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Happy 2nd birthday Wesley!!

So, I sound like a broken record - but here I go again - WOW!  I can't believe my baby is 2!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY WESLEY!!

Wes is just growing into a sweet, sweet little boy.  Just recently, he has started wrapping his arms around your neck and just giving the biggest hugs.  He will kiss you and then say, "Hug."  His laugh is just contagious.  He will get to laughing so hard, it just makes you want to laugh.  So, I want to say that he is independent because one of his favorite new phrases is "No, I do it."  But, there are other times where he would just much rather prefer  you do it, or you carry him.  It's quiet funny.  I really think he just knows what he is doing...guess he has me wrapped around his little finger!!

He LOVES music - singing and dancing.  He will just dance around the room with a smile over his whole face.  Just pure and utter joy.  He LOVES books.  He wakes up with books, he sleeps with books.  He is constantly reading books.  His favorite ones are Boz, Go! Dog! Go!, 5 Little Monkeys.  He LOVES to throw balls and loves to talk about football.  He LOVES to wear hats :)    He LOVES animals.  We have taken several trips to the Greenville zoo and the Atlanta zoo and he is still talking about the "alligator out of the wah-wah". 

So, his actual birthday has arrived.  Of course, we had to make some "foocakes" to take to school for his friends. 

I picked the kids up early so that we could go to the Park.  He was so excited.  I don't think we have been to Kids Planet in a super long time, so he was overwhelmed with all of the things to do.  The girls were really excited to be there too!

After the park, he asked for "peza" for dinner.  So, Clint picked up some on his way home and of course, Wes was overjoyed when he got home with it.  After dinner, we sang Happy Birthday to him - with a "2" in his cupcake.  He smiled and smiled - loved it.  After we sang, we told him to blow out the candle.  He smiled, looked at it, leaned a little closer like he knew what he was doing, then reached his hand out and put out the candle with his finger.  Then, of course, he cried because the "foocake's hot."

After cake, we opened presents.  I think he likes his new toys :)

Dance Class

Mary Catherine started taking dance this fall.  She is loving it!!  She loves her teacher Ms. Bailey.  She likes to show us her new toe taps and shuffle-ball-chains :)  The following picture is her before her first class. 

It is fun to watch her during class.  To be honest, I worried with how well she would listen, since she is only 3.  But, she has pleasantly surprised me.  Most of the time (really, more times than not), she listens to Ms. Bailey and tries all of the dance moves.  She seems to really be enjoying the class.

The Bounce House

We had Ella's 6th birthday party at The Bounce House at the Pavilion. We had a wonderful turnout of friends, which made it extra special.   We had the following friends join us Ava, Olivia Kate, Tessa, Sara, Stella and Colton, Jackson and Claire, Jamie, and Ethan

Mary Catherine having a great time.

Ella and Tessa hanging out.  What fun!!

 Ella, Olivia Kate and Tessa now posing for a picture. 

Wesley's first ride down the big slide.  I have to admit, I was scared to let him go down by himself.  My dear friend, Tobie, said, "He can't, or you won't let him?"  I thought for a minute and realized she was right.  So, I asked Clint to go down with him a couple of times and then we unleashed him.  And boy did he have fun!! 

He proved that he is a big boy and did it by himself.  I stood in amazement as he proceed by himself...over and over and over again!!

Colton having fun on the big slide

 Most of the girls (except the birthday girl!) lining up for a picture.  From left to right is Tessa, Stella, Mary Catherine, Sara and Olivia Kate.

Then it was eating time.  The kids enjoyed some pizza first.  Then we had birthday cake and ice cream.  Here is Ella getting ready to blow out her candles!

Wesley sitting up at the table with the rest of the big kids enjoying some cake and ice cream.

After cake and ice cream, the kids decided to go and play for a little longer.  Since we were out of time at the party, we decided to talk all of the presents home to open them.  I hate that we didn't get to share in the joy and excitement with her friends, but it did work out well to open them at home.  Mary Catherine had a lot fun seeing all of the Tinker Bell, Princess and artsy stuff that Ella received.  Thanks so much to all of her friends!!!!

