There Goes My Heart Again...Off to Preschool, Year Two!!

After much anticipation, we've officially started Preschool: Year Two! Daniel will be attending the same preschool as last year and he will have the same two teachers, the only difference will be that he is going three days a week now and will have some new classmates, and hopefully some of the same ones as well. We like this set up a lot and know that Daniel was really comfortable last year and did well, so this year should work out similarly. Annabel just cannot wait to go and I think is having a hard time understanding that she can't go just yet- she's been really out of sorts this week and this has to be part of it. Time to sign her up for her own big girl class I guess! I need to follow her heart, too. But she and I will keep busy with our classes on Mondays and Wednesdays at the moment and also spend some much needed Mommy/Annabel time together, too!

Anyway, we had Preschool Orientation last Thursday super early in the morning. Daniel was quite eager to go, but very confused about the whole thing because I got to go with him, but kept telling him it wasn't a real day of school, just a quick meet your classmates kind of thing. He wanted me to bring a story like I have before, he wanted me to play outside with him, the whole shebang...but that wasn't what this was, so it was a bit confusing. Still, he really wanted to go. He was excited to pick out his outfit and bring his backpack. When I came downstairs after showering and getting ready, he was quick to tell me HE wasn't ready because he was still eating breakfast- you could just hear how eager he was in his voice, it was so cute! No rush, babe, because I still had to eat, too! And then we were off. We had a good time. We got to play with some of the toys in the classroom, visit with his teacher a bit, and then they read a story during which Daniel quite readily left my side and sat right up front by his teachers. I was impressed by this, as were his teachers, since they remembered how much he'd stuck by me last year anytime I was in the room with him! Of course they commented on how big all the kids had gotten over the summer. Then Mrs. Sandercock went on to say how the returning kids were the big kids this year, they would be the ones helping others out this time around and she made a big deal out of how awesome this was...and I couldn't help it, but this brought tears to my eyes. That's MY big boy! Mrs. Sandercock also surprised me, when I'd talked with her at one point to remind her about his milk allergy, by saying that if we'd signed Daniel up for 5-day preschool (which is an option here- same teachers and all, just all 5 days instead of 2 or 3), she would have sent him on to their Kindergarten program (their Kdg. accepts students at 4 yrs 9 mos which Daniel qualified for and we knew this and considered this, but then he'd have to go to Kdg. again, whether there or in public schools, because our state's rules are age 5 before Sept. 1st). I have to say my breath caught at this- I said, "Really?!" It was such a sweet moment for me because wow she had faith that he was ready and would have done well there. I spent the day thinking about this conversation, but in the end, and I told her this, too- Daniel isn't one of those kids who's totally into school and begging to go every day, so we didn't think he'd really like going all 5 days just yet, and besides, mostly, I still want him for my own those other two days of the week! Like I said, we'd gone over and over this ourselves and this was just what we thought was best for Daniel and for us at this time. Our hope at the moment is to send Daniel to this same school for Kindergarten next year, when he would be in Kindergarten anyway, and Annabel would then be in her first year of preschool and they would be in the same school which would be really nice! Still, it was nice to have Mrs. Sandercock's good faith in Daniel- that just really touched me.

And now, as of yesterday, school has officially started! Daniel was again very eager to go and very ready to go right away in the morning! He loved the first day of school shirt I'd gotten him and could not wait to wear it- it had been hanging and waiting in my closet (so he didn't wear it beforehand!) and it was like it was teasing him- he really was excited to wear the shirt, it was too cute. Daniel wanted to be the first one at school so after his special, now annual, first day of school breakfast of "cinnamon roll-ups", getting dressed, taking a few first day of school pictures, we were off bright and early at 8:00. It takes about 13 minutes to get there (I know this because my car can track minutes traveled) so we were indeed among the first there, but strangely, not THE first- I guess other kids were just as excited to be there, too! Daniel wanted me to drive up to drop him off- I'd asked if he wanted me to walk or drive up and he'd chosen drive up, which just like last year, was actually a good thing, because I did end up crying, just a little bit. They opened the doors at 8:30 and he was off...ready for another great year of preschool! And yes, like I said, the tears started rolling immediately. Annabel, in the back seat, asked with concern, "What, Momma?" and when I said I missed Daniel already, she simply responded, "Lax (her word for relax), Momma. See Daniel later!" with her cute little voice and the cute little tilt of her head that she does when she's trying to make her point. And of course I had to stop crying just because Annabel was so sweet and so cute trying to cheer me up! Plus, we had a busy morning lined up- we had been completely out of our family fave peach juice for quite some time (gasp!) so a trip to Trader Joe's was a must-do, we stopped at Target to kill some more time (found cute blue shoes for a party dress Annabel's gonna wear this weekend!), and then we headed to gymnastics. After that, it was pretty much time to get Daniel and this time, we walked up to the door! We were gonna get our hugs from him right away! Daniel hugged me real tight and then Annabel had her arms wide open ready for her hug, too- it was so sweet to see them excited to see each other again. 

