First Day of School

I'm late posting "First Day" pictures because my life is crazy. I have 4 kids going to 3 different schools, all of which are their first year at these schools. The little boys are going to a new charter school in Vineyard because it is close to where our new house is being built (more on that later), I put Sophie in a preschool that includes dance, singing and karate in the curriculum, and Anthon Jr. decided he wanted to live with us so I got him registered at Mountain View High School. I also work 3 days a week, so I feel stretch pretty thin most of the time.

Last year I was so ready for the kids to start school, but this year the boys' new school started earlier than all the other schools so the first day kind of snuck up on me and I felt like we were not quite ready for the summer to be over yet. They were both excited about going to a new school, but I was nervous for them. They are great at making friends so I knew they would be fine, but I was just having some mom-anxiety for them.

The boys have been loving their new school and have already made a few good friends. Within the first couple of weeks Monson had a playdate. After only a few days at school, when I picked the boys up after school, Monson said, "Mom, I'm planning a playdate with someone in my class. Her name is Hadley." Of course it's a girl. Monson has always loved playing with girls and meeting new girls. She is really the only person he talks about in his class. They had a playdate at her house and he asks if he can have another playdate with her all the time.

Damon has some good friends at school, but the only person he wants to spend time with after school is his friend Baden. He's in our ward, but he's a little older than Damon so they didn't really know each other for the past year since Baden moved in. I can't even remember how they became friends, but in about July they started hanging out and now EVERY SINGLE DAY they only want to spend time together, mostly playing Roblox.

Sophie's school didn't start until after Labor Day. I have had all my little kids going to Kids Village preschool in the past, but over the summer I found out about a preschool that offers singing and dancing as part of the curriculum. Those are two out of three of Sophie's favorite things (the third is makeup) so I knew I had to switch her to this other preschool. So far she loves it. They also do Karate one day a week, which she is loving too.

I've never been able to do an official "first day" post and picture for Anthon Jr. so this is new! Anthon Jr. was on a trip to Equador until the weekend before Labor Day so he missed his first 2 weeks of school. On the Tuesday after Labor Day, he and I went to his new high school, met with his counselor and picked out his classes. All the classes he wanted ended up being open and fitting into his schedule on the first try. His counselor said that never happens. It's hard to tell whether a teenage boy is excited about something or not, but I think he was excited about his new school because his friends go there. He even let me take a picture of him before we went in!

So far he is doing well in his classes. He is taking band, wrestling, biology, AP calculus, seminary, English, Spanish, and US history. He gets a ride to and from school with his friend Johnny and they either go to our house or his friend's house for lunch everyday.

Avery started going to a private school this year. It's in Kaysville and it is Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints based and focuses heavily on academics. It doesn't have any art or band or anything like that. They only go to school for 5 hours a day, 4 days a week. They get a lot of homework and read a lot of books. Avery said she is reading 7 different books right now. She seems to be liking it and is learning a lot.

Here are some stats:

Damon

Height: 4 feet 8 1/2 inches     Last Year: 4' 6"

Weight: 70 lbs.                       Last Year: 62 lbs.

Shoe Size: 4                           Last Year: 2

Clothing Size: 10

Favorite Color: Green (Back to normal. For a while last year he was saying red.)

Favorite Super Hero: Spiderman

Favorite Food: Burritos

Favorite Friend: Baden Pratt (a kid in our neighborhood that he hangs out with EVERY SINGLE Day)

Favorite Thing to Do: Play Roblox with Baden

Favorite Subject in School: Math

Favorite Book: Monkey Me

Favorite Toy: Doesn't really have one anymore

Favorite Game: Roblox

What do you want to be when you grow up: Soccer player

Monson

Height: 4 feet 1 1/2 inches     Last Year: 3' 11 1/2"

Weight: 58 lbs.                       Last Year: 50 lbs.

Shoe Size: 1                           Last Year: 1

Clothing Size: 6/7

Favorite Color: Teal (because Avery told them her favorite color is teal)

Favorite Super Hero: Iron Man

Favorite Food: Spaghetti

Favorite Friend: Baden

Favorite Thing to Do: Play outside

Favorite Subject in School: Art

Favorite Book: Dinosaur book

Favorite Toy: I don't care

Favorite Game: Roblox

What do you want to be when you grow up: I don't know

Sophie
Height: 3 ft. 7 inches              Last Year: 3' 4"
Weight: 42 lbs.                       Last Year: 36 lbs.
Shoe Size: 10                         Last Year: 9
Clothing Size: 5

Favorite Color: Teal (because Avery said it was her favorite color)

Favorite Princess: Elsa

Favorite Food: Spaghetti (she heard Monson say this was his favorite)

