Back to School!

William started school this week and I thought I'd share the pictures from his big week back. He LOVES school and we are so thankful for that!

There are only 4 kids in his class so far, which is great for him and his teachers. (One kid from last year came back for only the first day and then a new girl came later in the week.) He has been a wonderful leader at school this year too. Everyday we got a glowing report in his planner and at pick-up, about how he's been such a good boy! We are so proud of him!

Thanks to Miss Debi & Diane for these pictures! :)

William's Way

If you know our William, then you probably know he has unique ways of doing things. Today he showed us that the slip & slide is no exception. I'm glad I had the camera out, because this cracked me up!

William's Version of Mommy's Van & Daddy's Car

William brought these pictures home from school last week and he didn't explain them to me until this morning. His teacher had told me about these in particular - she was just amazed at his attention to detail! Oh, and I'll include this last one of a pot of gold and a rainbow, which is apparently a reproduction; his teacher kept the best one for herself. She said she wanted to keep it, so that when he becomes famous, she'll have an original! :)

So here's mommy's van - with daddy driving

And here's daddy's car - he's driving this one too

And last, but not least the rainbow

William, the 'Arteest'!

Yes, I know that's not how you spell it, but that's how I wanted you to read it. :)  William inherited some kind of recessive artistic gene (definitely didn't come from me or Jonathan) and it's really become apparent lately.  He is drawing all the time and some of his pictures are so detailed and imaginative!  I thought I'd share...

He calls these guys his friends! 

This is William walking a dog. 

This name one looks very "artsy" to me. 

This was his very first "butterfly hands."  He did it all himself, even tracing his own hands!  (sorry for the shadow)

He drew these smiley face guys just after Christmas.  Notice he included eyebrows! 

This last one isn't a drawing, but it falls under the artistic category.  When he's not drawing, he's building and is quite proud of his houses! 

William's Christmas Class Party

William's class had their Christmas party yesterday.  William was so excited about it and thankfully, Jonathan was off work, so he could stay home with Abbey while I went to the party.  She was invited to come too, but things were chaotic enough without her there too!  There were 8 adults and a baby there, so we didn't need any additional distractions!  Party days are fun, but it's tough for our little guys to get out of their routines.  So anyway, William was feeling a little puny yesterday and kept telling me he wanted to go home.  He didn't even eat his cookie or cupcake, so you know he really wasn't feeling well!  Anyway, he made it through the day, playing games and he received many presents, so I think he was happy he stuck it out.

 

 

 

My Christmas cutie!!

 

Posing with Miss Debi

 

And here with Miss Shadle 

  

Here he is opening his present from his teachers!  He loves his new tractor!

   

Diane and Debi were so sweet, they had a present for Abbey too.  She opened hers later at home and here she is showing off her dress up shoes!   The perfect gift for this little shoe lover!!!

Oh, and in case you were wondering what I did with Jacob (the little boy I watch) while I was at the party, well that's another story...  Last Friday I was told that his dad lost his job, so they wouldn't need me anymore.  If you think of it, please pray for their family right now.  Thankfully, Jacob's mom has a good job, so that's a blessing, but it's always tough losing a job, especially right before Christmas.

And please pray for us, since this obviously has a big, negative impact on us too.  Jonathan is still only working part time and without that extra income, (with the exception of our van) we are right back where we started last July when Jonathan lost his job!  We are confident that the Lord has a plan for us through all of this; we just need a little extra patience right now as we continue to wait to see what the next step for us will be! 

William's 4th Birthday

William turned 4 years old on Saturday, the 7th.  Here are pictures of how we celebrated.  

  Birthday donuts for William's class

Showing off his birthday loot from school. That bag is full of candy!

He's very proud of his birthday crown, can you tell? 

He's been dying to play 'golf" so we finally took him.  Since it was the night before his b-day, and he was still technically 3, he got in for free! :)

He loved his Monsters Inc, "Mike" cake!

Blowin' out the candle. 

Abbey was quite pleased with William's presents too!

William's Fall Fest

William's class had a little "non-party" yesterday at school.  You can't call it a party, because they're only allowed 2 parties a year!  At least, that's what his teacher said!  So, anyway, I was able to be there for some of it and we had such a great time.  He has a great class of kids and it was nice to meet some of the moms too!  As soon as I arrived, I was asked to read a story to the kids.  About 5 books later, we moved on to play some games!

    They started out with "musical pumpkin", 

 
then a ring toss, which ended up being more of a "ring drop,"

 
and then they learned how to say "trick or treat" and I played the lady at the door.  They came to my door over and over until everyone got a chance to knock and say the magic words.  

After "tape the nose on the pumpkin", the kids sang and danced for us!  It was so cute!  I got some video of it, which I'll have to edit and upload later.  Anyway, then they had a special lunch and lots of yummy treats.  We had to get going, so we took a treat to go.

This is William and Miss Debi, his para.  She's so fun!

Happy Halloween!

What a Week!

In addition to the many toy soldiers, cars, sunglasses, and candy bars William brought home this week, he also got a special "award" for his potty efforts. So of course, I had to take a picture and share it on here! We're so proud of you William!! Oh, and his teacher said that he was the easiest kid she's ever potty trained, and she's had a lot of little kiddos to work with! (Guess she's not counting the nearly 2 years of prep work we did! :))
Sorry, I don't know why but this picture keeps loading sideways. Just turn your head! :)

William's BIG News

This is a face full of pride and rightfully so! William's had a breakthrough with 2 full days of peeing and pooping in the potty! He's gone at school, at home, all on his own, and even made it in from playing outside, to get on there in time! It's not being prompted or timed every hour or whatever; he just started saying, "I have to go potty" and then he does! This is such a BIG thing for him (and us) and we are so proud of our big boy!!

Yes, he's sitting on a pink potty...we got another one (in Abbey colors) when we took his other one to school.

A Few Parting Pictures and Stuff

I'm leaving early tomorrow morning to spend some time with my sister in Michigan. Since I will be away from the blog for a while, I thought I'd post a few odds and ends that have been sitting in my camera. This first picture was taken 2 nights ago when Abbey wouldn't stay in her bed and fell asleep in the hallway. I took a picture of her on my phone too and sent it to my family, who I know would appreciate it the most. See, when I was younger, I never wanted to sleep in my own bed...ever. I didn't mean to be such a twerp about it, but I know I was. Back when I was - well, I won't share how old I was - but older than Abbey...and I got out of bed one night, only to come down the hall and find that mom & dad's bedroom door was closed. So, instead of going back to my own room - which I shared with my sister - I had my pillow and blankie and laid right there in front of their door. I don't remember sleeping there all night, but I do remember dad coming out in the morning and saying how badly he felt for me! So, although there are many "Laura not sleeping in her own bed" stories, that's by far, the most memorable, which is why I had to capture this memory too! And I did move her just as soon as the picture taking was!

And Rock Band has made a come back in our house. I appreciated the quiet while everyone lost interest for a while, but it's nice that William is interested in playing another part besides the drums this time. Here he is singing the Who...very well I might add!

And here's our baby girl playing "tar!"

Mothers Day came early

William came home from school yesterday with something in his hands, which he brought right to me. I didn't open it right away, but then my curiosity got the best of me. I figured it was going to be one of 2 things and I was right!

For whatever reason, these pics are sideways. Sorry, I can't get them to turn around.

He was especially proud of this card.

William took this picture!

William wrapped himself back up!
Thank you William, and Mrs. Hatchett! I love my apron!