End of the year picnic

So today (Thursday May 19th) Hailey had her end of the year preschool picnic, and they couldn't have had it on a better day!  The weather was absolutely gorgeous (shocker around here lately, lol) And apparently, Hailey had lots of fun!  She even asked one of her friends to hold her hand going down the slide. Brian didn't take the camera with him, so the pictures are from the parent of Hailey's new best friend, Leah. 

Hailey and Leah holding hands down the double slide

Hailey and Leah with Teacher Cat

 

 

And so, it is official...Hailey has completed her first year of preschool.

Recognition

Everyone loves to be recognized for something they've done, or ideas they have come up with.  I was given that opportunity on the 18th.  My principal decided to honor myself and the 3 others that started the whole school beautification group.  So on May 18th, I got to go to the school board recognition night at Sequoya h Middle School and receive an award, flowers, and a (cheesy) Federal Way Public Schools pin. It was a long ceremony as there were many school recognizing staff, parents, and students.  Hailey got a bit bored, but was very quiet and just twirled in her dress along the sidelines, lol.It was a nice night, and the recognition (even though it wasn't for something bigger) was nice!

(I took a picture with Hailey and my certificate, but don't really like it, so not sure I'll post it!)

***Ok, ok....so here's the pictures. Not my favorite of me, but Hailey looks really cute :-)

Zoo Day, Hooray!

Yesterday (Saturday 5/14/11) our family got to have  zoo day.  One of Hailey's preschool friends was celebrating her birthday there. The party included unlimited carousel rides, which for Hailey, was heaven! I think we ended up riding the carousel like 6 times, maybe more. In other words, Hailey really enjoyed this birthday party. We were very lucky too, that the weather held out for us.  It looked as though it wanted to rain a couple of times, but held out until the ride home; and the rain has not stopped since!

We got to the party a bit early...which totally surprises me.  On our way, there was a sign notifying us that there was a blocking accident on the exit that we needed to take.  I told Brian that I *thought* I knew of a different way to get there.  He asked me how sure I was that I knew that way, and he didn't like my response...30%!?!? LOL.  So, against his better judgment, he took my advice and got off the freeway.  I started out great on my directions, but the further we went...I was doubting myself.  It was pretty tense there for a minute, not knowing if we would get to the party on time or not.  But never fear....I came through! :-)

So we got to the party and had a bit of time to kill.  Hailey had been wanting to go see the elephants first, so we headed in that direction.  They were giving a talk when we arrived and Hailey heard that one of the elephants names was Sooki...which she thought was hilarious (it's the name of an elephant in the book The Saggy Baggy Elephant...she also named one of her stuffed animals Sooki)While at the elephants, Hailey got to feel an elephant tusk. We learned that elephants have only 4 teeth and, Hailey says "but I have many more than that, mommy!" :-)  After the elephants, we headed to the party room and the festivities began.  After presents were opened and the party part was officially over, our family spent the remainder of the day wandering the zoo and looking at the animals. It was the perfect day.  Hailey had so much fun (as did Brian and I) and I was so proud of how well Hailey did.  She walked the entire zoo...no stroller, no wagon, and no shoulder rides!!  And even better....no meltdowns, despite not having a nap today!  This is what we call a successful day!! :-)

Party pictures

Ride #1 with friend Cole

Snack/break time with friends Emily and Leah (Bday girl)

Hailey and friend Amber

Cake time!!! Do you think she liked it!?! lol

Leah and Hailey

Last ride with friend Leah

Presents!  Hailey was telling Daddy that Leah was opening her girft!

Party is over...hugging Leah good-bye

 Family Zoo Day Pictures

Ahhh, I'm being eaten by a shark!!!

with Dub Dub the seal

Holding a walrus tooth

 

Taking a break from walking and having a snack

Polar bears at play

His tongue tickles, lol

feeding the goats

 

 

 

School's out for the summer....

Well, for Hailey that is!  Wednesday May 11th, 2011 marks the end of Hailey's first year in school (preschool that is).  What a year it has been.  She started off the year clinging to Daddy every class day, not wanting to play with anyone, and not really sticking up for herself...to... still not wanting others in her space too much, but enjoyed playing side-by-side with some of  her friends, not needing Daddy there every day, and learning how to use her words to tell her friends that she didn't want them doing something..  She LOVED her teacher, and is excited that she will have Teacher Cat again next year!

I took Wednesday off of work so that I was able to go to school with Hailey for her last day.  What a fun day it was (although it appeared to be a full moon in the room because of some off-behavior of some kids, lol)  I witnessed Hailey getting messy with the paints (butterflies) and dauber "art".  She got her last job of the year-bell ringer (which signals the whole class it's time to clean up...I think this might just be one of her favorite jobs).  I sat in on circle time at the beginning of school for story time, and then at the end for music time, where we sang 2 of Hailey's favorites: the Doughnut Song, and I Wanna Be A Dog (which I got a short video of). During circle time I was able to see just how compassionate Hailey really is (I knew this already, but it was nice to see outside of home).  One of Hailey's friends wasn't coming to circle time for music (which I guess isn't unusual for him).  Her teacher had given the boy a warning that if he didn't come to circle, that he wouldn't get a chance to pick a "doughnut" (foamy circle for the song) or wouldn't get to do the doggy song.  Multiple parents had attempted to get this boy to join circle time to no avail. At that point, Hailey looked at me and asked if she could go and ask him to come with her (which was HUGE since this is a boy that is usually in her face, so she doesn't like to do much with him).  She proceeded to go over and ask...twice, "wouldn't you like to come to circle with me??"  He ignored her and kept playing, so she returned informing me that "apparently, he just doesn't want to come today!" LOL  What a sweet girl I have :-)

I can't believe my little girl has already completed a year of school...only 15+more to go, lol
Enjoy some of the pictures from her last day!

Ready to go to school-Last day 5/11/11

doing the butterfly art project

dauber art with Hailey, Grace, and Leah

ringing the clean-up bell

with her foam tail, for the Dog Song in music class

Oh, I Wanna Be A Dog....

Puzzle time with her friend Cole

Heading to the car..preschool is over!

"I'm on Summer vacation!"

Sound quality, etc. may not be great on this video...but the kids sure are cute being dogs...and YES, that is my child howling the loudest at the end (and not at the right time, too! lol)

Day off-Part 2:
Obviously, Hailey's school didn't last the whole day. So...the rest of the day was spent driving to Seattle with my friend Stacy to visit our other friend Jenny and her newborn baby, Heidi. What a fun afternoon it was, too! It was great to relax and talk, and not have to worry about who was getting write-ups, who cut who in line, etc. And Baby Heidi...well, she is such a good little baby-she slept most of the time too!! Oh to hold a newborn again, just took me back-part of me really misses that stage, but the preschooler age is pretty fun too! I got a couple of pictures-though they weren't the best of angles or anything (my pictures just don't do Heidi any justice at all!)..but I know Stacy and Jenny both got pictures too. Since it was starting to get close to dinner time, we decided we should probably head home and trudge through the traffic...but I can't wait to go back and visit again!! :-)

Baby Heidi and her mommy, Jenny