Last Day of the 3s

The boys' last day of preschool for the year was on Wednesday.  (And it ended up being just a half-day for James, since he wasn't feeling well in the morning.)  The classroom looked a little bare and forelorn, since the artwork had all been sent home last week!

The kids took a "field trip" across the street to the post office to mail postcards to each other, and then they met their parents for a picnic in the arboretum. 

We'll miss Ms. S and Ms. L, their teachers. But we'll see a lot of their friends in the 4s next year.

(By the way, the little redheaded boy standing next to James in the third picture is a little brother of a classmate, not part of the 3 year old class!)

Happy Memorial Day

We celebrated with the traditional cookout.  :)  

(The red marks on Jamesie's face are ketchup, one of his current favorite foods.)

Beach Day

Once again, Beach Day was the best day of preschool.  (Fortunately, the weather cooperated -- it's been so rainy here recently, we weren't sure it would!  It was a bit cooler than ideal, but that didn't seem to bother the little guys.)

When I arrived to pick up the boys, they couldn't wait to tell me about all the things -- three pools!  (One in the sun that was a different temperature!)  Sliding into a pool!  A sprinkler!  Splashing!  An obstacle course!  Hopscotch!!  (James was particularly excited about the hopscotch; Mattie hadn't played it.) 

Oh, and apparently spray paint as well, which you can see in Jamesie's hair.

Beach Day ends with a pizza and popsicle lunch.  Their teacher was excited because James wolfed down two slices of pizza -- she'd never seen him eat that much.  :)

Mud Picnic

 The preschool picnic Wednesday night was more or less rained out about 20 minutes after it started, but we didn't let that stop us -- the boys had a phenomenal time playing in a huge mud puddle. (A lot of the people left, which was a sensible decision given the downpour.  But the boys' teachers stuck around and played in the rain, too -- we knew they were cool!)

We took off the boys' soaking clothes for the ride home.  When we got them out of the van, Mattie announced happily, "We've never been n-ak-d outside before!  It's an adventure!  Let's run in a circle!"  (So they did.  They actually did still have their undies on, though.)

(Sorry for the poor quality of these photos -- they're from my cell phone!)

Four Year Old Checkup

Mattie went in for his 4-year checkup today.  He weighed in at 36.4 lbs, 39.5 inches tall.  That put him at 50th percentile for weight and 30th for height.  Everything else looked good (including his blood pressure -- yay!)  And he didn't have to get any shots this time, which was nice.

[Photos from 5/16.]

Happy Birthday, Mikey!

 The boys were very helpful with blowing out the candles.  :)

Rainy Days and Mondays

 Mike and the boys had a great time playing in the rain yesterday. They went on a trek through the neighborhood, and then they had fun playing with the drain going under the stairs (sending one of their bath letters through with the flood of water). 

Science Museum Saturday

 It was nice to be at the museum on a rainy afternoon -- not too crowded!  (We even got the first seats on the train!)

Of course, the high point of this trip for the boys may have been splashing in the puddles.  It's the simple pleasures!

The alpacas had been to the groomer, too, apparently -- they had short haircuts just like Stanley.  :)

***

Our neighbor Lakshmi dropped by today, and she asked James what he was doing.  He replied that he was playing "zondies" (what he calls Plants vs. Zombies), and she thought that he said he was doing laundry!  Now that would be a much more useful hobby -- but I think we'll have to wait a couple years for that.  :)

Quick Visit

It was great to see our friend Jason today for lunch -- he was in town for a conference and we were able to fit in a visit before he headed back home. 

Daniel's Fault

James now likes to make a "bowling face" for pictures, just like Cousin Daniel.  :)

Cupcakes with Grandma

The boys enjoyed making their birthday cupcakes with Grandma last Sunday!  (When their teacher asked Matthew about making them, he told her they didn't get any shells in when they were cracking the eggs.)  Mattie's favorite part was licking the batter.  :)

Finally

For those relatives who were giving us a hard time last weekend (you know who you are), we finally got Stanley to the groomer.  :)  These aren't the greatest pictures, but he still looks pretty cute with his short hair!

More Preschool

Here are some picture from my twice-in-a-row Parent of the Day stints.

The boys got to wear their birthday crowns at preschool, and we brought a special snack (vanilla cupcakes with no icing, because Matthew informed us that "preschool is too neat for icing!", and strawberries -- thanks, Grandma!)

Birthday Celebration

 We continued with our tradition and had a family & friends pizza party for the boys' birthday.  (And we were so happy that Grandma, Sue, Auntie Nora, Uncle Adrian, and Daniel could come from out of town!) 

Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate for outdoor activities. So, it was a little more low-key, but we had a great time anyhow. 

Whole Foods only had graduation cakes left, so Mattie's cake says both "Congratulations" and "Happy Birthday."  :)