Ryan's Pre-K Graduation

'Kid, you'll move mountains!
So be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ale Van Allen O'Shea, 

you're off to Great Places!  

Today is your day!  Your mountain is waiting. So get on your way!'

~ "Oh! The Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss

trying to catch up with the rest of class during the Processional

Daddy and Kara watching proudly.

Just received his Pre-K diploma!

Supporting her big brother-  YOU DID IT!

Pre-K graduate.

Genesis Preschool Class of 2011

Next up- the big K!

Ryan and Mrs. R.

Ryan and Mrs. A.

Genesis Preschool

Sibling Love

We decided to surprise Ryan with his first "big boy" bike for doing such a great job in Pre-K.  He told Chris (months prior to graduation) that he wanted a green bike.  This made choosing one easy because the store only had two green bikes.  Ryan was very surprised when he walked through the door and saw the bike!  He also was really sweet and took the time to read the card and thank us before hopping on the bike to test it out. 

The GREEN bike!

SURPRISE! 

I created a montage of the videos we took during Ryan's graduation ceremony.  I love that we have this memory recorded so we can look back on it when he graduates Kindergarten, HS, College...

Ok. I will stop before the water works start up again!  ENJOY.

My random thoughts on the video clips:

• Can you believe the Mom who left her child sitting in the middle of the aisle...really?!  (rude)
• Sorry the picture is very "bouncy".  I should have used a tripod and it was hard to stay still when "wiggle worm" Kara was next to me.
• I laugh every time I watch Ryan run down the aisle with the tassel attached to his forehead.
• I also chuckle watching him turn around to see his teachers during the songs.  (crossing our fingers he becomes more focused in Kindergarten)
• I wish I had taped him getting his diploma longer but at that point I had a camera in one hand taking pictures and a second camera in my other hand taping.  Sadly, I accidentally hit stop on the camera taping thinking I was taking a picture. 
• I still can't believe my little boy will be starting Kindergarten soon!!!!!!!!!!

Clip, Clip, Clip

To answer the burning question this week:

To cut or Not to cut?

We cut.

Daddy was sad (yes, he took it harder than Mommy) but he didn't cry (like Mommy did).

Here's a recap of Kara's big day in pictures...enjoy.

Before shot: The Girly Mullet

Before shot: Cousin IT

During: Kara did great. She didn't cry during the actual hair cut.

Saying good-bye to the "TAIL"...

Then the hair dryer came out and our happy girl turned on the water works. What a face!

After shot: Ryan got his hair cut too. He loves to visit Ms. Michele at Kids Cuts. Kara looks absolutely adorable! Ryan did not want to sit still during this picture, so he looks quite silly.

After shot: The beautiful bob. Mommy is happy. Kara is happy. Daddy needs some time to get used to the style. (he is not a fan of short hair on girls...)

After shot: Kara's hair looks so much fuller now. She's just so darn cute!

Story Time at the Library

I've been meaning to post about this for a while now. Tonight seemed like a good time! I really do have a "blog list" just in case you were wondering and thought I was kidding before when I mention I need to put so and so on my "list"...it's slowly getting crossed off. :)

Ok...on to the good stuff....

Through a local mom's group called Connect The Tots (we joined back in Sept.), I found out about story time at a local library. Due to Chris having to work overtime, I've made Tuesday evenings: KIDS NIGHT OUT! This way Chris can work late and not feel guilty about coming home after 8pm...and I can get the kids out of the house for a fun activity. It is also great to have Ryan interact with other children his age. I love that the storyteller uses sign language when she is telling the stories and singing the songs. Having used "sign" as his form of communication for over 2 years, Ryan is in all his glory when they teach a new "sign". It's fun to watch him learn.

We started attending the "Sleepytime" stories in early October. The children are encouraged to come in their pajamas and the librarian helpers serve them milk & cookies after the stories are done. Ok, so NO. I do not take Ryan in his pj's. Why? Ummm...to me that's just yucky! Call me a germ-a-phob all you want but a library is a public place. Who knows what was trekked onto the floor or on those tables/chairs ...then to put your child to bed after they sat/rolled around on the library floor? Yea, no he will not be wearing his cute little pj's there. So far he hasn't noticed that he is in normal street clothes while most of the children are in their sleepwear. Let's just hope he doesn't catch on...

