Father's Day | Week In Pictures

Although school has been out for a few weeks, this week felt like the first week of Summer.  We kicked off our Summer activities with a week of Vacation Bible School for Hannah.

Each morning I dropped Hannah off at 8:45 and picked her up at noon smiling and happy.  

Each day she'd meet me with a bag full of arts and crafts, and singing beautiful new songs she'd learned.  

Each evening we read the day's bible verse and talked about the lesson she'd learned that day at VBS.  It was awesome to hear her asking these thought provoking questions about the story of Elijah.

The last day of VBS was Crazy Hair day, and although I did exactly what Hannah asked, she declared it 'Too Cute to be Crazy' and considered it a failure - but cute.

While Hannah was busy with VBS each day, William and I had a lot of time together.  One day he spent some time with his buddy, Chase, at the playground.  William is a year younger than this little boy, but they are finally at the age where they can play as peers.

William's current favorite show is Little Einstein's, followed closely by Super Why.  For months he was obsessed with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so this is a nice change of pace with more educational shows.  He's become very interested in Letters lately so he particularly likes that about Super Why.

I still don't think William understands that there is an actual baby in my tummy (34 weeks this week), but he finally relented and attempted to feel and listen for the baby.  I'm pretty sure he's convinced I just ate too much ice cream and am making the whole 'baby' thing up.  His world is going to be rocked in July...

I'm a huge fan of Instagram now.  I find it to be an efficient way to follow brands and people that I love.  One brand I follow is Milk Makers, and recently they had a huge sale on their pregnancy cookies (which I saw during snack time) so I bought the 3 box bundle.  I can't recommend these cookies enough if you're pregnant.  They're so tasty, huge, and perfect to keep in your purse when you're hit with a craving.  My sweet tooth has been intense this week, so these were a lifesaver!

My birthday was earlier this month and I'm signed up for just about every birthday club that exists.  I'm cool with free burgers and ice cream.  I snapped this picture of Hannah and William while waiting for my Teriyaki Chicken Burger and Freckled Lemonade at Red Robin.  I order that every time I go and it's so, so, good.

On Saturday Kohl's sponsored a car seat check.  This was my first time having my car seats officially checked and it was a great learning experience.  I was able to pick the technician's brain about different layouts to accommodate foster children, and I was told that my car seats were the best installed they saw all day!!  We had to remove a headrest, and we switched Hannah to a seat belt install since she had just hit the weight limit for LATCH.  (I knew that she was getting close but waited to switch it until we had the seat professionally installed.)  She also helped me install the infant car seat base, so we're all ready for baby!  

Well, the minivan is ready for baby.  I still have some newborn laundry to do.

I can't get over how old William looks in this picture.  

My little boy is getting so big! (He turned 27 months this week.)

The week ended with Father's Day.  I snapped this picture at our Go To restaurant choice - Sweet Tomatoes.  Seriously, I love this place.  They have an extensive salad bar that the kids go crazy for, and everything is already bite sized, so when we get to our table I don't have to cut everything up for them.  Moms know - this is huge.  They also have these tiny little ice cream cones which the kids beg for.  Tiny dessert that appeases toddlers?  Winner.  I've signed up for their Club Veg and regularly get a coupon for 2 adult dinners with beverage for $19.99.  Hannah is a couple dollars and William is free.  Family dinner at a restaurant for under $25!  

I love this face.

Mother's Day and Father's Day are very laid back at our house.  There's no footprint art or ugly neckties given as gifts.  Instead we usually start the day with a great breakfast and go to church.  All day you are not the PIC - Parent in Charge.  No diaper duty, no mediating bickering kids, no bedtime duty.  You just get to enjoy your family and then when they throw a tantrum your partner takes over.  It's awesome.  Plus dinner is your choice.  

Overall this was a great week.  We were busy in the mornings, but spent a lot of quality time together in the evenings.

Note - This Summer is going to get crazy once the baby arrives in late July.  If you haven't already added me on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter make sure you do!  I update each of those platforms on a near daily basis.

Preschool Graduation & the Kindergarten Decision

Hannah is officially a Preschool graduate!  We had a big decision to make in regards to PreK or Kindergarten this fall, and have gone back and forth for months.  We finally came to an agreement and I think everyone is happy.

Although Hannah was due on September 1st (which happens to be the admission cutoff for Kindergarten), she wasn't born until the 19th.  Upon first calculating her due date I remember realizing that if I went even ONE day overdue that she would miss the cut off.  Apparently I didn't knock on wood and instead she went 18 days over.  But I digress...

Shortly before Hannah turned three she began a 3 year old preschool program, and just completed the 4 year old program this Spring.  With two years of 'school' under her belt she knows how to conduct herself in a classroom, and continues to improve her social skills.

Her teacher (pictured above) did a wonderful job of teaching the children phonics, and Hannah has begun reading Bob Books and easily sounds out basic words.

After months of Hannah begging to go to Kindergarten at the 'Big Kid's School', in March we contacted our district's elementary school and spoke with the Principle about early entry.  Chris was the oldest in his class and I was one of the youngest in mine, so we had many discussions about the pros and cons of both.  Ultimately we realized that if Hannah was excited about it and the testing would show if she was ready for it, then we should at least let her try.

In May Hannah sat down for an academic test with the school's Kindergarten teacher, and last week Hannah sat in on a Kindergarten class while the school counselor observed her.

This morning we spoke with the Principle and found out that Hannah did very well on both evaluations.  We ultimately decided to let Hannah begin Kindergarten in September, and if after two months we felt that she wasn't ready, then we'd have the option of switching her to a PreK program instead.  I think this is a great compromise and Hannah agrees.  She's also VERY excited.

Part of me expected to have another year before having a Kindergarten student, but a bigger part of me knows that Hannah is independent and determined and will thrive in school.

Hannah was so proud of her graduation ceremony, but I think she was most excited to wear her new rainbow heart dress and cutout hooded sandals from Fabkids.  "I look like a Kindergartner in this outfit!"  Yes, Yes she does...

In case you aren’t familiar, they are a subscription service that offers you a complete outfit for $29.95 a month. Every outfit includes 2 pieces — so you can get a fabulous dress, paired with leggings OR a top and a bottom, etc.  They make girls and boys clothing with a wide range of sizes.  Hannah is wearing a Medium (6/7) in these pictures and it's nice and roomy.  (The Small (4/5) just became a little too tight.)   They carry XXS (2T - which William has just started wearing!) up to XL (12).

Thanks to FabKids for providing Hannah's outfit for review.  

We've been working with FabKids for over a year and I'm very 

impressed with the quality (and cuteness!) of their clothing.  

I highly recommend them.  See disclosure for details.