Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Week 184

Sep 5-11

Well I survived my baby's first day of preschool.  How selfish does that sound?  I guess I should say Jack survived his first day of preschool.  Don't worry, no one cried or got upset.  As usual, Jack was Mr. Independent.  He didn't even bat an eye when we dropped him off.  Since it was the first day, Ed and I wanted to walk him in and make sure he was comfortable.  He was so EXCITED!  That morning we fed him a nice big breakfast and kept talking about how this was such a special day.  He already had both of his teachers names memorized.  I found this to be quite impressive since I couldn't remember them and he had to keep reminding me.  Haha!  The kid has the best memory.  Hopefully that quality will stay with him as he grows older.






We had a lot of fun taking 1st Day of Preschool pictures.  I made a little chalk drawing of the date and had him stand in front of it.  He absolutely LOVED holding his lunchbox and wearing his backpack.  I then attempted to get some pictures on the front porch of our new house.  They kind of turned out.  I think this would be a good post to do a summary of Jack.  Actually as I'm writing this I'm realizing it is the perfect week to do this because he is exactly 3 1/2 years old this week.  Wow!  I can't believe it!  My sweet baby boy is growing up so quickly and now starting to go to school on a regular basis.  He is such an amazing kid.  He is even kind to his baby brother and includes him in everything (most of the time).  He is still super independent and laid back.  Nothing much phases him.  He is adventuresome and always willing to try something new.  He is outgoing and friendly, loves to be around people.




When you ask him what his name is he tells you, "Jack Edward Storch!"  So funny!  He will tell you that he is 3 years old and hold up 3 fingers.  He can properly identify all of his letters and can draw some of them with assistance.  He can count to 15.  He knows all of his colors.  He can draw a circle and kind of draw a square.  He asks about a million questions a day which is adorable, but can wear on Mommy and Daddy.  He wants to know how things work and will take the time to figure things out.  He understands how to play games such as Candyland, Memory, Chutes and Ladders, etc. and he follows rules/takes turns.  He says "please" and "thank you" without being prompted.  He can put together puzzles without help.  He has started to do the 50 states puzzle, but needs help from us to complete it.  In all fairness it is quite complex and the pieces don't fit together perfectly until they are all in place.





He is very athletic and coordinated, able to throw and catch a ball.  He can kick a ball and also hit a ball off of a tee.  He can easily ride a tricycle and also a traditional bicycle with training wheels.  He can jump on one foot.  At the park he walks easily on a balance beam without falling and can do all of the activities on the jungle gym.  He is a great climber.  He can climb ladders, rock walls, etc without any help.  He is a pretty decent eater and will always at least try something before declining it altogether.  All in all he is the best first son anyone could ask for.  We love him so much and are very proud of him!





Here are some pictures from his first day of school.  He walked right in and made himself at home.  I actually had to ask him for a hug and kiss goodbye.  Here are some cute pictures of his cubby, placing his name on the tree, and a quick shot of him and his baby brother, whom I'm sure will grow up just as quickly.  :(

Quick funny story: On the second day of school Ed was driving Jack in the morning and talking to him on the ride over.  He asked him if he wanted Daddy to walk in with him or drop him off in the carpool lane.  He said he looked in the mirror and could see Jack thinking hard.  After a few moments of pondering Jack answered with, "Nah, that's okay Daddy.  You can just drop me off like a school bus."

Oh. My. Goodness.  I felt a stab of pain in my chest and he didn't even say it to me.  How funny and sad is that?  Poor Ed.  He dropped Jack off and he said he walked right in by himself.  I know it's good that he is so independent, but sometimes you just want them to need you a little bit.  Here's hoping for a great year at school!!!

Week 183

Aug 29-Sep 4

This week we had open house for Jack's new preschool.  He has been waiting ALL.SUMMER.LONG to start school.  We found his firetruck backpack and lunchbox (I know, how appropriate) weeks ago. Many mornings he has come into our room wearing/carrying them while proudly stating, "I'm ready for school now!"  It is so adorable.  We opted for the Mon.Wed.Fri. option instead of 5 days a week.  Jack could handle 5 days a week, but selfishly I wanted to have some time with him too.  He will go from 9:00 am-12:00 pm at a local church preschool.

