This Halloween

This is the first year that Taft was completely certain about his costume.  There was no way I would talk him into anything else.

He wanted to be a soldier.  And a soldier he was. 

Happy 50th Day of School

For the 50th day of school, Taft's class decided to dress like they were in the 1950's.  He was going for Buddy Holly.   

Leprechaun Trap

Taft's Kindergarten teacher sent home a little note about a leprechaun creating mischief in the classrooms. The note asked for the children to make traps to try to catch the little devil. They had to take the traps in today. Taft is certain that he will catch one. I think that he may be disappointed if he doesn't

We went to Michael's to get a few supplies. Taft wanted a "trap with a stick that you move to make it close". Lucky for me, we found a cute little wooden truck to use. It even has a wire top so anything that is trapped can be seen without opening and also get air. We decided to paint it green and line it with metallic gold paper. Taft found some stickers that were a pot of gold and also a rainbow. There had to be a rainbow. And in the miniature section of the store we found a perfect little ladder.

After getting it painted and put together, we glued it to a piece of foam board to make it easy to carry.

{Almost} Woodless Wednesday

Friday was Apple Day at school. They did apple print shirts, apple hats, and got to taste different apples.

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Last week was picture day. The big yearbook, fall photos in their uniforms. So Taft got a pedicure at home to make him feel special. And yes - real men get pedicures.

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Taft doing some reading and letter practice.

Weekend Work

Taft did a little yardwork this weekend.  He loves to help with the grass cutting.  Don't fear.  The weed eatter is battery powered and the battery was almost dead.  There was no potential harm involved.

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Taft's wonderful technique of eating a lollipop.

!st Day of Kindergarten

Kindergarten happened today.  They have a staggered start so we don't go back until Thursday.  More photos to come later.

Learning To Swim

Taft has really learned to swim this summer. We have a pool so he is able to swim everyday. He has always used a floaty or non-inflatable suit while in the pool. But he loves to be thrown in and has no problem with going under the water. So - we started to teach him to swim and how to float. He has yet to master the art of floating on his back. He starts to laugh and sinks every time I try it with him. Hopefully he will get it soon. But he has learned to swim in general. His newest "trick", as he calls it, is to swim to the bottom of the pool and touch the bottom. And as you can tell by the photos, he likes to swim in SpongeBob underwear.

{Almost} Wordless Wednesday

Taft loves my headset from work.

Summer Field Trips | Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth

 Taft has had a great time at Summer Camp this year.  Since they have a program at the preschool were he has been forever, we decided to leave him there for the first part of summer.

He has loved every minute of it.  Especially getting to go on field trips.  (Mostly because he gets to ride the bus.)  One of their trips was to the Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth in St. Augustine. 

When I asked him what he saw and learned, here is what I got:

"We saw peacocks.  We even saw peacock poop!"

I am glad that it was money well spent.  Of course when we picked him up at school, we went to eat dinner.  I asked him if he drank the water.  He said yes, so I responded with, "You know what that means?  You will be five forever."  Then he started to cry.  When he realized that I was kidding, he picked up his butter knife and growled.  I don't think he found me funny.

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Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize that they were the big things. 

 - Robert Brault

Let Me Fix My Helmet

We have had a lot of rain this summer.  With that comes a lot of bugs.  But we do occasionally go outside and ride a bike.  And when we do, Taft just can't seem to get the helmet to fit the way he wants.

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Enjoy the little things, for one day you may look back and realize that they were the big things.

-  Robert Brault

Taft's Birthday Weekend

Taft turned 5 on June 2.  Since it fell on a weekend, we had a small party at school with his friends on Friday.  We didn't do a lot on his actual birthday.  He got to swim, he got to see the ice cream truck and we gave him a SpongeBob Snowcone machine.  He also got birthday cards in the mail and money from MawMaw Geneva.  Later in the weet, he got his first set of Legos from Mawmaw and Pawpaw.  Not only Legos, but also SpongeBob.

 

I think he had a pretty good time!

Taft's 5th Birthday | VPK Party at School

Yesterday we had Taft a little birthday party at his school.  I have loved having him there.  Mom's and Dad's can come on the day closest to their child's birthday and have a party with them.  They always make you feel like you are welcome and enjoy the parties with the children.
Last year, Taft had a SpongeBob party at school.  We were going for another theme this year, but when Shane and I went to order cupcakes and saw the little burger ones, we knew he needed another SpongeBob party with Krabby Patties.  He was completely surprised.

