Caleb Starts School

Today Caleb started school. He is going to pre-K 3 days a week at the same preschool Leah went to. He is very comfortable with this preschool and the teachers even though this is first time attending preschool there. Although he wasn't super excited to go this morning he really wasn't nervous either. I think he was really glad to get to go to school since he has been watching Leah go some last week.

Ready to go!

Going into school.

Sitting with his bag full of supplies!

Into the classroom.

Putting his bag in the cubbie.

I think that Caleb did have a good day. I asked him if he wanted to go back and he said yes. That's a good sign!

And the school year begins

Leah is officially a first grader! I am so proud of her, but I am not ready for what this means. She will now go to school all day instead of just 2 1/2 hours. This is a huge adjustment, especially for mom! Leah got on the bus this morning at 7:55 and won't get off the bus until a few minutes after 4. She does have a long bus ride so I am sure there will be a lot of times when I drop her off and pick her up from school, but today I wanted her to try the bus.

Leah had her open house on Monday night. We were able to go to the school together and met her teacher. Leah only knows three or 4 kids that are going to her elementary school from kindergarten because of how the kindergarten center works. I was worried that she wouldn't know anyone in her class. However, the 2 kids that Leah knew best are in her class.

I took the opportunity at Open House to get a few memorable pictures!

Getting ready to go in.

Waiting in the gym with all the school supplies.

Leah's desk. We were able to put all of Leah's school supplies where they needed to go and get her desk ready.




Leah loves her new classroom.

7:00 came early for Leah. I had to wake her up and she wasn't happy about it at first, but then when she woke up enough to realize what today was the excitement set in. She was up and ready to go. It was a challenge getting her to eat breakfast since she was so excited, but after several trips outside to say good bye for the cats we made it through a decent breakfast. Caleb told me that I had to wake him up so that he could watch Leah get on the bus, but I didn't have to, all the commotion was enough to wake him up and Alissa is always up early.

Going out the door. Leah's lunch box is in her book bag, but I think she has one heavy bag because of it. I might have gotten a little carried away, but this is her and my first packed lunch! I had to make sure it was a well balanced meal! :)

Waiting on the Bus! We were out a little early since Leah was so excited to get out.

She had to tell the dog goodbye, who after this jumped on her and got her shirt dirty! Luckily I got it out.

Here comes the bus.

Leah's off to school.

The kids in Leah's class are our neighbors and ride the bus with Leah too. It was very comforting for me this morning when she was so excited to get on the bus and then I could see the two kids sitting in the front seat and her piling in with them. They were just as excited to see her and they all wanted to sit together. At least she has some good kids to go with her on this first day of school adventure. Mom still misses her a lot.

Caleb's Open Preschool Open House

Caleb had his first preschool event last night. It was an Open House and the kids had a singing performance planned. He seemed pretty excited about it, to my surprise. He looked so cute coming in and standing on the stage singing. He was more into singing than I thought he would be, but he was very somber and serious during the entire process. We were able to get some really cute pictures of him.

The last song that the kids sang was "If you are Happy and You Know It". Caleb was losing attention by this point, but still trying to sing some too. Well at some point, Caleb fell a little behind the rest of the group. He ended up singing out and gave himself a couple of small solos. I uploaded the video for you all to enjoy!

Trick or Treat

Last week flew by in a whirlwind! All of the Halloween festivities made for a busy week and lots of fun for the kids. The kids have enough candy now to keep them sugared up for months. Leah got candy from her bus drivers and had a big Halloween party at school. They did the traditional Halloween parade with the kids around the school. Caleb, Alissa and I did go and watch the parade. It was very cute. Leah's school party and trick or treat were both on Thursday. It was a busy day, but the kids were wired. I was very thankful that there was not any school Friday. On Saturday, I took Leah and Caleb to a Halloween Party at the YMCA. They had a good time playing games and eating treats. The best part for them was getting to dress up again. This time they both dressed as something different. As you look at the pictures, you'll notice that Caleb is dressed as 3 different things. He thought that this was great!

On Thursday when Alissa and I went to watch Leah's parade at school, we went to the park by the school where we knew the kids would be walking. We got there early and walked around the park. Caleb had to dress up since Leah got dressed up in a costume so he was a dragon. Many of the other kids siblings were also dressed up so it's good that I let him. While we were waiting for Leah, Caleb decided to go and play in the grass. I didn't realize that there was a huge mud puddle in the grass where he was playing and of course he falls directly into it. It was a good thing we did have multiple costumes or he would have been trick or treating in a mud covered one!

Leah's parade and her teacher. The teacher's were all dressed as dalmatians and the principal was Cruela Devil.

Here are the pictures of Trick or Treat. We always go trick or treating with my brother and sister in law. We don't really have a neighborhood and the kids love to go trick or treating with their cousins!

I only got a couple of pictures from the Halloween party at the YMCA. They looked cute in their other customes!

