Big Apple Circus

Avery's birthday weekend started with a trip to the Big Apple Circus up near the Dulles Town Center. Right before intermission Avery asked if we could go home. I'm pretty sure he was just hungry, as he seemed to be enjoying the show. We got some snacks and drinks during the break, and after that he happily watched the rest of the show. Both boys loved the acrobats, horses and dogs.

Girl's Weekend 2007

After 4 years of being a full-time mother, I was finally able to take a little time for myself on a Girls-only weekend. Heidi, Jill, Leslie and I all went to Lewes, Delaware for some R&R and girl time. We left at 3:30 on Friday but what should have been a 3 hour drive turned into almost 6 hours thanks to terrible Bay Bridge traffic. We stopped once to use the restrooms and get drinks and a snack.

After we arrived we went out for a late dinner at Striper Bites. The food was excellent and this was our favorite restaurant of the trip weekend. Heidi told us that she heard they have the best Crab Cakes on the East Coast.



Saturday was our big day. We all had facials which included arm, shoulder, feet and hand massages. Heidi and I went first, then we ate lunch at the Second Street Grill in Lewes, and then Heidi and I walked around town while Jill and Leslie had their facials. In the afternoon we went to Rehoboth beach. It wasn't warm enough to swim, but we wanted to take our shoes off and feel the sand and water.

The day ended with a walk along the boardwalk and a hunt for somewhere to eat dinner. We hadn't made reservations so it proved to be difficult. After being turned away at several spots we ended up in an Italian restaurant that was... so-so.

Cox Farms Pumpkin Patch

Over the weekend we met up with the Parkers at the Cox Farms Pumpkin Patch. They set up a big festival every year with hay rides and slides and all sorts of other activities for kids of all ages.

Avery enjoyed the rope swings and slides, and wanted to go over and over. Zachary had more fun on the hay ride and liked playing in the train, but was pretty nervous on the long slides. I think the best part for both of them was getting a free mini-pumpkin when we left.

Making Flubber

We had another family activity on Saturday: making "flubber". The ingredients are: one small bottle of Elmer's Glue, 3 Tablespoons of Borax, warm water, and a few drops of food coloring. The kids were delighted with the slimy oozy goop and played with it all afternoon. It can be torn into pieces but they are easily combined back into the main mass, and it somehow manages to be much less messy than Play-Doh.

Zachary Starts Preschool

Zachary had preschool orientation on Thursday. At first I thought he might get upset when I left (on the way to Golden Pond he told me he didn't want to go to school) but it turned out just fine. When we walked in the classroom he immediately found a puzzle he wanted to play with, I said goodbye, and then I left. He played the entire 45 minutes without even wondering where I was. When Avery and I returned, he didn't even want to leave. I hope it will be just as easy tomorrow for his first full day, especially since his teacher will unload him from the carpool lane and take him inside without me.

[Update]

Zachary had a great first day! When I pulled up to drop him off he didn't even say goodbye to me! (sob) When I came back to pick him up the assistant teacher said he didn't cry and was very busy with everything. As with Avery I didn't get much in the way of details about his day, other than: he played with play dough and played with toys. Later I figured out that he must have played in the sandbox because he got sand all over the sofa. He is really excited to go back next week, although I'm not sure he understands it won't be for 6 more days.

Avery Starts Preschool

I took Avery to his first day of Preschool today. He has been excited for days, and was extra hyper this morning. When I picked him up in the afternoon I tried to ask questions about his first day. He told me that he had a snack and that he met friends, but he couldn't remember what he ate or any names.

I did find an art project in his bag, a synopsis of what he'll be doing this month, and a schedule of his activities. The teachers at this school really pack in a lot of activities for such a short half-day. In less than four hours they have Spanish, art, outside play, a snack, story time, and then depending on the day, math, science, language, or music.



Zachary is totally different child by himself. After we dropped Avery off we stopped on the way home for bagels, a muffin, and gas. When we got home, Zachary wanted to share the muffin with me. Then he ran to the family room and started taking the cushions off the sofa to make a fort.

When that was over, he asked if we could look at pictures on the computer. Picture time normally lasts for a few minutes until Avery wants to do something else, but Zach kept it going, wanting to see more and more pictures. The lunch table was blissfully quiet with no potty talk or baby talk to drive me crazy. To cap it all off, when we got back from picking Avery up, Zachary was asleep. I put him to bed and had another two hours of one-on-one time. This is fantastic!

Pre-Preschool Visits

Avery and Zachary's preschool teachers came over yesterday for home visits. Avery's new teacher Ms. Fey (pronounced "fie") stopped by first, at 8:30am. He was very excited to meet her and gave her a kiss on the cheek right away. She said that he was her first visit, so I'm hoping she remembers him on the first day. She asked Avery to draw a picture of himself and then took a picture of him. We got our first homework assignment: put a bag together with things that describe him.

Zachary's teacher Ms. Foster came over in the afternoon. She said that he is one of two Zacharys in his class of 15. Ms. Foster had Zachary make hand prints on construction paper. He loved it and was very excited when his hand was covered in blue ink. She took lots of pictures of Zachary, and some of all three of us, to use in various art projects during the year. She also asked Zachary what some of his favorite toys were and he showed her his marble race. He built some towers for her and got so happy he started jumping up and down. Frankly I was a bit surprised
by his reaction because he is often very shy. Zach's first homework assignment was to bring more pictures of himself and his family to school on the first day.

Orientation and school starts next week. Avery starts Tuesday and Zachary starts Friday. The whole family is excited for them to start preschool. I just hope they enjoy school and meeting new people and that the experience is positive so that school does not gain any negative connotations.