Second Grade Silliness

February was a fun month to be a second grader.  For the last few months, Gavin's been preparing for the second grade musical with his classmates.  I was so excited when I first read that there'd be a musical this year, way back in September.  When TREC came into play, it was actually one of the things I checked out first, because Gavin is out of the classroom every Tuesday and therefore misses music.  Not that I was expecting him to have a huge role in the musical, but I wanted to make sure he was able to practice and prepare with his fellow second graders.  

Well, the morning of the Granny Awards performance came and I couldn't wait to see him up there.  When we first were told the date and times of the musical, I asked Gavin if he wanted me to be there for both the daytime performance and the evening one, and he said yes, so of course, I made plans to be there.  Jarrod wasn't able to make it for the morning performance, but had plans to meet me at school that evening.  When I dropped Gavin off in the carline that morning, I commented that I would see him soon, and he looked back at me and said, 'You're just coming tonight with Dad, right?'  I reminded him that he said he wanted me to come to the morning performance, and he tried telling me he didn't need me to come anymore.  I just smiled and apologized, telling him I was still planning to be there.  

I was SO proud of Gavin.  He didn't have a part, so to speak, but seeing him in the front row was so amazing.  In true Gavin fashion, he was rather reserved, not exactly singing and dancing like some of his classmates, but he was up there, and he was being brave and not looking at all nervous.  There was a time when being on that stage for Rise and Shine would bring him to tears, but he was awesome.  Perhaps someday he will be more into being on stage in front of his peers and you'll be able to see him mouth moving or his body movements a little more exaggerated, but for now, I was just so proud to see him up there and being confident.

You can watch some clips of the musical on our YouTube site.  www.youtube.com/mrspate22

After the morning performance, Riley and I came home for a bit and then headed back up to school for the second grade Valentine's Day party. It was meant to be a bit low key, but it, of course, was a little chaotic - what do you expect though with 25 7-8 year olds, the day before February break, all sugared up? :)

Treston's mom, Jen, was at the party and we snapped some pictures of the boys and of ourselves with our sons.  These two have been in the same class every year we've been at Elm Tree.  They have such a great friendship, and I wish we'd spent more time together outside of school.  Now that the rezoning of the schools has happened, we're pretty sure we won't be at the same school next year, and I have promised Gavin that we'll do all we can to make sure he still maintains his friendship with Treston.  He's such a good friend to Gav.

And, of course, we headed back to school later that night for the evening performance.  Jarrod and Riley killed time waiting for it to start by doing a bit of dancing.  Melt my heart.

I didn't have the greatest seat to snap pics at the evening performance, but was able to get a few before it all started.

And one afterwards with one of his classmates, Parker.

After the busy day, we were very excited for a week of relaxation.  I'm going to miss our year round breaks so much next year!  We didn't do too much during our February break.  We visited Amazeum, did some shopping, and hit up High Rise for Elm Tree spirit day with Treston and a bunch of other boys.  It was great to have some quality time with him.

School Parties!

Of course, you can't have the holidays without school parties!  Once again, I'm co-homeroom mom for Gavin's class...I just LOVE getting to be involved in his classroom, even if it does mean lots of extra work.  Thankfully, this year the kids had parties on different days, which is always helpful.  First up...Gavin!

Unfortunately, I was busy busy busy at his party, pouring hot cocoa at the hot chocolate bar, helping kids glue eyeballs to their ornaments, hanging wet ornaments to dry, checking on other groups, etc....so that means three pictures total.  Oh well...so fun.

Riley was such a trooper and so well behaved.  Love that she's been so welcomed by Gavin's teachers at ETE the last few years.  It's been very helpful and I'm so grateful.  Can't believe she'll be in elementary school next year. :(

And this is evidence that he's getting older - I can't take a selfie with him in his classroom without being photobombed or given bunny ears. ;)

Next up...Riley's turn!  Riley's Christmas program included a little program before playing some games, singing Happy Birthday to Jesus, doing secret gift exchange, and then doing the piñata!

Last year, Riley was Mary in the Christmas program; this year, she was an angel and was very much in love with her costume.  And as you can see, she was quite dramatic when I tried taking her picture.

She looked so adorable.  You can watch the clips from the program on our YouTube page.

www.youtube.com/mrspate22

We've had some issues this year we're continuing to work through socially, but she sure did have fun at her party! :)

Hadley, Riley, and Kennedy....Riley and Jack

What an exhausting couple of days, but so worth it all!  I love seeing their smiles.  Can't believe how big they're both getting.

First Days of School

Another school year is {well} underway {slacker mom...} so it's time to finally share first day of school memories.  The night before 2nd grade started for this guy, I had to prove to him that mama could still carry him around, so a piggyback ride in to brush teeth was in order! 

He picked out his first day outfit and it was very fitting for him - Gavin practically lives in athletic shorts, t-shirts, and knee high socks.  Isn't he handsome?

I love that Jarrod goes into work late on the first day and can head to school with us.  We didn't get our traditional first day of school pics with mom and dad, but that's ok...I'm sure that tradition wouldn't have lasted much longer anyway considering how little he even acknowledged we were there.  I can see him telling us to just use the carline next year. :(

Just like old times....he settled right in with friends while waiting to be dismissed to the classrooms.  I love seeing him with his friends.  

We're excited to have Ms. Behnke this year.  We've heard so many wonderful things about her and I know it's going to be a great year.  {First quarter is quickly coming to an end and Gavin's in the process of being evaluated for the Gifted and Talented program, so that's a good sign of a great year!}

After dropping him off, Little Miss and I got started on his back to school chocolate chip cookies!  And thankfully, his books I ordered for his first day gift arrived just in time...they were on the porch when I got home from picking him up. 

The back-of-the-school car line is new to us this year since he's a big second grader now!  And I'm not enjoying it....it's so much more congested.  Boo.  

He had a great first day, and of course, picked lettuce wraps for dinner that night {which he technically eats in a tortilla...but still.}

Fast forward a month later, and finally it was time for Little Sister to go to school.  We had quite the meltdown a few days before school started.  Riley was READY to go back to school and she wasn't happy that it wasn't her first day yet.  Ironically, her first day happened to fall on the Friday before Labor Day {which was strange} and that meant that Gavin had the day off and Jarrod actually took the day off, too!  We had a fun family day.

Riley's been working on growing her bangs out since June, and we're finally making some progress.  She was really excited to wear this new outfit Mimi sent her. 

Mommy braided her hair to match Riley...hard to tell in the picture though.  She loved showing Daddy where she would have Jitterbugs before we headed to her classroom.

She was very quick to find something to do in her classroom.  I thought I finally convinced her to take a picture with her teacher, Miss Cindy, but now I can't seem to find it on my computer.  I'll keep looking...  She's enjoying her school year, but really misses her teacher from last year.

The three of us came back home and I got her cookies ready while Daddy and Gavin took Phoebe out for a walk.  We ran a couple errands, and then picked Riles up and headed out to a special family lunch of her choice - pizza!

When we got home, she was excited to find her cookies and new books.  We love Doc McStuffins these days. :)  She also showed me the self-portrait she made so that I could look at it while she's at school if I start to miss her.  Sweet girl.

I love that these kiddos love school so much....just like their mama!