Last Day of School

Wednesday, May 23 was E's last day of pre-school. He was so sad. I had a mix of emotions. On one hand I was so indescribably happy not to have to do the load, unload, load circus routine with all the kids but I loved seeing Elliot's excitement, seeing him grow, and getting a short break.

Here's a look at the "excitement" in the backseat of my van before heading in for his last day:

The grumpies didn't last long. Him and Hadley were bickering over something (nothing out of the ordinary there) but he was all smiles as soon as we headed in the door. I promise!

The girls and I had a playdate while Elliot was at school. We've gone to Miss Courtney's house several times this year to hang out with her and her kiddos during pre-school and we've LOVED it! Adelyn & Kailyn hang out with their 'boyfriend' and Hadley gets to play with her buddy. I have to admit this was another reason I was sad to see school end. It was such a good reason for us to hang out!

Pick-up was kind of emotional. The teacher cried. I cried. All of the moms cried. Elliot had an amazing teacher this year. I can't say enough good things about Mrs. Julie! One thing I know for sure is that those who are called to be pre-school teachers are very special people! After our very last pre-school pick up most of us headed over to a nearby park for lunch and the boys got a chance to run and play together again. 

Here is Elliot and his teacher on Thursday night after our song and story end of the year celebration:

He is going to miss her SO much! 

A Lesson in Sharing

The girls had a lesson in sharing the other day while eating a snack. I'm sure there are many, many, many more lessons like this one to come in the future but I happened to capture a few moments from this particular day. They love bowls and they love those little baby puffs. So, I put the two of them together and they were in heaven for awhile. Then they got greedy. Kailyn was grabbing 4, 5, 6 puffs at a time and effectively emptying the bowl. Adelyn would freak out, scream and then grab as many as she could the next time I filled the bowl. Then they would stare each other down while they ate. Then they started flipping the bowl and trying to crawl away with it. It was pretty hilarious until I remembered I would be cleaning little crushed puffs out of my carpets. Suddenly it was not cute anymore. Not at all.

Pictorial Trip Down Memory Lane

On my laptop I have a folder named P&P which stands for Petey and Pepper. Those are the names we usually went by at camp. In fact Petey is still what I call my husband. I refer to him as Mike with some people but calling him that? No way, jose. That's just too weird. Anyway, this folder contains only pictures of us. I keep it as the first album in my pictures folder so that I can flip through them often and see just how old we've gotten ;) Seriously, we were BABIES in some of our first pictures!  And, anyone who knows me knows that this barely scratches the surface of all the pictures of the two of us.

Here, take a look for yourself:

Our first picture taken of the two of us June 27, 2006 {my birthday}

Fourth of July 2006 Photo marathon - I'll spare you & only post one. Trust me there are several baaaad ones!

September 4, 2006 - Jed & Jess's wedding; also the day before we officially started dating. That wedding was hands down one of the most awkward experiences of my life. Don't even get me started on the 14+ hour (one way) drive alone with Petey. Awkward. Awkward. Awkward.

November 4, 2006 - Mini golf for our 2 month anniversary (also my parent's wedding anniversary)

December 16, 2006 - Holidazzle Parade - Minneapolis, MN

ENGAGED!!!! January 7, 2007 

March 28, 2007 - hanging out and wedding planning (seriously, BABIES!)

June 23, 2007 - P-Cov Wedding Shower. Yes, those are potato heads

MARRIED!! August 11, 2007 - Twin Lakes, IA

(Also, the hottest day in the history)

April 17, 2008 - One day after being admitted to hospital at 25 weeks pregnant. 

July 2008 - Elliot's first bath at MumMum's house

February 18, 2009 - Surprise!! Little Cupcake is on the way!

October 20, 2009 - Hadley Elizabeth is born!

October 2011 - Our crazy, busy little family!

Flashback

Today, on a whim, I checked out our old CaringBridge site we used when I was pregnant with Elliot. His fourth birthday is approaching faster than I care to acknowledge. It blows my mind that he is going to be four. It just does not seem possible as many days it feels like we left that hospital just yesterday. So, for anyone out there that may be interested here is the entry from May 21, 2008:

We've been here for 5 weeks! WOW!! It's crazy to think that we hopefully only have 3 weeks or so left. Life is sure full of surprises ;) We have another BPP & growth ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow morning so we'll get another chance to get a good look at him - maybe even see his face ;) It will be good to see how he is growing and to see how much progress he has made that last 3 weeks!

Petey is off getting his eyes checked today so he can get new glasses!! Yay for no more supergluing them together! I'm working on studying for a couple of tests that need to be taken for school. My mind seems to be settling down enough to let me do this so hopefully I'll do well!

Five weeks. Right now it's hard for me to imagine being in any one stationary place for 5 weeks - we have one speed around here and it is go, go, go as fast as you can. Sometimes I wonder how I ever made it through eight whole weeks of staring at the same four walls day after day and sitting in the same bed day after day and looking at the same roof and flower shop day after day. I know I would do it again in a heartbeat but wow that is a long time. This morning I flipped through some of our other entries and, as it always has before, I was amazed at how far my little man has come. Four years ago we didn't know how our story would end. We didn't know if it would be a happy ending or a tragic one. We didn't know if we would be in for a lifetime of struggles with him or if it would be smooth sailing after the hospital. No other experience in my life has made me believe so much in the power in prayer. We have been beyond blessed with Mr. E.

And, for your viewing pleasure here is a picture from May 16, 2008. This was my first time breathing fresh air outside the hospital in a month. I was finally granted permission to take a quick wheelchair ride outside with my husband. I remember it being absolutely, gloriously, beautiful and refreshing!

Please don't hold my ghostly appearance against me! It was snowy the day I was admitted to the hospital and it is pretty impossible to catch any sun while you're stuck in a bed!