Kindergarten

Today I registered Sawyer for kindergarten.  Sawyer is very excited about school (especially now since he saw the 4K class playing in the gym).  I have a feeling that I will be hearing, “Mom.  Do I get to go to Kindergarten today?” quite often.  However, Sawyer starting school means that he is growing up and that is something that makes me sad. 

Sawyer will be a young kindergartener.  He will turn five less than two weeks before the school year begins.  My only big concern is that Sawyer will be going from a fairly schedule-free day to a fully scheduled day.  I hope that he will not be too overwhelmed or get too tired during the school day.  He does really well at Awanas and Sunday school but those are only 2 1/2 and 1 hour classes, respectively.  Like any change, I’m sure it will take some getting used to but I have confidence that he will be fine. 

A Very Happy Thanksgiving

Peter and I hosted Thanksgiving this year.  We invited Pete’s father’s side of the family and my mother’s side of the family.  In total, we had about 35 people in attendance at our very tiny house.  There was tons of delicious food and desserts and I think everyone had a fun time.  We also celebrated my father-in-law’s birthday and my brother-in-law’s birthday (Bryan).  Here are a few pictures.

Katie holding our cousin's new baby, Zachary.

 

Great Grandma Dorothy, Grandma Julie and Cailey

 

Checking out the Black Friday adds.

 

Pete's new hat . . . he shot this coyote at the family's hunting land.

 

Zachary loved the coyote hat.

 

Grandma Dorothy was a good sport and also tried on the coyote hat.

 

Happy Birthday, Dennis!

I know I’m biased but . . .

. . . it doesn’t get any cuter than this

New Hairstyle

About three weeks ago I got my hair cut.  I decided to cut my bangs short.  Here is a picture of my new hairstyle.  Sorry it took so long to get the picture posted.

Safety Calendars

Each year, the company I work for asks employee’s children and grandchildren to submit safety posters for display in the annual safety calendar.  The posters are supposed to focus on safety in the home and safety in the workplace.  The HR Department supplies a blank poster and pack of markers for each participant.

I presented the poster and markers to Sawyer and explained to him that he should draw a picture relating to safety.  Sawyer immediately decided that he would draw a picture of me breaking a window to escape a house fire.  Below is the poster that Sawyer designed for the 2011 calendar.   On the right is a blazing fire behind a door.  On the left is a broken window and I am in the middle.  Aside from the mohawk hairdo, I think it is a very good likeness of me.  Of course, no picture is complete without a shining sun in the sky.

Sawyer's Safety Poster - 2011

Florida Vacation

This post is a bit late but . . . our Florida vacation was great!  We relaxed at my parent’s house in Naples for the first four and half days.  Then we picked Uncle Bryan up from the airport on our way to Orlando.  Our first night in Orlando we all had dinner at Planet Hollywood.  The following day was spent at Disney’s Magic Kingdom and the day after at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.  Both were fantastic and a lot of fun.  It was my first time at the Animal Kingdom and I really liked it. 

Sawyer’s favorite ride was the race cars at the Magic Kingdom, my favorite was the Lion King performance at the Animal Kingdom, Cailey’s favorite was the carousel at the Magic Kingdom and Pete’s favorite was the Mt. Everest roller coaster at the Animal Kingdom.  It will be a few years before we venture back to Disney World but I’m certainly looking forward to it.

After Disney, we spent a few more days in Naples.  The weather was perfect which made enjoyable days at the beach and by the pool.  I was sad to go home . . . it was a wonderful vacation.

Hockey

Sawyer’s first hockey lesson was last week Wednesday.  It took me one hour to get Sawyer fitted into his gear.  Mostly because he was crying and refusing to put it on.  I believe this had to do with the fact that it was day three of no more afternoon naps.  In addition to the challenge of putting on the gear, Sawyer did not want to go onto the ice without dad.  At the end of the lesson, we left the ice rink with Sawyer crying, “Hockey . . . ” because he didn’t get to play.

Tonight, we gave hockey another shot.  Sawyer did much better.  I think a lot had to do with starting nap time again.  A week of Sawyer falling asleep around 5 p.m. and whining/crying for two hours (we tried to keep him up until 7 p.m.), it was obvious that he still needed an afternoon nap.  We had no problem getting Sawyer into his gear and onto the ice.  Pete bought a hockey helmet so that he could go on the ice with Sawyer.  The lesson for tonight was learning how to get up when you fall.  Keep in mind that most of the children in the class are four years old and have never skated before. 

Of course, they were all super adorable.  Here are some pictures of Sawyer #24, William #17 (he is one of my girlfriend’s nephews) and Tanith (she is also in Sawyer’s Cubbies class at church).

Sawyer #24

 

Sawyer #24 and Coach Dad

 

William #17

 

Sawyer and Tanith Hanging Out After Hockey

Ice Skating

Before we signed Sawyer up for hockey this fall, we decided to take him ice skating.  The ice rink had ‘walkers’ for the beginning skaters to use.  Sawyer would not skate without one.  Pete’s job was to push the walker while Sawyer held onto it and ‘ran’ on his skates.  Pete also had to hold Sawyer up because he pretty much had zero balance.  Despite falling a couple of times, I think both Pete and Sawyer had a great time.  Another mother watching her children skate even commented on how much fun it looked like Sawyer was having.

The hockey program that we will enter Sawyer in is for beginners age four and older.  The mom that I was talking to at the ice rink told me that her now ten-year old son learned to skate in the same program.  He had also started when he was four and began the program without ever having been ice skating before.  This gave me some assurance that we were not putting Sawyer in a program that he was not ready for. 

At the end of the open skate session, the Zamboni came out to freshen the ice.  The Zamboni looked like a fire truck and even had flashing lights.  It was pretty cool.

Time Out

Sawyer got a time out for throwing a truck at his sister’s face (notice the little scratch by her mouth).   In fact, most of Sawyer’s time outs lately seem to involve physical injury to his sister.  In his defense, Cailey does mess up a lot of his toys and games.  Despite their sibling rivalry, they very much enjoy and love each other.  In the below picture, Cailey voluntarily joins Sawyer for his time out.  This is a pretty normal occurrence when Sawyer is in time out.  The following pictures are Sawyer giving his sister a ‘make-up’ zerbert.

Cailey voluntarily joining Sawyer for his time out.

Sawyer giving Cailey an apology zerbert. It was just supposed to be a kiss.

Car Wash Fun

Pete bought a new daily driver (Ford Bronco) so he is selling his pickup (F150).  To prepare the pickup for sale, he cleaned it inside and out.  When it came time to cleaning the outside, the kids were very interested in helping.  Sawyer really enjoyed using the hose and Cailey enjoyed washing herself, her mother and her Uncle Ryan.

Sawyer was in charge of the hose. Notice how much more dry he is than Cailey. Sawyer rinsed suds off both the car and his sister.

Cailey washing her hair.

Cailey washing Uncle Ryan's hair.

Cailey's water soaked pants kept falling down.