Monday, June 26, 2023

Weekend Highlights

This is the last week of June! How? (I recognize this is the most cliche thing to say but it’s true) July is going to fly by even faster. The boys and I are going to my parents for the 4th, I go to San Francisco the 2nd to last week for work, and then we have our annual week at my parents lake home the last week of the month! I have to remind myself that summer vibes can carry into the month of September. Since I went back to school in mid-August as a child, the 4th always felt like the ‘mid-point’ of the summer. But it’s really not! Anyways here are some weekend highlight! 

- Paul graduated from PK on Friday! They had a little ceremony for them. He’s made so many great friends at daycare but we are excited for his next steps! Today he starts a public school summer program at the school he’ll attend in the fall. We celebrated his graduation with DQ treats. 



- The forecast called for rain on Saturday afternoon so instead of our usual visit to the library, we went to a new-to-us park close to gymnastics on Saturday morning since I thought we’d be indoors all afternoon.


- But then, as usual, the rain missed us. So we met up with friends for park time + more ice cream after quiet time while Phil stayed back to clean house. I guess ice cream was the theme of the weekend! 



- We finally got some rain on Sunday so the day was a bit of a washout. Will took a really great 2 hour nap, though! And it cleared up in the afternoon so we went for a family walk to the creek so the boys could throw leaves and sticks into the creek. On our way home, our friends in the neighborhood were outside with their cat. The boys thought it was hilarious when he jumped into the bottom of our stroller. 

So excited about the sticks he found!


Not so high moments 

- I don’t know if it’s the transition to a new room at school or what but Taco has had some epically bad tantrums. We are in uncharted territory as Paul did not have these STRONG emotions. There have been a lot of ‘what is happening’ looks exchanged between Phil and me. I know it’s hard for Taco, too, so hopefully this stage is short-lived. 

How was your weekend? 

13 comments:

Kyria @ Travel Spot said...

Hurray for Pablo! He is getting to be such a big boy and I bet he is so proud of himself for getting to the next level! I think the summer program will be a great way to ease him into the regular school year, especially if some of his normal friends are not going to be in his new class.

Do you think Taco is just trying to get attention, especially if Paul is getting some of the limelight recently? Or do you feel like it is more that he is trying to communicate something that is beyond his skill level so he is just getting it out the way he knows how? (or I guess it could be both?)

My July is like your July -- one week away and all of the other weekends are full and then even the weekdays have activities!! However, this is always what July is like and I like it and always do this to myself! This August is different from normal as right now I only have two of the four (?) weekends booked...but I am sure I will cram something in there because I am a big proponent of making hay while the sun shines and staying inside to read when it's dreary!

Sarah said...

Oh, toddlers. So jelly that he still naps, though!!

Nicole MacPherson said...

Awww, that graduation is so cute! That's such a sweet age.
I love the "throwing sticks in the creek" age. It's just so great to be outdoors with little ones!

NGS said...

Little kids in graduation gowns is epically cute. That is all.

That kitty making itself cozy in the bottom of your stroller is also epically cute.

Life of a Doctor's Wife said...

Awww, look at your handsome graduate! Congrats to him! And a weekend with an ice cream theme is a good summer weekend in my book (especially if preceded by time outside!).

I'm so sorry that your little one is having such fiery tantrums. It must be so hard to want to communicate so badly and to be unable to get your point across in exactly the way you want it! But that's got to be just as tough for you and Phil. And being IN a phase sometimes feels like it will never end, so I have a lot of empathy for you all!

Mom of Children said...

Congrats grad!!! L also graduated and transitioned to kinder. R will have to face the transition from daycare to preschool. With L, the transition was smooth. At least at the house, I'm not sure about when in school. If she did have tantrums, we weren't made aware (I think it's for the best). R has a different personality, with the invisible umbilical cord still attached to me lol so I think the transition may be harder. We are sending them both to summer camp at this pre-school- for two weeks. My hope is a) summer camp will show the transition to preschool (same place in September) and b) they will be together so if something happens, L will stand up for him.

Jeanie said...

This looks like great fun. Three cheers for Paul, but oh, those tantrums. Hope they are short lived. It looks like a great weekend. Mine was meh, but that was just what I wanted.

Jenny said...

I love the photo of Paul in his cap and gown- so cute!!! And, here 4th of July really is the mid point of the summer-at least, summer vacation from school.
Sigh, those tantrums. It's so, so hard to deal with. When my daughter had them she would literally throw herself on the floor and start banging her head up and down. I was seriously afraid she was going to give herself a concussion. I would be interested to hear your coping strategy. I can't exactly remember (I think I blocked a lot of it out of my mind because it was so traumatic) but I just stayed closeby to make sure she didn't hurt herself and waited for it to pass. Yes let's hope it's the transition to the new class and that he'll be out of this phase SOON!!!

San said...

Congrats to your little graduate. He looks so cute in his gown!

I am sorry about the tantrums. It is quite hard with kids to figure out what's bothering them (or so I am told). I hope it's short-lived.

Outdoor activities and ice-cream sound like the perfect summer activities!

Elisabeth said...

Aww. Look at Paul!! How sweet. Our kids have never had a gown graduation (not really a thing in Canada, I don't think, until high school?), but it's hilariously adorable.

Tantrums are so frustrating - and exhausting. You never know when one may strike. This will definitely pass, but the phase can seem never-ending. Ugh! Sending happy thoughts that this will all be over soon. But it feels hard because it is hard!!

Stephany said...

Hooray for Paul! What a great milestone. I love it. <3

Summer days call for ice cream, I think! :)

I'm sorry to hear that you've been having trouble with Will. I know my younger nephew turned out to be a LOT more strong-willed than my older nephew (although that's now sort of flip-flopped now that the older nephew is a teenager and the younger one has matured a bit).

Grateful Kae said...

Ahh, so exciting for him to start K!! That's such a milestone. I felt like that was when I started "real" parenting, if that makes sense. I mean obviously the younger ages are VERY real parenting, but I think when I envisioned having kids and being a mom, a lot of my thoughts went to having kids in school, driving them to activities, doing the whole school thing etc. Maybe because my personal childhood memories all really began when I started school, so that's what I associate "childhood" with much more than the toddler or preschool years!! When does he turn 5 again? I forget when his b-day is.

Anne said...

There is nothing cuter than a tiny kid in a graduation gown and mortarboard. :)
I'm sorry about the tantrums. That + the long nap (a one-off?) make me wonder whether he's going through one of those developmental "leaps" that very little kids often have. So overwhelming for their brains and bodies and...well... tantrums. Hang in there, whatever the reason. This, too, shall pass...