Little Doggies?

For some reason, my girls love to lay (and play) on the dog's mat by the TV.  Do cedar chips attract kids?  I think they spend more time on it than Abby....and we know when Lauren is tired because she crawls over and flops down on it.

First Day of School

Breakfast of champions for the first day of school - Cheerios!

(Seriously, how did parents ever survive without them?!)

Feeling a little like my mom, making signs for Hannah to hold for pictures.....but it will help with scrapbooking.  I wonder if I'll still be making my girls hold up signs in high school on the first day of school like my mom did......she didn't get many smiles in those ones.....  Anyways, here are some pictures I took of Hannah before she went off for her first full day of pre-school.

I am apparently raising the queen of silly faces for pictures.

I think her Dad must be teaching her this while I am at work!

She is growing up so very fast.  It's true when they tell you childhood goes by in the blink of an eye.  Where did my 3.5 lb little baby go?  

This is a 30 pound little girl!

One thing is certain....Hannah LOVES her dog.  She was really upset when I told her that Abby couldn't go to school with her.  Fortunately, Abby is really good about all of the affection that she gets from Hannah.  Jon and I are pretty sure that the treats that Hannah always wants to give to Abby help make the "love" a little more bearable.

 

Here is a picture of her school - it's only about a five minute drive from our house.  If I wasn't headed for work immediately after dropping Hannah off, I'd think about walking her to school.  When I dropped her off for her first day, she didn't even look back at me or say goodbye.  She just darted off into the room.  I guess we are doing our part to raise an independent child.  She looked at the kids clinging to their parents in the hallway with a "what is wrong with you? we're here to have fun" kind of a look.  I think school is going to be a good fit for her this year.

Pre-School Orientation

Hannah is headed off to pre-school this year.  She is going to St. John's Christian Preschool two mornings a week.  It is at a Lutheran Church right down the road from our house.  Jon and I are feeling very confident in our decision to send Hannah there -- especially after meeting the teachers during the parent orientation last week.   Her daily class routine will include an hour of free play every day, plus circle times where they'll read stories and have learning time.  Plus, they will play outside or in the gym every day...in addition to having a "healthy snack."  The curriculum isn't overly "Christian," but they weave Christian teaching into everything they do (e.g., God made animals, baby Moses was in a basket - how do we care for babies, God made us unique (so let's learn our classmates' names)).  It's more than Sunday school, but not too structured to be too much for a 3-year old.

On Friday, the school held an open house where Hannah got to go and check out her classroom and meet her teachers.  I took her over and Lisa (our babysitter) met us there.  This year Lisa will be doing the pick-up while I do the drop-off, so I wanted to make sure that she knew her way around the place too.  Hannah enjoyed meeting her teachers for the 30 minutes we were there on Friday and has been practicing saying their names -- Mrs. Long and Mrs. McCray. 

Today since Hannah's orientation is from 10:30-11:30, Lisa is taking her and dropping her off.  I didn't label this picture the first day of school because I'm not counting it.  Only 7 of the 14 kids in her class will be there for her hour, and I couldn't take her, so I'll do the "first day of school" on her first full day!

But, doesn't she look cute in her little capris (and size 10.5 shoes!)... 

Cheerios

 This girl loves her Cheerios!!!

Toy Box