Cooking Lessons with Daddy: Strawberry Shortcake

First Chris gave lessons on proper use of the knife, Ethan was THRILLED to use the "black, really, really sharp ones!!!"

 

They were so proud of their creations!!!

They said it was yummy!

I wouldn't know, I don't like whipped cream!

Again, another reason they are the luckiest to have their awesome Daddy!!!

 

First Day of School 2013

Continuing our tradition of taking pictures of the first days of school (starting in 2012) and the last days of school (see 2013), today was another installment! Some call it the first day of school, others call it parents' happiest day of the year!

For Ethan and I, we were both excited but we didn't feel the unrestrained glee we did last year. This year was more eyes wide open combined with anticipation and hope for a great year. Now we know more of the ups and downs like never ending colds, learning fun new songs, hard work, and making new friends.

 

Ethan has grown so much more over the summer and we are both excited about another Montessori year with his beloved Mrs. Fraley!

 

 

 

And later, caught in the act of doing some work!

 

Last Day of Preschool 2012-2013

As you might remember, this fall we started a tradition of taking Ethan's picture on our backyard bench the first day of school. I was interested in seeing how much he grew physically over the past nine months so we did the same the last day of school too.

September 2012:

June 2013:

His first year of five mornings a week in Montessori had many lessons for all of us, and I grew to be a better mom at the same time he was growing to be a bigger boy!

I learned how to give him confidence by not doing for him what he is capable of doing, how to have a more structured morning to get two boys out by 8:00am every day, how to tell when to let go and when to step in and advocate for him (still polishing that one), and what roads have the fewest lights to lull Gavin into a nap so I may have quiet to pay bills (and blog)!

Here are the gifts he gave to his teacher Mrs. Fraley and her assistant Ms. Washington. He helped me pick and plant the herbs and we placed a gift card in each of their notes. I had plans of painting the pots together, but chose to hold on to some sanity instead. Oh and those cards are from a free template online, too bad he has the same teachers for the next few years because I would totally do this again next year!

I can't wait to learn what songs and moves he'll teach me this year!

 

 

 

 

They Better Not Expect an Allowance!

Cooking with Daddy

 

Not to be outdone, Gavin climbed up our stool on his own to help with the dishes.

"Seriously you two need some help in here!"

A lack of height didn't stop him!

 

Hope they still like helping in the kitchen at 13!

 

Wheeeeeeeeee!!!

Ethan is THRILLED his baby bro is growing up so fast and is always giving him "lessons" (so Montessori of him!). Lessons on walking, using his "inside voice", throwing balls, and now slides!

First they went together.

 

Then Gavin was ready to roll.

His expressions might lead you to believe he was going down a super sonic fast slide. He moved more like a snail :)

 

On to higher heights!

The boys decided to give Mommy a heart attack.

Wheeeeeee!!

 

This land is your land!

 

Crafts and Carols!

This was Ethan's first holiday day party at his Montessori charter school. First we made our Christmas wreath, which he proudly hung on our door we got home. I of course was on double duty and strapped Gavin on back so I could craft in the front.

Then the children encircled the Christmas tree for the lighting and sang carols they'd rehearsed for weeks to their parents. Jingle Bells, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, and Ethan's favorite he's been practicing endlessly in the car, Let it Snow.

The older he gets, the greater my Christmas spirit grows!

 

One Win and One Loss Today

On the way to school this morning, Ethan whined, "But I don't wanna go to schoooooooool!" Hey, we almost made it a full week before I heard the phrase I'm sure will be repeated many times over the years. To prove his point, he chose passive resistance. He refused to put on his shoes. He had to carry them into the school led by the teacher's hand telling him he needs to have his shoes on next time.

On the other hand, Gavin is enjoying the full attention in the morning. Today he pulled himself up to stand for the first time.

Maybe Ethan knew he was going to miss something momentous.

How long did it take for your child to say they didn't want to go to school?

 

Glimpse into Ethan's School Day

Just got a sweet email from Ethan's teacher today. She included a photo of him doing his "work" sorting beads with a magnet into different colors. He's wearing his little name tag and his Montessori slippers. (I'll write more about that later in another post, as it's generated many questions!)

"Ethan loves the color sorting with the magnetic pencil. Notice the concentrated posture with clenched first! Do you think he is left-handed?

He always put a smile on my face when he walks in and says good morning, which he is one of the only children who already greets me by my name. So sweet!"

In case you were wondering, I don't know his hand dominance. I was certain he was right handed, but in the past few months he's been alternating. His lefty dad is rooting for left handed Ethan, something to do with baseball?

I'm just giddy to see him productive and happy in school!! I miss him now!

Ethan's First Day of School

Today was Ethan's first day of school! He ran around singing, "Today's the day!!! Today's the dayyyyyyyy!!!"

His program has 3-5 year olds in the same class, so I treated today how I imagined I would treat my son's first day at Kindergarten since it's all rolled into one. Every year I'll use this same sign and take pictures on this same bench in our backyard. Enjoy the first edition!

Here's his uniform laid out, including big boy underwear and Montessori classroom slippers.

When we dropped him off, the teacher unbuckled him from his carseat and brings him in alone. He literally didn't look back as he walked in with an apple in hand for his teacher (Daddy's idea). Mommy was more emotional than he was, but I kept it together.

The school kindly posted some pictures of the class' first day! Above Ethan is cleaning his workstation before starting his "work".

Notice during snack, they have glass vases filled with fresh flowers. And they're still there at the end of the day!?

Thank you to my Building Blocks Coop Preschool family for teaching him so many of the skills he'll use to be successful this year! No experience will match what we built together.

(this was him last year)