School Time Again? Already!?

James started school again at the end of last month.  Hard to believe the summer has gone by so fast!  And especially hard to believe that he's in 1st grade!  

The week before school started.  James and I took a day to do a little school shopping.  It was great!  I was able to spend some 1 on 1 time with him and we both had a great time!  This is him at Chili's after our shopping was done.  He is enjoying a strawberry lemonade.  He probably put away about 3 of those!

He also finished off his entire pizza and all those fries!  Apparently shopping takes it outta the boy!

A few days before the first day.  He and Isabel got new haircuts!

Back to school night.  This is in the new library.  We had just met his teacher and he was flying high that she was so fabulous (and so was I!)

Right after back to school night.  We treated everyone to SubWay sandwiches.  James LOVES these!

Infact, he ordered a foot long - swearing that he wouldn't waste a bit of it.

And you know what's amazing - he ate the WHOLE THING!!!

1st Day of School!  He picked out his clothes the night before and was so excited he had the darndest time getting to sleep!

He's riding the bus this year.  With Quatro coming, I thought that would be the best and easiest on the lot of us.  And you know - he LOVES it!  It's one of his favorite parts of the day!  This is him at the end of the day after being dropped off.

Day 2.  Again - he chose his clothes.  I think he had a personal goal to wear a different Star Wars shirt each day until they were all gone.  And you know - that's exactly what he did!  He made it to Friday before he had to branch out themes!  ;-)

Waiting for the bus.

And there he goes!

Meanwhile, these two monkeys are keeping me plenty occupied.  They are so adorable and they play together SO well!

Summer Stations

I decided to do learning stations this summer with the kids.  James just wrapped up a great year in Kindergarten, and I hated the thought of him loosing all that stuff he'd learned.  Plus, Isabel is always up for reading lessons and writing lessons, so I figured I'd just make it a whole family affair.

We rotate through stations every 20 to 15 minutes (depending on the activity.)  This is what I have set up for them:

- Reading
- Math
- Writing
- Art

It's been a huge success!  We do it 3 times a week (that way I don't have to beat up myself if I miss a day due to other activities) on Tuesdays - Thursdays.  The kids have been really loving it!  Even Wyatt gets into the act.  He doesn't do the math station, but everything else he participates in.  He can write a few letters and knows a lot of the sounds of the alphabet already!  :)

Here's a picture of E doing her handwriting.  I loved how focused she was!

Her mouth was open the whole time as she said each letter she was writing and then the sound that it made.

As reported earlier, Isabel can write her name.  Since stations, she has also added Mom, Dad, Beauty, Pancho and princess to her regular set.  I'm amazed at how fast she is picking up sounding out words to try to write them.  The real star at that is James though.  He can sound out a word and spell it almost perfectly right most of the time!  It's impressive and fun to watch them delight in their new knowledge.

Kindergarten Graduation

Move over kindergarten - we have a soon-to-be-first-grader on our hands!  

Where did the year go?  I don't know, but it has been so fun!  James has loved learning everything Kindergarten had to offer!  His handwriting is night and day better now than it was at the start of the year!  He's also getting so good at sounding out words and reading!  It's really fun to watch him grow and get so excited about new things.  

We all attended his graduation.  He was so happy  and excited!

Part of his diploma

Dirt & Ice

Last Friday James had field day at school.  This is an event he'd been looking forward to for nearly a month!  That's a super long time when you are 5!

The school had planned a day at a local fun ranch here in town.  Buses were to leave the school at 8:45am and arrive back at 2.  One BIG, fun day of outdoor adventure.  (Let me just tell you - the morning of the field day, I had zero trouble getting James out of bed and ready for school!)  He was so excited he could hardly choke down his breakfast!

Parents and siblings were invited to come, but with Quatro baking and Isabel and Wyatt still being so little, I opted to stay home and let him have mom-free fun.  Therefore, I don't have many pictures of the big event.  Just one picture of him caked in mud when I picked him up from school!

 
Apparently they had tug-of-war over a giant mud pit at one point.  And there was a zip line that he loved, and a paddle boat that he rode with his friends.  There was also games and plenty of running around and playing!  I am so happy he got to have such a fun day!

