Our house now has a 6 year old! Eli had a birthday last month & now he thinks he is big man on campus.
Of course, when didn't he think that?
I wasn't even sure I was going to have a party this year. I wanted to keep it simple. But then he ramdomly said 2 weeks before his big day, that he wanted a Spiderman party.
WHAT?! We own no spiderman movies or toys. Where did this come from?!
But, being the mama that I am. I obliged.
I got to work downloading a Spiderman font so that I could make some tags & such & stumbled onto some spiderman stuff in Michael's clearance section. Score! I guess it was meant to be. So then I freezer paper stenciled a spiderman shirt for both him & Jackson for the party. Done.
But, really, this was the lowest of the low key possible. We literally had popcorn & cupcakes at the park. Period. No games, no activities. Just ate & played. But he was surrounded by his cousins to play with so all was good!
I really can't believe how fast my kids grow up. I know that I say it with every passing year & that it is so cliche to say. But it is true. Life is so fast!
Eli is playing soccer again this fall & I have to say that maybe 6 is the magic year for that! He is SERIOUS about his "game" this year. All business out on the field!
And he has scored several goals each game. Here he is WAY ahead of everyone, kicking the ball in the net! (no goalie in this age group!) Score!
School is in full swing already, but I thought the grandparents especially would appreciate the annual "first day" photos!
I can't believe Jackson is officially in 3rd grade. I remember 3rd grade vividly & I hope that Jackson has a wonderful "pivotal" year as everyone calls 3rd!
Eli started Kindergarten! Unbelievable!! He was so excited all summer long. I don't think there was ever a kid more ready than this guy! Unfortunately though, he had to wait 2 excruciating weeks to start after Jackson because they stagger in the K kids.
Jackson was super excited for him to start too, i think. This picture on the porch of them together on Eli's first day has already become one of my newest favorites of these 2 buddies.
One of the perks for Eli all along has been the bus. He started asking about riding the bus long before he was even out of preschool. It took me 2 years to let Jackson ride the bus, if you remember, but Eli was not wavering (in true Eli form, of course).
He didn't even want me to take him into the school the first day! I drew the line though & told him that a mama has a right to walk her baby into the class on the first day of Kindergarten!! I compromised & let him ride the bus home that day though.... (it was the only way to avoid the teetering tantrum over it during classroom orientation!)
Oh, so proud of himself. He felt like such a big kid!!
I wonder what I will do with my quiet days at home????
May was an exciting month for one special little kid. This kid is no longer a preschooler. His name is....
ELI!!
His last year of preK ended about a week ago & I truly can't believe it is already time to send this little fella (that I was just snuggling in my arms, wrapped in a hospital blanket) off to Kindergarten in the fall. Where.Does.Time.Go?
Ugh. I can't dwell on that now.
Back to the happy, "glass half full" side of this story.
No more preschool tuition. Woot Woot!
No more driving 20 minutes to preschool twice a day/3x a week. (Saving on gas money. Woot!)
My boy has made friends, loved his teachers, & is EAGER & READY for Kindergarten.
We have been so blessed by the preschool program that both our boys went to. We have absolutely loved all the teachers we have had (so much so that we requested these lovely ladies for Eli since Jackson had already had them & they are FABULOUS). They truly love the kids & the kids love them. What more can I ask for but for my kid to feel loved & accepted? Who wouldn't want to learn in that kind of environment? Thank you Mrs. White & Mrs. Hensley!
The graduation ceremony was adorable. The kids filed into the sanctuary in their white caps & gowns to the official graduation march.
I told myself that I wasn't going to cry this go round. That I had already done this & knew what to expect, so I wasn't going to cry. They sang a few songs & I held it together great! I was so proud! Here are the songs that they sang... Each video is a different song & I couldn't choose just one. They are all cute in their own way (either cute signing, funny lyrics, etc...) Plus, I figured the grandparents that couldn't be there would like to see what they missed! (ADORABLE, I tell ya!)
First up was "Good Morning to You." Eli is in the center of the front row. Just look for the khaki pants & black shoes hanging out the bottom of the gown. You can't miss him then! Second verse is the best because it is silly & Eli has a hard time with silly when he is nervous (& it shows in all these videos!)
Next up was the "Number Rock" & Eli got more into this one! (They all did, actually!)
Then they sang "God is Good to Me" & they did some great signing & a cute little stroll on this one!
Then they sang "Let's Love One Another" (so sweet!)
And then "God is So Good" and another great job of signing! My little man is great at sign language!
But then, they sang my favorite little kid song...
and I fell apart. Couldn't take any more. I had to let the floodgates loose! And as luck would have it, my camera SD card blinked "full". Grrr.
So, no video of them singing "Little Me."
Then it was time to hand out diplomas. Eli stood there, patiently waiting his name to be called. And off he went to get his diploma! He's a graduate!
After the ceremony, there was a small reception. We didn't eat anything (Although I grabbed a cupcake for Eli to go!). But we did stop in to see the self portraits that the kids made and say some goodbyes. I love this self portrait. In fact, I love it so much that it is already framed & in the hallway!
