Wow - what a day in the H-W household! Today was the last day of school for the kids - seems like they just started school yesterday but here we are with another school year under our belts! Bob and I both took the day off and sent poor Annie off to the babysitter so we could dote on the big kids for the entire day. I can honestly say that they thoroughly enjoyed themselves! Last night Bob and I went to my goddaughter, Chelsea's graduation party at Water's Edge - it was nice to have a grown-up night out and Chelsea has accomplished a great deal over the last few years but I am going to concentrate on the kids tonight and tomorrow I will show off Chelsea and her brothers - after the tears have stopped that my firstborn godchild has graduated from high school - I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO old!
The day started off with Molly and Peter getting a surprise on the kitchen table - our old stand by for special occasions - donuts for breakfast and cards celebrating their big accomplishment of passing to the next grade. Yes, Pete is still wearing his footies to bed despite the 100 degree heat!
Annie was very excited for all the fun this morning - she gave the kids ten kisses each when they asked for them and learned how to do a high five - with lots of prodding from Peter and Molly.
This is the first time we have given Annie a whole donut for herself and she was beside herself - she actually let out a screech when we put it on her tray!
Molly's class waiting for their big performance.
My beautiful girl - the one problem with having kids who are taller than most other kids in the class is that they are ALWAYS in the back row for everything. Luckily they shine so they always stand out!
Molly making a face for one of the songs. She knew every word and showed such expression when she was singing.
Laughing during one of her songs - my sweet girl!
Molly getting ready for the Tooty-Ta!
Papa and Daddy doing the Tooty-Ta with the kids!
Mrs. Nelson doing the Tooty-Ta!
Mrs Nelson giving Molly her "diploma". Mrs. Nelson made the greatest books with every kids picture and a little poem they wrote about themselves in it. At the end it has pictures that Molly drew of herself starting in Septmeber and going right through until May - at some point I will bore you all with the progression but suffice it to say that the difference is amazing - what a little smarty pants.
Reading Molly's poem from the "SPECIAL ME, SPECIAL FRIENDS" book that Mrs. Nelson made for each child."Molly,
Beautiful, kind, likes writing.
Good at dancing,
Molly"
Molly and Papa watching the slide show and having an in depth coversation about something - she was so happy to show Papa off - her eyes lit up when she saw that he was there!
Molly and her Papa!
Before Papa left he went down to the cafeteria to see Peter - he was so excited to see Papa and introduce Papa to his friends.
Peter and Jordan - they have a love hate relationship. She can be very mean at times but they also play great together according to Mrs. Greenberg.
Peter and Carlos - what great friends they are. Carlos is the best kid - sweet and polite and loving - I keep telling him and his parents that I want him to come live with us!
Molly and Jazlynn - Jazlynn is very excited because her mom is having a baby brother soon. She and Molly talk about babies alot according to Jazlynn.
Molly and Mila. Mila is a magnet student from New Britain and we are hoping to get together over the summer - poor Molly has no friends that we see over the summer because everyone lives so far away but Mila's mom and I agreed to try hard to get them together at least a few times over the summer. Mila is a doll and her family is great!
Mrs. Nelson gave all the kids a little beach pail with all sorts of goodies in it - this is Molly with her smiley face hat and sun glasses on - they looked adorable!
Thalia, Molly and Jazlynn all ready to go out and play with their hats and sunglasses.
Mrs. Greenberg and Mrs. Schley with Peter's class just before dismissal on the last day of school. This is where I get to brag a bit and talk about how wonderfully Peter has done this year - he is reading at grade level, doing math like a pro and even his writing has improved drastically. The best thing about this year is the passion he has found for school work - one of the things that Bob and I try to always keep in mind with the kids is that school should be structured and hard at times but ultimately the kids are still little and will be doing this for a really long time so we want them to find some enjoyment in learning also. Peter has been fortunate enought to have two exemplary teachers who have instilled a great love of learning in him. We are so proud of all Peter has accomplished in school this year - what comes easy to some kids has been a struggle for Peter but he has kept his head down and worked his little butt off - he is amazing!
Mrs. Nelson and Molly saying goodbye - what a great year! Now I can brag about Molly - she is bright and eager to learn EVERYTHING. Things tend to come a little bit easy to Molly - she picked up reading very quickly and can now be seen with a book in her hands at any moment - her writing is incredible - she crafts stories about anything that comes to her mind and writes incessantly about it. I have loved watching Molly grow this year and learn so many new things - mostly I have loved her joy in learning - she literally comes home beaming and anxious to talk to us about everything she has done that day. We are so proud of Molly!
Peter and Mr. John, our favorite security guard. When we were leaving today Peter went over to hug Mr. John goodbye and I heard their conversation - Peter was telling Mr. John that he was the strongest security guard on the planet and Mr. John told Pete that being strong was great but that he thinks Peter is the greatest kid because he is so polite and kind to others and always makes people feel special. Mr. John told him that he looks forward to seeing Peter every morning because of his smile and his hug. What a wonderful thought to share with Peter!
Molly's diploma - yeah! We officially have a 1st and 2nd grader now - WOW!Everyone is tired and spent tonight but there is baseball to play and carnivals to attend tomorrow so I'm sure there will be many more pictures tomorrow! Annie also got a baby doll and has not stopped kissing it - too cute and many pictures to share of that tomorrow too!
GNM - ILY!
September 2007 Molly starting Kindergarten and Peter starting 1st grade!
