Dawson's First Day of Preschool

Big day for this little guy!! He was so excited this morning, he asked me about every fifteen minutes if it was time to go to preschool yet.  Then I explained that we wouldn't leave for preschool until we ate lunch.  So at nine o'clock he was asking me to eat lunch!   

He packed his backpack with komodo, his stuffed animal, band-aids in case he got hurt and a flashlight in case the lights went off (the fear of the dark is strong in our three.)  He also wrapped around two belts and an old camera case around the outside of the backpack.   

After a hug he walked right into his preschool classroom.  I was a little concerned because he told me multiple times this morning that we was going to cry and cry when I left.  But his teacher told me that he got a little teary but recovered quickly.  I think that it helped that he knew a little girl from last year, her older sister was in Ava's class.

His verdict?  He liked it.  He reminds me of his brother, I had to pry information out of him.  But I do know that they read If you take a mouse to school and his teacher brought a mouse to school.  Later this afternoon I heard him in the restroom singing to himself "I love Miss Denielle."  I guess it must have been a pretty good day!

First Week of School

It's been a busy week, but I wanted to make sure to write down some of the special moments from the first week of school.  After all you only have one first week in kindergarten, and Ava gladly shares all kinds of stories with us!

• Ava got off the school bus so excited that she met a friend on the bus.  "She's my best friend!" Well, what is her name?  No clue.  Wouldn't it be great if everyone was like five year olds and could make friends without even knowing names?
• By the way, we found out later in the week that her best friend's name is Maya.
• Ava is in love with her teacher.  She told me that she gives her a hug everyday and tells her that she loves her.  She has asked me if we can buy Mrs. Snee flowers.  I told her that we are going to start by making her a really nice card this weekend.
• The difference between the information that Carter and Ava gives us about school is worlds apart.  With Carter I have to ask very specific questions such as: What book did you read?  What did you learn in math? or Who did you sit with at lunch?  If I asked the standard How was your day?  I get nothing.  But Ava comes home and chats my ear off!  I get to learn about different outfits the other kids were wearing, who was on red and why they were on red.
• Ava was telling us a story about how she heard Carter's birthday on the announcements.  Mike remarked "I'm so glad that Ava is at school now, so we can find out what is going on with Carter."  He is so right!  

Polar Bear Pride

This past friday even Dawson wore his polar bear shirt!

So, what have me and my buddy been up to?

Well for the next two weeks I'm watching a neighbor girl two days a week.  I think this has helped to ease the adjustment to a single child.  He has been enjoying her company and they have played well together.

We also visited the zoo with friends.

The beginning of August was so rainy and cool, and now that the big kids are back in school the August weather has returned!  So we've been spending a lot of time at the pool.  I've also been teaching Dawson how to keep a secret, the older two get so jealous and upset when they find out that he got to do a fun activity!  I'm looking forward to spending more one on one time with this little guy!  

Bowling Birthday Party

Carter, for your seventh birthday you choose a bowling birthday party.

This was only the second time you have ever bowled, but it's still one of your favorites.

Of course we went with a camo theme, because why not?

I allowed you 100% choice of the guest list, and you invited friends from our neighborhood and school.  I added younger brothers and sisters to the guest list, so that Ava and Dawson would have some friends as well.

This was your brother Dawson's first bowling trip.  He went back and forth between using the ramp and pushing the ball.  He only bowled about five frames before he was done.  Apparently Daddy said he had a unique technique of trying to push the ball down the ramp with his tongue.

A little blurry, but I'm excited to have caught a picture of your fist pump.

This was Ava's first bowling trip as well!  Daddy declared "Ava you were made to bowl."  She didn't want to stop and had one of the highest scores!  In this picture she is using the ramp, but she also threw the ball as well.  And I do mean throw!  I think those lanes may have a couple extra dents after our little party!

All the kids were starving after one game, so it was pizza time!  

Instead of cake, we had camo cookies instead, home made by a friend from Ava's preschool.  They were delicious!

Then, presents!  The hit of the party was a super hero themed first aid kit.  All the kids were exploring its contents, and really what a great idea for my Carter boy!

Our Family

Lastly, a bowling ball signed by all his friends.  What a fun birthday party!

Seven!!!

Happy Birthday to my favorite SEVEN year old!  On one hand seven seems so old, but on the other hand I feel like I can barely remember my life before you.  Recently I started calling you toothless, in reference to the missing two front teeth.  I think it's such an adorable look on you!  

