Happy 4th Birthday William!!

Wow, 4 years old already!  Mommy and Daddy can't believe it, either.  :)  This year my upcoming birthday was more evident to me than any years before.  It's probably because all of my friends at school kept having birthdays, so I was anxious for my turn!  Mommy kept telling me my birthday was going to be after Christmas.  Well, I didn't wait long after Christmas to start talking about my party!  I knew exactly what I wanted.  This was my list:

• I want a hard hat cake that I can eat.
• I want all my friends to do "Lowe's Projects".
• I want hard hats for everyone.
• I want it in my backyard.
• I want lots of balloons.

Well, I pretty much got my exact wish, and then some!


This is what everyone saw as they approached my house....

We turned our garage into our "workshop".  PawPaw and Uncle Donald did most of the decorating with the supplies Mommy gave them.  I love the way they hung everyone's hard hats on the caution tape!  (And thanks to Aunt Barbara for making the vinyl names to put on all the hats!)

The really sweet lady at Lowe's who is in charge of the Build & Grow Workshops helped us out a lot!  She saved old projects for us for several weeks, and then also loaned us a few dozen hammers -- kid-sized -- for us to use!

Mommy and I made these cute favor bags for all my friends to take home, too!

Here are some of my balloons!

Mommy made all different "construction signs" to tell everyone where to find things, like the playground!

All of our snacks were served in different construction vehicles.  Grannie made these super yummy Rice Krispie Treat "bricks", complete with (grey-colored white chocolate) mortar!  (Yes, I demanded that they have mortar!)

We played on my playset and trampoline and the blow-up jumper all afternoon!

Madeline even had a "digger" shirt like mine!

Once everyone arrived, it was off to the shop to start building!  All my friends' parents were wonderful helpers!

Group Photo!!

I did stop my fun long enough to hold sweet baby Harper!

Just before blowing out my candles.... Mommy remembered a family picture!

Mommy and I worked really hard making this cake!  I stayed up very late to see it finished.  We were so proud of it!  And it has my hard hat made out of cake!

Making a wish and blowin' 'em out!

Present time!

Madeline found her Parin!

More play time!

The aftermath.  I call it successful!

We had snocones, too, at the end.  Unfortunately Mommy put her camera inside so it wouldn't get sticky while she made dozens of snocones.  And when she as done making them, and pulled the camera back out, they were all gone!  :(


This is me and my two very best buddies, Evan (left) and Aiden (right).  We were having a pretty serious conversation.  :)

Summer Buddies

just had to share this one...

Look Out PreK, Here We Come!

[NOTE: Mommy's writing this post, not me.]

All good things must come to an end.  We've been beyond blessed to have never put William (or Madeline) into any type of daycare.  There's no replacement for the love and care they receive daily from my mom (and dad).  However, about a year ago we decided William needed some exposure to other kids his age, beyond a library visit or an occassional playgroup.  He needed to learn structure of a classroom setting, needed to be exposed to organized rules, and needed playmates away from Mommy or Grannie. 

I started looking at preschools in our area, hoping to find something that would be fun for him, somewhere he'd immediately feel safe and loved, and somewhere that he could learn a few things and prepare him for full-day PreK for this Fall.  I talked to my life-long friend, Erin, who's son goes to St. Andrews, which she immediately recommended.  Ironically, my other friend, also named Erin, teaches there, so I called her for details.  She told me about their program, and immediately I felt like it would be a perfect fit!  I hurried to complete the application, pay the application fee, etc.  A 3-day a week, half-day program would be ideal!  As luck would have it, all that they had an available spot for was a 5-day program.  It was that or nothing, so we went for it.  Eyes closed, feet first, a week before it started, we took the plunge.  And have not looked back once.  It's been amazing! 

St. Andrews Preschool.  It's a ministry of St. Andrew's United Methodist Church.  It's pretty small - just a few classes and only about a dozen kids per class.  As it turned out, he got Erin (our friend!) as his teacher!  We were thrilled.  Instantly, I knew I trusted the whole situation.  It's been an incredibly amazing year.  Never would I have guessed he'd grow so much, learn so much, and love it so much!  He can count, and not just by one's... by fives, tens, hundreds!  He can add and subtract.  Small numbers, but nonetheless it's real math!  (And if you know much, you know how much joy that brings me!)  He can write not only his name, but his entire alphabet -- lowercase and uppercase!  He knows all the letters, recognizes them, knows their sounds.  Shapes and colors, he's mastered those.  Including a rhombus and an octagon.  Okay, I may have had something to do with the rhombus.  I like that shape.  And his spiritual and emotional growth has been incredible, too.  He's forged amazing friendships with his classmates.  He's such a compassionate, sweet, kind, gentle spirit.  He's smart and quick to learn.  He's amazed me this year, and I know he'll continue to amaze me!

And the staff.  I can't say enough about how wonderful everyone at St. Andrews was!  Ms. Melissa, his music and Spanish teacher..... Ms. Stacey, his gym teacher..... and Mrs. Shelley, the aid in his classroom....  Everyone was fantastic!  Thanks to all of you!!

And of course, none of this could've happened had my mom not taken him to school everyday.  I know the school wasn't close, but know that we appreciated you taking him and picking him up every day!

I've posted many many blogs this past year about parties, events, and programs we've attended at his school.  You've seen a small glimpse of what he's done.  But all good things do have to end.  The week after William's "at school birthday" was his last week of preschool.  It ended with a water day and end of the year party. 

I wanted to do something special to thank Mrs. Erin for all the love she'd shown our kids throughout the year.  Mom had a fantastic idea -- have each of the kids decorate a square of fabric, then make a quilt out of them all!  So I contacted all the parents of the kids in the class (thank you Facebook!), even one who'd relocated back to California, and we got it done!  How beautiful is this?  Mom embroidered the top corner squares.

We wrapped it up and brought it to the party!  The kids spent a couple hours playing outside on a water slide.  Thank God for a beautiful day!  They had such a great time!

Then we gave Erin her quilt.  Everyone was in the classroom to see it.  She loved it.

And then for a bit more fun!  Mom made all the kids in his class t-shirts that said "Look Out PreK, Here I Come!"  They all changed into them after water fun.  How cute are they all!

They all love Mrs. Erin so much.  Thanks, Erin, for loving our kids so much!!

He misses Evan so much!  It's amazing how close two little kids can get over the course of a year.  He's such a sweet boy, that Evan.  Hopefully we can continue having playdates and keep in touch!

Erin, you are an amazing teacher!  God definitely blessed you with a fantastic gift, and we're so lucky to have been touched by it.  You've had a profound impact on William's life, even at such a young age.  We love you and appreciate you for all you did this year!  We are going to miss you next year!  (Good thing you live right down our street!)