Backyard Birthday 3.0

We were blessed with no rain on Saturday morning despite a dismal forecast for the weekend and Dagny got to have her backyard birthday party with all her little friends!

We had a soapy water and sponge car wash.

 

The big blow up pool was hit with the bigger kiddos but Dagny took a couple trips in and out.

 I made some homemade bubble solution (dish soap, water and glycerine) and had a bunch of fun bubble wands.

 

The structure was fun for all and Dagny shared her beloved swings much better than I anticipated!

 Here is Dagny with her long lost twin sister, Sadie. Sadie's a year old and a preschool buddy and the fact that they both wore pink coverups over their bathing suits to the party was hysterical.

And our sandbox got some excellent raking, digging, and dumping time.

 Before we knew it, it was pink cupcake time!

Can you feel her excitement?

Happy Birthday to you, Dagny!

She blew out her candles with some assistance from me and couldn't have been more thrilled!

The cupcakes were pink inside and out and the reviews from the crowd were quite positive :)

 The kids played more after the cupcakes and eventually the play moved to the driveway where Dan played basketball with everyone (big and small) and then after most guests had left, Finley, Dagny and her friend, Himika, "played" baseball. It was terribly unsporty but awesome to watch!

All in all, a great party as it low key and no hassles and resulted in  a perfectly satisfied birthday girl! Her real birthday will be here soon enough and she'll be, gulp, 3!

Finley Says Goodbye to Preschool

Finley has had a great two years at CBE ELC and we have come to find school like a home away from home.  Our dearest friends and our kids' dearest friends are there and we love all the teachers like family.  While Finley is more than ready for what's next, he was a bit sad to say goodbye.  The night before his last day, there was a wonderful all school picnic and Finley's class performed two great songs for everyone.

We were so proud of Finley and all his buddies!  Then, the Rabbi came up to offer some special blessings to all the "graduates."

 

Dagny watched all of this very intently.

After many thank yous to all the teachers and our beloved director, I got to go up on stage to accept the role of President of the Preschool Advisory Board.  Yikes.  This also gives me the fancy title of Vice President of Early Education on the temple board.  Time to print volunteer business cards and clear my 3rd Sunday and 4th Monday nights of the foreseeable future.

Finley and all his friends had fun running around the playground and enjoyed popsicles together one last time on school grounds.  Since Dagny has two more years at ELC, Finley will certainly be back on these stomping grounds here and there but it just won't be the same.

The next day was the official last day of school for Finley and he kindly posed with his teachers, Dawn and Sam at pick up time.

 And one more with his boys.

 At home that afternoon, we celebrated both kids being done with school for the year with rocket pops.

Here they are together on their first day back in September. Time sure flies.

The following week, the kids went to school camp since I was still teaching but Finley got to visit me one day and he seemed just the right size for kindergarten.  He really liked the spaceship project we did with the class and the book we read about a boy and an alien getting stuck on the moon.

 And Finley's love of space inspired me to make this bulletin board for my new class that will begin in the fall.  My current kiddos decorated all the letters and Finley helped me design the foil ship.

On Finley's last day of school camp (i.e. his second last day in two weeks...), I snapped this photo as we left.   

Thank you, CBE ELC, he'll miss you!