loved the muffin.

I didn't get too many pictures (it's hard to balance a camera, a toddler, a baby, and my preschooler), but we had a great time.

I even racked up on the gifts from my sweet girl.

What a wonderful start to an even more wonderful Mother's Day weekend!

Kindergarten Roundup.

Hadley and I spent last Thursday morning over at Freeman's Mill participating in the Kindergarten Roundup!
Even though she tells me she's "still a little nervous" to go to Kindergarten in the fall, she's also excited to finally have a turn to experience some of things she's watched Harris do over the last year.

Even when she feels a little shy, the girl can muster confidence from out of nowhere.  When the "red fish" group was called to gather beside their assigned Kindergarten teacher so they could head off to complete their activities, my girl marched herself right across the front of the packed cafeteria with a smile on her face...loving the fact that every eye was on her for a brief moment in time.  The assistant principal standing at the microphone even commented on the persona projected by Hadley.  The girl is something else.

Ben was unable to miss work on Thursday morning, so I sat through the parent part of the presentation by myself.  Having just been through the process with Harris, this time around things are easy for me.  Our experience at Freeman's Mill has been nothing but fabulous and I can't wait for our family to take the next step there.

As a special treat, we got to watch Harris sing with the current Kindergarteners during the program.

That boy is something else, too.

Hadley returned from her time with her small group sporting a goofy grin and this awesome hat:

And then we hopped on the bus for a quick spin around a nearby neighborhood.

The bus driver, who was transporting rising Kindergarteners and their parents (most of whom were on a school bus for the first time ever), only ran over two curbs during the five-minute tour...not too sure what to say about that.

Hadley loved the experience, regardless of the curbs, and was so excited to get back to Ms. Audra and her Pre-K class so she could share.

I still haven't processed the fact that my little "Baby H" will be headed off to Kindergarten in the fall.  For now, I'm trying to enjoy all of the articulation activities with her without putting any thought whatsoever into what they actually mean.

She's growing up on me.  Funny how they do that.

Prima Ballerina.

Babe has been taking tap and ballet this year as part of her Pre-K experience.  A sweet little dance company comes in once a week right after Hadley's school day is over (but before I pick her up in the afternoons) and provides tap and ballet lessons to anyone enrolled in the program.  Hadley LOVES tap and ballet and her dance teacher, Miss Lane.  I love the fact that Babe gets to experience tap and ballet but that we don't have to give up any family time in the evenings to take her to lessons.  It's been nothing but a win-win situation.

Her dance recital was last week. It, too, was absolutely perfect.  It was nothing fancy (or expensive) but was special enough for Had to feel famous.  The recital was held in a classroom at Primrose, the costumes were provided by the dance company (we simply gave them back once the performance was over), and the five little girls in her tap and ballet class were precious.

And while Hadley may not be the best dancer in the world quite yet, the girl was born to be in front of a crowd.

Hadley, Thatch and I arrived a little early so that she get ready, have her picture taken, and so that we could grab a few good seats for the performance.  The rest of the family trickled in, and I had to laugh because over half of the audience was there to cheer on Babe.  I love my big family.  The Bravermans don't have anything on us. :)

Each performer was introduced individually and given the opportunity to walk to the "stage" on their own.  Here's a shot of Hadley saying, "ta-da!" once she arrived at the front of the room.

The girl stole the show.  She smiled, she danced, she sang, she made eye contact...and she loved every single second spent as the center of attention.  It was so much fun (and so funny!) to watch.

 The girls performed for about thirty minutes before receiving their flowers and certificates from Miss Lane.

 Again, an absolute perfect fit for our girl.

After the show, I tried to get some pics of Hadley with various family members (and a random girl from her class).  Granti, Mo, Auntie, Raven, Sam, Kendall, me, Ben, Harris, Emmy, Thatcher, and James were all there to cheer her on.

We finished the night with dinner at Chick-fil-a.  (The recital was on a Tuesday night...what'd you expect?!?!?)

While I don't think that ballet is necessarily Hadley's "niche," I can't wait to see her discover her passion.  I often tell people that Hadley is blessed with every single one of my negative traits (and she is!) but that girl also managed to get more than her fair share of personality, charisma, and charm.

And I was blessed with the opportunity to be her mom.

Man, I love that little girl. :)