Mrs. Galloway with Jack


Daddy and Jack at Open House

Jack and Mommy at Open House
The first meeting was a parents only evening.  We met Jack's teachers, saw his classroom, and got the briefing on the plans for the year as well as the schedule.  There are 14 kids in the class...4 girls and 10 boys!  Oh my!  He has a main teacher and an assistant teacher.  Luckily Jack's teacher has been doing this for 15 years so she knows what to expect.  So far I really like her and her philosophies on discipline.  I think with that many boys in one classroom you have to have a backbone and enforce the rules or they will quickly learn how to run all over you.


Cute classroom!


Answering the phone...hilarious!

His teacher also showed us the curriculum for their age group.  It was created by one of the early education college professors at USC.  She explained that in the past she has had parents who have been disappointed because their expectations were well beyond the curriculum.  Apparently some parents think that in 3 hours a day, 3 days a week, in a 3 year old preschool class their child will learn how to read, write, spell, etc.  Hahaha!  She explained that the core curriculum only requires them to teach 5 basic colors, basic letter recognition, and counting to 10 if I remember correctly.  She also explained that she taught more than this and most kids will already know most of these things.  From what I understand some of the parents are very upset by this.

Putting the baby to bed.


Jack and his new little friend at the cash register.

It's church preschool people.  It's not some fancy schmancy, expensive preparatory school.  It's not the responsibility of the teachers at the preschool to teach your child everything that they will learn in kindergarten.  Jack knew all of his letters last year at this time.  He can't write them, but he can recognize all of them, sing his ABC's, name about 12 colors, recognize his name, count to 15, etc.  We work with him a little bit, but not in a formal setting.  He learns through basic play.  When we are playing blocks we will count them, group colors, stack them, etc.  If you pay attention and play with your kids they will learn what they need to know. This is how 3 year olds learn.  I swear, people don't want to put forth any effort in teaching their kids.  TELEVISION won't teach your kids!!!!  Sometimes you have to hang out with them!  :)  Jack loved seeing his new classroom and I know he will have a great year with his teachers and new friends!

Pink cupcakes for Baby Abigail!
Jack and Daddy!

Abel and Mommy!
We got a chance to visit our new baby cousin Abigail!  She is so stinking cute!  Jack helped me make her pink cupcakes with pink frosting and even pink sprinkles!!!  He's such a good little baking assistant.  Somehow we went over there and I didn't even get a picture of Abigail.  I think Ed's mom has some of the three cousins together though.  I will see if I can get ahold of some.  After a quick visit we stopped at Flight Deck restaurant to eat a bite of lunch.  The boys loved the airplanes.  Thanks for the recommendation Ryan & Amanda!!!

Jumping in Abel's crib.

Silly boys playing!

What a mess!  :)

Abel after his ice cream sandwich!

Such a handsome boy.

Playing with their new bath crayons.

They both love bath time!
To finish up this post here are some pictures of the boys.  Abel is almost a year old and they are truly starting to play together more.  It is AWESOME because they get along and they entertain each other!! :)  I love watching them interact, it is so sweet!  Here are some quick pictures of Jack in Abel's crib.  Apparently Abel woke up crying one morning and Mommy and Daddy didn't tend to him quickly enough for Jack's liking so he climbed in and kept him company for awhile.  They are so silly!  Jack got some fun crayons for the bathtub and the two had a great time 'coloring' together.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Week 182

Aug 23-28

This was an exciting week because Ed's brother Ryan and his wife Amanda finally had their BABY!!!!  They waited like we did to find out the sex of the baby until the birth and IT'S A GIRL!!!  Baby Abigail Rose Storch was born August 19th at 2:35 am.  She weighed 8 lbs 8 oz and was 20 inches long.  She is soooo stinking cute!!!!

Family photo op with Baby Abigail!
Look at that cute little face!!!





Pink and purple in the elevator!

We were all so excited to go and meet her for the first time at the hospital.  Jack kept saying, "we are going to the hopital to see Baby Abigail, but not Mommy's hopital."  He is too funny!  I don't know how he knew it wasn't my hospital that I work at, but somehow he did.  He also somehow excludes the 's' in the word hospital so it sounds funny.





We got the kids dressed and packed up all of our gifts in the car to head to Lexington.  Our car was a sea of pink tissue paper.  I was so excited to buy pink baby girl clothes!!!  Miss Abigail is the sweetest little thing!  It was so awesome to see Jack and Abel with their little cousin.  Christmas is going to be super fun this year with 3 grandkids!  :)


Proud Godfather!

Brothers!
Ed is Baby Abigail's Godfather and he couldn't be more excited and proud!  His first gift to her was a South Carolina Gamecocks dress.  Congratulations to Ryan and Amanda on your precious baby girl!!!!