1st Day of 3 Year Old Preschool

Abigail had her 1st day of 3 year old preschool today!  Both my girls will literally have 4 years of preschool before they start kindergarten, it's crazy.....but they love it!  Abigail is in the 3/4's classroom, but all the kids are older 3's so it's perfect for her.  She has her teacher she started with last year, Mrs. K., whom she loves and we love too!  Her class is smaller with only 10 kids, and 7 of them are girls so she's so excited to have tons of girls this year to play with. 

The drop off went great.  I was waiting for her to get a little sad, but she didn't, which made me a litttle sad!  :)  But only a little...I'm happy she's so excited.  The only thing that she didn't like was that Caitlin couldn't stay with her. She was very worried about Caitlin...who is starting her own thing in a few weeks!

I can't even imagine where this year will take us.  She's writing her name now, drawing the CUTEST people with lots of toes and the BEST eyebrows, and starting to learn to read her sight words.  We are still working on counting and looking forward to all this year has to offer.  It's crazy that she still has 2 years of preschool...Kindergarten out in the suburbs is literally like 2nd grade used to be....so insane!  But I am happy she's at a school that we all love!  And it was funny cause the gym was full of moms after drop-off, so it's like a mommy preschool! 

Abigail, we are so proud of the big girl you have become.  We hope you have the BEST year in preschool!!!

My ABSOLUTE new favorite picture....EVER!

Abigail and Luca getting ready to leave

Happy for school!  :)

Waiting to go into her classroom

Playing in school

2011

2010 Comparison picture....and yes, tears were shed when I realized how much she grew in a year!

Here's to 3 quieter mornings a week!  Cheers!!!!!

Happy Birthday, Lulu!

Happy birthday to the sweetest niece, cousin, and goddaughter there ever was!!!  We love you to pieces!  It has been so fun to watch you grow over the past year!  You have grown into the sweetest, spunkiest, most adorable little girl.  We can not wait for all that awaits you in the next year of life...and all those after!  We love you so much and can't wait to celebrate the big day with you and your mommy and daddy today!

Happy Birthday, Lucy Alexandra!  We love you so so so much!!!!  PARTY!!!!!!!

American Girls

Wednesday was our last day for a while with no school, no ballet, no gymnastics, no classes, and no other kids to watch so we decided to do what the girls have been asking to do all summer...take the train!

Abigail had "Meet the Teacher" (who is her favorite teacher from the first few weeks of last year that we were so sad to leave so the transition to preschool this year is so easy) until 9:25 and our train left at 9:55.  I should have done a little more research, because the only parking left was 4 hour parking, which meant we had to take the train to the city, do our "things" and get back in 4 hours.  Wasn't the relaxing day we had planned, but we made the train so that was all that mattered!  As expected, the girls loved the train...and abigail has decided she wants to move to every town that the train stops at! 

When we got there, we hopped into a cab and headed over to American Girl.  This was the girls' first exposure to the CRAZINESS that is American Girl Dolls, but it was fun.  When we got there, Aunt Katie was waiting for us (she works 2 minutes away) so that was so exciting for them.  We walked around the store and let Abigail pick out things to ask Santa for (which should be no surprise is 1 of EVERYTHING).  It's such a fun store!  When I found out Abigail was a girl, one of the first things that popped into my head was "We can go to American Girl!"  Weird, I know...but a family I nannied for was obsessed with the store and we always went there and I couldn't wait for my kids to do that!

Of course, Caitlin liked the store, but is really too young to get the store concept!   Abigail's favorite part was the hospital where sick (ripped, torn) dolls go and the salon where you can get your dolls hair done!  This is Abigail's year for a bday party, and I told her if she wants, she could pick a friend (or cousing and sister) and go to American Girl to have a tea party and get her dolls hair done (if Santa comes through for her)....so we'll see what she chooses!

After American Girl, we headed over to Disney for a quick souvie!!!  Thanks Aunt Katie for our princesses!!!! 

(Darn Camera...don't get me started)

It was a fun couple of hours on Michigan Avenue!!!  We can't wait for our next visit!

Happy Birthday, Jules!

Happy Birthday,  Jules!  You are such an amazing sister, aunt, sister-in-law, and friend!  We love you and hope you have a great bday with Joe and Lulu!  Since I can't sing...I'll let someone sing a little tribute to you on your bday (although  it has nothing to do with your bday cause I don't want to forget you or hit you!!  )Have a great day!!!!  Happy Birthday!




H

A Love Letter

Dear Las Vegas,

Thank you for having my sisters and me to your town this weekend.  We had a great time!  Our brother-in-law sent us to you to celebrate Jules bday, and the trip was more than we imagined!!!!

From the moment we arrived,

our trip was full of adventure,

entertainment,

and family

that left our heads spinning!

We stayed very active

and pressed our luck a little!

There were BIG drinks 

and even BIGGER winnings

(5 cents)

It was like a little slice of heaven....

with angels!

