Cara's Last Day

Believe it or not, Cara's first year of preschool came to a close on May 13th! Ben & I joined her class in an end-of-the-year party and presentation of certificates. Unfortunately, Cara cried through most of it, as is usually the case when one of us comes into her classroom. We think it is because we are, in her eyes, a break in routine, though she is glad to see us. Nevertheless, Cara did participate in the singing of several songs and when her name was called, she went up to get her certificate. We then enjoyed a light lunch and some special treats before saying goodbye to her wonderful teacher & aide. We also got lots of mementos to take home with us--drawings that Cara made and pictures taken throughout the year. Her teacher also showed us Cara's story journal and it was great to see the progress that she has made over the year. This year has been a wonderful one for Cara, as she has grown (in so many ways) by leaps & bounds. I know that we owe a lot of this to her teacher, aides and therapists. I cannot begin to sing their praises except to say that our expectations were far exceeded!

Cara's therapists all sent home packets of activity ideas that we can do with Cara over the summer to keep helping her meeting her goals. I'm excited to try some with her and keep on learning over the next couple of months.

I know that she misses preschool, the routine & her classmates, but what I think she misses the most is...riding the school bus! Everytime that we see one, she excitedly announces "BAAA!".

Here's to the summer and all the fun that it will bring!





Sitting on the carpet for song time.


With her certificate for completing a great year of preschool!


Blowing bubbles


With her teacher, Mrs. R--Cara loved her.


Cara with Mrs. J--I think they liked each other?!

Mother's Day Dedication

The girls were dedicated at our church on Mother's Day. I cannot think of a more special way to spend the day! The purpose of the dedication was to place our children in the hands of both our faith in Jesus and in the congregation of our church, for both to help us raise our children. It's a powerful, yet comforting, feeling.


The girls before the dedication service.


The whole gang as Pastor Dave was explaining the significance of the dedication.


Dave--making Caitlin laugh when he was talking about her.

And, some other photos from Mother's Day--

The beautiful locket necklace that I got from the girls for Mother's Day. Caitlin had a grand plan to get this and wouldn't let anyone discourage her! I can't wait to get the little pictures to go inside. I will cherish this always and carry my daughters close to my heart!


Flowers that Caitlin got for me from church. She asked our pastor if she could have one to give to her mom and he said to take them all! It was just a beautiful arrangement. My daughter is just so sweet & thoughtful.


"Flowers" that Cara made for me in Sunday school.

I just know that this is going to be one of my most memorable Mother's Day yet!

Crossing Over

Caitlin's Daisy Girl Scout Troop had their bridging ceremony on April 29th. This ceremony marks the official transition from Daisies to Brownies. The girls in her troop all performed an adorable song about leaving Daisies behind to become Brownies to the tune of Frere Jaques. Afterward, each girl crossed over "the bridge" where they changed from the Daisy blue vest to a Brownie brown vest, received certificates & roses and then enjoyed delicious...BROWNIES...of course!

Caitlin has really enjoyed being in Girl Scouts and has said that she wants to continue all the way through high school. With all the good values and lessons that Girls Scouts teach, we are 110% behind her!



With her Brownie vest--just after crossing the bridge. Officially a Brownie!


Caitlin smelling her rose.



With her vest on! :o)

Brag Post-Be Warned!

I'm bursting with pride at the moment. At school pick-up today, I was informed that Caitlin scored the highest in her class (of 29) on the state's math test that was administered today. She also placed among the highest in the school and in the district for her grade-level (1st grade)! This is my child who is always asking how to do one math problem or another, did summer bridging workbooks in 2nd grade math and is now working on multiplication and division. Since the math gene is kind of...umm...dormant on my side of the family, it is quite obvious where the skills come from. I fear that by the time Caitlin is in 4th grade, we may have to rely on her father or a tutor to help her with her math, if she has questions, because it will be out of my realm.

While my head was spinning from this awesome information, I further learned that Caitlin just finished the 1B math book ahead of her class and is moving onto the next level. She plowed through the book in about two months' time! What a challenge it must be for her wonderful teacher to keep up with a class of 29 students, all at different levels. In the reading department, our brainiac is soon to be moving up to the highest reading level, along with another of her classmates. Contrary to the math gene, I know exactlywhere the love of reading comes from! From the time she was born, Caitlin has had shelves filled with books, weekly trips to the library and nightly reading sessions. What is so wonderful now, is that Caitlin can read to herself (chapter books) and also enjoys reading to her sister. She gets quite animated and uses different voices and tones. You can often find her with her iPod on and a book in her lap on car rides or just relaxing. I know that her love for reading has helped develop her advanced vocabulary, quest for knowledge and general love of learning. It just tickles me that at times, she'd rather read than do anything else.

That's my (our) girl! Okay, I'm done bragging but sometimes, you just have to!

Twenty-Ten

Happy New Year! Last night, we rung the New Year in with style here in our household. We watched Ryan Seacrest & Dick Clark and counted down to the ball dropping at One Time Square. We decided to let the girls stay up and take part in the festivities and Caitlin was all into learning about why we celebrate New Years and in the "party". I picked up some inexpensive party favors and when the clock struck midnight here in Colorado, we all blew horns, shot off poppers (only Ben & I did this) and covered the girls in streamers. We had a blast!




Every year, I try to set three goals for myself to work towards. Not anything monumental but things like a reading goal, something that I want to work on with the girls and then one thing I'd like to better about myself. I'm the planning type, so setting these goals gives me an agenda and something to work towards all year round. Each goal usually has several sub-goals too so that they are not so overwhelming. I've learned in the past that having huge, vague resolutions doesn't work because there's no outline, nothing that is realistically attainable. Even though, in years past, I'd set myself up for failure, I was still bummed when the house didn't get organized, I didn't lose those pounds or whatever. Having learned that and embraced my limits, here are my goals for 2010:

A. Read a book by an author for every letter of the alphabet. I will be looking on library and bookstore websites for suggestions. I will read from all different genres and keep a list of these books.

B. Work on exposing the girls to the wonders of the world around us. This can be accomplished by visiting places, exploring the world through books or websites and any other means that I can think of. We will try to be more hands-on this year.

C. I will learn how to crochet. I've wanted to learn for some time but it's always getting put on the back burner. My mom has agreed to teach me and I'm a willing student. I think it will be a good thing for me to have another creative outlet other than this blog...one that is more portable. I look forward to making hats & scarves for family and friends by the 2010 holiday season.

Those are my goals, what are yours? Have you sat down and thought about what you want 2010 to bring or looked back on 2009? Here's a wonderful post about goal setting and reflecting, just click here. May this year be one of health, happiness and prosperity for you all!