Graduation Day!

Tyler's year at preschool has been so great for him. He loved his teachers, he made lots of friends and he loved learning. He looked forward to every single day and was so proud of his accomplishments. His last couple weeks were filled with fun things. He was continually excited about the next big thing. He had Moms and Muffins and Dads and Donuts and a family picnic, complete with animal balloons and face painting!

There was also "Dress Like What You Want to Be When You Grow Up" day.

I was surprised he didn't choose to be a fire fighter because that has been his plan for the last two years of his life. But lucky for Carsten, that costume was still available. What Tyler really wanted to be was "somebody who saves people from holes." I mean, that is an important job, right?! I wasn't exactly sure what that would look like. But he was sure he needed a rope and some tools. He ended up deciding to be a police officer because if someone was stuck in a hole they would probably call the police first. He wore his cowboy vest underneath the jacket to protect him. And his pockets were filled with a rope and other helpful tools for saving people from holes. It was perfect.

On the last day of school I asked him how he was feeling about it being the last day. He was sad, but also excited for his graduation program. We always pray for his day at about the same point as we are getting closer to school and when we got to that place he started praying and thanking God on his own for his great year and his great friends and teachers. He asked God to help him sing loud and smile big and do good at graduation. And he asked God to help him not to be too sad and not to be jealous that some kids will get to go back next year. It was so sweet. 

Ready for his last day!

 Look at the difference!

Sweet little boy before his first day of school.

 And after his first day.

And all grown up on his last day of school!

His program was adorable. He was shy for some of it, but he also really belted out some of the songs. He was so excited about this and had been singing the songs for weeks.

These two little hams enjoyed the show too. Aria tried to out-sing them. When she saw Tyler she started blowing him kisses and waving at him. Then she did everything in her power to try to get out of my arms and go join him. And she laughed hysterically through the entire song, "If I were a Butterfly." It was quite entertaining. And probably a little distracting.

The graduation was way too cute. They did a graduation march first. 

Then they each got to cross the stage to get their diploma.

His wonderful teachers, Ms. Melissa and Ms. Deb. 

On our way home he tried as hard as he possibly could to not cry. He started begging me to bring him back to see his teachers again. He was barely holding back the tears as he said, "Go back! Go Back! Let me see my teachers! Go back to my teachers!" It was heartbreaking. They were so good to him and he loved being in their class.

We are thankful for such a great first year of school for him!

Mother's Day :-)

The Wednesday before Mother's Day Tyler's class at school had Muffins With Moms. He was so excited about it. He talked about it for days and couldn't wait! He even dressed up for it. :-) It was so fun to see him excited to do something special with me. The kids sang a cute song and gave their moms flowers they planted. Tyler is so proud of that flower. He pays close attention to it to make sure it always has enough water!

How cute is he?

Mother's Day was the same weekend we celebrated Carsten's birthday so we had a lot going on! But it was so fun. It was the best day I could have asked for, I had so much fun spending time with my sweet little family.

I got woken up by all three kids jumping into bed to tell me they made me breakfast. They were so excited. And after church they took me to Olive Garden!

After naps we went for our first family bike ride! We didn't have enough seats before, but this tag-along bike was a huge hit. The kids all loved their ride. And I loved that it took us to a coffee shop for a Mother's Day latte. :-) We are excited for many more of these rides!

My loves.

I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate being a mom to these three sweet kids. I am so lucky to be called their mom and I am beyond thankful that I get to do life with this little crew.