Oliver graduates from Pre-Kindergarten! NEXT: Real Kindergarten

The proud graduate.

Oliver has been in a YMCA Daycare program since he was 3 month old. Zaeda as well. We love the staff at the downtown Portland school. It's near PSU and there are many energetic and devoted young teachers who provide a great program for our children. The location is just 5 years old, which means that Oliver's cohort, the boys and girls who have joined the program with him as infants and toddlers, are the first to go from start to finish.

On Saturday Oliver and his classmates graduated at a very cute ceremony at a nearby church. This marks for many the last days they will see each other.  Portland alone has 49 elementary schools, with that number again in the surrounding region.

The YMCA is just around the corner from Portland's Old Church, built in 1885. They rented the church for Oliver  pre-K graduation ceremony.

Before the ceremony, their teacher goes over the program with them.

Lining up to go out and perform for the crowd of family members. Only one kid in the room seems really jazzed about this.

Oliver will especially miss his crush,
Isabella (left, purple dress)

Off they go.

Goofing off with best friend Nolan and little brother, Sammy.

Next up for Oliver is being part of the first kindergarten group to start at the brand new Trillium Creek Elementary school, opening it's doors to the public for the first time next week.

POSTSCRIPT: After years of wonderful service and quite rough use by our budding little photographer, it is clear that the powers of our old Sony Digital Camera are severely diminished. I can't tell you how many times the thing has been dropped. But it's always been there for us.  We are ready to be doing some camera shopping today.

Dance moves

Another Anniversary in the Portland Rose Garden

Our 12th Anniversary, on August 12, 2012

Fourth of July

We really enjoyed a Fourth of July party hosted by our neighbors up the street. Lots of kids were very excited by sparklers and pop-its and especially the rockets that launch, explode, and send a plastic army man parachuting down.

Jenny handing lit fireworks to neighborhood toddlers.*

Oliver and Zaeda wanted to bring their bikes so they could ride around with the other kids.

Before

After

Meanwhile, we have some new next-door neighbors, including two boys exactly Oliver and Zaeda's ages. The boys do a lot of yelling and toy sharing over the fence.  They often come over to play, as they did on this early July day when we set up a sprinkler.

Hold this sprinkler. I swear I won't turn it on.

*Editor's note:  Jenny has just clarified that in the first photo she was taking away a firework that I had handed that child.

Spring & Summer Pictures

Coloring Easter eggs

Easter PJs

Tulip farm

Oliver took this photo

Zaeda sorting hair bands by color (with panties on her head)

Self portrait

Oliver drew this picture of the superhero versions of himself and his sister. The funny thing is that Super Zaeda has grown up boobs.

The Avengers!  Hulk and Captain America

He hasn't seen the Avenger movie, so it's all based on his coloring books and the awesome things he's heard from his friends. Also, WHY can't he see the Avengers movie????

Self portrait, holding a little spy shooting toy  and wearing his favorite dinosaur shirt.

Zaeda Turns 3

At the end of May, Zaeda turned 3. We had many adoring aunts, uncles and grandparents on hand to help us celebrate the occasion.  Her Disney Princess obsession was fully indulged. Her pink items adorned with Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and all the rest include towels, sleeping bags, backpacks, t-shirts, dresses, pillows, a toilet, and all manner of stickers, books, and toys.

Here is the cake Jenny made for her. Zaeda can name every one of them, no problem.

Potty training is still something Zaeda is working on. Yesterday, I promised her a piece of candy if she could sit on her princess toilet and make anything – anything at all – come out into it. She really wanted that candy, so she sat down and shortly after announced “I’m done. Can I have some candy?”  But there was nothing. She did it again. On and off all day. She’d grunt and sigh and then assure us there was now something in the toilet, but every time it was empty.

Then late last night, as Jenny and I were straightening up,  we noticed that her princess potty was filled to the brim with turds and water.  Jenny didn’t hesitate to call in Oliver. He quickly confessed that he’d gone to the toilet that day, and then scooped some into Zaeda’s potty because he wanted her to get candy.

Gross. And funny. Also a little worrisome to have caught our son in such a con. But I also feel strangely encouraged that Zaeda will grow up with a big brother so willing to go to bat for her.

Meet Me at McDonalds

Planting tomatoes and strawberries

We’ve missed some blog updating recently. The Northwest spring has been gradually giving way to summer, and here we are at the end of June with regular showers interspersed with days of glorious sun. If you really enjoy mowing your lawn, this is your time and place.

On weekdays, the kids go downtown to daycare with Jenny (or sometimes me), where they have active social lives. The ride home at night is filled with stories about their friends -- who did something funny, who they are going to marry, who made them mad, or who made them cry. Arrivals and departures from the little daycare in downtown Portland are filled with happy shouts of “Hi!” or “Good-bye!” to their classmates.

Oliver pulling his friend Madison at a birthday party

At the end of the summer, Oliver will start Kindergarten at a new school – not just new to him, but new to everyone. Trillium elementary has been under construction for a few years and they are finishing it up now. It’s a beautiful building on a park-like campus just a 15 minute walk way. Oliver will be part of 96 kids in four Kindergarten classes at the school. His class will be dual language, splitting time between English and Spanish in common subjects. We’re excited to see how he does. He’s already reading and writing well.

The day we let him bring his keyboard to school. He was immediately surrounded by girls.

What he only partly understands is that he’ll be leaving behind a group of daycare friends he’s known for 3 years.  We recently cleaned out Oliver’s backpack and found a bunch of envelopes addressed to his friends. They all said the same thing: 

“Meet me at McDonald’s tonight. From Oliver.”