"What day is it tomorrow mom?"

I took this picture at Caleb's end-of- the-year gathering for his preschool class. He's standing with his two great teachers, Mrs. Dunston and Mrs. Johnson, his best friend Kate and her little sister Lizzie.

For the last nine months Tuesday and Thursday mornings for Caleb have been filled to the brim with fun activities! His preschool experience has been so positive for him and now as we head into summer, it will be strange to not hear his favorite question "What day is it tomorrow mom?" He has mastered the days of the week, but loses track of where we're at. So the regularity of the Tuesday, Thursday school schedule has helped him out. He has also really enjoyed having a calendar of his "days" at school to look at on the fridge, so he could anticipate the changing themes as the week went by.

Some '08-'09 preschool memories worth making a note of:

Most favorite, frequent, brief and to the point response, when asked what he did that day at preschool - "played".

Aaron vividly recollects the first time he dropped Caleb off and watched him walk right in and on to his classroom by himself. The kind of thing that really makes you wonder how four years can fly by so fast!

He always told us who wasn't there that particular day, and for a while he even got into a habit of praying (or having us pray) for the missing one(s).

Caleb definitely had a favorite friend - Kate is his #1.

Holding his artwork up for Avery and Presley to see and saying "Look girly girlies!"

Getting to know the class mascot, Purple Bear, when he stayed with us over the weekend. Then hearing from Caleb that while at a fellow classmates home, the stuffed animal got caught in a house fire, and had gotten singed on the backside! (Mom and dad had a hard time keeping straight faces).

At the beginning of the year we got a note from his teachers telling us that show-and-tell should correspond with the calendar and what they were going to talk about for the day. So, we always made a point to come up with something clever and fitting. (For example, one day Aaron even brought Jack, our dog in to show the kids because they were talking about the 5 senses - soft fur, barking, etc.) However, it seemed that whenever Caleb told us what the other kids brought for show and tell, it was merely their favorite toy. Our efforts didn't go unnoticed though; at the end of the year Caleb received a reward for "having awesome show-and-tell items and a kind heart." And who cares about the show-and-tell part, when the other part says so much about how your child has been enjoyed by other people!

One FULL day

Last Friday morning we were in the car by 8:10 (hard to do) and off to the zoo. The hour and a half drive flew by for Caleb, who enjoyed the dvd player in the car for the first time since we bought the van. (Yes, we kept it a secret for a year and a half!) Toy Story and eating breakfast kept the girls busy for a while, but at about and hour and 10 minutes they had had enough. I know, pretty sad - we really are not a car trip kind of family quite yet.

It was a pretty humid day and mom and dad got a workout pushing the strollers (double jogger and umbrella) around, plus the hotdogs were the worst. However, things like seeing the girls faces light up when they recognized the elephants and getting to see Caleb experience the gorilla right on the other side of the glass made EVERYTHING worth it.

Yes, by this point we were tired and ready to climb into an air-conditioned car (especially when it entailed getting to hold onto blanky's and binks).

What do you do when it hits 90 degrees in May?

This:

a new thing

Since the middle of March I've been preoccupied with a new thing. Something I've never really done before, with the exception of my tomato and watermelon plants that got a little out of control last summer. No sprawling vines and squishy tomatoes this year though, thanks to the "square foot" gardening method. The creation of the garden boxes is more Aaron's doing than mine (although the nagging to get them done was of course my thing.) I've planted spinach and lettuce, carrots and broccoli, sugar snap peas, beans, cucumbers, basil, tomatoes, peppers, and marigolds (supposedly keep the tomatoes and peppers healthy). I've had to uproot my broccoli because it got too hot too quick and my spinach and lettuce don't like the heat either, but we've already had a few salads with the greens and everything else seems to be doing well. It's sooooo fun to walk outside and go down the steps of my deck every day and see the constant change happening!

Easter '09

Unsupervised

The other day I came downstairs after a few minutes of leaving these two "unsupervised" and I found this. They had pulled the entire bottom part of the dishwater out onto the floor and were having a great time. As you can see, Avery was very concerned about getting it put back together again and Presley was very proud of herself. She even attempted to explain things when I asked her what they were doing.

A realization

As I was getting everyone out of the car to go into the grocery store, a woman walked past me and made a comment about how I must have my hands full with "three kids". I just smiled, like I try to do every time someone notices us and says something. Yes, most of the time I do have my hands full, and I often wonder how my mother did anything with five kids, or better yet, how anyone does anything with more than three. But I've had a few opportunities lately where I've "seen the light" as to how it's done.

On our way out of the library the other day I decided not to fight with putting my girls back in the stroller. (I usually let them out toward the end of our visit to ease the screaming.) I told Caleb to take Presley's hand and I took Avery's and we all walked up to the front together. I remember looking over my shoulder at the sight of the two of them following me - wow, imagine that! I have also noticed lately that at least two of them and sometimes all three will find something creative and fun to do together at home. Sometimes it turns destructive or someone gets hurt, but for the most part it's actual "playing together" time that I don't even have to supervise. So I can get a quick chore done, check my email, finish the dishes, etc. And just last night, dad was absent for bedtime, so I suggested Caleb sit on the chair and "read" to the girls while I finish some last minute things. They all sat there for a good 5 minutes, very content and quiet!

My realization consists of the fact that older siblings can assist and even substitute for the parent. I think I've always known this in the back of my head, but until it's you having the experience, it doesn't really matter what you think you know. And the really good news is that Caleb's not even 4 1/2 years old - look how much time he has to get better at it! I recognize I am fortunate to have a 4 year old son who is cooperative and sweet most of the time and two girls who like to be manageable half of the time, so that helps.

My mom always says we were good kids growing up. I guess that's why she had five!