Thursday, August 27, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
First Day of Kindergarten
Yesterday was Christopher's first day of kindergarten. He has been anticipating this day since February 19--the day after he turned five, because he thought that meant he would be going to kindergarten immediately. He doesn't usually wake up until about 7:30 in the mornings, but yesterday when I quietly opened the door at 6:45, he shot straight up in bed with a HUGE smile on his face. You would have thought it was his birthday or Christmas!
After getting dressed in his uniform (which he declared his love for--we'll see how long that lasts!) and eating breakfast, we had a time of prayer with him and took some photos.
Then it was off to school! Of course, we were early and had to wait in the hallway for awhile with all the other eager beavers.
Finally, Mrs. Moore called for her class and his moment had arrived! We went to his classroom, put his stuff away, grabbed a quick photo with Mrs. Moore, and then he took his seat. He looked so big sitting there in a real kindergarten classroom. It just about broke my heart to leave, but I did--after one trip back to take two more photos from the doorway and wave one last time. I managed to leave with dry eyes (mostly) but boo-hooed later when I looked at the photos I had taken that morning.
Will also had a tough time adjusting to Christopher's new school life. That morning when we were on our way to a friend's house, Will yelled from the backseat, "Look, Christopher, horses!" and then glumly looked over at the empty booster seat next to him. Will was so eager as we waited in the pick-up line that afternoon and asked a million times when Christopher was going to get in our van. When Christopher finally arrived, Will said, "Christopher, I missed you while you were with Mrs. Moore!" At that moment, I was SO thankful that Christopher will be going to school 2 days a week and at home with us the other days. Their friendship is so precious.
Christopher's first day of school was definitely a success. He loved art and Latin, and he spent the rest of the afternoon and evening reminding us that he can say "wet" and "dry" in Latin. He was intrigued by the concept of taking a hall pass to the bathroom, a big change from the designated potty break times of preschool years. In fact, Christopher did not use the potty all day. That would be 10 hours by the time I realized that he had not used the potty at school and made him go! I think he didn't want to miss anything, but I have given him strict instructions to use the potty at some point tomorrow!
After getting dressed in his uniform (which he declared his love for--we'll see how long that lasts!) and eating breakfast, we had a time of prayer with him and took some photos.
Then it was off to school! Of course, we were early and had to wait in the hallway for awhile with all the other eager beavers.
Finally, Mrs. Moore called for her class and his moment had arrived! We went to his classroom, put his stuff away, grabbed a quick photo with Mrs. Moore, and then he took his seat. He looked so big sitting there in a real kindergarten classroom. It just about broke my heart to leave, but I did--after one trip back to take two more photos from the doorway and wave one last time. I managed to leave with dry eyes (mostly) but boo-hooed later when I looked at the photos I had taken that morning.
Will also had a tough time adjusting to Christopher's new school life. That morning when we were on our way to a friend's house, Will yelled from the backseat, "Look, Christopher, horses!" and then glumly looked over at the empty booster seat next to him. Will was so eager as we waited in the pick-up line that afternoon and asked a million times when Christopher was going to get in our van. When Christopher finally arrived, Will said, "Christopher, I missed you while you were with Mrs. Moore!" At that moment, I was SO thankful that Christopher will be going to school 2 days a week and at home with us the other days. Their friendship is so precious.
Christopher's first day of school was definitely a success. He loved art and Latin, and he spent the rest of the afternoon and evening reminding us that he can say "wet" and "dry" in Latin. He was intrigued by the concept of taking a hall pass to the bathroom, a big change from the designated potty break times of preschool years. In fact, Christopher did not use the potty all day. That would be 10 hours by the time I realized that he had not used the potty at school and made him go! I think he didn't want to miss anything, but I have given him strict instructions to use the potty at some point tomorrow!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Great Wolf Lodge
Last week was our summer vacation as a family to Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City. It was a fabulous trip, mostly due to the fact that Grandma and Grandpa came with us. (Because we all know that if the kids outnumber the adults, it is NOT a vacation.) Great Wolf Lodge is a great kid-oriented hotel with an indoor/outdoor waterpark just for hotel guests. It was perfect for us! There is also an outlet mall right next to it and lots of fun restaurants.
