Last day of preschool forever

So Lil J is moving on to kindergarten in less than a week. It was sad to say goodbye to preschool. She spent the last 3 years of her life there. And it was a very special place for her. 

Her first day of preschool, 3 years ago and her last day. 

We love her preschool. She learned and developed so much in her time there. I do miss that little 2 year old who first started preschool. I love who she is now but miss her little personality as well. It all happened so quickly. 

Lil J understood and talked in class that she would not be coming back like some of the other children. She wasn't very sad but was sad that many of her friends would not be going to her same school. Some were staying and others were going to different schools. I am not too worried about her making friends, she does that pretty easily. I know she will miss her friend tremendously. 

We are excited for kindergarten and ready for it, but this preschool will hold a special place in our hearts. 

Last day of preschool

It is hard to believe that preschool has come to an end. In the fall Lil J will attend kindergarten (more on that later). I can't believe it. Lil J has enjoyed the wonderful Children's School for the past 3 years. We love everyone there. We did sign her up for summer school so it is not goodbye yet, but we did say goodbye last week to a few teachers and friends who would not be joining us in summer school. 

Teacher gifts. Cups with Jamba Juice gift cards. 

Pajama day on the last day. 

Eyre Faire 2014

This is Lil J's final year in preschool. Their annual big fundraiser is the Eyre Faire. It is always lots of fun. 

She is kind and caring

This morning, while dropping Lil J off at preschool and I received two compliments on her by two different teachers.

Teacher 1: She thanked me for raising such a kind and sweet girl. She has been so caring and kind to one of the kids at school who is visiting and has some special needs.

Teacher 2: She told me that she wants her to come back and be one of their college student helpers when she is older. She is very good at organizing and coordinating things.

This totally made my day!!

Last month, we had parent conferences and the teachers told me that she is really wonderful to have at the school. She is a mediator and helps the other kids to get along. She has learned how to stand-up for herself as well. It is nice to hear that she is fair and treats people equally.

I just love my girl and so glad to hear how wonderful she is when we are not there. I guess we are doing something okay. You just never know what your child is like when they are not with you, so it is nice to hear that she is a kind and caring person to others. It is nice to know that her teachers think highly of her. I truly hope that her kind and caring nature will never change.

Valentines Day 2014

Lil J was very excited for Valentines Day. She had her shirt picked out the week before. We put together Valentines for her friends at school and daycare. 

We also put together ones for the teachers. I was inspired by Pinterest. 

It is just so much fun for kids to get Valentines. Lil J was extra lucky to have a bag full from school and another bag from daycare. 

Mama got something special from daddy too. Daddy's been really sick with bronchitis. Poor guy. But he has his two Valentines and he took care of us. 

First Day of Preschool (Year 3)

So Lil J started her 3rd year of preschool this year. She loves preschool and was so excited for the first day of school and the start of the year. In the last 2 years, she has grown so much and it is very exciting and bittersweet that this will be her last year at this school. We love The Children's School and will cherish our last year there.



Daddy and I brought her to her first day of school. She was very excited since we rarely drop her off together. It is usually just one of us. So to her this was a nice treat.



Ready for school with the same backpack she has had since she started 3 years years ago.



She is so happy to be back at school.

Another birthday celebration

A while back Jordyn asked me if she could celebrate her birthday at school too. So I made sure that I signed her up for summer school the week of her birthday. She told me that they have a special birthday chair and she wanted me to make a special birthday snack to bring to school. She requested chocolate cupcakes with purple frosting and sprinkles. She also asked for Minnie Mouse toppers for girls and Mickey Mouse ones for boys. So that is what my girl got.

You only turn 4 once and so I wanted to make her birthday special for her. So this morning she was all ready with her cupcakes for school.



Cupcakes ready for school. Jordyn made sure to decorate them with sprinkles.

Last day of preschool 2013

The end of another year of preschool. I can't believe it. I can't believe that in another year we will need to send her to kindergarten. For now, we know she has one more year of preschool left, but we do need to think about where she will go after she turns 5, yikes!!

They had a pajama party on the last day of school. With her friends...



Baby Bear had 6 teachers in her class and they were all really great. We are so fortunate to have such wonderful teachers to teach and care for her all year. To show our appreciation for them, I got them some Yogurtland gift cards and wrapped them pretty. With our warm So Cal summers I am sure they can find use to cool down.



Baby Bear just loves her school and has been quite sad that she is on summer break. I did sign her up for a few weeks of summer school so she will get some time with her friends. Plus her birthday party is coming up in a couple of weeks, so she will get to hang out with her little friends in no time...

Eyre Faire 2013

Each year, Baby Bear's preschool has the annual fundraiser, the Eyre Faire. Baby Bear gets so excited about it. This is our second year attending this fun event. There are plenty of games for little kids and activities. It is a ton of fun for Baby Bear to see her school on the weekend.

She participated in the cake walk. She was not quite sure what she was doing but she ended up winning a cake on her first try. What fun!



