Raspberry picking

Last Saturday was a beautiful day, so we decided to head over to Butler's Orchard. Originally we were thinking we'd pick apples, but the apple orchard was closed. However, the raspberries were ready for picking so we decided to do that instead. It took us an hour to pick two pounds of raspberries, but it was fun! Jason and Kyle did most of the work, while Max ran all the way down to the end of a row, picked one raspberry, then ran all the way back to where Jason and Kyle were to add it to the bucket. I followed Max around to make sure he didn't wonder off into another row. Eventually he decided to run out into a nearby field and frolic with the butterflies! He also found a big hill of dirt which he decided to climb and then fall down so he was covered in dirt by the time we left. He's not super fond of raspberries, but he did try quite a few, I guess hoping that maybe "this" would be the one that tastes good. After each one he'd say "I don't like that one!" Kyle's been taking them in his lunch to school this week - he loves them! And Jason has prepared a batter for some yummy cookies using the raspberries that he's planning to make tonight! We also froze some that we'll use later to make smoothies.

Max's first day of preschool

Max started the "Terrific Two's" program at a local church last Monday. It's basically preschool for the older 2's/younger 3's. All the kids in his class will turn 3 between September and December. He LOVES going to school just like his big brother. He surprised me and did VERY well for drop off the first day. I think it helped that he saw Kyle go every day and saw how much he enjoyed it and that we always went to pick Kyle up. He gave me a hug, said goodbye, and walked over to a table of toys and started playing without even a backward glance. Both my babies are growing up! He's had four sessions (he goes two mornings a week) and is so proud every day when I pick him up. He tells me "I did a great job at school today Mommy!" He actually tells me more about his day than Kyle does . . . it's just a little more disconnected so I don't always know what he's trying to tell me. The one day he was telling me on the way home "I fell down at school today Mommy." He seemed very happy about this and after asking lots of questions I discovered that they had played "Ring Around the Rosie." I think this is a great experience for him since he's such a social little guy. It also gives me the chance to volunteer in Kyle's classroom which I'm very excited about.

Oh and I haven't taken a picture of Max with his bucket yet but I will soon and will add it to this post. Instead of bags or bookbags, the kids carry a bucket to transport papers to and from school. It's the size of Max and makes me laugh when I watch him carry it, but he loves to carry it himself!

Kyle's first day of Kindergarten

I can't believe Kyle is a kindergartener now! Where does the time go? He had his first day on Monday so his first week was a full week. He seems to be enjoying it, but is exhausted at the end of each day. He likes his teacher and his classmates. He brought his lunch most days but tried buying on pizza day and loved that! He likes going to his specials (art, music, library, P.E.) and always tells me about recess where he gets to play with one of his neighborhood friends. He's mastered the drop-off/pick-up procedure and can easily find his classroom on his own. I was nervous about this part, but he did really well. I was definitely more nervous than he was on his first day. He was very excited and is excited to go back tomorrow for week 2 - hopefully it will go just as well.