Kindergarten is Coming!!!

My baby is growing up.  And I'm not sure I'm ready yet!  My mind has been consumed this last month or so with the reality that my sweet little Camden is going to be a Kindergartener at the local public school in the fall!  How is this possible?  Wasn't he just born?  I mean, honestly, I feel like I just graduated from college, and yet I'll be celebrating my 10th reunion this fall and some of my former advisees who were freshman when I was teaching at Proctor are graduating college this spring!  Somehow time has marched on and I'm just not quite ready to embrace it.

For a long time Scott and I faced a decision that needed to be made about our boys' education.  With Camden having a mid-August birthday and Micah's birthday falling on September 30th (which is the cutoff day in our town) we needed to make a choice about whether we wanted them to be the very youngest in their classes or one of the oldest.  After lots of research, talking to friends with older children and teachers who we respect and taking into consideration our kids personalities, we decided to give both Camden and Micah another year of preschool before starting Kindergarten which means they will be turning six at the start of the year instead of five.  For many different reasons, this decision made the most sense for our family - and no, it's not so that they can dominate in sports among their peers as seems to be the assumption about families who make this decision.

After two wonderful years in his little Montessori school - where he attended two mornings a week last year and three mornings a week this year - Camden will be starting full-day Kindergarten in the fall.  A transition that I'm kind of freaking out about deep down inside.  I know that kids can sense stress in their parents, and I don't want to put that on Camden at all, and I have to say I'm doing a relatively good job of hiding it, but it's all such a big deal I can't help but feel nervous!  After three 3.5 hour mornings a week he'll be transitioning to five days from 7:40-2:45!  Whew! That's a lot of school!  At 5.5 years old, he's still napping most afternoons and still falls asleep early at night!  He's going to be exhausted!  He taught himself to read this winter (literally...I have no idea how it happened he just started reading!) and is able to pretty much pick up anything and read it.  He'll sit for 45 minutes on the couch with Micah reading Gerald and Piggy, Frog and Toad, Dr. Seuss, Little Bear and tons of other books out loud to his brother.  Although we're not worried about him academically, I know he's going to be challenged in many other areas - socially, making new friends, learning how to interact in new settings, how to stand up for himself and do what's right etc...

We attended his Kindergarten registration at the school last week and many of my fears and anxieties were put to rest.  We were both nervous that morning, and we've had a lot of good talks recently about how feeling nervous and excited often go together and it's OK to feel that way!  Sometimes we're nervous about new experiences, but the feeling will usually go away after the newness wears off.  I knew they were going to take the kids on their own for a bit while the parents got some information on the school and I was so scared that he would be clinging to my leg and not want to leave me...but he did great!!!  Phew!!!  We had an opportunity to meet both of the kindergarten teachers, the principle and assistant principle, the reading specialist, the school nurse and various other staff members.  Scott and I were both really impressed with all the adults we met and just feel like it's a really great school.  The building houses all grades K-8 with two classes per grade level.  It's the same little small school that I attended as a child with the same secretary and at least one of the same teachers!  I had a wonderful experience there, and I know my kids will too!  Thankfully, there were only 22 kids on the list for next year's class which means that even if a few more children move to the area, the class sizes will be really small!  The teachers always do their best to meet the needs of the students - both the ones that fall behind and the ones who are ahead and we left the session feeling excited to be a part of this great community.  Camden had a great time and is saying that he's really excited to start Kindergarten in the fall.  I know I'll be a weepy mess on the first few days of school, but I'm hopeful that he'll make a smooth transition and that we're doing the right thing for our boy.  He always makes me so proud to be his Mama and I'm excited to see what the future holds for him!

Camden with his two best friends at preschool.  He loves his girls!  

He's playing T-Ball for the first time this year and it's pretty precious to see him in this setting...

 I get this look often...

I love my Bubba!