She ran around playing all the of games and even opted to get her face painted, something she has never had any interest in.





I'm sure her friend having her face painted didn't influence her at all.



I bid for a Mommy and me tea party in one of the silent auctions and won. That will be a little fun summer activity for the two of us. I can't wait!

First Parent Conference

So Daddy and I went to our first parent conference ever. The teachers had nothing but wonderful things to say about our kiddo. They love Baby Bear and think she is great. They love having her in their class. They told us that she is a dear child who plays with everyone both the girls and the boys. She is very confident in herself and can hold her own and play with the boys (some girls get intimidated by the boys, but not her). Lately, she has been playing with the boys (probably because she is sick of the girl drama - who knew that girl drama started so young).

They said they she is doing just fine and that we are doing a great job. She shares with others and is very kind to other kids. You would never know that she was an only child.

We know that Baby Bear is awesome and a great kid. It is nice to have that reinforced and to know that when we aren't around that she is a good kid and good to others. It is nice to hear that she is a kind person that tries to include everyone. What a great quality to have. At the end of the day, we are just trying to raise a child who is kind, considerate, and caring. We hope for her to be smart and confident. I love that she is confident and is able to hold her with the boys. I love it. I hope she will always have that quality.

It was a great first parent conference! Yay!

Feeling the love

Between preschool and day care, Baby Bear was well loved this Valentine's Day.





Daddy surprised us both with a rose for Baby Bear.



A some for me as well.



I am so lucky to have two wonderful Valentines. Life is good.

Making Valentines

We spent part of the weekend making some Valentines for family and friends.

Valentines that Baby Bear made for family.



We used some of Baby Bear's past artwork from school to decorate the inside of the Valentines.



A good way to re-purpose her millions of art pieces that come home from school.



I put together some Valentines for her preschool and daycare friends. I was inspired by several ideas I found floating around on pinterest and designed a little something myself.



I am all for non-candy Valentines and figured parents would be happy for that. So we went with Valentine's straws.



I also put together a little something for the teachers and Baby Bear's day care ladies. Again, I merged a few ideas from pinterest and designed something for them.



I knew I wouldn't have time to bake so I went with something I could put together ahead of time.



I hope everyone enjoys their Valentines.

Holiday Gifts for Teachers

I had to start my holiday baking a little early so that I could get gifts out to Baby Bear's teachers and my students and co-workers. So last week, I baked 18 dozen cookies. This week, I have more to bake for her daycare family and some neighbors and friends. Of course, I also had a few along the way.

Some cookies before they were packaged for the teachers.



Cookies packaged and ready to go.

 

Each teacher also receive a Target gift coin with her cookies. I love these little gift coins, they look like little cookies and went perfectly with the cookies.
 
 

Cookies for my students.

 

So much to be thankful for

I always enjoy Thanksgiving. It is a holiday to give thanks to the many wonderful blessings in life and to eat lots of yummy food. Unfortunately, this Thanksgiving my little family had to split up. I wasn't thrilled with this decision but it was one that we made. So Baby Bear and I head over to spend Thanksgiving dinner with my side of the family, while Daddy Bear headed with Papa to have Thanksgiving dinner with his aunt.

I am most thankful for my family. Baby Bear and my husband are my everything in this world and they are what is most important to me. I am thankful that 12 years ago I met the most wonderful man who is not only a great husband and an amazing father but it also a good man. He is my partner through it all; he has supported me through so much and I never doubt that he will be there for me when I need him. I see what a wonderful father he is and I fall in love with him all over again. I have one of the really good ones. I am thankful for the wonderful daughter that brings joy to my life every day. I cannot imagine my life without her and I don't know that there are enough words to express the amount of love that I have for this little person who entered my life just 3 years ago. I am so blessed to have two wonderful people in my life.

Thanksgiving preparation and celebration really began the day before with baking and a feast at Baby Bear's preschool. I forgot to get some pictures at the preschool, but her class made some turkey soup to serve at the feast and it was quite yummy. 

Baby Bear's preparation for a Thanksgiving feast all of her own. (I wondered why she kept asking for snacks while I was finishing up with some baking and such...)



Getting the treats ready to go.





Silly girl.



In love with Prince.



In addition to getting together for Thanksgiving, we also celebrated my Lola's 92nd birthday.



The women of the family.

Harvest Sale Muffins

Tomorrow is the annual Harvest Sale at Baby Bear's preschool. I volunteered to bake some muffins. I hope they taste good since I am not able to sample them. Baby Bear sampled them for dessert and thought they were pretty good. She had half a muffin and that tells me that she liked them.

Baby Bear was so excited to help me bake. I told her that when we got home we would make something for the Harvest Sale and she did not forget about that. She was a great little helper, she mashed the bananas and lined the muffin pan with the muffin liners. They looked really yummy! I hope they do well.



Packaged and ready to go.



Recipe is here.