First Day of Preschool 2012

Maddox throwing one of her many tantrums for an unknown reason....after preschool and after nap. She was just in one of her moods and snapped out of it as quick as she snapped into it....very typical for Maddox

Maddox first day of preschool 

gold fish

Kennon dancing 

So all of you know last Wednesday was Maddox's first day of preschool at Our Savior Church in Bettendorf.  The pictures that are above are actually taken AFTER the experience.....Maddox wasn't all that excited about having her picture taken before school like I wanted.  I have learned that we are on Maddox's timeline :)  I dropped her off ( into the chaos of the school's first day) and she actually did well. She has a special place to hang her backpack/coat with her name and her picture. Then she has a cubby with her name and picture where she puts a folder that goes to school everyday and comes home everyday as a source of communication between the teachers and parents. The folder houses a sheet for the week that specifically states what they learned, talked about, played with, what they had for snack and how many times they went potty....even down the detail as far as what Bible vs they discussed what color they are talking about and what shape and some other specific details that I think are going above and beyond....!! The folder also has just a plain paper where we can write notes to the teacher and they are able to write back ( otherwise email is another option).  SO this folder is pretty important and therefore has it's own cubby and fits nicely in Maddox's backpack. Anyhow there were lots of kids crying so I was happy that Maddox just sort of mixed herself in with the sea of kids that WEREN'T crying amongst the many moms and dads and camera flashes ( I think we have all the experience at Kindercare to thank for that). I gave her a hug and she was swished into her room by her teacher Mrs. Ennis.  I went home to a sick Kennon.  He unfortunately started running a low grade fever on Tuesday at school and had a cold.  Eric took him to Dr. Anderson's office to have him checked out but his ears and throat came back in flying color condition.  Preschool is about 3 hours. I picked up Maddox with some anticipation about how her day went and Mrs Doyle ( the other teacher...the one from Orion) said she had a good day. She was all smiles and was able to tell me they had cheese and crackers and JUICE for snack....something we don't have a lot of around the house!!  The don't have lunch but they have snack time and a time to pray before snack to thank God for all the blessings He gives us. She was all smiles although shy and not really able to verbalize what she had done so luckily Mrs. Ennis sent us an email about the details of their day and what songs that had sung etc.  She doesn't go today ( Labor  day) but will go again on Wednesday. We frequently past 'church school' in the van when we are going to and from town and she seems overly excited to go back. So I think it is going to be a good year for her.  Unfortunately about 12 hours later she started with the low grade fever and cold.  Then Eric came down with it about 48 hours later. So it has kinda been a rough week juggling sick kids, work schedules, and the pressures of the new school. We were supposed to go out to the Orion Fast Festival on Saturday but unfortunately hurricane Issac decided we should stay home instead.  We layed low recovering from illness but Maddox was still having a low grade fever and began reporting that her throat was hurting. I am very thankful she is actually able to tell us what is actually hurting. I looked in her throat and thought it looked really red. So I quick loaded her up Saturday afternoon and took her to the Quick Care place. Fortunately her ears and throat were fine with a negative strep test but unfortunately the strep test provoked her gag reflex and she threw up in the van on the way home :(  poor thing. She kept saying 'mom I"m being brave....I'm not crying....mom I'm being brave '  and she didn't cry!! I was really proud of her. So we quick triaged Maddox and the van and sent Kennon and Eric off to church to serve in the nursery as unfortunately this was OUR Saturday night. Luckily there were no babies to watch so Kennon and Eric returned home quickly to help me finish triaging the car seat and van. BY this time Maddox was a happy as a lark playing outside in the cool East wind in her nightgown. Kennon was quick to join her.  He LOVES to be outside and especially to play in the rocks. He is actually quite good at throwing rocks .......so you have to be on your toes at all times. In fact he throws balls in general very well ( much better than Maddox every did and really does.... BOY BOY BOY!!) Kennon got over his fever in about 48 hours and was pretty happy all weekend. He is saying more and more ' all done, hot dog, mine, mama, dada, I did it'  In general he is a pretty happy boy and is sleeping through the night for the most part unless his teeth are bothering him.  The teachers at Kindercare are getting ready to move him up to the toddler room where he will eat at a big boy table with big boy utensils, take one afternoon nap on a cot, and have centers to play out.  Unfortunately we don't get any break in the price as the ratio of teachers to kids is still the same ( today I for the first time calculated out how much we are paying for 2 at Kindercare and one at Our Savior per year...and about fell off the couch...I knew it was expensive but didn't know it was that much!!.....oh well we are thankful for the excellent care and education they are getting and thankful we are able to afford it!! ) We had Maddox's 3 year old pictures yesterday at the mall and the photo shoot went great. She was all smiles and was happy to hear the prospect of a soft pretzel for lots of good smiles!!  That has kinda become our tradition....photo shoot = soft pretzel! Sunday evening we grilled out and then went to Hannah, Jody Aaron and Charlie's house for a bonfire and s'mores. The kids had a good time playing. Today I'm headed to see a couple of patients. So busy at work 30+ people waiting for physical therapy. Eric was going to do a few projects around the home but unfortunately is suffering from what appears to be a migraine. Phew...I just scrolled up and this is getting long.  Next Saturday Eric and I are headed to the Iowa vs Iowa State game!! Grandma Jean and Grandpa Jim are going to come stay with the kids.  Looking forward to a little getaway after all the sickness this past week. Happy Labor Day.