Here are some little tidbits I want to remember about SEVEN:

• Gone are the days of toddlerhood, running around obliviously naked and happy as can be.  You prefer privacy and now you bathe by yourself.  We often find you turning on the radio while you get dressed in the blue room.
• Carter, you are my pokey little puppy.  It can take you twenty to thirty minutes just to change out of your clothes.  I will poke my head and remind you of your next step (often you are playing) and you will tell me "Mom, I hate being rushed!"  I understand son, but eventually we need to leave the house and if it were up to you that might never happen! 
• You hate getting your hair washed.  We have turned over most of the bathing responsibilities to you, but we have to remind you on a daily basis to get your hair wet, and occasionally I'll go in and give your hair a through washing.
• Right now you have an intense fear of insects.  In particular you hate flying insects like gnats, wasps, flies and bees.  You will scream bloody murder and refuse to go anywhere near these creatures.  Recently you had a strong reaction to a spider that was on the corner of the playroom.  You screamed for me and I killed it with my shoe, but I just had to laugh because Dawson came running from the kitchen with a plastic knife.  He was ready to be your hero, but I stole his thunder.  I still haven't figured out what he was planning on doing with the plastic knife.
• Despite sharing a room with your brother and sister, if it starts to rain or thunder you are immediately in our bedroom.  You woke me up in the middle of the night to tell me that you were scared, and I was nearly blinded by the power cap shining directly into my eyes.  That is a tough way to wake up!  Once again you curled up on our floor and fell asleep quickly.  
• You are becoming quite adept at using tools.  You are interested in hammering, screwing and you love to sew.  Often I find you confiscating tools off Daddy's tool bench so that you can build ladders or hammer steps into trees.  If Daddy is working on a project you love to be right there with him.  Right now your sewing projects have been pretty simple.  You sewed an additional pocket onto your Home Depot apron and a camo pouch.
• Speaking of camo, it's still your favorite!  On your fifth birthday we had a camo party and you decided to repeat this theme.  Although according to you, we are going to have a camo soldier party this year.  The last camo party was a camo hunter party so you wanted to do something different.
• The biggest changes from six to seven were learning to swim and riding your bike without training wheels.  Now you are trying to do front flips off diving boards and following your cousin on your bike down the big hills in the backyard.
• You have learned the beauty of sleeping in, one of my favorite milestones to date.  This summer you rarely got up before eight and many times you would still be sleeping at 9:30!  Thank you!!

Your interest in sports is growing.  Right now you are playing football, and it has been one of your favorite sports so far.  You also love playing golf with Dad and by the end of t-ball season you were very interested in practicing "coach pitch."

We have started increasing your independence around the neighborhood.  Often you can be found playing up in the woods behind our house.  I have even let you ride your bike down the road to a neighbor's house (after texting the neighbor to let them know that you would be coming and look out for you.)

Right now your favorite books that you are reading are the Chicken Squad series and The Magic Tree house series.  We still do plenty of read alouds and you typically choose books about history:  we have read about the Civil War, World War I and II, and you have shown interest in books about September 11th, but I've steered you away from those.  We tried reading a book about the Titanic but the part about "only women and children on life boats" upset you too much and you decided to stop reading it.  On the last day of school you came home with a "Great Reader" Award, which you told me you were the only kid in class to receive.  

You did very well in your kindergarten year.  This summer we spent time working on your addition, one of your weaker points according to your kindergarten teacher.  At this point they would like you to memorize your addition tables up to five, we are almost there!

Right now your favorite toys are not really toys at all: using shovels and spades to dig, using hammers and nails on scrap wood and dissecting discarded electronics.  Recently you took the basement train table and made it into an "elec-tron-ity table."  I let you have an old mouse from a computer and a digital camera to explore.  I really need to get to the goodwill to get more electronics to explore.  Although you love non-toys, legos and nerf guns are still high on your list. 

Happy Seventh Birthday to my first born.  I love your inquisitive nature.  I love watching you organize play schemes in the woods.  I love watching you grow.  I love that you carry band-aids everywhere you go.  I love that you think camo matches everything (even camo shirt on camo pants on camo hat.)  I love your sense of humor.  Thank you for being my wonderful first born son.  We LOVE you!   

Ava's First Day of Kindergarten

Good News, it was a success!