Here's a day-by-day breakdown of the festivities, not because you care, but because I'll need this to look back on when I scrapbook this seven years from now. (If all you want are photos, scroll down now.)
Day One: Arrived at Great Wolf Lodge. The boys went crazy over our room and the little room-within-the-room that looked like a tent and had bunk beds just for them. We sounded like a Great Wolf Lodge commercial when Christopher exclaimed, "Great Wolf Lodge is a GREAT place!" And that was even before we'd seen the waterpark, which is where we headed next. It had 3 huge water slides that you ride on an inner tube and two that Christopher rode by himself, just sliding down. There were multiple pools with various features and plenty of places to play! Christopher loved riding all the slides (although he didn't ride the scariest one until the last day), and Will enjoyed splashing around in the pools and fountains. Christopher was so excited that when Noel and I went to bed at 10:45 p.m., Christopher was still wide awake, watching the clock and waiting for morning. We have no idea when he went to sleep that night!
Day Two: After breakfast on the patio outside our room (Fruit Loops!), we headed back to the waterpark. A couple of hours later, we dragged Christopher away from the water slides for lunch at the nearby T-Rex Cafe. This place was incredible. You felt like you were eating among the dinosaurs, complete with sound effects and a "meteor shower" every 30 minutes. There was a huge aquarium right behind our booth, complete with sharks. After lunch and decorating dinosaur-shaped rice krispie treats for dessert, the boys went to play in the Paleozone, uncovering dinosaur fossils and learning more about dinosaurs. Just walking around the two-story restaurant seeing all the dinosaurs was a lot of fun! Later that day, the boys went to get ice cream with Grandpa and went to the lobby for evening story time while Noel and I went out on a date. Christopher said the highlight was meeting Wiley the Wolf after story time.
Day Three: Noel and Grandpa took the boys to Cabela's to look at everything an outdoorsman could ever need. Then we ate lunch at Ted's Montana Grill (love that place!) and went back to the water park. We hit the outdoor part of the water park for the first time, and Will fell in love with the little frog slide. We went back to story time that evening and Christopher was excited to see Wiley again!
Day Four: Noel and Grandpa took the boys to play mini-golf for their first time. Will's strategy was, "I'll just move the ball closer to the hole." Then we visited the water park one final time, and Christopher discovered that he loved the Howling Wolf--the scary slide that is completely dark for most of the slide. Will enjoyed floating on Mommy and Daddy's laps on the lazy river, and Christopher enjoyed pushing me through the waterfall on the lazy river, over and over again. Then it was lunch at Culver's and time to head home. The boys can't wait to go back to Great Wolf Lodge! We highly recommend it!
The boys peeking out of their "Kid Camp"
Indoor water park
Christopher at the end of one of the water slides
Noel and Will on the lazy river
Will loved to climb on this snake
Noel and Christopher shooting out of the water slide
Will and his beloved frog slide
The boys in front of T-Rex Cafe
Eating at T-Rex Cafe
Christopher decorating his dinosaur dessert while Grandpa discusses which part he's going to eat
Digging for fossils in the Paleozone
Christopher and Triceratops
The boys in the lobby, waiting for story time
Christopher and Wiley the Wolf (Will watched from afar)
Playing mini-golf
Here's a day-by-day breakdown of the festivities, not because you care, but because I'll need this to look back on when I scrapbook this seven years from now. (If all you want are photos, scroll down now.)
Day One: Arrived at Great Wolf Lodge. The boys went crazy over our room and the little room-within-the-room that looked like a tent and had bunk beds just for them. We sounded like a Great Wolf Lodge commercial when Christopher exclaimed, "Great Wolf Lodge is a GREAT place!" And that was even before we'd seen the waterpark, which is where we headed next. It had 3 huge water slides that you ride on an inner tube and two that Christopher rode by himself, just sliding down. There were multiple pools with various features and plenty of places to play! Christopher loved riding all the slides (although he didn't ride the scariest one until the last day), and Will enjoyed splashing around in the pools and fountains. Christopher was so excited that when Noel and I went to bed at 10:45 p.m., Christopher was still wide awake, watching the clock and waiting for morning. We have no idea when he went to sleep that night!
