Hannah Says...

Preschool Progress Report

I had absolutely no idea that Emmett would get a progress report for 3-year-old preschool. And I think if I knew it was coming, I would have worried until I got it. So, the teacher handed it to me, but didn't say what it was. It was a folded piece of paper, with the words "To the parents of Emmett Noel" on it. That should have been my first clue that it was something important. So, I read it. And it wasn't perfect. And I got a huge knot in my stomach. (I had no idea that I would physically react the way that I did!) I know he's not perfect at home, but I thought he might be at school. So, out of the 12 categories that he was graded on, there was one that wasn't in the satisfactory column. (Satisfactory is the best, then needs improvement, then unsatisfactory.) There was one check mark that was half in satisfactory and half in needs improvement. Can you guess the category? "Sits at circle time"! Apparently, he's not so good at this. But he's not distracting other kids, so it's not a huge issue. Everything else, he got a satisfactory. I came home and fortunately Hannah and Shannon were visiting that week, so they talked me down from the ledge. The more I think about it, the better I feel. After all, I put him in preschool because I know he's not great at things like sitting in circle time. And I really don't want to be one of those moms that thinks her kid is perfect. The important thing is that he's good at the imporant stuff. He listens well, is kind to other kids, etc. And he can recognize his name. And write an E. And points out every E we see as we are driving. I always hear from the backseat "Hey that's in my name!" So, I guess at this point we can consider preschool a success.

Snow Day

We got our first snow of the season this week and Emmett could not have been more excited! It snowed all day and night, so we woke up to a beautiful blanket of white. My favorite thing about snow is the morning light on it that makes it sparkle. And the temperatures that neared 0* gave our deck railings a wonderful shimmery-ness, but also make it impossible to play outside. Emmett has been drinking tea many mornings the past few weeks. Normally, we put a few ice cubes into his mug after the tea has steeped a little. This day, however, we had a better idea...some fresh snow! He thought that was the best idea he had ever heard. So, I scooped some up in a measuring cup and let him spoon it into his hot tea. Sometimes a little magic in the morning can make the rest of the day go just a little better!

Happy Birthday Claire!

Her birthday isn't actually for a few more weeks, but we celebrated Claire anyways! With a harvest party, no less. Complete with crafts, decorating cookies, costumes, and a birthday candle!

The best group shot I got, although apprently a couple of kids are missing!

The birthday girl with her candle.

And of course, some frosted cookie to enjoy!

If you would like to see me and my friends dressed up, please click here. I'm warning you, it's frightening. (The story: whenever the three of us are together, we joke that we are sister wives. Our kids act like sibling and we all tend to parent all of them anyways. So after googling sisterwife images, this was what we came up with for our costumes. And, as hot as we look, neither Hannah's nor Shannon's husbands claimed us as theirs. If Brent had been with me, I'm quite sure he would have!)

Halloween

Emmett and I headed down to Oregon for the Halloween weekend.  We were lucky enough to be able to do a little practice trick-or-treating on Friday afternoon at a shopping center.  The weather was gorgeous and the kiddos were excited!

My little giraffe!

The kiddos, ready for candy! (Not so easy to get a good group photo of three wild kids!)

His first stop. Had no problem saying "trick or treat!"

Choosing just the right piece.

Always have a little paparazzi around!

And Claire, the cutest little puppy!

(I didn't know it at the time, but this was Emmett's only trick or treating experience this year. I had hope to take him around to family once we got back to Yakima, but came down with a nasty bug on Sunday morning instead. So, by the time we got back to Yakima it was way too late to do any more. I'm so glad he got to go this time because he had so much fun!)