School Days

School has been in session for a little over a month...and boy is it exhausting. Clayton & Hallie both transitioned well to getting up early, being gone all day, and getting home at dinner time. We still LOVE the weekends. Clayton will tell you he likes to sleep in, too. Both kids are AMAZING sleepers. Up between 8-9 on weekends! The first early morning of school Clayton commented that it's not time to go because it's still dark outside. I totally agree. If we could leave around 10, it would be perfect!! :)

Hallie's teachers have told me that she is so great at TOTS. She knows their routine, loves to sing, dance, and take walks in the bye bye buggy. Hallie is an EATER. They always comment on how well she eats lunch and snacks. And to think her doc "reminded" me at her last appointment that she could eat whatever she wanted. She does that and more!! In her new TOTS class she naps on a cot. She is usually the first to fall asleep and if she wakes up before it's time she just looks at her teachers and when they signal her to go back to night night, she closes her eyes and is right back to bed. WHAT A DREAM!!! The evenings haven't been as easy...by the time I get the kids they are exhausted, hungry, whiny, etc. and SO AM I!! Hallie loves baby dolls right now and also anything that Clayton is playing with. She can sure hold her own with the boys! Her favorite color right now is yellow. She calls every color yellow and especially loves school buses because they are yellow! She has always done a lot of listening and observing (although she is hardly a quiet kid). But recently is talking a lot more. She loves to say, Bye Bye Papa, Gigi, Nana, etc. She loves to call aunt abby on the phone and she adores Melmo (Elmo). She knows when it's raining and says, rainin. She calls her big bro, Bubby, and when they see each other in the hall at school they hug! She uses the word no a lot and is very good with her pleases and thank yous. She isn't very nice to Peyton. She growl/grunts at him especially when she thinks he might get her food. She loves reading books. Her favorite song is Happy Birthday and she just recently learned to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. You just have to see this girl dance...she can even do a somersault!

Clayton started preschool at TOTS this year. He loves it and is learning lots of letter sounds. We really enjoy it when he sings... "The A says a, the A says a, every letter makes a sound, the A says a...etc." Clayton is quite the chatterbox as usual and on the rare occasion when he has to "sit on the bench" he tells me right away. It's usually for going up the slide the wrong way. My fault because I totally let him do it at home. He's my little explorer! He loves all things boy...bugs, baseball, dinosaurs, racecars, superheros. Clayton thinks he grows every single day when he eats all his food. Lately he is wanting us to measure him ALL THE TIME! He wants to be just like his daddy and will tell you that he is getting whiskers like his daddy. At school when they play house he had to be the doctor, but he said he really wanted to be the daddy. He has figured out the way to his daddy's heart... "Hey daddy, I set up the bases..." Then, Neal is right out their with him playing baseball. Clayton loves to bat. Everything he steps up to the plate he says out loud... spread my feet, tap the plate, watch the ball, and swing and then usually hits a homerun! He wants you to cheer for him and chase him as he runs the bases. Neal even cut a base path in the grass last time for Clayton's field.