We'll Be In Touch

We had an awesome time trick-or-treating with our friends this year! This is the 3rd year we have spent the evening with them - it is funny how things just become traditions without even realizing it!  And because I love some good comparisons photos...

On September 4th Canon turned 5! Playing catch-up.... I can hardly believe I have a 5 year old. Turning 5 and starting Kindergarten all in the same week definitely makes me feel like I have a big kid on my hands. We had a great summer and there were a lot of moments when I could see a mature, independent, responsible little boy emerge. Canon love super heroes and Star Wars. He knows who Bryce Harper is and loves looking at Aaron's old baseball cards. He is starting to put together letter sounds and loves sounding out words to read and to write. He will play by himself only on the weekends when he has an hour of rest time in the basement, or if we go to my mom's house! Otherwise he wants us or Ben to be right there with him. On his birthday he opened a big playmobile camping playset. We met my mom for milkshakes and french fries by the water, then had a cake for him at a teacher gathering that night. The next weekend we had friends over for pizza and cupcakes, which of co...

Canon started Kindergarten. His teachers are Miss Link and Mrs. Morrison Ben started in the Butterflies class in the Montessori classroom.  His teachers are Miss Kay, Ms Jessie and Ms Bernita.  Sam started in Little Lambs. His teachers are Ms Leola, Ms Kristi, Ms Venecia and Ms Janice And I started back full-time, too! 

I can't say enough about this past year of school for Canon. He was in Ms. Gaby's class with 15 other kids and was the 2nd to youngest. I tell this story to perspective parents at my job all the time about when he started. I had a quick conversation with Ms. Gaby about the "academic" things I wanted him to learn by the end of the year, especially writing his name. She stopped and looked at me and said "give me 6 months to work on some other things, and then in the spring we can check back in". Okay, I trusted her.  Turns out, she of course, was so right. Over the course of this year Canon has learned to write his name and lots of letters. But, more importantly, he learned about being a good friend, playing with others, communicating his feelings, using his words instead of his hands, and so much more. He learned about architecture and insects and community helpers and his vocabulary expanded a ton! We do High/Scope curriculum and much to my pleasure, he ...

I can hardly believe my sweet boy is FOUR! So many things happened within a week of his birthday, but today I'll just focus on his actual day.  Aaron and I had been talking for a few months about getting Canon his own tablet. Mainly because 1) when he wanted to watch something on Netflix it was on my phone and 2) he had gotten into YouTube videos and we didn't love that. Mostly what he watched was age-appropriate, but there were times when the suggestions led him down a not great path.  We know a few friends with the Amazon Fire for Kids and after hearing their positive reviews, we decided to get him one.  He clearly already knew what it was and yes, we do refer to it as his iPad.  We're 10 days into it and I have to say I love it. Not only do I have my phone back, but mostly because of what he does when he is on it. He spends much more time playing interactive games than watching videos and the videos he does watch make me feel much better. All the PB...

Canon participated in his first t-ball season this past spring! It was so fun. It was a "league" set up especially for 3-5 year olds as an introduction to the game. Our city t-ball doesn't start until 4, so I was pumped to find something he could do! We were also very lucky to have 6 other friends from his class join us on the same team. A glorified playdate! Aaron coached and I chased Ben most of the time. The emphasis was definitely on hitting the ball off the tee and running the bases. Fielding is something we'll be working on next year ;)