Kate is a BUS RIDER!!

I never thought I would say this, but Kate is riding the bus home from school today...  : /

She was/is sooo excited; the rest of us have very mixed feelings about this decision.  But, I am babysitting a couple extra kids in the afternoons now and it was just too difficult to get everyone loaded up to get Kate every afternoon.  Plus, Kate really wanted to ride the bus...  If we see this doesn't workout, we'll go to Plan C, but until then, Kate is excited for the new adventure.

I watched the clock all afternoon.  Will 2:20 ever get here?!?  Having an extra 30 minutes in the afternoon seemed like an eternity today, but I know I will come to love those 30 minutes.

After lots of waiting, my parents and I saw the bus coming down the road and got out all the cameras!

I'm sure the bus driver and other kids probably thought we were a little crazy...oh well, maybe we are.  ;)

And here she is...Kate survived her first bus ride home...and so did I!  :)

She loved the ride and wants to switch permanently...

Gabe spent the time waiting on the bus running around the yard with his friends.

Grant enjoyed getting loved on by Grandma!

POP!!

There is a Superhero Party just around the corner...and Gabe is ready to deliver some invitations!!!

Tooth Fairy comes for Tooth #3

Kate got to take her 3rd lost baby tooth to school yesterday, so she was then ready to put her tooth in her little pillow for the Tooth Fairy last night.  She was so excited, wondering what prize will she get...?!?

Then this morning when I crept into her room to wake her for school,

there were indeed goodies left in exchange for her tooth!!

Kate was half asleep, but she was still excited to discover her goodies from the Tooth Fairy.

Money, a tiny letter, and a magnifying glass!!

Kate LOVES that the Tooth Fairy wrote her a letter again.  :)

Peas, please....

After a couple weeks of rice cereal and loving it, I decided it was time to introduce green veggies to Grant.  Kate took one look and decided there was no way she would eat it (although she was actually a great eater as a baby)!

Grant trusted that it would be just as tasty as his cereal....

But one bite in he knew it was NOT his usual cereal and he is NOT a fan.  : /

He seemed to hate every bite and did not finish.  We'll keep trying...

Gabe's 1st day as a Green Apple!

This morning marks the beginning of the end...of Gabe's preschool days.  :(

I am so excited about this school year, LOVE Happy Apple, and look forward to every minute of Animal Phonics and weekly show-n-tell.  But, I really can't believe that this is Gabe's final year of preschool.  Kate has always been our Big Kid, Miss Independent.  I was so sad when she graduated from Happy Apple, but I also knew she was ready to move on.  Gabe will be ready too when the time comes, but he has always been my baby.  Now all of a sudden he really isn't the baby at home....and he is in his final year of preschool.  Gabe, I am so glad you still carry your loveys around with you everywhere and love to snuggle.  I think I've decided that you just can't grow up!!  :)

Okay, so as hard as I might try, I just can't freeze time.  My babies are growing up so fast!  I made a special 1st Day breakfast for Gabe similar to what I did for Kate, but all he wanted were pancakes...and he loves when I make them into faces.  :)   

Dressed and ready to tackle the day as a GREEN APPLE!!!

Gabe, you make us so proud.  You are so smart, sweet, kind, and sometimes funny too.

I know you are going to learn lots this year and one day do amazing things.  Right now you change your mind daily as to what you want to be when you grow up:  an Army man, a pilot, a "worker," an astronaut, a fireman, a Daddy...  Happy Apple will help you on your way to success and we'll be there to cheer you on every step of the way!!

So many great memories at this church....

Grandma, PawPaw, & Grant joined me this morning to wish Gabe a great 1st Day!!

Gabe's wonderful teacher, Mrs. Lentz

Most of the sweet little Green Apples

Notice Gabe found a spot in the middle of all his girlfriends rather than on the end with the boys.

He's always been quite the ladies man.  :)

Love these kids!!!

Have a great day Happy Apples!!

