First Day of School

Kate's first day of preschool was a while ago, and I'm posting this in retrospect. We dropped Sam and went on our traditional trip to LaMar's. No matter when we leave, we always seem to have about a half hour before we need to be at school, but she absolutely insisted that we go straight there. I took a longer route than usual, and she kept saying, "You're going the wrong way!"

When we got there (now 20 minutes early), I warned her that we'd need to stay in the car a bit. A few first-timers were getting out to take pictures everywhere-- on the stepping stones, in front of the sign, by the tree, etc. We always take a picture in front of the sign and by the mural inside too, so we're not immune to the need to record history. Kate wanted to "do" the stepping stones, but they were too busy with picture takers.

T-10 minutes, they unlock the front doors to the preschool so we can go in. After a quick  picture and greeting with the director we now have only 8 minutes until school time. Kate could hardly wait.

The time for class finally comes. Other kids were crying and not wanting to leave their moms, not Kate. She went directly to her new class, said a quick goodbye to me (at least I wasn't ignored completely) and started to play at the sensory table. She definitely loves school!

Pictures to come! I guess they are still on the camera!

I should mention too that some of the "first-timers" turned out to be 3-4 year olds in Kate's class. She's a good head taller than many of her classmates!

School Eve

This morning I told Sam it's school eve (you know, the night before school starts). His response?

"You don't get presents for that, right?" This from the kid who just had 3 birthday parties.

"Um, no. But you do get new school supplies!" He smiled.

Pillow Pets

Tonight at Target, we saw an end cap with Pillow Pets. What? You don't know what a Pillow Pet is? "It's a pillow! It's a pet! It's a pillow pet!" according to the oft-quoted commercial. They were bugs though, so we ultimately passed. Before that, I offered to pay for half of the pillow pet ($20 each) if they wanted one, because Kate's been saving her allowance, but doesn't get very much. Sam said, "No mom. I'll save up $40 and then I can buy Kate and I both pillow pets. Okay Kate?"

Wow, will she be so spoiled by the time she starts dating or what?!

Sam's 7!

It's Sam's birthday today! My lucky boy's birthday happens to also be Worlds of Fun day with summer camp, so off he goes to celebrate with his pals. He was a lot easier to wake up when presents were involved, and even Kate liked that Sam was going to open presents. We sang to him at least 10 times this morning, probably 4 or 5 in the car, where Kate informed me that she did not like my talking additions to the song (aka "Happy birthday, dear Sam -- Mr. Nice Nice Guy"), so we had to do it over.

About the only other birthday thing we're planning is that I told him he could pick where we have dinner. Of course, this means Chuck E. Cheese, but hey, it's pretty cheap and it's where a kid can be a kid. Who doesn't like that.

Here are morning pictures of my birthday guy:

Monopoly Deal was a big hit at Maranatha last week, so I picked it up (on sale of course) for a last-minute birthday gift. Good choice!

Sam waking up to presents!

Kate gave Sam a "Phineas and Ferb" t-shirt, which she told him about approximately 15 minutes after we bought it three weeks ago. What a surprise!

Summer of Fun Pool Party

What a summer we've had with our Incredible Summer of Fun friends. At most of the events, we've had close to 30 moms, grandmas, children, and even a few dads. Yesterday we finished it off with a pool party at the Whorton's. Though I told Beth I'd limit to about 20, we ended up again at 30, with a few people showing up who I didn't know, much less know they were coming. Fortunately, the most excellent Megan and Britany helped lifeguard our little pool full of preschoolers!

Pictures are more fun than words, so here goes: