Kindergarten, here we come! On Tuesday, May 20th, Alexa's class had their preschool graduation! They had quite the ceremony and the kids performed four cute songs! I took a few video clips shown below. At least now we know why our four year old seemed to be singing, "Who, Who, who let the dogs out?" for the last few weeks - she was ACTUALLY singing "Who let the LETTERS out?"!
She made the transition to a new school much easier than I expected, and loved her teachers - Mrs. McGrath and Mrs. Kommes. Every other Tuesday, several 8th graders came to the preschool classroom to tell the kids a bible story and work with them on a craft. Alexa's "bible buddy" was Blake, and though she was super shy when the bible buddies attended the graduation and presented the preschoolers with carnations, she talked about him all the time at home and was very worried about him when he missed two weeks because he was sick!
Wednesday the 21st was actually her last day of school and to celebrate, they had a party at the park. Brody and I attended and shared in the plethora of snacks. Brody particularly enjoyed the homemade trail mix which included goldfish and M&M's. After messily munching away, Brody slipped off the picnic bench and began walking around. I should have been paying closer attention to the situation, but I was talking with another mom when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Brody was handing something to Mrs. McGrath. I heard her say, "oh, you want me to eat this M&M?" and before I could stop her, she popped it in her mouth. Brody confirmed my worst suspicions when he then reached down and picked up a second M&M from the ground and again offered it to her. Luckily, preschool teachers have a sense of humor!
Anyway, here are two of her songs - the first is Genesis 1:1 and the second is a cute song about the "Rules of the Classroom!"
Yes, you read the title correctly - not ON a farm, but Brody is now living IN one!
Many of you know that I painted theatre sets in college and afterward for a few church productions. I haven't painted in forever and I have really missed it lately. I also have felt like my son has always had a 'boring' room compared to his sister! One of his favorite books lately is a Peek-a-boo Farm book where the animals play peek-a-boo. I decided that it would be "fun" to paint a mural inspired from this book onto his walls!! Plus, he got a lot of John Deere toys for Christmas and they fit perfectly with his new theme! It's not quite finished (because I completely underestimated the amount of time it would take to transform a room into a farm when you still need to use the room!!), but here it is thus far! Brody seems to like it and each time I take him out of his crib, he excitedly points at the hills or the trees...hopefully soon there will be animals on "them thar hills" as well...
I mentioned in my previous post that spring has FINALLY arrived, so, I took some photos to prove that Iowa is indeed green and the trees do in fact grow leaves. I was beginning to wonder since we had visited Iowa in November and there were no leaves, and by April, there were still no leaves, but alas, here are photos of our yard in bloom! The gorgeous weather has made us all want to spend more time outside, so we decided to do our part in helping the economy by spending our stimulus check on some outdoor items, like furniture for our deck and a trampoline! The kids (ok, and the parents) have loved jumping, and we've already had a few meals on our table - now we just need guests, and thankfully, Billy's family will be arriving on the 22nd!!
I had a great Mother's Day on Sunday and as usual, my wonderful husband spoiled me! This year, not only did he send flowers, but I also got a spa gift card! Thank you babe for always treating me so well!!
Check back in about two weeks for fun photos from our time with Billy's family and Alexa's preschool graduation!
Last weekend we took the kids out for ice cream with some friends. While there, a group of about 5 high school couples came in dressed like they were going to prom. Alexa was enamored with the group from the moment they walked in the door and loved the girls' dresses. With some encouragement, she approached their table (with mommy) and told them their dresses were very pretty. The girls were very sweet and told her thank you. The next morning was Sunday and after getting dressed in her new dress (on sale at Children's Place for only $7.50!!!!) Alexa twirled for her daddy and announced, "See? I look just like the princesses that were eating ice cream!"
My heart melted as I realized why my gregarious child was suddenly so shy when complimenting the girls the night before. To her, they were royalty - she was talking to real princesses. It reminded me of a few songs that have wrecked havoc on my emotions lately. The first one I heard on my anniversary (which probably didn't help) and is a country song called, "Stealing Cinderella." Click here to watch the You Tube video.
The song talks about a guy who is getting ready to ask his girlfriend's father for her hand in marriage. As he looks through all the childhood photos of the woman he loves, he realizes that no matter how old she is, her father will always see her as his little girl...his princess...while the boyfriend is just the guy who's "stealing Cinderella."
After discussing this song with my equally emotionally unstable friend, Em, she was "kind" enough to share another song with a similar message, this one by Stephen Curtis Chapman. This one I could actually embed within the blog so you can watch it below, or click here to view it on You Tube.
The second song is from the dad's perspective as he realizes how quickly his little girls will grow up. Both songs get to me, (and not just because I live on an emotional roller coaster - and yes, Em, you're sharing the front seat!) because I am at a point where I can see all the perspectives. I grew up a "daddy's girl" and still have a very close relationship with my dad, but I knew that relationship from the child perspective, the one that always looks forward to growing up and moving on. Now, having a daughter who is also a "daddy's girl" and watching Alexa's relationship with Billy, I can understand more about the parent perspective - the one that realizes which each precious moment that is shared, you are one step closer to the moment when the childhood days are gone. Every little girl truly is somebody's princess.
(some day I'll try to figure out how to make my blog play music like my friend Sarah L.'s does!)
Just to make this post even more depressing, I'm going to quote from the book we gave Brody for Christmas (which is his favorite book right now - I think he loves the illustrations!) which is called, "Let Me Hold You Longer" by Karen Kingsbury.
"Long ago you came to me, a miracle of firsts! First smiles and teeth and baby steps, a sunbeam on the burst. But one day you will move away and leave me to your past, And I will be left thinking of a lifetime of your lasts..."
The book continues to list all the 'lasts' we often fail to recognize - the last time our baby wakes up during the night, or has a bottle, or the last time we rock our child to sleep...while we often celebrate the firsts, this book reminds us to also recognize the lasts and enjoy the moment rather than always looking ahead. (of course, after this post, I'm sure you're "looking ahead" for a more cheerful update!!)
Kindergarten, here we come! On Tuesday, May 20th, Alexa's class had their preschool graduation! They had quite the ceremony and the kids performed four cute songs! I took a few video clips shown below. At least now we know why our four year old seemed to be singing, "Who, Who, who let the dogs out?" for the last few weeks - she was ACTUALLY singing "Who let the LETTERS out?"!
She made the transition to a new school much easier than I expected, and loved her teachers - Mrs. McGrath and Mrs. Kommes. Every other Tuesday, several 8th graders came to the preschool classroom to tell the kids a bible story and work with them on a craft. Alexa's "bible buddy" was Blake, and though she was super shy when the bible buddies attended the graduation and presented the preschoolers with carnations, she talked about him all the time at home and was very worried about him when he missed two weeks because he was sick!
