Just Chillaxing

Harrison loves juice boxes (I call them boxes, but I know they are just bags). He loves his milk and juice, but he LOVES juice boxes. The other night after coming in from playing in the water, he grabbed a juice box out of the pantry and brought it to me (because I have to open it, you know). I laughed as he started guzzling his juice and propped himself up on his high chair. Just nonchalantly drinking his juice with not a care in the world.

Summer Reading Program - 2011

The kids are once again enrolled in the Summer Reading Program at our library. They love going there and our librarians are so awesome. They know the kids by name and always make them feel so special. Ava and I signed up last Friday, but Harrison was napping and recovering from strep throat, so I left him with Daddy and Ava and I went to check out our first set of books. This year I am letting both kids pick the allotted 10 books because they are both so different this year. They both listen to each other's books, so they end up getting double credit. In fact, they already have the first prize for 25 books (popcorn for Ava and animal crackers for Harrison).

Ava was so sweet when we picked books for Harrison and she really put thought into the books she chose for him. She found one Thomas book (which he LOVED) and several truck/car books. I decided to let Ava get her first chapter book and we selected Junie B. Jones and the Smelly Bus. Junie B. is a little girl in Kindergarten who finds herself in all types of trouble. When the librarian found out that it was Ava's first chapter book and it was a Junie B. book, she sent Ava home with a Junie B. doll to read with. That just made it even more special for Ava. I didn't know how Ava's attention would hold up through a chapter book, but she LOVED it. In face, we read 2 chapters a night and she always begs for more. We have now finished the first Junie B. and started another one last night.

Playing Outside - Summer 2011

Since school let out, we have made it a nightly event to go outside after supper and play with the kids. Sometimes it's bubbles, the sandbox, or ball, and other times, it is just running through the sprinkler/water hose to cool off.

It has been so hot down here that we just can't make it outside during the day, so this evening time works well for us. Besides, playing in the sprinkler is equal to a bath, right? :)

Dirty boy in his nasty white onesie. Believe it or not, when I put it on him that say it was white. :)

I love how I snapped this at just the right time and it looks like Ava is either eating bubbles, or blowing them.

Our garden this year. We always work so hard, but it doesn't seem to work out for us.

I am ready for some squash.

Harrison Eating Pudding

Here is a nice little video that showcases Harrison being messy with his pudding. You can clearly see why sometimes he doesn't get pudding unless it is bath night (which for Harrison is most nights!).

Recent Pictures

Here are some more recent pictures from the happenings in the Rogers Family. They don't really follow along any pattern, so I am just going to post a mixture of pictures. We are looking forward to a great summer. I have 2 days of work left, and then FREEDOM! We are looking forward to a great summer!

They spend lots of time watching traffic that goes by.

Harrison loves all cleaning tools. We have moved all the brooms, mops, and vacuums to a back closet that he raids almost daily.

Sweet brother and sister. Hanging out with Baby Liam.

Last Day of School

Thursday was Ava's last official day as a preschool. *sniff* It is so hard to believe that the year has gone by and our little girl is headed to Kindergarten. She has had a great year and we have been so blessed that she got a spot in the PreK program. I was so worried at the beginning of the year about how she would fit in and about how she would behave. We have had ours ups and downs through the year with the behavior, but I am very pleased with how she did overall.

• She can now recite all of her ABC's (and not just in that cute way!).



• She knows all her letters, she writes all her letters (even though some are sometimes backwards).



• She knows the sound that each letter makes.
  


• She recognizes all numbers up through 10 and then some larger than 10.
  


• She knows all of her colors and shapes.



• She has a firm grasp on opposites.



• She can use a pair of scissors relatively well.



• She holds her pencil/crayon in a position that is very close to being correct.



• She is recognizing some basic sight words and we are working on starting to read.

Okay, so obviously you can tell that I am teacher! :) I keep a close eye on what she is doing and how she is progressing. I know that Ava is very smart and I want her to excel and do well because I know she can. Plus, right now, she LOVES learning and I know that that won't last forever! :)

Here she is showing off one of the 87 water balloons that Bradley and I filled for her Field Day. She had a great time!

Last day as a preschooler.