Celebration of Learning

Ben's school doesn't have a kindergarten graduation, which disappointed me because I wanted pictures of Ben in a tiny cap and gown, but they did have a celebration of learning last week with all 277 kindergartners.  We started off in the classroom and Ben had quite a crowd to cheer him on.

 My baby is so big!

The kids had a little presentation for the audience about kindergarten, then Mrs. Cara read a little bit about each student.

Here is Ben's kindergarten bio...I loved it!

 

 The entire class

Probably a little more realistic picture of all of them together

And thumbs up for first grade!

Next it was off to the gym for all the classes to sing together.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to film it all but you can see Ben singing right in the middle of this picture.

This year the school had 12 classes with an average of 24 kids by the end of the year, so the gym was PACKED with kids and parents.  Next year a new school will open in another neighborhood so we will "only" have 8 classes for each grade. I was amazed and impressed at how well this school functioned with over 1,700 kids this year.

Even though school isn't officially out, this was Ben's last day.  Matt has a conference in Orlando this week and the kids and I are going to tag along.  They love hotels so they think we're just going to play and enjoy the pool.  The boys have no idea that (shhhhh.......) in two days we'll be at Disney World!  I think that will make up for missing the last few days of school :)

All Done!

Six Years Old!

My precious Ben, 

I can't believe it's already been six years since you blessed our lives.  Your entrance was not ideal.  We prayed for your very survival, then our hearts broke daily watching you endure so much pain and discomfort, but you not only survived, you thrived and flourished.  Your birth made you a fighter and the strongest little person I've ever met.  This will serve you well in life.

Your first birthday passed in the airport in Toyko, mostly lost after crossing the international date line.  After just one year, the pain of that day was still too fresh in my memory to allow for any celebration.  Instead, we just quietly celebrated YOU and the fact that you were so healthy and such a joy.

Your second birthday was a fun celebration with Singapore playgroup friends and your last as an only child.  This year you were old enough to enjoy cake!  You were growing up fast in so many ways but still had those sweet baby cheeks.  Two days later you proved you were still a tough, strong boy when you broke your arm and barely shed a tear.

Your third birthday was a wonderful party in our new house, complete with your first ice cream cake (no small feat in a tropical country!)  Your only request on your birthday was to get to ride the bus, so we hopped a double decker and had french fries at KFC on Orchard Road together.

We celebrated your fourth birthday in the southern hemisphere, probably the only time your May birthday will be in the winter.  It was Thomas the Train day at Caversham and you played with your friends and enjoyed the carnival. 

It wasn't until your fifth birthday that you were in Texas again on the big day!  You said it was your favorite birthday yet because you got to see all your grandparents that week and then got to enjoy them frequently all through the summer.  After four years away, it was a real treat to be just an hour away from them.

 
Now at six years old, your life has been pretty equally divided between living in America, Singapore, and Australia.  I love that all of your experiences have molded you into such an amazing, unique little boy.  You are thoughtful and gentle, funny and rambunctious, and so clever that you still surprise me almost every day with the things you think.  You're still about as skinny as the day you were born, but you're healthy and growing so we don't worry about it anymore.  Your imagination is endless and I hope that never changes.

Happy birthday, Ben!  Thank you for all the joy, love, and laughter you bring to our lives every day.

Celebrating Six

Ben's sixth birthday is next week but we decided to celebrate a few days early so that everyone could participate.  We kicked off the day with a little family celebration at home.  Ben was so excited to have all the grandparents and Aunt Amanda over.  We wish Aunt Stacey and her family weren't so far away but we'll get to catch up with them once school is out.

 Didn't take long to get to the present opening!  Ben didn't mind the paparazzi early on but got tired of cameras in his face by the end of the day.  It's so hard being cute!

The highlight was the brand new jeep from the entire family....this boy was HAPPY!!  We had no idea that last year's secondhand yellow jeep would be such a hit and decided it was time to get a new one with working wheels.  (and now we have two jeeps!  so Ben and Alex have started racing)

And, they're off!

