Sammy's Preschool Graduation

I finally got around to downloading pictures off of my camera today.  I have pictures all the way back from May to go through!  I am for sure behind with documenting our summer.

In May, Sammy graduated from preschool.  It was sad for me in all of the usual ways...not ready for him to go to Kindergarten, not wanting my baby to be SO grown up!  But it was extra hard this time around, as it also meant a good bye from our family to our daycare for the last 14 years.  We have been incredibly blessed to have our children attend the daycare at my school (which is only for children of school staff members), which is staffed by the most incredible and caring women ever.  I have been dropping my children off for school here every morning for 10 years now (my Mom did it for me before that, long story).  It will be so strange not to have this as part of our daily routine this year.

 Sammy, Jeff, and I pre-graduation ceremony in my classroom.  Evan took this picture!  It's nice to finally get some shots with me in the picture.

 Sammy with his best preschool friends Gabe and Michael.  It's a fun experience to watch these kiddos develop friendships, since they have been together since birth.

 Sammy's graduating class with his teachers (left to right) Miss Karen, Miss Taylor, and Miss Jenny.  My Mom (aka Miss Kathy) is the infant teacher, and she is standing in the back.

 Family picture.  I hesitate to post this, as several of us look pretty goofy in this picture, but it was literally the best one of all the family pics.  I guess it shows the craziness of life with three boys :)

 My Mom with Sammy at our celebration dinner at Applebees.  Our waitress was in love with Sammy and brought him no less than THREE very large chocolate milks.  Which Sammy then threw up all over the table at the end of dinner.  EXTREMELY embarrassing, but it has already become a cherished family story among the boys.  "Remember that time Sammy threw up on the table at Applebees?  And then he did it again in the parking lot?" one of them will say, which will always lead to a fit of the giggles.  I know someday one of them will tell this story to Sammy's wife.

This is Sammy with his incredibly awesome preschool teacher Miss Jenny on his very last day of preschool.  Sammy is holding his well loved Lambie.  Lambie was a present from my Mom and Dad when they visited Ireland when Sammy was one.  He has not left Sammy's side since, and came to school with Sammy every single day after his arrival.  I told Miss Jenny that Lambie deserved a preschool diploma too.  Poor Lambie will have to wait in the car when Sam goes to Kindergarten.

I am not ready to be done with this stage of our life as a family.  My children are growing at warp speed!

Charlie: Class of 2011

Yesterday afternoon, my baby Charlie graduated from preschool.  My baby who has somehow morphed into a precocious five and a half year old.

He was adorable and proud as he received his diploma.  But I think occasions and rights of passage such as these are always bitter sweet for us mothers.  I love watching him grow and develop into the person God created him to be.  At the same time, I yearn for the small chubby baby I rocked to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.

There were only 4 graduates in his class.  I am anxious and excited to see how he will make the transition to 90 Kindergarten classmates.

I am beyond thankful for the women who nurtured my baby the past 5 years during the times when I had to be away.  They have been a gift!

And now?  We are off to enjoy the magical days of summer.

Fall and...Snow?

On Friday night we went to a small, family run pumpkin patch. There is a HUGE patch here in Omaha that is more like am amusement park, which is fun but also super expensive. We were excited that our daycare (who planned the outing) chose this smaller, more family friendly venue.



I am in love with this picture. I know next to nothing about photography, and my camera is anything but fancy, but once in awhile a picture comes out that amazes me.

The weather was perfect. Temps were in the low 50s when we arrived, giving the air a fall crispness, and making it too cool for the bees to be much of a problem. The kids had fun checking out baby chicks:



Visiting the petting zoo:



getting their faces painted (Sam and Charlie both went with John Deere tractors, and Evan with a traditional pumpkin):



and riding horses:



Charlie and Sammy's favorite was the trike track where they sped around with their friends, pretending they were in the Indy 500. It was actually pretty momentous, as it was the first time both boys actually mustered the leg strength to actually pedal a bike, instead of doing a Flintstone push. As a result, we were forced to spend over an hour here so they could practice their new found talent.



For Evan and I, our favorite part was taking the hay rack ride and picking out our pumpkins. I got some great shots of the kids.






My Mom and Charlie:



Strangely enough, when we woke up the next morning, this is the scene that greeted us:



Yep. That's snow. On October 10th. We got roughly 4 inches of the stuff overnight. So Saturday morning as I processed our 30 pounds of apples, made homemade applesauce, and baked apple pie, my time clock was very off. It should have felt very much like fall between the pumpkin patch and the apples, but instead I felt like I should be pulling out the Christmas decorations. Very unsettling to have your seasons confused like that.

At least we got both trips in before it froze!!

My Kids are Friends

When I picked Charlie and Sammy up from daycare yesterday, one of their teachers told me the cutest story! Apparently both the toddlers and the preschoolers went to the school gym to play in the afternoon, giving the boys some time to play together. This is a rarity since Charlie moved up to the preschool class. They were so excited to see each other that instead of playing balls and riding toys with the other kids, they held hands and walked around the perimeter of the gym talking to each other the entire time. She said you could just tell they loved each other so much and loved being together.

I guess we are doing something right as parents. Is there anything better than raising kids who are siblings AND friends?