My Dane has started Preschool!

What started out as a disappointing morning, quickly turned into a day of excitement!  We had thought that Dane was going to get to start playing soccer this spring, but we found out that he actually won't be old enough to play until the fall season.  The day I found out, I had to break it to Dane, and he was so disappointed.  I felt so bad, since I had just misread the website.  Anyway, later that day, we got a call from the Mother's Day Out program here in town, saying that they had an opening in the class for Dane's age group.  We have been on the waiting list for two years now, and there just never have been any openings, until now!  And, come to find out, the director of the program is actually one of our neighbors!

So, on January 17, my big boy went to preschool for the first time!  I was so proud of him, and he has been doing so well.  He goes on Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 am to 2 pm, and he really loves it.  He knows that it's called "Mother's Day Out", and one day, as I was dropping him off, I asked him if he was going to have a good day, and he said "Yes, and you and Sydni will get to have the whole day out!"  He really is such a thoughtful and sweet boy, especially to his mother!  I just adore him!  I have been so proud of him.  He's made some new friends in his class, and it is so fun to hear him talk about them and what they do.  We were preparing Valentine's cards for his class last week, and he cracked me up how he determined which people got which cards.  He would say, "____ is goofy, so he gets this one.", or "______ is really smart, so he gets this one."  I remember doing that in school, too.  Valentine cards are so important, and I remember being so careful and scrutinizing who would get which cards. 

Here are the pictures I took of him on his first day.  My friend, Andrea, had gotten him a new personalized backpack, so he got to use it, and we had so much fun picking out and ordering his napmat, too!  He got one with tools on it that has a built-in pillow and blanket with his name on it.  So fun!

He was so excited - look at those sweet eyes!

Of course, sister had to get in on the action, too!

Funny Pictures of the Kids Hangin' Out

This is the way I find these two a lot of times - just hangin' out together!  I love it!  Sydni adores her big brother, and she spends most all of her time trying to do the exact same thing as him, as well as him.  She knows she's not supposed to touch his computer games or the DVD player, but she gets as close to him as she can, so that she can watch him control them. 

I need to get a video of them racing each other.  That is their newest favorite pasttime.  They'll spend 30 minutes at a time racing back and forth.  Unfortunately, they have both inherited their mother's undying competitive streak.  I try to get Dane to let Sydni win, or at least give her a head start, but it's so hard for him to not just blow past her at the end.  Of course, when she sees that he's already beaten her, she usually falls down at the finish line and says, "Oh no!"  We then ask her if she's twisted her ankle again, and she nods her head and says, "Uh, huh".  She's a goober for sure!  I remember faking injuries, too, when I was little and we would race around our yard.  So I know just how she feels - the agony of defeat!

Here's some of my favorite photos of them hanging out together:

She's just been caught messing with her brother in this one...

And here she is again - caught red-handed!

In this one, she's trying to make me believe she's being sweet and watching her brother's game, but notice she's still got her hand in his hair!

Now, she's genuinely interested, I think!