scout's preschool graduation

i am a promise
i am a possibility
i am a promise with a capital "P"
i am a great big bundle of potentiality
and I am learnin' to hear God's voice
and I am tryin' to make the right choice
i am a promise to be anything God wants me to be.
- bill gaither

today was a BIG day for scout benjamin.

he officially finished his years of preschool at the rock academy.
the lyrics above are to a song that the graduating children sang.
they had some movements to go along to the words.
{c told us he used to sing it as a kid in church}

since scoutie had been talking about this day for weeks,
i decided to just take the entire day of work and spend with him.
i'm glad i did because it was very special and oh so cute.

the students sang a few songs, and then walked to the center of the stage, one by one,
in their adorable little caps and gowns to receive their graduation certificate.

scoutie was beaming the entire time.
more than anything, i think he was just happy the whole family was there.
we even pulled finn out from class so he could attend.

during the outdoor picnic afterwards, i thanked his teacher for all she had done for him -
mostly providing him a loving and safe environment that would prepare him for kindergarten.
she laughed and said he was prepared.

apparently, he's been reading out loud to his classmates for a few months.
my semi-shy kid i said?  wow!  that's progress.
this little guy is ready to attend "big school" with finn this this fall.

the one wish i have for scoutie on this special day: to have a passion for learning...always.

our happy little graduate:

scout, 4.5 years

a thing for miley

i think my youngest has a thing for miley,
a sweet little girl who's been in his class for the past 2 years,
if he has his pick of playing with the boys or miley,
it's always miley.

i don't know if i could call it a crush,
but, i can say these two little ones share a very special friendship.

whenever i get to do 'drop offs' in the mornings,
miss miley is already there at school
{her mom teaches 2nd grade at the rock}.
she comes running up to scout and gives him a big hug.

he grins shyly, hugs her back, and off they go together to play.
a few months ago, he was invited to her princess themed 4th bday party.
other than her cousin, scout was the only boy invited.
and he was so happy to go,
and happy to have gotten a sword to play with instead of a tiara.

he asked me to be sure to invite miley to HIS superhero or pirate party this summer.
when i reminded him it's a long long time away yet {6 months}, he didn't seem to care.
he just wants miley there, oh and aunt jen too he said.

here's a photo i snapped of the two at her 4th birthday party.
{doesn't she look like she could be finn's little sister?}

i cheated again! this post was a draft i started a few weeks ago.
i just inserted the photo.
{i wanted to be sure i captured the friendship between these two}

holiday parties

the boys' end of the year holiday parties were held last week and
they were both themed around COOKIES!  not a bad thing right?! *wink*
the kids were asked to bring in 3 dozen of any kind of cookies to share and
a container of some type to carry a variety of goodies home.

i baked premade snickerdoodles from a package found in the freezer section of
my local grocery store.  you see, these cookies won a contest a few weeks ago
at my work when i baked them for a fundraiser.  employees voted and mine
tied for FIRST place.  i couldn't believe it - storebought cookies! *grin*
it would have been crazy not to throw them in the oven for the boys' parties.

i did bake from scratch too. my sweet friend jen shared an easy chocolate peppermint
cookie recipe with me and these were a hit with everyone too - adults and kids.
if you want the recipe, just email and I'll share. (thx a million jen)

scoutie (3) and mom

finn and his girl, elizabeth

c and i with our big 1st grader



i attended a holiday party on saturday night and took the boys to see

santa at the pb recreation center for their annual 'breakfast with santa' event. 

pictures to come!

for now, i better jump in bed and get some sleep. i've been up late helping

christopher prepare to take the boys to utah tomorrow for a few days to visit

their cousins maya and isaac. he is leaving before sunrise.

i will miss my boys, but while they are having fun tubing and sledding in the snow,

i'll be at work during the days (no more vacation days for me after last month), and

tying up loose ends at home in the evening to prepare for christmas morning. 

goodnight!

scout starts preschool

it's been a very rough past two weeks with the new routines and though it was tough for christopher and i, scoutie i think had it the toughest. he started preschool full-time at st. andrews by the sea and though c will have drop off in the mornings, i wanted to do first day drop off'. 

as expected scout was apprehensive when i dropped him off on monday.
even though we had picked up finn from this school many times together,
he said "momma no go" and cried some tears.

the wonderful director of the school, judy,
swooped him out of my arms after i said goodbye and gave him a kiss.
i heard her telling him she was taking him to see the school guinea pigs as i left.

i knew the worse thing i could do was 'linger' after saying goodbye

so i reminded myself he'd be fine and left. no tears were shed by me either.

with the second child, it's just easier. i've learned to trust my decisions and experience tells me my baby boy will be just fine.

 

when i picked up scout that afternoon,

i learned he had been upset half the day and insisted his teacher,

miss rosie hold him alot and even feed him his lunch!

my normally very independent son was clingy.
i let miss rosie know this is not typical behavior for him and we both agreed he'd adjust in time.
he had a rough next 2 days, but thursday he was much better and by friday, he was great.
i learned there were 5 minutes of tears when dad c dropped him off,
but he was happy as a clam the rest of the day.

when i arrived to pick him up yesterday (friday),
he didn't even want to leave!
now that made me feel so much better.
christi had reassured me he would be fine earlier in the week,
and though i knew it, it was good to talk to her and be reminded of it. (thx christi).

sometimes i feel as if the boys are fast-forwarding through life.
i can't slow them down, not matter how hard i try.
all i can do is just enjoy the.moments.

oh i how i love 'em! 

scoutie and mrs. rosie, 2 yr old teacher

scout, age 2 - on the steps outside the school
(we took a pix of finn at the exact age on the exact step)

finn is a graduate

"i'm so glad to be graduated. i'm ready for summer"

- finn oliver, pre-k graduation

finn graduated from pre-school this past friday.

after 3 .5 years at st. andrews by-the-sea,
he will be moving on to kindergarten in the fall.

the teachers and the mothers were filled with mixed emotions
 but mostly i can say, i was excited more than anything.
because he has a january birthday,
he was one of the older kids in his class,
and though he wasn't eligible or ready for kindergarten last fall,
i can confidently say, he couldn't be more ready this year.

he and i will miss his wonderful teacher, miss melissa,
and will still get to see her in the fall as scoutie will start there.
she won't be the 2 yr old teacher,
but we will pop our head into her classroom and say hello often.

the graduation ceremony was simple -
the graduates wore homemade paper graduation caps,
accepted their certificates proudly and
and sang cute songs for us parents.

finn's favorite part was the cake afterwards of course.
he takes after his mother in that he has a huge sweet tooth.

congratulations finn!  mommy and daddy are so very proud of you.
we look forward to watching you grow and learn so much more.