Ella's 6th birthday

My little girl is 6!  I still can't believe it!! 

Last weekend, Mimi and PaPa came up for Grandparent's Day at Kindergarten.  Although it was kind of hectic at the school, Ella really enjoyed having them share lunch with them.  She also loved that they got to see her new "big school."

Mimi bought some cupcakes for Ella's birthday.  Unfortunately, they didn't get to stay and eat them with us.  The kids sure did enjoy the cupcakes though (or as MC would say "foocapes"). 

Ella enjoyed licking the icing off of her cupcake.  All she wanted was the chocolate icing.

Mary Catherine, on the other hand, ate every single bite and absolutely loved it!!  Wesley sure did enjoy his too!

Then the actual birthday arrived.  Ella asked to wear one of her church dresses to school so that she could look pretty for her big day.  She got to open one present before school.

I baked some cupcakes and took them to Children's House.  All of friends sang happy birthday and they ate some cupcakes.  She requested that we have corn dogs, corn, peas and grapes for dinner; so, that is exactly what we had :)  Then we sang happy birthday to her and she blew out a #6 on her cupcake.  After our dessert, we opened more presents.

She was especially excited that she got her Tinker Bell costume.  After bath time, she had to put it back on to play for a little while.  After we got finished reading tonight, she looked at me and said, "Ya know Mom, six year olds are in first grade.".  Then she promptly started talking about next year when she turns 7.  No, no, no!! :)  Man, if this next year flies as fast as this year does, I don't know what I will do.  It really and truly seems just like yesterday that she came walking down the stairs holding her 5 fingers up smiling so warmly and excitedly that she was turning 5.  And now...she is 6.  Wow.

Kindergarten - 3rd Day

So, maybe I won't write about every day of Kindergarten - but this first week...it's just so...wonderful, sad, exciting, joyful, bitter sweet, emotional...I just can't explain it!!

We packed Ella's lunch again, so she is excited about taking her lunch.  But, she wanted to eat in the cafeteria for breakfast this morning so that she could "practice going to her room all by herself."  With Wes in the stroller and the girls hand-in-hand, we walked into the school again this morning.  Instead of following the Koala's, we went to the cafeteria.  It was MUCH busier than it was Wed morning!!  She put her book bag down and got in line.  I couldn't stomach leaving her, so the 3 of us went to the back of the cafeteria to watch her go thru the line.  Mary Catherine was fine at first.  She was sitting at a table and was playing around a little, but then started getting louder and more emotional.  I finally held her and convinced her to watch for Ella.  We watched her get her cereal and milk and then go to the lunch lady and give her name and then watched her go and sit down.  I just couldn't stand it anymore, so we had to walk over there to just give her a hug and let her know how very proud I am of her.  As I bent down, she said, "Mom, I can't get my milk open.  Can you help me?"  I politely told her, "No sweetie, you need to figure it out yourself."  (boy was that hard!!!)  Then like 2 seconds later, she got it!  She was so happy and the little boy beside her just beamed from ear to ear.  MC bent down and gave her a big hug and then we left.  Of course, MC cried.  Not quiet as bad as yesterday, but she still cried nonetheless.  She was still upset that we left Ella, but today, she was also upset that we didn't follow all of the Koala's and go to the cool classrooms :)

I still can't believe I have a "kindergarterner" :)

Kindergarten - 2nd day

It's day 2 of Kindergarten!!

Well, the morning didn't start out as grand as yesterday morning.  First of all, Clint left this morning for Portland for the Hood to Coast relay race.  So, it was just me and the 3 munchkins.  Ella didn't wake up in as good of a mood as yesterday either - not enough sleep for such a busy past couple of days.  I, at least, got a couple of cute pictures before the meltdowns started :)

As mentioned, there were meltdowns...Mary Catherine.  It started with her not being able to figure out why Ella was eating breakfast at home and she couldn't.   But, that being said, we managed to get out the door and get loaded up into the car. 

