Erik started preschool, well kinda

This preschool is very interesting. There are a lot of introduction to preschool activities planned before the kids start going 100% by themselves. This morning was very unique and a day I appreciate as a parent. Basically the kids had a half day of preschool while their parents were there. It was a good look into how the kids interact with each other, the environment and to see how comfortable your child will be when he/she starts. Also I knew this was a sneak peek into preschool and one of the only times I am going to get the photograph him there so I brought along my camera.

That first image is Erik with one of his teachers, Mrs. Larson. My first impressions of Erik and preschool is that he is going to completely excel in this environment. He felt very confident speaking up, talking to adults and teachers alike and was in an excited frenzy the entire time he was there. He just loved all the play activities and really responded well to the environment. He told every teacher about Lighting McQueen and how he has one at home. They really responded well him and interacted great with him.

It was interesting watching him interact with other children. There is only one child he knows in his class, Ben. Although his mother and I have never done any playdates together, we have been in a classroom with our boys since birth practically with a year off inbetween when Elliot was born. So Ben and Erik have know each other for a very long time. Here is Erik and Ben playing, I wonder how close they will be or if he will respond to another boy better in the classroom.

Also another interesting thing happened while we were at school. Erik and I went to a mommy and me class all last year and several of the students from that class are in Erik's preschool. I was standing there talking to some of the moms while all the kids from all the classrooms were in the yard playing. We look, and all of the kids who knew each other in school are sitting in the boat together. I find it interesting that they all gravitated to one another even though they only really saw each other in school.

Another thing I found interesting is that Erik is really good at sharing. When he was playing with the playdough there was a pizza cutter and he made "slices" to give to each of the kids. Then he went to several parents and had them eat the pizza. It was cute, but then he got in trouble for not keeping the playdough on the table. I should have stopped him, but I liked him interacting with the kids and parents and sharing.

Erik was definitely excited and listening well to the teachers at school. He tried to leave the classroom a lot to go outside which doesn't surprise me. Also when we all made a potty break and the teacher was lining everyone up to go look at the border flags, Erik was quick to race ahead so Mrs. Larson took his hand and led the way. It was so sweet to watch him just listen and respond to his teacher. He has been such a good listener lately, and I have been so proud of him.

When we were driving home and asked Erik what his favorite thing was during school, he said "when his teacher read a story." Again I thought that was sweet and not surprised. He LOVES circle time and stories. I definitely need to start taking him to the library again this fall.

Also, I wanted to mention that Elliot tagged along with us for the morning and had just as much fun as his brother. I am pretty sure he wants to start school too, but he can't tell me that yet. Little does he know what is in store for him while Erik goes to school. Lots and lots of mommy time!!

Getting my creative on...

I am determined to finished all the photo books I have planned. I need to create one for Erik and Elliot's first year, Erik's second year and then start creating pages for their current years. That is 5 books!! So there should be nothing stopping me from working on Erik's 2nd year. I have all the images sorted, an idea of what I want to include and I already started creating.

It was Erik's birthday so I stopped creating for a little bit. Then we had the heat wave and I was EXHAUSTED and was in bed early everyday and had no energy to create at night. Amazing we are having gorgeous weather in the 70s right now and go figure, I created 10 new pages in the last couple of days. It is really fun to organize, look at images, and just create something.

Here is a sneak preview of the pages I have finished the last couple of days. These are two-page spreads. So you are looking at two, 12 inch pages.

Elliot's First Haircut

Today is one of those milestone days, first haircut. There are many moments like that when you have a child, first steps, first crawl, first solids, first anything. This one is so permanent because you are removing all traces of babyhood and replacing it with a real boy. So its no wonder that I have been putting off Elliot's first hair cut even though his hair was starting to look like a mullet. I was just loving the baby curls and knew once this day arrived they would be gone forever.

Carl has been nagging me to do this for months, so this morning I decided to make an appointment. I tried to go this afternoon, but our favorite stylist was only there until 3 pm so we pushed our naps back and headed over to the salon. Here is a picture of Elliot on our way to the salon. His "before" picture.