Favorite Friend: Lilly and Kyrus (next door neighbor kids)

Favorite Thing to Do: Cuddle with Mommy

Favorite Subject in School: Draw

Favorite Book: Kitty book

Favorite Toy: Owley (a rainbow owl with a unicorn horn)

Favorite Game: Guess Who

What do you want to be when you grow up: a Mommy

Anthon Jr.
Height: 6' 2"
Weight: 150
Shoe size: 10 1/2
Favorite color: I don't care
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite friend: His group of friends
Favorite thing to do: Play video games
Favorite subject in school: Band
Favorite book: Adventures Wanted
Favorite game: Call of Duty
What do you want to be when you grow up: The smartest man alive

Avery
Height: 5' 8"
Shoe size: 9
Favorite color: Yellow (apparently not teal anymore)
Favorite Super Hero: Spiderman
Favorite food: Tin foil dinners
Favorite friend: Tyler, Elana, Xavier, Audam
Favorite subject in school: Math

I think it's going to be a great year!

First Days of School 2018

Words cannot express how ready I was for school to start. Summers are exhausting for me. I try to make them fun for my kids, which results in exhaustion for me, especially since I have 6 kids for most of the summer. We had swimming lessons, 3 family reunions, soccer camp, sports camp, girls camp, a day at Lagoon, piano lessons, a company party, youth conference, and various other daily activities. We have a lot of fun, but by August I am ready for the structure and schedule that school brings.

Damon was the first to go back. He started 2nd grade two weeks ago Thursday. He was really excited to go back to school because he loves school and mostly loves playing soccer with anyone he can find who is willing during recess.

I'm not good at editing photos, but here's a look at Damon the past 3 years:

It is crazy how quickly they change! I still think of him as being that little kindergartener.

Sophie started her second year of preschool on Monday. We went to her school open house the week before and she got herself all dressed and ready to go for that.

She never leaves the house without her purse (full of makeup) and a baby, just like mommy. And all pink of course.

When it was time to go to school on Monday she was so excited to go...until we got there. I brought her in and she cried and cried and I eventually just had to leave. When I picked her up 2 1/2 hours later she was happy and said she had a great first day.

Last year and this year:

Monson was the last to start. Kindergarten starts a week later than the rest of the school so that they can do assessments. At Monson's assessment his teacher told me that Monson was smart enough to test out of kindergarten if I wanted him to. That is a huge decision that I'm going to have to spend some time thinking about. The school said that it's best if he goes to a couple weeks of kindergarten so we can see how he does and we can do the test after that if we want to. I'm not sure if I want to yet.

Monson is so excited to be in kindergarten and at the same school as his big brother. They have seen each other a couple times during recess and they love that.

I drove carpool on Monson's (and Damon's) first day of school. Last year I went into the school with Damon for his first day, but this year I figured Damon could show Monson where to go and what to do so I just dropped them off. When they were getting out of the car Damon said, "Monson, I'll show you where to go." Monson said back, "Damon, I already know. You don't have to show me."

Here's Monson last year and this year.

I know Monson is having a lot of fun in kindergarten because after I pick him up, this is what usually happens:

Since it took me so long to get this post up, I've had a few kid-free days. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I do carpool for the boys and 3 other kids. I bring everyone to school at 8am. Sophie and I come home and I finish getting her ready and bring her to school at 9am. At 11:15am I go pick up Monson, then we pick up Sophie. At 3:30pm Damon gets dropped off at home from someone else in our carpool group. It's a pretty good schedule. On Tuesday and Thursday I get some good alone time with Sophie and three days a week, I have 2 hours alone. I have a ton of stuff to catch up on (like blogging) so I should be using my time for that, but for the past week and a half I've been using my free time to rest. I did exercise one day and get my lashes done yesterday, but the other days, all I want to do is rest. I'm sure I'll be more productive soon, but my body and mind are tired right now so I'm letting myself have some me-time.

Here are some stats:

Damon
Height:  4 ft. 6 in.           Last Year: 4 ft. 3 in.
Weight:  62 lbs.              Last Year:  57 lbs.
Shoe Size: 2                    Last Year: 1
Favorite color: Red (I did not see that coming because it's been green his whole life)
Favorite Superhero: Spiderman
Favorite Food: Burritos
Favorite Friend: Dano (his cousin)
Favorite Thing To Do: Play Super Smash Brothers and Classic Smash Bros.
Favorite thing to learn in school: Math
Favorite Book: Lego Star Wars
Favorite Toy: Pikachu Plushie
Favorite game: Chess and Checkers
What do you want to be when you grow up: a teacher and Authority Heating and Cooling

