First Days

We had some exciting days over here over the past month! Oliver and Buttercup started school the second week of August. Oliver wasn't super excited about going back to school, but as all of you can imagine, Buttercup was OVER THE MOON and COULD NOT WAIT TO GO. :-)  

Look how cute they are! So big! Also, Oliver must have had a major growth spurt (and holy big head, Batman), because I don't remember him being this much taller than Buttercup a year ago. 

I took this picture below right when we got to school and were about to walk them in. I thought Theodore was going to be upset to see his big sister go off to school, too, but he was pretty nonchalant about it. :-) I love his sweet little smile!   

Since it was Buttercup's first day of kinder, I gave her the choice of whether we walked her to her classroom first, or walked Oliver to his classroom first. She wanted to see where Oliver's classroom was, so we walked him in first, much to his chagrin. He actually wanted us to drop him off at the front of the school so he wouldn't even have to walk in with us! This is a very forced smile, ha ha.  :-)

Then it was Buttercup's turn! We walked down the hall to her classroom, and found her desk. I was taking this picture (below) and asked Theodore if he wanted to give her one last hug, and she said, "Um, I'm okay, Mom. Can you please go now?" Ha ha!!!! Needless to say, there were no tears and she had a great first day. :-)  

  

Then, earlier this week, it was Theodore's turn!!! He started preschool on Tuesday, and he was so excited! He helped me pack his lunchbag, and couldn't wait to get to his classroom. 

Once we got to his preschool, however, he started to get a little upset that I was leaving him, and he cried and cried when I left. :-(  It's no fun leaving one of your kids when they're crying, even when you know they'll be okay! I didn't get a call, though, so I knew he was doing okay. He did end up having a fun time, although he held onto his lovey all day. :-)  

For preschool on Thursday, he asked me to take a picture of him and me, and he helped me tape it to the back of his stuffed animal so he could look at it at school. :-)  He proudly showed it to all of the teachers on the way to his classroom, and he didn't cry once all day! I'm hoping this is a new trend and that he continues to have a great time without any tears.  :-)  So proud of these kiddos for growing up and doing new things! 

First day of preschool, 2013

Yesterday morning Buttercup started preschool for the last time! She's still pretty bummed that she' has to wait another year for kindergarten, so she was super excited about going back to preschool. :-)

I can't believe how big she looks in these pictures! My sweet girl. :-)  I hope she has a great year!  

First day of preschool, 2012

At long last, Buttercup's first day of preschool has arrived! She started yesterday, and words cannot describe her joy and exuberance at finally getting to go to her own class.  :-)  

We decided over the summer to switch her from the Mother's Day Out at our church that she attended last year (and Oliver attended for the previous 2 years). That program offered 2 days per week, but we felt like she needed more, mainly because Oliver would be in kindergarten all day every day and it seems like she just has a really hard time when her big brother isn't around. :-(

So we decided to switch to a program at a different church, where she goes 3 days per week. I hemmed and hawed about it for the rest of the summer, because I wasn't sure if she would really be okay at a new place without her old friends, without knowing anyone at all (the other program is at our church, where she knows pretty much all of the teachers), would 3 days per week be too much, etc. 

Well, her first day was yesterday, and after only 1 day I'm starting to feel like this change was the best decision for her! She had such a great day, and even though everyone in her class is new to her, she does have at least 3 friends in other classrooms nearby and she gets to see those kids on the playground at recess time. Her teachers are both awesome and so kind and patient, and I have no doubt that she'll be A-OK. :-)  

And in true Buttercup fashion, she threw a fit this morning because it wasn't a school day. ;-)

Here are some pictures of her from her first day (and one of the baby boy)! 

Preschool graduation

Oliver's preschool had their graduation ceremony today (silly, but adorable!). The kids performed songs for us, and then walked in wearing pint-size caps and gowns to accept their diplomas. Very cute. :-)  

First day of preschool 2011

Today is Oliver and Buttercup's first day of preschool! This is Oliver's second year, and Buttercup's first. Buttercup was very, very, very, very, very, very, very excited this morning! She could hardly wait and asked me every 5 minutes if it was time to leave yet, ha ha. Oliver was much less excited, but still looking forward to seeing his friends again. :-)

I surprised Buttercup with her new lunchbag this morning (it matches her pink mouse backpack), and she was so happy when she saw it. At first I thought she wouldn't like it, but words cannot describe how thrilled she was to have a big girl lunchbag. :-)

Here are some pictures of my cuties before we left. I hope they have a great day!!

Puzzle workbook

Oliver has always loved learning new things, especially school-type stuff. Lately we've been working together on his preschool workbook twice a week. Not surprisingly, he flies through the math concepts and logic pages, but has a little bit of difficulty with writing letters and reading. So, to make it more fun for him, I bought a maze workbook and a book of cutting-and-pasting jigsaw puzzles for his rewards for completing the letter pages. He looooves mazes -- the first day he did over 10 pages in the maze book, with only 1 mistake! :-)

Today for his reward, first he asked for money (LOL!), but then he chose the puzzle book. Oliver has really enjoyed this book, too, and I recommend it if your kids like doing puzzles!



First, he carefully cut out all of the pieces . . .



. . . then glued and fit them together.


Finished product! Of course, this proud mama thinks he did a fabulous job. What a smartie! :-)

Big boy!

This morning, Oliver started attending a Mother's Day Out program at our church. I signed him up about a month ago, and at first he was kind of reluctant to go (to say the least), but lately he's been more and more excited about the opportunity to have regular "big boy" time with friends just his own age (as opposed to always having his little sister tagging along, I guess). He was still nervous, but a few friends gave me some great ideas to help him feel more comfortable, and last night he finally seemed like he was ready to go.

Dennis and I had bought him a new lunch bag, and I wrapped it in wrapping paper last night and set it on his placemat so he would see it first thing this morning. This morning was it. The big day. Even though he had started to seem excited about school, I was afraid that he would wake up feeling nervous and sad again. Thankfully, though, he woke up (super early!!) with a smile on his face and he was READY to go!! He wolfed down his breakfast (okay, that's not too unusual, ha ha!), got dressed in his school clothes as soon as he brushed his teeth, and he was so thrilled with his new lunch bag that he carried it around the house for the next hour!

Then it was time to drive to school and drop him off. We had to wait in line for about 10 minutes, and he got a little nervous at the classroom door, but his teacher welcomed him in with a hug, and he walked in with a shy smile. :-) When I picked him up this afternoon, he was busy playing with some of his classmates, then he ran right over to me and Buttercup and gave us both a big hug. :-)

His report for today? He was a good listener, very obedient, and a cheerful helper. He made 2 new friends, and ate every bit of his lunch. His only complaint to me was that I didn't pack enough lunch for him!! LOL! The last thing his teacher told me before we left, was that Oliver was so well behaved and friendly, that she had forgotten that this was his first time in Mother's Day Out! That was pretty neat. :-)