 First bite of a Krabby Pattie.  We told him that SpongeBob made them.

 The kids loved them!  I loved how great they looked.  No detail was left out.  They even had real sesame seeds.  We got 24 for $15.99 at Target.  ;0

 Taft's hat from Mrs. Linda.

The birthday boy himself.  Now we are gearing up for his "big" party next weekend.  And of course, VPK graduation this week.

Cat in the Hat

As most of us know, Dr. Seuss has a birthday in March.  I think that every school that I know of celebrates in some way.  Taft's preschool is no exception. 

His room was all decked out in Dr. Seuss themed crafts and books.  The children could bring in books of their own also.  We went through all of Taft's and found one that he said the classroom did not have for him to take in.  Horton Hatches the Egg. 

On Friday, I went to pick Taft up and he was so excited.  It was his day to take Cat in the Hat home.  Ms. Linda has a bag with a Dr. Seuss book in it that includes six stories.  It also has a clip board with a page explaining what to do and there is a nice stuffed Cat in the Hat. 

Each child takes Cat home and writes down each thing that Cat does with the family.  You can also read the stories, which we did, and of course we took a few photos since we got to have Cat all weekend long!

Here is Taft all excited to leave school with Cat.

And here they are in Target.  Cat helped us shop for food and even picked out shorts, a shirt, and socks for Taft.

They also enjoyed watching some cartoons after dinner.

Cat also went to a birthday party.  I am pretty sure that he was ready to go back to school and get a little rest.

December Elfcapades Day 1

This morning Taft was very excited to see that Quincy was back!  He went to plug in the Christmas tree (which he does every morning) and there was a big surprise waiting!

 Not only had Quincy rolled the tree in toilet paper, but he also wrapped his gift in it and finished it off with a bow.

Quincy is such a little stinker!  I hope that he brought the TP with him from the North Pole.  He better have not stolen ours.  He is going to be in big trouble.

 Taft got a lovely Spongebob Candy Cane!  He said that it is so yummy.

Blue Moon Hike | Gable Rogers State Park

On Friday night, Taft and I went to Gamble Rogers State Park to watch the watch the blue moon rise.  Ranger Tony was giving the program and a lot of people, of all ages, showed up.
The first part of the program was to learn a little about the moon and the blue moon.  We also talked about Neil Armstrong's passing and how his family requested that people look at the moon and give him a little wink.
Once we got on the beach, it took awhile for the moon to start to rise over the clouds.  So we found a few other things to talk about and look at.

 And then the moon came up.  It was very fast so Taft didn't mind sitting there and looking at it. And even let me take a few photos of him with the feathers that he found.

 And as it was getting dark, the ghost crabs started to come out to look around.  Taft was really not a fan of them at all.

 And of course, Taft loved hanging out with Ranger Tony who was nice enough to take a little extra time to talk and walk with him.

 And it was pretty dark by the time we left to come home and the moon was big enough and high enough that could see it all the way home.

First Day Of Pre-K

Taft started to Pre-K on Thursday.  We decided to keep him in the same school that he attended his Toddler Class and Preschool.  They go through Pre-K and had great scores on the state tests.  He already knew everyone there and we knew which teacher we thought would be great for him.
He was in school all summer but his classes were basically Summer Camp with some Pre-K prep.  He was really excited about starting VPK.  In fact, he asked everyday this week when VKP would start.  They divided the kids in his Preschool Class up.  Some are in his class and some are in another.  Those two classes are VPK with wrap around care in the mornings and afternoons since Shane and I both work.  The other three VPK classes are just three hours a day and those kids go home.
I am very happy that he is in Miss Linda's class for VPK and then Miss Daniella (who is a morning VPK teacher) for the afternoon wrap around.  It is like he is in classes all day and still having a great time.
To make him feel like he was having a "first day", we bought a new outfit and ordered a new backpack from Amazon.com.
Here are a few photos from his first day..

And remember to link up your first of school photos here. 

Bubbles

Blowing bubbles is something that I thought we could mark off the Summer Bucket List in an attempt to make me feel like we are getting something accomplished.  We are truly a month behind.  If we don't get to everything, it is okay.  Taft being sick for a month was not something I anticipated when I made the list.
So here it is....Taft and his bubbles.

 Taft was amazed at how many bubbles landed in the grass and would stay there for a few seconds.