I came back this afternoon to discover lots of smiling faces in the crowd!  I think all the kids loved being back in school, and I definitely know Gabe had a great day!!  Here he is with his friend Casyn and their Orange Apple teacher from last year, Mrs Lori.

Gabe & Casyn were classmates last year (and again this year)

and she is now going to start coming home with us every afternoon to play!

Gabe is soooo excited!!!

Once Big Sister Kate got out of school a couple hours later,

we had a special 1st Day of school snack...ice cream with LOTS of sprinkles!!! 

Kate loses tooth #3

After school today we decided to go visit my parents.  Soon after we got there Kate went to the bathroom and was gone for several minutes.  All of a sudden she ran out so excited, blood dripping from her mouth, and baby tooth #3 in her hand!!  :)  Kate's tooth has been loose for a few weeks and I guess she decided today was the time for it to come out.  She said she wrapped it with a wash cloth and pulled...  : /  

But, because it's a Friday, Kate wants to take this tooth to school on Monday

to show her class before leaving it for the Tooth Fairy.

Happy Apple Open House

Tonight is Open House at Happy Apple Academy!!!

I probably don't say it enough on here, but we LOVE this preschool!!!  It is evident from the moment you step into the school, these teachers love what they do and they love these kids!!  I am so excited for the school year to begin and thrilled with Gabe's class this year, but I also have a lump in my throat knowing this is his last year.  :(  Why can't they just start a private school and keep our kids through high school??!?  Don't get me wrong, I love where Kate is and we have been very fortunate to have great teachers, but it is NOT the same!  Anyway, let's save all the emotions for later.  Tonight we're celebrating and about to see inside Gabe's Green Apple classroom for the first time!!

My sweet little Green Apple!!!

The proud family all here to support Gabe!

We love you so much Gabe.  Enjoy every minute of this year...the preschool years go by too quickly.

Which way do we go??!  Lead us to the Green Apple!!

Here we go....

Kate was a Purple Apple with Mrs. Blansett for her final year at Happy Apple.  She was/is an amazing teacher, but we decided to try out the Green Apples for Gabe.  Kate needed a teacher who was animated, funny, outgoing, loving, and entertaining...all things "Kate."  Gabe, on the other hand, is a bit more reserved...  So, we knew Mrs. Lentz would be the perfect fit for him.  She is sweet, gentle, calm, quiet, and very loving too of course...all things "Gabe."  Grant isn't old enough to really describe yet, but something tells me he might find his perfect fit in the third amazing 4 year old class, the Blue Apples with Mrs. Stein.  :)

Mrs. Lentz, we are looking forward to an amazing year!!  Thank you for all that you do, for all the love you show all the kids, and for all the hard work you put in to preparing these kids for Kindergarten.  Gabe, you are going to have an awesome year!!!

The class pets: ants & frogs

Gabe was happy to see two of his favorite apples: Riley & Courtney!

We are so excited that Gabe & Riley are back together again this year!!

Kate & Grant had fun tonight too.  Mrs. B, you can go ahead and fill out the paperwork on Grant.

You are holding a future Yellow Apple in your hands right now!!  ;)

Building a fence

All my hard work in the backyard is about to pay off.....

Deloach Fence has arrived to build our privacy and picket fence!!!

I have been wanting this fence from the day we moved in...and now we have it!!

Kate is at school, but my little army man has helped me keep watch on the progress today...

Day 2

Gabe woke up early and before even taking off his pjs he was ready to head back outside to play and see what the guys are up to with the fence.  Yesterday they finished the picket fence portion that overlooks the pond and today they are working on the privacy fence.

These two guys worked so hard today...even through the rain...and did a beautiful job fencing in our backyard!  Now I feel like we are again one step closer to getting this house setup the way we want.  There are still lots of projects left, but we are getting there...one project at a time.

Kate came home from school and was excited to check out the finished fence with Gabe!

The kids don't like the barrier between them and the pond, but there's a gate.  :)