Meet the Teacher, 2014-2015, William George Edition

Last Thursday night William George and I went to meet his K3 teacher and see his classroom. We have actually known this wonderful lady for years, but George was confused because we know someone else by the same name. He was happy to refresh his memory on which Mrs. "C" is going to be his teacher. 

He carried his supplies in his backpack and quickly found his seat at one of the tables. 

Then he explored the classroom at length. He especially liked the weather chart and the birthday wall. 

The best part is that he has several friends from K2 who will be in his class again this year.  He is very excited about the upcoming year and getting to play with his sweet friends. 

First Day of School, Second Grade, 2014

Wednesday was the first day of school at the duo's school. They were excited, but this year's excitement was a more mature version. Sure, they both said they had butterflies in their stomachs, and they were anxious. We talked through how every single one of their friends are experiencing the same feeling, and we discussed how practically no one would talk about their nervousness and that most of their friends would deny being nervous if asked... because that is the way of the world.

They were concerned about meeting new people. We talked about how 95% of their classmates will be old friends that they have known for two years and, in a couple of cases, since K2.  The new friends that they do not yet know will be new students. We discussed how important it would be to reach out to them, learn their names quickly and include them because they truly might not know anyone yet.

We also talked about how the most exciting things in life are the ones that are interesting and have enough risk to make you a little nervous and scared. It's "good" scary, and we talked about how much fun it is to tackle those things head on. While hard to know now, those will be the best things in life.  When the morning of school rolled around, they were fired up, and they marched into school with purpose.

To celebrate a successful first day, we picked up ice cream after school.

PS: We have also identified "Mixed Emotions" by the Rolling Stones are our back to school mantra.  

Farewell, Garbage Truck

We mean summer. Farewell, summer.

William George returned to school today. Although he was in daycare for the entirety of July and was short-changed on the joys of watching the garbage truck each Monday, he is still sad to leave his favorite hobby behind for another school year.

Friday's Quote

The most delightful surprise in life is to suddenly recognize your own worth.

-Maxwell Maltz

Meet the Teacher

As the summer calendar came to a close, we began preparations for a new school year. This past Monday that involved the trio getting hair cuts and taking a trip to the dentist.  For efficiency, all three appointments were at the same time, and I kind of darted from room to room checking on everyone. This was William George's second cleaning, and he and Snoopy were very brave. When George climbed up into the chair, he stuck Snoopy out and said, "Noop-Noop's going first." His hygienist checked out Snoopy and then moved on to George. The girls' hygienists were so fast I was unable to get a picture.

Snoopy even got his own toothbrush and toothpaste, as well as a trinket from the treasure chest.

Later in the day, we went to school for Meet the Teacher.  The duo are super excited about the upcoming year with these lovely teachers.

It's going to be a great year!

Summer Camp

First day of camp

When our summer quickly deviated from the norm, we quickly got the duo registered for summer camp at the YMCA. My nephew and niece attended camp there for a few summers many, many years ago, and we hear nothing but good things about the program. The duo were signed up on a Thursday, and then began four weeks of Splash Camp the following Monday.

Grace's green band

Splash Camp is one of the specialty camps focusing on swimming. The swim test has stymied us the past couple of years, but this year they tackled swimming head on. The other morning at breakfast they each flexed their muscles, and their four weeks of swimming 3-4 hours per day has literally left its mark on their arms. Their muscle tone is really impressive! After a week of lessons and practice, Grace brought home the green band, signifying that she had passed the (kind of difficult) swim test. Lauren quickly mastered swimming laps, but struggled with treading water for 30 seconds. She struggled and worked VERY hard. During one very determined day, she took the swimming test three times. Her counselors were pulling for her and assured us that she was very close to meeting the requirement. She was bitter about leaving camp with a red band, and we will take her again one weekend to help her with that portion of the test. She is soooo close.

Last day of camp

We would give the YMCA Splash Camp five stars. The camp itself is a little pricey (especially the non-member fee), and not something that we normally would do for four weeks. If I were a working mom, the YMCA program would be my first choice for summer childcare.  As a non-working mom, I am sold, and we will likely sign the girls up for a week next year.

