Kindergarten : take one

 It's official...we have a kindergartener! 

 

While getting dressed for school he said, "I don't want to go."  I quickly stole a line straight from The Kissing Hand and said, "Sometimes we have to do things we don't want to do."  And that was that.  The walk to the bus stop was slow.  Very slow.  But the tears were only mine.

 

 

The Bus Stop :)

 

 

First lunch...

 

He said he had a great day.  And that's about all I got from him.  I'm calling it a success!

3 Rooms for 4 Kids

In my efforts to preserve the little things, here's a glance into kids rooms.  I know their rooms will change, probably several times, over the next 15+ years.

 

My mom made the curtains in all three kids rooms (and the two large pillows in Audra's room).  In each room is a framed copy of their birth announcement.  And, the alphabet is also in each room (in fact, all the kids have learned their ABC's while getting ready for bed thanks mostly to their Daddy).

 

Audra 

Special artwork by Mommy, Daddy and Nonna.

 

 

 

Ethan & Owen

 

 

Notice the two small paintings beside the bike print, they are 2 of the 3 pictures made for Ryan's room before he was born.  These two are signed Mommy and Daddy.  Nonna's picture remains in Ryan's room.  Technically, we never got around to making ones for the twins room (hey, they came early!).

 

Ethan's Lovey

 

Owen's Lovey

 

Ryan

Note the shout out to Texas and New York...

Growth chart and daily calendar thanks to Aunt Kelli and Uncle Dustin!

Nonna's artwork and baby pictures of Mama's first baby :)

 

I hope they enjoy their rooms as much as I do!

Swim Team - Year One

Just days before he turned 5, Ryan swam his first race, the backstroke. 

I'm pretty sure I was more nervous than he was.   True to his nature, he did great! 

 

 After the race he had a big smile on his face when and said 'why am I only swimming once?' and then 'when's the next meet?' Melt my heart!

 

Second lane from the left.

 

He continued to do better and better through the season, swimming both 25 meter backstroke and freestyle.  He even won 'most improved' mini-mite and  'the best storyteller' (long story).

Of course, Audra wanted to wear his jewels.



We couldn't be prouder of our little swimmer!

all things AUDRA : 18 months

Audra Marie is full of LOVE.  She is LOVE.  Oh my gosh, she is so LOVABLE.  I can't even put into words how much I, you guessed it, LOVE her!

15 month stats...
20 lbs 3 oz (34%) | 31 1/2 in (80%) | head circ. 17.8 in (36%)

~ She is full of words.  This is new to me because the boys were slow to talk.  Mama, Dada, Ryan, Owen, Ethan (brand new word), Nonna, cup, bowl, spoon, water, play doh, banana, cherries, hair, eye, nose, mouth, ear, toes, glasses, fingers, tweet tweet, moo, neigh, woof, sis (snake sound), quack, roar (with a great growl), oo oo aa aa (monkey sound), car, siggy (neighbors dog), 'ennet' (Bennett, Siggy's boy), Abby (Bennett's sister), Nama, Papa, Alison, Abe, Spencer, Alison, Carter, hop, Elmo, flower, yogurt, cheese, diaper, no, yes, towel, soap....just to name a few.

 

~ She's already started asking 'why?'.  Seriously, isn't she to young for that?

~ She's putting two words together.  "Why Nonna?"

 

~ She tells me when she's pooped or if she wants her diaper changed.  The boys never did this. 

 

~ When she wants something to eat she sticks her tongue out and points to it.

~ She rarely plays with anything age appropriate because she's busy playing with the boys toys. 

~ She has a temper like no other. 

~ She loves her brothers.

~ She's a total mamas girl. 

~ She loves to read books.  A few of her current favorites are Barnyard Dance, You are my Sunshine, Going to Bed Book, and Fifteen Animals.  She also really enjoys her baby highlights subscription books.  We read before rest, at bedtime, as a needed distraction, and anytime she brings me a book.

~ She likes to make a mess of play doh. 

 

~ She points out all babies, though sometimes they are her size or bigger. 

 

~ She will do anything her brothers do.  She runs and climbs and keeps up with her boys.

 

 

 ~ Over the last couple weeks she's started allowing a bow to remain in her hair.  Thank goodness.  She has some crazy hair and it needs to be pulled out of her eyes.  Plus she just looks so darn cute with a bow!  I hope the days of sneaking a bow in her hair only to have it ripped out moments later are behind us.

~ She's a great eater.  She eats everything and so much of it. 

Seriously, her belly expands twofold after a meal. 

~ She's a good sleeper.  She recently went from two naps to one. 

This makes our day much easier to organize.  Naps are 2-3 hours and nighttime is about 12 hours. 

~ She is the MOST loved little girl in the entire world!

Strawberry Fields

Picking strawberries and a hayride is a win win.

 

- Little Taste Tester -

Now what to do with 4 pounds of strawberries...

Ryan's Preschool Graduation

On May 22, 2015 Ryan graduated from junior kindergarten (JK).   First, the day started by listening to a CD his teachers gave him with music from his school year.  He was singing along to songs I'd never heard.  I started crying.  Irrational, I know.  But I realized how much school was a part of him.

His confidence has doubled during this year.  At the beginning of the year Ryan played with a couple friends.  Now he plays with everyone in class.  I hear such positive stories from the teachers about how sweet he is and how caring he is towards his classmates. 

One of the teachers at school recently told me she was walking Ryan and a 2 year old student from the playground to the bathroom.  Ryan noticed the 2 year old was nervous because he didn't know the teacher.  So, he said to the child "You know me.  And you're in my brothers class, right?  You know Ethan and Owen?  Hold my hand and we will go inside together."  He then told the child which button to push in the elevator.  Do you know how important that button is to a kid? 

 

 

 

Audra decided to join the fun.

 

 

 

After the ceremony we headed outside for some fun on the playground. 

Of course, most of his time was spent with his brothers and his best friend Harrison. 

 

 

Ryan was so lucky to have Mrs. Hall and Mrs. Lucas this year.  I can't say enough about them.  They taught him so much in such a short time.  They are both amazing teachers.  We will certainly miss them and all of the JK Pups.