Jacob's First Day of Preschool

Well, I'm a big slacker! I completely forgot to write about Jacob's first day of school! So here it is, a little late, but it's here!!

Jacob was VERY excited to return to preschool this year. He had so much fun last year, and he couldn't wait to see his friends and teachers. Hard to believe that in only one year we will be sending him to Kindergarten! So far he is really having fun, and has impressed me with how much he has retained from last year. His recoginition of numbers and letters is better than ever, and he loves to practice writing his name. I think this will be a great year for him! So, while Jacob is at school, Emily get's her Mama all to herself! I think she really enjoys her time by herself, and she plays very well on her own. I think it's nice for her to be able to do what she wants to do, when she wants to do it! No one bossing her around for those few hours! I can't even think about that fact that I will be sending her off to prechool next year!

Third time's a charm!

He emerged pretty much on schedule. He formed his chrysallis a few days after the others, and he "blossomed" a few days later too. Katie was very excited, as this was "her" caterpillar, Smally. We took him outside this afternoon and he willingly stepped onto the plant in the backyard. About 20 minutes later, he is still perched in the same spot, but we expect to see him flying around soon! What an amazing experience this has been! The pictures do not do justice to how beautiful they really are.

Beautiful Butterflies

Our fascination with butterflies really took off when Patrick & I were visting the Butterfly Farm in Grand Caymna earlier this summer. We started making plans to grow our own butterfly garden in our backyard. From then it has bee all about the butterflies!

Then, two weeks ago, Patrick took Katie & Jacob to a Monarch Butterfuly Workshop at the Putnam Museum. They learned all about the beautiful creatures, their lifecyle, etc. At the end of the day, they all got a caterpillar to take home in a jar, leaves to feed them, and care instructions. Today, 15 days later, 2 of the 3 caterpillars fully opened into these amazing creatures. The last one should open in a few days. Katie named him "Smally" since he was always quite a bit smaller than the other two, and formed his chrysallis a few days after the other two did.

This morning we released the two butterflies into the backyard, and have already seen the flitting around from plant to plant, enjoying their newfound freedom. We will do the same for "Smally" when his day comes.

It has been fascinating watching them grow and change. The speed of their growth is unbelievable. This has been a truly incredible experience for the whole family.