Kindergarten

Wyatt has been LOVING Kindergarten. Half-days are perfect for him and for us....he is pretty tired most days and still takes a nap 3-4 days a week. And we're still adjusting to having school everyday, so half-days are a good stepping stone to 1st grade when he'll be everyday, all day.
If you ask Wyatt what he likes most about Kindergarten, he'll say riding the bus. But he is learning a lot already and is so excited to show us the new things he has learned and can do on his own. School has definitely 'awakened' a desire to learn within him and he is constantly asking questions and wanting to learn more--YEAH!!!!

He came home last week with this picture in his backpack. They were told to cut out shapes and make a picture and this was what he did.
Matt and I looked at it and were so impressed by several things.

#1-he wrote everyone's name in our family and put himself last, which we hope is no coincidence but that he is learning to live like Jesus Christ and be a servant, putting other's needs first

#2-he built a house (presumably our house) with a sun shining and a heart next to it

Hopefully this reflects how he feels about our home and our family.

Another observation from school......My in-laws were in town last week 9along with my sister-in-law) to visit us and celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday (he is going to college up here now). While we were all at dinner, my mother-in-law asked Wyatt about school and one of the things he shared with us all around the table was, "We can't say peanuts and presents at school. We have to say Nuts and Gifts."

We all chuckled a bit and then asked him to clarify for us, but indeed he had said what we thought he had said. Of course then we all started laughing because it just sounded so funny, to which he became a bit embarassed and insisted that this was 'for real'! I told him I would figure out what his teacher meant. So yesterday, I included a not in his backpack for his teacher and she responded today......

"Wyatt is referring to our alphabet chart. We say N is for Nuts, not peanuts. And G is for Gift, so we don't call it a present when referencing the letter on our chart. This is too funny."

So now it all made sense! I explained it to Wyatt and he got a grin on his face as he understood that he was in fact allowed to use the words "peanuts" and "presents", but that when talking about their alphabet chart they needed to use the appropriate words for the corresponding letters!

School pictures (just got them today!!)

And his class---have I said how thankful I am that his class is only 16 kids?!?!

Yes, we are still here!

I know it has been awhile since I posted anything on here and many of you have asked what's going on. We are all doing great over here in the Sorensen household, just adjusting to our new 'routine' of having school everyday (Wyatt) and the other activities that seemed to start all at once. We went from having nothing planned during the week to having something just about everyday. And although I thought I could handle it all, it has taken a bit of time to get used to our new schedule. But we are doing well.
There have been a few changes to our 'original/intended' schedule. Sadie was doing preschool on Tues/Thurs. mornings. The plan was for me to take Wyatt to my neighbors at 8:30 (his bus doesn't come until 9am), then take Sadie to preschool at 8:45 and then get to BSF by 9am. (I have leaders' mtgs for BSF on Tuesday mornings and then BSF on Thursday mornings.) That first week was so incredibly hectic. I felt like I was racing from one place to the next and Sadie, my child who moves at a constant S...L...O....W pace, seemed to constantly be falling behind and I felt like all I was saying was, "Sadie, hurry up. Come on. Let's get going...." you get the idea. I couldn't think of a solution to my dilemma until I was sitting at one of our BSF leaders' mtgs and they were announcing to our group which children's leaders were assigned to each age group. When they said that Glo Erickson (Mrs. Erickson to my kids) was one of the teachers in the 3 1/2-4yr old room, I was so sad that Sadie wouldn't be able to be at BSF. Mrs. Erickson was Wyatt's BSF leader last year and she was so wonderful! Then the Holy Spirit just began speaking to me about the possibility of pulling Sadie out of preschool and just having her come to BSF. After our meeting that day, Glo came up to me and said, "Where is Sadie? I was so excited to have her in my class this year?"

I went home and Matt and I discussed it and decided to pull Sadie out of preschool. We felt good about our decision on several levels. #1---Wyatt didn't go to 3-yr old preschool and I don't think it's necessary; we were mostly doing it because she had expressed interest #2-When I asked Sadie if she wanted to come to BSF on Tues/Thurs with me she said, "Mommy, I LOVE BSF. It's the best". I then proceeded to break the news that she wouldn't be able to go to preschool if she came to BSF and she said, "I know. I like BSF better." So I didn't feel too bad about that part. #3--BSF has an AmAzInG children's program...it's not just childcare, like many programs have. They teach the kids the same thing we as adults are studying as well as a time of singing, play time, snack time, and quiet time. Yes, quiet time! They teach the kids as young as 2 yrs old how to sit quietly, in an effort to start an early habit of spending daily time with the Lord. They specifically tell the kids it is not nap time or rest time, but quiet time. And my kids both loved BSF last year--it was definitely the highlight of their week. So I am so thrilled that Sadie is now coming to BSF with me 2 days a week. She is loving it and I think my family is appreciating having less chaotic mornings for those two days.

