School Excitement

It's already January and I haven't done any school updates!  I shared in November that Reesie entered the Reflections contest at school.  The theme this year was "The world would be a better place if..." 

Her teacher called me in November to tell me that our kindergartner girl won first place for art!  I was so excited to call Brian and tell him, but I had to keep it a secret from Reese!  Brian was also in Florida the week of the ice cream party, so he had to miss it (actually, he missed all of these things). Fortunately I recorded the moment she found out she won, and sent it to him immediately. Reese was so surprised, and we are so proud of her! 

The Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast was also that week.  I was lucky enough to sit with Reese, Emma, and their friend Hanna.



 Me and my girl chowing down on Thanksgiving food!

 

Hudson also brought home his first Phonics book that week!  He was so excited.  Reese was explaining to him that he had to get his Phonics book and write his letters, and then he will get his first reader.  He is already trying to read like the big kids.  He brought his math book home right after Christmas break.  I can't believe he will be in Pre-K next year (thanks to his November birthday)!

All three of the big kids with their first Phonics books!  Wyatt was 4 and half, Reese was almost 4, and Hudson got his the week after he turned 4!

 

Wyatt' also had his big second grade field trip to Jamestown that week - it was a crazy week!  I wish I had a picture of him in his class shirt before they left - but the girls all voted for a pink shirt, and he refuses to be photographed in pink.  Boys!

Last Day!

It seems like the first day of school was only yesterday.

It really does. This school year flew by so quickly.

They have all gotten so big since school started way back in September - and they have learned so much.

His favorite thing to learn about at school this year was math!

He really enjoyed making, saying, and talking about H's.  Seriously.

This picture cracks me up.  She saw a bird...

Which is fitting because learning about and coloring pictures of birds were two of her favorite things about Pre-K!

 

Now we're on to our summer of fun.  But first - Mommy Boot Camp.  I might lose my mind if I have to ask all 3 of them 3 times each to put plates away and put clothes in the hamper!  Crazy kids!

Reese's Christmas Program

Reese's Christmas Program was the day after Huddoo's, and it was also the same day as Wyatt's class Christmas party.  I felt a little rushed that morning, but she was so excited and cute that I definitely felt less anxious!

Is this her last Christmas program?  Maybe?  I'm so, so, SO torn.  I would love for her to have the same Kindergarten experience as Wyatt (seriously, I can't say enough about how phenomenal their school and Kindergarten program is - I literally tell everyone I know to send their kids there.  And I send text messages out when it's application time - after I send mine in, of course!), but she's using up her tuition budget in Pre-K this year!  HA!

She LOVES her programs.  The singing and "the moves."  Obviously, this smiles proves it.

BFF'S.  I don't even have to ask Reese who she plays with at school.  The answer is always Emma and Griffin!  They're already making "Ring Dancing" plans for high school.

Ready to eat!  She ate less than I have ever seen her eat at a program - she didn't even ask for seconds!

This was Hudson's "December smile."  Seriously.  He spent our whole Disney vacation giving us real smiles, and apparently forgot to show his teeth at Christmas!

Presents from her teachers and goody bags, oh my!

Reesie and Daddy! He had vacation time to burn at the end of the year, so he basically had the last three weeks of December off of work.  His first day back at work in January was painful for the kids. 

(Okay, and me.  Because Finley stood at the front door screaming for him all day.  Before his vacation she only wanted me.  Bummer.)

Reesie and Mommy. Brian gets the "Most Improved for Taking Pictures of Mommy with the Kids" Award for 2013,

She wanted a picture with her class elf, Carlos.  Sadly, you can only see Carlos' hands at the top of the tree in the picture.  Oops - don't tell Reesie!

That box wrapped in princess paper had a puzzle in it - that she put together every. single. day. over break!  Teachers always know the best thing to get their students - and this was a home run.  At one point I walked in her room over Christmas to find the carpet replaced by puzzles - her puzzles, Wyatt's puzzles, Hudson's puzzles.  It was insanity!

Hudson's Christmas Program

Hudson's Christmas Program was so fun! This was actually only our second three year old performance - Wyatt's was cancelled because of snow when he was three.

Loved his little Santa hat.  And I can't believe he kept it on his head.  He is a notorious refuser of hats.

