Back to "Work"

Not even close!

Thursday was my first Co-op Mom "work-day", and it was anything but work!  I loved every minute of it and I can't wait to go back!  Jocelyn was pretty happy to have me there as well.

Thursday's are Discovery Days.  They split the 4's class into two groups, 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the afternoon.  There is still 3 adults, so the ratio is very small and the kids get to work on special projects.  You saw the life size kid drawing, and after that they painted their own piggy banks and talked about money.  This past week, when I was there, the kids made their own frog puppets and put on puppet shows.  So much fun!

When us Mommies come in to be Co-op Parent, the kids get some special perks.  They get to be first in line.

And they get to check the weather for the day.

Here's the puppet show!

And of course there's time for fun!

At the end of the afternoon, they played a game trying to guess which friend was speaking, just by the sound of their voices.  I'm pretty sure I couldn't do that!!

Overall, it was a great experience for me to see what preschool is like for Jocelyn.  It is amazing how much information Ms. Judy can work into just 2 and 1/2 hours every afternoon.  Jocelyn is learning so much!  I wish I could be there every day!  I can't wait for my turn to come around again, but in the meantime, there will also be a field trip to a farm and later in the month, there will be a Halloween Party.  Can't wait for those too!

Two weeks...

Two weeks have gone by since that first day of Preschool and it's been an interesting ride.  Jocelyn seems to be having fun in class.  She likes riding bikes outside and she's making some new friends.  She loves the sand table, the painting easel, and the fun crafts.  Every day they do something fun and educational. 

So far she has created her name in pasta, and done a life-size picture of herself.  She made a piggy bank this week and they talked about money.  And she is already working on writing letters, especially her name.  I went in one day this week and found a writing sheet she had done that included her independently writing "J o c" on her paper.  It about brought me to tears again!!!  She hasn't really been willing to work on writing with me, so it was so exciting to see such progress in just two weeks! 

I brought out my preschool workbook this weekend to see what she would do and for the first time she actually showed some interest in it.  After a little cutting, coloring and pasting...

We ended up with this...  And just for kicks, I asked her if she would write her name on the sheet!

So what if it's "J o c", and so what if we ran out of room for that "c".  I'm just thrilled that Jocelyn is learning to write her name. 

The one problem we seem to be having is the adjustment period, at least I hope that's what we're going through right now, because we are in trouble if it's anything but short term!  Outside of school, Jocelyn has been really moody, quick to frustration, anger and tears, BIG TEARS!!!  I keep thinking she's tired, but she's not really having any trouble sleeping.   Preschool has brought big changes to her life.  They are good changes, but changes none the less.   I am hoping she can settle in soon!

It's going to be a mighty busy year!

The 1st Day has Come

She didn't see me cry. 

It took every bit of power I had in me, but she didn't see me cry...

My Beautiful Girl started her first day of Preschool today.  I am so proud of her.  She was ready and excited and ran right out to play as soon as we got there.  I had to hunt her down on the playground to say "Goodbye"!

And then I went back to my car and cried like a baby.

We took some pictures before we left.

Big hug from Dad

Getting her hair done

Looking Cool with my Shades and Care Bear Backpack!

With Mommy

 

With Daddy

 

Today is the First Day of Preschool.  It's not anything new for Jocelyn to go to a class without me, she's done it many times before, so she's just fine!

I'm the one with the problem.  I look at my baby going into school and I know that this is the first of many "Goodbyes" to come.  She's getting older and no matter how much I wish I could keep her to myself forever, I know I can't.  I know today wasn't just a "Goodbye" for this afternoon, it was a "Goodbye" to the days where I am the only one she will look to for help and support.  It is "Goodbye" to the days when I am the only one that can give her what she needs. 

I guess I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm still the first and I'm still #1 to her.

She sure is #1 to me. 

I love you Sweet Jocelyn!

 

 

And so it begins...

Today was Meet the Teacher Day at Jocelyn's preschool.  It was a very short event, only a 1/2 hour, but it was a good taste for Jocelyn, of what's to come next week.  She didn't have nearly enough time to explore, and she's excited to go back, which is good.  But she keeps asking if I'm going to stay with her next week.   Oh my fragile heart strings are being tugged mercilessly!!! 

Here's just a few pics from this morning.

Ready to go!

Dinosaurs!