Monson
Height:  3 ft. 11 1/2 in.   Last Year: 3 ft. 8 in.
Weight:  50 lbs.              Last Year:  44 lbs.
Shoe Size:  1                   Last Year: 10
(I gave him a size 12 shoe to wear on his first day of school but when I picked him up his teacher told me that his shoes started hurting him and he took them off. So apparently he's a size 1.)
Favorite color: Teal (again, did not see that coming because his favorite color has been yellow forever)
Favorite Superhero: Iron Man (because he has an Iron Man costume)
Favorite food: Spaghetti
Favorite friend: Lily (our neighbor)
Favorite thing to do: play with friends
Favorite book: Biscuit Books (an easy reading book series we have)
Favorite toy: Paw Patrol plushies
Favorite game: Mario Baseball
What do you want to be when you grow up: a missionary

Sophie
Height:  3 ft. 4 in.           Last Year: 3 ft.
Weight:  36 lbs.              Last Year:  31 lbs.
Shoe Size: 9                    Last Year: 7
Favorite color: purple (sometimes she says pink)
Favorite Princess: Elsa
Favorite Movie: Elsa movie
Favorite Toy: Unicorn
Favorite Book: Mickey Mouse one
Favorite thing to do: Play animals
What do you want to be when you grow up: "Get some kids"

We don't ever get to be there for the older kids' first days of school, but Danielle did send me this picture:

Jr. is starting his sophomore year and Avery is starting 8th grade. Danielle's college doesn't start until September 16th so we have some time before we get a first day picture for her.

Christmas in the Village

Every year my kids' preschool has a Christmas party that we love going to. They have food, games and Santa!

The kids also do a little singing program.

Anthon was working so my mom came with me which was really nice because it's hard to wrangle 3 little kids when there are so many fun things around. I love the preschool my kids have been going to and they love it too.

First Day of Preschool!

The moment I have been waiting years for has finally arrived. All of my children are in school! It's only for 2 1/2 hours, twice a week, but I will savor those 5 hours a week! Monson started his 3rd year of preschool and Sophie started her first day of preschool!

I decided 9 months ago that I would enroll Sophie in preschool. I originally thought I would wait another year, but just like my boys, she is ready. My kids love going places, meeting people and doing new things so it has always felt right to start them in preschool early to give them more outside-the-home interactions. The boys have always loved it and I know Sophie will too. 

Monson knew what to expect so he wasn't nervous and Sophie had no clue what was about to happen so she wasn't nervous either! It was a little hard for me to leave my baby there, but I knew she would do great. And that was confirmed while I was spying through the windows. Monson went right into his class with no problems. Sophie was a little hesitant at first and told me not to leave, but then her teacher took her over to the toys and when her back was turned I slipped out. I saw her look over where I used to be standing and realize I wasn't there anymore, but she was fine with it and just played with toys.

I hung around spying on both of them for a few minutes and then told myself to stop being a weirdo and just leave. It was really weird to go home to an empty house. But I quickly remembered why I wanted to have all my kids in school and got to work. I got so much done during those 2 1/2 hours! I did laundry, dishes, cleaned the house, finished putting away all of Sophie's clothes that were too small and filled up her drawers with 3T clothes, pulled out all Monson's 4T clothes and replaced them with 5T clothes, ran on the treadmill, took a shower and then it was 11:30am and time to pick them up! Those 2 1/2 hours flew by, but I was able to get a lot done! Having all my kids in school is the best!!

When I picked them up they were both really happy. I asked Monson how the first day was and he said very seriously, "Fantastic." Here are their current stats:

Monson:

Favorite color: Yellow

What he wants to be when he grows up: Work with dad

Favorite super hero: All of them

Height:  3 ft. 8 in.

Weight:  44 lbs.
Shoe Size 10

After asking him those questions, he told me to ask him some more.
Favorite animal: snake
Favorite movie: Any kid movie

Sophie:

Height:  3ft.

Weight:  31 lbs.
Shoe Size 7

I asked Sophie these questions and these were her answers:

Who is your favorite princess?  "Nobody"

What is your favorite movie?  "Barbie"

What is your favorite toy?  "The one with glasses"

What is your favorite book?  "The letters"

What's your favorite color?  "Popcorn"

Who is your favorite mom?  "My bum"

So there you have it.

Damon's School Work

Damon loves school. He always has, even in preschool. He tells me about friends he has and when his teacher praises him. His teacher has a reward system set up for her class that involves "clipping up" to better behavior. If a child is good, she will tell them they can move their clip up. If they get to the top of the chart, they get to put their name in the bucket. At the end of the day she draws a name and that student gets to pick a little prize. Damon is always a good kid in school, but doesn't always make it into the bucket, which is good because it shows that the teacher doesn't just give it to everyone. You have to earn it.

