Meet the Teacher

Today was an exciting day. After saying goodbye to his 4K teachers at Primrose, we got to meet Eli's Kindergarten teacher. We were thrilled that he was assigned to Mrs. K's class. She came highly recommended from a friend who worked with her at another school and I asked the Principal that Eli be assigned to her room if possible. I'm glad it worked out!! We were very impressed with her and how organized her room was. We visited another Kindergarten class and it felt very chaotic. Mrs. K's room was orderly and calm. Loved it. We talked with her a bit, Eli checked out the classroom and Tim & I filled out info to volunteer at the school (they do a background check on everyone). There are 23 kids in his class so that will be more than he's used to but hopefully he will be able to behave!

After "meet the teacher", Eli & I snuck away to Barnes & Noble for a little afternoon treat and some Mommy / Eli hang out time. He picked an M&M blondie and I picked a Chocolate Chunk Cookie (which I took back to Cole). I've said it before but I really need to do more one on one with the boys. 

 Eli & Mrs. K

 Lots of drawers to explore

 Weights and measures

Eli's cubby

Eli's Last Day at Primrose

Today was Eli's last day at Primrose, his last day in 4K! He has been there since he was 15 weeks old and has had such great teachers along the way. They have become like family to us and we're very appreciative of everyone there. Thankfully Cole still has two more years so we don't have to say official goodbyes just yet. =) 

 Ms. Denise - love Ms. Denise!!

Ms. Laura - who Eli wanted to marry until she told him he was already married. =)

Eli's 1st day of Kindergarten

Today was Eli's 1st day of Kindergarten!! Oh my goodness. In our county, the Kindergarteners go one day the first week. They're divided by last name to cover four days where they are "assessed" to see what is their incoming level and then on Friday we go in to find out his teacher assignment, meet her and see the room. Eli had gone back and forth about Kindergarten and moving to another school. Some days he would be excited and happy but then others he would say he didn't want to leave Primrose. But this morning, he was SUPER! He was excited to go to his new big school. He kept calling today a "test" day and he says he'll start "for real" next week. He will start full time in his class on Tuesday after Labor Day. 

Tim & I both took Eli to his first day. It worked out great that we saw his friend Christopher in the parking lot so they chatted and walked into school together. We checked him in and they took his picture. He was so cute with his backpack and lunch box. Then after the picture, he headed down the hall to his class! I did great until they took him down the hall. I thought for sure that I'd get to walk him to the class but I had to do a quick goodbye at the end of the hall. Must confess, that made the tears come. But Eli did great and waved bye as he walked down the hall. 

I made sure to pick him up from school this afternoon and his very first words when I got to the classroom were "Kindergarten was awesome!!". Then he ran back in the room! It made me feel so great that he had a fantastic day. I couldn't get too much out of him other than they ate in the cafeteria, played on the playground and were watching 'The Magic Schoolbus' when I picked him up. Oh yeah, and that he was the quietest of every one during quiet time. =)

We'll find out his teacher / class on Friday and then next week, he'll start Before and After School care. That will make it a lot like what we do at daycare because we'll have to sign him in and out each day. We'll have to figure out a new routine and lunch every day. Will also be a change in calendar / schedule as we'll have to pay attention to school holidays, early release, etc. But we're excited for this new adventure in Eli's life. He's going to be an awesome Kindergartener! 

 I'm a Kindergartener!

 Goodness, he looks so big!

 I tried to get some pictures with Cole, he did not want to cooperate.

 But he is there in the back!

 Complete with Darth Vader lunch box

 Uh-oh, Darth took flight!

 Eli and Christopher

 Headed in!

 Christopher, Priyanka and Eli - friends from Primrose

 Very proud Mommy

"Bye Mom!"

Every day.....

 This is what Eli does EVERY day. 

He starts the morning and ends the day with Legos. Love it!

Celebrating 5, LEGO style!!

So I love a kids' birthday party. And throw me a theme, I'm all over it. Eli's LEGO party was no exception and was such a blast! Eli invited all of his school friends and was so excited for his Lego party. I took this past week off to get ready for the it. Usually I start working on party stuff way in advance but after Cole's party last month and the demands of work, I didn't get as much of a jump as I wanted so it was a busy week! 