I was a little worried because Elliot hadn't napped yet and I knew he would pass out in the car on the way to the salon which of course happened, but he woke up happy and my fears were erased. Apparently our stylist is a popular guy because there was someone getting their hair cut and another kid waiting when we got there and we had an appointment. The salon is made for kids so we had plenty to do while we waited.

As a mom it is hard for me to let go and let someone else comfort my child, including their father. When it comes to photography I will let it go to capture the moment and the memory forever. This only happens once and good pictures will help me to remember and relive it forever. So that being said, daddy got to sit with Elliot while he got his hair cut and mommy took all the pictures. This is Elliot getting his hair wet with his first little squirt of water. He had no idea what he was in for.

Then comes the first clip and the moment of truth; will my child cry and hate this experience or will he be a good sport and sit through it. Erik fussed and moved his head in every direction the stylist didn't want him to go, so I thought the same for Elliot. I think catching him sleepy might of helped because he just sat there and never cried and moved his head where it needed to go.

 

I am amazed that I even saw some smiles and excitement on his face while going through this process. My child never ceases to amaze me every single day.

Since Elliot was doing so well with the haircut, when the stylist asked to blow dry and put product on his hair, I said why not. I like getting my hair blow dried and love product. Its funny because I think getting his hair blow dried was his favorite part of the whole experience.

  

Here it is, the final product of him sitting still. My baby is no longer a baby, but a full fledged toddler and on his way to a lifetime of haircuts. It makes me sad to be reaching these milestones already, but we were ready.

Since we had both kids there and Erik has a major wandering problem, I needed to make sure he would be safe and not take off on me so I could take all the pictures I wanted and needed to of Elliot. So he got to do one of his favorite activities, games on mommy's iPhone. Sorry if you got a random email from me, its his fault!

Here is proof that mommy was there photographing the entire thing. Besides I didn't want to be forgotten in this moment and for it to be motherless.

And since Erik should not be forgotten and the fact that he got a haircut too, here is his haircut today. Usually Erik really likes getting his hair cut and sits fascinated and loves being dotted on. Maybe it was because we were so close to nap, or maybe because we focused so much on his brother we forgot about him, the haircut had a little more attitude today, but he still looks handsome.

Random Moments This Week

It was hot this week. I am not saying in the low or mid 90s. It reached highs of 106 or so here in the Valley. That is just too hot to do much of anything so my camera was put away while we lazed in our house with little energy and tried to keep cool. It seems like I did have my camera out for a few chosen moments during our heat wave and have a few moments I would like to share.

This first series of pictures was the very first day of our 100 degree temperatures. I actually didn't realize it was so hot that day and I am pretty sure the kids got a sun rash from playing outside. Like a dork I watched them while just inside. Like me needing to be inside is not indication enough. Well this day Elliot was being super cute with the hose and just cute in general so I got a few of the boys. Erik was wearing no clothes that day so he is not going to be pictured in a public place.

  

So when it is that hot outside you can only keep your kids entertained for so long and I hate going to too many public places because my kids get sick easily and school just started so it is prime sick season. So the tv was on a little too much one afternoon because we needed to do something. Well Elliot climbed into his brother's train box and I thought it was adorable so I took pictures. The one of Erik was just documentation of how zoned out he gets while he watches tv and why he doesn't get to watch that much.

  

When it is this hot outside there is nothing better than a little pool time and some ice cream. I didn't have ice cream so I decided to make the boys smoothies. Elliot of course thought they were the greatest thing ever and it was adorable watching him drink it from his sippy cup. Erik on the other hand wouldn't drink it at all and even rejected it when I gave it to him like ice cream. He is totally insane for not liking it in my opinion because they were delicious!

The last moment was a little private time I had with Erik while Elliot was napping. It had finally cooled down about 7 degrees so we were able to go outside and play a bit more. Ever since we were on vacation and Erik discovered peanuts, him and his daddy are obsessed with them. That day Erik was looking for a snack and decided he wanted some peanuts. He really wanted to try and open them himself so I grabbed my camera and let him have a go at it.

That was our week in a nutshell. We went to the doctors, preschool and then had some swim playdates and saw a couple friends towards the end of the week, but I had no camera. So this week its just our private quiet moments at home that I share.