A Great Year at Tree of Knowledge Preschool

It completely amazes me that a whole school year has come and gone! Wednesday will be Gavin's last day of school and today Miss Bonni (pictured above with Gavin) sent home a CD with an assortment of pictures. I chose just a few that I thought were really great to share. They had a "Daddy and Me" lunch that Chad was able to attend. They picked pumpkins in the fall and have done many, many projects over the coarse of the year. Gavin has grown SO MUCH this year. He has made so many friends! I'm sad that the year is over, but happy that Gavin will be returning next year. Yes, that's right. We decided to wait another year for Kindergarten after debating the pros and cons and discussing it with his teacher. The great thing is that Gavin happened to be in a "young" class and 8 of the 16 students in his class will be returning next year and they will all be together again in the same class. These kids either didn't make the age cutoff for Kindergarten or they (like Gavin) have summer birthdays and their parents decided to wait a year as well. But it will be hard to say goodbye to Miss Bonni. As a parent, I truly appreciate her (and Miss Carrie, her assistant) and will miss the hugs she gives Gavin each day as he comes to school and the praise she lavishes on him. I know that next year he will have another set of wonderful memories, but in my heart and mind nobody will ever be able to live up to the standard Miss Bonni has set. I'm already telling her to just wait and in a few more years I'll be sending Alayna to her!

Improvised Waterslide

This was my grand idea.....wouldn't Gavin just love having a waterslide? I wonder if we put his little slide in the pool and then he could slide down it into the water. Before I knew it, he was "surfing" down it (on his feet) and sliding down on his belly....HEAD FIRST! Fortunately there were no trips to the emergency room! Although the water was too cold for Alayna, the air was warm (another day in 80s!) and she loved having some diaper-free time.

Bath Time

Alayna and Gavin love taking baths together! It is so fun to watch them interact now that Alayna is big enough to be in the tub with him. I wish these pictures weren't so blurry, but they just wouldn't sit still, not even for a picture. They are always moving, splashing, playing.

Fun in the Sun!

Yesterday was just beautiful...78 degrees and sunny and we all took advantage by playing outside. Also, an Alayna development, on Monday she caught me by surprise and pulled herself up! Can anyone believe she is almost one year old already?!?

My Garden

When Mom was here, we worked together clearing a space for my new herb and vegetable garden. I've really enjoyed choosing the plants and Gavin's favorite new chore is watering them. Currently, I've got lettuce, green onions, shallots, cauliflower, basil, parsley, cilantro, and sage. I can't wait until they are mature enough to eat from. I'd like to expand it a little further and add some small squash, peppers, maybe cucumber and some sort of berry bush, but we'll see.