Dragon Tattoo

While on a fieldtrip with school, Chase went to Luke’s Farm. There were games to play, animals to pet, and faces to paint! He had a ball!

Our Kindergarten Grad

On Wednesday May 25th, Tate’s class had their graduation ceremony. They started out with a few songs, then each child came up to the front, said what they want to be when they grow up and received their awards and diploma. Tate said he wanted to be an engineer. Every child’s awards were different and Tate received the “The Penmanship and Neatnick Award because Tate has wonderful handwriting and takes great care to do neat work.” He also received the Holy Cow Award for turning in his homework all year and always turning it in on time. It was cute and fun!

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Preschool for my Baby

The idea of preschool has been on my mind lately. After many extensive, pro-and-con discussions with Tyler, we decided it was best to keep Chase home next fall.  But anyone who knows me well knows even after a “decision” has been made, I keep thinking about it. Chase enjoys being home, we are busy with activities and he is easy going so I can still get my jobs done around the house usually fairly easily. However, lately he seems to want more and more interaction and he just loves playing with his friends instead of just his ol’ Mom. He also wants to be like his big brother and go to school. Another plus for preschool is it will warm him up for PreK the following year when he really should start preparing for Kindergarten. Unfortunately, Chase has lost his motivation for potty training, but we still have 5 months to get there before school starts, I think it will happen. So I officially signed him up today for two half days at Our House, the Christian preschool Tate went to many moons ago. My baby!!!!! 

Naps have been morphing into play-time/sleep-if-needed times. He has toys in his crib and has stories on his Zune to listen to. So every once in a while Chase will try to play and stay awake as long as he can muster and then fall asleep around 2 and then when I go get him to drive and pick up Tate, he is sound asleep! So I snapped a few shots of him sleeping because I know nap time in general is on its way out.

My big, hat-loving boy!

My Big Kindergartener!

This drizzly, cold day of August 24th is Tate’s first day of kindergarten! He woke up at 6:30 AM to the sound of birds chirping from his alarm, got up, did his jobs and came out ready to rock and roll! He looks so handsome in his little uniform!

We got to school early to get a parking spot so we could walk him into his classroom. He will just jump out of the MV from now on in the round-about at the school (teachers are there ready and waiting to direct the kiddies). Then he stands in the kindergarten line until it is time to enter into the classroom. Here Tate is standing in line ready to go in!

No tears this year for either of us, we were prepared from preschool. Tate loves school and enjoys the stimulation. Here he is with his new teacher, Mrs. Cox. I hear she runs a tight ship, it should be great for Tate!

Now the fun begins….

Preschool Grad

Tate had a nice finish to preschool. He loved his teachers, made lots of great friends (many who will be moving up with him to the main campus next year) and all around learned a whole heck of a lot. His social growth this year was probably the most significant. He learned how to play with other children nicely and get his sillies more under control. Here is a little clip of Tate singing in the end of year program…yes, he is tall, but it was still not easy to see him behind the other children.

Mother Day Tea

Today Tate’s class had a Mother Day Tea with little treats and, well, tea. It was lovely. Tate made this cute hat that Chase has on and they sang us a few cute songs. Tate also gave me the present he has been working on for a long time, a painted birdhouse…very cute!

Volcano!!!

Tate made a very cool volcano at school last week. He brought it home with all the goods, except the vinegar, to make the experiment work. So we sat down on Saturday with Daddy and watched it explode!

Good posture!

We have had a fun last week or so (sorry for the lack of posts!). 

The boys have had some fun going on the deck to play when the sun is out, even if it is a bit nippy. In fact, they are playing more and more together. Chase adores his big brother and Tate is so sweet, helping Chase and giving him things when needed (or even when fussed about and wanted).

Here is Chase signing cold, it is one of his best signs! I need to get it on video before he learns to say the word and he stops signing it.

Tate was very proud of this play-doh garden.

 

At school, Tate’s class made igloos and talked all about Alaska and how igloos are made. He loved it!

Chase loves smoothies, it almost doesn’t matter what I put in them, if I am drinking it and it comes from the blender, he wants some. Here is a pretty intense one with coconut milk, cranberries, spinach, zucchini, ice and a little stevia…I know, right?? But he wants it! Needless to say, the other boys do not want a glass.

Tate enjoyed the leftovers in the processor bowl after I finished making some cereal the other day. He sure is getting to be a ham in front of the camera! I am so glad the days of him not wanting his picture taken are over (for now anyway)!

Posture and neutral spine are new passions of mine. A move/stretch I have been trying to maintain throughout my day is squatting down to pick up anything – children, toys, dishes from the washer – instead of bending forward from the hip (which puts too much strain on the spine). And if I need to go all the way down, the ideal way is with heels down (a wonderful stretch for the Achilles tendon). Interesting thing I noticed is (once I started paying attention) that Chase naturally does this stretch when he goes down to the floor to play. So we are designed to bend this way (instead of forward bending like most do), just look at all the cultures of the world that sit this way regularly to eat or do whatever. Our muscles and joints get tighter as we age, which can be avoided or reversed – which I am trying diligently to do! OK – off my soap box, but interesting, yes?

