Easter Parties.

We had to divide and conquer this year. 

Ben spent the day with Hadley's class celebrating all things "egg."

He was supposed to drop the camera by my office on his way back to work so I could have it to take some pics of Harris' celebration.  Unfortunately, his translation of that conversation resulted in him leaving the camera in Babe's cubby at Primrose.  Thank goodness for smart phones. :)

Fun times (and sugar highs) were had by all!

The Spring Bonnet Parade

Unfortunately, the First Day of Spring wasn't all that spring-y.  It's been quite a process helping Babe understand that Spring doesn't automatically equal warm weather and springtime clothes.  She'll probably catch on just as things start to heat up. :)

The First Day of Spring does, however, always bring the Primrose Spring Bonnet Parade and Hadley was so excited to have yet another opportunity to be in the spotlight...especially because her class chose the them "Sing a Song of Sixpence" and dressed up like kings and queens for the day.  There couldn't have been a better theme for my girl!

She came out strong, like I knew she would, prancing and waving and allowing herself to be "escorted" by her king.  For the record, there were no other escorts.  Poor Jason.

Because the parade was on a Wednesday, Auntie was able to come watch Hadley as well.  Babe, of course, was thrilled.

I always leave Primrose with the same thought stuck in my head: God bless Ms. Audra and all the other Pre-K teachers of the world.

And Happy, Happy Spring!

The Sugarplum Fairy.



Babe has been talking for weeks (probably since the beginning of December) about her role as "The Sugarplum Fairy" in the Christmas play at school.  I'm not always sure what to expect with Had, but was pleasantly surprised to walk into her classroom for the Christmas party and see my girl, all dressed up in the "sugarplum" dress she picked out weeks ago, complete with a sugarplum sash and crown provided by her teacher, all ready to perform.

 

Her sweet little class acted out "The Night Before Christmas," and Babe's role was to twirl when the "visions of sugarplums danced in their heads."  She was perfect.

After the play, the kids sang a few songs and then participated in a book exchange.  Evidently, Hadley had been planning on singing "Away in a Manger" as a solo, but chickened out at the last minute.  She did a great job singing with her class, though!  The kids also attempted to tell holiday knock-knock jokes.  What is it with kids and knock-knock jokes?!?!?

Ben was able to attend the party as well, and Babe was super stoked to go home with him once it was over (I had to go back to work). 

This crazy, silly, sweet, bossy, smart, imaginative girl keeps us on our toes. 

I am so looking forward to Christmas morning with her.

Celebrations.

Both Harry's class and Babe's class held special celebrations on Friday in honor of Christmas.  Hadley's official class party isn't until Wednesday, but Ms. Audra had an exciting "Polar Express" day on Friday.  Babe got to wear her pajamas to school (including her "Clarice" slippers), drink hot cocoa, and watch The Polar Express movie, in addition to other fun activities.  To say she is loving Pre-K would be an understatement.

Harris' class did have their official party on Friday afternoon.  I was able to swing by on my way to a doctor's appointment.  God bless Kindergarten teachers. 

The kids participated in a book swap, played Christmas bingo, made a couple crafts, and decorated sugar cone Christmas trees.  It was organized chaos at its finest.

He had such fun, though, and I love watching his heart in action.  While Harris was excited to open his gift from the book swap, he was even more excited to watch the little guy whose book Harry picked out open his.  I love that kid's heart!

I also couldn't be more thankful for our decision to have him start Kindergarten at six.  His comfort and ease in the classrom is something I'm simply not sure would have been present last year, and his teacher has been absolutely phenomenal.

We've got lots to celebrate!

Thankful. :)

I have so much for which to be thankful.  Even if I were to list everything that came to mind, I know I'd still overlook/leave out/take for granted/etc. hundreds of blessings in my life.  But I won't let that stop me from naming just a few of the obvious.

I am so, so thankful for my family.  I'm thankful for the education my children are receiving and for the schools they attend.  And I'm thankful for my job:  thankful that I enjoy it, thankful that it is close to home and close to my kids' schools, and thankful that I can take time to participate in some of the "stay-at-home mom" stuff that happens with my awesome kiddos.

Last week, I had the awesome opportunity to attend Thanksgiving celebrations for both Harris and Hadley.  On Wednesday morning, I made it over to Freeman's Mill for the "Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast." 

The entire Kindergarten population paraded into the cafeteria on Wednesday morning to find a feast waiting for them!  I guess celebrating Thanksgiving with turkey, corn, rolls, applesauce, popcorn (?), and brownies at 9:30 in the morning is as good a way to celebrate as any! 

The kiddos were dressed as Pilgrims and Indians and performed a funny Thanksgiving song for the parents.  And then they chowed down while all the adults watched.  It's such a hoot to watch Harris at school:  he has TONS of friends and smiles and waves and talks to everyone.  I have no idea what happened to my shy little guy, but I am so thankful he feels so comfortable at school.

Every student had a particular place setting at their lunch table.  Below is Harris'.  I'm pretty sure he's the only one who wrote his last name. :)

He's a mess.

I had to head back to work before his class left the cafeteria, but it seems like a good time was had by all.

