Preschool - 4s

The first week of preschool was this week.  Henry was excited to have a new class, new teachers, and new friends and some old friends.  This was the picture he chose for his locker.

 And our family pic for the family bulletin board

 First day of four year old preschool! "Here we go!"

 Inside the circle at the front of the school

He had a great first day.  He walked right in, found his locker, washed his hands, moved his name clip, and started playing right away.  He said, "bye, mom, bye dad!" and just like that he was off and running.  When it was time to pick up, he had some tears and gave me a big hug, but I think it was a combination of the stress of the first day, and another kid was having trouble being dropped off when we arrived and the kid was crying and running out of the room, the teacher asked Henry to come back to the circle even though he could see us, so he was upset, but calmed down quickly.  We celebrated a great first day with lunch out!

Henry had a lot to say about the day, which was a change from last year where he told us a little, but not a lot.  He talked about playing outside, his new shoes and clothes, art time, what the book was about, what he had for snack, and who his friends were.  When he got in the car for lunch, he look exhausted and said after lunch on the way home, "I want my nap."  Yesterday was his second day and another great one, a little hesitation on going in the room (which is what he did last year and we were hoping to avoid) but nothing too big at all.

We had some transition days at home which I was not expecting with some uncharacteristic meltdowns, time-outs, and issues with his behavior towards Maggie. But today he got things sorted out and we had a beautiful morning at the zoo with absolutely no problems.  Getting into a schedule will help.  I'm enjoying my alone time with Maggie.  She seems more relaxed when it was just the two of us at home, and we went shopping on Tuesday and in the cart she said, "ohhh, ohhh, pretty!" about everything at Bed Bath and Beyond!  So cute, and something I've not heard her say before when she hasn't had my undivided attention.  She had lots of babble and singing in the backseat of the car by herself, but did ask for bro a lot, so I know she missed him.  It's more fun with Maggie now that she is older and I'm really going to enjoy these mornings with just her.

Happy First Weeks of School to Everyone!

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Train Party

Our big boy has been a train fanatic since he was 14 months old and would point out train crossings as we drove down the road without being prompted.  It was high time he had himself a train birthday party!

His request : a cake with a train going around.  He said "Mommy the train wheels will get all cake-y but that's okay."  We found a solution to cake-y train wheels with a candy train and he was so excited!

playing trains with sis before the party

she likes cake just a little bit!

Such a fun day!  

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And just like that

I'm back

My apologies for another long delay.  Pretty sad that I haven't posted since EASTER!  Again, no good reasons.  But again, another promise to be better.  I really do like blogging and recording pictures and events in this way.  I'd  like to say that since I haven't been blogging, all my laundry is done, the house is clean, my kids toys are picked up and organized, and I've caught up on all the home improvement and craft projects I want to do.  Unfortunately my friends, that's not the case either.  I've got about 80 blog posts written in my head, but that doesn't count.  I'll go  back and catch some of the good ones, but probably will just keep moving forward.  

Here's some positives since my absence:

*  Blogger seems to have some new features!  I especially like being able to upload more than five pics at a time, and they post right in the order that I click on them.  I probably was using the last blog editor wrong, but I always struggled with it and felt frustrated having to post backwards to get my pics to end up in the right order. Problem solved!

*  The new editor seems a little easier for me to use.  Now, if I can figure out videos I'll be all set!

*  Gabe has an iphone and uploads pictures that he takes.  We still have our regular camera, but since it takes awhile to upload to Picasa from that camera and then blog, one step is eliminated.  Ideally, it makes it easier for me to blog, which means I should do so more frequently.  

Anyways, look for more on a more regular basis.  We can all keep our fingers crossed, right?  

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Happy 4 Henry

We celebrated Henry's Fourth Birthday yesterday!

Gabe took the day off of work to surprise Henry and we took him to the New York Central Railroad Museum, which is conveniently located in Elkhart, only 20 minutes away!  I'd been wanting to take him there for a long time, just haven't had a chance.  When he got there he kept saying, "this is soooo amazing!" and "I've never seen anything like this!"  So cute :)

There were tons of train memorabilia, old tools, dishes from dining cars, artifacts.  Large old trains to climb on and explore.  And plenty of kids activities. 

Of course, a train table.

 And a fun Thomas to ride on (even though Henry is almost a little too big!)

 I've been working on the railroad!

 Teaching little sister about trains

 A neat model train set

 Pretty sure I haven't seen this many model trains!

 Checking out the BIG engine

 little red caboose!

 Afterwards, we headed to Henry's favorite, Chick-fil-A, for chicken in a box and an ice cream cone.  After naps, we played outside in the backyard and enjoyed a beautiful day.  And Henry's birthday dinner?  PBJ (with candles!) and mac and cheese :)

Happy birthday to my train-loving four year old!  

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