Last day of PreK

Charlotte attended her last day at our favorite little school last week. This was her third year there, and she was a full fledged celebrity walking the halls of that school each morning. She walked in with her shoulder's back, head held high.

She had a wonderful year this year. The kids in her class were so sweet as were all of their parents. She had numerous play dates and parties. Her teacher, Ms. Tameka, was amazing.

They had a little celebration to bid farewell to the biggest kids in school, the Seahorses, Dolphins, and Starfish. Our Charlotte was a Seahorse.



They each wore their tye-died shirts and received a certificate of completion.



Charlotte with Ms. Tameka.



I was a bit of a wreck after dropping her off for the last day. But pulled it together in time for the celebration. Max will go there next year, so it's not like I said goodbye for good.

It is so bittersweet watching your children grow. I couldn't be prouder of how ready she is for Kindergarten. But, I am having a hard time believing that this 2 year old little girl excited to be a grasshopper is big enough to go to Elementary school.

Watch out world.

5

This past February, my beautiful girl turned 5. She finally turned 5. For Charlotte, it seemed that the day would never come. It seemed everyone in the world turned 5 before she did.

We decided to have a "drop off" party at our house on a Friday evening. My parents were in town and Judd and I decided that we should be able to handle 8-10 5 year old girls. We came up with some good old fashioned party games like bingo, "Pin the lips on the Hershey Kiss", and musical chairs. We had a great time with all of the girls. We had pizza and everyone made their own ice cream sundaes instead of cake. After the festivities, we turned on Tangled and they all sat on the couch and watched it until their parents came to pick them up. We think everyone had a good time, even though the birthday girl had a full out tantrum when she lost musical chairs.



She has grown up so much during the last year. She grew from an older toddler to a little girl. Her legs are so long. During her 5 year check we found out she grew 4 inches in a year! She rides her bike and scooter like a champ. She can do just about anything she wants on the playground. She is beginning to read and write on her own.



Sometimes we are riding in the car, or sitting at the table, and I look at her and she looks like the most beautiful thing in the world to me.



She has a servant's heart, and wears it on her sleeve. She didn't want to go to school for a whole week this past winter because one of her teachers had a cold and she couldn't stand to hear her cough. She cried and cried when one of her teachers tripped and fell in the classroom. She just can't stand to see those that she looks up to hurt.



She loved Mother's Day this past year and just wanted to serve me. On Friday evening we heard her out in the kitchen doing something, which is always a little scary. Then she came into the living room with a red solo cup (the only food vessels she can reach) filled with strawberries and whipped cream. She had a smile from ear to ear. I was curious to know how she had cut the stems off of the strawberries by herself - seeing as how she was forbidden to use a knife. I stuck my fork into the first strawberry buried in a mound of whipped cream. When I pulled it out, I realized she hadn't cut off the stems. The strawberries came stems in all. My mom, dad, Judd and I burst into laughter. Charlotte just looked at us, she had no idea why we were laughing. For fear she might think something was wrong, I quickly at the strawberry. She was so proud to have concocted this special dessert for me. She just wanted to do something for me on her own. I do think they were the sweetest berries I have ever tasted.



She is amazing. There are more days than not when I don't feel like I deserve her. I'm so very proud she's ours.

Transitions

The last few months have been filled with so many transitions. It seems Max, though, has been the one to go through most of them.

After the Christmas break, his teachers began to push potty training at school. I knew he wasn't ready, and didn't bother with pushing it at home. Plus, we were in the process of selling the house and moving and I knew it wasn't a good time to throw in another stressful project. He did, however, begin to use the potty just before bath time and started to use the potty at school some. He knew what to do, he just didn't really want to do it consistently.

Once we were moved and somewhat settled, he started to show a lot more interest and was going more at school. So, we decided to give it a whirl at home. Now, as far as potty training goes, Charlotte was a breeze to potty train. She was super motivated by M&M's and would do almost anything to get one. Max, however, is only somewhat motivated by treats. (In fact, he gave me his lollipop back the other day because he didn't want his hair cut) He is only somewhat motivated by a new car or truck. I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me.

It went OK for a week. But, he wouldn't go #2 in the potty. He wouldn't go #2 at all. He held it for 4 days. Finally, it had to come out, and when it did, I stuck him on the potty quickly and he went in the potty. He wasn't happy - he fought me and cried during. But, when he was done we clapped and made a big deal about it and then he went to WalMart and picked out a new truck. We made it! Right? Wrong.

He has only gone #2 in the potty 2 more times after that in the last 2 months. He still holds it for days. Then, when he has to go, we put a diaper back on, he whines and mopes around for a couple of hours, and then he finally goes. I change the diaper and he is on his way - a new kid.

I have tried everything - which may be part of the problem. I have ignored the situation. I have promised new trucks. I even purchased toys, wrapped them, put them where he could see them every day and told him he could have one if he went poop in the potty. It has been almost 4 weeks and they are still wrapped sitting on the mantle. Judd jokes that they will be graduation presents.

I would consider him to be fully trained with #1. He is even staying dry through the night. But, this #2 hurdle has been enough to have us both seek counseling. Actually, that's not a bad idea - do you know any mother/son poop counselors? Someone has to do that, right?

Max's other big transition has been that of a big boy bed. A couple of weeks ago I found an ad on craigslist for a set of Ethan Allen bunk beds with mattresses and matching Pottery Barn boy bedding. We rented a van, drove an hour, and picked up our treasures. The kids have LOVED the bunks.

Max said good-bye to his beloved "cribby" and made the transition very well. Charlotte has enjoyed sleeping on the top bunk and has slept there every night but two nights since we got them. Some nights we go in to check on them and she is down on the bottom bunk cuddled up with him. It is almost more than my mommy heart can bear.

Lastly, Max is beginning the process of dropping his nap. Every two or three days he still takes one, but a lot of days he doesn't. When he doesn't, bedtime goes much smoother, but afternoons can be a bit of a patience test. He likes to watch a show with his blankies and pillow. Then, I go in about half way through the show and find him sound asleep.

The last few months have also revealed to us this little boy that can now really express whatever thought he is having. He is so funny with his words and his expressions. He is saying so much more and his language is really exploding. He and I spent a wonderful morning together on Monday. We dropped Charlotte off at school and went to the playground and the Farmer's Market. He made me laugh over and over again. He was so sweet, held my hand, gave me hugs, told me he loved me out of the blue.

He's just plain awesome.