Preschool Days

Little Lewie's preschool days are winding down at the community college.  Since the school is connected to the college's early childhood education program, it follows the school calendar, which means that Lewie will be finishing his year there on May 18th.

My goal was to send Lewie to Teddy Bear Tree House, the daycare he attended last summer, but when I learned in early February that he was number four on a wait list, I decided I couldn't waste any time...I needed to secure another preschool for him before it was too late.  (After all, both Mommy and Daddy have to work year-round, even though I would love to have my summers off.)

Since Lewie's preschool at the college is commencing in less than a month, they've held several events in April to "showcase" what the kids learned during the year.  The first was their annual art exhibit.  (Lewie participated in this last year too.)  I came with Lewie on opening night to see his artwork and the artwork of his little friends...)

The grand opening of the exhibit.

Lewie presenting his work...or well...standing in front of it.

A better view of Lewie's art.

In case you couldn't read the dedication...(Mommy is very modest about this.)

A better view of the exhibit.

His little friend's artwork...

Lewie being congratulated by Miss Kim.

After the exhibit, Lewie took interest in a student's drum kit.  How lucky that the student let him play it!

"This is fun Mommy!"

"Oops.  Hit myself in the head."

"I'm jamming!"

  
The next event, held this past Thursday, was "Storytellers Night." On this special night, he had a chance to present his storybook on the stage of the college's 'Playbox Theater.'   It was adorable as the teachers read each of the children's stories and presented their artwork to go along with the story.  Lewie is one of the younger children in his class, so his was about talking on the phone and riding the elevator.  Some of his older four (almost five) year-old friends had elaborate, mystical stories about witches, princes, and princesses.  It was quite a production!

Miss Debbie presenting Lewie's book (dedicated to Mommy).

Little Lewie the star.

"This is a little embarrassing..."

Another storybook presentation.  This time for his classmate Jason.

It was definitely fun going to these events...  It makes me realize how much Little Lewie has grown and learned in such a short period of time.  I definitely couldn't be prouder of my little boy.

Exploring the Past (a Vist to my Alma Mater)

Just yesterday I took my three year-old with me to my old stomping grounds, Sacred Heart University, known to most beloved alums as SHU.  "Whatever made you think about taking Lewie there?" my mom asked after I told her about our little adventure.

"Well, since he loves exploring college campuses (Mommy and Daddy both work at different colleges, and he loves to visit us at work) I figured I'd take him to another one.  Plus, it gave me an opportunity to see all the new buildings they've been touting about over the years..."

My mother may have thought this was a strange decision, but it ended up being a spectacular day!  For one, it gave Lewie a chance to be Lewie and to enjoy all the things that HE loves.  We rode on four different elevators, explored the various nooks and crannies of old and new buildings alike, and waved hello to all the young, excited students in the hallways.  (It was definitely very busy for a Friday afternoon.)

However, then there were the unexpected events that made the day even better.  When visiting their new gym, Lewie showed interest in one of the large coach buses used to shuttle around athletes.  The driver actually let him sit behind the steering wheel and press buttons, like making the door open and close.  Then we had a chance to visit their brand new campus center, the Linda E. McMahon Commons.  Little did we know, that yesterday was the actual dedication ceremony and grand opening of the building.  Lewie had a chance to see their state-of-the-art dining hall, and since everything is brand new and just on display, he was allowed to go inside their "kitchen" area and pretend like he owned his very own restaurant.  "This is my restaurant," he touted as he pretended to work as a busy chef.

Finally, after hours of exploration, Lewie became tired and didn't want to walk back to the car.  "Carry me Mommy," he pleaded.  In days of the past, I would have welcomed his request, but now that he wears a size 5 toddler and weighs over 50 lbs., the thought of carrying him for a half a mile already made my back hurt.  Not even two minutes later, I saw a young student worker driving around on a golf cart.
     "Could you give us a ride back to our car?" I begged.
     "Sure, no problem," he answered as he shuttled us right to the door of our car.  This of course, was another extra special moment that Lewie couldn't stop talking about.