The following pictures are from our first visit where we learned all about Firemen and Firetrucks! Ryan was a little shy in the beginning but started to warm up during the stories...AND then they served the cookies and he didn't want to leave! haha...

Miss Tracee teaching us about Firetrucks! Where is Ryan?

Oh that's right...he stayed in the back with mommy and Kara!

Kara thinks story time is FUN! But where are all the other babies?

Time to DANCE! Hmmm...Ryan's face says it all.

He is not in the mood to shake his "boot-ay!"

Cookies and Milk TIME! He was one of the first (still is!) to find a seat! (Isn't that Alligator bank neat?--I let Ryan put a quarter in his mouth and we watch it roll down to his tummy each visit. He loves it!)

During snack time, they pass out a paper with the week's theme for the kiddies to color on. Ryan thought the Fireman should be blue. I need to scan his other pictures to show everyone how good he is getting with coloring in the lines lately!

When it was time to leave, we saw this....

A DOWN POUR! We tried to wait it out BUT it was a crazy storm so we made a run for it. Not exactly an easy task when you have a baby in her car seat along with a little boy who doesn't want to get wet!

It was quite the experience!

Poor Ryan had to walk through a "river" in the parking lot because I couldn't hold him, hold the umbrella and hold Kara at the same time...so he got uh...a little wet! Look how far the water went up his legs! It was a crazy ...thank goodness we haven't had a rain storm like that since.

Going to the library has been a fun and of course educational experience for Ryan. I also enjoy listening to the stories very much, as does Kara and I can't wait for Kara to get bigger so she can sit on the rug with her big brother...well she WON'T be in her cute little pj's either! ;)

Baptism Blessings

"I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...amen."

We celebrated Kara Ellasyn's journey into God's Family on Sunday, November 2nd. It was a beautiful day and we were surround by our family, friends and church community. We were once again blessed to have Tara (my sister) and Mike (Chris' brother) serve as Kara's godparents. They are also Ryan's godparents. Kara woke that morning in the best mood and I was hopeful that she would stay happy throughout the church service. She did great until it was time for her to get baptized. That's when our sweet little one showed her true colors and screamed through the entire baptism! She got many awwws and giggles from the elderly after Pastor Gould told the congregation that I warned him about her tendency to scream when "others" hold her. Kara looked absolutely adorable (even with tears and blotchy red eyes) in her baptism gown. I hope this gown will be passed down generation to generation.

It was emotional for me (as was Ryan's baptism day) and I cried "happy" tears as I held her and sang Let There Be Peace on Earth at the end of the service.

Our Family with Pastor Gould and godparents

After the service, we continued the celebration with a luncheon at our house. We also celebrated Ryan's 3rd birthday the same day. I will post all about his party along with pictures on November 19th (his actual birthday). Our guests enjoyed a pasta buffet with salad (a huge THANK YOU to Chris' parents who helped prep/cook food the night before) and to top it off, a yummy Unique Desserts cake (Anne Louise also made our wedding cake- everyone agrees...her cakes are awesome!) for dessert.

We can't thank our family, friends and Pastor Gould enough for all their love and support on Kara's special day. We love you all sooo very much.

God Bless.

Last Day of School

Is it really my last day, mom?

(How cute is his Goddard School Summer Camp shirt?)

Ryan's last day of school was today. I told myself that I didn't want to cry but I couldn't help it. I dropped him off this morning and when I got back in the car, the water works started to flow. I didn't want him to see me cry. I wanted him to have a great day and not think about it being his last...so I held it in and kissed him goodbye.

