Back to School 2013

Cate and Timmy both went back to school in early August.  Timmy went back to preschool (it seems that those with a September birthday spend forever in preschool...) and Cate started Kindergarten.

After much deliberation, we chose a special program within the public school system.  The program uses a different math curriculum, has smaller classes and the kids all have to wear a uniform.

Cate was NOT excited about the uniform, but she has gotten used to it.  She wears a dress or a skirt most days because it is very difficult to find uniform pants that fit a five year old without falling down...or at least this five year old.

Going to school every day has been a big adjustment for Cate and for our schedule, but she really loves school.  She is learning so much and for my girl who loves a structured activity, it is a great day.

Timmy had a harder time adjusting to Cate being gone.  He had night terrors (a new thing for him) during her first few weeks of school.  He would also constantly wonder if maybe she had come home while we were outside playing or walking the dog.  He was a little bit lost at first, but he is finding his way.

When Timmy started his school year, things got much better.  He has school three mornings each week and often (ok, pretty much every day) stays for lunch.   He is never happy to see me when I come to pick him up; he would rather keep playing with all of his friends.

Both C&T went into this school year knowing a friend in their class.  It has been nice for them to finally not be the new kids!

Cate's Fifth Birthday

Five.  I had a hard time with Cate turning five.  It felt like a big birthday; the end of the preschool, mostly at home years, and the beginning of the school years.  I don't know how it goes so quickly.

We started her birthday at home in Phoenix with a few gifts at breakfast.

The main event, though, was a few weeks later when we went to the American Girl store and restaurant in Chicago.  Her bitty baby, Maggie, got to have her own high chair at the table and we all enjoyed a fancy lunch.  When they sang happy birthday (over three desserts!), and Cate couldn't keep from smiling.

We opened gifts and had more cake at Mimi and Pop's house.

We seem to be celebrating birthdays several times now that we live in Phoenix.  Once on the actual day, once with grandparents when we get to see them and I suppose, that parties with friends will become a necessity soon as well.  Happy Birthday to my favorite five year old!

Summertime

Summer is here!  Cate and Timmy finished school for the summer and we are in the middle of a few weeks with not much on the agenda.

The month of May was a little bit crazy.  There were Mother's Day programs at school for C&T's classes and a graduation for Cate.

Tim took the kids to Des Moines for Tulip Time, but a May snowstorm changed those plans a bit!  Cate and Timmy were thrilled to play in the snow, though.  Mimi came to visit and before everyone returned from Des Moines, we decided to check out the town of Jerome, Arizona.  It is near Sedona, up in the montains.

 
 It was a very pretty little town with a few winding streets, lots of shops and artists and a few wineries.  We settled into one of those after lunch  after I bought a few prints in one of the shops.  We did a wine tasting and the scene below was our view.  It was not really a place for kids, so I was glad to have the chance to do it on our own.

 At the end of the month, Tim had to work in San Diego, so we were able to go the weekend before and take the kids to the beach for the first time.

They loved the sand and the water and we almost had the whole beach to ourselves the weekend before Memorial Day.

Everyone in Phoenix escapes the summer heat in San Diego and now I can see why.  The weather was perfect and the nights were cool.

We spent two days in Sea World (mostly to justify the cost of the tickets) and I was really sad not to have one more full day at the beach.

I also had a list of places that I wanted to try out in search of the perfect fish taco but our days at Sea World didn't really allow for that.

We reluctantly left on Monday afternoon and have returned to our summer schedule of sleeping late, swimming in our pool and going to swimming lessons in the late afternoon.

We seem to have two butterflies living in our back yard.  I have never before noticed a particular butterfly (or two) who continue to come back to the same place like these yellow and black monarchs do.

We were swimming over the weekend and I think that this butterfly really needed a drink.  He kept circling the pool and looking for puddles, so Cate dumped a bucket of water on the deck and our little friend landed for a minute to take a drink (I think?).

Neither Cate nor Timmy are big car sleepers (even on the three day drive from Chicago when we moved), but the heat and swimming seem to be taking their toll on Timmy and he has nodded off more than a few times in the last few weeks.  We are enjoying these slow weeks before we get ready for Cate's 5th birthday and our trip to Chicago!

The Big Events and the Everyday

Just like February, March flew by in flash.  We did a lot of our regular, everyday stuff and there were a few highlights too.

We worked on some sight words with play doh after rest time (thank you, Pinterest for helping me to come up with an emergency, exciting, learning activity when I am desperate in the afternoon).

Cate and Timmy snuggled and watched PBS in the morning before school.  They always remind me of an old, married couple first thing in the morning when their faces are still puffy and they are sleepy.

Cate had to bring an umbrella for "weather week" at school, so both kids got a new, Disney umbrella.  They played with them and went for walks in the "rain" (no rain at all) for about a week.

Timmy continued his love for all things chocolate.  I think this was at one of our new favorite places, Zoe's Kitchen.  He went crazy for their chocolate cake.

Timmy also seriously upped his coloring ante this month.  He really does color quite a bit, and is generally pretty focused and serious about it.  I dated the picture above and stuck it in his little file (also Pinterest inspired) because he was so precise with the race car.

There was carnival at a church just a few minutes from our house, so we braved the hot afternoon to ride a few rides with our buddy, Norah.  They loved the burlap sack slide and the giant swings.

In March, we also helped to organize our first block party and rented our first bounce house.  It was fun to get to know some of our neighbors better before everyone is locked inside for the heat of the summer.  We vowed to do it again for Halloween (which seems to be a desert coming out of the heat party), so hopefully we can be organized enough to make that happen.  We'll see.

Cate and Timmy had their regular dentist appointments.  At their last visit, there was a lot of crying, freaking out and complaining.  I think I did a better job this time of threatening  preparing them, so all was smooth and easy.  They got good reports (against all odds, especially for Timmy who squirms so much when I brush his teeth that I often just give up), so it was a successful visit.

At the very end of the month, of course, was Easter.  Mimi, Pop and Jenn came to spend the long weekend with us.  We went for a LONG hike on Saturday and went to church at noon on Sunday after both Easter baskets had been found.  We did Disney themed baskets this year, with new sunglasses, notebooks and flip flops to celebrate our impending first trip to Disney World in the fall.

After we took everyone to the airport on Monday, the four of us went to our first ever Arizona Diamondbacks game.  It was so much fun to watch Cate and Timmy's expressions when they first saw how big the ball field was, or when the dome started to open.  It was a really nice night to sit out at a game and the great thing about having a 3&4 year old is that you can go to a baseball game, eat a bunch of junk food and leave in the 4th inning because they need to get to bed.  Works for me!