Taking It Cheesy ... Crazy Tales of Alex & Spencer
Alex and I went on a fun field trip to the Raptor Center with his Pre-K class. We learned about owls, met a few in person, then walked the trails. It’s a good thing Alex and I had been there before, because the kids raced from bird to bird … I don’t think they actually looked at any of them!
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In honor of Dr. Seuss’ birthday, Alex’s preschool had a Wacky Wednesday! Alex loved putting on crazy clothes and wearing my mom’s Dr. Seuss hat!
 I think Alex’s favorite part was wearing two different shoes! |
 Spencer was sick, which explains the pile of tissues in his hand! |
We had a busy Thanksgiving Week this year! The Tuesday before, Alex had a feast at school. He and his friends were so cute in their Pilgrim hats and Native American head bands! Then, Thursday we ate Thanksgiving dinner on Lake Norman with a beautiful sunset and all my mom’s side of the family. Friday, we attended my cousin’s wedding on a beautiful tree farm north of Charlotte. One the way home, we drove through the Christmas Lights at Lazy 5 Ranch and visited with Santa! We are thankful for good food, lots of wine, fun with family … and a Sunday to rest after it was all over!
 Alex’s serious face in his Pilgrim hat. |
 Alex and his class made a list of all the things for which they are thankful. |
 Loving the tire swing at the lake (they had just gotten off their bikes). |
 You can see pure joy in these faces! |
 My cute family, watching the sunset over the lake (photo credits to Unc!) |
 Alex was excited to see Santa. Spencer backed away and said, “No!” |
Alex’s school celebrated fire prevention week back in October. The fire fighters and a fire truck came for a visit on a Tuesday, which is my regular day to help out. Ms. Sarah and Ms. Niki let me bring Spencer along in exchange for taking some photos. What fun! The Huntersville Fire Department did a great job talking to the kids and explaining why they should never be afraid of fire fighters.
 Alex is in the far back of the photo. |
 Alex giving the fire fighter a “high five”. |
 Spencer was excited and intimidated by the fire truck. |
 Alex really wanted Spencer to go in with him, but Spencer said, “NO”! |
Alex is still having a blast in 4K! Ms. Sarah and Ms. Niki are wonderful and have already taught him so much! I think Alex most enjoys learning new games … Duck, Duck, Goose, Musical Chairs, and Red Light, Green Light are some of his favorites. He and his friends start impromptu games of Duck, Duck, Goose on the playground … I even played last week! Spencer and I went in to read books to the class last week. We both had a blast! Spencer had so much fun that he gets mad if I don’t get him out of the car when we get to school to get Alex. He thinks he should be playing on the playground too! Tomorrow, I start helping out during center time. Spencer will stay with our baby-sitter and I’ll spend 30 minutes at school on Tuesdays. I am so EXCITED!
Ms. Sarah and Ms. Niki try to take a lot of pictures during the school day. They share these pictures on their classroom blog at the end of the week. It has been wonderful! I love seeing Alex in action as a fly on the wall. Here are some of the pictures:
 Another favorite activity - chasing Ryder (who always pushes the lawn mower). |
 I’m guessing this is an important boys only meeting? |
 Apple prints during “A” week. Alex had paint everywhere when I picked him up! |
 Alex and friends working on the light table. |
 Another “A” week activity … making an “A” into an apple. |
 Identifying numbers with his (gulp) “girl friend”. She runs fast like he does! |
 Practicing his name. |
 Alex won this musical “freeze” game. He was so proud! |
 Alex’s “B” week show and share … a Batman mask! |
Tuesday was Alex’s first day of 4K! He is still at Playwise Preschool Academy, but he is now going 4 days a week from 8:45-12:45. This is a pretty big change from last year when he went 2 days a week for only 3 hours. The other big change is that Daddy is driving him to school this year! Alex was counting down the days for school to start … and I kind of was too until the night before, then I couldn’t stop crying! The first morning, I was counting down the hours til Spencer and I could pick him back up! Spencer asked about Alex a few times, but I think he enjoyed playing with all the toys without Alex around!
Alex enjoyed his time at school this week, and I know it’s going to be a great year!
