Graduation

I always thought that preschool graduations were kind of silly-I mean seriously, is it really necessary?  That is until I saw my own children in their makeshift caps and then it was the cutest thing ever.  This was Ava's third and last year of preschool-she was kind of like a 5th year senior in some ways.  She barely missed the kindergarten cutoff (21 days but who's counting?) and so it was another year at Little Lamb Preschool.  I have to admit that I really wanted Ava to start kindergarten this past year.  She was ready.  However, I also had the feeling that she should do another year of preschool.  I'm so glad that I listened to that prompting!  Ava had a fantastic year.  She had a wonderful class and great teachers.  All the kids really got along with each other and Ava made some great friends.  She has become a much more confident child and I think keeping her in preschool really has made all the difference.  I know Ava will miss her school and friends but she is also excited and very ready for kindergarten.

Getting her diploma.

With her teacher, Mrs. Bokma.

With her other teacher, Mrs. Baughman.

With her BFF, Kenzie.

My little graduate!

9!

 Alex turned 9 last month and to celebrate, he had a birthday party.  I have to admit that I'm not a fan of birthday parties-the planning and the stress, I just prefer birthdays to be more low key.  However, Alex had been talking about a party for months, so I gave in.  He invited a few friends from school and church over to our house for some pizza, ice cream cake, and games.  I believe in the simpler, the better and do you know what, it was a lot of fun!  The kids had a great time.  Happy birthday, Alex!

A little embarrassed with all the attention.

Opening presents.

Some things about Alex...His favorite color is green, he likes the Wimpy Kid books and books about weird facts and world records.  He likes Lego's, transformers, Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh, and Beyblades.  He likes to eat pizza, chicken nuggets, fruit, and loves root beer.  He has his yellow belt in martial arts, started taking piano lessons, wants to be a scientist, and loves to play outside.  He is very helpful and is a great big brother.