Wednesday, September 26, 2012

School

It doesn't seem possible that my little boy has started school, but started school he has! He attends 4 year old kindergarten at the daycare center he's been going to for the past two years. He has 4k 3 hours every morning except Fridays, and he gets to stay and play with his friends until we can pick him up. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, he goes to "big school" (as he calls it) about halfway through the 4k day. Big school is the early childhood classroom where he gets some extra help with focus, attention, social skills, and other things that will help him in the large group school setting.

So far, I think he's enjoying it. He's off on a field trip to the apple orchard today...riding a school bus and everything. We have our first parent/teacher conference on Monday evening. Josh is exhausted when he gets home! No homework yet, but he has been asking to sort things at home. He likes play time the most...not a fan of coloring, but he'll do it if playtime is around the corner!

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Family vacation

We had the wonderful privilege of going on a family cruise this August. Chris's parents and his brother's family went as well. We had 6 adults, my 4 year old, and my 19 month old nephew.

Our cruise happened when hurricane Ernesto was moving through the caribbean, so our itinerary changed a bit. We spent our first two days at sea. It was nice exploring the ship and relaxing a bit. Josh was able to participate in Camp Carnival, which provided kids activities for most of the day. Our favorite part of every day was dinner, since the kids really seemed to connect with our waitstaff. The 3 guys who served our table enjoyed the kids too.

Our first port was Montego Bay, Jamaica. I was able to go zip lining with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law while everyone else spent some time at the beach. Zip lining was amazing! I was comfortable and safe the whole time. There were 6 or 7 lines through the rain forest. So cool!

Our second port was Grand Cayman Island. We spent a few hours at the beach. The boys played in the sand a lot.

Our final port was Cozumel, Mexico, where we had an adventure meeting sting rays, some as big as my dining room table. Josh was a little nervous at first, but he did get back in and pet them, although he wasn't interested in feeding them, like dad did, or kissing one, like mom did. After that, we had the chance to snorkel a bit while the boys swam around. They also got to hold a parrot and iguana, and participate in a hermit crab race. Josh's crab won, and he got a special prize from the snack bar.

Our last day was a day at sea. It was a fun vacation for everyone, but we were all glad to be back at home!