And the trip ended with the sweetest treat of all!

(Sugarland)

Thank you so much for having us!  It was a trip of a lifetime we will never forget....but next time we will try to remember a camera between the 3 of us to capture more memories!  See you soon! 

Love,

1st Dentist, plus Class and Concert

This week Caitlin had her 1st dentist appointment.  She started a lot earlier than Abigail, who didn't go until she was 3, but since we are already there, they said they wanted to start seeing her.  Both girls got great check-ups and it looks like they may have their daddy's GREAT teeth instead of their mommy's BAD teeth, so that makes me happy!

Caitlin did GREAT!  She was a little scared at first, but with Elmo in grip, she did wonderful!  We are working on getting rid of her paci because it's starting to buck out her teeth.  She sleeps without it at night with no problem (except she wakes up at 6:15 instead of 7:15 now) and some naps.  There are some naps she still needs it, but we are working on it!  Caitlin got a Winnie the Pooh toothbrush at the end (along with tons of presents, it's like Xmas at the dentist office...timer, toothpaste, floss, balls, pencils, etc) which she was very proud of!

Miss Abigail did great too!  Next time she gets her first x-rays, so we shall see how that goes!

The girls went to my mom's classroom while I had a cavity filled (see, bad teeth).  They thought it was so much fun!  Not sure they helped so much, but they had a lot of fun "helping" Grandma!

Grandma and Mommy have a lot of the same music (cheesy kindergarten teachers) so they had a lot of fun dancing to the songs!  And my dancing, I mean running in circles!

Last week was the last Concert in the Park in our town.  We didn't make as many this year as we would have liked, but we ended on a bang with a big family turnout!!!!!

Nana, Aunt Tina, Chelsey, Trevor

Caitlin, Abigail, Daddy, Christina, Papa

Oh, these chairs!!!!  They spent an hour sitting down, standing up, moving the chair, sitting down, standing up, etc.  They were dancing queens!!!!  Looking forward to next year's concerts!

Hope everyone has a great weekend!  In 3 short hours, Daddy will be done with his old position and heading the cabin with the girls for a weekend of fun and relaxing with Nana and Papa before he begins his new job next week.  And in 9 short hours, Mommy will be with Aunt Julie and Aunt Katie on a plane headed to Vegas to celebrate Jule's bday!!!!!  Viva Las Vegas...Watch out, the Muskovich Sisters are coming!!!!!

Stretching Out Summer

Summer is quickly coming to an end.  The pool is closed now during the day.  There are buses passing our house in the morning.  I am watching my 2 cuties 3 afternoons a week, plus one more 1 day a week.  We started our back to school shopping!

Check out the girls' new shoes for school.  I'm a little OBSESSED with them...they are so cute and sparkly!  Not to mention it's a great brand.  When you buy a pair, a pair is donated to a child in need.  If you aren't familiar with TOMS shoes, you should check them out!  Mommy may have even bought herself a pair...sans the sparkles!  Thanks Grandma for our back-to-school shoes!!!!

As we prepare for the start of school and a busy schedule that involves preschool for both girls, ballet, gymnastics, library classes, music classes, speech for Caitlin, and lots of fun activities, we are trying to just enjoy the last few weeks of summer.  Lots of trips to the park.  Lots of trips for ice cream.  Lots of staying home and enjoying our time. This weekend we had a fire in our firepit and made smores, just another small glipse of summer! 

They rebuilt a park that is close enough to our house that Abigail can ride her bike, so we have been going there A LOT!  I know when we pass that park on the way to school each day this year, I'll remember what a fun summer we had there!

Crazy Slide

Caitlin is a monkey.  She doesn't know she's only 1 and shouldn't be going up the climbing wall.  (I also had Rosie this day, so these 3 had a fun day).

Riding with Mommy (mostly is in her car from Aunt Julie and Uncle Joe on the ride to the park.

The view from the stroller.  CUTE!

Another busy week....getting prepared for our weekend of FUN!  In four short days, I will be on a plane with my sisters headed to Vegas for a sisters' weekend to celebrate Jules bday (thanks to my brother-in-law for the trip) and see Sugarland!  Rob will be taking the girls up to the cabin and is so excited for the weekend alone with them...and they are equally excited.  I hear they may actually get to go to the golf course....

Then next week, Rob starts his NEW JOB (same company, new position).  We are all really excited for this new chapter in his life.  There will be some adjustments for all of us as his job is now next to Sox Park, and he starts at 5am...but he now has bachelor pad (aka Grannie Frannie's place) to stay when he needs.  We went down to Grannie Frannie's place this weekend to set it up and it brought back so many great memories for me..so I'm so happy we still have this place because to me it lets me spend some more time with my grandma!  We also went and paid our respects to my grandparents, drove past their first house, and stopped at Superdawg, so it was a great day! 

Happy Tuesday!  We are off to enjoy summer!  ;)