Nurse Anne

We are so unbelievably blessed with our school nurse...she cares for Zane (and the other kids) like he's one of her own.  She always has a smile on her face and never have I seen her the slightest bit stressed out.  She loves her job and she does a great job at it.  As Zane gets older he needs the nurse less and less - he takes on more and more on his own and his teachers do a great job of helping him when needed.  At this time the nurse really only has contact with him if he needs a pump change while at school.

Every year she has done a talk to his class, reads a book (Taking Diabetes to School) and lets the class ask her and Zane questions.  This helps with the kids understanding what goes on with Zane during the days and why he gets extra snacks and juice when the other kids don't.  It also helps so Zane isn't bombarded with questions from his friends at other times during the year - everything is answered up front.  I have never been to her presentation...but thought it would be fun to listen in one time, so I made it a point to go today.  I'm glad I did - it was cute to listen to his friends and their questions.  The most popular ones asked every year (I'm told by Zane and then heard them myself today) are:

1. Does it hurt to poke your finger? Zane says no.
2. Hold old were you when you got Diabetes? Zane says 3 (and he's right!).
3. Can I get Diabetes too? Nurse Anne says that it is very unlikely that any of them will develop it, but that they absolutely cannot get it from Zane (and she's right).
4. Can I see your pump?  Zane is always willing to show it off :)

Such a cute group of kids!

{Pre-K} First Day

Landon-Man had his first day of Pre-K today - he was so excited to go back!  Landon is at the same preschool as last year.  Crazy to think it's his last year of preschool and next year he'll be off to the big K - but I'll try not to think about that right yet...we don't need me crying 12 mos in advance!

Landon's big obsession these days (and has been for awhile now) is Paw Patrol - everything is about Paw Patrol...the funny thing is...he thinks it's all real even though it's a cartoon.  He has already decided he's going to have a Paw Patrol Birthday party...I asked him where he wanted to have the party and he matter-a-factly said "The Lookout"!  I was confused at first, but then watched an episode with him and saw that that is in the show...I tried to explain to him that we cannot really go to the Lookout - he isn't standing for it!  Anyway, I digress...the reason I bring up Paw Patrol is because he was decked out in it from head to toe for his first day...even his undies (not pictured) are Paw Patrol and he couldn't have been happier about it all!

I love you so much little man!

{2nd Grade} First Day

I'll spare you the "I can't believe he's in 2nd grade" since I think all of us mom's feel that way about our kids and also because I think I said it a time or two already ;)

Today was Zane's first day of 2nd grade and what better way to start it off...than with a "Back to School" breakfast!  Thank you for a late night last minute idea and Pinterest to help pull it off. Thankfully, I had everything I needed and just used what I had if I didn't!  Zane had no idea and let me tell you...he was SO excited the next morning when he saw it.  It made all of the cursing and "why the hell did I decide to do this" comments worth it from the night before!   I love to surprise my boys!

And of course I had to make him a fun first day of 2nd grade lunch - no thanks to Pinterest on this one...this was all me :)  Sometimes I can be creative on my own people...sometimes!

And the obligatory 1st day of school pictures...that I will be doing until he's out of college I'm sure!

Saying good-bye is so hard!

Meet the Teacher - 2nd Grade {Mrs. Duncan}

Today was a big day for Zane - getting to meet his teacher and see his 2nd grade classroom for the first time!  Getting to see where you will be spending a 180 days of your life is a big deal and especially getting to meet the person who will be helping you learn over those days and meeting who will be your classmates for the year is a big deal!

We really lucked out this year on the teacher-train!  When Zane was in Kindergarten about 1/2 way through the year a neighboring Kinder class teacher went out on maternity leave and the "long-term" sub they brought in was a fresh out of Gonzaga cute little girl (I say "cute-little" because she's simply adorable and probably 22 - that is a baby ya know) named Karly Thompson.  Fun fact about Karly is she has Type 1 Diabetes and has since she was 6!  They introduced her to Zane right away and she told the principal and the nurse she wanted him in her 2nd grade class (she was already hired to have a 2nd grade class the following year).  Well...things change year to year and sometimes teachers get bumped to different grades or their lives change and they leave the district etc...so we weren't positive Zane would have her until a week before school started!  I may or may not have cried happy tears when I found out!  Miss Thompson is now Mrs. Duncan and we couldn't be happier with the pick for him this year - she is a gem!

This is going to be a great year!

Oh and why does he now look 14??  Slow down!

The night before school starts can bring out some jitters and anxiousness for kids (and parents, ha-ha) - the 2nd grade teachers gave all of their students this adorable poem and "Jitter-Glitter" at Meet-the-Teacher!  Zane was skeptical, but decided to give it a try before bed tonight - hope it works!

Now someone tell me, how did my baby get to be in 2nd grade??  I know he's not my "baby" since he is not the youngest...but those who have more than one know...your first is always your baby!

School's Out {for summer}

Woohoo - school's out for the boys!!!  This was always a day I looked so forward to as a kid - my boys seem to really just roll with it for now, but I'm sure as they get older they'll realize how cool summer break is over school!