Yesterday, I'll admit it, was a super day!  It's been 15 years since I walked the SHU campus as a young, bright-eyed college student.  I couldn't help but to smile as I saw all the new young students full of hope, excitement, and dreams.  Their SHU campus is definitely a different experience from mine.   The SHU I knew looked more like a high school compared to the five-star luxury resort they have now.  Maybe one day Lewie will choose to go here too.  Time will only tell.
 

The SHU Campus with the Linda E. McMahon Commons in the background.

Lewie's new restaurant (i.e. the new SHU cafeteria)

Lewie playing in the kitchen.

The types of "electronic" menus college students have these days...

Five-star resort quality can even be found in the bathrooms.

The new Campus Chapel.  (Only a few years old.)

Inside the chapel...

The detail of these walls...

This is the detail up close and personal.

Inside the gym.  Lewie said, "Mommy look at all the toys in there.  Can I play too?"

Easter Fun and Surprises

Each new holiday brings special moments and surprises with my little boy.  Now that he's three, he's starting to understand concepts like the Easter Bunny, coloring eggs, and looking for an Easter basket.  This year we tried to form new traditions that will hopefully continue year after year.  For example, last weekend we had friends over for an Easter Egg Hunt.  It was fun watching four screaming kids scrambling for eggs (no pun intended) and chocolate.  They also squealed with delight at finding two "golden eggs," which meant they won a prize.  Lewie enjoyed looking for eggs too, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that his friends were willing to share with him.  (His friends are a few years older.)

This weekend, we took a short trip to visit the Easter Bunny, made some "bunny cookies," colored eggs, and searched for six eggs and a basket that the Easter Bunny left for us.  During this weekend, I learned a few new things:

1.  My little boy is way smarter than I thought.  Upon visiting the Easter Bunny, he looked at my husband and me and said, "Who's in the costume?"  Gulp.  Then when I read him a story about the Easter Bunny, he quizzed me again saying, "Does the Easter Bunny walk?  Does he talk?  Does he wear shirts?"  Double gulp.  It's as if he was telling me that he didn't believe for one second that there's a tall bunny that wears clothes and walks to the house to bring treats.  Needless to say, I wasn't prepared to give explanations.  I suppose the next thing he'll be asking me is how the Easter Bunny gets into the house.  What do I say?  I leave him a key, he magically appears, or he slides down the chimney like Santa?  Thankfully, our questions stopped at the Easter Bunny wearing shirts.  I explained to him that since the Easter Bunny is magical, he can do a lot of things like humans.  Triple gulp.

2.  My little boy is lazy.  Getting him to search for his eggs and his Easter Basket was like getting him to brush his teeth.  "Don't you want to find your Easter Basket?"  I begged.  "How about if Mommy helps you look for it?"  He looked at me and responded,  "You help me find it, Mommy?  Thank you."  He then proceeded to sit on the couch with the hope that Mommy would just magically bring it to him--it was way too much effort to try and find it.  Luckily, later in the afternoon while he was playing with his train table, he found it on his own.  Even then, the enthusiasm wasn't exactly what I had hoped it would be.  Oh well.

"I'm not so sure about sitting on your lap..."  (Like the Christmas tree in the background--lol.)

Lewie liked this display.

Another Easter Bunny display...

"Hey Mommy.  Now I'm the Easter Bunny."

My little boy and me.  (Like my bag?  It has Lewie's artwork on it.)

Choosing stickers for his colored eggs.

Enjoying some morning treats from his eggs.

Little Lewie took a picture of his egg with a dollar bill.  He was very excited to get money!  ("Now I can go to Aunty Re Re's house!" he said.  That's my little boy...saving money for travel and family!)

Exploring his Easter basket.

His favorite Easter basket item.  Now he can shave in the tub!

Yup, like I said, holidays bring happy memories and surprises.  This year, the surprise was on me.  There was more fun to be had with the Easter Egg Hunt and making cookies than with the Easter Bunny visit.  It'll be interesting to see what happens next year...