Craft Day

Yesterday was parent/child craft day at Emma's preschool. I was able to spend an hour or so with her making different crafts, having a snack and listening to The Polar Express. I have done this with Ethan previously and it was cool to have a chance to do it with Emma. Here are some pictures from our time together. Enjoy!

Emma and her gingerbread house

Emma with candy cane Christmas Tree

Emma enjoying her snack

The girls - Mommy and Emma

Catching Up....

Okay, so it has been a VERY long time since my last post! I really want to be committed to keep my blog up to date but it just seems like I have a hard time sticking with it. I thought that it was about time that I filled everyone in on a little bit of what has been going on in our lives lately. So, here goes!

Ethan has been doing awesome in kindergarten! We are so proud to see how well he has transtioned into going to school everyday. He has made alot of new friends and he really likes his teacher Mrs. Shelley. We have been amazed to see how he is reading! It seems like it is just second nature for him and he is doing really well with that and his other school work. He says that his favorite subject in school is math and he is really enjoy his art class as well!

Ethan also started swim lessons this fall. He loves to swim and we thought that it was time to get him in a program that can teach him the skills that he needs to be a good swimmer. We go on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and his favorite part is doing jumps in the deep end. He is really looking forward to this summer and being able to jump off the diving board with his cousin Benjamin!

Emma is really enjoying preschool this year. She is in Mrs. Miller class and goes three days a week. She is happy to have her friends Mikayla and Riley with her again this year and she has also made a lot of new freinds. Last year all she talked about where the boys in her preschool class and we are glad that this year she has also made friends with some of the girls!!

Last weekend was a big one for Emma. She and her daddy had a date while Mommy was out shopping and brother was at a birthday party. She wanted to go to the mall and while they were there Daddy got her ears piereced!!! Mommy had asked her several time previous to this if she would like to have it done but she always said no. Apparently, she needed to have her daddy there to give her the courage to get it done. Jon said that she didn't cry at all and she picked out her own earrings which are shaped like dolphins. She really enjoyed her time with her Daddy and she is looking forward to her next date with him. I wonder what they will do next time???

After Thanksgiving, Jon and his dad went on their annual hunting trip. This year things kind of got off to a rocky start with a change of plans for their departure and bad weather where they hunt. After sitting through the first day in temperatures of about twenty and not seeing anything worth shooting, he was a little discouraged. On Tuesday, he shoot a doe and was happy to be bringing meat home. Wednesday morning they decided to go out again before heading home and Jon was able to bring home this buck. We now had enough meat for our family and we were able to share the doe with another family. The kids and I were happy that Jon's trip was sucessful but we were also happy to have him home!!!

So, that is a little bit of what we have been up to lately. Our calendar is filled up the next couple of weeks with holiday festivites and I will try to post some pictures of those! We hope that you all have a wondeful holiday season!

Magic Bus

Tuesday was a very historic day in the Wile household. Ethan rode the school bus for the first time to his first official day of kindergarten!!! We can hardly believe how fast these last six years have gone!

He was so excited to be one of the "big kids" and to be taking the bus to school! Although, he did have to double check that morning, that if the bus ride wasn't all it was cracked up to be, would I drive him to school the next morning? Well, that time never came because he loved the bus!

I have to admit that I am a little bit of a control freak. So, putting my baby on a bus and having no control over whether he gets to where he needs to be or not was not an easy thing for me! I was so used to drive him to preschool, walking him in and getting him settled in before I said good bye. I liked it that way much better!!! Although, I have to admit that not having to rush so much in the morning to get him to school is a nice perk of the bus ride!!!

We are very happy that everything that we have heard from Ethan about kindergarten has been very positive. He really seems to enjoy it and he likes his teacher Mrs. Shelley. I think that he is enjoying the independence of kindergarten and the change of scenery!

Overall, it has been a very positive experience and that has made it easier on Mom! It is hard to see him growing up but it is also very exciting at the same time. I am looking forward to this new chapter in his life and for the all the firsts yet to come!

That Mom....

Today I was "that mom". We had to stop in at a local grocery store today to bring up a couple of things. As usual, my kids were the ones running through the store and slide on their bottoms down the aisles. Needless to say, I got more than a couple looks from other women in the store. With my purchases completed, I am finally ready to get my kids out of there and head to the safety of my van. We get to the sliding glass doors, the automatic kind, and disaster struck! For some reason, Emma decided to run her hand along the stationary door while her brother walked in front of the automatic part. It came back, Emma didn't notice and next thing I know her arm is caught between the two doors and she is moving back with them!!!! With the assitance of a man who was behind me, we held the door to get it to stop and I gently pulled her arm out from in between the doors! She was balling (with good reason) and suddenly we were the center of attention. As I was attending to Emma, there was a flurry of activity behind me as people were searching for a store employee to assess the situation. All in all, Emma was fine. By the time the store manager showed up, she had stopped crying and was laughing at her brother. We left the store with cookies and a bag of ice and I was told that a report would be written up in case she needed medical attention.

The thing that got to me was, the women (most of whom would fall into the with grown children category) who stopped to make sure that Emma was okay and give me the evil eye. I got the unwed teenage mother who isn't responsible for her kids look and one women even went so far as to tell the kids to be careful this summer because of course I wouldn't be paying attention to their well being!! I guess the fact that most of them had seem my kids running and sliding through the store earlier didn't leave them with a very good impression of my ability as a mom.

