Sunshine and Strawberries

We kicked off our weekend with a little sunshine and strawberries! This is our mommy/son tradition every year...and for the past few years we have brought along Memommy, but she wasn't feeling well for it this year.

This year I was SO proud because Blake actually picked more than he ate! Haha! He was a great helper this year and he made sure that we came home with a BUNCH of yummy strawberries. I kinda wish that I knew how to make jams and things like that, but I don't, so we will just be eating our little hearts out this weekend and sharing them with others!

Opening Day

This Saturday we had one of the biggest parade days in Rolesville... Opening Day of Rec Baseball!!! Traditionally, all of the recreational baseball/tball teams do a parade down main street of Rolesville. Then they have a little "Opening Ceremonies" before all of the teams play their first games of the season.

Blake is playing Advance Tball this year. That means that they get 3 coach pitches to hit. If they don't hit one of those pitches then they can hit the ball off the tee. It makes for a slow game to watch, but it really helps the kids learn the game.

Blake's team name is the Pirates! He is so excited about this! He also has a good little group of friends that he is making. I always think that sports are also a family thing! Ryan is helping coach Blake's team and I am cheering him on from the sidelines along with the grandparents! He is also #2 this year! I look forward to seeing him play and also improve.

Here are a few pics from Saturday's Opening Day!

Hiking Pilot Mountain

Everytime we go to Pilot Mountain we go hiking. We started by going up to the viewing area when Blake was little. Now he is old enough that we can hike around the big pinnacle. He LOVES hiking and climbing on all the rocks. The views are pretty amazing also. This is one of my favorite things to do with my little buddy!

Explorers

Spring Break.... I LOVE IT! It is that time that we have to relax and reset! We spent the first part of Spring Break in Pilot Mountain. We loved getting to catch up with Papa and also explore Pilot Mountain and Mt. Airy.

Blake is at the age of curiosity....and I am really enjoying this phase! We spent a lot of time exploring the little towns. We found lots of antique shops and quirky little shops, items, and places. We had such a good time talking about them and taking lots of pictures!

These were some fun finds in Pilot Mountain!

We also checked out Mt. Airy.... which happens to be the town of Mayberry in the old town of the popular Andy Griffith Show! The boy in that show was a little redhead named Opie! Of course Blake looks like that character and is very popular in the town. Haha! He loved exploring the shops and even locking me up in the pretend jail, just like in the Andy Griffith Show! Blake and my mom even marked our hometown of Rolesville on the map for visitors!

We had such a great time! Next on the trip... hiking!

Field Trip to 3 Bears Acres

Kindergarten has been a blast this year, and one of our favorite things are the field trips! on March 23rd, we went on Blake's last kindergarten field trip to a place called 3 Bears Acres. It is a little nature park with lots of fun activities and learning aspects.

Blake's group consisted of his friends Isaiah and Jacob. I had so much fun getting to know these friends. They played great together all day.

There were lots of things for them to do! Naturally, the boys loved the sling shot! They got to try to shoot lots of tennis balls into the woods. Haha.  They also liked the jumping pillow, the playground, and the painting center. The other cool part was the sled slide! They took old sleds and put them on a track slide. The picture of us is right before we literally flew to the bottom! I had no idea how fast it would go! Yikes!

Blake's class also got to have a weather lesson in the woods. They learned about all kinds of tools that measure weather!

Most of all, I loved sharing this moment with Blake. I am so grateful that I have a job that allows me to take off to spend moments like this with him! We had such a great time!

Kindergarten Conference

We have reached the mid point of Kindergarten! Wow! I can't believe Blake is half way done... I feel like just yesterday I was freaking out about the first day of school.

This past week Blake had a "student led" conference. This is where Blake was given the opportunity to show me around this classroom and let me see what all he has learned. We cycled through a few centers where he read to me, showed me some of his writing samples, did a math word problem for me, and showed me his data notebook. I was so speechless and proud!!! He has learned SO much!!!
Here are a few things for us to remember....

• Blake is now reading on a Level C. He has to be at a D by the end of the year. He jumped 3 levels in just a few months! WOW!
• He is writing full sentences.
• He can complete reading comprehension questions.
• He currently knows about 25ish sight words.
• He can count to 100 by ones and tens.
• He is starting to do addition and subtraction math problems. 
• He is learning compound beginning sounds like sh, ch, th
• Mrs. Walker said he is a social butterfly and that all of his classmates want to play with him!
• He has gotten 1-2 little love notes from girls in his class ;) He gets embarrassed when I see them.  
• He loves school - Especially PE and Music time. 

I am beyond proud of Blake!!!He is so sweet and special and smart! I love seeing him grow and I can't wait to see how he continues to learn and grow. I'm going to be outsmarted by a 2nd greater at this point!

Hello, 32

Oh. My. Goodness. How in the world am in 32?! Time is flying by. I actually remember when I was a teenager and I thought being in your 30's was old. HAHA!

However, it has been a wonderful celebration the past few weeks! My parents each took Blake and I out for dinner and sweet gifts! Blake (with the help of Ryan) also got me some thoughtful gifts - a salt lamp and a diamond painting kit, that I wanted! The rest of the time I enjoyed celebrating with friends and those closest to me! We had lots of great celebrations at work, and also going out to eat. I even got flowers!! :)

I think 32 will be the best year yet! That is at least the goal! Haha. Cheers to a happier and healthier me!