Last Week of Kindergarden

Whew, what a week!  Lots of emotions.  Happiness.  Sadness.  Pride.  Excitement about not having to make lunch.

The week started with the kindergarten program.  The four K classes sang some songs (that they worked very hard on and that Avery insisted were a surprise and would not tell us about or perform until that day) and were presented with their certificates.  It was adorable.

The kids then had a fun beach day which Rob stayed and helped out with.

Avery wasn't too excited about school being out.  She realized this meant no more days with her friends, and maybe more importantly, her teacher.  She absolutely loved her teacher and was very sad to not get to see her everyday.  She told me that she hopes she runs into her at the grocery store this summer.  Thankfully she has a couple friends in the neighborhood from her class so she should be able to hang out this summer!

She even made a card for her.

"I mustache too not leave Bernes Elementary"

Mrs. M was the BEST teacher.  Avery was so lucky to get her this year.  I am really hoping she is there when Ben starts in a couple years and that somehow he can get in her class!!!

I think they had a couple other fun activities throughout the week.  Of course the last day was yearbook signing day and Avery couldn't believe they had NO WORK AT ALL.

I sent Avery's copy of Oh, the Places You'll Go to be signed by her teacher and teacher's aid and I hope to do this every year (probably just until she's too embarrassed to to ask her teachers to sign it)!

We had another milestone this week-her first loose tooth!

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Here's to the start of a great summer!

Sight Word Superheros

Last Friday was a big day for Avery's class.  The kindergarten classes got to lead the songs at the morning pep rally.  Ben was not a fan of the pep rally.  Not enough action, I guess.

Avery was super excited though.

Later that afternoon the kids had their big sight word party that they've been preparing for all year.  I was off work so I was able to help set up and attend the party.

It was so fun to be able to hang out and help at the party.  The kids were all really pumped up as they've been working on their sight words all year and were rewarded with games, crafts, ice cream, and a certificate.

Mother's Day 2015

Rob made a wonderful Mother's Day brunch for us!

Carrot cake, twice baked potatoes with eggs, homemade blueberry muffins, mimosa bar, and more! Everything was delicious!

Later we went to the little carnival here in town and let the kids ride a few rides.  Ben was hilarious on the little cars.  He was taking it so seriously and really laying on the horn.

Then we threw some things in a cooler and went downtown to Guthrie Green.  Due to threatening clouds we had the place to ourselves.  The kids ran around like wild children and Rob and I were able to sit and relax.

One of the best things about Mother's Day is that Rob has to go along with my every whim instead of groaning and going "really?"

I had such a great day I didn't want it to end.  Can't wait to use my massage and facial gift card!

Our 6 Year Old

This sums her up but not really.  She is all of these things but so much more.

She shares readily and is always wanting to give, make, or create something for a friend or family member.

She truly has a kind heart.  She is gentle and extremely thoughtful.  A bit of a fretter, she can't be in the garage when Rob is using his saw because she's afraid he'll cut his hand off.  Getting her to push herself physically, whether it is riding her bike or gymnastics, is hard because she's got more than a little cautious streak (enough for herself and her brother).

She is wildly sentimental to the point of being attached to inanimate objects like old carpet or bookcases.  Everything from broken toys to scraps of paper to deflated balloons are precious to her and must be discarded in secret (deeeeeep down in the trash under other things).

Stubborn and persistent to a fault (we're hoping this works in her favor at some point in her life).  Throw in a very healthy dose of sass, kindergarten attitude, and testing limits in there too.

Quick to get her feelings hurt and takes everything to heart.  Anything that kids say at school, no matter how silly or inconsequential, stays with her.

Mature, smart, and reasonable beyond her years at times.  She talks about compound words and metamorphosis.  She interrupts reading and conversation to ask what certain words or phrases mean.

Kindergarten has been a year of growth for Avery.  She is reading and writing and was in the class' top reading group.  She can read on her own (needs help here and there) but is often resistant to do so.  She'd rather be read to, but will sometimes read books on her own with some coaxing.  She reads signs, packages, and everything else that isn't a book very readily, though.   She adjusted very well to the setting and enjoys going to school, her friends, and her teacher.

Ben is her number 1 best friend and partner in crime.  90% of them time they get along great. The other 10% they bicker about which movie to watch, who gets to stand on the step stool (they both must do it at the exact same time) or who gets to ride the scooter (we have three of them but inevitably they both want to be on the same one at the same time).  Avery used to go along with anything he wanted and give into exactly what he wanted but as he has become more vocal over the past year she has started voicing her opinions too.  At times it seems like she's just trying to be disagreeable but it's probably her way of getting attention or standing her ground.


Things she loves:

art (drawing, painting, cutting, creating, writing)

stickers

ice cream (sweets of any kind!)

chapter books

swimming

pizza

pajamas

mermaids

fairies

shrimp

fashion designing

dresses

bugs

watching tv

being silly

chips and salsa

potty humor

helping in the kitchen

helping with the garden

playing with friends

mac and cheese


She is beautiful inside and out. We love her smile, intellect, humor, wit, curiosity, and bright disposition.   Five whole years and we're looking forward to the sixth!

6th Birthday Gymnastics Party

Avery's birthday party at the gymnastics place was a blast for all the kids!!

This girl and her beautiful smile

The party was easy on us-we only had to supply the favors and cake (grocery store special)!!

All the pics I have are pretty much a blur because these kids were in motion.

It was super exciting for Ben because he actually got to play instead of just watching his big sister like the times he's come along to gymnastics class.

After the kids played it was time for cake and it was over!  The kids all wanted to play longer-if we did another party there I'd definitely try to get more time.  An hour of play went by too fast.

Avery had so many of her friends and family come to her party and got lots of super awesome gifts.  She is definitely one lucky girl.

Avery's 6th Birthday & Mermaid Room

Avery turned 6 last Friday.  We decorated her door after she went to bed, and put out some princess plates and birthday balloon for breakfast the following morning.

She requested blueberry muffins and bagels for breakfast.  The girl likes her carbs!

And just like that she woke up 6!

She had a fun day planned at school: field day!

I brought her lunch at her request (Chick-fil-A of course).  After lunch the kids were having snow cones so she was in heaven.

Back at home I was working furiously-with my mom's help-to redecorate her room as a surprise.
Her new desk arrived in the nick of time and Rob came home from work early to assemble it.

I think everything turned out well!

We finally got everything put together while my mom had Avery and Ben at the park after school.  She was very surprised and excited when she saw it!  She loves the bed canopy and desk/vanity (from Gigi and Pepaw) area in particular.  

It was time for a room update to a little bit more mature room and I think the colors and the ocean/mermaid theme is perfect for her!  Rob made the little stool and we got a mirror and painted it to match.  Most of the other things were found at Target, TJ Maxx, and Amazon.  The mermaid name decal was from Etsy.  It all came together nicely.

We went outside to try out her new scooter from Stephen and Tim.  Lets just say 10mph doesn't sound fast until you see your child whizzing down the sidewalk doing just that.  She crashed into the grass and was done with that for a while.

She was ready to go inside and try out her new Easy Bake Oven from Mimi and Papa.







































She made a perfectly edible cake that she kindly shared with her brother.

All in all, I'd say she had a very nice 6th birthday!