Bodie's first day of Pre-School...

First of all let me explain something to you about this young man, don't ever call him a little boy. He will quickly and with authority correct you, "Me not little boy, me big boy!". Yes, the big boy still talks like Cookie Monster...but I'm ok with that.

Bodie's first day involved sleeping in while I took Rowdy and Avery to school. My Mom was here to help out so he got to wake up to Grandma snuggles on the couch and breakfast with Grandma.

When I returned from dropping The Bigs off we headed out. This all just seems like a whirlwind to me. Wasn't it just the other day that I was attending a meeting for Avery's first year of preschool with Bodie in the baby carrier (one week old).

Bo took this little fox with him to school. Fox has been his go to softie friend lately.

I might have had fox on my head to get him to sit still for a minute and flash me the blueberry-like eyes at me.

Then he wanted Grandma to put Fox on her head...goofy boy.


I was getting Bo out of the van and expected him to wait by my side to go into the school and he just walked right around the corner and marched up to the door and tried his best to open it. Uhmmm, confidence not an issue with this Big Boy.


This picture of Fireman Bodie says so many things to me.

• Bodie likes to dress up. This proves not all siblings are the same. I don't think that Rowdy dressed up in any play clothes the entire two years he was at this school. He might have worn a hat or two but never a costume. Bodie is in the play room 2 minutes and instant Fireman!!! I love that. Rowdy was a hot wheel guy...he always went straight for the hot wheels.
• I have to point out that the hat is backwards. But that is about right for a 3 year old. I tried to put it the other way a few times but he always put it back this way...so cute!
• He was making pretend "calls" to his other friends in the room who were being Firemen too.
  

Rowdy's First day of Third Grade...

Just a few I took before I drove he and Avery to school on the first day of school. Don't look at his glasses too close they are super crooked and desperately in need of adjustment. At any rate, Rowdy was not excited for school to start. But now that we are in the swing of things he is having a more positive outlook. I love his teacher so far. She is having the kids keep a binder to bring home and take back to school. She is trying to teach the class how to stay organized and I LOVE that!

Just having some fun with composition and processing on this one. Have to let the artistic side come out.

Lookin' very mature to me in his watch and new converse.

Sitting at his desk. He was thrilled to see so many of his friends and some that we had hoped would be in our class. I'm so proud of you buddy!

Good-bye Summer...

I thought this photo was perfect for a quick post about summer being officially over and the school year starting. My 1st and 3rd grader are eating thier breakfast, lunches are packed, clothes picked out and supplies ready to load in the car. I have mixed emotions about the school year starting. Mainly because I have been sleeping in (rare for me) and enjoying the slower pace. However, I am excited to have a routine and schedule again.

So, with that "Goodbye Summer and Hello School Year!"

Sidenote: Avery looking very much like a spokesperson for Izze soda...

Rowdy...

*sidenote: yes, I am aware that his dimple that just won't quit is going to cause big problems in the future!

I have been helping in Rowdy's classroom every other week or so. I have really enjoyed being there. It is nice to see what his is up to all day and to meet his friends. This particular day that I helped was special because I got to see Rowdy do something that was so cute. His teacher was asking some of the students to share a writing sample and to read it out loud. One of Rowdy's classmates was taking his turn to read his story and got stuck just two sentences into his sample. After he stood up in front of the class for a few moments Rowdy popped up from his seat and stood right next to the boy to see if he could help. Rowdy didn't jump in and start reading over the boys shoulder he just stood there quietly and looked at the paper with the boy and offered support by whispering quietly. Once his friend got started again and seemed to be doing fine, Rowdy just stayed by his side until he was done. I started to get teary right there in the middle of my son's 2nd grade class, it was so cute to see Rowdy helping out his friend.

Two Hundred and Sixty Five...

I was able to work at the kids' Harvest Festival this year. It was a really good time. Rowdy always meets these type of functions with a little bit of hesitation and anxiety. He does not have a competetive bone in his body. Therefore, when he hears words like games, contests, and you can win things, he gets a little bit nervous.

Look how absolutely darling he was looking for me as he walked right by all the booths, candy and such, to find me! His face just lit up when he saw me and needless to say my heart turned to mush (no, really MUSH!)

It didn't take long for him to settle in and play the games.



He even won a set of teeth to replace the ones he keeps losing. (I'll post about that soon)




Gotta love the lollipop ghost!

Not a big surprise that Avery had the lady paint her face like a cat.

After Avery bowled a perfect strike she attested her skill to all the Wii bowling that we play. Silly girl!

Two Hunderd and Sixty Two...

Yesterday (October 16) was a busy day. I worked in Rowdy's classroom in the morning. He didn't want me to go when it was time for me to go pick up Avery and Bodie from a friend's house. I promised him I would come back and see the fire truck that was coming to the school. Rowdy told me they were going to take a ride in the fire truck. I wasn't sure he had his facts straight...but he was right!

