First Day of Preschool

Today was Michael's first day at preschool. He has been going to daycare now for 2.5 years but we decided to start him in preschool this fall.

We talked about how he would be going to a new school on Monday over the weekend. He asked if some of his friends would be there and we let him know that he would make some new friends. We got all of his stuff ready last night for the first day.

Michael woke up this morning and was particular about what he was going to wear, as usual. He finally decided on navy shorts and his flag t-shirt. He put on the nametag that he had to wear around his neck and we headed outside for a few pictures before getting in the van. After posing for some pictures, we were ready to go.



Todd met us at the preschool and we took him inside for the first day instead of going through the carpool line. He looked so grown-up as he had his little backpack on and he walked right into the room. He met his teachers and proceeded to head straight for the train table. A few minutes later, he informed Todd and I that we could go to work now!



He had a great day and told us that he can't wait to go back. He didn't get to play on the playground as it was raining today but I can tell that's going to be one of the highlights of his days there!

The one thing I didn't anticipate was how Todd and I would feel about the first day of preschool. I guess I figured that it would be a piece of cake since he has already been going to daycare. But as we were dropping him off, it dawned on me that he was starting a new chapter in his life and it affected me more than I thought it would. He's not a baby anymore or even a toddler.....he's now a preschooler! Are we ready for that?

Summer Reading Award Ceremony

This summer, my mom has been taking care of Katie while Todd & I have been working. On Wednesdays, she also watches Michael as he has physical therapy in the afternoon. Some of these Wednesdays, she takes him to the library, which he loves. He thinks it's so neat to check out the books and take them home with him.

Our local library sponsors a summer reading program for kids. Each child has to read 15 books and then they are eligible to participate in the award ceremony at the end of the summer. They also awarded them after they reached the 5 books read milestone, as well as the 10 books read milestone. After 5 books, Michael got a neat iron-on with an elephant for the library. He wore the t-shirt to the ceremony on Saturday. After 10 books, he got a coupon for a free Frosty from Wendy's.

The ceremony was held this afternoon at 3:30. The librarians read a few books and then it was time to honor each child. When she got to Michael, she called his name to come up and stand on the box in the front of the room. She told everyone his name, how many books he read and how many summers he had participated in the program (it was his first). He was so proud to receive his medal. Then all of the participants marched around the library while a song was played over the loudspeaker. All of the patrons in the library clapped for them. It was fun for Michael as he got to be the leader!





I think this will become a summer tradition for at least the next few years.....

The time has finally come.....

for Katie to get her first taste of rice cereal! She has been watching every.single.thing that everyone has been eating for the past month or so. And over the past 2 weeks, she has started to grab whatever we are eating off the table and put it into her mouth.

I picked up a box of cereal at lunch and we decided that she would eat a bowl while we ate dinner. Katie loved it!! I made it quite a bit thicker than Michael's first bowl of cereal but she handled it great. She doesn't have any teeth yet but I think they are coming. She actually tried to grab the spoon and guide it toward her mouth, as I wasn't feeding her fast enough. She ate the whole bowl and cried a bit at the end because it was over.

So now she gets it every night when we eat dinner and after a week has gone by, I will start to introduce some other foods. I am not sure what we will try next but am thinking it will definitely be a vegetable as I don't want her to get spoiled by sweet foods. Although judging by the way she ate the cereal, I think she will eat just about anything that's offered to her!

Here is a picture of Katie, waiting for a little more cereal:

On the Road Again

So we headed home today and it was a long one. We left New Jersey a little before 10am and didn't get home until 12:30am. It seemed like we were in the car forever. Surprisingly, Michael & Katie were pretty cooperative with only the occasional breakdown. But what do you expect with 2 kids in the car for almost 15 hours?? All I can say is that we are glad to be home. Posts to follow with vacation details as soon as I recover.....

Number 100

This is blogpost 100!! I have to admit that when I started this blog, I didn't give it much thought. For the first 2 years after I started it, I did very little blogging. I mainly did it because some of my internet mom friends had them and I enjoyed reading them. But then at the beginning of this year, something just clicked. I decided to try to blog at least once a week. I feel like I have been fairly successful with it and I really like to go back and read what I wrote, as well as the comments from what few readers I have.

I mainly blog about the kids and things that we do but would like to do some more posting that reflects my feelings and thoughts. Maybe 1 or 2 a month, mixed in with the other posts.

I would like to have a goal to hit post 200 by the end of the year but think that would be a little unrealistic. So I will make my goal to hit post 200 this time next year. That's a goal that I think I can accomplish.

It's that time of year again......

when we are getting ready to head out for our family vacation. This year, we are going for 9 days and visiting 3 different places. It will be a whirlwind trip but we are looking forward to getting away, even if we won't be relaxing very much.

I will update with pictures and details of our vacation this year. In looking back to last year, I posted that we were going on vacation and then promised to write about it when we got back. And that was as far as I got!