He also actually practiced the songs at home before the program.  When Wyatt was three (really, much closer to 4), he told me that he didn't remember the songs, they were supposed to be a surprise for us, and he wasn't going to sing them for me.  And then the program got cancelled.  So we got nothing.

Hudson was shouting "Feliz Navidad" from his bed at nap time every day.  

Kids, man. They're all so different!

I  kind of adore this picture of him.  I keep calling it his "Presidential wave."  I feel like I've seen every President give this same smile and wave while they're walking to their helicopter - maybe he's just practicing!  HEB 2048 - Ha!

After his "grand finale" we went back to his class room for a few minutes.  It's always fun for us to see him interact with his friends.  Especially when he comes home and spends his day telling us that "C is Colby, F is for Fletcher, and M is for Mason!  And H is MY letter!  H for Huddoo!"

Whew!  I'm glad I could get his Christmas Program posted before the Spring Program - Reese's will have to wait!

First Day of School!

On Tuesday morning we got up bright and early to get this little guy off to his first day of First Grade!

 And when I say bright and early, I mean bright and early.  Seriously.  We have to leave the house at 7:30 to get him to school on time!  It's not a problem for this guy who is up with the sun everyday, but it's not that easy for his mommy and daddy who were sleeping in a bit over the summer.  Fortunately for me, Brian's been dropping him off in the mornings while I get the other two ready for school.

He was very excited to start the new year, and I'm pretty sure that he ended up with the first grade teacher that was meant for him.  I think he is going to learn so much and have a blast in the first grade!!!  I asked him what he thought about his first week last night and he said that it was great!  I was worried about sending him off to a new school, but he already knows so many kids from his old school and our neighborhood and baseball and soccer, so he's actually listing off who he saw at school every day when he gets in the car.

This little miss was off to her year of Pre-Kindergarten!  She is going to school 5 days a week this year for half the day.  I know that she will learn so much, and she is already having the best time!

 She kind of insisted on having a "hand on  the hip" pose after she put her chalkboard down.

So there's that.

 And this little guy started school for the first time ever on Tuesday!  I can't believe that he's old enough for school!  He's in the same 2 day 3 year old program that Wyatt and Reese were in, but they actually let November babies in. He'll stay with the same group of kids until they separate for Pre-K and Kindergarten.  He won't meet the age cut off for Kindergarten, so he'll head off to Pre-K, just like Reese!

 He was so, so excited to go to school.  He wanted to get his picture taken with everybody, he wanted to leave the house with Wyatt, and he wanted to make sure that under no circumstances was he left at home. 

I was worried that there might be nerves of even some crying, but there was none.  He walked into his classroom, and only looked back once.  Then he moved on to washing his hands (yes, he likes to wash his hands!).

 I think the fact that his amazing big sister was there helped him some.  He loves knowing that she's just down the hall if he needs her - and she definitely didn't stop reminding him that she was only a few steps away!

The first week of school was a little crazy for us all (one new school, 3 new schedules, 2 different drop offs and pick ups, soccer starting, baseball games, and on and on and on), but we had a lot of fun.  I'm so excited to see where the new school year takes them!

Open House

On Wednesday night we went to Open House at Hudson and Reese's preschool.  I can't believe that we took Hudson to meet his teacher, and I'm still in a bit of denial about the fact that our biggest boy isn't going to school there anymore.  Insanity!

Open House is fun, and it's exciting to meet their teachers, but man is it crowded!

(Previous years - 2010, 2011, and I apparently forgot to blog about 2012.  Oops. Let's blame pregnancy brain. And the fact that I had a baby that week.)

My middles on their way to school!

 Shouting "Open House!"

Yes, Hudson is wearing the exact same outfit that Wyatt wore to his first open house at school. Isn't that part of the fun of having kids?

 She was excited, but I think he was a combination of nervous and excited  Fortunately for us, his teacher is the mother of one of Wyatt's really good friends, so there was no nervousness for Mommy!  I know that he is going to have a fantastic year in Ms. Michelle's class.

And Reesie was giddy waiting to see her new classroom and meet her teacher - even though she already knows her!  She is very excited for her year in Pre-K with Ms. Cathy!

 I can't believe we're getting ready to start a new school year.  It seems like we just finished the last one.  

But I mostly can't believe that the little boy in the middle right there, is getting ready to start school.  He wasn't even born when Wyatt started school - and now he's about to start school himself.  Insanity, I tell you!

Seriously time. Slow down.