School

It's been three full weeks since Austin has started Preschool and so far he loves it! When we drop him off Austin is a little clingy, but once we give him our hugs, kisses and farewells he's usually sad for a few minutes until his amazing teachers gets his mindset towards a day of fun! He is finally starting to warm up to his teacher, Mrs. Patricia and she is just smitten with him. We get a little 'report card' of the day and today had a note at the top that said, "I just LOVE him!!" I mean how can you resist his face!?!? Who wouldn't love him! Scott and I have also heard from numerous people that are up there all day that he is probably the best at knowing how to praise God! Like I've said earlier in a previous post, the whole Preschool as a group has Chapel in the mornings. According to the Preschool director, the Youth Minister (who checks on him thoughout the day, Thanks Richard!) as well as his teachers and other teachers from different class levels, Austin is always raising his arms up and singing his praises for God! One day I must get this on video or at least on camera.

Each month the kids in his class learn many things. for the whole month of Septemeber their theme is "Apple" and the concept they will learn is "IN/OUT". They are also going to tackle learning the colors Green & Brown as well as the shape of a Triangle. They have loads to learn but it helps knowing what to focus on when he's at home. :-) They are also awarded stickers when they have mastered a skill.

So far he has mastered:
- Listening
- Being Happy
- Sharing
- Having a Good Self Image
- Respecting Others

He's still working on:
- Learning his colors of the month
- Learning all about Triangles
- Learning the concept: In/Out

I'm so happy at the progress he has made. We have much to work on this month but in time he'll get there. He understands "In & Out" when you ask him to put a toy IN or OUT his basket, but he doesn't do it every time and of course can't verbalize those words yet.

Scott and I are so proud of Austin! Three weeks and he's learning so much. Every time we pick him up from school he has a smile on his face which just melts our hearts! Once we gather his things, Austin happily waves and says, "Bye Bye" to his teacher and peers (haha) Today was the first time he gave his teacher a hug before we left! So sweet!!!

So what am I doing with my free time you ask?!?! Haha, free time, who are we kidding?! On Tuesdays Scott takes Austin to school so that my mom and I can do our long mileage days that day. We wake up at 5:30am to start our training at 6am and usually walk until about 10 to 10:30. So no sleeping in for me! Then I come home and do housework before it's time for pickup. On Thursdays, I'm finishing up with housework or Scott and I will do our "date day" since it is easier on us rather than doing a "date night".

I can't wait to see what's in store for us next month at Preschool. We have so much to look forward to!

We must ALWAYS remember

We must ALWAYS remember the innocent victims and celebrate the fallen heroes on this tragic day 8 years ago! 2,966 innocent men and women perished on September 11, 2001.

"The greatest injustice we can ever do is forget their names and faces and fail to tell our children. . . These were not soldiers in a war, these were mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, sisters and brothers, friends and lovers. They were you and me and everyone you pass on the street. They were not red or blue, right or left, they were Americans and they were killed for being so. Never never never forget that."

~ Fancy

Walking, walking, and walking some more!

Mom and I have worked our way up to walking 15 miles in a day in preparaton for the Breast Cancer 3-Day!!!

Why I am walking:

Walking in Honor of/Our Fallen Pink Warriors:

My Great Grandma, Goldie Thompson

My Grandma, Anita Alsman

Margaret DeMille

Walking in Support of:

My mom (& fellow 3-Day walking partner)

DeDrie Sauter

Rhonda Mieldon

Chris Schroeder

Walking in Celebration of:

My Aunt Cathy

Dorothy Huffstutler

Chris Wise

Handprints

Sometimes you get discouraged,
because I am so small
And leave my little fingerprints
On furniture and walls.
But everyday I'm growing
And soon will be so tall
That all these little fingerprints
Will be difficult to recall.
So here's a little handprint
That you can put away
So you will know how my fingers looked
On this special day.

09/09/09

Today. on 09/09/09, Austin and I went to a playdate with our mommy meetup group. On this day we painted handprints on stones. Here is Austin's creation!

Cool Breezes

It's finally here! When September arrived so did the chance for cool breezes, outdoor fun and the hint of winter (aka: weather below 80! LOL)! The past week any chance we get Austin and I are outside enjoying the sunshine and amazing weather. This past week, we have had the temps be on average mid-80's and it's been AMAZING!!!

A few weeks ago a neighbor of ours was throwing away their FisherPrice Playhouse. Scott and I have been wanting to get Austin one but just couldn't afford it. It was then, after we realized that it wasn't in the budget, that my Aunt Melody spotted it across the street!! Of course it was old, worn-down and severly faded but who cares!?! With a fresh coat of paint, it'd be 'just like new'! So we carried that house back to our garage and then a few weeks later Scott started painting Austin's new home. Here was what the house looked like BEFORE:

Here is what it looked like AFTER Scott re-vamped the house.

Austin LOVES IT! Every chance he gets, he runs outside to his home away from home :-) It's funny to see what he does. He insists that the windows remain closed and doesn't like the red door to stay open. If I come over and open then, he'll give me this look and then close it hahaha!

On Monday Austin and I were outside from 8am till lunchtime. What a nice day it was! I kept Austin in his spiderman jammies, lugged his basket full of toys outside and he was in heaven! Momma was too - I got my book and nestled into our outdoor furniture - and started relaxing as Austin was having so much fun. We are so blessed to have a child who LOVES being outside any chance he can get! It's so funny because now if you say, "Austin, would you like to go outside?" He'll give you this look, get up then run to the backdoor! LOL

Here are some pictures of that morning plus other pictures taken throughout the week:

Being outside watching Austin play has been such a joy! As I was watching him play independently it reminded me of LAST September and our outside play together. A lot has changed in one year: Austin's growth and development obviously, bigger toys LOL, a deck to play on vs. the small block of concrete outside our back door, and our nice outdoor furniture.

Here are a few pictures of LAST years' outdoor September fun:

It'll be amazing what is in store for us NEXT September! Another thing that I love about this weather is the anticipation of going to the Texas State Fair - which for most of us means food food, car shows and MORE food LOL The fair isn't until the beginning of October but this cooler weather sure does make me salivate and think of Fried Oreos :-)

Austin Goes To School!!!

Ladies and Gentleman it's time - Austin started Preschool this week!! Scott and I can't believe that Austin is already 1 1/2 years old and therefore old enough to start going to our church's preschool.

He will be going 2 days a week, 5 hours each. He's in the "Monkey Class" with the younger 2 year olds - what?! TWO!? - and together they have a fun filled day! In his class they have:

Morning Activity

Chapel --> his favorite, of course! I've heard from many he is the best at putting his arms in the air praising God!!

Playtime

Craft time

Class time

He also naps there which should be interesting since he's never napped on the floor (on a mat of course) with toys and other children nearby!

On his first day of school, Scott and I walked Austin to his classroom. He was insistent that he carry his own lunchbox but in order to carry his backpack he needed his hands occupied! It's hard to carry that backpack when it is full with his naptime blanket, diapers, change of clothes and notes for the teacher. It's especially hard when that said backpack has ELMO on it! But he did great!

Once we entered his classroom we handed Austin off to his teacher, Miss Patricia, so that he could start coloring (aka occupy his mind) while mommy and daddy leave. We gave Austin our hugs and kisses, waved bye bye and off we went! He did SO great - he waved bye bye back and resumed his coloring LOL!

It'll be interesting to see what he learns throughout his first year at school!! I will of course be blogging about his first firsts so keep reading!! :-)