School updates - Fall

Kate loves preschool.  She is gaining confidence each day.  I love watching her walk into school and her backpack is bigger than she is, it's adorable.  She loves to say the Pledge of Allegiance and often starts saying it at the site of a flag.  "Indivisible" is a hard word for a 4 year-old, so Kate just bypasses it...Only Kate.  They also sing an adorable song at the start of the day which I wanted to record for you: "Good morning God.  This is your day.  I am your child. Show me your way."  Every Friday, she brings home about 20+ pieces of art! :)

The girls at the Fall Festival at Kate's school.  Kate is quite obsessed with Hello Kitty and couldn't resist herself.  Emma opted for the flamingo art!

When I first heard that Kindergarten was only 3 hours, I was wondering how they would cram everything into that short period of time, when some children go all day.  I have been blown away by Emma's progress.  She is so excited about school, the bus, reading and her friends.  Above is a picture of Emma's "bobble head" that we saw at her curriculum night back in September.  We've started homework and a reading log.  We had our first parent teacher conference last week.  Mrs. Nicastro said that Emma is a "friend to everyone" and "she is a huge sponge when it comes to learning." They are "graded" on letter recognition, letter sounds, site word recognition, counting, and number recognition.   In the past month, she has made great strides and she is "on track" for the lovely 3rd grade guarantee that has now been put into action.

 And then there is our sweet boy Sage. Last week was Fire Prevention Week, and the fireman and "chire chuuckk" showed up at library time.  He knows that the firetruck "helps" those that are in "trouble."  Boy was he excited!  He was mesmerized, so this was the best picture I could get!   He has a big birthday weekend coming up!

FALL-ing behind on the blog...

WOW... it has been a month since my last entry!  Life has been good, but crazy.  Here's a little update on what we've been up to!

 The President's Cup invaded Dublin, Ohio October 3rd-6th.  Despite a weekend full of rain (I mean downpours), USA prevailed and won.  We were fortunate to be surrounded by great friends and it was a wonderful weekend.   So Mom and Dad could play, the kids headed to Cincinnati for the weekend. 

They enjoyed the annual visit to Shaw Farms in Milford with the Nichols Family.  The kids hung out with Grandma and Papa and had dinner at their favorite place in Milford - Frisch's.

On October 12th, Andrea got married in Washington, DC.  It was a beautiful day, which kicked off at 10am with the wedding mass followed by an afternoon reception.  Congrats!  Another Mom and Dad get away, so the kids headed to Grandma and Grandpa's for the weekend.

The Weatherwax's were busy this past weekend.  Saturday morning was the Nordstrom Fall Fashion Show.  Emma held Sage's hand down the runway, and Kate entertained the crowd with funny faces and skipping on the runway.  The show ended and off they went back to Dublin for 2 soccer games and a picnic in their trunk in between games. 

On Sunday, Grandma and Grandpa took the kiddos to a Jacquemin Farm for the fall festival and another hayride. 

 

Back to back weekends of fun filled activities, and we are so grateful for our parents/siblings for their willingness to help.

 

Soccer and Go Bucks!

 Saturday's in Columbus are full of soccer, golfing, and yes, THE Ohio State University football games.  We took Kate to her first game on Saturday versus San Diego.  It was an OSU victory 42-7.  It was a warm "smoking hot" day per Kate, and their little legs got a little tired, but we had a lot of fun.  The girls enjoyed the snacks, the cheerleaders, and the band in addition to the football game.

 Sage went to Aunt Rebecca's house for a fun day of shopping, swimming and hanging out!  He loves recognizing the various OSU gear around shouting "BUCK-eye."

The girls started their soccer games this past Saturday as well.  Emma is an aggressive little soccer player and scored quite a few goals during the 3 on 3 game.  My timid Emma would score, look over at us (I'd give the thumbs up) and then she'd run the other way.  Kate enjoyed learning some of the basics of the game.  Kate is left handed, left footed as well, to the point where she will take a few extra steps to get that left foot to the ball. 

 

Kate's 1st Day of Preschool

 Twas the night before preschool and Kate could hardly sleep!  What a difference between my two girls.  Emma the timid one and Kate the bold and confident one.  Kate was so excited to go to preschool - no hesitations or sadness to leave this household!  Because preschool was always the equivalent to daycare to our family, starting at an "official" preschool was a new adventure.  Northwest Presbyterian Christian Academy was recommended to us, and now Kate is a new member of the Frog Room.

 Again, kudos to the cute sign from Etsy!
I must share that after we attended Kate's orientation last week, she hopped back in the minivan and asked "Mom, why does everyone like me so much?"  Only, Kate! 

 A special day in the Weatherwax house  = donut run to Tim Horton's!

 When I see this picture I just crack up.  I'm looking at Sage's smile and I can only imagine what is going through his little mind "Dear lord, thank you for letting me have some free time away from my two big sisters!"

