Trick or Treat

Wow we had such an incredible weekend.  Friday we sent the evening with Auntie Kristen where we made our way through a haunted trail, but "we weren't the scared right?"  Then Sunday we spent the day with Aly, Brady, and Nana and Papa at Red Run's Halloween party.  It was a blast but we were most concerned with the football score, our new obsession.  Then came Monday, Halloween!!  Mommy came to help out with my class room celebration.  After we had some fun and awesome snacks, Daddy and Nana joined us for an all school parade.  Wow there were some GREAT costumes.  But no one had as cool of a pirate costume as mine!!  Then after a few minutes of chillin' out it.  It as time for the big show, Halloween and TRICK OR TREATING!  

This pirate made out with some booty!!!

( These pictures pay our weekend no justice but a little highlight!)

Our New Morning Routine

We just wanted to share how we have been spending our mornings before getting ready for school for the past month or so.  Reece is practicing writing WHOLE sentences!!   Who is this kid? 

Recapping the week

Wow, it has been another BUSY week.  There have been so many moments this week I wanted to post a thought or a photo and YEP, here we are at Saturday.  These quick highlights and photos are hardly going to do justice to our incredible adventures.  

So here it goes!  Mommy has had midterms this week so I didn't become part of the family until Wednesday evening and then fell asleep on the couch by 8:30 pm.  To say Daddy has stepped up has been an understatement!  I always knew he was an amazing Dad but he has offered me incredible support in this new adventure .  And truly I think he relishes in the time he has been able to spend with Reece.  They are quite the "boys club"! Because of my class schedule Gregg drove on Reece's field trip. They visited Diehl's apple orchard.  I was so envious of course because I love putting on the Mom hat and driving on field trips, but I reluctantly handed the role over to Gregg.  All in all the class had a great time.  Despite rain across lower MI , Ms. Stachura's class enjoyed a beautiful day with no rain.( Someone was watching over them)

Then came Thursday, parent teacher conferences.  We were assigned a early morning appointment and unfortunately it meant Gregg and I could not both attend, unless of course we locked Reece in his room for 45 or so minutes:)!  So once again I lost the bet and Gregg got to go!  We were unsure what to expect.  We were nervous yet primarily because we were hoping that Ms. Stachura would love Reece as much as his preschool teachers did.  Well,  not much to our surprise she thinks he is fantastic.  She said she thinks Reece is a deep thinker!  Gregg and I have always regularly joked about the fact we thought Reece was analytical which in turn lead to him being anxious about new situations especially.  However, we NOW prefer the deep thinker much more!  Of course being his parents we think he is the smartest most amazing 5 year old!!

FINALLY, it has been our first weekend in a LONG time were we had no real plans allowing us to enjoy a Saturday as a family.  We began our day meeting up with Reece's bowling league ( He was invited by a buddy in his class to bowl in a local league every Saturday morning.  A few other class mates are on his team.  This was his 4'th week.  It is a great activity for the boys to enjoy outside of school.)  We then headed to the orchard to soak up some fall fun!!  We found 3 great pumpkins and left with a bag full of apples, not to mention a very tired little man.  We had an amazing day!!  

An insiders view

So being in education I was always telling parents , your child is much more capable than you give them credit for.  However being a parent we tend to coddle Reece. Maybe it is my way of holding on to the fleeting time as we watch him grow up so quickly.  I just want to hang on!

This statement never proved to be more correct.  I offered to volunteer in Reece's classroom this year.  I had my first opportunity on Tuesday.  I have to admit I was awfully nervous considering how things have been improving with our rocky transition.  I mostly just hoped that I would not interfere in what seems to be working for Reece.  I was amazed, on so many levels!  

I will begin by saying that a month ago we could hardly con Reece into doing any which involved writing what so ever.  This is something he has struggled with for the past year.  We were initially concerned it was a fine motor skill issue but had been reassured by multiple professionals that it was simply a penmanship issue.  Well kindergarten has brought about a different child.  He wants to practice writing his letters every day before we even leave for school.  It blows us away every morning!  He was no different in class.  After hanging up his things he immediately went over to "his morning work" and began writing!  

What has happened?!

I was even more shocked to witness a class of 22 kids sitting down and independently reading single word pages.  Each kid then paired up with a friend and read their story to their reading friend.  I had NO IDEA Reece was so capable.  

Not all that surprising, he was probably the most outgoing kid in his class.  This was so reassuring because I knew at that moment he is so comfortable.  To think that for the first two weeks of school we wondered if we selected the wrong school, he is amazing us everyday!  It is truly something to witness the growth and excitement about school from the eyes of a kindergartener!