And Wednesday morning wasn't the only day the Kindergarteners spent in celebration!  On Thursday, Ben (and me-briefly!) got to join Harris for the "Thanksgiving Lunch" prepared in the school cafeteria.  It's been a long time since I've eaten in an elementary school cafeteria.  What a rite of passage that is!

On Friday, I was able to head over to Primrose to enjoy a Thanksgiving lunch with Babe.

Her class also performed a couple of songs for us parents.  Hadley's favorite Pre-K song, by far, is "A-Toodie-Ta," and she was stoked for me to watch her sing it with her class.  So stoked, in fact, that she told her teacher earlier in the week that I was going to get up and sing with her!!  God bless Ms. Audra for allowing me to sit that one out. :)

Watching Babe interact at school is crazy fun, too.  She is the epitome of the word "silly."  She LOVES to laugh and loves to make other people laugh.  And she certainly doesn't shy away from attention.  She, too, is quite a hot mess.

The Primrose "feast" included food for everyone.  Primrose, as always, provided turkey and dressing for the class and us parents filled in the rest.  There was quite a spread!  Babe chose to contribute green beans and was very proud of my effort in preparing them.  I'm thankful that she is easy to please. :)

Her place setting included a list of things for which she was thankful, including:  having food, being with my momma, playing with my momma, tickles, and salsaltio turkey." 

Guess I need to buy the girl some salsalito turkey.

Thank you, Ms. Audra, for making Babe's first school experience fantastic!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!

This. Girl.

Babe's Halloween Celebration was today.

She was Tiana.  And, in case you can't tell, I'm quite certain she thought the celebration was for her.

From the second her foot hit the pavement, she was waving.  The entire time.  Who taught her that?!?!??

I love that kid.  Ben and I had such fun watching her.

Ben went to speak to her class a couple of weeks ago for "Community Helpers" day (or something like that).  While there, he learned that Hadley has evidently told all her friends that Ben and me are "grumpy bears."  It was so funny to hear all the little kids refer to Ben as "Grumpy Bear" today.  It couldn't be further from the truth!

After the parade, we were treated to a surprise concert.  Homegirl, of course, ate up the attention.

We were also able to stay for the beginning of the party games before having to head back to work.  Babe thought "bopping" for donuts was crazy!  It was hysterical to watch.  I'm thinking about having a family game night and playing this again.

Her favorite part of the party, however, was the fact that "daddy came home."  Ben's been in Columbus all week working on his Masters and surprised Hadley by coming to Primrose today.  She was beyond thrilled.

I can't think of a better way to spend a Friday morning!

Culture Day.

Every September, Primrose celebrates "Culture Day."  Each class picks a country to study in-depth and then shares that knowledge with all the other students in the building.

This year, Hadley's class chose to study Scotland.

She was the cutest little lass I've ever seen. :)

Babe had a great time parading around the "Primrose Patch" and joining hands with her friends to sing "It's a Small World" at the top of her lungs before "traveling" to all the different countries represented in the building.

Parenting more than one child never ceases to amaze me.  There are times when she is so strikingly similar to Harris and then times when their differences cause me to think they couldn't possibly be related. 

While Had was excited to see me at school, she's so unbelievably independent and comfortable in her own skin that my presence didn't really seem to make a difference to her...which is completely unlike her older brother.  I'm not sure if that's a personality trait or simply a byproduct of having seen him go through it all, but she takes everything at school in stride...

And never, ever stops talking.

I love that girl. :)

Crazy Day.

It was "crazy day" at school last week.

This entire outfit was Harris' idea, including the two pairs of shorts.

He's a mess, that kid.

Muffins for Mom.

Last Friday, I got to attend "Muffins for Mom" with my favorite four-year-old boy.

In addition to my muffin, I was also given a sweet Mother's Day card, a homemade bookmark, and a flower pot picture frame with a snapshot of my guy's sweet face.

According to the card, he loves me because I "give him toys" and "give him a hug and kiss every morning." 

I love him just because.

Spring Fling.

A couple of weeks ago, Harris' school hosted their annual "Spring Fling" carnival. 

I will never, ever forget my elementary school's spring carnivals.  I don't really know why, but I vividly remember the "lollipop tree."  It was by far my favorite booth...and it was, quite literally, a tree cut out of plywood, with small holes for lollipops all over it.  You picked the sucker you wanted out of one of the holes, and if there was a black dot on the end of your sucker stick, you won a prize.  Random, I know...but still one of my faves.  I also dug the cakewalk. 

But I digress...

We spent a great Saturday morning at Primrose.  Harris spent most of his time sliding and jumping and crawling and climbing on the moonwalks with his friend, Carly.

Babe got her fingernails painted.

She's a diva, I tell you.

The kids also tried their hand at extinguishing fires, ricocheting rubber frogs, throwing rings, and tossing bean bags...

...and every single one of those games ended with a lovely (cheap) plastic prize.  God bless you, Mom, for letting us keep all that stuff when we were kids.

After catching a magic show from Toofpik the Clown and filling up on a few "fair" snacks, it was time to call it a day.

We're already looking forward to next year...