Ashlyn's First Day at Kindergarten

   As much as I did not want it to at all, the day finally came.  Ashlyn's first day of kindergarten.  I always knew how hard of a day it would be for me, I just didn't feel like it would actually ever come.  I can honestly say I have been dreading this day all summer.  I did not share with Ashlyn any of my feelings towards the day.  We constantly talked very positively about school.  She was excited and nervous at the same time.  On Thursday, we got to the school to meet her teacher and drop off her supplies.  Ashlyn really enjoyed it and I think it really eased her fears some.  She kind of had more of an idea of what was going to be like.  She said some of her fears were that she didn't know anyone and didn't have any friends.  I wasn't the least bit worried about this.  Aslyn is the the friendliest and most outgoing child ever.  She makes friends everywhere she goes.  It's a true talent of hers. 

      The morning of her first day, we woke up early for a special breakfast of pancakes.  Ashlyn got all dressed in her pretty new dress.  We took lots of pictures of her.  We dropped Dawson off at my sister's house so it would just be Ashlyn.  We parked the car in the neighborhood and walked to her school.  

     On the first day her school had everyone meet on the basketball court.  We immediately found her teacher and Ashlyn lined up with her class.  They did a flag raising and sang the national anthem.  Before we knew it, it was time for them to go inside.  I still get teary eyed thinking of having to say goodbye to her.  I was trying so hard not to cry, but I just couldn't help it.  This transition is just so hard for me.  For the last 5 years I have had her around almost all the time.  The fact that she will be gone 5 days a week is very hard for me.  I'm going to miss her so very much.   However, I know this is such a good transition for her.  She is so developmentally ready to be around kids her age more and learn, learn, learn.  We said goodbye and left.  

    The rest of day I was feeling pretty sad.  I just worried that she wouldn't have a good day.  I was literally counting down the hours until we could pick her up.  When the time finally arrived, I was so happy.  She came running out the door so excited to see us.  She immediately told us she had a great day.  She told us all about it including that she made two friends!   I could not have been happier to hear what a wonderful day she had.  I felt so much better!

   Yesterday, went really well too.  She told me yesterday how much she just loves school and what fun it is.  I am so happy that she is enjoying it so much.  My new favorite part of the day is getting to pick her up from school and hearing about her day.  I also love her school and am so excited to see what this year brings for our little girl! 

Our big kindergartner

All ready to go

Walking to school

Ashlyn and her mom

In front of her school

Playing a little before school started

Looking for her class.  I can tell from this picture she was nervous. 

Her class all lined up. 

Heading inside. 

This was the end of the day.  She was in front of the line. 

Giving her teacher a hug goodbye

Heading home and listening all about her great first day!

Kindergarten Preparations

  We have been very busy around here getting Ashlyn ready to go to kindergarten.  Dawson started going back to his preschool on August 1st.  That left Ashlyn and I with several days that were just the two of us.  What a rare treat to be able to spend the whole day together with just each other!!!  We had so much fun the last few weeks.  I wanted to make it very special for her, so I let her pick what we did.  We went to a movie, went miniature golfing, went out to lunch at her favorite restaurants, got frozen yogurt, etc.  We also did A LOT of back to school shopping.  Its been years and years since I have done any back to school shopping and I had forgotten how much fun it is.  We even went up to Denver one day to do some shopping.  We went with Gram too.  The day was perfect because we had lunch at our favorite restaurant and Ashlyn got to take a trip to the American Girl store.  

   This past weekend was a fun one too.  Joey and I took the kids to see Planes.  Dawson has been dying to see it, so we went.  I thought the movie was just okay, but the kids of course loved it. After the movie, we got both kids haircuts so they would look nice and neat for school.  We ended the day watching some Broncos football.  On Sunday, Ashlyn got to go to the park with her Dad and brother.  In the afternoon, we went over to her Auntie's house to make a special back to school cake for her.  Afterwards,we came back home and went through all Ashlyn's new clothes and picked out her outfits for the week.  We also got her lunch ready.

   When I was younger and in school, our family had a tradition of going to a local pizza place, Fargo's the night before school started.  My mom recently reminded me of this tradition and I really want to do it with my kids too.  So, on Sunday night, we all headed to Fargo's for some delicious pizza.  We had a great time eating pizza and talking about Ashlyn's big day coming up.  After pizza, we headed to my sister's house to eat Ashlyn's back to school cake. My sister even bought Ashyln a special card and flowers.  What a great day Ashlyn had on the day before school started. 

 

Daddy and Dawson eating pizza.  Dawson went  crazy for their pizza. 

Yummy pizza!!!

Ashlyn and her special cake. 

Ashlyn standing next to her first bouquet of flowers. 