This same day, we had tickets to Disney on Ice.  My dear friend Stephanie had extra tickets, so we were able to go along with her family.  Again, something James and Isabel had been looking forward to for nearly a month!  Especially Isabel - she was so excited to see ice skaters from Disneyland!  In fact, she was so excited, she agreed to take a nap before the show started so she could be rested to stay up late for it.  A tactic that also worked on James post-field day pickup!

JL stayed home with Wyatt.  There were only 3 tickets available, but I don't think I would have done it differently even if we had more seat available.  By the 2nd act, even Isabel was starting to tire and ask to go home to bed.  :)  I can only imagine poor Wyatt.  Maybe in a couple more years he'll be able to join along in the fun.  But for now, it was just me and my two oldest.  

Here they are with friends Rose and Ginger.  Standing outside before the show.

Practicing their skating moves. :)

Waiting for the show to start.

So excited!!

There they are!  Isabel loved the slinky dog.  James thought the potato heads were too funny!

We all enjoyed it!  My favorite part was Mickey and Minnie coming out at the very beginning to welcome us to the show.  There is just something about those two that takes me back to my childhood.  James' favorite part were the army guys.  They even parachuted down from the ceiling and landed ont he ice!  He was in shock to see such awesomeness!  Isabel's favorite part was the skating Barbie.  The show was Toy Story 3, so all their favorite toys from the movie were there.  It was so much fun!

After the show:  James showing off his Woody the Cowboy sword.

Here's Isabel with her Jessie the Cowgirl magic wand.

Off to School

Well, the day has arrived. James was off to school this morning. And, in typical James' fashion, he never looked back. He marched right up to his classroom, unloaded his bookbag, found his nametag, sat down in his chair, opened up his playdough, and that was that.

Dad and I tried to say 'bye' and 'have fun' but I don't think he even noticed. But, you know, I'm glad. It kept me from completely losing it infront of him. (I waited until I turned my back and walked out into the hall!) :) However, it was minimal. I think I had cried out that moment in the preceding days.

What I wasn't prepared for were the tears that would randomly happen throughout this day. Seeing his toys laying around, for example. Or his pillow. It's like I really can't believe that time is his life is over. He's growing up and there isn't one thing I can do about it.

James laid out his school clothes the night before. He also packed up his backpack and set out his shoes.
Such a handsome boy
Isabel gave him a big hug and told him she was going to miss him. Totally on her own. She really does understand the situation.
My 3 babies
One with Mom. (James was starting to get sick of pictures at this point - he kept saying "can we just go now?")
Standing out front of the school
Welcome Polar Bears!
In the lineup
His teacher giving him his nametag
One last smile as he took his seat
Then it was all about the playdough!
I told you I cried
Afterwards, they had muffins and juice in the library for the parents.
Isabel though that part was great!
I'm grateful for these two. I look forward to the adventures we have coming our way!

I love being a Mom. There is nothing else I would rather do. All the energy and time and love I've been pouring out to my kids for the last few years always comes back to me ten-fold. And, all I have to do is spend time with them to know I'm doing it right.

Moments like today feel like a huge accomplishment to me. I look at James and I see the wonderful young boy I have raised. He is sweet, smart, and so happy. It makes me proud to see what he's become, and I know his Dad and I have prepared him well for his new adventures.

Thank goodness he's only away from me for a few hours a day though. I miss him terribly.

First to School Night

Much to my surprise, I didn't even cry the whole time! :) James' school is awesome! And he absolutely loved it.

To say he was excited is an understatement. He picked out new school clothes, got himself dressed, and announced himself ready for pictures!
Sitting at his desk getting ready to unload his supplies.
I really like his teacher. She seems great! (She is the sweet lady in the pink floral blouse.)
He was somewhat in awe trying to take it all in
Highlights were the gym
Who could blame him - it was neat!
Another highlight was the drinking fountain - it was kid sized!
Naturally, we had to top off the milestone with ice cream!

It warmed my heart to see how excited he is about going to school. It helps.

A little.