Turns out the balloons were a bit of a hazard out on the open road, but we remedied that and had to peel Ben away to get to his party in time.

Ben's only request was a Chuck E Cheese party so we took part in the madness there.  He was so happy to see his neighborhood and school friends there.

Alex was busy burning through tokens and collecting tickets.

Ben and Presley loved Chuck E.

...and they enjoyed seeing themselves on TV as well.

The grandparents had lots of fun playing and seeing their grandsons so excited.

We had 15 little friends to help celebrate with Ben!

King for a day...who wouldn't want that?

Ben got a visit from the big guy himself.

 

 After pizza and some entertainment (which appealed to everyone BUT Ben, who was ready for cake) it was time to sing happy birthday.

Definitely tired of pictures by this point!  But I wanted to remember his cake that Ben specifically requested to be "as chocolatey as possible".

 Blow out those candles!

Next up was the ticket blaster.  Ben looked a bit nervous so I'm not sure how he felt about going in there.  

I think he loved it!  (sorry the picture uploaded sideways)

 After cake, most of the kids ran off to play again but Ben had his sights set on something a bit more exciting - presents!  He got some really great stuff, even got a Lite Brite!  I may play it more than the boys :)

 Back at home, we tried out a new sprinkler toy, which turned into a water gun fight.

And that led into water balloons!

Ready, set, FIRE!

When I asked Ben how he enjoyed his party day, he said it was the best day of his life!  He got to spend it with his loved ones, his friends, and his neighbors.  It was the first "real" party we'd done for him and Matt and I were both so happy to see that he felt loved and special.  Thank you to everyone who took part in his big day.  Now we can look forward to making his birthday special, too!

Counting the Days

There are all kinds of countdowns going on at our house these days.  Personally, I've been watching the days and contemplating the fact that we've been US residents for an entire year (where has the time gone?) and really feeling happy to be settled.  No more considering our next move or any marathon trips around the world.  Very contentedly living in the now.  Alex is completely birthday obsessed, even though his is still almost two months away.  Talking about Ben's birthday next week has Alex thinking about his own about every 12 seconds and asking how close we're getting.  Ben has been counting down t-ball games (done!), gymnastics lessons (one more), and school days (just 10 to go!) until the blissful freedom of summer is here.

I'm learning that the end of school is pretty chaotic.  Lots of things to attend and more stuff than I care to remember, but we're really enjoying it.  The kids really relish their free time at home and I love seeing them so busy.  Ben complains when things take up his playtime, which even includes TV because with a few exceptions like Tom & Jerry or Curious George, he'd rather play than watch a show.

 They build lots of creations

 

 And somebody (Alex, I think) spent a lot of time sorting these gears out by color.

  

Snacktime!  Any guesses why the candy is on the very top shelf?  I dread the day he starts trying to scale the shelves because I'm sure it will come.  Notice he stacked two stools to get extra height.

Summer weather is right around the corner so the sprinkler is lots of fun again.

A serious guy working on a sticker puzzle.

Crazy kids playing with our hampers.  Sometimes I wonder why we bother buying toys!

 

 An airplane game in Alex's room.  Apparently the flight was long enough for Alex to need a (pretend) nap.

Outside of the house, we wrapped up the t-ball season with a team dinner and heard a few words from the coach.

This was all the kids cared about - TROPHIES!!

Ben was one happy boy!  Even better, the baseball in the middle spins.

 We've caught a few birthday parties, including this one with a super fun inflatable water slide.

And we had a class dinner with Ben's teacher.  We will sure miss her next year!  Ben is getting sad that he won't be in her class much longer but hopefully he'll get an equally wonderful teacher next year.

Ben and his class girlfriend, Rebecca.

The ladies' man working it with a table of chicks.  I love how well he plays with both boys and girls.

 

 Alex wasn't as enthralled with the other kids and instead chose to spend his time eating cake in as few bites as possible.  After such a busy weekend, he went home and walked straight into bed and fell asleep fully clothed.  That's a record in our house!