Natalie's preschool transformation

It's been quite the school year for us. About 9 months ago, Natalie entered 3-year old preschool and Peter entered 4-year old preschool at Regina. Their approach to preschool were complete opposites. Peter embraced and loved it, whereas Natalie was little timid and unsure. We believed she enjoyed it as every now and then, we would catch a smile on her face. As soon as she realized she was smiling, she'd quickly put back on her discontent face.

Much like this one:

This beginning of preschool picture is much like all the pictures caught by Ms. Connie during the year...Natalie didn't give her smiles freely for pictures. On top of that, Natalie rarely spoke in school. For the longest time, my first question at pick-up would be "Did she talk?" and the frequent answer with a hopeful smile was "Not today." Even though she wasn't talking, she told me more about what happened at preschool in the first week than Peter had in a whole year! The girl is an observing learner!

Her character at school was far from what she was at home. She could easily be called our wacky child from all her mannerisms and humor (something she might have discovered during Uncle Jim's visit). When we asked her why she was being shy and not talking at school, her consistent answer would be "When I'm 4-years old, I will talk at school." Promise? "Yes."

Over 6 months later, she turned 4. She opened up a little more at school, but did not completely deliver on her promise. It was a work in progress, so I felt comfortable to not obsessing about it. My question at pick-up from then on was "Did she have a good day?"

This picture gives the answer to that one.

Elaine's first photo ID

In case we needed to travel to foreign soil, we got Elaine her passport. Among all of us, she has the best photo!

Last days of pre-school 2010

Last week was the end of pre-school for both Peter and Natalie. At the end of the school year, each pre-schooler plants a plant outside of the school building. Natalie's flower pick was a bright and bold orange marigold. She seemed pretty happy with it.

Peter had to make sure his "royal velvet" plant got water...this would be the 3rd pot full he's given it!
Peter and Natalie in the playhouse one last time.

Natalie with her teacher Ms. Connie!

In front of the school, I planned to get a picture of just Natalie with her giraffe balloon from their circus day. Peter and Elaine couldn't help but crash the photo op. I love the end result and think we've found a school year tradition!

Lego builder in training

Legos continue to be one of Peter's favorite past time. He keeps telling me about a Lego building contest mentioned the Lego magazine. I keep telling him that he needs to practice and to start building things on his own to enter!

Since then, he's built some pretty cool buildings.

First, there was "The Shed."

Next was "The Library.

The "Lego Fighters" were next.

Most recent build was "The Condo" that had an open air library and elevator!

Lego Magazine...here we come!

Dane's Farm and Dairy, here we come!

The last field trip of the school year for both Peter and Natalie was to Dane's Farm and Dane's Dairy. Sam was able to go with Natalie and her class. She was so happy that Daddy was there!
Here's Natalie with her field trip buddy, Mackenzie. Don't they look super excited?!

The day was beautiful for the outdoor field trip! The class got to see so many different animals like a donkey, chickens, sheep, a calf, mini horse (not sure the technical name), and alpacas!

A class picture in front of Farmer Herky!

A sweet end to the field trip was ice cream cones from Dane's Dairy.

As always, Natalie with Thomas!

Is that a mini hand holding I spot!? :)
Nothing could be sweeter...well, except the bus ride home with sixteen 3- & 4-year olds on a sugar high!

The very next day was field trip day for Peter's class. They were not so lucky with the weather as it turned cold and rainy. That didn't damper my group of boys that were assigned to me.
Peter B., Peter K., and Jack...all ready to go!

Hello, Farmer Herky!

Classic me, I forgot to grab Peter's jacket for the cooler weather. That's him wearing my black jacket...if only I had some thick rimmed glasses and a magic wand, I could've had a Harry Potter on my hands!

Peter really loved it when the peacock flew on top of the roof.

This sweet calf enjoyed the attention!

Despite the rain and cold air, all the kids ate their ice cream, some shivering more than others!

The Bear class ready for the trip back to school!

Great time had by all!

Mother's Day 2010

We celebrated Mother's Day a week early this year. Sam would have the luck of having a conference in Seattle over Mother's Day weekend. So, we made the best of it.

We started the morning with my favorite: Sunday brunch at Iowa River Power Restaurant! It's my absolute favorite in town. The fact that mimosas and kids under 5 are free makes it an even sweeter place in my heart! :)

After we ate enough to last us the entire day, we took a stroll across the bridge next to the restaurant over the Iowa River. The kids really enjoy the walk on the bridge...

...well, almost all the kids. Elaine could see the roaring river through the cracks of the bridge planks and froze in fear. She wouldn't move without holding someone's hand. Even then, she was a little hesitant. I found this unexpected from our resident daredevil!

Elaine definitely wasn't thrilled about the waters below!

I snapped the next photo in awe that my kids would be so interested in reading about the fossil stones found near that area. Afterwards, I found out that they were actually watching these tiny red bugs crawling along the plaque! :)

At the end of the bridge, we were greeted by a giant dragonfly.

Peter hitched a ride with Daddy back across the bridge while I had Elaine hanging onto my pants for dear life! Literally, as I clicked this photo, my pants were at a dangerously low level! Next time, I will remember a belt!

We relaxed the rest of the day at home. By the end of the day, we saw a great rainbow in our backyard. If you look closely, there's actually two rainbows...one to the left of the main one.

It was a beautiful end to my special day!

Spring brings interesting things

From clearing a spot in our garden patch,
take a close look at my catch!

Natalie wasn't so sure
she wanted it near her.

Peter was the typical boy,
and was overjoyed with our new toy.

The creature curled up into a little ball,
probably because it didn't like us at all.

Then it found the courage to seize the day,
as we watched it inch away!

Apparently, spring also brings
a little rhyming to my blogging!