Day Two: After breakfast on the patio outside our room (Fruit Loops!), we headed back to the waterpark. A couple of hours later, we dragged Christopher away from the water slides for lunch at the nearby T-Rex Cafe. This place was incredible. You felt like you were eating among the dinosaurs, complete with sound effects and a "meteor shower" every 30 minutes. There was a huge aquarium right behind our booth, complete with sharks. After lunch and decorating dinosaur-shaped rice krispie treats for dessert, the boys went to play in the Paleozone, uncovering dinosaur fossils and learning more about dinosaurs. Just walking around the two-story restaurant seeing all the dinosaurs was a lot of fun! Later that day, the boys went to get ice cream with Grandpa and went to the lobby for evening story time while Noel and I went out on a date. Christopher said the highlight was meeting Wiley the Wolf after story time.
Day Three: Noel and Grandpa took the boys to Cabela's to look at everything an outdoorsman could ever need. Then we ate lunch at Ted's Montana Grill (love that place!) and went back to the water park. We hit the outdoor part of the water park for the first time, and Will fell in love with the little frog slide. We went back to story time that evening and Christopher was excited to see Wiley again!
Day Four: Noel and Grandpa took the boys to play mini-golf for their first time. Will's strategy was, "I'll just move the ball closer to the hole." Then we visited the water park one final time, and Christopher discovered that he loved the Howling Wolf--the scary slide that is completely dark for most of the slide. Will enjoyed floating on Mommy and Daddy's laps on the lazy river, and Christopher enjoyed pushing me through the waterfall on the lazy river, over and over again. Then it was lunch at Culver's and time to head home. The boys can't wait to go back to Great Wolf Lodge! We highly recommend it!
The boys peeking out of their "Kid Camp"
Indoor water park
Christopher at the end of one of the water slides
Noel and Will on the lazy river
Will loved to climb on this snake
Noel and Christopher shooting out of the water slide
Will and his beloved frog slide
The boys in front of T-Rex Cafe
Eating at T-Rex Cafe
Christopher decorating his dinosaur dessert while Grandpa discusses which part he's going to eat
Digging for fossils in the Paleozone
Christopher and Triceratops
The boys in the lobby, waiting for story time
Christopher and Wiley the Wolf (Will watched from afar)
Playing mini-golf
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
A couple of videos
First of all, I finally captured Sarah Kate rolling over on video. She starts out on her tummy, then holds her head up high in the air. Then she leans her head to the side, her body follows, and she flips over. Usually she has a pretty shocked look on her face, but I think she's gotten used to it. And I'm 95% sure that today she rolled over from her back to her tummy. The poor third child, I can't remember for sure, but I think I put her on her back to play but found her on her tummy after helping Will with something. Here's the tummy to back roll:
A few weeks ago, Christopher's Sunday school teacher gave him a CD with the books of the Old Testament and New Testament set to music. The kids LOVE it and often request that we keep it on repeat in the car, over and over and over again. Here's the result:
(The New Testament is still a little shaky.)
And just look at my big girl holding up her head! She loves to play on her tummy and watch the rest of us wherever we go in the room. For some reason, this pose always looks like they are getting so old. Stop, time, stop. My baby's growing too fast!
A few weeks ago, Christopher's Sunday school teacher gave him a CD with the books of the Old Testament and New Testament set to music. The kids LOVE it and often request that we keep it on repeat in the car, over and over and over again. Here's the result:
(The New Testament is still a little shaky.)
And just look at my big girl holding up her head! She loves to play on her tummy and watch the rest of us wherever we go in the room. For some reason, this pose always looks like they are getting so old. Stop, time, stop. My baby's growing too fast!
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