growing up.

Oh man, it's been quite the emotional week. Lucy finished her first year of preschool, Simon turned one and Carter had his last day of kindergarten. Sheesh! That's rough on a mama who just wants her kids to stop growing up so fast. These are all such bittersweet moments. I'm so incredibly proud of my kids and excited to celebrate everything they've learned and how they've grown, yet I just shake my head in disbelief that this school year is already over. Already?!? That went SO fast!

Lucy grew in so many ways this year. She went into preschool feeling quite shy, nervous and unsure. And she left with lots of new friends, increased confidence, a multitude of songs she sings all.the.time and excitement to go back next year. We just love her preschool and her teachers. They are patient, loving, dedicated and fun!

 Miss Jennifer and Miss Diane make learning so fun and really encouraged Lucy this year when she was ever feeling timid. I can't say enough good things about this school!

 The same week Simon turned one and we had a major party (pics coming soon!). To celebrate his birthday I took him to get his first big boy haircut. I really didn't want to spend the money and thought I would just cut it myself but after sitting him in his booster seat at home and watching him shake his head around like crazy I knew it was a disaster waiting to happen. Plus, he needed a fun birthday activity (see how I justified the cost?!). We really wanted to let his hair keep growing out but it was starting to look like a baby mullet so it was time for a trim.

 Miss Alison has been our hair girl for the past 4 years and we all adore her. Simon did great and loved sitting in the little train!

 And I must say, he is absolutely adorable. But, he is suddenly looking so old!

 And then it was Carter's turn. His last day of school was today and we now officially have a 1st grader! To say he grew up this year is an understatement. He grew leaps and bounds! His teacher exceeded our expectations. She was so encouraging, inspiring and really pushed the kids to learn more and do better, all while having fun. Carter started kindergarten not knowing how to read, drawing really basic pictures and writing messy letters. And he finished by passing 6 reading levels, stretching his creativity and art skills and completing a 5 page informational report, including a table of contents and about the author section. Seriously, it's amazing! He met so many great friends, increased his confidence and truly found a love for learning. I couldn't be more proud of how hard he worked and how much he tried, even when he wasn't sure. He has a new love for math and science and can't wait to start PE next year. I'm so happy he had such a great first year of school. Even though he's pretty sad for summer break I have some fun things planned to keep us busy and of course, lots of playdates with his classmates!
He had an end of the year celebration a few days ago and all families were invited. They had ice cream to celebrate everyone's birthdays from the year, a certificate to graduate from kindergarten and a chance to show off his writing portfolio and math journal from the year. Such a fun time with his class!

And now our first official summer break begins!