Dawson at 2 1/2 years old

 
   Last week, Joey took Dawson to his 2 1/2 year checkup.  I made the appointment a long time ago, and didn't realize I was going to have to work on the day I made it.  So, Joey got to take him instead.  Joey said that Dawson did great at his appointment.  When the doctor came in, he immediately laid down on the exam table and was so well behaved.  He said his doctor could not believe how well behaved he was for a 2 year old.  In the last four months he has gained about two pounds.  He now weighs 28.6 pounds and is now in the 33% for his weight.  In four months he grew 2 1/2 inches!!! He is now 35.6 inches and is in the 41% for his height.  Clearly he has been doing a lot of growing this summer!!!  The doctor was very pleased with his growth and said that he is right on track with everything.  It was another great visit. 
   We really did hit the jackpot when it comes to this one.  He is such a sweet, sweet boy.  He is also such a good little boy.   He is so caring towards others.  He is a real gentleman towards his Ella.    The other day they were riding along on their little push cars.  Ella fell off of hers and  began  crying. He immediately ran over to her helped her back on and gave her a huge hug.  It was the sweetest thing ever!  He is a very mild mannered child.  He listens so well for a two year old.  He isn't perfect and does has his little meltdowns, but for the most part he is a perfect little boy.
   Dawson continues to be obsessed with trains and especially Thomas the Train.  He has quite the collection of Thomas trains.  He takes one with him every where he goes.  He loves his train table and playing with his trains.  His favorite books are his train and Thomas books.  Every night we read from the same Thomas the Train book that has special sounds to go with the stories.  He loves it.  This September my mom bought tickets for a very special Thomas the Train event.  He is going to be beside himself!
    Dawson has also really started to enjoy swimming. I think going to Great Wolf Lodge really ignited a love for swimming in him.  He loves the pool at the gym.  We went today and he was swimming around pretending he was a shark.  Dawson also absolutely loves playing in the sand.  It entertains him for hours. 
   Well, that's a brief look into Dawson's life as a 2 /12 year old.  We are having so much fun watching our little guy grow and become an amazing little boy!

He's a very goofy kid.

He is such a mama's boy and I LOVE IT!!!

Camping and Zoo

   A few weekends ago, Ashlyn requested a sleep out in the backyard.  Ashlyn and Joey usually have one night each summer where they put up the tent and sleep in the yard.  She really loves it and looks forward to it.  Well, as luck would have it, the minute Joey got the tent up it started to rain.  They did manage to rally through the rain for a time.  They snuggled up and watched a movie together.  Once it got later and it continued to rain, they had to move inside.  Ashlyn was already asleep so she really didn't notice. She still had a great time. 
    The following day, I was helping my sister with a garage sale at her house. Joey decided to take the kids to the zoo for the day.  We bought another zoo membership a few months ago and I'm very glad we did.  We have really gotten a lot of use out of it.  The kids love going to the zoo.  It's the perfect activity on days where we want to do something outdoors, but can't think of what to do.  They had a great time showing Joey around the zoo.  Ashlyn got her face painted yet again, and we found it funny that she picked an elephant again. 

Setting up the tent

Checking out the tent

The clever way Joey rigged the Ipad up in the tent to watch a movie. 

Cuddled u watching a movie

Feeding the giraffes.  The giraffes are Dawson's favorite animal. 

She loves the lions. 

Part of the new lion exhibit.

Exploring

Ready to get her face painted. 

The finished product. 

They rode the train.  Its always Dawson's favorite. 

Love this picture.  Can you believe how big Ashlyn is getting???

They also rode the carousel. 

Love them so much!!!

North Pole

    A few weeks ago, we made our annual trip to the North Pole.  The kids just love going.  We usually try to go once school starts so its a little less crowded, but with Ashlyn starting school this year we couldn't wait.  We had a great time.  It wasn't very crowded and I think the kids rode just about every ride.  Last time we went, Dawson and Ella were still too small to ride all the rides.  They did a lot of growing this year, and they got to ride almost everything.  Our kids are brave and they will try any ride.  Ashlyn even insisted on going through the "haunted house" even though the sign said ages 6 and up.  She wasn't phased at all by it.  The only bummer for the day was that it started raining in the afternoon.  It was pretty much pouring and we decided that we didn't want to wait the rain out, so we headed home.  It was still a great day full of lots of fun and smiles. 

Ashlyn by the frozen North Pole sign. 

Dawson riding on the carousel. Always a favorite. 

Ella

Jameson even went for a ride. 

The ladybugs

Ashlyn was finally big enough to ride on rides all by herself. 

Walking to the next ride. 

Pretty girl with her umbrella

Ready to go

Those faces are priceless!!!

The little Ferris wheel. 

Up they go!

Ashlyn and Auntie on the roller coaster

Dawson driving the truck

They loved riding together. 

Ashlyn going up

Driving a race car

They always love the boats.

The space ship. 

 

Dawson on the train.  I think it was his favorite. 

All aboard!!!!

Every year we take a picture here.  It's crazy to think we started with just Ashlyn, and my how we have grown!!!!

Ashlyn loved the slide!!!!

Ella riding a motorcyle.

We did get to visit Santa before we left.  Santa was so friendly.  The girls weren't a bit afraid to talk to him.  Dawson was not digging Santa and ran off.  Ashlyn was able to tell Santa what she wanted.  Santa said if she was good he would bring her an American Girl doll. 

Jameson wasn't feeling Santa either. 

Giving Santa a hug.

The rain that shortened our visit :(