Wednesday, October 14, 2009

first day of school

christopher's first day of preschool was on the 8th of september.  he was very excited to go, and very confident and independent.  he was also a little bit nervous, but unpacked his backpack and went right in to class without any fuss at all.  i even had to remind him to say goodbye to me and give me a hug and kiss!




he's learning a lot, and is so close to reading.  he can spell a lot of consonant-vowel-consonant words, but gets a little frustrated when i encourage him to read them in a book.  he can also tell you the first letter of just about any word.  chris definitely likes to do things on his own terms.  he spent a lot of time this summer practicing his writing - just because he wanted to.  his "R"s used to look like a drawing of a stick figure with legs sticking out the bottom - so cute! - but now he writes them properly.  i didn't help him with it at all, in fact, he would get mad at me when i would try and help.  he figured it out all on his own.  i know this determination will be good for him, so i try and let him go for it.  i am learning patience. :)  we love him like crazy, and are so proud of him!



every time we drop chris off at school, naomi says, "i miss chris" first thing.  aww!  she loves her brother, and misses having him around when he's at school.  we do have fun together, though, and she likes having me all to herself.  it's fun for me, too, to get to spend time with just her.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

summer surprise



even though i grew up helping with the family garden, i have been a little nervous to try my hand at it myself, until this last spring.  i was really in the mood to plant a vegetable garden, but we were in the process of moving and selling the house.  so, i put it off.  when we got all settled here, i decided to try container gardening - even though it was late in the season.

i tried some flowers (which didn't ever bloom - i'm sure it was because it was too hot for them), and tomatoes.  i wasn't sure that i would get any tomatoes, either.  then i got one flower.  and then two tiny cherry tomatoes (you can see the other little green one in the corner).  i watched them every day, waiting to pick them until the exactly perfect moment of ripeness.  i absolutely love homegrown tomatoes.  so juicy and full of flavor.  i very generously offered to share my bounty :), but my family kindly allowed me both tomatoes.  and were they ever heavenly!  the best fruit or vegetable i ate all summer!

now that i'm a little more confident, and knowledgeable, i'll be doing this kind of thing a lot more often!