Somebody Call 911!!!!

Thursday, the Kindergarten class went on a field trip to our local Police Department and Fire Department. The tour of the LPD was pretty much textbook. First Sergeant Anderson took us through the offices, introduced us to the detectives and gave us a tour of the training room.

But the tour of the fire department was a whole different ballgame. When we entered the garage with about 65 Kindergarten children and about a dozen teachers and parents, the alarms started going off and the men were rushing children across the room to get them out of the way, fire fighters were running to get their gear. A few of the kids started crying but we got them calmed down. If it had been planned it wouldn't have been more exciting. Two tankers and a Haz Mat truck left sirens blaring and lights flashing. The kids had a blast. Then they returned before we left. And the classes were able to talk to the fire fighters about their call. I think it really made an impression on the kids. Many times they see emergency personnel as something fun. But that day they sensed the urgency of what was going on and knew those men were going to help people.

Hope you enjoy the pics below.

Mommy and Daddy Visit School!

Friday, October 10 there was a special celebration in Anni's class to show off the class' writing skills and achievements. Each child was given a folder in which to keep daily written or illustrated work. I think the idea is to understand the concept of expressing oneself creatively. Since Anni is only beginning to write letters, most of her work was of the illustration variety. But Mommy and Daddy were proud!
The teacher took our picture while Anni was showing us all of her pictures. Many of them were pictures of Mommy, Daddy, Annie and Bit Bit (the dog). She's all about the family! I was happy to see that. She was so proud of her class. She took us around and introduced us to her friends.
We finally got to meet the children we had been hearing about for the past 6 weeks. She really loves her teacher and I am so thankful for that. She seems to really care about the kids and communicates weekly with parents. I failed to get a picture of Mrs. Johnson. I'll be sure to do that next time.I was a little sad though. James and I and one other parent were the only ones to show up for the celebration. We tried to visit all the other kids tables to let them show off their work too. They all seem so little. My heart breaks to think they are disappointed. But I think we spread the love pretty well. Anni seemed to act as hostess taking us from table to table telling us who was who. She always seems to be so sensitive of other people's feelings. I think she felt bad for the other kids too.
This is Anni's beautiful masterpiece of buttons and letters and of course the portrait of Mommy and Daddy dancing at the top.

All in all it was a great time. She's growing so fast. I don't want to miss a minute of it. I know this may not be such an exciting blog for most of you out there, but my little family is one of the most precious gifts God has given me, so that's what I write about.

We love you Anni. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you!

My Little BullPup

Well, I promised a blog about Anni's first official day of Kindergarten and here it is!
Waking up earlier was not very fun for Anni but she has adjusted very well. Once we were out of bed at 6:45 we had to get dressed in just the right outfit. Anni was not very happy with any of my choices, however, I was not thinking wearing a bathing suit to school would have been well-recieved. In the end Mommy won the battle.

We packed our new princes backpack and High School Musical Lunchbox and then it was time for breakfast. Anni requested milk and waffles with grape jelly; the breakfast of champions no doubt. Then it was out to the car.

Getting into the spirit of things Anni had to pose by her new BullPup magnet on the back of the car. It didn't show up real well but Anni's cute anyway. Then it was time to buckled in and head off for the big day! I think Anni was a little nervous, but she is such a trooper, it was hard to really tell. When we arrived at the school, we were routed to the cafeteria, then to Mrs. Johnson's room. Anni looked a little overwhelmed and I thought she might cry, but I realized this was the first time she had been in the school with "all" the rest of the kids. Of course, they were everywhere. The hallways were crowded and bustling with activity. She held on to my pants leg for dear life. I stopped and told her, everything was okay, and that we wouldn't leave her until we got her settled in with her teacher. As we approached her classroom door, Mrs. Johnson stepped out, and all of the anxiety simply drained from Anni's little body. Mrs. Johnson was Anni's Teacher the last week of the Jumpstart program this summer and she new from the Kindergarten orientation day, that Mrs. Johsnon would be her official teacher this year. I was so happy to see her relax and feel secure with her. Mrs. Johnson is a good Christian woman and goes to the church we attend. Again, God is taking care of us.

Then it was time for Mommy and Daddy to go home so we left our little BullPup to make her way into the world. It was scary but I handled it much better than the first day of Jumpstart.

At 2:30 I found myself sitting in the car counting down the minutes until Anni would be led out the door. The Kindergarten classes are brought out of the building through a different door than everyone else and walked to the recieving area by an aid so the parents can pick them up right at the fence. I waited and waited and then there she was. If you look really close you can see the pink lunchbox on the left side near the bush. That's my little girl. Only she's not so little anymore.