Saturday, September 29, 2012

First Day of School - Preschool Edition

September 11th was Drew's official first day of preschool!!!  We had talked about it for months and he had always acted so excited.  Of course, in the week leading up to the first day, he started to get a little anxious.  Perhaps he was feeding off of his mother, because I was getting more and more nervous by the day.  :-/  Drew has been my constant sidekick for the past (almost) four years.  Thinking about sharing him with his teachers for a few hours twice a week was enough to make me have a few mini-panic attacks.  That boy has such a big chunk of my heart!

When Clayton was in preschool, we always read The Kissing Hand the night before school started.  Then we would make a fancy breakfast the next morning.  Clayton fed off of making it into a big deal - it made him more and more excited about the first day.  My very wise husband cautioned me against hyping up the first day of school to Drew.  I was sort of disappointed, but I know that he was exactly right.  Drew is a very different child than Clayton and all of that hoopla would have made him more anxious.

So, we didn't make it into a big huge ordeal.  We did, however, snap a few pictures before we left for school.  :)

Doesn't he look so big with his backpack???  He was laughing and seemed so happy about going to school.

He wrote his name (sort of) on the chalkboard.  I can't wait to see how his writing changes this year.  :)



We all went to drop Drew off - even Daddy.  We let Drew pick the music in the car to take his mind off of drop off.  He was all smiles until we got in the classroom...  I have no cute pictures of him sitting by his name card working on his first worksheet, because Little Mister lost his mind.  :(  He was sobbing, and it broke my heart.

I snapped one picture of his cubby before the tears started.
I hugged him quickly and left the room before I started crying, too.  Wade took one for the team and stayed in the room for a few minutes to try to soothe him.  Clayton came out of the room and said, "Mom he REALLY wants you.  He's screaming, 'Mommy!  Mommy!'"  Ugh - it took all that I had not to go back in that room and scoop him up and take him home.  :(

Mrs. Christi pried Drew from Wade's leg and sat him in her lap.  The chapel teacher went to check on him and said that he had already calmed down after just 5 minutes.  Thank goodness!  She said that Mrs. Christi was talking to Drew about his "short name" versus his "long name."  Apparently, he took one look at the "Andrew" on his paper and told Mrs. Christi that wasn't his name.  Ha!

Thankfully, the rest of the day went really well!  He was as happy as a lark when Wade picked him up.  He asked Wade, "Do I get to go to preschool again tomorrow?"  Yay!  He got the traditional first day of school Sonic happy hour treat and he was a happy fella.
I had to laugh when I asked Drew about his day.  I asked him if he remembered Mrs. Shanna and Mrs. Christi's names.  He said, "Yes!  They told me that if I call them 'Teacher', they are going to call me 'Kid'."  Ha ha!  His teachers have had sweet things to say every day when I have picked him up.  They have said that he is "always a sweet friend," that he is "hysterical," and that he "is a hard worker."  That sounds just like my Drew.  :)  

On the second day of school, Drew walked in like he owned the place.  One quick kiss and then he was off to sit at his table and do his morning work.  I'm so proud of him for adjusting so well!  I know that he is going to have a great year!

Meet the Teacher - Preschool Edition

My sweet Drew started preschool this month!  I can hardly believe that my baby boy has crossed this milestone off of the list...

Drew is going to the same preschool that Clayton went to when he was 3 and 4, and I love, love, LOVE that little school.  It is just the sweetest place.  There is something so comforting about walking down those familiar halls and seeing familiar smiling faces.  I am so glad for our family to be back there.  I know that Drew will have a wonderful experience!

We had Meet The Teacher on September 6th and it went so well!  The kids stayed in their classroom while the parents went to a meeting for about an hour in the sanctuary.  Drew's teachers were so warm and friendly!  I really do think they will be perfect for Drew - so kind and nurturing.  :)

Since it was a homeschool day, Clayton was with me.  He was such a sweet big brother - leading Drew around and showing him the classroom.  At one point, he walked Clayton up to a little girl and said, "This is my brother Drew.  He's kind of shy.  Do you want to be his friend?"  It was pretty precious to see him being his little brother's protector.  I hope that they will always be good buddies.
Drew is in the Ducks class this year - the oldest 3s. 
He made this picture while we were in the sanctuary at the parent meeting.  He told me that his teachers told them "not to scribble scrabble."  Ha!  Looks like we need to work on coloring inside the lines...
Clayton walked Drew to the Chapel classroom to introduce him to Mrs. Jennifer.  She showed Drew the schedule and told him that he would come to chapel with the Frog class.
Clayton got to go up to the Lions classroom to see his 4 year old teacher, Mrs. Deidre!  She was so sweet to hug on Clayton and tell him how much she has missed him.  She is such a sweetheart!  I already have my fingers crossed that Drew will get to have her next year.  :)
Clayton with Mrs. Deirdre when he was in her class.  I can't believe how tiny he was!  Feels like that was just yesterday...
I couldn't have picked better teachers for my Drew's first year of preschool!  Mrs. Shanna and Mrs. Christi seem like a perfect fit!

TobyMac Attack

I have bought a few TobyMac songs on iTunes over the last couple of years, and they are always a hit with the boys.  One day in August while we were at Lifeway, Clayton noticed a sign advertising a TobyMac CD signing on August 31st.  He was sooo excited!  He begged and pleaded for us to take him.  He doesn't have any schoolwork on Fridays, so his Daddy was kind enough to take the afternoon off and take him to the signing. 

They got there early to get their numbers (only the first 300 people were guaranteed signatures) and buy the newest CD.  Then they waited in line for a sweet forever in the blazing heat to meet TobyMac in person.  Clayton was thrilled when it was finally their turn...


