Bailey's first day of preschool

She totally loved it! She was really excited this morning and couldn't wait to get there. When I picked her up, she proudly announced to me, "I didn't hit anybody and I didn't push anybody either." I had given her the lecture on the way to school about how I wanted her to act, and evidently those two points stuck with her.

She made a cute craft with pictures of her teachers and preschool staff. (It helps her learn their names.) She had school bus crackers and apple juice for snack. And she reported that her name tag fell in the toilet! It was just a sticker, though, so no worries. Personally, I'm just glad she went to the potty! Bailey's only complaints about today were that they didn't paint and they didn't go out on the playground. In her mind, these two things are essential, so I'm hoping they'll start those soon. She also told me all about the little girl in the purple shirt who cried today because she didn't want her mommy to leave her. That got her attention, but it didn't seem to bother her at all. She could barely stop playing with the playdough to kiss me goodbye!

Here are some pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033970&id=1109513440&l=551b4b3d6c

Back to school time!

Here are pictures from Macy's first day of 2nd grade.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2033121&id=1109513440&l=c6f436cfb9

Library Time

We've signed the girls up for the summer reading program at the library in Westland. Our library is awesome! They have so many fun things for the kids to do. We go for craft time on Wednesdays and other activities throughout the week. They actually have so much scheduled that there's no way for us to do all of it.
Bailey doesn't always want to do the planned craft, so her favorite thing to do instead is cut paper. I think she'd stay there all day just fringing the egde of scraps.This was paint-your-own-tshirt day! Macy loved it, but Bailey refused to wear the paint shirt over her clothes. So she didn't paint.I love the children's section in our library. They have computer games, puzzles, books on CD, Leap Frog Leap Pad with lots of games to choose from, a puppet theater, magnet sets, fun wooden toys, and much, much more! And all of this is just the activities they can enjoy there. We could stay for a long time and not do it all.

The girls adore this little reading tunnel. We like to sit here and read together.
Bailey is telling me just one more minute until she's done!Macy is loving all the books she's been checking out. She borrowed the CD collection of the American Girl Samantha series. She's in love with Samantha! Just today, we checked out three short story books about Samantha, and she's already read two of them.

Happy Father's Day!

Dustin had a great Father's Day! The girls were so excited to buy his presents for him. They helped me pick out three shirts, three ties, and a desk set for his office. Macy made up clues to a scavenger hunt for Daddy to follow to find his gifts. I cooked some of Dustin's favorite foods for lunch--meatloaf, potato casserole, and green bean bundles. I also bought him some pita bread that is baked here locally in one of the Middle Eastern bakeries. We had hot fudge brownie sundaes for dessert.

We gave Dustin one of his shirts and ties on Saturday night, so he could wear it to church services on Sunday. When he opened it, Bailey announced excitedly, "We got you an orange one, too!" So much for surprises.

Here is Daddy on Saturday night modeling his new shirt.
Sunday morning before church
And here they are afterwards.
Next, Daddy began his scavenger hunt to find his gifts.
The orange one that Bailey warned him about.
Bailey's card that she made for DaddyMacy's card

Petting Farm

I took the girls to a petting farm in Ann Arbor. We went with Macy's teacher and her little boy. The kids had lots of fun petting and feeding the animals. Bailey was afraid of everything and screamed and cried for the first few minutes. But, thankfully, she warmed up to the idea and had a great time petting the baby animals. She also loved feeding the ducks.

Pictures are coming!

Macy's Last Day of School

Today was Macy's last day of school. She was really sad. She kept saying how much she was going to miss her friends and her teacher. We kept reassuring her that she would see them all again in the fall. I don't guess she really understands that yet.

Here is the class during their last group time.
Singing the hug song
Now for a group hug!
Macy with her good friend, Hannah
Mrs. Stanchina gave all the kids a certificate for completing 1st grade. She also gave them a sweet poem that she wrote just for this class. Everyone also got a journal and pen to use over the summer. If they bring it back in September with lots of journaling, they get a special prize.
Also, on the last day of school, Mrs. Stanchina took a spelling test. Each student got to choose a word for her to study and spell. The only catch was the students had to be able to spell their word as well so that they could grade the teacher. Macy chose supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! And yes, she learned to spell it, too!
Yay! She got it right!Everyone else went easy on her.Here are the end-of-the-year treats we gave all of her teachers and staff a few days earlier. It was a pasta salad kit. The recipe and all the ingredients were wrapped up in a bowl. It was a big hit!
Macy and Mrs. Hartmann, the technology teacherMs. Kordie was Macy's art and gym teacher. Macy loves her so much!Here is Macy and Mrs. Englehart. She is another 1st grade teacher, and she was so sweet and encouraging to Macy during the school year.Macy's Spanish teacher, Dona DeborahMrs. Stanchina opening her gift and reading her cardWe adore Mrs. Stanchina!Mrs. Avey is one of the school secretaries, and she is totally awesome! She is truly one of our favorite people at Memorial Elementary.Ms. Rose, the other secretary
We also gave these gifts to her music teacher, the principal, and the lunch moms. Unfortunately, we didn't get pictures with them.

The kids enjoyed popsicles outside during afternoon recess.