Jackson + Preschool + Fall + Halloween!!!

Jackson + Preschool = Super Smart, Super Fun, Super Cool Boy (yes, smarter, more fun, and much cooler than pre- preschool... which is incredibly hard to imagine!!!!)

As most of you know, Jackson started preschool in September, at the Methodist Church Preschool, near our house. It's been amazing to see how much he has learned so quickly, and it seems like everyday he is telling me about something new, or doing something new. We are thrilled with what a GREAT fit his preschool is for him. Not only is it such a sweet little school, but, his teachers have both been teachers there for a LOOOOOONG time, and are so invested in each child in their class.With Jackson's birthday being in early November (we can't believe he's going to be FOUR... there will be a whole post, in it's own, on that!), he will be one of the oldest kiddos in his class when he starts kindergarten. So... he will go to preschool this year, and then AGAIN next year. His preschool does have a pre-K program, for next year. It'll be great for him to learn all the skills needed to start Kindergarten. Not to mention, how great it will be for Maggie to have her big brother at the same school as she, for her FIRST year of preschool. Yep... she has (what is considered) an early birthday (early July), and therefore will be one of the youngest in her class. Our munchkins birthdays, also make it so they'll be back to back in school. When Maggie starts Kindergarten, Jackson will be in 1st Grade... whew! sloooooow down!!! It is hard to even imagine them in elementary school... but, I know all too well, how fast time flies, and it'll be here before we know it! (*sigh!)

Speaking of time flying by....

remember this cutie? Jackson's FIRST Halloween, October 2008

 Halloween #2, 2009

(he was NOT into dressing up... at.all.!!! until, as you will see... he discovered if you were sweet and wore your costume that your mommy put on you, your pumpkin bucket would get filled full of yummy treats... yep, totally worth the dragon costume!)

 mmmm... taking a little break to taste some of the yummy treats!

Back out to get some more loot!

 Maggie's FIRST Halloween, 2009

She was such a good sport (ok, in the beginning) and was the cutest Pumpkin ever!

 Again, she was so so good.... and then it was time to go home, and she was just done. Done with trick or treating, and REALLY done with having her picture taken!

Our FIRST Family of 4 Halloween

Gig Harbor, Washington

The gorgeous fall trees in our neighborhood, when we lived in Gig Harbor...

Halloween #3 for Jackson!

What a sweet scary Tiger!

Maggie's 2nd Halloween

Such a sweet sweet sweet Ballerina!!!

 ... yep, the Tiger costume will be coming out for year #2, tomorrow

(we think Jackson is under the impression, that you wear the same Halloween costume, until it no longer fits .... we're ok with his thoughts on Halloween costumes, and are thankful that his costume was a bit too big last year!)

We can't wait to share the pictures from Halloween this year!

(couldn't NOT share the CUTEST Halloween munchkins ever... 

but, back to preschool...)

Jackson is loving preschool, and is making some great friends. His teachers proudly report to Brian and I, each week, how he is learning the routine and rules of school. How he is very caring and kind towards his teachers, and his classmates. All things, as his Daddy and Mommy, we of course, LOVE to hear.

I was invited to help out in his classroom last Thursday, for their "Harvest Party". (note: they didn't have a traditional "Halloween" party, so the Harvest Party, somewhat took the place of what most preschools consider a "Halloween" party)

I had so much fun seeing Jack, in action at school. As most, 3 1/2 year old boys, he definitely tests limits, is full of energy, and sometimes "forgets" the difference between "walking/inside" feet and "running/outside" feet... but, he is quick to "FREEZE" (a notion the teachers have taught the kiddos to do when they call their name, following with the word "freeze", they are to literally freeze their bodies, not moving any further than those running feet were originally taking them), make eye contact, listen to instructions, and carry on with what his teachers ask of him. 

I enjoyed getting to know each of his (whopping 10!) classmates, too. We made a fun craft... using a small glass jar (leftover baby food jars... yes, I've been holding on to them for a LOOOOONG time... and they've finally found a good use!). We covered them with orange tissue paper (using a sticky mixture of glue + water), after the layer of tissue paper was dry, we then added eyes, nose and a mouth... making it a jack-o-lantern. Each kiddo took home a little battery tea light to put in to their jack-o-lantern, and it makes quite a cute little candle.

 One of the cute "Jack-o-Lantern" Candle Holders we made at home, during our "test run".

Jackson was super helpful in making sure the tissue paper stayed on, and although he wasn't a huge fan of the crazy stickiness involved, he was great about helping me add more and more and more glue.

(Maggie on the other hand, ditched out on us quite early on in the craft. Once the sticky glue hit her fingers, she was out... and FAST!)

Jackson, now has 2 (we had made them at home first... doing a trial run, to make sure that they would turn out ok, etc.), and LOVES them. Since he made them, they have stayed on his dresser, and he makes sure each night to push the button on the bottom of the tea light candle, and has it on all night long while he is sleeping.

 He's a super cute and NON-Scary Jack-o-Lantern at night time. 

It's actually been a really good way, to get away from all of the "scary and spooky" parts of Halloween. And, for him to remember that Halloween doesn't have to be spooky or scary, but it is just silly and fun. He's definitely not one for too much spooky and/or scary... and neither is Maggie. :)

 Jackson's teachers are so thoughtful, in that they send us weekly "news", regarding what our munchkins were up to at school during the week, also always adding in fun photos they've taken of different activities they've done that week too!

