Last Day of School

Warning to the grandparents: This picture might make you cry!

Today was Wes' last day of preschool in the 2's class. He's officially a 3 (come September when school starts again).

I pulled a very non-Kristina move and actually was organized enough to take a picture on both the first and last day of school. I hope I can continue to be this organized for the rest of his school years (although I'm sure I'll get some resistance sooner rather than later).

Just uploaded these this evening and oh my gosh. How much he has grown. Not just physically, although you can see that. He looks so confident in the second pictures. A little boy more sure of his surroundings than he was back in September. I know that his school played a big part in this. I'm so proud of him.

Sweetie Pie.

I just love this picture Wes' teacher sent in her weekly round up...
My sweet little boy, all dirt and worms and trucks, feeding his babies.
I love seeing him showing his sweet side...deep down he's a loving little boy (who just happens to like to get dirty, too).

Glad he's getting some practice!

December!

We're only halfway into December and it has been a blast already.  We have Christmas at home and visits to both Salisbury and Nashville to look forward to in the next few weeks.  I'll be home from work for almost two weeks!

We went and listened to the Clefhangers sing at the Old Well on the last day of classes (and played in the dirt)

We tried and tried to get Wes to sit still long enough to take a picture for the Christmas card (yes, I'm way behind).

Obviously, I failed, and went with an action shot:

We went to a Moravian Lovefeast last Sunday at Wes' preschool's church, which was interesting (try disciplining a two year old with a burning candle in your hand!), but he sure looked handsome.

Today was the Christmas Party at Wes' preschool.  The kids sang us Jingle Bells (Wes didn't sing, although he's been practicing constantly) and then made Reindeer Dust to sprinkle on our doorstep on Christmas Eve.  The children loved putting oats in the bowl and then sprinkling them with LOTS of glitter.

Tonight our good friends Sarah Jane and Hayes came to eat dinner.  They moved to Arkansas this summer so it was such a treat to have them here!  The boys played and had so much fun together, and SJ and I had a blast catching up.  We miss them so much!

Here are the boys eating dinner:

(love the hat, Wes!)

These boys have grown up together.  Here's a picture of one of their first play dates:

It's hard to believe they were that small!

Here's to December!  We can't wait for the rest of it.

Kristina

Sing Song...

Wes is now singing! Out of the blue.

Yesterday Neil said Wes saw a picture Neil had drawn of Allie and said Spider! (heh) Then he just lit into "The Itsy Bitsy Spider." The whole thing. News to us that he knew this one!

He sang it for me when I got home. Every time he sang, he got a bit bolder, louder, more confident. Finally when we were putting on his PJs, he belted it out and even added a little sing-song tone to his voice. After two rounds of Spider, we sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star (the song that caused the tears last weekend), the Good Morning Song (a preschool song that Neil and I don't know), and Max and Ruby. Then he started requesting, "Cars song! Cars song! Drive!" I asked, "Life is a Highway?" and got a "YES!" So we sang Life is a Highway from the movie Cars about three times before bed, too.

I will be visiting Itunes later today to download some of these songs for him! I only know one line from Life is a Highway and it's getting a little old. :)

Aldersgate Preschool Dedication...and the saddest little face ever.

You just have to love this picture of Wes.

His preschool dedication was Sunday at Aldersgate Methodist, and the children of the preschool sang songs in front of the whole congregation.  This kind of stuff makes my heart palpitate, and I'm 30.  So I had no idea what to expect from a slightly shy two-year-old that's just like me.

We sat down at church and Wes was a little wiggly, but good.  I loved seeing him get excited to see his friends and wave.  The threes class sang first and did a great job.  They stepped aside and the twos class was called up.  I watched in shock as Wes climbed down from the pew and walked up to the front of the church all by himself (I was sure I would have to take him up there).  All the little boys went up and took their places at the church - they certainly had practiced.  When they started Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, the boy beside Wes belted it out in a scream...and that's when Wes lost it.  His face turned all red, the lower lip puckered out, and he did his silent cry....the one that means, "Hey.  I'm really upset here."'

Thankfully, the lovely Ms Julie swept him right up in her arms and he made it through the rest of the song and the next one.  I met him at the back of the aisle when it was over, his face streaked with tears, and swept him up in a big hug.  I told him how proud I was of him, just for making it up to the front of the church.  And I really meant it.

-Kristina

Preschool Update

Another good week at school last week! We got our weekly email update from the teachers this weekend. Last week was the final week of their Farm unit, and they planted daffodil bulbs in the playground.

I loved this picture of my sweet Wes playing with some other kids. All the other ones I've seen have been of him off by himself, pushing something around (which he loves to do at home, too), so this one of him playing with other little ones made me smile:



He had to stay home from school yesterday because he still had a low grade fever hanging around from the weekend. When I got home from work yesterday, I noticed his eyes were puffy and he had hives on his hands and neck. So, off to the doctor's office we went! The place was a madhouse of screaming children, but we finally saw Dr. Lotz and she said she had seen six or seven kids with the same exact hives that day. She classified it as a virus (that's where the fever came from this weekend), listened to his lungs (they were great) and then sent us on our way with orders to take Benadryl all week. So, Wes will be back at school tomorrow!

Aldersgate Preschool

So far all of the Magnusons are LOVING Wes' preschool, Aldersgate. Things are getting better every morning - this morning he didn't cry until they were pulling him out of the car (yes, an improvement).

He has been doing better while he's at school, too...after the few tears in the morning, he's happy to play all day. Last week's weekly email update told us about the kids painting a Carolina blue sky, singing songs, and playing on the playground (Wes is famous for yelling at all the trucks that go by).

He loves his teachers, Ms Julie and Ms Holly, and I do, too. Last week after a particularly bad dropoff morning Julie called and talked to me for about twenty minutes one night - they're so loving and calm with Wes and with me.

After that bad dropoff, Wes had a great day (maybe that was the worst of it and he's over the hump). His teachers took some pictures to show me how much fun he was having...enjoy!

Snacktime!


Playtime ~






The lovely Ms. Julie...

An Update.

Another busy month and of course, the blog gets neglected. Sounds like we need an update!

September came and went in a blur. Wes started preschool two days a week, and so far, after the initial tears when I leave, he is loving it. His language is taking off, too...he speaks in sentences now, and tells us, "I need nuggets. I need ice cream." (I have tried to explain to him the difference in want and need...so far he's not too interested.) He also loves to tell Day what he has just done. "Day, I ate cupcake!" "Day, I finished puzzle!"

We are loving every minute. From the hugs and kisses to the "I love you mommy" moments, we take it all in and enjoy it. We are commanded to "dance on the stars" (the rug in his room) and read Max and Ruby "one more time" at bedtime and we do it every time. If it's possible, Wes has actually gotten sweeter as he has reached his terrible twos. :)

Here are some pictures so we can play catch up!

At Meet the Heels at Kenan Stadium:




On the playground at his preschool:


Playing cornhole with Uncle J and Craig:


First day of school:


Walking to the park:


Having fun with cousin Diem: