Today was Paul’s feast at preschool. 3 years ago I sat at this feast with one big thing on my mind. Our agency had contacted me just before to see if we could move our timeline up and be in Ethiopia that weekend to pick up our little man instead of the following week. The same little man who kept climbing into my lap and snuggling me today wasn’t even home yet. He has changed our lives so much!

The feast was perfect . . . end of story . . . just perfect.

Tomorrow is the last feast I will attend at Shadow Rock Preschool. I am feeling a bit sentimental over it. Madeline’s and Annie’s and Kimberly’s feasts were wonderful and I have no doubt this one will be as well.

The feast will always be one of my most fond memories of their time spent at Shadow Rock. Each class makes a dish to share with all the other preschool classes. I can’t wait for my last loaf of Mrs. Thurman’s pumpkin bread. I will savor every moment of the feast and try to fight back the tears. It is funny how it really is the little things that get me the most worked up.

*It is interesting to note that I am not one bit sad that Paul is growing up and becoming a more mature boy. To see him grow and become less immature brings me such joy. My sadness only comes from closing the chapter on our lives shared at Shadow Rock. I will certainly miss it.

We all have a couple from our childhood that we look back on and wonder, “wow, really?!?” Now they offer all kinds of photographs and different angles but I just go with the standard photo so that I can get a good gauge of how they are growing and changing each year.

Paul’s Preschool Photo

Madeline’s First Grade Photo

Kimberly’s Second Grade Photo

Annie’s Second Grade Photo

I love how cute they all are. I explained retakes to Annie but she didn’t want to have her photo redone because her earring was so shiny. Crazy girl. Now we know that one day she has a picture to look back on and wonder, “wow, really?!?”

I worked in Paul’s classroom today. It wasn’t an issue for Paul, he went about his normal day and only noticed I was there a couple of times. The preschoolers are YOUNG and NOT used to their routine. That mixed with the fact that there are several VERY challenging kids in that room made for a busy morning.

They really don’t pay much and I asked if I could just donate my time instead of filling out all this paperwork to get paid a tiny amount but they said they couldn’t for liability reasons. So I filled out the W2 and the I9 and other forms. It felt weird getting up this morning to go to “work” though honestly it felt just like regular volunteering, possibly because I was in Paul’s room.

His helpful sisters were so excited for him as well. Kimberly made him his waffle. Mimi put on his tennis shoes while he was eating, even though he was still in his pajamas.

He worked on all the items on his checklist and got ready for school. This isn’t very hard for him to do because he has been doing this for years because he has to be ready to take the older girls to school in the morning.

Daddy was able to work from home this morning to drive Paul down to school and pick him up.

As expected it was a super easy drop off and Paul was off playing before we left. So proud of the little man.

After school this afternoon I interviewed him. Here is what he had to say about his day. (I have included the Girl’s videos because they are just so tiny and sweet.)

Paul’s video
http://flickr.com/gp/fivebrowns/1Nt4TN

Annie and Kimberly’s video
1st-day-of-preschool (better quality)

Mimi’s video
http://flickr.com/gp/fivebrowns/ZN05LD

The days have passed so quickly since I registered Annie, KimberlyandMimi in the school. I know that Paulie will have a year full of adventure and maturation just as they did.

I didn’t think I would be upset knowing that the phases of my child rearing life are seeing ends, but I am a little. Just the title of this post made me a little sad. This is it, in one short year I will be registering Paul for kindergarten.

With Paul I thought it would feel different since he was in preschool this year, but it doesn’t. I think it has to do with certain stages; I know the growth that happens when a child is in pre-k. I know how much he will change and mature next year. The little boy before me will be continuing to change into a little man.

With a happy and joyful heart I am pleased to share my Paulie with the world. He is a joy to my life and I know he will do great things.

He made quick friends with the teachers and the kids. (He already knew a Ellie because Mimi is in kindergarten with Ellie’s big sister.) He painted, sang, and played. He loved it. When I went to pick him up they said it was like he had been here all year.

I am glad that he is fitting in to the class and that he loves going to school. I know he is going to have a lot of fun and mature so much this year.

Adding to the specialness of the day, Sandi got her a new dress (they tried on “one hundred,” as Madeline later recounted to me):

Then we picked up Papa and went to McDonald’s for dinner. Madeline got a Happy Meal—a rare treat—and wolfed it down so she could play with her Alvin and the Chipmunks Squeakquel figurine. (She liked that toy so much that she invented a cool trick with it and took it to preschool it was her turn for the sharing bag.)

The actual evening was unsurprisingly similar to the last one I attended. We played on their activity tables, which contained a bucket of fake snow, finger painting, and some sand to plow. Then we helped her create her popsicle-stick picture frame for a photograph we took in the beginning:

Then we had sugar cookies that the children had prepared for us, got introduced to the rest of the attendees by Madeline, and listened to a story. At the end of the story’s reading, the other teacher turned on the ceiling fan which caused snow-like confetti to drift onto our heads. This caused a wave of delight and surprise for the children, same as last year.

It was very pleasant and I look forward to doing it again in a couple of years with Paul.

(Loved seeing Mimi wear Kimmie’s old Christmas dress this year. I loved those dresses so much!)

The snack was cupcakes and fruit. After the treats we sat down to listen to Mrs. Thurman read a book before heading out to the playground to play.

In 8 days this tiny foot will be going to preschool. It is so hard to think of her being ready, but she is.

This week she has been solemn. I think she has been sad because the Girls started school and she is still waiting for her school to start. Finally her teacher called yesterday to schedule the home visit. When I told her about it she beamed.

