1st Day of School!!!

Today was Nathan's first official day of preschool. He goes on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am-11:30am. Last week, we had a parents' meeting, and an "open house" when he could go and play in the classroom with us there, but today, he went on his own.

Today he woke up at 6:30, which is extremely early at our house. He went and got a Popsicle in the fridge and ate in the kitchen. Mark staggered out of bed and turned Sesame Street on, and we all tried to go back to sleep. By the time that we got out of bed at 8, Nathan was asking, is it time for preschool yet??

His teachers are Miss Carla and Miss Robin. Nathan thinks the name Robin is funny because of the Red Robin commercial (which he calls Big Robin). When we went to the open house, he played with a washing machine that he could put the clothes in, and then stir it like a real washing machine. He thought it was hilarious, when he put a pretend apple in the washing machine. We had to take Spike with us, because he had a vet appointment. Here's the kids on the way to preschool:

He did great when we dropped him off. He went right in the door and didn't look back. I teared up a bit, but I didn't cry. I can't believe he's old enough to go to school. We put Becca in the car seat when we were leaving and Becca looked at his car seat, and cried a bit for her "nay nay." It was really sweet.

We went to pick him up, but we were a bit early (so were all the other parents, I bet it's not like that every day), and we watched the kids come in from playing at the playground. The preschool has a wooded trail behind the parking lot, and in a clearing, there's a little playground. Nathan loved the slide the most. He said that this time, he put pretend cheese in the washing machine. He told us all about his day, and he seems really excited to go back on Friday!!

Singing

I was singing "You Are My Sunshine" to the kids as they got out of the bath, and Becca shocked my by filling in the words "happy" and "gray" at the appropriate times. She's really getting good at imitating right now, which is hilarious.

Nathan finally learned to jump over things, and now he's jumping on the couch (not off yet). Be careful what you wish for...

"Brothers"

Carson helping Becca on the tractor

We picked up my cousin's son on the way back from Mark's parents and he got to spend a few days with us playing "big brother." He helped out a lot, and loved playing with the kids. The first day, we took the kids to this giant play structure that looks like a big castle. The boys had fun chasing each other all over the place. The second day, we took them to Wildlife Prairie Park.

The boys slept on the air mattress on Nathan's floor. At first, I didn't think that they'd sleep much, but they did. Nathan was really sad to see Carson go. He loved having a "big brother" for awhile. I hope that Carson can come again next summer.

Carson and Nathan playing in the sandpit at Glen Oak Park.

Becca watching the chickens at Wildlife Prairie Park. She loves animals and isn't scared of them at all (even dogs bigger than she is)!!

Over the river & through the woods...

to Grandmother's house we go. We spent the weekend with Mark's parents. The weather was beautiful and the kids got to play outside on the swing set. Nathan and Daddy spent their first night in the tent. Fortunately, Nathan was so incredibly tired, that he crashed right away. We went to the zoo in Evansville, which is a million times better than Peoria's lame zoo. The animals were so much closer to us, and we could really see the tiger, rhino, hippo, and leopard. Mark and I went to his 10-year reunion, while Grandma and Grandpa babysat. It was nice to see the family! Here's a few pics of the weekend:

Becca, 17 months, sitting on the steps to the roof of Grandma & Grandpa's house

Nathan "sleeping" in the tent (posing for pic)

Conversation with a 17 month old....

One of Becca's first 'real' conversations:

Cast of Characters: Mommy holding baby Kara (neighbor's brand new baby), Becca

Becca: BABY
Me: yes, mommy's holding a baby.
Becca, trying to remove Kara's sock: shoe
Me: no, that's baby's sock
Becca: mine
Me: no, it's Kara's, her toes are in there
Becca, lifting up her foot: Toes
Me. That's right, there's your toes
Becca: Up

Mommy picks up Becca, and is now holding Becca and Kara

Becca: baby
Me: yes, that's baby Kara.
Becca makes Kissing sounds
Me: Aw, are you giving baby kisses?
Becca, pointing to her nose: Nose
Me: good girl, that's your nose.
Becca, touching Kara's nose: Nose
Me: that's right, Kara has a nose too.
Becca points to my nose: Nose.
Me: Mommy has a nose too.

This is repeated with eyes, ears, hair, and then later when Kara yawns, tongue.

Becca stands up on me and holds her hands way up high: Big
Me: That's right you're bigger than the baby. You're a big girl, and baby is little.

I thought it was amazing how she was trying to communicate that she was bigger than Kara, and that Kara had all the same body parts that she did.