Drop off was a piece of cake with Kate.  She put her coat on the hook, backpack and lunch in her cubby and headed into the classroom - I had to say "Kate, come back here I need a kiss goodbye?"  She kissed me and never looked back.  This left me with a sense of sadness, but I'm so proud of her independence and confidence.   

 

Kate attends preschool Monday, Wednesday-Friday 9:30-1pm.  She eats lunch at school and her teachers are Mrs. Beth and Mrs. Caroline.  When Kate was picked up on day #1, the teacher remarked "Kate is very articulate and knows exactly what's going on.  She's 4 going on 5 or 15!"  

Emma's First Day of Kindergarten

 Rise and Shine sweet Emma!  Time to get ready for your first day of school.

 Breakfast of Champions - Timbits!

 I found this sign on Etsy.  I think it will be fun to take pictures with it each year and see how much the kids change from year to year.

 This was a big day for the whole family!  I never anticipated such an emotional day.  Not necessarily "crying" all day, but a plethora of emotions from anxiety, excitement, sadness, fear and parental satisfaction.

 I had to include one of my favorite pics where little sister Kate photo-bombs the picture.  

This is a classic Kate moment! 

Emma was blessed to be joined by her grandparents and Aunt Rebecca for the big day. 

 Emma teared up as the bus entered the neighborhood, but she was all smiles as she got on the bus...whew!  I think when we all saw her smile, we all felt reassured and relieved.

 The bus driver put her right in the front seat.  Apparently the bus driver hands out candy every Friday, what's not to love about that?  And as the bus drove away, we all shared a few tears that yet another milestone has been reached.  Good Luck Emma Jeanne!

Emma attends Deer Run Elementary School AM kindergarten Monday through Friday and she is in Mrs. Nicastro's class.  She gets on the bus at 8:45 and returns at 11:45.  Upon returning home the first day, she was so excited and she wanted to play "school" with Kate.  She started to teach and then disappeared.  She went to the basement, then to our coat closet and returned wearing a pair of high heels and a jean jacket.  She went on to teach Kate about riding the bus.  A few moments later I asked Emma, "What was Mrs. Nicastro wearing today?" Emma replied "Oh Mommy, she looked so pretty.  She had a long dress, high heeled flip flops and a jean jacket."  Even on day one, this teacher has already made such an impact...how awesome is that!

Summer 2013

Where did the summer go?  We had a great summer full of fun activities.  We pulled the kids out of daycare at the beginning of summer, and our neighbor Libby watched the kids.    She did a great job and we wish her a fabulous sophomore year at University of South Carolina.  The kids loved sleeping in, going to the swimming pool, hanging out at home and just being kids!  Here is the Weatherwax's version of Blurred Lines http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Scp41ZADMY

Grandma Weatherwax took the kids and Libby, along with her sisters Maggie and Rachel to the Ohio State Fair.  They rode rides, watched a pig race and had ice cream.

Another Summer tradition is going to a Dayton Dragon's game with Grandma and Grandpa Weatherwax.  The girls also enjoyed special time with Grandpa going to the movies to see Turbo and Despicable Me 2.

Trip to the Zoo

Emma's creativity shines through as she "reads" a book to Kate and Sage...just "precious."  And you have to love the part about Mother and Daddy crying when the little girl went to kindergarten (is that foreshadowing for this week?).

Kate became quite the country music fan this summer with Hunter Hayes being at the top of her list!  Watch out American Idol!

Time to take off the training wheels!  On our second evening out, Emma was able to take off!  As a parent, its quite a workout!  I was glad she caught on quickly. 

Sage playing with John's original Tonka trucks

Another summer favorite with Grandma and Papa is going to Kings Island.  The Nichols family joined them as well.  Bumper Cars, roller coasters, and snoopy ice cream...perfect!

Trip to the Lake - 2013

 Who would have known the temperatures would be in the 60's during the last week of July and for our annual trip to the lake with the Spicer family?  Oh well, a little cold weather doesn't stop college BFFs from having a great time! 

 Rachel and Kate were buddies for the weekend - they even had fun with purple markers and stamps!  I wish you could have seen Kate's tongue...it was purple.

 We went out for a quick and chilly boat ride. It wouldn't have been a trip to the lake without a boat ride.  Sage loved looking at the boats and he took a nice snooze on the way back.

 Emma drove the boat - Go Emma Jeanne!  Luke is her co-captain.

 

 Ahoy Mates!

 Ok, so what to do in Port Clinton when its cold outside?  The African Safari Wildlife Park!  Yes, its essentially a drive through zoo where you roll the windows down and the animals come right up to say hello.  Zebras, bison, giraffes, deer, alpaca...oh my!  A fun outing that concluded with a car wash!

 

The kids enjoyed a dip in the club pool, aka an empty pool on a cold day.  

Sage took advantage of the playground while the big kids swam!

Another fun and memorable weekend - Thank you to the Spicer family!