Dance Recital 2013

Reese's dance recital was last weekend!  We had a fun week leading up to her performances on Friday and Saturday.  She had dress rehearsal on Tuesday, which was my first chance to see her ready to go in her super cute costume.

Of course, her costume last year was pretty adorable, too!  In this year's recital she had two performances.

She wore it like this for her "jazzy" number.

And this was her costume for her tap performance.

She and her friends did such a great job!  Last year they were super cute, but you could tell that they've gotten better this year, and that they are able to remember more of their routine.  Basically, they're like old pros now :)!

Of course, she's only four, so she spent some time looking at Ms. Jada for instructions...and reminders to "smile."  I actually told her on Friday afternoon that based on what I'd seen her do at home, I thought she knew her routine pretty well on her own, and that she only needed to look at Ms. Jada when she couldn't remember something.  I think that helped boost her confidence a bit before the Friday show!

Ready to dance "just like a rock star."

Seriously, I loved watching her dance on that stage.  She had no fear!

Here is a little snippet of her jazz perfomance.  She's in the front row, second from the right!

Reese's class taking their bow!

Flowers for the dancer!

Reesie and her proud Mommy!

And this is the patented "so over pictures" smile that Wyatt developed last week.

Reese was amazing! We were so proud of how well she did dancing, but I was so surprised that she wasn't at all phased by being on the stage.  I missed her performance on Saturday, but her Daddy gave that one rave reviews, too!

She is already asking me when her next recital is - I think she caught the stage bug!

Last Day of School

Wyatt and Reese's last day of school was Friday.  We "celebrated" with blueberry muffins for breakfast, and then shuffled to get out the door on time - it wouldn't be school day if we weren't rushing around at the last minute.

This guy had such a great year!  He loved his teacher and all his friends.  And I'm so proud of all of his hard work!  I touched on most of the progress he's made this year at conference time. His reading fluency has improved so much, his handwriting is so much better, and he's asking me to do math with him this summer!  I can't believe how big he's gotten in nine months!

Reesie's year in 4 year old class was awesome!  Like Wyatt I talked about her progress last month, but her handwriting and math skills have gotten so much better, and she's actually reading!  She had such a great time with her friends in class, and her favorite part of school was definitely taking things in for show and share and coloring!

 Last day that these two are going to be at the same school for a long time!  Wyatt is over taking pictures right now.  Seriously!

Reesie with her friends Ava and Emma before school!

 Freedom!  Brian came home to take them out to lunch after school.  I can't believe that it was Wyatt's last day at this school.  We have loved his three years there so much, and we're so glad we found the right preschool for him when we started looking!  We're now easing into a summer full of swim lessons, trips to fun spots, and "summer home school."  We're not counting down the days until school starts...yet :)!

Father's Day

These kiddos LOVE their Daddy.

 So when Brian called me on Saturday and told me that his parents were going to spend Father's Day at the Waterpark, we didn't have to think too long before we said we'd be there, too!  Even though this guy isn't a huge fan of water.

 We got to the park right when it opened, and Wyatt rode down this slide about a million times (that's a rough estimate by Wyatt himself).  The beauty is that we had a cabana that basically let me sit in the shade and watch him do it over and over and over again. 

 We went straight up the hill to ride the tube rides.  We had lots of fun, but man were my arms and legs tired from walking up the steps with three tubes!  When do these kids start earning their keep?!?!?

 She screamed the entire way down, and then shouted, "That's AWESOME!" when she got to the bottom.

 Wyatt fell in love with Jungle Falls when I took him last week.  He loves the drop from pool to pool!

 And I know looks scared, she totally loved it, too!

 Even though they both like riding the "big kid" rides, I know Wyatt had lots of fun hanging out in the kiddie section.  He was floating with his arms behind his head.  When I asked what he was doing, he told me he was "relaxing."

 Reese saw me with the camera, so this was the face she made while riding the slides with Baba.

 This little cutie loved the jumpers!  She wasn't a fan of the water when she first got wet, but she warmed up to it.  And anything that involves jumping is a win in Finley's book.  Hudson loved them too when he was a baby!

 We had a fun, long day!  I can't believe these four lasted at the park from 10AM to 4PM! I know that they loved actually being able to spend Father's Day with Brian, even though he was going back and forth from his office and other parts of the park to us.

His girls LOVE him!

 Finley was a rock star baby all day.. She was so good!

I'm so glad that we were able to go and spend time with Brian and Baba for Father's Day - the kids had a blast!