Damon has been doing better and better at reading and has really been excelling in math. I taught him how to multiply before kindergarten even started. They don't have math worksheets that are challenging enough for Damon in kindergarten so his teacher got worksheets and homework from the second grade for him to do.

He got 100%!

Here's another one he brought home.

Damon has always been an energetic child. When he was 22 months old I noticed he was starting to change from a sweet, calm baby into a more wild, sometimes disobedient child. When he was 2 years old, he went through a hitting phase. He would hit other kids and nothing I did would get him to stop. When he hit 3 years old (like the day after he turned 3 years old) he stopped hitting, but he was still disobedient and wild and mischievous. At 4 years old he was a new form of wild and crazy. At 5 years old I noticed he started to calm down a little and was more considerate of others. Now that he is 6 years old, he is turning into a really sweet and thoughtful boy. He tells me he loves me and that I'm a good mom. He tells me ways to be kind to other people. The other day I had a headache so Anthon was keeping the kids out of our room so I could try to sleep. Damon came in and said to me, "Mommy, I'm sorry you are not feeling good." And then he walked out. A few minutes later he came in again and said, "Mommy, I hope you feel better next time." He is very thoughtful. He still has his wild and crazy moments, but I see him changing and maturing and it is really refreshing.

Monson, on the other hand, never had terrible 2s. He was always a calm, sweet baby and toddler. When he was 3 1/2 and now that he is 4 years old, he has his moments of defiance and disobedience. He is still a sweet boy and gives me lots of random hugs throughout the day, but he is starting to realize that he doesn't HAVE to do what I say. But overall I love, love, love my boys and think they are good kids.

First Day of Preschool 2016

Monson started his second year of preschool today!

My boys end up doing 3 years of preschool because their birthdays are at the very beginning of the year (September and November) so I started them in preschool early (when they were 2 years old) and I'm having them start kindergarten at the right time so they end up in preschool for 3 years. They both were ready for it and love it. 

Monson was really excited to go, until we got there. He was expecting to see the teacher that he met at back to school night, but I guess there was a change and now he has a different teacher, so that threw him off a little.

I gave him a hug and kiss and tried to get him interested in the toys the other kids were playing with, but he was just telling me that he didn't want to be there. It's hard for a mom to leave when her kid is sad, but Daddy was there to tell me that we just had to leave quickly and he would be ok. So we left and he ended up doing great.

Most of the summer I have had 6 kids to take care of at my house so it was a huge change for me to just have Sophie at home with me for a couple hours.

It was so much fun! I forgot what it was like to have just one kid around. We played, cleaned, laughed, and just spent time together. (She also unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper.) I'm looking forward to having alone time with my Prizzy twice a week! 

First Day of School!!

The boys had their first day of preschool yesterday.  It is Damon's third year going to this preschool because his birthday is in September so he doesn't make the cutoff.  It was Monson's very first day of school ever!

Ready to go!

My friend, Andrea, has a daughter going to the same preschool this year too so we are going to carpool, which will be really nice.  But for their first day, I wanted to bring the boys myself.

I have loved their school and Damon has loved it too.

We walked Damon into his class first.  It is the same classroom and teacher that he had last year so he went right in, hung up his bag, got his apron on and sat at the table.

Next I brought Monson to his class.  He seemed pretty relaxed and not scared.  I showed him where the bathroom is in the classroom so that there's no accidents.  Then he went to the bathroom, so he's got that down.  His teacher put his apron on and he sat down at a table.

Monson's new picture face pose.

Next the teacher started singing the clean-up song so the kids playing on the floor with toys would clean-up.  Monson is the best cleaner-upper so when he heard that song, he went right over and started putting things away.  At that point I knew he would be find so I have him a hug and told him bye.  He had no problem with me leaving.

I checked on Damon one last time before leaving and he was doing great in his classroom.

Then I went home, cleaned my house, and when Sophie finally woke up around 10:30am, I played with her until it was time to get the boys.

When Damon went to his very first day of school he do ok when I dropped him off, but the school called me about half way through the day and told me he was still sad, so I had to run over, sit with him for a little bit, and then he was ok.  He also wouldn't wear his apron for the first few weeks while he was at school.  I had to bring it home and have him try wearing it at home.  But after the first day at school, Damon never had a problem again.  I guess being the second child gives you a little more independence.

I can't believe both my boys are in school!

Ready for Preschool

The boys had their meet-the-teacher day at their preschool last week.  Damon is going into his 3rd year of preschool and Monson is starting his first year.  They are both excited and ready to start school.  They insisted on wearing backpacks to the school.

School starts tomorrow!  They will be going on Tuesdays and Thursdays for about 2 1/2 hours, which will give me some nice alone time with Sophie on those days.