I love getting the "news" and photos, because Jack usually has explained to me some things they've done, so actually seeing the photos, and hearing from his teachers the activities they did, is so fun to put the whole thing together!

I gotta say, the baby owls they made, are SO CUTE!!!! I will never, ever, ever, ever call a baby owl, a baby chick again. It is very very hurtful towards a baby owl, I was soon to be told! :)

Tomorrow for Halloween, we are going to go and visit Nana Bette in the afternoon, to show off our two sweet little Goblins. We'll head home for an early dinner, and then head out for a little trick or treating just around our neighborhood. We're excited that our awesome friends & neighbors, The Kleine's, will be joining us. They have 3 girls, two a bit older than Jackson, and their youngest is just a few months older than Maggie. It should be fun for the kiddos to have some friends, to show them the "ropes" of trick or treating. :) I'll be sure to get some pictures of our Goblins (little hint: a FAST Tiger, and a SWEET Ladybug).

(wouldn't Maggie be the Cutest little pumpkin girl? She was certainly the cutest pumpkin baby! Maybe next year...) 

We hope you are all enjoying this fun time of Fall... 
Make sure you have LOTS of candy on hand...
I'm just going to try my best to not eat any all of Jack and Maggie's loot! :)
Happy Halloween!!!!

Just some fun pics to share...

We had a busy week, (it seems that is usual for us...).

I took some fun pictures too... so rather than telling you every detail of our week... I'll just share some fun photos... (and, I'll admit, I'm a bit tired... so I'd probably end up writing something incoherent with a lot of typos, so I'll save us all the pain... ).

 We hosted a playdate at our house on Monday, with some of our new and old friends (through the Mom's/Kiddo's Group we're in)... it was a lot of fun!

 Look at all those cuties!

 Maggie was very fond of Fritz... :)

 Not so sure he felt the same... :p

 He's showing a little interest (above picture...)...

 and Maggie dives right in... trying to give Fritz a smooch...

 I think he's trying very hard to politely tell her "no, thank you"...

 Jackson had so much fun with Griffin.

Griffin is my BF Niki's nephew... he is about 6 months younger than Jack... and they always have so much fun playing together! We are always happy when Niki is able to bring Griff along to playdates... he's such a cool kiddo.

 Miss Maggie taking a little break from all the action... and playing with "baby" Jackson's Giraffe, Sophie... I think he's gonna want it back, Maggs... don't get too attached.

 This is just PURE sweetness! Niki's little guy, Jackson... all tuckered out from lots and lots of playing... 

He is so cute! He literally, just fell asleep sitting on the couch with his Mama. He looks pretty content to me :)

 I found a spot... well, sort of ... for the "spring" wreath I made a few weeks ago. It is hanging in our front living room, over the fireplace. There isn't a mantle and it's brick, so the best I could do was use a suction cup, and "hang" it from the mirror. It looks ok... but, it isn't the exact right spot for it... not sure I'll ever find one... HA!

 I was just playing around with my camera this week (please don't take the below photo as an example... bad lighting, bad angle, bad ... well, just about everything - besides the plaque I was attempting to capture). I love this saying... Niki gave this to me a while back, and I have always loved it, and have always found a special place in our home for it.

 I LOVE Sunflowers! They are one of my favorite flowers! These ones are absolutely gorgeous.

I bought them at Trader Joe's for Easter, and they are still going strong. They are so beautiful, and they just remind me that spring really is here... just not exactly showing us much ... yet.

 Yes, flowers are so easy to photograph.

But, they are also so gorgeous.

So, all in all... these pictures make me happy... 

because I took them, and they are pretty. :)

But, again... flowers are pretty hard to not get a good picture of.

 This one (below) is my favorite. I love the flowers (of course), but also the pitcher they are in. My Grandmother gave me the pitcher, and I have always loved it. I never use it for what a pitcher is truly for... but, have always used it for a vase... and I think it does the job well!

 Again... just playing around with my camera... 

but, this little plaque (below) is another one of my favorite things we have.

Another thing from my Grandmother... hmm... she knows my taste :)

She gave this to Brian and I, this past year for Christmas, and I just adore it.

Hope you enjoyed the complete randomness of this post... :) And, the pictures...

I have many many many more where these came from. I'm also having a lot of fun with a new photo program, that allows you to change little things in a photo (ie. aging it, etc.). I'll have some fun ones to show you soon.

Lastly, have some WONDERFUL news to share... my Grandmother went from the hospital last week, to a Rehabilitation Center for her to receive some physical therapy for her knees, etc. after her surgery. Well... she only had to stay at the Center for 2 days, and was able to go home yesterday afternoon! I talked with her today, and she was so happy to be home, as I'm sure we can all imagine! She said she had slept really well last night, and was just overall very happy to be back home, and sleeping in her own bed. My Aunt, Kathy will be staying with her... until my Grandmother feels fully comfortable & strong enough to be alone. So, thank you to everyone who has held my Grandma in their thoughts and prayers. It has meant a lot... during a difficult and stressful time. I'm so relieved, happy and feeling blessed that she was able to regain her strength, and be able to be home where she can sleep, eat, etc. all comfortably and have some privacy... as we all know how hospitals are... :p

We love you, Grandma... and are beyond HAPPY you are home! xoxo

We hope each and every one of you have a wonderful weekend.

Love,

The Weeks