And Dolls!



Circle Time

My Name is Jocelyn





With Ms. Judy, Jocelyn's new Teacher!

 

 

And so it begins...  those moments that will lead to hours and days and months and years, that my precious girl will grow up and out of my arms.   Please don't grow too fast Sweet Girl.

 

 

(First Day of School coming soon!)



Who could forget Oscar?? Me!

How could I forget the only family picture of us at Sesame Place???

Here's the photo we took with Oscar the Grouch this year.

And just for kicks, here's the one we took in 2010.

Back for more Elmo!

This past week we headed out for our annual visit to Sesame Place.  Jocelyn doesn't seem as interested in watching Sesame Street lately, but the love for Sesame Place and the characters has certainly been rekindled this week!

We had such a great time and the weather was perfect.  We planned to drive up and back in one day, but we under-estimated the amount of activities Jocelyn would want to jam into one day.  We got there at 11:00am and didn't leave until 7:30pm (which got us home at 11:00pm)!  Wow were we tired, and this is why...

We started out the day at the Sky Splash ride.  It's a giant inner tube ride that we have wanted to try before but the line was always way too long.  This year the wait wasn't long at all, and we had a blast going over bumps and down the big water slide.

We moved from there to the pools and water parks.  And later Mommy and Jocelyn rode down Slimey's Chutes!



We made sure to catch the parade this year and we're so glad we did!  Jocelyn got to join the characters for dancing and jump rope!

 



After the parade we decided to check out some shows.  The shows were new this year and lots of fun!

 

Of course we also went on a few rides!

 

By the end of the shows and rides, it was getting late and we were getting tired, but Jocelyn had to have one more slide and a last goodbye with Zoe and the Count.

Yet another visit filled with fun and good times at Sesame Place!  As expected, Jocelyn is asking when she will be able to go back, but starting next week, we will have school to keep us busy!  More on that to come soon!

MD State Fair 2012

I love the Maryland State Fair.  The County Fair is fun too, but the Maryland one is the best!  Jocelyn and I have a busy week next week getting her ready for preschool, more coming on that soon, so I decided to take her yesterday.  It was the perfect day to go.  It was the first day of the fair and in the middle of a weekday, so it wasn't very crowded at all.  Jocelyn is now big enough to ride on many of the rides and there were lots of them for her age!  We had invited friends, but it ended up just being the two of us, and in the end, I was glad.  We had a lot of fun together, just the two of us.

Playing in soybeans!

We found Nemo!

We also got to see a chicken hatching from an egg, and baby piglets only an hour old, as well as lots of other baby animals.  We watched pig races, played games, and checked out a real bees hive. 

We're going to be wrapping up the summer fun on Monday with our annual trip to Sesame Place and we can't wait for that!!
In the meantime, here's a fun photo of my little one trapped in a sea of birthday balloons for a friend... just because she's so cute!

Stop Growing!!!

Jocelyn made the comment one night that she wished she had a big bed like Mommy and Daddy and I told her that one day she would.  (We still have her crib frame and intend to use it as a full size bed when she moves into a bigger bedroom)

In the meantime, I told her that we could expand her current bed.  See related post here.  And she was very excited, so excited in fact, that we were doing it the next day!!

Jocelyn helps take apart the bed frame

And expand it

Then adds the extension mattress

And then the best part!    Adding all the critters and testing it out!

We LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this expandable bed!  We were actually overdue for the expansion.  She was touching the top and the bottom of the frame, but we figured we would let her decide when she was ready.  Now she loves having room for her friends and stretching out.  With any luck, this expansion will last until she moves out of this room, but we do know for sure that this was the best designed bed for her small room.  Now if I could just stop my baby girl from growing anymore!!

Visiting with Pepere and Memere

Pepere and Memere were here for a visit this week.  As usual, their visits involve lots of fun.

We started off with a gift of incredible love from Pepere.  For the last two years, Pepere has been building Jocelyn a dollhouse.  See here for our first encounter with the dollhouse last summer.
He delivered the finished product to us, and Jocelyn loves it!!



Always the goofy one, Memere led Jocelyn in singing "I'm a Little Tea Pot" complete with the motions.

We spent an evening at the county fair, riding the kiddie rides and visiting with the animals.

And pretending to milk a cow!

Miss you Pepere!!!   Thanks for so much fun!