We had a rather touching reunion this afternoon, she got off the bus and scanned the crowd for me.  When she finally saw me, she raced toward me with a huge smile on her face and gave me the biggest hug.  It was very sweet, and I could definitely tell she missed me as much as I missed her. 

She said she met another little girl on the playground who was wearing the same outfit as her.  Luckily, in kindergarten they were excited to be twins. 

Being silly on the way to the bus stop

When the bus arrived she looked at me with scared look on her face.  I went over and gave her a big hug and then she lined up with her brother.

Off she goes!

She had a dual escort to her classroom, her brother Carter and neighbor Danny both made sure she got to the right place.  She is a very well taken care of little girl.  She said to me several times "Mommy I loved it.  I loved school.  They read me lots of books and I loved it."  I'm so glad!

First Day of First Grade and Kindergarten Orientation

Today was Carter's first day of First Grade!

He was so excited for the new school year, he got up very early and ate breakfast in a snap.  I'm pretty sure he was dressed and ready to go around 7:40 and the bus doesn't even come until 8:25.

He told me that both of his teachers like to read, and they read Miss Nelson is Missing and the Kissing Hand.  This past week in particular I could tell he was itching for a little bit more structure or routine to his day.  He was ready to get back into the school routine.

While I was at school with Ava, I got to see Carter go out to recess.  He waved and had a big smile on his face.

Ava had kindergarten orientation today.  She went for two hours with me, and they listened to a book, did a craft, rode the bus and ate a school lunch to practice entering their code.  

Ava was also very excited for school.  She was up sometime after 5:30, but she did lay back down on the floor until 6:45.  I could tell the familiar faces at school made her feel welcome and happy.

I can tell she is going to love her kindergarten teacher.

Ava and Mommy

Ava asked me when I was going to leave.  She really wants to ride the bus to school and take on the challenge of no Mommy around!

I love my sweet little girl listening intently to the teacher.

It's funny but my biggest fears of kindergarten revolve around food.  This girl hates to eat breakfast.  Around 9:00 she starts to get hungry, but its usually a struggle to get her to each much earlier than that.  This school year she will need to eat breakfast at 7:30.  So my plan is to serve her breakfast and then pack a really big snack for 10:00.  I'm also worried about her opening all her packages and containers at school.  There are people to help but it typically takes a long time for someone to be available to help.  I know there will be lots of growth this year, I can't wait to see her learn!

Bus Practice Ride

So tomorrow is the big day when she will hop on the bus for seven hours.  Ugh, my heart just hurts thinking of it.  I love you my little Ava-roo and will miss you desperately.  I know your little brother will be missing you desperately too!

Latest and Greatest, Growing up so Fast!

Ava asked me to take a picture of her and her puppies.  We found these little miniature puppies at a garage sale and she has been smitten.  They have some very creative names including Oh la la, bandana, flower and sleepy.

This week she also told me, "I don't like princesses anymore, Mom.  Julia likes princesses but I don't.  I just like animals."  All right sweetie, good to know.  Just another sign that she is growing up so fast.

Ava really has the most loving, giving spirit.  Today she went into the toy room and wrapped up one of her new puppies to give to her brother for his birthday.  Not too many kids would pick one of their favorite toys, without being asked, and volunteer to give it to a sibling.

The Conspiracy aka Just another night at Casa Shadle

I took a picture one morning off all the kids camped out on our floor.  It had not been storming the night before, so it was unusual to have all three in our bedroom.  Later on I found out that before the kids went to bed they made a plan to all sleep in our bedroom that night.  And sure enough, one by one they made their way into our room that night.  Hmmm, I guess beds are totally overrated!

The kids have been spending a TON of times in the woods behind our house.  I found Carter and Dawson smeared in mud one day to thwart mosquito bites.  Good idea boys, but I guess we need a bath pretty soon! 

We went to zip line park, one of our favorites.

The kids are becoming very skilled at this!

At Carter's request we went to pump it up.  He dosen't get to go very often, and its one of his favorite places to visit.  So I agreed to go because this:

is coming!!!

I can't believe I'm going to have two school aged kids on Monday!  Carter knows a ton of kids in his class, including one of his very best friends from our neighborhood.  Ava has one of her preschool buddies in her kindergarten class, so I know it will help to relieve some anxiety.  I'm sure many more school pictures to come!