Katie's First Day of Preschool

Katie's first day of preschool was today! We've signed her up for three hours a day, two days a week, at a Christian preschool about three minutes from our new house.  She has a few friends that attend this preschool, including her best friend Daniel (who is in her class) and another friend named Caitlyn whom we were surprised to see today.

Katie picked out her own outfit this morning, and was most excited about having a lunchbox for the first time.  When we got to her classroom, she and Daniel ran into the class without even saying goodbye to their mommies (Daniel's mom is my best friend Sara).

 

While some moms may cry over this, I was thrilled to see Katie so excited and happy to be there.  I've been talking about preschool with her for months, and part of her potty training motivation was that she'd get to go to school when she was always successful.

Here's a video of her discussing (rather distractedly) her first day of preschool, just before we head home.

Scenes of Summer, Part 1

A few of my favorite photos so far this summer:

Katie's attending a music class this summer.

Katie with her best friend Daniel, who will become a big brother about 9 hours from now!

Katie's first jacuzzi experience

This is what happens when you forget Katie's swim diapers. Look at that rear end!

Joshua meets my grandma for the first time

"Stuck!"

Katie and her good friend Sofia at the zoo.

We've been finding items lined up in rows around the house. Looks like Katie's got some of her mother's obsessive compulsiveness in her.

Katie, her cousins, and Uncle Jason being pulled by Grandpa.

Katie rides a camel at the zoo with Uncle Jamie.

My brother Stephen graduates from Army Reserves boot camp with his then-fiancee (now wife!) Lindsey at his side.

Speaking of which, congratulations to Stephen and Lindsey, who got married May 2! Here are just a few photos from their wedding and our trip to Seattle.

Joshua slept in my carry-on suitcase while we were in Seattle.

Mt. Ranier


Joshua had his own "First Flight" uniform for the plane rides, complete with aviator goggles, and he was coincidentally given a bear with a similar outfit!

The stewardesses were so impressed they took all of us up to the cockpit, where Joshua got to meet the pilot!

Lindsey and I with all the brothers.


My brother Daniel thought I was embarrassing myself by slow-dancing with Joshua at the reception, so he asked us to dance.

Wrapping Up 2008

Lest you think that I was finally caught up on blogging, think again. Here are a few more photos from 2008 that needed to make the blog but haven't yet.

November 2: Three former high school friends and their babies gather for a baptism.

November 9: Beach time with Mommy and Daddy.

November 9: Playing with the rocking horse that JayPa (Daddy's daddy) used as a child.

November 13: Playgroup! Here's our attempt at getting Katie and her two best friends Kai and Daniel to cooperate for the camera.

November 16: Using the remote control as a cell phone.

November 16: Enjoying a wonderful evening with Mommy and Daddy's mentor couple and dear friends, the Farahs.

November 17: Playing with "BFF" (best friend forever) Daniel.

November 21: Reuniting with Mommy's college friend Dawn and her daughter Madeleine.

November 29: Trying to get a family picture to go in our Christmas letter. Not only did we need a tired Katie to cooperate, we needed Bella to as well. And Mommy had to pretend that her foot wasn't broken and that her back hadn't gone out on her that week. The last photo is the one we finally chose.

December 1: While Mommy is in her CBS leaders meeting every Monday morning, Katie and a few other young ones are watched by a woman named Angela. We've been trying to delay her nap later and later, but this particular morning Katie simply could not wait another minute. Here's how I found them:

November 21 and Dec 1: A few cute photos of Katie.

December 4: We were visiting my good friend Amy and her daughters and were unexpectedly invited to stay for dinner. But we didn't have Katie's bib or highchair. So a shirtless Katie practiced using a spoon while standing on a big person's chair.December 17: Katie and I brought dinner to our friend Claire, who had recently delivered twins. While Baby Colin slept peacefully in his swing, Mommy got to cuddle with Baby Carleigh for about an hour. Thankfully Katie didn't mind.... too much.

December 26: Mommy and Grandpa went to see the Nutcracker, featuring two beautiful cousins. Heather (left) is the daughter of my dad's boss, and Anna (right) is my mother's helper and one of Katie's favorite people.