William George's 3rd Birthday, Third Installment (Red Truck Edition)

There are myriad reasons our birthday parties are never exactly Pinterest-worthy, but a primary reason is because our themes are never cohesive.  Because on William George's actual birth day, he was all about airplanes... all planes... all the time... airplanes, airplanes, airplanes. 

However, his heart's biggest desire, for the past 10 months or so, has been a motorized Ford Raptor from Wal-Mart. Every single time we visit the store, we have to go over to the bicycle section so that he can see "his" red truck. Since he was still a little young last Christmas, Santa decided that the truck would make for a better birthday present, and he remained fixed on that truck from October until July. Whenever he was asked what type of party he wanted, he clearly stated, "red truck party." So when he is a teenager and starts a band, he already has the name: Red Truck Party.  Ha!

We managed to find a red truck bounce house that was deposited in the yard at 6:45am Saturday morning. George's window overlooks this part of the yard, and when he saw it, he immediately said, "Can I ride on it?"  You know how you buy something in the store, and it looks much larger when you have it at home? Well... I suppose he was thinking his truck looked HUGE.

In no time at all, everyone climbed inside. Even though we had rain showers that morning, the trio were not deterred.

Poppa had graciously agreed to assemble the above-referenced truck, and they delivered the vehicle when they arrived at the party. William George immediately got behind the wheel and wanted to spin off.

He took a few tours through the neighborhood before remembering he had a party to attend.

The ordering of George's cake is a funny story. I was coordinating his birthday from the hospital (mom was discharged the Wednesday before his party), and my instructions were straightforward: a quarter sheet cake; white cake; buttercream icing; decorated in red icing; three candles; a red, cartoon-like truck in icing in the corner. When describing the truck became an arduous task, I said, "No worries. I have a hundred red trucks at home. Just leave a corner open for me, and I will stick one on the cake." There were a few more calls after that because, according to the overly committed, bakery artisan, "it's just not that simple."

Again, not exactly Pinterest-worthy, but my son thought it was the coolest thing ever.

As usual, we had to sing and blow out the candles twice, and he had help from cousin Lexie.

William George loved his "red truck" birthday party, and we loved celebrating with sweet family. 

(For my quick reference, George's birth story can be found here. First birthday updates are here and here. Second birthday mentions are here and here.

William George's 3rd Birthday, Second Installment (Birthday Cake Edition)

After celebrating George's birthday at the Museum of Flight, we had his favorite dinner later that night: Papa John's cheese sticks. He is requesting that you not judge.

After gorging on cheesy goodness, he was ready for his cake. The candles were lit, singing commenced, and the birthday boy blew his candles out like a pro.

For this little informal, family gathering, we opted for an ice cream cake that had a layer of chocolate and a layer of vanilla. Lauren, who does not like chocolate, had this response...

...whereas Grace responded more favorably, especially to the fudge-y center.  Everyone else sided with Grace.

George then opened a few presents because he really needed more tools for his tool box, and he definitely needed more airplanes for his collection.

Happy birthday, William George!

(Please don't assault us with your new hand tools!)

William George's 3rd Birthday, First Installation (Museum of Flight Edition)

William George turned 3 back on July 12th. I was given "leave" from my hospital duties by my wonderful SIL, and we spent the day doing all things George. First up, we had cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Then we loaded into the car and headed to the Museum of Flight for a morning of airplanes. He was fascinated, and the duo were impressed, too.  The below airplane had the most beautiful wooden propeller. The trio, of course, were too busy calling any plane with a front propeller "Skipper" from the movie Planes.

The Russian helicopter was enormous and very cool to observe.

Everyone had to have a turn in the cockpit.

And I do mean everyone...

Some of George's favorites were the smaller planes, and he especially liked the Dusty look-alike.

We mostly obeyed the "do not touch" signs, but they hopped aboard this old car before I could stop them.  I shooed them down right after snapping a quick photo.

I definitely recommend the museum for any flight enthusiasts. William George had a blast, and we thought it was very interesting as well.