I asked Daniel how his day was and he said, "Fine!" That's as much as I can ask for! He made a raccoon stick puppet project, had a snack, and of course I heard about playtime outside- that's pretty much what he told me about his day. Daniel did have paper in his backpack that was not his, so we walked back in and returned that to his teachers- he was very concerned about that paper and kept saying, "I definitely did not do that. Mine is in my Tomorrow Folder." Anyway, just like last year, he's not much of a talker when telling me about school, but that's okay. I'll get bits and pieces now and then and I'll be happy for that. I'm just glad he came out happy and having had a good day! He's a little confused about going on Friday- I think this three day a week thing will take some getting used to. He did tell me today that he doesn't want to get there first tomorrow, he doesn't want to get there really early, that was just special for the first day of school. This time he just wants to get there at the regular time. He's too funny sometimes! Thus begins our second year of preschool with Daniel! And now he's moved on...now, he's just excited about his birthday- he asks everyday how many days until his birthday!

And now for my deep thoughts about preschool again: Why is the first day of school so heart rending for me, still? I guess it's the same worries, same aches, and same hopes as it will always be- hope for a great year, hope he'll make some friends, hope he'll be interested in learning and show all that he can do and what a great kid he is, hope he'll be happy, and so on...I'm reminded of a few quotes I jotted down from a book I read recently, titled The Art Forger (really good book!!) by B.A. Shapiro, an art-based (obviously) mystery novel. These quotes reflect the main character's feelings about her own paintings, but replace painting with child and it's an achingly accurate view of how entangled and mixed-up emotion-wise I am as a parent, how all parents probably are, about their children going off into the world on their own, whether it's the world of preschool, grade school, high school, or the bigger world of college & out of the house on their own...

I’m relieved, proud, euphoric. I’m exhausted, headachy, and filled with an overwhelming sense of loss. All twenty paintings behind me. All twenty paintings marching forward on their own. I’ve created them, labored over them, made them who they are, but what happens next is up to them, not me. I wonder if this is how a mother feels when she sends her child off to college.

...

And indeed, I almost can’t believe that these extraordinary paintings are mine; like a good haircut, framing makes all the difference. For a moment, my troubles vanish, and pure joy overpowers me. I created this. And this. And this. My babies standing proud, bursting with life and beauty, graduating into the world, their future unknown but full of promise.

Those quotes say it all...the pride I'm filled with, the joy I'm filled with, the hope I'm filled with...and now it's all up to my children to make their life their own, and they don't even know it yet, really, truly, but it is theirs to make the best of! I just want them to know how much I love them, how much I'll support them, how proud I am of them, and how I'm gonna be here for them always whenever they need me and even when they don't need me I'll still be here, because they are my life, they take my breath away each and every day, they make my world go 'round...

And so we march forward...Here's to another great year!

Fun at Preschool Orientation:

Happy First Day of School, Daniel!

A close up of their signs follows, but if you can't stand to wait and you're super curious why Annabel has a sign (besides the obvious she'd want what her brother has!), Annabel's sign says "Preschooler in Training!"

Cutest little Preschooler in Training ever!!

Keeping busy while Daniel is in school, shopping at Trader Joe's!

The signs the kids are holding:

That's Dusty Crophopper on Daniel's sign.

And Annabel's sign says "Choo Choo Coming Through" because it's one of her super cute phrases that she says all the time! Oh- and she can totally tell you she's 2 "and half" now!

And I remembered (!!!!) to ask them what some of their "favorites" are, just like I did last year!

You can see Daniel added/changed a few categories from last year, and then when he was done, he said "That's it!"- guess the interview was over! Annabel had fun telling me her faves, too- I figured she had a sign, she knows her faves, she should be included, too!

 

 

Crafty Momma Makes a Ball Maze!

I'd been saving tons of paper towel tubes for ages, which of course piqued Daniel's interest, since the first tube saved really- I told him way back when that I had a project in mind for the tubes for someday. Daniel declared last Friday "someday" I guess! It was a hot enough day that we were indoors mostly, we'd spent the first part of the week at water parks, a play date one day, a movie date one night (Planes again!), and this and that, so it was a good day to just hang at home and it was as good a day as any to get crafty and finally accomplish something on my DIY list!

