creative kids

the kids were recently BOTH recognized for their artistic abilities

made this mama over here oh so proud, let me tell ya!

makes my heart so happy that they love art and love to show off their passion

little man's class portrayed a piece by edgar degas' Little Dancer by drawing it with oil pastels

and guess what!? his was chosen to be displayed the whole month of february at our local mall

go sammy bear!

and little miss abby babbs was artist of the month at her school 

way to represent those kinders abby!!

her art work was also an oil pastel piece of a snowman

which was hanging in the front office for the month!

mommy & daddy are so very proud of our kiddos 

and the way they shine!!

keep on reaching for the stars kiddos!!

self portraits, awards, and a hat parade

tgif.
this week i welcome friday like i never have before!
busy. busy. busy. is what we were.
so busy that these pics were from last week.

our life has been taken up by school, homework, chores
grocery shopping, babysitting
playdates, birthday parties

thank God we didn't do any sports this season!
the kids would have been fine
it's me that would have lost my marbles by now

last week was eventful for sammy bear.
he received a soaring spirit award once again for achievment.
(remember he was awarded the same spirit award in kinder?)
it makes us so proud that he works so hard at school
abby was allowed to take pictures of whatever she pleased :)
{she might just be a photographer ;)}
she snapped a lot. i've included a couple.

happy girl

mommy & abby feet

love a good self portrait

 sammy. dear sammy.
the day before, when i picked him up from school
this was our convo...
"How was your day?"
"good, guess what? i got a letter that said 'to the parents of sammy'"
"can i see it?"
"well, i opened it and it said that i am getting a soaring spirit award tomorrow at our assembly"
i just laughed out loud at this point.
leave it to my son to read the whole paragraph about a "surprise award"
silly little man.

silly daddy

 HAT PARADE!
all the first graders were required to design & make a hat of their choice.
sammy & i made a hat out of construction paper
glued googly eyes all over it
and made a sign that said "eye love hats"
pretty clever huh?
at the end of the week they got to show off all their hard work to the rest of the school
by walking around campus in a parade.
it made my heart melt when sammy passed by all the 4th & 5th grade classes
and they all shouted his name out
and....he gave the famous head nod & point...
again silly little man.

marching to his own beat, shoes untied and all

love all those creative hats!

Last Day of School

Sammy picked out his outfit for the last day of school. I tried to teach my little man that plaid & stripes don't always work...his reaction..."Everything has white on it so they match"

I was taken back and didn't have any clever come back, so yes, he wore that to school :)

So excited about his teacher's little gift :)

Start spreading the news
We're leaving today.
We want to be a part of
First grade, first grade

We've worked very hard
Our teacher is proud.
So open up those doors to
First grade, first grade.

We know our alphabet
And numbers too.
We all can write our names
And tie our shoes!

So when summer's done
And we're finished with play
Our mom's will send us to
First grade, first grade.

If we can make it here
We'll make it anywhere
So here we come
First grade, first grade.


(These are the lyrics from the Kinder Shine Performance, and this is the one that brought tears to my eyes).




I couldn't have hand picked a better teacher than Mrs. Files. You know how you still hold that special place for your kindergarten teacher? Well, I know Sammy will always hold a special place in his heart of gold for this special woman. 

It was an good great AMAZING first year of school, and I am looking forward to having my little man home for the summer. Before I send him to school full time.

Lisa J. Mails is full of H.E.A.R.T.

Heart
Empathy
Achievement
Reflection
Transformation

Sammy received his first award at school for achievement! Go Sammy Bear! I have been so pleased with Lisa J. Mails, click here to read more about H.E.A.R.T.

Karate Kid!

Sammy earned his black belt in the Little Dragon Program! He started just before he turned 3 and finished the day after he turned 5! An added birthday present if you ask me. The instructors were sad to see him go. THANK YOU XTREME FIT for helping teach Sammy discipline, respect and self worth!