And he was soooo excited....

and so was this little girl in the front as she waited for her turn! Rock On!!!
They loaded up in the truck and put on the headphones and could talk to each other in the little microphone. They took a big loop around the parking lot and the fireman turned on the siren and honked the horn. It was a great time. The big surprise was that.....


little brother got to go too! He was very serious about it all.

And because I couldn't decide color or black and white....

I need your opinion about something: As I unloaded Bodie from the truck, one of the fireman said something along the lines of "He (Bodie) wouldn't remember the ride in the firetruck". I 100% disagree!!! Bodie was able to tell Ron all about it when we got home. I asked Bodie to tell Dada what he did at Brother's school today and he promptly said, "firetruck, ride". I asked Bodie what sound the firetruck made, he said "Weee oooh, Weee oooh!" Will Bodie remember when he is 5, 10 or 20 years old that he road in a firetruck when he was 2? Probably, not! But I have the pictures to prove it. Also, I tend to think that because of this little firetruck experience, Bodie got at least 6 new folds of grey matter!!!
What do you think? Just because a child isn't going to remember an experience for the rest of his/her life doesn't mean you don't expose them to the opportunity....right?

Two Hundred and Forty Nine...

Rowdy is a second grader this year. He has several friends in his class that were in his first grade class, which is good. He wasn't nervous at all. Or he didn't let on to be. I am always just a little bit envious of the kids getting to go to school. Even though I used to get painfully nervous on the first day...I was a total nerd bomber and I loved school. I even loved busy work assignments. I know I am weird. Sometimes, when I help Rowdy with his homework it is all I can do not to swipe his paper from him and start filling in answers.

Two Hundred and Forty four...

Getting the kids back in school is just a big long list of "to do" items. Haircuts, Open Houses, school supply shopping, school clothes shopping and paperwork. Somehow, we got it all done and we made it through the last few weeks of Avery asking everyday when school was going to start. We are thrilled about the teacher she got. We requested her because we had heard great things about her. The day of the Open House, Avery made her teacher a card. When she gave it to her she said, "In all my 20 years, I have never received a card from a student before school has even started"....ahhhh so sweet. Avery was waiting for her turn to give Mrs. Gordon her card.

I love how fresh and new and organized everything is at the start of the year.
Of course she found a book to look at right away.
Avery was thrilled to find a book she recognized from Preschool. Our super great preschool teacher is so awesome. She read this book to the kids at the end of the year in preperation for Kindergarten. What a smart lady!

One hundred and eighty-one...

School supplies are in the stores already and I get to buy stuff for a Kindergartener this year. She could not be more excited about it. I, on the other hand, am in shock as to how much she has grown in the last year. I bought her some jeans at the beginning of the school year and they needed to be rolled at the bottom about 2 - 3 inches and they are high waters on her now. Time, you are not my friend and I just need things to slow down for a little bit.

One hundred and forty-six...

I have been throwing all of the papers that Rowdy brings home from school into a huge plastic storage tub all year. I wanted to be able to go through it at the end of the year and pick out some of my favorite things and put it somewhere for him as a keepsake. Mainly, because I wish I had something like that.

He brought home this little gem the other day. I could tell instantly that it was a recreation of one of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings...can't you? I asked him if that's what it was and he was so happy and proud that I could tell before he had a chance to tell me. I am going to have to find a special place to hang it in my office. I just love it! And can you believe that they are teaching them about this stuff in the first grade?

One hundred and forty-three...

I took this photo as Ron saw Rowdy to the end of our driveway for the last time as a first grader to load up on the bus. Ron walks Rowdy out to the bus stop every morning. They shoot kisses to each other after Rowdy loads up on the bus.

I have been so proud of Rowdy this year for making the transition to all day school so well. It wasn't until the middle of the year the he asked me "Why do first graders have to get up so early?" He did have to get up pretty early. I had to get him up at 6:30 to make the 7:30 bus. And he didn't get home until after 3pm. I would get tired maintaining that schedule as an adult.

Sixty-two...

Yesterday was Dr. Suess's Birthday. Rowdy got to wear his pajamas to school so they could be comfy as they read books. He was so excited and had them picked out last week. I just ran up and took a few shots before he got on the bus. I was impressed that Ron got in the photo, looked at the camera and grinned. Normally, he isn't even looking at the camera or he is doing something more, well, more like this......

The best part was that the Cat in The Hat made a personal appearance.

Twelve

Hands down...

one of...

my most...

favorite times...

of...

the day.

Two

I love helping Rowdy with his Homework. Although, he doesn't need much help at all. I just enjoy watching him work and improve. He got bumped up to a new spelling group because he was doing so well with words like bug, rug, mug, and hug. Words with the same suffix. He gets to choose his spelling words now and they don't have any correlation. Maybe he can help me become a better speller (what would I do without spell checker). His least favorite part in school are his timed tests in Math. His teacher wants him to finish to entire page in the allotted time. Anything problems they don't complete in class comes home as homework. His favorite subject seems to be music. He also talks about science quite a bit.