I found the perfect big sheet of cardboard in our basement (yes, we actually have large sheets of cardboard laying around, and yes, I meant that in the plural sense- I had choices!), grabbed my hot glue gun, and several of the paper towel tubes I had saved up. Daniel found a couple of ping pong balls for us, too. Then we got to work. I started from the top and went down and Daniel got to test our ramp with each tube installation to make sure it worked right. He loved this part. Annabel hung around now and then to help test it out, too, but mostly she busied herself with toys in the family room or the tablet in Daddy's office. And when our Ball Maze was done, the kids played with it for the longest time! They come back to it now and again... It was fun to make and it is such fun to play with, too! Guess I shall take a look and see what else is on my DIY list of things to do "someday"...

A Splash Park Adventure!

At the beginning of last week, our last official week before school started, we took advantage of the hot weather and took a drive out to a new splash park- TWICE! I found out about this park recently by word of mouth and what a find! This one was almost a half hour away (but so are all the other splash parks, really!), but it was FREE, super fun with awesome sprays, and a super easy drive "out in the country" among farm fields and scattered subdivisions. The kids loved this water park! I had to make up for all those chilly splash park adventures previously attempted and these trips definitely made up for them! The kids had a blast! Monday we were there for about an hour and Tuesday we took a picnic lunch with us and were there about two hours. This was a crazy busy splash park (I imagine some days it's even busier than what I saw since school had already started for most of the districts in our area- I actually researched this before going!), but since we got there late morning-ish, most families left soon after to head home for lunch which was really nice. The first day, I actually got a spot under an awesome large blue umbrella installed there for shade; I wasn't so lucky the second day- and apparently needed more sunscreen than I had on, oops. Daniel found a little boy to run around with on Monday and he just loved that (he told me later that the boy said he lived in a brown house and he told the boy what color house we lived in, he also asked if this boy had our phone number- so cute, this boy was maybe 3 years old but still a fun playmate while we were there- I was glad to see he'd made a friend; he actually makes friends at parks a lot these days!). Tuesday was even busier than Monday (we actually saw someone I know that day, too- small world because she doesn't live near this park either!) so the kids were a little more overwhelmed that day, but we also stayed much later and the park really emptied out and then the kids were totally into it and free to roam the place! Annabel had fun filling up her cups, soaking our water balls and squeezing them out, and giving baths to some rubber ducks the kids found before we left home- those rubber ducks where a hit! Daniel played with these toys the second day, since he spent the first day running all over and playing with that little boy. Anyway, I think we'll definitely go back again someday, if not this year than next summer!

Day One: 

I really couldn't get enough of this blue swimsuit of Annabel's this summer! And if we're really lucky, it might still fit her next summer, too!

Off to play with the water!

 For some reason, Annabel kept holding her head like this every time she went near the water- it was like she didn't want her (invisible?) hat, I mean hair, to blow away! It was too funny to watch.

Daniel running with a little friend and Annabel holding her head!

Day Two:

You can see it's much busier this day, and since I had to sit in a different spot, the kids played with different areas, too, which was fun!

 Filling water cups!

Aaaaaaand the park clears out and everybody goes home but us! Woohoo!

 Super smiley girl!

Time to go home! This boy was wiped out!

Safety Truck Fun!

A couple weekends ago we took the kids to a local Safety Expo hosted nearby and we had a great time checking out all the different trucks and booths there. The kids also enjoyed all the free goodies- stickers, coloring books, reusable water bottles, reusable shopping totes, frisbees, and Daniel even won a bike helmet! Got some cute pictures of all the action, too...check out my cute kids!

First up, driving a fire truck!

  

The garbage truck was a must-do of course!

 We thought the vactor (vacuum truck for those who aren't up on their trucks) was a neat truck to see up close!

Daniel was all about the snow plow! Think we know what our next Bruder truck has to be...

A medic helicopter was there for a little while and that was neat to see, too. Daniel recognized the cot in the back and told me the ambulance has one, too. He thought it was pretty cool that this was basically a flying ambulance!

Tracing the letters on the STOP sign!

The kids loved the police ATVs!

The local Children's Museum was there with a sampling of their activities and of course we had to stop and play with the toys. I love that I got Annabel's handprint in this giant peg-pushing activity (you can see it outlined in pink)!

Daniel thought this cherry-picker/"worker truck" was pretty cool to try out- he got to try the helmet and get in the bucket!

 Peek-a-boo with Daddy and kids in the top of this police van!

 Annabel was totally on board with trying on this police vest! She'll try just about anything! Daniel was not keen to do this. This has just got to be the cutest picture ever- I love it, her expression, the vest taking up her whole body, hilarious!!