When we got to the school, we put Wes into the stroller and we all just bounced up into the Elementary school.  All is well - everyone is happy.  Ella proudly showed MC the Koala's and how to find her class.  But, when we got to Ella's class, Ella didn't like the fact that she couldn't go in it.  The "big Koala" was next door by another class, which means that the kids should go in there until their teachers come and call them.  She didn't like that too well.  She just stood there.  In the meantime, MC is fascinated with the colors and the pictures and the people.  I finally convinced Ella to go into the classroom and stand next to another little girl that asked me, "Where is my Mommy?" :(

So, all is good, right?  Wrong!  As soon as we turn around and start walking, Mary Catherine starts crying and screaming.  "I want Ella. I want to stay at big Kindergarten.  Where is Ella?  I want my Ella."  All the way out of the Elementary school, I held her while she screamed and cried (and remember, I was also pushing Wes in a stroller!)  We finally made it out to the parking lot and I just had to hold MC and let her sob into my shirt.  We finally got buckled into the car.  She had moments of quietness in the car, but then it would hit her again that Ella wasn't in the car and she would start crying and screaming again.  I never would have dreamed it would have hit her so hard!!

We all made it thru the day though!  She did tell me that I packed way too much food in her lunch box though. 

Kindergarten - First Day

Well, today is the day.  Couldn't have asked for an easier morning.  As soon as Ella woke up, she got her clothes and got dressed.  She was ready! :)  She and Mary Catherine got along so well, too.  The played and laughed.  It was so cute.

Clint took MC and Wesley on to school and Ella and I headed out to Buena Vista.  As we started to walk in, I just choked up. She, on the other hand, just bounced down the hallway.  We went to the cafeteria.  I walked with her thru the line.  She picked out Cheerios, milk, toast and grape jelly.  At the end of the line, they asked for her name so that they could check to see if she was in the computer yet.  I had to hold myself back from answering for her!  She very confidently spoke up and said, "Ella Pearce".  After that, we went and sat down.  I quickly realized I had never let her open her own single-serving cereal package nor a carton of milk.  So, I had to show her how to do that and explain that I wouldn't be there to open it for her next time (sob, sob, sob).  By the time she finished, she had jelly all over her face.  So, I also had to mention to her that she might need to ask her friends around her if she had jelly on her face next time :) 

When she was done, I had her lead me to the Kindergarten hallway.  She bravely followed the Koala pictures down each twist and turn.  As she walked into her room, I had to remind her to come and give me a hug!  She was so ready just to get the day started!

I left and walked to the cafeteria.  I held it back.  I wanted to cry so bad, but just kept it in.  So many emotions to deal with!!  They had a presentation for new parents that morning where several of the staff spoke about who they were and what they do at the school.  After I left, I went home.  Thank goodness I talked to Sheila on the phone for about an hour because that got me thru wanting to just sit and cry.  I left the house and went shopping, ate some lunch, got a pedicure, came home and took a nap, went back shopping, cleaned the car and then headed to Children's House to get the kids.  All throughout the day, I had moments of tears :)  As soon as I saw Ella, she was just overwhelmed with joy.  She was so excited.  She very quickly told me that she had opened her own carton of milk for lunch, just like I showed her and put her straw in it...all by herself (sob, sob, sob).

That night, as she was telling Clint all about her day, he asked her if she got to play any that day.

Ella:  "No, dad.  We just learned all day."

Dad:  "Really?  What all did you learn about?"

Ella:  "We just learned all about the rules"

She then went into a very animated explanation of the behaviour colors and what each one means.

Dad:  "Then tell me something else that you learned about - other than the rules."

Ella:  "Well, we just learned how to play outside."

Here's a few more pictures from the morning of Ella's first day of Kindergarten!

Gotta love this girl!!

Oh and one more thing...she did eat lunch at school.  She had a baked potato, broccoli, peaches and chocolate milk.  Sounds good to me, but what I want to know, when did she start liking baked potatoes?  Why won't she eat them at home?? :)

Countdown - 1 day

Unfortunately, I had to go to work for a couple of hours on Tuesday morning.  I was totally emotional.  There were moments in those couple of hours where tears just loomed in my eyes and I could feel my insides just swell with emotions.  Wow.  This is crazy!!