I know that I probably read more into their looks than was really there, but I definitely felt like I was "that mom". I guess it was a good reminder to me to be more compassionate the next time I am out and run into a mom who is having a "that mom" moment!!!

The End of a Chapter....

Ethan Joseph has now complete his Hempfield High School PreSchool experience. On May 15th, he had his finally graduation ceremony after completing his second year with Mrs. Miller in the three day program. He will be headed to kindergarten in the fall at Mountville Elementary School!

Jon and I are so grateful to Hempfield High School for providing it's residents with this preschool program. Ethan has learned and grown so much over the past three years! The help of the high students really provides the kids with a lot of one on one attention and a lot of opportunites to do some really neat things. The teachers are amazing and I really feel that they have helped Ethan to be ready to take this next step in his education.

I have to say that this was a tough one for mom! It seems like just yesterday that we want to his first graduation and we were so proud to see our little man up there in his cap and tassle. Now he is excited about going to the big school and riding on the bus! I have to admit that I did get a little misty watching him up there this year!

So closes another chapter of our lives! I am glad that this kindergarten program is only half day and I don't need to give me up for the whole day quite yet! (Although, there are some days.....)

I hope you enjoying the pictures! It is amazing to see how much he has changed in three years!!!! Congratulations buddy!!!!

Emma's First Graduation

On May 16th, Emma Katherine graduated from the Hempfield High School Two Day PreSchool program. As you can see they make it into quite a production complete with the cap and tassle. Emma was disappointed, though, because she wanted to wear one of the red caps and not a white one!!!

It was really cute to see them up on stage and receiving their diplomas. Next year, she will move into the three day program with Mrs. Miller.

This graduation was a fun one for mom as I know that she is just moving up to the next level of preschool next year!

Is Mommy really right?

I guess at the age of three there are certain things that mommy tells you to be fact that you just have to investigate for yourself. I was busy working in the office and I heard Emma go into the bathroom. Next thing I know she is coming out naked from the waist down telling me that she is wet. I was concerned that she had waited too long to go to the bathroom but this was not the case. I asked her why she was wet and she explained that she had tried to stand up to pee. Sure enough when I looked in the bathroom, the seat was up and the bathroom stool was in front of the toilet. Beneath the toilet was a puddle and her wet clothes!

I guess Emma had to be sure that girls really couldn't stand up like the boys! Hopefully this has satisfied her curiosity and we won't need to attempt this one again!

Emma a girly girl???

I, along with her Nan and Grandma, have tried desperately to convince Emma that is okay to wear a skirt. In the past, she has insisted that she didn't like them because her legs were sticking out. Yet, she would wear shorts???? I guess that this yet another one of those female mysteries!

We always attributed her logic to the fact that she has an older brother and sees him wearing shorts but not skirts. We had a small break through last week, when she asked to wear a dress because her friend Mikayla likes dresses. The only catch being that she wanted pants under the dress. Mom conceded because at least she had a dress on!

It is a beautiful, warm day here today, so when I was laying out her clothes this morning I decided that it couldn't hurt to put a skirt out and see what happened. She came in and looked at her clothes, pointed to the skirt and asked if she was wearing that today? My heart sank because I was sure that a NO and some tears were on the way. I told her yes that it was a skirt but it was special because it had a pair of shorts underneath. She looked it over and thought about it a minute. "Okay, mommy. Could you help me get dressed?" I was overjoyed!!!! When I take her to school I see all these other little girls who look so cute in their little skirts and today my little girl would be one of them too!

And you should have seen her! She tried on three different pairs of shoes before decideding on her pink flip flops and then proceeded to parade around the house quite pleased with herself!

Believe me, I am not looking for a frilly little girl, just one that isn't afraid to be a little girlie every now and then!!!

A glimpse of the future....

Today was a beautiful spring day and for once we were ready for school before we needed to walk out the door. Ethan noticed that our neighbor's children were outside waiting for the bus. He came running over and said "Mommy can I go outside and see Josh?" I told him that he could and he put on his coat and his backpack and headed out the door.

On my way upstairs to get something, I peeked outside to make sure that he was in fact with Josh. Looking out there was like seeing into the future for this mom. This fall my baby heads off to kindergarten and he will be standing next store in the neighbor's driveway waiting for the big yellow bus to come and take him to school.

I have to admit that I am having a hard time with this milestone in Ethan's life. Preschool wasn't half this hard because I only had to give him up for two hours! Thankfully, our school system's kindergarten is only half day! Still, this is the beginning of a whole new chapter for us. My baby is going to school!

Happy New Year - 2008!!!

The holidays always get so busy and I truly wanted to get these pictures posted before now!!! I have put together some of the highlights from our holidays. We had two awesome Christmases with both sides of the family. I truly believe that that is my favorite part about Christmas. Everybody slowing down and just taking time to spend together! We are truly blessed that both our families live so close and that we are able to spend time with all of them not only during the holidays but throughout the year!

Special thanks go to our parents for all that they do to make the holidays special! We also appreciate all that they do throughout the year, especially all the free babysitting!!!!

We also welcomed a new member into our family. His name is Finnigan or Finn for short. After getting some medical issues straightened out, (he was a barn cat) he has fit into our family quite nicely! The kids love him (maybe a little too much some times!!!) and he and Mr. Bill have become buddies!

It is crazy to think that another year has gone past! I know that I say it every year but for some reason this one REALLY seemed to fly by! I am looking forward to seeing what this year has in store and to watching our kids continue to grow.

We wish you all a very Happy New Year! We hope that it will be a good year full of good things for each one of you!