Ellie's First Day of VPK

Today was Ellie's first day of school!

Ellie's first day of pre-kindergarten!

Ellie was very excited to start school this year. I worried a little about how it would go, as she was really hung up on her class from last year: "But I just like my Busy Bees Class! I like my Busy Bees teachers! I like my Busy Bees friends!" So, we've been talking up this new year and new class as being for four-year-olds. See, last year, she was three, so she was a Busy Bee. Now she's four, so she's a jaguar.

It seemed to do the trick! She still was a bit apprehensive about new everything, but we went to orientation last Thursday and as soon as she saw her classroom, a few old friends, and all the fun new things in her room, she was ready to go. She is going four days a week this year instead of two, and just judging by the teacher's orientation talk and the decor around the classroom, the focus is going to be on preparation for kindergarten, much more so than last year. I'd be lying if I said tears didn't come to my eyes a bit when the teacher mentioned kindergarten next year, because HOW?!?!

This big four-year-old is ready for her Jaguars class!

This morning, we got up and ready (she reverted back to singing the "Daniel Tiger school song" to remind herself of everything she needed to do before school), then walked to school.

I love that we can walk now!

When we got to her classroom, she went right in and barely even looked back. No goodbye hug or anything! She was ready, and went right over to find her cubby for her lunch box.

So grown up!

Of course, it was also a "first day" for E.J.: I decided to start going to MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) and Bible study on Mondays, and the church offers nursery care for E.J. Not only that, they extend the nursery care for an additional two hours after the moms' programming is over, so you can go run errands or do whatever you want kid-free for a little while. Today was the first day I took advantage of that! That meant that E.J. had to bring his lunch to school, too, which meant he got a note in his lunch box just like Ellie and took a backpack with him like a real little school boy.

Lunches packed and ready for the school day!

First day of MOPS nursery!

So, after Ellie was happily in her classroom, we dragged crying E.J. out (I think he thought he was going into her classroom with her and was very upset when that was not the case, poor thing), cheered him up and sent him off to his room. Then, I hit the grocery store for the most serene shopping trip I have experienced in years.

Eric and I went together to pick both kids up at 1:00, and both were in great spirits! E.J. loved his note in his lunch box and made sure to show it to all his friends. Ellie said she had a good day and was excited to show us the "kissing hand" she made. She said she played picnic with her friends and sang songs. Overall, it was a great success!

Ellie at the end of her first day!

And so begins another year! I'm very proud of my little schoolgirl (and sort-of school boy) and I'm thrilled she's so excited about school. We're off to a great start!

December 2015

We had a really excellent month in December! It was jam-packed with fun things to do, mixed with some good old-fashioned holiday travel. Take a look!

As for general life stuff, E.J. and I enjoyed some nice weather bike rides...

Happy little biker down by the river

...Ellie perfected her trademark "hunch-and-pout" (threenagers, am I right?)...

We see this sight daily.

...and the kids enjoyed some quality reading time with Daddy.

E.J. is still working on the "sit still for books" concept.

Ellie also kept us on our toes with a couple different illnesses, one of which sent us to the ER during a St. Pete visit and the other resulted in a renal ultrasound at the children's hospital here in Jax, but both ended up being nothing to worry about. And, she handled both like a pro! The kid rocks at doctors.

Giving her new stuffed puppy a checkup at the hospital in St. Pete; and eating her reward for impressive behavior after her ultrasound, with new purple turtle (a gift from the ultrasound tech) close at hand.

As for other (more fun) events, we kicked off the month with a Star Wars-themed mini-birthday party for Eric (which has thrown both of our children into a full-fledged Star Wars obsession now).

Happy Star Wars birthday, Eric!

That same night, we trimmed our trusty little Christmas tree and adorned it with a brand new light-up angel.

It was a family effort!

Of course, we took the kids to see Santa, as one does in December. (EJ cried the whole time except for this exact moment. Shout-out to the photographer with the quick trigger finger!)

