Aspen's Preschool Pictures

This week we got Aspen's preschool pictures back and I could just die they are so cute. I took her to get them done that day because I was off and I knew they were going to be good. I mean, we practice taking pictures daily so she should be. She is still my tiny girl but she is really looking big here. We missed the picture day last year but HERE are her pictures from two years ago. She is doing really well at daycare. She loves her teachers and never complains about going there. I don't want to jinx it, but I don't think she got sick at all this year either. She knows lots of the kids names at school despite the fact that she is completely happy playing with toys by herself. She is a little weird but we sure do love her.

Preschool Graduation 2016

Yesterday, Everly had her Preschool graduation celebration at St. Gregory's. I can't say enough good things about how wonderful this school year was for her. Most importantly she got a head start on her religious education which she will continue at our parish in the fall. She would not have gotten that at any other preschool and it was not something I felt knowledgeable enough in teaching her. She also made a lot of progress with her letter recognition and sounds and can spell some words even. She can spell and write her full name and knows the sounds of most if not all of the letters. We also really loved all of the extra activities she was involved in such as taking sign language classes, soccer club, the Christmas Pageant, Catholic Schools week and the jog-a-thon. We are going to miss St. Gregory's a lot but determined that in the long run it was best for our family for her to switch to a public Kindergarten now. The celebration yesterday was pretty short but it was cute. They sang a few songs and received their certificates and had some refreshments. We surprised her with flowers, balloons and a new pair of earrings. We are so proud of her!

This girl is perfect!

 

So cute!

 

Receiving her certificate and with her best friend Ella.

With her teacher Ms. Amerika and baby Aspen.

Preschool Yearbook

Everly has less than a week left of school and this week her yearbook came in. I hesitated buying one but since she is no longer going to be attending St. Gregory, I wanted to have some documentation of her time there since it has been such a great experience. I am so glad that I bought it because she is actually in it a lot! Also, she talks about her classmates all the time but Justin never gets to see them, so it was cool for him to be able to see who she always talks about. Also, we were able to determine that her older friend from aftercare, Antonio, is in 7th grade, haha. One day I picked her up in aftercare and she had to give him a hug before she left, haha. Here are a few pics from her yearbook that I just took on my phone.

 

love her school picture :)

    

On the far left from her Christmas Pagent

On the bottom left with bubbles on her face from the jog-a-thon.

 

Teacher Appreciation Week

Last week was Teacher Appreciation Week. We have really loved Everly's experience with preschool at St. Gregory's so I could not miss out on the opportunity to let her teacher's know how much we appreciate them. I kind of did these last minute after I saw someone else post about these on social media. The idea came from Pinterest and I am sure you can find a million other teacher appreciation gift ideas on their as well which hopefully I will plan well and do this in more advance next year. My sister also gave her boys teacher's a cute pinterest-y gift which is below as well. Everly also goes to the aftercare program at her school so we made enough of these for her teacher's there as well and since they were so quick and easy it was really no big deal. Also, it was really fun to have Everly work on signing each of the cards. This year she will be signing all of her birthday thank-you's! Here is how they turned out:

This flavor of gum also happens to be my favorite!

 

the gift my sister did which is great if you have girl teachers!

Everly Sandra, 4.5 Years Old

 

I just got Everly's spring school pictures back so I thought it would be a good time to post an update about what is going on with Everly at 4 1/2 years old. She is definitely full of personality and imagination. She is a wonderful big sister and has recently started picking her sister up sometimes. It is going to be so cute to see her with her new niece at the end of this month. She is doing really well in school and hopefully we find out soon that she will be starting Kindergarten in the fall. She is a pretty good little eater for the most part but also really loves her treats. She is phasing out of taking naps but that is okay because when I get to spend more time with her I have a lot of fun. We really lucked out with such a great little girl! 

St. Gregory Christmas Pageant

Last night Everly had her Christmas Pageant at school. She has been practicing her songs for weeks now. The first song that she sang with the other preschool class and Kindergarten class is called "The Friendly Beats." I had never heard of it before but it is cute and they started out the pageant with their song. I did get some video but it was hard because I was sitting in the back. At the end she also sung Joy to the World with the entire school but we couldn't even see her. My mom came and brought her flowers. It really is amazing how fast they learn things. I feel like she picked up her songs so quickly. There music teacher does a great job. She is constantly coming home with new songs. They had been rehearsing in the church this week and I think she missed her nap because of it and on the way home she passed out and never woke back up until this morning. Girl was tired! She only has one more week of school before she goes on her winter break!

