Conor's Last Day of Day Care

Today marked a big day for our family... it is Conor's last day at day care! His next educational step is joining his big sister at her school!

We started at the day care when Annika was just 3 months old. We've seen quite a few teachers come and go over the past 5 1/2 years, and are so grateful for the wonderful care they provided to our children. Some have even become babysitters for us, ta boot!

To mark his "graduation" and to say a proper thank you to the teachers and staff at the day care, we made a little going away present. Because there are so many teachers, individual presents simply wasn't going to happen. Instead, we (aka I) decided on a classroom present: a painted terra cotta pot with a leafy plant. After I painted the pot with white primer, we decorated it with colorful flowers made with Conor's fingerprints; not to be left out, Annika did one of the flowers, too! After the flowers were in place, I painted "Thank you for helping me grow" on the pot. The last step was applying some clear sealer to the pot so everything stayed put! I think it turned out quite cute and believe it will be a nice addition to Conor's (almost former) classroom.

I don't think Conor really grasps the concept that he's moving on after today, but it'll sink in soon enough. I think having his big sister in the new classroom with him over the summer will really help his transition from day care to pre-school. This morning, Annika said that she'll be Conor's teacher once he joins her at her school. I quickly pointed out that she can be a helper, but the teachers will be his teachers. She seemed OK with that, too. Whew! :)

As I returned to my car after dropping off Conor, I realized how funny it is that as a parent, I want our kids with us forever, but as parents, our real job is to prepare our kids to leave us and become independent beings. Before we turn around twice, we're going to be dropping this little boy off at his college dorm... pardon me while I wipe a few tears away from my eyes now. (sniff sniff)

Our big boy on his last day of day care

Thank you to all of the Whizz Kids teachers; we'll miss you!

Back of flower pot

Introducing...Mud Boy!

Here in Seattle, it rains. Sometimes, it rains a lot. That doesn't stop us from living our lives. We don't huddle in the corners waiting for brief glimpses of the sun to have fun. Oh no! Quite the contrary, in fact. We embrace our wet environment and take it for what it is ... a never-ending resource for muddy puddles!!!

When I picked up Conor from day care yesterday, he and his friends were happily playing in a muddy puddle. Conor was armed with a shovel and bucket and he happily "tooped" water from the downspout's runoff into his bucket. As he forged ahead with his project, his friends decided jumping into the same puddle was loads of fun!! The kids took turns finding the highest point and then launching themselves into the several-inches deep puddle... cackling with glee the entire time. If I had my boots on, I probably would have joined them. :)

His yellow rain suit (Tuffo Muddy Buddy) is truly amazing!!! If you have little ones and rain in your life, I HIGHLY recommend them. Conor's layers under the suit were completely dry (aside from the parts poking out). Not only do they work well, they're quite durable; the suit shown below is a hand-me-down suit from Annika!

I couldn't help but snap a few pictures of Conor before peeling off his layers of clothing, dirt, water, and unidentified grime. Yes, I'm the cruel mother who wouldn't let her kid get into the van until I took a few pictures. Fortunately, Conor was having fun, so he didn't feel the need to call CPS. ;)

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mud Boy!

This is what childhood in Seattle is all about

Mud ... head to toes

I asked Conor to show me his muddy face ... this is what I got

This is one of my new favorite pictures of Conor !