2015 Santa photo! I just can't with these sweeties.

We also attended the tree lighting in San Marco Square, which included a very nice little program put on by local school children.

The San Marco Christmas tree in Balis Park

We also went to Holidays in Hemming Park, which had "snow" for the poor, deprived Florida kids to play in. In all honestly it was a pitiful substitute for the real thing, but my particular poor, deprived Florida kid loved it, so it works.

Snow!!!!

We also had to stop by Christmas in Avondale again this year, and once again had a blast munching on popcorn, making Christmas crafts, dancing at a silent disco and goofing off in the photobooth.

Christmas in Avondale

We went to Sweet Pete's Winter Wonderland that included more crafts, sweets, storytime, another (slightly more realistic but still not really) fake snow encounter, and a meet-and-greet with Mr. and Mrs. Claus, about which one child was more excited than the other.

Fun at Sweet Pete's

We went back to Hemming Park yet again for ForceFest, which brought Ellie face-to-face with her current favorite celebrity.

That child loves her some R2D2.

We also had lots of visitors, including Papa...

At Jacksonville Beach

...Aunt Heather...

The kids are obsessed with Heather's white noise app on her phone. Who wouldn't be, though?

...and my mom, Kelley and Cathy, who all came up for Ellie's ballet recital. And as for the recital, well, it...went. I'll have more about that in another post because it very much warrants its own post.

Top Ellie on stage at her recital. Not sure which one she is? Oh, she's the one refusing to sit in favor of standing and sulking. You can't miss her.

Bottom: E.J. looking quite dapper for the occasion; and Ellie's fan club, all of whom traveled four hours to watch her stand motionless on a stage. Bless them.

While my mom and Heather were in town, we had our own little "Grammy Christmas" with a gift exchange and dinner.

Grammy Christmas!

They also stuck around for Ellie's school Christmas program, which also...went.

For heavens sake.

On the plus side, Ellie may not have put on much of a show, but E.J. looked like this:

He just needs to stop.

So, there's that.

Heather and I also took the kids to the library for a pajama storytime. They each brought stuffed animals with them, and then the stuffed animals had a sleepover at the library! When we picked them up the next day, we were given a page of pictures of all the shenanigans our buddies got into overnight.

Pajama storytime - we brought the Grinch!

Heather also held down the fort for an evening so Eric and I could go see Star Wars: The Force Awakens on opening night! We loved it!

Star Wars nerd-ing it up!

Ellie and I had some holiday fun together, making Christmas cut-out cookies...

Messy hands!

...and going to see The Nutcracker! It was Ellie's first time and she did great. At one point she looked at me and said, "It's just so beautiful." Naturally, we had to stop by Target afterwards to get her a Nutcracker of her own.

A great girls' day out!

We spent about a week in St. Pete around Christmas, and on our way down there we stopped at my mom's house for a day. We splashed in her fountain, played with her toys, and the kids got a couple more gifts.

Fun at Grammy's house

In St. Pete, we had lots of fun hanging out with Papa and Heather (including making a gingerbread house and gingerbread men)...

More Christmas fun

...had a lovely Christmas lasagna and gift exchange with Eric's siblings at Kelley's house...

Lots of fun at Aunt Kelley's!

...and checked out the lights in downtown St. Pete, giving Ellie a chance to try her hand (feet?) at "glice " skating (NOT a hit).

Christmas festivities in downtown St. Pete

On Christmas Eve, we had a nice dinner with my dad and Heather then went to church together, where the kids were outfitted as an angel and a shepherd and given glow-sticks to hold during the candelit singing of "Silent Night."

Christmas Eve 2015

On Christmas morning, we opened gifts at Papa's house.

Opening gifts on Christmas morning, including Ellie's new favorite outfit from Aunt Heather

That afternoon, we went for an amazing dinner at Eric's Aunt Patty and Uncle Steve's house, and had a really wonderful time with the whole family.

Great times with family!