Thankfully, this time I remembered the time I had planned the party and it worked out great. Having a 2pm party allowed us to handle "morning of" details and not be super rushed. I had a few games planned and of course, snacks, cookies and cupcakes. Our first game was a Backyard Scavenger Hunt to find all the Yellow Lego men. I had no idea how much the kids would love it. Eli was hilarious searching the yard with his "posse". He would point to one, someone would grab it and then another friend would collect them. As more kids arrived, more got into the fun of finding Yellow Lego Men. We even had to hide them over and over after they found them. After a while of that, we played Lego Bingo. The kids play Bingo at school and were so excited to play it. I could not believe how great they participated - sitting at the table, marking off the squares as I called the character and calling Bingo when they had Bingo. We played until everyone had Bingo and they all got a Lego folder and pencil for school as their prize. After Bingo, it was cupcake time! Everyone was excited for that. We sang 'Happy Birthday' to Eli and he blew out his Lego candles. He was so sweet. I made the cookies and cupcakes and this year, instead of paper cupcake toppers, I got all ambitious and made chocolate Lego toppers. My first adventure in molding chocolate and it turned out great. We had the kids line up to get their cupcakes and it was so funny how every single child not only wanted their cupcake but a Lego Man head cookie as well. They loved them! 

After cookies and cupcakes, we had the main event. Lego Car Build and races. We bought a few wheel / chassis sets and let the kids use regular Legos and their imaginations to build all sorts of vehicles. Once they built something they wanted to let ride down the ramp, they'd bring it over and see how fast it would go down. Their designs were amazing! I loved seeing all their creations and everyone really got into it. They would do a test run and then make adjustments / redo their cars. It was like pine derby races with Lego cars! So much fun. 

I opted not to let Eli open his presents AT the party this year. Several reasons for this but most importantly, he & I had talked about how it's great if a friend brings you a present for your birthday but they don't HAVE to. I wanted to make it more about being with his friends and less about getting gifts. He did really well with that. And I think all the kids were so busy for the two hours that no one was bothered by it. Secondly, the kids always get crazy when gifts are opened too. They all want to see and help so it gets a little chaotic. I also wanted Eli to actually see the gifts and be able to talk about who gave it to him instead of just going to the next one. So anyway, it worked out great. I was SO proud of Eli during the party. He was great with all his friends and made sure everyone was taken care of and had fun. I also felt (may have just been me) that he was proud of his party. All of his friends had such a fun time and a few didn't want to leave. =) We had no meltdowns or problems between friends; it was just an awesome party!! 

And, just as I did at Cole's birthday party, I made sure everyone got a handmade party favor. I made each child a Lego Man shirt - Eli and Cole actually wore theirs at the party - and they also got a package of Lego cookies. The goodie bags were a huge hit and the kids all loved their shirts. All in all, the party was a huge success and I'm so thrilled with how it turned out. Next year, a much smaller party. Mom can't keep this up every year! =)

Lego cookies - made by Me =)

Is this how Wolverine started out? Decorating tip fingers

Party Prep - Eli helped Daddy build the ramps for the Lego car races. He was thrilled to use the drill.

Party day surprise from Mom & Dad - cool Lego head sort & store

How many Legos in the jar? 122!

Lego cookies - Lego Man heads, big / small Lego blocks and #5s. We also had M&Ms and Lego candies.

Snack table - popcorn, goldfish, pretzels, also had cheese & crackers.

Happy Birthday Eli!

our front door for the party

Family shot before the party - I told my friend Kara that I wore green because I'm the family baseplate!

Grabbing some M&Ms

Little popcorn containers

On the Lego Man scavenger hunt

Evan was the holder of the Lego Men

Searching.....

Abby found two!

Still looking.....seriously, they LOVED it!

Time for Lego Bingo

Each Bingo sheet had pictures of Lego mini figures / characters

and then I would draw / show a card of the character. Regular Bingo rules applied. 

Cupcakes - yummy vanilla with chocolate Lego block toppers. 

Colin hunting for Lego men (these are in order so the hunt kept going on!)

Eli's cupcake with FIVE Lego candles

Happy Birthday Eli! I just love this picture. He has the sweetest expression. 

Cupcakes AND cookies!

I think Cole had more than one. I'm not really sure. =)

Lego car build time

The build spanned three tables and the kids all got along great!

1st test run

Cole's creation

The girls loved it too!

Best shot I got of the goodie bags - I punched holes and put them on there to look like Lego bags.

The party place - thankfully the weather was awesome. Not too hot, overcast so not too sunny and it started sprinkling rain as we finished up.

Modifications to their cars.

Grandpa C found a big bug and had a captive audience.

Someone said it was a katydid. I haven't checked so I'll go with that. 

Most of the party gang. There were a few kids that didn't want to be in the picture. So much fun!!

One of the Moms sent me this picture she took in our driveway. Once the kids found out there were t-shirts inside, they all had to put them on. 

Mommy & Cole - check out my Lego earrings! Tim & I made them just before the party. 

Dirt Bike Transporter

Monster truck

Camper!

Grandma & Grandpa N

Grandma & Grandpa C

My little Lego boys - they're getting so big!!

Uncle Billy & Aunt Niki