Caleb's last day of pre-school

Today was Caleb's last day of pre-school. We are so thankful for the great pre-school and the fun and wonderful learning environment he had this past year. His teachers were lovely and the kids were so sweet. Caleb made a lot of new friends at school, he was definitely popular with his light hair and blue eyes. Next year, Ben will be joining him. Ben came with me to school today, and he walked right in and sat at the table to play with the kids. It's going to be a fun next year with both of them in the school together.

When we picked up Caleb this afternoon, his school gave us a very nice photo memory book, a book of how he has progressed, and an end of the year evaluation report. It was fun to look through his folders, and I know we will all enjoy going through them in the years to come. We are so proud of Caleb for adapting so well to his new environment, and making so many friends in the process. Here are the comments that Caleb's teachers wrote on his evaluation:

"Caleb is a lovely boy with a beautiful imagination. He has definitely been a main character this school year by being a much loved favorite friend to all. Caleb can recognize his name and pick it out with pride. He is showing increasing knowledge in numbers and letters. Caleb can find shapes in and around the classroom and identify their colors easily. Caleb loves to be outside an delay in Harvard Village. He loves to listen to story books being read to him and he can express his vocabulary and understanding by explaining what has happened, how they felt, and what will happen next. It has been a pleasure to have Caleb in our class this year. He is loved by teachers and students and will be missed."


Well, we leave in a few hours for a few weeks of vacation. I'll probably be away from blogging for the next week, but stay tuned for some pictures from our adventure to Oman!

Going Manual

Last week I was in Europe for a work trip. I arrived early on a Sunday morning, and had the day to explore. It rained on and off throughout the day, but it was a welcome change. Most things are closed on Sunday, but during the week there were a lot of people out and about. The sun sets around 9:30pm, so I had several evenings to explore as well. I love the history, the old churches, clock towers, and cobblestone streets. Even the big cities have little squares with old churches, farmers markets, delicious pastry shops, and I think they are so quaint.  I wanted to photograph it all, and this trip was it. I had lots of alone time to experiment with my camera. I took every picture on manual mode, and didn't realize how much fun it would be to shoot this way. As you will see, I had some interesting subjects! Nathan bought me a photo editing program for my birthday, so that will be next on my big experimental list. I have a long way to go, but overall I was very satisfied with how the pictures turned out. Can you guess where I was?

Happy Mother's Day!

I am very blessed to have a wonderful mom and mother-in-law, who has shown me and taught me so much about what it means to be a loving mom. Thank you for everything you have done and for everything you do!

And I thank God everyday for choosing me to be these two sweet boys' mom :).

Happy Mother's Day to all of my mommy family and friends! 

Gulf Day

It is becoming a Saturday morning tradition that we go down to the gulf for coffee, donuts, and to let the boys play.  Summer is here and we are in triple digits! It was hot, but the breeze was nice to enjoy ;)>

And what is better than chasing baby birds?

Happy Saturday!

Oh Hi!

Did you know I am technically challenged?  I finally figured out how to take videos off of my cell phone. All I needed to do was download a program to my computer, and voila!  This fun video is from last month in our grocery store.

And another cute one from tonight. Lately, when Caleb is in the middle of doing something, he turns around, holds up his hand and says 'Oh hi!' And of course, little brother follows in suit. It is pretty cute. The abrupt ending is when I saw (thankfully only in my head) my nice glass bowl from a glass and ceramics factory shattering to pieces.

Happy Sunday!

Ouchie

One day last week Caleb came home from school with an ouch report. A little boy in his class bit him, when they were arguing over a toy. Caleb was pretty proud of his battle wound, and thankfully didn't seem to mind too much.

We found out the next day that this boy has bitten 3 other kids, so he is now on probation. The mom felt bad and brought a card and gift for Caleb the next day. 

                                      

It was totally unnecessary, but a sweet gesture. Caleb and Ben were pretty excited to see a Lightning McQueen remote control car.

And so far they have been sharing this toy nicely.

Bubble Pool Fun

Ben has enjoyed playing in the pool with our neighbors this week:) It has been fun getting the kids together to play.

35 Years Young

Yesterday I turned 35 years old, and collectively my mom and I turned 102. For those of you that don't know, my mom and I share a birthday, which is a very special thing.  When I was a little girl, I remember thinking 18 was old, then 21, 25, and 30! Well, I am now 35 and to be honest most days I think I act like I am 20. My conclusion…age is just a number! 

My birthday was perfect, low key, and just what I wanted. The boys let me sleep in, and they made me breakfast in bed. We spent the morning swimming and then took a family nap. That afternoon, Nathan took me out for coffee and dinner at a Kuwaiti restaurant on the gulf.

We even caught a a nice sunset on the drive home.

I came home to lots of birthday messages, and Tes and her sister cooked Pancit, a good luck Philipino dish that is one of my favorites!

I got to enjoy the boys some more in the evening.

And a some race car and train racing too!

This year has been filled with a lot of excitement for our family. Since moving to Kuwait about 11 months ago, we have been enjoying a new culture, new people, and lots of new adventures. I am excited for what this year will bring!

Cats, grasshoppers, spiders, and more!

Caleb's imagination has really taken off lately. On any given day, he may be a number of animals. Some of his favorites are cats, grasshoppers, ants, and lately a spider.  Ben usually joins in as a cat, it is so cute to watch.

This morning the boys and I went for a long walk and to play at the park. The temperatures are starting to rise, so getting out early is a good thing.

 Ben loves to kick and throw balls. We may have a soccer player in our future :)

 And Caleb loves to swing fast and high!

They both like singing songs, and today I taught them the Ants Go Marching one by one. Caleb thought it was funny, and wanted to look for ants afterwards…we found a lot!

 On the way home, we saw some bunnies, chicks, and roosters in a neighbor's yard.

When we got home from the park the boys sat and looked through some books.

Caleb can sit and look at books or be read to for a long time. He loves books! Ben is enjoying them more, and he especially likes books that make animal sounds, or ones with firetrucks.

It was a good week, and we are ready to start the weekend :).