Our Preschool Graduate

May 2015

Kids R Kids has been a part of our life since Jack was 6 months old. The building has 4 rooms on each side of the building and a large room at the end of the hall that holds the APK kids and school-age kids each afternoon. Jack started in the second room on the right side. He was 6 months old - each morning we would bring him in to the classroom in his car seat and store the seat in the front closet for the day. We brought bottles, diapers, and frozen cubes of pureed vegetables and fruits. I watched the "big kids" head to the big classroom at the end of the hall and I remember thinking how OLD they looked. How is it possible that my son can be finishing his year in that big room at the end of the hall??

Kids R Kids cared for him as he learned to walk, talk, use the potty (THANK YOU Ms. Pat!), say his ABCs, and write his name. We know he is more than ready for kidergarten, thanks to Ms. Loretta and Ms. Christy this year. While he'll still be at Kids R Kids over the summer and after kindergarten in the fall, it certainly feels like the end of an era at Kids R Kids. My baby boy is graduating from preschool!

We took a few photos in front of our infamous fireplace before we left:

 

 Of course, little sis wanted to be in the pictures, too:

 I love how much they love each other! (most of the time...):

Here's the program for the night:

The ceremony started out with a video of each kid and 1) where they wanted to go and 2) what they wanted to be when they grew up. Jack wants to go to space and wants to be a doctor (although I must admit he'd never mentioned before that he wanted to be a doctor):

I know he's only 5 and this is only preschool, but I got a little teary when they started playing Pomp and Circumstance and they all started walking in in their caps and gowns:

They recited the pledge of allegiance:

 And sang a few songs:

And then they called each child to get their diploma, hug their teachers, and walk across the stage (complete with symbolic bridge):

 Of course, he put his hand up to wave right as Daddy snapped the picture!

But we made sure to take one after the cermony where we could see his cute face:

3 out of 4 smiles isn't bad:

Nana and Papa came all the way from Fort Worth to watch:

Jack and his wonderful teachers - Mr. Eric, Ms. Christy and Ms. Loretta:

We managed to get pictures with most of his good buddies. Here he is with best buddy Cooper. He and Cooper have been inseparable year and he is such a sweet boy:

This is Brayden. He has been buds with Brayden for several years and they always have fun together:

Emilina is one of Jack's oldest KRK friends. We're so glad she'll be back in the fall, too!

Finally, this is Truman. These 2 are c couple of the smallest kids in their class, but both have big, fun, loveable personalities:

  Congratulations to my preschool graduate. On to kindergarten!!

Tiny Dancer

May 2015

Kids R Kids offers dance lessons through a company called Dance Adventures. Every Tuesday, her teacher, Coach Sugarplum, would come work with the girls for 30 minutes. We decided this would be a good way to see if Livi liked dance and wanted to take lessons. She started taking lessons in January and her class performed their recital in May. The theme of this recital was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

Each girl wore a different colored tutu. Amazingly, our little pink-lover ended up with the pink tutu and hair bow:

Her class performed two dances. The first was a ballet to Rockin' Robin. Her balance may not have been spectaular, but she did a great job, enjoyed herself and was absolutely adorable!

All done and walking off the stage after her first dance.

They changed into their tap shoes for their finale to "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows." The floor of the classroom at Kids 'R Kids is not the optimum floor for tap shoes and these poor girls had many slips, but this dance was equally as adorable as the first:

After the dancing, they all sat down for introductions:

Each girl said their name and age - so cute!

Livi was so proud of her medal:

So was her best buddy, Samantha:

Here she is with Coach Sugarplum - such a great teacher!

Big brother was pretty proud of his little sis, too. How cute are they on their way out?! I love how much they love eachother!

Pink Party!!

May 2015

Well, I'm officially a year behind in writing my blog. Ugh!

We had a crawfish boil at our house again for Olivia's 3rd birthday with a theme that was perfect for my favorite three year-old girl - PINK! Grandpa managed to get a few cute pictures of the birthday girl before everything got crazy. I love these because you can totally see her personality:

Here are a few pics of the party decorations. As always, it was a team effort to get everything ready. Poppy and Grandpa put together these lovely fruit wands:

These were supposed to be pink rice krispie treats, but I clearly didn't use enough food coloring. At least they were tasty!

To drink - pink lemonade (what else?)

Aaannnddd pink balloons:

We had crowns and pirate hats for our smaller party guests and a table set up where they could decorate their own princess wands or swords.

Livi's friend Ryan went for a lovely crown:

BFF Samantha;

Jack picked a pirate hat:

And so did his buddy Julie:

Of course, the cupcakes were pink:

"Happy birthday, Dear Livi..."

There was also lots of fun to be had in the garage and on the driveway, where the actual crawfish boiling was taking place. The kids had fun playing with the crawfish before they met their sad fate:

Fun for the adults, too:

And even cousin Lucy:

Here's the whole birthday kiddo crew - Samantha, Charlie, Lucy, Lincoln, Jack, Jacob, Julie, Olivia and Ryan:

In addition to all f the kiddos from school, we were so lucky to have all 6 of Livi's grandparents at the party, Aunt Brandi, Uncle Ryan and the McCarthy cousins, "Uncle" Austin and "Aunt" Amy and Mommy and Daddy's friends Tom, Jen, Randy, Jeanine, Jeremy and Tracy all celebrate with us. It is a shame Mommy and Daddy are so bad at taking pictures! Fortunately, Grandpa managed to get a sweet picture of Olivia and Mommy:

When everyone left, Miss Livi opened her presents:

She loved her first big girl bike - Frozen, of course!!

At three-years-old, Livi is little firecracker, full of personalty and wants to do everything by herself, especially if her brother gets to do it. She loves her big brother fiercely and looks up to him, although she may never admit it. Unlike her brother who is friends with everyone he meets, Livi prefers the company of a few friends at school. Blaze and the Monster Machines has replaced Bubble Guppies as the show of choice. Her favorite princess is Tiana, but Rapunzel is a close second. For Livi, if everything in the world was pink, it would be a better place!

She's on the small side, just like everyone in her family, but perfectly healthy. She's a full 35.5 inches tall (45th percentile) and 27 pounds (20th percentile) of pure energy and sass. We love you. Livi. Happy birthday, sweet girl!