We met with Mrs. Larsen today and Mimi colored the tag for her cubby. She listened intently to Mrs. Larsen and Mimi talked about how she didn’t know what she would do at preschool but she was so excited to find out. She seemed so mature when speaking to the teacher. I really can’t believe she is old enough for preschool.

Today when Kimberly and Annie returned from Kindergarten she rushed over to her folder and showed them her name tag. Thankfully they were both super excited for her. It was so neat to see her with something to share with them, rather than just listening to their stories.

The teacher talked about Mimi’s seizures, and while they haven’t happened in a while it is always a possibility. She told me that they would call 911 first if something happened to her. I was very glad to hear this and really struck by the fact that there are parents who would rather the school waste precious moments finding their phone number and calling them first. She said that this has happened. I was flabbergasted! I cannot imagine being such a controlling person that I would rather the school dig out my phone number than to call 911. Or is it that I have been in a serious situation that warranted a 911 call and I know how serious every moment is. Either way, I am glad that their policy is to call 911 immediately.

Letting Mimi go isn’t going to be easy. She won’t have the comfort of a “twin” sister to ease her hard times. (While she has a good friend in her class this isn’t the same.) She isn’t technically the baby in the family but she still seems like the baby.

She is ready and she is excited. I have eight days to wrap my mind around the fact that it is really happening.

Tuesday was a very exciting and special day for the school girls. Their preschool class hosted a Dad’s Night Out where each girl brought her father to school for a nice little party. Since there are two of them, they were allowed to bring their grandfather as well.

The build-up to the big day was especially adorable. Before I left for work, Annie came up to me in her endearing way—which featured a supremely-cheesy grin and a special arm-swinging, toe-tapping little dance—and said, “Daaad, do you know what toooday is?” I, of course, played dumb and we both laughed as I made one absurd speculation after another. (Much to Sandi’s chagrin, I think Annie and I share a sense of humor.)

When I got home from work after picking Joe up, they hightailed it out the door to greet the MINI and show off the brand-new dresses they got for the occasion. They looked great and their exuberance made me even more eager to go to the party than I already was. We went to dinner at McDonald’s and I bought them Happy Meals, which we almost never do. They played on the equipment for a little bit and we left.

Their Rainbow Room and the adjoining Teddy Bear Room were full of preschoolers and their fathers. We worked on decorating a popsicle-stick frame that will hold a picture we took that night. After that, we listened to Mrs. Thurman read Snow aloud. At the conclusion of the story time, Mrs. Larson clicked the ceiling fan on and let loose piles of “snow” that were positioned secretly on the fan blades.

The children erupted at that development. Annie, Kimberly, and their friend Kate proceeded to collect up handfuls of “snow” to throw at me. I returned the barrage amidst giggles galore. We concluded the evening with snacks (cookies that they had made) and the family photos for the frames.

Sadly, the ride home was marred by the realization that we had missed about 20 minutes of the party. I felt horrible and apologized profusely; I had thought the party started at 6:30 PM instead of its actual 6 o’clock start time. I blew it. I had saved the details on Google Calendar, but I don’t currently have a PDA or other PIM-style gadget. What’s worse, I had misplaced my cell phone somewhere in the house and Sandi wasn’t answering my calls from the pay phone at McDonald’s. (Side note: apparently, they still have pay phones but they cost 50¢ for 3 minutes. Craziness!)

The evening that had started so promisingly ended in disappointment. I had spent the entire evening with them so it’s not as if I were working through their party, but my usual memory aids weren’t around to come to my rescue. That bumped up the priority on an iPod Touch tremendously; I’ve started scoping out Craigslist for good deals. I certainly don’t want this to ever happen again.

They had green cupcakes and fruit for snack. Mimi was invited to join in. I am not sure who was more excited about the party, Annie and Kimmie or Madeline.

After the snack they all cleaned up and went to circle time with Mrs. Thurman. They read a story about Christmas and sang some songs while shaking jingle bells. It was such a nice time. I am so glad we were invited.

Annie and Kimberly made great candle centerpieces that we will be taking to Grammy’s for the holiday dinner.

Annie

Kimberly

We went in and I was told that Annie choked Kimmie, leaving a red mark on her neck. I was mortified. I began talking to the girls and it ends up Annie came up behind Kimberly and was hugging her so tightly that she was choking her. I believe this because Annie has done the same thing to me and she is generally pretty excitable.

We talked to Annie and explained to her how she hurt Kimmie and how this is not okay. She seemed to accept that and said she would not do it again. I am just wondering at what point she is going to begin to work on keeping her emotions in check, or if she can.

In a way I am kind of glad that she did this to Kimmie. I cannot imagine the kind of guilt I would feel if Annie had done this to another classmate. I am in no way saying I am glad she did this to Kimmie because I would rather nobody be hurt, but rather that on top of the issue we don’t have to deal with another families stress.

I am sure that the teachers understand and know how excitable Annie can be and how she never meant to hurt Kimmie. In all her 5 years she has never done anything maliciously to anyone. I really don’t think she has it in her.

The girls have been studying dinosaurs and learned so much. They made dioramas and sculptures that we were able to take home.

Madeline was so excited to go to the preschool and get to play on the playground and play in the classroom. She really enjoyed doing both things. She still says she is not excited to go next year, but I am sure in time that will change.

Imagine my surprise when they started preschool and they WANTED to dress alike. So far they have been going to preschool for 3 weeks and every day they dress alike. I LOVE it!!!! They are so cute.

Here they are on Tuesday. You cannot tell in the picture but they even made a point to wear matching underwear!