After my meeting, I headed over to get Ella.  As soon as we got home, she ran upstairs and changed clothes to put on a dress - today is the day SHE gets to meet her teacher - and boy was she excited!!

I think she was a bit taken back when we got to her room. She just kind of looked at everything and took it all in. Then she noticed...the doll house...the BIG doll house. (the one that is so tall she can't reach the bathroom). She played and played and just didn't want to leave. But, we convinced her it was time to go. Before we left though, she found her cubby and was just so excited to see her name on it.

After we did that, we headed to get her haircut. After a few more errands, we went and played a little more (shhh, don't tell Clint, but we got some more ice cream) :) and then picked up the other kids. She is so excited about her big day. If it weren't for her excitement, I would be a complete basket case!!

Countdown - 2 days

So, there are two days left before school.  I took the day off of work so that Ella and I could play and just enjoy being together.  After we took Mary Catherine and Wesley to school, we stopped at McDonald's and got a bisquit.  We headed to Target to exchange a few things and then to do some shopping for the "Wish List" for the Children's House.  Ella had a lot of fun picking out supplies to give to Ms. Susan.  We then headed over to Academy Sports where she helped me pick out some new running attire for Clint's big race.  So, we were done with shopping at that point and off to the Water Park we headed!

We are totally clueless sometimes and we just kind of realized that Greenville Rec has several water parks in the area :)  Ella and I decided to go to Discovery Island in Simpsonville.  You could tell it was a Monday and that it was the Monday before school because there really weren't that many people there :) 

We got there when the park opened and just kind of took it all in.  She was a little timid at first (as was I), but it didn't take any time for her to get the hang of it and just play, play, play.  There was an area where she played by herself.  We went on the lazy river...a lot of times :)  Then there were 2 big slides.  She isn't tall enough for the yellow one, but she was for the blue one - as long as I rode with her.  She was nervous - I could tell.  She wasn't really sure what to think.  But, we got on the tube and down we went.  She was completely speechless all the way down the slide.  But, as soon as the first ride was over, she said, "We gotta go again."  So, we did.  About 10 more times that day :)  There was a section of the slide where it was covered so it was pitch dark.  Once she got comfortable with the slide, she started getting louder and louder thru the dark part of the slide.  By the end of the day, everytime we went thru, she would scream really loud, "I. CAN'T. SEE. ANYTHING.!!!"  It was soo funny!

As the day went on and on, she got braver and braver. It was just so intriging to watch her. She started going down the slides (the small ones of course, on her belly head first, sitting up backwards, on her belly backwards - any which way you can imagine. Here is a video of her :)

We ate lunch at the park and played until about 2:30 that afternoon.  She was pretty much wiped out.  After we left there, we went to Marble Slab and had some good, yummy ice cream. 

On our way to pick up the other kiddos, we stopped at Family Dollar and picked up some coloring/activity books for Ms. Susan.  She had a big time picking them out and then taking them all into Ms. Susans' office. 

She was exhausted when we got home, but was beaming from ear to ear telling Clint all about it that night.  It was a really AWESOME day. I think I have found us a tradition :)

That night, I had the Kindgarten Preview for parents, so I headed on up to the school at 5:30.  Met up with Nate and Heather, our neighbors whose son is starting kindergarten too.  Other than a few moments of overwhelmness at the water park today, I have pretty much been okay with this whole kindergarten transition.  Well, during the presentation, I started getting choaked up.  I couldn't breath.  The last 6 years started flashing thru my mind and I couldn't believe that Ella is really about to embark on this journey.  But, I held it together, so I was doing pretty good.  Then it was "over" and we got to go to our little stations and meet our kids teachers.  As soon as Ms. Klinkler introduced herself, I cried.  I couldn't even say my name or Ella's name or anything.  I just cried.  She hugged me and assured me it would be okay.  Wow - so much more emotional than I thought I would be!!