Goodbye Christmas

Christmas is over and I'm slowly getting used to the fact that we put our tree outside today.  I would keep it up for another month if I could, but it was taking up a lot of space in our little house and my dear husband had been very patient long enough and it was time to reclaim our home.  We still have candles in all the windows and beautiful white lights around the banister and over our sliding doors - We hardly ever turn on a real light in the winter - we just live in the soft glow of Christmas lights and it somehow makes everything a little more magical.  We had a wonderful holiday full of family gatherings, the annual stone chapel service, excitement and laughter from our boys...but sadly the entire Christmas week was marred by sickness.  Micah got very sick Monday-Tuesday and was on the couch sick throughout our Benson/Allenby family gathering at my Mom's.  On Christmas Eve day I felt myself coming down with mastitis and thankfully called the midwives before they left for the holiday and was able to pick up a prescription for myself on our way to the Christmas Eve service at church.  It definitely hit pretty hard by Christmas morning and I was chilled and achey for the next few days.  The day after Christmas, Sadie got really sick, but we didn't really know if it was just a bad cold on top of major teething or what.  Over the weekend it worsened and we found out yesterday (on her 4th day of being sick) that she has RSV - a respiratory infection that is just miserable for babies.  She's slowly (finally!) bouncing back, but she's still not herself.  As I type this I'm standing and typing at our breakfast bar and swaying back and forth while she sleeps on my chest in the Ergo.  She hasn't slept in her crib since Thursday and only sleeps ON me or snuggled up right next to me in bed.  It's been an interesting stretch to say the least.  Despite the sickness, we had a really special Christmas finding that challenging balance between enjoying the magic of the season and the story of Santa (though we try to stress St. Nick) with the true reason for the season and the story of Jesus' birth.  We celebrated Jesus' birthday with a cake and a special time together on Christmas Eve and the boys definitely seemed to grasp how special this season really is.  Below are some of my favorite photos from the days leading up to Christmas and a little more about how we celebrated this year...

 A handmade ornament from Scott's childhood hung right next to a Camden masterpiece.  Where is life going?! How are we this old?!?!

The presents under the tree in this photo are Christmas books that I wrapped up individually and marked with a number for each day in December.  The books range from The Night Before Christmas to special books about the birth of Christ.  The boys love the excitement of unwrapping a book each day and it's a tradition we've all grown to love. 

 One of our favorite local Christmas parties is hosted at the beautiful Bluewater Farm just up the hill from our house.  The boys got to sit on Santa's lap, eat yummy treats and decorate beautiful ornaments cut from the trunk of a birch tree.  I just love where we live!

 Neither of the boys knew what to ask for.  I like it that way. 

 Sadie wasn't so happy...

 These adorable treats were little Christmas trees made out of Rice Krispie treats with a peanut butter cup as a tree trunk!  So creative and festive!

 This little peanut is getting close to walking!  Loving this dress that was a hand-me-down from the family I babysat in college.  The little girl who once wore this is now a sophomore in high school. 

 One of my favorites...

Camden and I had a fun time at his preschool for the special craft day.  He made so many amazing Christmas ornaments and crafts and we had a blast together.  He wanted me to take pictures of him holding each of his special creations in front of the tree.  I have about eight of these pictures, but I'll spare you and just show a few...

 Cutie pie...

 Love this ornament made with a cinnamon stick and a real orange slice!

 And a "healthy" gingerbread house decorated with popcorn and nuts and coconut sprinkles and peanut butter and cranberries.  We didn't leave this on our counter for long for fear that there might be an invasion of mice!

 Our annual stone chapel service was special, as always...

 The kids all got up front and sang Jingle Bells.  It was pretty precious...

 Silent night...

 Holy night...

 We did a lot of baking...

 Here is Jesus' birthday cake.  Thankfully his favorite kind of cake is yellow cake with white icing just like me!  :)

 A new tradition that we began this year, which thankfully easily went hand-in-hand with our Kindness Elves, was a gift from Nan and Pop.  It's based on a book called The Sparkle Box and tells the story of a family who wrote down everything they did for others during the advent season and put all the pieces of paper in their "sparkle box" and opened it on Christmas morning as a way of giving Jesus a gift.  The boys weren't too keen on the idea immediately, but I just kept track of things we were doing throughout the season and wrote them down on pieces of paper and we opened the box at Jesus' birthday party.  It was a neat way to continue to teach the boys about giving to others, and how doing things for others is a way that we can give to Jesus.
Here's the book..