Here is the best I could make of the little video that I got and some pictures:

Principal's Award

Every Friday the students at Everly's school go to Mass but today was a special day because after Mass they were handing out awards for the first quarter. I had gotten a letter a little over a week ago letting us know that Everly would be receiving the Principal's Award for her preschool class for the 1st Quarter. They only pick one kid from the class so we were so proud of her when we found out. At the parent-teacher conference last week her teacher's had nothing but great things to say about her progress and behavior in class. That is nice to here because it is definitely no easy job parenting Everly and she can be a handful at home sometimes. We are very proud of how good she is doing at school. I attended Mass with her this morning and my brother-in-law and niece came as well. They brought her flowers which was so sweet. It was so cute to see her participate in church. They also had alumni at the mass who graduated from the school in 1960 which was really neat too. They all had wonderful things to say about the education they received as well. That was pretty neat to see. Everly did so good when they called her name to receive her award. She wasn't shy at all. She is one cute little preschooler and we love her!

 

Little Princess

 

                    

 

She also had perfect attendance!

Preschool Pictures and a 4 Year Checkup

So we recently got Everly's Preschool pictures back and they are basically perfect. That girl is such a cheese ball. I love her little smile. I took her to her 4 year checkup yesterday and she was such a champ. Her next checkup will be after she starts kindergarten so she had to get 4 shots. I told her she would get a cool Band-Aid and she wasn't even worried. Not only did she not cry but she kind of giggled. The girl was fast with them but I know Ev is a tough little girl, too. Her sister on the other hand, screamed bloody murder at the doctor's office this morning while he cleaned her ears out so he could look in them. It was joyous. Ev is at the 59th percentile for weight and 35th for height...so perfect. She answered all of the doctor's questions and I feel like it was such an improvement from last year. Preschool is doing her well!

Happy Birthday Everly Sandra!

Today my first baby, Everly, turns 4 years old! It has been a fast and wonderful 4 years. Three got a little crazy for a bit (threenager) but we really are lucky to have ended up with such a sweet and funny girl. She is learning so much now that she is in full-time preschool and it is so fun to watch her grow. She is a great big sister and cousin as well. She is really growing into a smart and independent little girl and we just love her. I tend to extend the birthday celebrations so for Everly it started last Friday with treats at preschool. I went at lunch and it was fun to see her in her class. Yesterday we had her official party at Peter Piper Pizza and then today being her actual birthday we are taking her to pick out a doll tonight which should be a lot of fun. Happy Birthday, Everly!

From Friday at Preschool

1 day old in the hospital.

Everly's First Preschool Birthday Party

A couple of weeks ago Everly was invited to her first birthday party from one of the students in her class. The lazy person in me didn't really want to go but I know how good these types of events are for her socialization so we decided to go. The party was also at Chuck E. Cheese and I knew she would love it. I ended up having Aspen with my as well, which was not ideal, but Justin was taking Roi to the vet so it was the best option. She was okay. She snacked on French fries and rode a couple of rides with Everly, but it would have been a little easier without her. She finally fell asleep in the Ergo about 10 minutes before we left! Everly had fun playing games and eating Pizza and was quite mesmerized by the Chuck E. Cheese characters on the stage. I can't believe they still have those things, haha. She loved ski ball and I loved this crane/operation game. One of the rides even takes your picture while you are on it which was funny. Since we are going to Peter Piper Pizza for her birthday next weekend, I think this made her a little more excited. Her favorite part was the goody bag and the cup with a silly straw that she got to take home. She loves party swag. Her least favorite part was the cake. She doesn't care about cake. Wish I could say the same! She has some work to do on socializing with her peers, but she had fun and we can't wait for her party next week!

Tokens!

coolest game ever!

I kind of think its creepy TBH

 

We didn't know when they were going to take the picture.

Pizza and French fries

 

And a quick little video because her ski ball skills are hilarious!