1st Day = Success

It was a successful 1st day of Kindergarten for me. Although it was not a 'GOLD' day as mom and dad may have wanted I'm still very happy to say that it was a 'GREEN' day. I love my classroom and centers. The castle center is my favorite. Did you know that we have a class pet! It's 'Prince Charming' our frog! How cool is that!! After a super day at school I was a little bummed when mom said we had homework. Those dang sight words. Who needs to read when we can play. After a few tense and frustrating minutes I was proud when I could read my book. Here's to more learning.

1st Day of Kindergarten

Today Dalton took a giant step toward his future...school, real school, KINDERGARTEN! No tears were shed, but smiles and hugs were had. He woke up in a great mood and very eager to get to school. I'm anxious to hear about the 1st day stories. Let the good times begin!

Meet the Teacher

Dalton was able to meet his new Kindergarten teacher last Friday. I'd say it went fairly well until it was time to leave and he was not ready. Hopefully the year will be amazing for him. We are looking forward to it and feel confident we made the right decision to keep him at St. Paul's! 

Each kid had to draw their portrait and write their name. It was part of a fun scavenger hunt to help them familiarize themselves around the room. 

I sure hope the notes home this year are minimal except for those notes letting us know he had "Gold" behavior. I would like those daily. What am I saying, I'm just kidding myself. At least once would be nice.

Dalton's cubbie all ready for him the 1st day of school.

These were the school supplies we had to purchase. I'm sure thankful to St. Paul's for only having to write a check for the others.

Before school even started Dalton had his 1st assignment which we turned in on orientation night. It was a shield all about "Dalton"! Favorite Color - green, Favorite Food - cheeseburger and a picture of him.

The "Welcome" letter King Dalton received before school.

The daily binder.

The 1st homework assignment. Sight words with a spelling test and book to learn how to read. Let the fun begin!

Last project before school begins. He had to decorate a pillow case to keep his resting items in.

21 Months

Mallory is 21 months old today! As I'm preparing to send Dalton to Kindergarten in just 4 short days I'm reminded at how fast they grow up. Mallory is no longer a baby. She is becoming her own little person, choosing to do things for herself, and giving us a piece of her attitude when she does not get what she wants. She is finally at an age that both kids are beginning to play together. We have had a few arguements, but all in all it really is nice that they can now entertain each other for the most part or until one takes something from the other. She can certainly put down some food. Normally she eats her meals before we do, but no sooner than we sit down to eat she is in our laps for seconds. A favorite is pickled beets that she gets to eat off of daddy's plate. Her new favorite toy we seem to drag with us is baby 'Lola'. Her pillow and blanket are also a preference for bed and naps. She better get ready because that pacifier is fixing to disappear. Hopefullly these items will be a comfort to her instead.

Birthday's

We did our part last weekend and helped celebrate with Dalton's friends on their special day. The 'Birthday Parties' started Friday night with Austin & Avery's 5th Birthday. Dalton & Mallory had an absolute blast at the aquatic center. Saturday Dalton helped Aidan celebrate his 6th Birthday and Spencer celebrate his 5th Birthday both at Silver Wings and back to back parties. He was one worn out little boy by the time we got home. Sorry I did not take any pictures from the skating parties, but here are a few from the aquatic center.

Randomness

For some unusual reason for the last few weeks our darling princess has decided it is just more comfortable without clothes. I'm almost thinking she is telling us it's just too darn hot for it, but none the less she prefers to run without them. We are just thankful at this point that the diaper remains on. This is not just at home, but also at daycare. I'm hoping it's a phase (short-lived at that)! If she decides to put something on she thinks she can dress herself. Note the picture below. Two of her brothers shirts, inside out, one serves as her 'dress' with a bare shoulder showing while the other she prefers to use as her 'bottoms'. If nothing else we have shared a few laughs. Not really sure what this means for our future. She is only 20 months!

Not only is the princess going through a phase, but our little boy has one of his own as well. The first thing he does in the evenings when he gets home is change clothes to transform into a 'Cowboy'. We have to laugh because everything changes shirt and all except for the shorts. Guess it's just too darn hot to put blue jeans on. We certainly can't forget about the cowboy hat, belt, necklace, boots and gun.

One prefers to be completely dressed shoes and all while the other prefers nothing at all.

Over the last month we have noticed changes in both kids, but more in Dalton. We now hear names like Justin Bieber, Jason Aldean, and Blake Shelton to name a few. Ryan and I neither one are really into music much less download any music so where is he picking this up...school we assume! Not sure I'm ready for what happens in a few short weeks. Where is the pause button? They are growing up too fast these days. His long time favorite has been "Big Green Tractor"by Jason Aldean, but the requests now include "Honey Bee" by Blake Shelton, "Dirt Road Anthem" by Jason Aldean, "Love Done Gone" by Billy Currington, "Toes" by Zac Brown Band and "Baby" by Justin Bieber. 

Family

All too often we take family for granted until it's too late. Our families define who we are and who we want to be. After taking an extended family vacation yearly to the beach Ryan and I decided to take a solo family vacation this year and we survived! We were reminded how blessed we are. Yes we had some minor dissagreements, tempers might have flared, tantrums were certainly thrown, but overall the joy and memories that we experienced as a family will never be forgotten.