I did okay this morning only because we were in a rush to get out the door, but as soon as I walked through the door of that familiar preschool building the lump in my throat began and I couldn't catch my breath...the.last.day.of.preschool.
It's in this building that I've seen our baby girl blossom into a little girl... all day school... cafeteria & recess... art/music/PE... morning meeting... pledge of allegiance... field trips & school buses... class t-shirt... leader & caboose... centers... thematic units... writing journals... gator bucks {so proud of you for saving all year to get to 100 for that Princess Makeup Kit!!}... art awards... projects... best friends... amazing teachers... the list could go on and on but then the tears would too.
For the past 2 years this has been her home away from home and I couldn't have asked for a better preschool experience. Thank you, Mrs. Bryan and Mrs. Peterson. You two are simply aMAzInG! We prayed about her teachers and God answered our prayer...a million times over!
The little pumpkin on her {first day} this past August...
And look at her now!
Since I'm already a mess, might as well go down memory lane and boo hoo it out...
Mother's Day Out ~ 1 y/o class ~ 2008-2009
first day: 18 months
last day: 26 months
Mother's Day Out ~ 2 y/o class ~ 2009-2010
first day: 2 yrs. 6 months
last day: 3 yrs. 2 months
Preschool ~ K3 ~ 2010-2011
first day: 3 yrs. 5 months
last day: 4 yrs. 2 months
Preschool ~ K4 ~ 2011-2012
first day: 4 yrs. 5 months
last day: 5 yrs. 2 months
It's official. We now have a kInDErgArTenER! *gulp*
This morning just before she got dressed she looked at me a little sentimental and said, "I want to stay little forever." {the little pumpkin has such a sensitive soul}
My heart skipped a beat. I told her, "Promise me?"
and then to try to cheer her up I said, "You have to promise to stop drinking that secret grow-up potion, after Daddy and I put you to bed, okay?
That got the giggles going! The little pumpkin is all about princesses and potions and pink and glitter and fairytales these days.
Grace, you will always be my baby girl. Always.
Dear Grace,
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and He will lead the way.
We love you and we are so proud of you!
XOXO ♥,
Mama, Daddy & Hudson
A little bit late but...Happy Memorial Day and THANK YOU to all of the men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice protecting our freedom!
That's one way to get him to smile!! Oh geez!
Memorial Day weekend is always a busy one for us. Not only is it our anniversary, but it's also cousin Carson's birthday and the anniversary of when Thomas, Lance's best friend, and Julie, Carson's aunt met...at our rehearsal dinner! Fun times!
Happy 5th Birthday, Carson!! We had a fun time at your pool party!
Aunt Jean & Uncle Cecil...we are missing your pool because now we are stuck with........................................
.......................................................................this! HA!
Water Wars...
The tradition continues..................Girls v. Boys!
The girls v. boys water balloon fight is usually our end-of-summer tradition but this year we decided to mark the beginning of summer with it and end the summer with a rematch! Yeah!
Last Friday, the little pumpkin's class had their last Field Trip and End-of-the-Year Party...
Paityn & Grace boarding the bus for the last time as preschoolers...
Sweet girls...Grace and Caroline
A bOuNCinG good time!
We surprised Mrs. Bryan, who has a summer birthday, with a cake!
Our little preschool graduate :)
Thank you Bennett's mom for the cute caps!
Parting gifts...a cute class pic from Field Day.
Grace shared this cute KraZY StRaW cup + KooL AiD party favor with her friends...
Thank you pinterest & Thank you Teri of A Cupcake for the Teacher for the super cute idea and free printable! The kids in Grace's class loved them!
By the way, Target had the solid color Krazy Straw cups in their new summer/beach section for $1 {dollar store had the striped ones}...and they're BPA free :)
Today was ice cream day...I have to say I love all the preschool thematic units and fun days...I sure hope they have some fun themes next year in kIndERgARten!!
Looks like it's going to be a tanks + skirts kind of summer for my girly girl who can't stand to wear pants. Thanks for the cuteness, Monkey Tees!
Tomorrow is the little pumpkin's last day of preschool. Ever.
Wanna take bets on whether there will be waterworks??
"Beach Day" is always a cute day at Grace's preschool. The kids get to wear their swimsuits and a cover up and then after lunch they go to the splash park. I, along with 99% of the mom-of-girls population, fell in love with this Target swimsuit...only thing I didn't like was that the skirt was so long on Grace it looked like she had no bottoms, so.....................a pair of scissors later, we have a custom matching headband ;)
I brought a big bucket of bubble soap which may or may not have been the best idea. Instead of beach day I think it was more like "car wash" day :)
Fun times with friends...
pOpsICles!
Even little brother got in on the action ;)
One of our last field trips was to an alligator park.
FeeDIng TimE FreNZy!!
This is what Grace thought of the alligators...is she my daughter or what??! HA!
But she sure wanted to touch the baby alligator!!
And even convinced Kennedy to give it a try!
This field trip was much more up our alley...5th grade play...LOVE elementary school plays - they're just too cute!
As part of Grace's school program we meet with her teacher and Instructional Coordinator about every 6 months or so. We go over individual goals, progression, etc. When her teacher suggested she might be ready to conduct a research project we decided to go for it. She had free reign on the topic and she chose "The Lost City of Atlantis" {heavy Dora influence here...I think there was a glittery, unicorn & waterfalls episode on Atlantis a while back - HA!}.
She and Lance did all the research together and I helped her find the pictures she wanted and helped her layout the boards while she had a glue fest.
Her theme ended up being "3 Fun Facts about Atlantis". We practiced at home and by the time she gave her presentation she pretty much had the whole thing memorized. She was still a little nervous - and I know I'm biased - but I think she did really well for a 5 year old!
One of the things she talked about were some of her favorite islands...Fiji was one of them...so to make it a little more fun for everyone we brought Fiji water for a little taste test.
I think my favorite moment was right after Grace passed out the water cups and one of her classmates said, "Ooooh, I see a little sand and a seashell in my cup of Fiji water!" he he he
You did great, Grace!! So proud of you!!
And finally, our little farm girl ready for Watermelon Day at school :)
She wanted me to take a picture of her braids, so here goes...this one's for you, Grace!
I love our laid-back summers, but I'm seriously having a bad case of the end-of-the-year-school-blues...I LOVE Grace's preschool program. I think we have been spoiled for the past two years and I'm so sad to see it come to an end.