Sadly, his day did not start off on a good note. Ryan was up earlier than usual and was pretty much cranky while getting dressed and during breakfast. He is going through a "I don't want to listen" stage and boy is it trying on our parental nerves. I made Ryan a special breakfast, a waffle with syrup (which is rare because he usually gets cereal or a cereal bar so he was excited!) and gave him half a banana. Gotta have something healthy in there too! Well after a few bites, he decided he didn't want anymore (this is an ongoing thing- trying to get him to eat breakfast is like pulling teeth lately!). I told him that he had eat at least half the waffle and a few bites of the banana (well 2 for his age!) and drink his milk. After a few more complaints, he finally buckled and ate exactly how much I told him to eat. I said good job buddy, now drink your milk. He didn't want to drink and threw a fit. I warned him about time out if he kept it up and right after I said that, he took a sip and then spit it back out all over himself! ARRRGGGHHH! I took a deep breath, helped him off his chair, wiped up his shirt and sat him in time out. Yep....last day of school and he started it with a session of time out at home! I must say though, his attitude did improve after he sat for a while. Of course I had "crying ryan" to deal with while he served his time for a few minutes but he did calm down and said he was sorry. He was great on the way to school and completely excited when we got there because they had a story teller guest come in to perform for the kids! I got to watch a little and this guy was very good...very entertaining and engaging to watch.

When I look at the photos of his first day of school (January 2007), I can't believe how big he has grown in just a year and a half. He was 14 months old when he started school. He will turn 3 in November! Our little boy is quickly becoming a "big boy!"

Ryan's ready for his first day at school!

At his first day, I had so many questions! How would Ryan sleep on the floor when he had only ever slept in his crib? How can you make him sit in a big boy seat for snack and lunch when he always sat in his highchair for meals? Ryan's teacher in the tweenie room, Ms. Connie, said simply "Monkey See...Monkey Do!" She took several pictures of Ryan throughout the day so I could see what he did. He not only did great with eating at a table but even took a nap on the floor all cozy in his new sleeping bag. Once again, I cried. From the moment we stepped in this school, he showed me that he was ready to go. He loved having days filled with learning,new experiences and playing with children his own age. He quickly made many friends and stole the hearts of his teachers. They adored him and I couldn't have been more proud of my little guy.

In September 2007, Ryan "graduated" to the Toddler Room. Ms. April was his teacher and I credit her for helping Ryan increase his vocabulary and use "his words" verbally and not just in sign language (yes, I taught my son sign when he was an infant- it's such a great tool...I encourage all new parents to do it!). Ms. April found out she was pregnant shortly after we found out about our pregnancy. Having his teacher also pregnant helped him prepare for the arrival of his baby sister! As I type this post, Ms. April is at the hospital welcoming her first child into the world, a little boy they will name Kyle (we think she is 100% for this name!). I can't wait to show pictures to Ryan. Ms. April is going to be the best mom!

Ms. April & Ryan

Ms. Ashley was the assistant in the tweenie room with Ms. Connie and she made the transition over to the toddler room when Ryan did. It has been so wonderful having her care for Ryan his entire stay at school. She was there his first day and she was there to say good bye today. Ryan even wanted to name his baby sister Ashley because he adored his teacher so much! That is a true story....whenever we would ask what his baby sister's name was going to be, he would say Ashley! He is too funny and too cute sometimes!

Ms. Ashley and Ryan

Chris is usually the one to pick Ryan up at the end of the day but with being swamped at work lately, I had to drop off and pick up the last few days. Before leaving this evening, I took pictures of Ryan with his "favorite things" at school.

Ryan and the tree house!

This would be a cool thing to have in the backyard!

Ryan's cubbie at school.

Ryan LOVES circle time and learning about the days of week, months, weather. I even got a calendar that we have up in his room so we can continue circle time at home!

Ryan and the tunnel. This is his absolute favorite place in his classroom!

With Ryan being in school 3 days a week for the past month and a half, this gave me plenty of one on one time with the baby. It really helped me ease into taking care of newborn again and allowed me to not be so stressed out. Now I will really find out what it is like to be a stay at home mommy of a toddler and newborn! So let the fun begin!

Oh and Kara also cried this morning when we dropped off Ryan. Maybe she knew this was her last day with just mommy too!...or it could be that she didn't want the hat on! haha- what do you think?