Apple Orchard Field Trip

On Tuesday, Leah had her first field trip in kindergarten. They went to the apple orchard. I was able to go as a chaperon. Leah was excited that I was there and I was also excited to go. I was able to meet the kids in her class and watch her have fun at the apple orchard. She was sure to point out "handsome boy" so that I could see who she had been talking about. Ever since the first week of school Leah has had her eyes on a boy whom she first referred to as handsome boy since she didn't know his name. She now knows his name, but we still all refer to him as handsome boy!

The field trip consisted of a look into history about how they used to sort and process apples and a tour of the current plant. We also had a slide show on how the orchard is run and what all needs to be done on the orchard. We got to have some apple cider and pick a bag of apples right off the tree. I think everyone had a good time and luckily it didn't rain.

Our leader showing us the apple trees and how to pick the apples.

Leah's filling her bag with apples.

Leah's class with her teacher.

Leah eating her apple. Maddie is the girl standing next to her. This is one of her best friends at school and the girl that she knew from dance last year. Unfortunately, I didn't get any good pictures of "handsome boy". In the class picture a girl is standing in front of him so you can't see his face. Sorry!

My Big Boy

Caleb had is official first day of preschool today. He was excited to go and was a little unsure. However, he wasn't upset when I left him. When I picked him up he talked non-stop, nothing like Leah. I ususally have to try and pull anything out of Leah when she comes home, but Caleb was ready to tell me anything he could remember. When I first asked him what he did all day, he told me that he waited for me! He also came home with a ton of energy. Either he was still excited about school or he had a bunch of bottled up energy from having to sit and listen to the teacher, not sure which!

Here are some pictures from his first day. He doesn't exactly look very happy about his first day of school, but he really was excited!

As promise, I also have couple pictures from Caleb's first soccer practice which was last Saturday. He had a pretty good time. He was excited to go, but after about 15 minutes he had enough, luckily the whole thing only lasts 30 minutes. He was pretty good at kicking the ball and doing the different things the instructor asked. His only problem is that he gets bored.

Growing up Fast

Things are being to fall into place and we are starting to make our craziness into a routine. This Tuesday Caleb had his meet the teacher and registration for preschool. He thought that it was fun. The had doughnuts there and that's the main thing that he talked about when people asked him what he did. Next Tuesday Caleb will have his first day of school without Mom. I think he is excited to start school so he doesn't feel so left out of things. Look for a post next week with the details and pictures of his first day in preschool!

My bud is getting so big!

This week has also been the start to several other activities to make sure that our lives stay very busy! Leah started gymnastics on Tuesday evening. It is a 8 week program through the YMCA. She loved the first time and there was only 3 kids in her class. This gave the teacher a lot of time to work with each kid. It's not the highest quality instruction, but she is having a good time trying new things. She said her favorite part was the balance beam. Silly mom forgot to take her camera. I'll post some pictures later.

This morning Alissa and I started a Mommy and Me tumbling class at the Y. Alissa loved it. I wasn't sure that I wanted to add that to our schedule, but after watching her have so much fun I decided it's worth it. It's nice because her and I get some one on one time too. Again, mom didn't take her camera. Alissa loved the mats. She was jumping around on them and thought it was so funny. She also loved a tube that she could crawl through.

Don't worry, Caleb isn't left out of the classes at the Y. Can you tell that our family just joined? Caleb with start soccer this Saturday. Right now he is pretty jealous that he can't do gymnastics, but I think he'll feel better after soccer starts. I am going to try really hard to remember my camera on Saturday!

The First Bus Ride

Today was Leah's first day of school by herself and on the bus. I was very anxious about this day and yes, I did cry! Leah on the other hand was very excited and ready to see what the bus was all about. She was also excited to go to school again. She got right on the bus without any problem. The hardest part for me was when she got on and looked at the bus driver about where she should sit. I just wanted to go on there and make sure she got a good seat. She did fine though and I know that she has to figure these things out without mom.

I, of course, worried about her the whole time she was gone. When it was finally nearing her arrival time home, I had to wake up Caleb. I had promised Caleb that he could wait out there with me. This waking up business is a one time deal. I was hoping Alissa would sleep through it, but she woke up for the occasion on her own. I knew that the bus would be running behind today, but still wanted to be out there a bit early just in case. Well, we waited, and waited, and waited some more. Leah was probably fifteen minutes later than they told me that she would be.

Leah got off the bus very excited. She gave me a hug and wanted to show me what was in her backpack. She had a coloring page and a hand print page. She also had a little note from her teacher that said Leah had a good first day of kindergarten. She said that she had fun and when I asked her what part she liked the best, she told me coloring. The first thing she went to do after she walked in the house was to go and see her cats out on the deck. I asked her later if she missed me and she told me no. I told her that was ok because that just meant she had fun, but I did miss her.

Leah waiting for the school bus.

Leah posing for a picture right before getting on the school bus for the first time.

Alissa and Caleb are getting impatient waiting for Leah's school bus to bring her home!

Here the bus finally comes!

Leah made it home and made it through her first day of school!