I like to take photos of the boys on their first and last days of school just to compare how much they've grown over the year.  I'm really bad about taking the same photo each time...I wish I was better about making sure they were always standing the same spot and I in the same spot to get a good representation of just how much they've grown.  But since I'm not consistent, we will all just use our imaginations; mmmm-k?!

First up - my big 2nd grader now!  Oddly enough, I think he actually looks younger today than on the first day of school (probably b/c he isn't wearing his glasses and the sun was shining right in his eyes; oops).

Next up - my big Pre-K boy!  Landon did great his first year of preschool; we can't wait to see what Pre-K brings!  I can really see how he has grown between his two photos - still my baby though!

1st Grade Choir Concert

Zane had his much anticipated choir concert tonight.  He has been looking forward to this for weeks! I asked him yesterday what he wanted to wear and he just said he wanted to look "handsome" and that he did!  I also think it's adorable that he asked if he could take a shower after school before changing into his handsome clothes!!  What a cutie!

The first grade classes did awesome!  They were all so stinkin' adorable!

I love this picture, the quality is terrible (extremely zoomed in on my phone) - but it looks like the girl next to him is kissing him on the cheek!  She's not, but still makes me laugh!

Most of his class.

Two of his best buds - Davis & JD.

Bust-a-Move

Zane's school hires a guy who calls himself the "Dance Man" every spring to come teach the kids dances for a week and then at the end of the week, they have an evening dance where the Dance Man DJ's and the kids dance their little hearts out.

Well, they decided to bring the Dance Man in for a Winter Wonderland dance tonight as well!  Zane had a great time...not sure where these moves came from!

Sorry for the poor quality - it was pretty dark in there and my phone didn't like that!

Preschool Pictures

Landon had his first ever school picture taken earlier this week and I was amazed at drop off this morning that they were already back!!

OH EM GEE!!  Seriously the cutest thing I've seen in a long time and yes, I am bias, ask me if I care!! How did two ugly folk like us make such an adorable kid???!!!!  Oh, how I love this boy!

The class picture cracks me up!!!

Walking Home

As of last week, Zane has started to walk home after school 2 days a week!  He meets up with two of the neighbor girls that live up the street from us and they walk home together.  Since he's the "farthest" from the school, he's the last to get home, which means he gets to walk "by himself" for a few feet!  That doesn't sound like much, but to a 6 year old, it is like winning the lottery!

The first day - Landon and I waited outside for him (basically so I could snap a few pictures)...but now he'll let himself in with his very own key.  No worries, he isn't coming home to an empty house at 6 - Landon and I will be patiently waiting inside!

He's growing up folks!

Watching for his big brother...

Here he comes!

1st Grade & Pre-school {First Day}

Today was a big day for these two beautiful boys of mine - the much anticipated first day of school for BOTH of them!

Landon: Until last Friday - Landon was strictly in daycare - no preschool.  He now goes to a full-time Montessori preschool!  This kid could not wait for this day to come!  He has been asking me almost every.single.day if today was the day he was going to go to "pee-school"!  It was so fun to be able to tell him last night that when he woke up today, he'd be going to pre-school!  He walked right in like he owned the place!  No tears and barely a hug good-bye!  I was so nervous for him all day.  He hasn't had (although has greatly needed it) this much structure in his entire life...how was he going to handle it?  Apparently, he did "fabulous" per Miss Katy!  The only downfall of the day was I guess I didn't pack him enough food for the day!  I think he's going through a growth spurt - all he wants to do is eat lately!  This was my first time packing a lunch/snacks for him for a day and I thought I had packed more than enough - but I guess not!  No worries, the lunchbox for tomorrow is already jammed full of food for the little piggie!

Zane: Talk about excited!  Zane LOVES school and I love, love, love that about him and hope it stays that way forever!  He was up, dressed and shoes on before anyone else in the house was even awake this morning!  I have no idea what time he woke up!  He couldn't eat his breakfast fast enough and was so bummed when I told him we still had 30 mins before we needed to walk up there!  The biggest changes for this year opposed to Kindergarten are that he has a desk now and not a table and he gets to walk himself out the front door of the school to find his ride home instead of having to wait in the school for a parent/designated adult to pick him up - he's moving up in the world!  I didn't get one text from the nurse today which meant his #'s were within range and that in itself made for a great day!

Meet the Teacher

Zane had Meet the Teacher this afternoon - he was so excited!!  I think he was most excited about having a desk this year and the fact it was already stocked with school supplies!  A couple of his good buddies ended up in his class again, so he was pleased with that!  His teacher seems like a good fit for him and very mellow about his Type 1 which is what I want!  There is nothing worse than having an anxious person taking care of him!  Can't wait to see how tomorrow goes - he's so excited!

Mrs. Kappen

Landon had a little thing at his new preschool this morning too, but I wasn't able to go with (thank you Grandma & Papa for taking him), so I don't have any photos of him with his teacher...but I'll fix that tomorrow when he starts!  He is SO excited to start "pee-school"!