First Day of School Meals

A few years ago we started the tradition of letting the kids pick their favorite thing that mommy makes for their first day of school meal for dinner.  This year was fun because the kids started school on different days so they got their meal choice all to themselves!  Brooklyn chose a very balanced meal filled with healthy food and Colson, well, he picked his favorite!  Too cute!
Brooklyn's Menu included: Italian sausage, couscous, strawberries, and a spinach salad with tomatoes and ranch!  She was very specific!
Colson's Menu included: Chicken nuggets, strawberries, and apple straws!  He was so pleased that he made his own decision and our meal was exactly what he wanted! 
Just a fun tradition to share!

Meet the Teacher 2011-Colson

At ELA they did Meet the Teacher very different.  It was more set up like an open house for the parent to bring in the child to meet the teacher with no meeting attached.  Colson is SO EXCITED to be in the 3 year old room!  I am thrilled and hope to see a little more structure and learning since he is getting older now!  We were so pleased to find out that Mrs. Terri will be his teacher and then we later found out that Mrs. Linda will be joining Terri!!!  Brooklyn had Linda and loved her and I know they will make a great team!  Right now the class is very small so they area getting tons of one-on-one attention which I am loving!  Colson never wants to leave school and hugs Mrs. Linda at the end of every day!  He has not been misbehaving at all and has proven that he is a big boy!  We are SO PROUD of our little man!!!!

This is Colson's teacher Mrs. Terri!

Enjoying the light table already!

The first day of school....no tears, just smiles and joy!!

And we are off to a great year!!!

Brooklyn's First Week of School

Well our kindergartener woke up early and groggy on Monday morning ready to start a new adventure in her life...or so we thought!  Brooklyn is loving her teacher and loving her school but has had quite a time adjusting to the exhaustion and school.  She has been crying  daily and we have been trying all we can to work with her on it.  I emailed her teacher on Wednesday and she responded with a wonderful email with a suggestion to bring a family picture to school and when Brooklyn misses us she can pull it out of her backpack.  I asked Brooklyn and she said it would make her more sad!  She says she can't help it and she just gets sad when she thinks about us not being at school with her.  Her teacher said that Brooklyn is not the only one crying so I am wondering if that is helping to prolong her tears also.  We just don't know!  We tried offering a surprise if she had a day with no crying and she started crying saying that she wouldn't be able to do that and so she wouldn't get the surprise!  Brooklyn has always been very hard on herself and very much a perfectionist.  She does get all of that from me unfortunately.  Her teacher also said that she comes with such a "suitcase of knowledge and vocabulary" and so that made me feel good that she is having times of not being sad and participating! 
TODAY she said she didn't cry at all!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  It is Friday and we have battled all week but we ARE SO PROUD OF HER!  She was so happy today and loving her school and was very proud of herself that she didn't cry.  She told me that she must have just been very nervous but now she is not!
yay!

Good Morning Beautiful!

Ready for her first day!

At school with her lunch and back pack!

Our neighbor Teagan happened to be placed right by Brooklyn!

Sporting her Kindergarten Rocks shirt!  I have no idea why she tucked it in!

Meet the Teacher-Kindergarten

We are thrilled to announce the newest kindergartener...Brooklyn Alford!!!!!!  She is excited and anxious all at the same time!  We do not know a lot about the school she will be attending but have heard great things from everyone!  We have heard that it is just a nice and quiet neighborhood school which is so awesome to me!  We have also heard very little about the teachers there except for one kindergarten teacher named Mrs. Hutson...we have heard that she is creative and tons of fun...so naturally we hoped she would get her...AND SHE DID!   Mrs. Hutson seems very experienced and eccentric which will be a great match for Brooklyn!  I think that she will foster Brooklyn's creativity and love for words in her class. 
I cannot believe that our first baby will be entering kindergarten.  I have never understood in the past the emotions of others when they are crying that their kids are going to school until now!  I feel like once she is off to kindergarten, there is no turning back!  She is growing up and there is no stopping her now!  I am excited to see her success and thrilled to see what she will bring to the classroom and bring home from the classroom!  Let the good times begin!!!

On our way to Meet the Teacher!

Brooklyn with Mrs. Hutson!

Wonderwild Adventure

For our last adventure before Mommy went back to school, we went to a new place in The Woodlands called Wonderwild.  It was a ton of fun to be there with our playdate friends and just enjoy watching the kids climb, jump, slide, laugh, and sweat!  Definitely a place we will visit again, just not too often because it was pretty expensive!!!

 

 

Moody Gardens 2011

Every summer, Memaw loves to take the kids on a new and fun adventure for a day!  This year Aunt Cynthia was able to join also!  They took the kids to Moody Gardens and The Rainforest Cafe!  The kids had a blast and came home talking about the dinosaurs that they saw and the rainforest!  They loved the animals and enjoyed the time with Memaw and Aunt Cynthia.  Memaw said that their eyes got huge when they ordered the dessert volcano at the Rainforest Cafe so I have to include that picture also!  I am so blessed with wonderful in laws that love our kids to pieces!  Thank you for the pictures Cynthia!!!

 For some reason this is as big as I can get the pictures without them getting fuzzy!  I am sorry!

Around the House

Here are some of the things we like to do around the house!

Thumb print art with Kiki

Went to get them for breakfast and they were making surprises in the bathroom!

P90X with Daddy!

Puzzle time!

Spiral Art is a favorite around here!

Colson is so imaginative!

Colson loved helping Daddy and Poppi build the trampoline!

Dress up is always a favorite!  check out Colson's shoes!

Former Students

There are several former students that I still keep in touch with.  I love that we still have contact and I know what successes have followed after they left elementary school.  For several years, I was a self-contained fifth grade teacher.  I kept the same kids all day and developed such a strong and close connection with my students those years.  Two of the girls asked if they could come by to visit this summer.  At the last second, Miranda was not able to come but Faustine came!  We had a great time catching up, talking, and playing with the kids.  She enjoyed her very first bowl of chili for supper that night and then I took her home!  Such a fun time!  Faustine is one amazing young lady who will grow up to be such a success!!!  Thank you for coming and hanging out with us!!!