Clayton has treasured his signed CD case and listened to the CD on repeat literally hundreds of times.  It is pretty adorable to watch him so enthralled with music.  It reminds me of my Amy Grant days...  :)  He has gotten his little brother hooked, too.  Drew knows almost all of the words to most of the songs!  There is a song called "Mac Daddy" that TobyMac's son sings about wanting a MacBook.  I laugh every time that Drew sings it with his little lisp.  I have tried several times to get it on video, but my little blond boy clams up whenever he knows that the camera is rolling.  You'll just have to take my word for it - it is stinkin' cute.  :)

After listening to the CD nonstop for well over a month, I have to say that I still really like it, too!  Most of the lyrics have a solid Christian message (a couple of the songs are just silly, fun songs) and the music is really fun.  We are all big TobyMac fans now - including myself.  He is coming to perform a concert in our area on October 4th.  Clayton has his fingers crossed that we will get to go.  Maybe, just maybe...  ;)

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Children's Museum Field Trip - 8/30

On Thursday, August 30th, Leah and I took our crew on a "field trip" to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History.  We haven't been since our passes expired in February of 2011, so we were due a visit.  My kids LOVE it there!

We spent a solid 3 hours there and still didn't see it all.  I have a feeling we may be going back quite a bit this year.  The Grossology and Risk exhibits were ending the weekend after our visit, so I was glad that we went in time to see those.  Grossology was, well, gross.  It taught about the biology behind belching, flatulence, vomiting, snot, boogers, and poop.  Oh my...  That's all I'll say about that.  ;)

The Risk exhibit was a little over our kids' heads.  It was about the human drive to take risks - risky professions, risk taking behaviors, etc.  We went through that one pretty quickly.  The "bed of nails" at the end was the hit of the day with my crew.  They thought it was way cool!

We started out in the middle rooms with exhibits that change frequently.  The centrifugal force spinner was fun for my big boys.


Owen just chilled in his stroller taking it all in.  He never cried to get out until the very, very end.  Three hours straight strapped into his stroller - he's the most awesome baby ever.  I'm pretty sure that I am going to owe him a pony at some point for being so good to his Mama.  Ha!
 Drew really liked the room that focused on light.  The giant light bright, in particular, was super fun for him.
They had this cool giant kaleidoscope, too.  It made for some fun pictures...


Leah and I had to take advantage of the opportunity to clone ourselves.  Ha!  If only we really could make that many carbon copies of ourselves...
Love my hula hoop boy with his tongue sticking out in concentration.  ;)


They had a table with poop from various animals.  This was where the day made a drastic turn to the gross side...

Grossology was next on the agenda...

They took turns pumping gas into this guy's stomach and hearing him burp.  Lovely.
Drew thought that the machine that made tooting noises was hilarious.
They shot boogers into the giant nose...
They played in the digestive system - climb in through the mouth, slide down the esophagus, play in the stomach, and then crawl through the intestines and come out the, well, you know...
Right after I took this picture, Clayton said, "Wait...  I'm the poop?!?!"  He was repulsed, but wanted to go again.  Ha!
I couldn't get too close to the zits, blisters, and scabs climbing wall.  I was totally ooged out by that point!
Sweet baby...  Still chillin' in his stroller.  Bless him.
On to the bed of nails...  You laid on plexi glass and then, with the push of a button, the plexiglass lowered and you were left on the bed of nails.  Clayton was, of course, the first one to try it out!
Maggie and Drew were completely freaked out and adamantly refused to lay down.  But...  Sweet Sadie Bug was willing to take a turn!  Brave little thing!
After seeing tiny little Sadie be a brave sport, Maggie and Drew decided to give it a go!
It was legit, y'all...


The grand finale of the day was a contraption that simulated a tornado with winds up to 73 mph. 
Drew, Maggie, and Sadie bailed with the gusts got up to 25 mph.  Clay-boy was the last man standing!
We had such a fun day with the Hunt girls!  The museum does such a good job of making learning fun.  I have a feeling that we will go back again and again.  Maybe next time we will make it to the toddler area and Owen will actually get out of the stroller!  ;)

Fort Worth Cats Game 8/25

Even though school had started, signaling that summer is officially over, we had to squeeze in one last summer night of fun before we turned the calendar to September.  We had purchased a Groupon for a Fort Worth Cats game, so we decided to use it on August 25th.  We had so much fun!  We sat on the 2nd row behind home plate for a grand total of $24 for our entire family.  Bam!  Fun and economical!  ;)

The boys loved every minute!  They got a couple of souvenirs from the gift shop that Dodger (the mascot) signed for them.  Pretty happy little fellas...

We didn't buy a seat for Owen - we just figured he would sit in the stroller or the Bjorn.  Luckily, no one bought the single seat next to us, so we were able to bring his booster seat for him to sit in.  Score!  Baby Boy was happy as a lark.  Several of the people around us commented on how they couldn't believe that he sat so well through the whole game.  I wanted to point to the gash on his head and tell them that he owed us for the heartache that he had caused us earlier in the week, but I refrained.  Ha!
Our view of the game...


The most glorious thing has happened this summer!  My previously proclaimed "bald baby" has gotten these fabulous curls right above the nape of his neck.  Seriously, could you not just die from the cuteness???  His hair is still a bit sparse on top, so he is kinda workin' the mullet - business on top, party in the back.  Ha!  I don't care.  As long as those curls are there, I refuse to cut his hair.  Billy Ray Cyrus, eat your heart out!  ;)

The Cats won in the last at bat of the game!  The crowd went wild cheering.  It was a great night for baseball.  We had some happy boys on our hands when we left LaGrave Field.  :)