Christmas Eve Odds and Ends

Today is Christmas Eve. The day has been filled with a lazy morning, lots of playing, sledding and much anticipation for what tomorrow will bring. Sorry for the delay in posting the past week, here are some highlights.

We brought out the boy’s tent, they rolled around half naked for about an hour.

Tate’s concert was last Thursday, here he is dressed up in Daddy’s tie and his made-to-order crocheted Christmas scarf.

On a sunny afternoon before the last snowfall, the boys played out on the deck.

Tate’s creative bridge with some foam that came in a box for something.

Now Tate likes to pose for some reason! Whatever it is, I like it!

Chase’s homemade blankie hat!

Every night we light our angel candles at dinner and both Tate and Chase blow out one each.

Race car driver

Grandma bought Tate this totally great race car driver outfit for Halloween. He had a great time dressing up and fun with all his friends at school on Monday (late because of the school cancelation due to snow).

I volunteered to take pictures of all the kids in their costumes at school. Below is a picture of Tate’s two teachers, Mrs. Vallence and Mrs. Caruso.

Here is Tate and his special friend Sophie at school.

Here is the whole class in there fun costumes.

First Day of Rocky Mt.

Terrible picture, I know, but it was the only one I took of Tate in front of his classroom (of course, not with my super-duper camera). His first day was OK, just a few hiccups. Soon, everyone will settle in and it will be awesome fun – its all part of the experience, right!?

So long summer

Fall is quickly approaching and school starts on Monday. A part of me wants to keep Tate home this year, it is just preschool. Am I making him grow up too fast? Preschool sort of feels like the new kindergarten. There is plenty of time for school. And we had such a fun summer. But Tate loves everything about school – the learning, new friends, the structure. We went to RMAE (Tate’s school) today for their open house for Tate to see his new room and meet his new teacher – Mrs. Caruso.

So starting Monday a new schedule starts….I am sure it will feel normal after a while. However, I am not so sure about going with out a nap….we will see.

Thankfully, my Chase is home with me for a while longer….here he is enjoying his morning porridge with butter, raspberries and almond milk…messy, but delicious!

Good-bye Our House

Today was Tate’s last day at his current school Our House. We had a good year. The time worked out well for both boys, 8:30 to 12:15. Tate is still napping from about 1:30 to 3 (well, he wakes up before 3 usually, but stays in his room and reads or plays with his cars or stuffed animals). I tell Tate, the house rests from 1 to 3, so everyone gets to take a breather and just relax. I think this summer I will start giving him the choice to keep the light on and play quietly if he chooses, although, he still falls asleep most every day, so it appears he still needs that mid-day rest. Naps are good!

Tate’s teacher, Miss. Deb, was sweet and she had plenty of nice things to say about Tate. All around, we had a good experience. Tate and I made this cute gift for Miss Deb. We decoupaged the pot with tissue paper and made a little sign that says “Thanks for Helping me Grow” – she loved it! It turned out so cute, I think it will be our go-to teacher gift unless a better idea comes along.

 

 

We have big plans for the summer, jammed packed with outings, farmers markets, picnics by the creek, play-dates, and much more. In August, Tate starts Rocky Mountain Academy for Pre-K. He will go three days again, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday. Hard to believe Tate has only one more year at home with me. He really is getting to be such a lovely, sweet, strong, and handsome big boy – I am extremely proud to be his Mommy!

School Decisions

Wednesday, I took the free babysitting opportunity to leave Chase with Grampee and went to sit in on a preschool class in Tate’s new school, just to be doubly sure we made the right decision. After lots of prayer and research, we have decided to send Tate to Rocky Mountain Academy of Evergreen (http://www.rmae.org/). It is a charter school with fairly reasonably sized classes, requires a good number of parent volunteer hours and uses the Core Knowledge curriculum. We are excited and feel like it is a good fit for Tate and our family. The school (both the preschool and elementary programs) keep a nicely structured day, are fairly academic and expect good manners/behavior from the kids (e.g. cleaning up their space after mealtime, hanging up their own coats and working on problem solving).

The class I observed was terrific. Different groups were making a paper mache sun, reading a story and playing with blocks. Then in circle time they reviewed the cool things they started learning the previous school day about the sun and planets. We feel it will be a good move for Tate to be with kids that will continue to the elementary school with him in 2010 – seems far away in one sense, but it is right around the corner!

It is not a Christian school, which was a big draw with his current class, but life outside of school is basically “homschooling”, so Bible/character/faith will be focused on during activities that supplement school curriculum and just everyday life. This is our current plan, but we will take each year as they come and make changes if needed.

There is peace in this decision. Tate’s schooling has been a topic of conversation for about a year now. Homeschool? Public? Private? AHHHH!!! Finally, we visited a few schools and decisions started becoming a bit more clear.

Valentine’s Day Concert

Last night, Tate’s school had this very cute Valentine’s Day concert. Tate looked adorable and was totally excited about participating! Before we left he told Daddy, “I look sharp!”

They sang Jesus Loves Me, We Wish you a Happy Valentine’s and my favorite, Skidamarnikadink Skidamarnikado….I love youuuuuuu! They sang about 10 songs, all very cute! We caught most of it on video, but I did get these pictures and little clip with my flip to tide you over until the family DVD arrives at the end of the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. Youtube degrades the video a bit, Tate is right in the middle of the video in the second row down.