Camden and the sparkle box...

 I read one of our children's books about the Christmas story and we talked about it together...

 Opening the box for Jesus...

 Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve!

 Leftover cookie crumbs from Santa!

 And some gifts under the tree...

 I'm so thankful for our wonderful family this Christmas. 

As I just wrote on Facebook tonight...

2013 will always be remembered by me as the year I lost my amazing father, and the year my sweet Sadie Grace was born. He missed meeting her face to face by two months, but I know she will always have a special bond with her Bepa, whose birthday she shared her due date with.

It was a year marked with many tears and little sleep, but also much laughter and great joy as we watched our children learn and grow and giggle and wrestle and love one another. I couldn't have made it through without my handsome other half. Here's to a great 2014!

(We're ringing in the new year with Sadie asleep on my chest in the Ergo as she continues to recover from a terrible sickness - RSV - but this isn't going to stop me from drinking my sparkling grape juice and eating mexican dip! We're crazy!)

Happy New Year!!!

Closing Ceremony

Camden just finished his first year of preschool and we couldn't be more proud of the growth that we've seen in our little man this year.  He was so tentative and so nervous before school started in the fall.  His birthday is in August and he kept telling us that he didn't want to have his birthday because he didn't want to turn four and have to go to preschool!  Poor little guy!  It was a big transition for him!  After being by Mama's side for four straight years of his life he was suddenly expected to experience something new and scary all on his own!  He only attended school two mornings a week, but it was a perfect amount of time for him.  He still had days home with his buddy, Micah, but he was also having an experience all of his own.  We had three days early on in September where he would cling to me and cry and say that he wasn't going to stay (he was more being stubborn than anything else...I had to tear myself away from him and reassure him that he would be just fine).  But when I climbed into the car I was the one who wasn't sure if I was going to make it.  Luckily, his teachers were amazing and would call me as soon as he settled down so that I would know he was OK and could move on with my day.  Those three days were so challenging, but even though it felt like it was going to go on like that forever, within a week or so he stopped crying and said goodbye without any tears.  By the end of the year he was confident, excited about learning, had new friends (mostly adorable little girls...hmmm...), loved his teachers and can't wait to go back next year and be a leader and helper as one of the oldest kids in the multi-age classroom.  (Although he makes the cutoff date for Kindergarten, he would be very young for his class and we have decided to give him one more year of preschool before sending him on his way.  I have lots of thoughts and reasoning behind this, but that is another post altogether.  Coming your way soon!)

Look at the difference between these two photos.  He did a lot of growing up this year!

Last week we attended Camden's closing ceremony where he and his friends performed a couple songs.  Camden's special role was as a Stop Sign in the song "Kookaburra" - it was pretty precious!  We were so lucky that my Mom and Grandma Sylvia, as well as Scott's parents and cousin, Nate, were all able to join us for the special evening!  Camden was SO proud and did an amazing job (he was seriously leading the entire class in the song)!

 The stage...

 Stop Signs!  Stop, Kookaburra, Stop Kookabura!

 So proud of himself!

 Camden's friend who is moving on to kindergarten receiving her necklace and star...

 Here is Camden's star.  It will be cut down at next year's closing ceremony when he moves on to kindergarten...

 Camden and his best friend...

 Love this boy...

 After the ceremony, we took the boys for an ice cream at Dairy Queen...they were pretty excited!

We are so thankful that we found such an incredible place for our children to have their first educational experience.  Red Oak is a safe, caring, nurturing, challenging and all around amazing environment and we are so excited for Micah and Sadie have these wonderful experiences as well in the future!  Thanks for a great year Red Oak Montessori!!!