First Day

This is what Monday morning at 7:15 looked like at our house:

The first thing Caleb did after getting dressed was grab his backpack. He was ready for preschool and just couldn't believe we had to eat breakfast and wait awhile before leaving. In the meantime, he ran through a whole list of things he wanted to tuck away in his backpack to show his teachers. Had it been up to him, he would've brought a couple of his favorite shirts, a sticker book, his toothbrush, a cupcake, a few new books, and some other random items I can't recall right now. It was quite difficult to explain the concept of show-and-tell to him, but we managed to get out the door with an empty backpack in the hopes that show-and-tell will be sometime in the (very) near future. God help those classmates and teachers when that day comes, because this little boy has a lot he wants to talk about and share with others!

Dropping him off wasn't nearly as hard as I had imagined. I never worried about tears from his end, but I figured in my hormonal state of pregnancy I might lose it. I kept it together, mostly because I was holding Leah and clinging tightly to the fact that she can keep my mind off of Caleb being gone. And she did. We got home, played with the neighbors for a bit, did speech therapy for an hour with Miss Holly (her early intervention therapist), got some stuff ready for dinner, read books together, and just enjoyed the one-on-one time. At least for a few months of her life Leah can have my undivided attention for a few hours per week. That poor middle child will never forgive me for having baby #3 so soon!

By the time we picked him up, he was quite exhausted and didn't have much to say besides "it was fun". I managed to pry a bit more out of him on the drive home and from our conversation, it sounds like he's going to have a great year!

County Fair

Saturday was a beautiful day (aside from whatever it is that is floating through the air making my allergies horrible). We decided to head to the Will County Fair in the evening to enjoy the great weather. The kids had fun "driving" the tractors, checking out the animals, going on a few rides, playing games, and eating all of the horrible-for-you fair food. With all the activity, they both fell asleep with NO problem that night!

Hours of Entertainment

On Friday afternoon, my sister stopped by on her way home from school. She had mentioned earlier in the week that a coworker was planning to get rid of a "bounce house" that she had. Apparently she just wanted to give it away and knew that Tracy had a niece and nephew that might like it. When Tracy dropped it off on Friday afternoon, I couldn't wait to blow it up and see how the kids reacted. So on Saturday morning Tyler took it out and spent all of about 3 minutes setting it up. The kids loved it, especially Caleb. It didn't take too long for our adorable neighbors to catch sight of it and they came over to join us. The kids had a blast and I'm sure we'll make good use of this freebie....I just can't believe someone was willing to give this away for free!

The World According to a Preschooler

I've spent the entire summer in denial. Denial over the fact that my baby boy is really no longer a baby. I still call him my baby boy and he (with much confidence) reminds me that he is not a baby. Still, as the mom of Caleb, my firstborn, I can't quite get my mind wrapped around the fact that 3+ years have flown by and I'm already sending him off to preschool in less than a week. It could just be pregnancy hormones, but I have cried quite a lot over this huge milestone. He's ready. SO ready. Socializing, learning, and every other aspect of preschool is 100% what he needs. Yet, for me, I'm just not quite ready.

There's the mom in me that just isn't ready to let go and realize that my kids are only this little for so long. I wonder if I've prepared him enough. Will he hold onto the values we've tried to instill? Will he still remain as sweet and innocent as he is now? There's also the teacher in me that thinks, what are the teachers going to think of him (and us, the ones who've raised him for 3+ years). Will he be a difficult kid to teach or will he go with the flow? Will he be a leader in the classroom or a follower? No matter what, I've convinced myself (and prayed a ton) to let go of all the questions, fears, sadness, and so on. At some point, we have to let go and trust that everything will be just fine. We'll take each day one day at a time and try to cherish the good with the bad.

So, I finally came to terms with the fact that this is really happening. We've filled out all the registration forms, bought the supplies, and even finished coloring the bug he was sent that will hang up in his classroom. I must admit, there was quite a bit of debate going on in my head over this bug. Should I tell him what colors to use? Should I make sure he doesn't scribble all over? If I leave it up to him, will all the other moms do the opposite and make my kid's picture stick out like a sore thumb? Needless to say, I let him take charge (the teacher in me can't stand when a project was 98% done by the parents and 2% by the kid). To my surprise, it looks awesome....and he even wrote his own name (although he still gets quite frustrated that his "B" never looks right)!

And just for fun, I decided to interview my little preschooler. It'll be fun to look back at this and see how much he changes with time:

What is your name? Caleb

How old are you? 3

What do you want to be when you grow up? a big boy

What is your favorite food? peanut butter and jelly

What is your favorite drink? milk and water

What makes you happy? my dump drunk and my firetruck

What makes you sad? when I can't play

What is your favorite thing to do at home? play

Who is your best friend? Iain and Ruby (neighbors)

Where is your favorite place to go? Grandma's

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy? snuggle

What is your favorite the to do with Daddy? wrestle

What is the best part about Leah (sister)? playing with her, hugging her, and loving her

What is your favorite book? Frosty the Snowman, when I'm at Grandma's

What is your favorite movie? Mater

Where is your favorite place to eat? at Grandma's

What is your favorite thing to wear? my Mario shirt and my snake shirt

Missouri Trip

At the beginning of August, we took our last family vacation of the summer. We started our trip in St. Louis for a couple days, where we got to hang out with Grandpa Ron, Grandma Sue, and Auntie Kalyn. St. Louis is such a fun city with so many things to do. In all the years I've grown up going right past the city as we've headed to the lake, we've never stopped to visit. Hopefully we can do this more often on our way to the lake, because we had a great time!

We had a fun morning at the Science Center. There were so many cool activities for kids (and adults) of all ages. We'll definitely have to visit again when the kids are older.

We spent a few (very hot) hours at Grant's Farm. Despite the heat, it was an awesome place to tour. The grounds are beautiful and there were so many cool things to do. We were there later in the day as the park was getting ready to close, so we missed a few things....but we still had a great time!

The second half of our trip was to the lake (Lake of the Ozarks). The kids had a blast hanging out and enjoying the water. We spent quite a bit of time down on the dock and Caleb got very comfortable in the water. He loved to run and jump into the water. Leah enjoyed the water too, and I'm sure it's only a matter of time before she is just as crazy as her brother is on the dock!