 Alex is excited to ride with Daddy to school! |
 Ms. Sarah, Alex, and Ms. Niki at dismissal. Alex loves them already! |
 Check out all of Alex’s hair! He also included a small (yellow) pond, grass, and leaves falling around him. I think someone is ready for fall! |
Alex went back to his preschool for two weeks of summer camp earlier this month. I can’t believe it’s been a year since dropping him at his first camp and boo-hooing in the Starbucks parking lot! This time, we were both very excited for him to return to camp for a few days. I should probably say all three of us were excited, because I know Spencer enjoyed the time at home and on adventure away from Alex!
The first theme of camp was cooking. During each of the 4 days, they read books about a certain food, then cooked it! Alex had so much fun! The first day was noodles, so they cooked linguine with a butter sauce and picked fresh veggies from the preschool garden to mix in. Alex doesn’t like noodles, so he wouldn’t try it, but Spencer and I enjoyed it! Over the next few days, they made small pizzas, flipped pumpkin pancakes, and baked oatmeal raisin cookies. Each day, Alex was so proud to come home and share the remnants. The second theme was underwater adventures, so they learned all about ocean animals. He learned a ton about sharks and whales and made some cute artwork.
While Alex was in camp, Spencer and I ran errands and enjoyed our time playing at home. We did sneak to a play date with Liam, one of Alex’s friends … we actually went bowling! We tried bowling one time last summer, but Alex wasn’t impressed and Spencer was too little to really participate. This time was a blast! I can’t wait to go back again!
 Alex’s noodle dish and the noodle bracelet he made for me. |
 Alex’s artwork from top left: aquarium, (tree … not from school), turtle, cookie, pizza, whale, ocean, and the rainbow fish. |
 The smallest bowling ball was 6 lbs, so I would carry it to the ramp, with Spencer “helping and holding it from the bottom. Then he’d give it a push. So fun! |
*This post was written on May 26th, but due to technical difficulties, it couldn’t be posted until today.*
Today was Alex’s puppy party at his preschool. The kids sang a few songs, led us in the Pledge of Allegiance, received a certificate, and then played on the playground. I did get a short video of their welcome song and Alex receiving his certificate. I also have some good pictures. Make sure you check out my post on the last day of school to see how Alex has changed from the 1st day of school to the last!
Click here to view this video. |
 Alex and his friends singing their welcome song. |
 It’s snack time! |
 Spencer loves playing on this bike. |
 Alex and Ethan … Best friends! |
 Alex and Miss Sharon, his assistant teacher this year. |
 Alex & Miss Barrie – 1st day of school |  Alex & Miss Barrie – end of year party |
Alex’s last official day of preschool was Thursday. Where did this year go? It went by so quickly!! We go back to school on Tuesday for a quick show and party. Alex had a great year and has learned so much! Just some of the academic skills he’s mastered: counting 1-14, recognizes all upper-case letters and knows most of the sounds, writes his name … and so much more! Even his 2 days of preschool a week have matured him in amazing ways. He has developed some leadership qualities at school, tries to help his friends stay on track/out of trouble, loves to help/”do jobs”, spends much more time concentrating on crafts and projects, and asks so many complicated questions!! I can’t even imagine how much he’ll learn in 4K!
Alex will go to 3 summer camps this year. Two will be through his school … 1 week he’ll learn about the ocean and the next he’ll get to do some cooking. He’ll also do a mini farm camp with a friend on nearby Latta Plantation. I’m working on swim lessons for both boys, we have swim play dates already planned for the summer, and the moms in our play group are getting together soon to plan other fun play dates. So, we will definitely keep busy this summer!
 1st day of 3K! Sept 2, 2014 |  Last day of 3K! May 21, 2015 |
 My super cool dude! |
 First day of summer vacation starts with a picnic breakfast and cartoons. |
 Next, we set up the sprinkler and pool and enjoyed some water play (even though it was kind of chilly) |
 We played on the see-saw, too! |
Stay tuned for pictures (and hopefully a video) from Alex’s party!
Spencer’s semester at The Little Gym is almost over! We have three more classes, one of which will be a “show”. I have no idea how Miss Brittney will put together a show with these little guys … it will definitely be interesting! Spencer has really grown in leaps and bounds in this class. We’ve even attended a few bigger/older classes as make-ups and I’m relieved to say he’s no longer scared. This class has been great to teach him that it’s okay to play across the room from Mommy and how to interact with other little kids. I’m so proud of his willingness to try new skills with Miss Brittney, especially since two months ago he would just tell her, “no!”
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