Kindergarten graduation

Our little girl is growing up!  Emmy graduated from Kindergarten back in June.  I can't believe all the wonderful things she has learned in her first year of school.  It has been a great experience for her.  We couldn't have asked for better Kindergarten teachers.  She learned academics, like reading and math.  They also had specialists who taught martial arts, visual arts, theatre arts, science and technology, piano, singing, and sports.   

 

 

Oh, how we love Miss Tere and Miss Colleen!

Below is a picture of Emmy on her first and last day of Kindergarten.  The visible changes are minor, but all the growth within her is just amazing.  Most importantly, she is so kind, caring and thoughtful.  I sure love being the mama to this little girl!

Pennsylvania Summer Vacation

We had an amazing time on our summer vacation.  Dave and Cheryl were so kind to have Gib, Emmy and Gabby for 23 days and Baby David and me for 10 days.  We relaxed and spent quality time with family, doing lots of different things.  The cousins had a great time spending time together.  It was fun to see the big kids care for the younger kids.  They were so good at making them feel special.  My kids left knowing how much they are loved!

 1. We had Sleep-overs.

 2. Celebrated Emmy's birthday and Gabby's half-birthday.  Grace is a fantastic party-planner.  She was so thoughtful and creative in organizing a perfect party for the girls.  Taylor pleased us with her artistic talent by making a "pin-the-bow-on-Hello-Kitty" poster.  They all helped Cheryl decorate for the party while we were out with the girls.  It was a fun surprise!

 3. Ate lots of good food, including our favorite all-you-can-eat pizza and wings at Adams in Curwensville.  Grace converted me to the Heaven sauce on wings!

4. Watched the parade and fireworks show and rode rides at the Clearfield County fair.  Hands down- the best firework show I've seen.

 

5.  Played at Erwin Park.  Thanks to Taylor, even baby Gib got to cool off by getting his feet wet.

 6. Jumped off First Bridge.  Here, I saw the BIGGEST spider I have ever seen outside of zoo or aquarium cages.  Gib was in the water waiting for Emmy to jump from the third step to him.  He said, "You have got to see the biggest spider I've ever seen, right by Emmy's foot!"  Emmy hopped up to the fourth step and jumped into the water so Gib could protect her from the spider.

 It was quite comical to watch Nick and Avery jump from the bridge.  Taylor showed them up and was the first to step off the top of the bridge.  Go girl-power!

 7. Played and worked in the yard.  The boys lit two bonfires in the backyard.  There was a small explosion when some gasoline ignited in the fire, lifting the large pile of wood and rattling all the windows in the house with its boom.

 



Gib and Dave built a deck on the side of the house.  It looks amazing but, disappointingly, I didn't take a photo. 

 

Overall, a great vacation!  We are so fortunate to have such wonderful family.



Microbiology for Kindergarteners

I've missed posting about so many significant events I thought I would start with where we are currently and fill in the rest, later.  Emmy enjoyed having her Dad come to Kindergarten and teach her class about microbiology and the importance of hand washing.  Each child divided a petri dish into equal halves.  They touched the side labeled "A" with their fingers then washed their hands.  Then they touched the side labeled "B" with clean fingers.  Gib incubated the plates at work for a few days and brought them back to kindergarten so the kids could see the results of their experiment.  It was a great example of the importance of hand washing.  The results were sensory, both sight and smell.  The kids were disgusted by the smell of the organisms.  Can't say I blame them, Pseudomonas and E. coli are super stinky!

Gingerbread house

We have been trying to stay busy while waiting for the arrival of Baby Gib.  My parents got a cute gingerbread house for us to decorate.  Gabby loved holding my hands to help me pipe the frosting.  We were happy with the results!  Thanks Mom and Dad!

Halloween

We had such a fun Halloween I just had to share the pictures.  Emmy was a Snow Princess and Gabby was a Fairy Princess.

We started our day with a parade and treat party at Emmy's Kindergarten.  It was neat to see her interact with her friends and teachers.

Below is a photo of Emmy and her cute friend, Sara, from Daybreak Academy.

 Below is a photo of Audrey, Emmy and Ava, all from Daybreak Academy.

 Below is a photo of a few of the PINK neighborhood girls at our Halloween, Chili and Cornbread party.

A BIG day

We left the house right on time, that's how you know it's a special day!  Emmy packed her backpack with her art smock, white crocheted blanket, and lunch box containing a tuna fish sandwich with the "skins" (crust) removed, grapes, BBQ potato chips and Cinderella fruit snacks.  I was prepared with the "Food Allergy Action Plan" from the allergist, her Epi pen and Benadryl.  I was worrying about what necessary items had been forgotten when Emmy spotted a PERFECT flower she had to pick to give to her new teacher, Miss Sarah, on her first day of Kindergarten.

Courageous Emmy showed no apprehension when she hopped out of the mini-van and walked down the sidewalk to her new school all by herself.  It appears we were too slow for such an exciting moment!  She said her favorite thing about Kindergarten is playing with so many new friends.  And she is pretty excited about recess.

Gabby was disappointed when she realized she didn't get to stay at Kindergarten with Emmy.  She tried to be brave.  Normally, everyone knows it when she cries.  This time she started to quietly sniffle with a few tears rolling down her cheeks.

We are so excited that Emmy gets to attend Daybreak Academy!  She gets to attend a full-day of Kindergarten in a small class.  They have specialists who teach visual arts, martial arts, Mandarin Chinese, gymnastics, science, music and public speaking/theatre arts.  I am really pleased that she will get a private 30 minute piano lesson every week.  What a wonderful opportunity for her to learn many new and exciting things!

Expecting...

These two cuties are expecting a little brother or sister in December!  Emmy thinks it's a girl and wants to name her Alice, after "Alice the Camel".  Gabby thinks exactly what Emmy thinks... how she admires her big sissy!  We are all so happy and couldn't be more pleased.