After the holiday, we came back to Jacksonville to do our own little Christmas celebration at home. We kicked things off with ZooLights, including a Storm Trooper encounter (Star Wars is EVERYWHERE) and some s'mores.

Santa was also there, and Mrs. Claus even got E.J. to smile!

Back at home, we scattered our reindeer food on the lawn, put out cookies and milk for Santa and sent the children off to bed in adorable coordinating Christmas pajamas for our belated family Christmas Eve.

Cuuuuuute.

Then, Santa went to work while Eric and I relaxed with shrimp, wine, and A Christmas Story.

Christmas Eve at our house!

Our belated Christmas morning was so nice, with the kids each receiving some new favorite presents (cowboy dress-up and a stuffed R2D2 for Ellie; an Arlo the Dinosaur rocker and new football for E.J.). We spent some time at the park that afternoon, finished up all our Advent calendars (Ellie was really into that this year) and had a little birthday party for Jesus.

Christmas Day!

We closed out our 2015 with a really excellent New Year's Eve, starting with the Noon Year's Eve celebration at the zoo. We made crafts and joined the masses for an apple juice toast as the ball dropped on the Great Lawn at noon.

Happy Noon Year!

That afternoon, I ran my very first 5k! I'll have to post more about running, because by the way, I do that now. Eric was a great coach and the kids did great in the jogging stroller. The course was very pleasant, through downtown and along the river, and I was greeted at the finish line with a medal and a beer. Lesson learned: I will run for beer.

My first 5k!

That evening, we did an early countdown and another apple juice toast with the kids before putting them to bed (thanks to Netflix for offering an on-demand countdown!).

Cheers to the new year!

Then, Eric and I finished out the year with champagne, TV, and a view of the Jacksonville fireworks at midnight right from our front yard.

Happy New Year!

And that, my friends, is how you end a year.

The W. family is ready for 2016!

Pumpkin Patch Field Trip

Two weeks ago, Ellie had her first school "field trip," to the pumpkin patch at the church! Does it count as a field trip if you just walk a short distance on school property to get to your destination? Eh, let's not get caught up in semantics.

Anyway, she had her field trip, and parents were invited to come along, so E.J. and I joined in the fun. I loved this little glimpse of Ellie at her school! She was so excited to be in her classroom and basically paid me no mind as she walked "in a straight line" with her classmates and interacted with her friends and teachers. It was great to witness!

When we arrived at the pumpkin patch, the kids sat on a blanket and one of the church volunteers read them a couple of fall-themed stories. Then, they set them free. Everyone had some time to run around and check out the pumpkins. Both kids loved it! Ellie was most excited about the photo ops and E.J. just wanted to run around like a lunatic and climb on everything, as is his way.

Running free in a pumpkin patch!

Ellie the sunflower!

Good effort, E.J.!

Perusing the pumpkins

Handsome little fellow!

Oh yes. And then I told Ellie to "stand here by the pumpkins and smile pretty" and she gave me the most amazingly awesomely ridiculous toddler smile of all time. This is my new favorite picture. LIKE WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR FACE. DOES THAT REALLY FEEL LIKE A SMILE TO YOU.

Resting!

As the field trip came to a close, each student was allowed to pick one small pumpkin to take home. Ellie loved hers and it is proudly on display in her room now.

Proud pumpkin owner!

Poor E.J. really wanted one of his own. Sometimes it's hard being the little brother!

We walked back to the classroom and bid Ellie farewell, and she hardly noticed we left as she went and sat so nicely on the classroom rug for circle time. She even sat criss-cross-applesauce. They grow up so fast, don't they?

That day in school, the kids also painted portraits of their pumpkins!

I love that Ellie's teachers write exactly what she says when they ask her about her project, because Ellie would absolutely say "it's just my pumpkin." (And that's exactly what she did say when I asked her about it later.)

I loved this first field trip experience with Ellie! I want to write more about how she's doing in school soon, because it has really been great. She's such an awesome kid!

First field trip selfie! What a big girl!