And I had to take note that his picture was next to Lilli's picture. Almost as if they are holding hands.
The real life Lilli & Eli aren't holding hands, but I think they would if we gave them half a chance. Of all the kids Eli talks about, I hear Lilli's name the most. He has even created a profile for her on his LeapPad. Yeah, he's got a crush for sure! She is one sweet, shy, cutie though!
Congrats to our little man! We are so proud of you!
May was one busy month! I am trying to get caught up on the blog, so bear with me!
We had mother's day which meant there was a Mother's Day Tea at Eli's preschool.
When I arrived, I found my seat & there was a beautiful portrait of me, drawn by one talented 5 year old! (Why has no one ever mentioned how large my hands are?)
On the back of the frame was the following notation: "My mommy's name is Rachel. She plays games with me. She likes going to the park. She does the laundry. She cooks supper for us. I like when she cooks pizza." I'd say, he nailed it!
On the wall was pictures that each child drew of them with their mom. And true to the above story, he draws a picture & labels it, "Mommy & I are playing Pictureka." The child LOVES this game. Can you tell!?
He also painted me a card with this sweet little note inside...
Pretty soon, the kids were filing in class by class & up on stage they went to sing sweet little songs about their mothers. Nothing much cuter than preschoolers singing, if you ask me.
Then it was time to come & have a "tea" together. (And maybe a ham &cheese croissant and some strawberries too!)
Two of Eli's friends were seated at our table as well. We tried to capture a picture of him with Alex on the left & Jaylen on the right. It's pretty hard to get 3 boys still & focused for a picture.
In fact, they were all pretty silly! Goofball shot!
Of course, Eli wanted a goofball shot with mom, too. I really didn't want to do that, but then decided that it was such a small way to make my kids' day!
Or it may have been the only way I was able to coerce him into a serious one with mom! :)
I hope everyone had a great mother's day. I am personally blessed with 3 moms! My mother is the best on earth, and if there was ever a better step-mama, I don't know where she is. And I have been blessed to have married a man with one spectacular mom, who has treated me with love & kindness since day one. Mama's rock!
Here is your hint....Yep. You guessed it! Eli is no longer using training wheels on his bike!!
I really think it was more of a confidence thing for him than ability. He liked knowing he wasn't going to fall. But when you have a big brother who wants to get out there & help you....It's hard to refuse the offer! Jackson literally taught him how to ride all on his own. And I think that is so special!
Everything from using the brakes, to putting your foot down so you don't fall when stopping- all Jackson's doing. The only thing I helped with was showing him (in literally one pep talk/take off) that he really could take off all on his own.... He just needed the encouragement to see for himself. And he thought I was holding on to him!
Voila! A new independent bike rider over at our house!
My child is very imaginative. We listen to him talk to himself all day long some days, totally engrossed in his own play schemes. Sometimes he does things that seem odd, and then upon further inspection is pretty inventive.... Enter: Today's video!
I had come upstairs to get started folding some laundry and Eli hates, i mean HATES, to be on one level of the house all by himself. So, naturally, he picked up his cars & headed upstairs with me. This is where he ended up....
Eli had a little Thanksgiving program at school last week. It was really cute. The kids all lined up on the stage, dressed as little Indian boys & girls, & sang some Thanksgiving songs.
Here is my cute little indian up close!
And afterward we got to have a little snack together. It was quite the perk that we were seated at the table with Eli's little "girlfriend", Lilli! She is such a sweet little thing & cute to boot!
I hear stories all the time from their teachers about how much these two love to play together & always want to sit together. It is so sweet! And I personally really like her mama, Candace, so I can see this working out in the future! :)
Anyway, here is a little video of their singing! Eli is on the far left end in the center row!
Happy Halloween to you all! We hope you all had a wonderful, chilly, day like we did. This was certainly the worst halloween in terms of weather we have ever had since kiddos. It turned rainy & nasty just in time for trick or treating! Boo!
But in terms of costumes? BEST ever! I managed to pull off costumes that suited not only my kids personalities, but their current interests!
And this was the first year that I took on actually making their costumes... from scratch.
Jackson was Harry Potter (& the cutest one I have EVER seen, I might add)... Eli was a viking. As in, vikings are in one of his favorite movies- How to Train Your Dragon... He played his part well! I had a lot of help from my friend, Theresa, on Jackson's Gryffindor robe. She'll tell you that she only hemmed it, but I will tell you that she was 75% of the brains behind the how-to in terms of how to construct it! And was my cheerleader.
And he was thrilled!! He really got into character & was dancing around all evening with his wand (that Randy made him! complete with his initials, JM, since Harry's was engraved with HP) Eli also got into character, whacking that $1 axe on everything! In case you are wondering... his "fur" is made from toilet bowl covers! lol! Got that wonderful idea from "I am Momma, Hear Me Roar!" I love blogs! We had to convince him to wear a beard, though... which involved me demonstrating it on myself first. Oh, the things we do! But it paid off, because vikings need facial hair. They are a rough bunch. They can even train dragons, ya know! We hope your halloween was as fun as ours!!!