Post Grad

After Wyatt's graduation we had to take the obligatory pictures with everyone who came to see him graduate!

Wyatt and his proud Daddy.

 Pop Pop and Katie came to see him!

 Wyatt with Mimi and Baba.

 Proud Mama!

 Hudson wasn't so much proud...he was more excited to be able to play with new toys and eat cake. 

 Didi came from work to see his graduation.

 Okay, so this girl does not enjoy any kind of attention that doesn't belong to her.  She was basically grumpy for the 4 days leading up to Wyatt's graduation because it was his "special day," and because I was taking him to the water park that afternoon.  I didn't even make her come to the graduation because I knew she would spend it pouting, but I did want to try and get a picture of the two of them.  This is the best I got!  She cheered up on the way home when I stopped to get her a frosty, though!

 Wyatt's mini-me was very proud of him!

 We walked all the way out to the car before we realized that we never got a picture of the two of us with him!  Fortunately we were able to run back in.  I don't want to forget this special day for him in the school where he has grown so big and learned so much!  We are so thankful for all of his wonderful teachers!

 We are so proud of how hard he worked this year, and we can't wait to see how much he learns in First Grade next year!

I took him to the water park that afternoon while Katie stayed with the other kids.  We had the best time!  It's very rare that I get to do anything with them one on one, and it was fantastic.  We rode all of the "big kid" rides, he helped me carry his tube up the hill, and he even gave me a big hug at one point and said he was having the best day with me.  Brian was able to take one picture before he headed back up to his office to do work (boo!)!

Once we got home from the park, he went straight to his room to put together his new Lego set from Didi.  Seriously - graduating, the water park, new Lego's, and a Sonic slush - does it get any better for a 6 year old?

 Also - we decided that graduating from Kindergarten deserved a small gift - and that we would give him his very first toy gun.  Coincidentally, it's a storm trooper's gun. We talked to him about using it the right way, not pointing it at people, etc.  But here's the thing.  I already want to take it away from him.  He's using it perfectly, but I've never heard a more annoying sound in. my. life.  

And of course we give it to him when he's about to be home all. summer. long.

Wyatt the Graduate

 Wyatt graduated from Kindergarten today!  His class has been practicing for graduation for over a month.  He has taken his "training" very seriously.  He always tells me that he's singing three songs and that one is "really gonna make me cry."  And then he follows it up with an evil smile.

The graduates entering the room for their ceremony.

 Each "graduate" came up to share their favorite lesson from Kindergarten, and what they want to be when they grow up.  The most interesting thing Wyatt learned is that "you need your lungs to breathe."  I know choosing what he wants to be when he grows up was hard for him.  He really struggles with making a career out of professional baseball, paleontology, and playing hockey for the Pittsburgh Penguins.  For graduation purposes, hockey for the Penguins won :).

 Turning his tassel after he got his diploma.

 And...the child made me cry.  They sang an inspirational and sad song, and there was not one dry mommy eye in the place. Seriously.  And he stared me down the whole time, with those big brown eyes just waiting for me to use the tissues I grabbed before-hand.  Mission accomplished, son.

His shirt was tucked in for about 5 minutes this morning, but once it came untucked there was no fixing it.  Wyatt only tucks in his shirt for important things, like baseball games!

 The graduating kindergarten class!

They had a some decorations/keepsakes set up around the room for us to look at before the ceremony.  This was one of my favorites - Wyatt's self portrait and what his friends had to say about him!  I have one of these from high school (there was no self portrait then, and the descriptions were more in depth and more inside jokes), and it's still something I love that I have!  I'm so glad he has this.

 Pictures of Wyatt with his teacher, Mrs. Boyle, and a poem that also made me cry.

 Every one's hand prints as a backdrop!

 How cute is this cake with the kids' picture on it?

Of course, it led to Alex shouting over to Wyatt, "Hey Wyatt, I'm eating your head!"  Ha!

Wyatt and his good buddy Jacob.  They are going to grow up and play hockey for the Penguins together.  Jacob's dad told me that he comes home every day with the latest hockey information thanks to Wyatt.  I'm so glad he can be a source of information for his friends. Ha!

We are so proud of our little fella!  He has learned so much this year, and he has grown up so much.  I can't believe he's the same boy that protested going to school for the first month because he wanted to play before he did his work.  I'm so excited to spend the summer with him.  We'll be going to swimming lessons, and Busch Gardens, and the zoo of course, but we'll also spend time reinforcing all the things he learned at school this year!  Congratulations Wyatt the First Grader!