Other than that, things are moving pretty smoothly around here now that we are almost in to October! Seriously, where does the time go?

The latest addition to our home.....can you guess??

no, not body tape from a crime scene....

A road system made out of blue painter's tape!!

I was inspired by a woman's blog I read who made a 'balance beam' on her floor for her girls. So I decided to make a 'road system' since Wyatt loves playing cars. It took us about an hour to make the entire thing, which stretches from our front door into our kitchen, but the kids loved the process almost more than the finished product. And they gave me some tips as well (notice the baseball field and parking lot on there!)

1st day of school, round II

Today was Wyatt's 1st day of Kindergarten and surprisingly, he was also very excited. But if you asked Wyatt what he was most excited about, he would tell you it was riding the bus. Over the last year, he has watched out our front window as all the 'big kids' got on the bus each morning. So now it was his turn and for about 2 hours before the bus came this morning, we heard the question "When is it time for me to get on the bus" about a hundred times (ok, maybe not quite that many, but it felt like it!)

(Notice the parent-required haircut we got for the 1st day of school)

wanting to show off their backpacks

Normally I wouldn't be very comfortable with Wyatt riding on a bus, especially on his first day of Kindergarten. BUT, we have some great neighbors and Lillie and Tyler offered to help 'watch out' for Wyatt and Gracie

Lillie held Wyatt and Gracie' hands as they all got on the bus

Of course Terri and I drove to school, following the bus, and took pictures of the kids there as well. Thankfully Wyatt and Gracie are in the same class, so I knew Wyatt wouldn't feel alone.

...off they go...

Fast-forward 3 hours and we met them at the bus stop to hear all about their first day. They both had such a great time and came running off the bus. Wyatt also told me that one of his friends from our bible study from last year is not only on his bus, but also in his class! Another answer to prayer!

And tonight as we were doing his 'homework' which involved questions about his first day of school, he had a few notable answers in regards to his first day of school...

"I did not like____________________________" to which he thought for a bit and then said, "I loved everything!"

"One thing I hope to learn this year_______" Wyatt:"How to read an entire book on my own"

a good goal if I do say so myself.

He hasn't been able to stop talking about school and it seems to have given him quite a bit of confidence....he even asked me tonight if i can just wave to him from home while he walks to the bus stop by himself like all the big kids (keep in mind that the bus stop is across the street and only one house down from us, so it's very close!)

1st day of school, round I

On Tuesday, Sadie had her first day of preschool. Thankfully I talked to one of the other parents the week before otherwise I would have missed Sadie's 1st day--I had written on my calendar that her first day was Thursday, in which case i would have missed the actual 1st day. Thankfully I didn't, but I still had this horrible feeling all weekend like I was the worst mom for almost missing it! It ended up working out great that Sadie started on Tuesday because we were able to make it all about her.

She wanted to have her picture taken with Daddy before school

At school in front of her 'hook'

She was anticipating this day since last year when Wyatt was in preschool at the same school....

and now it was finally her turn and she couldn't have been happier.

She walked in like she owned the place, knowing exactly what to do and where to go because she had watched Wyatt do it last year.

"signing in"

She had a great first day and loved every minute of it. She goes on Tues/Thurs mornings and in her class of 16 kids, there are 12 girls!! Not sure how Mrs. Hulse will handle that but I know Sadie thinks it's pretty great.

State Fair Time

We went to the fair over the weekend as a family and spent just enough time there to suffice until next year. But we asked the kids what they wanted to see first and, of course, they said the animals. Unfortunately I only took pics of Blake looking at the horses, but I tried to enjoy the moments with my kids as opposed to from behind the lens.

His faces were priceless...

(not a great pic of Matt, but I loved Blake's expression too much to pass this one up)

We weren't able to find anything with Blake's name on it this year, but 2 out of 3 ain't bad!

We met up with some of our neighbors (Ellingsons and Peterfesos) for the lumberjack show

Blake loved all the extra attention

The kids loved cheering on the lumberjacks in their competitions

Of course Wyatt and Gracie were inseparable for the next hour or so

Being around other kids, Wyatt seemed a little less comfortable showing his fear of the rides and gave in to the peer pressure of joining in on the fun....in this case, it was a good thing and he ended up having a blast.

Sadie and Lillie on the motorcycle ride

Wyatt and Gracie

Matt and I see these 'junk toy' stands and remember how badly we wanted these items as kids and never got to have them....and now, we are the parents that look at all this stuff and think "Why would anyone want that junk?" while our kids constantly ask for it!

I love this picture of Sadie

We finished our time at the fair off with the traditional bucket of Sweet Martha's chocolate chip cookies, hot out of the oven

..complimented perfectly with a stop at the 'all you can drink' milk stand for $1

Goodbye State Fair until next year.....

you're always good to us but we can usually only handle one day and then we are good for at least another 364 days!