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How is this day already here?!?! ~ Liam’s Pre-Kindergarten graduation is TOMORROW! I can hardly believe it. We are on the heals of ‘big boy school‘. Watching him evolve & grow throughout this year, I’ve been thinking a lot about this day & what it means for him and for our family. It really is such a huge milestone.

He has spent the last 4 years at the same daycare, and as I wrote in THIS post not that long ago, we really have entrusted his care & learning to the hands of the teachers & staff at his school. You have to advocate for your kiddos at this young age and trust your parental gut & heart. Also, I think it’s vital that you communicate with whomever is caring for them. That was vital for our family. Stephen & I couldn’t be there since we had to work. That’s why we chose daycare, but we still wanted to know what he was doing and learning. We didn’t just drop off & pick up. We stopped and greeted  his teachers and said hello. It makes a HUGE difference. They love your child like their own ❤

That said, I went through our memories over the last 4 years at Kids R Kids & pulled out some highlights 🙂

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1st EVER day at school! …and, 1st time in a high chair & using a crayon & doing a craft project. All at a mere 4 months old. (I remember that my heart just about exploded when I saw this picture…so many firsts all at once!) ~ 12.16.11

Another fun project while in the infant room ~ 3.13.12

Class picture from the Infant Room ~ Suite 100 ….Look at the chunker in the middle front row!

This pic was taken in June 2013, but this was of Liam reading a VERY special book — “Time For A Hug“. Our favorite teacher from the infant room, Ms. Kathy, gave it to him when he graduated from that room with her. We still have it ❤ …torn pages & all…lol!

1st Water Day ~ Toddler Room, Suite 200 6.27.13

Holiday’s have always been super fun at school. Valentine’s Day Party in Suite 150 ~ 2.14.13

Class Picture from Suite 200 ~ 4.9.13

When he moved to the other side of the building where all the Preschool Rooms were, we graduated to our 1st backpack. It will forever be called ‘giraffe backpack‘ around here, and while we stopped using it on a daily basis in Pre-K for space issues, I don’t think I can ever part with it…..Cuteness overload ❤ ❤ ~ 7.29.13 (1st day in Suite 250)

Happiness is …Pajama Day, Suite 250 ~ 10.23.13

Saying good-bye to one of the BEST teachers EVER. Ms Kathy!! ❤ ~ 11.23.13

MLK art project excitement, Suite 250 ~ 1.22.14

Celebrating another Valentine’s  with more of our fav teachers — Ms. Jenn & Ms. Tamie!! Cannot say enough about how much he loved his time with these ladies.  ~ 2.14.14

Mardi Gra fun in Ms. Candice’s room, Suite 300 😉 …Ms. Candice is a saint & so kind for working with this mama bear through the trials of potty training! ~ 3.04.14

So proud of his bird feeder project he made with Ms. Laura in Suite 350!  ~ 6.18.14

He was only in Ms. Laura’s class for a few months but he still talks about her from time to time. She was a great teacher. She taught him to count to twenty in Spanish & he still remembers, today! ~ 8.14.14

Liam’s 1st drawing that wasn’t ‘scribble scrabble’. I remember that I almost fell over when I saw this hanging up in his room. SO proud 🙂  ~ 1.29.15

Last day with Ms. Dignora, Suite 400 for Preschool. She taught him to LOVE circle time & the days of the week song!  ~ 6.05.15

Last June, Liam was excited to move back to the ‘big kids‘ building from the main center. We started early VPK for the summer in prep for VPK/Pre-K all year. It honestly was a harder transition on me than him (or Daddy…lol.) He flourished under the care & instruction of Ms. Samar! I like to peak at him from time-to-time on the camera access to see how his day is going, and sometimes, I really catch some hilarious tid bits. Here is one a snapped a screen shot of — he was ‘talking on the phone’ ….Love it!!, Early VPK, Suite 400EC ~ 6.18.15

and then….VPK officially started! ~ 8.24.15

A favorite art project from Pre-K — Family Tree Drawing ~ 9.15.15

Circle time was seriously a fav for little dude. If we happened to go into school later on a given day than normal, he was adamant that he did not want to miss circle time. Love our little learner ❤ ~ 10.22.15

All in blue in honor of World Diabetes Day // LOVES this playground …also Ms. Kaylee!  ~ 11.13.15

Throughout his time here, we are thankful for the many opportunities for the parents to visit & be involved. We are also fortunate that are work schedules allow us to do this, too. While we Stephen & I normally swap events, this past Thanksgiving family lunch, we surprised little dude & both came ❤  ~ 11.25.15

This was one of THE cutest productions ever. Liam performed his heart out & ate up the attention. All the kids & teachers did a wonderful job. It was adorable! — Pre-K Holiday Program ~ 12.17.15

In-House field trip & the resulting painting was the coolest. Liam had a ball! — Yes, You CANvas ~ 12.23.15

VPK brought on homework (or, extra activities) for the 1st time, but this little man tackled them each week like such a big boy. They always were family activities & they really helped reinforce what he was learning in the classroom. We also confirmed this year that he is a lefty, like his mama 🙂 ~ 1.16.16

 VPK Garden — planting sunflower seeds with Ms. Samar– This activity was what sparked his interest in gardening and honestly, it lit a fire of interest that we love. We’ve now planted our own garden at home due to his request! ~ 3.11.16

VPK — Another screen shot I grabbed because of cuteness overload. — Liam ‘reading’ to his class. I later asked him & he was turning the pages while they were listening the CD read the story…still impressive! ~ 4.11.16

VPK Graduation Picture!!! ~ June 2016

From December 2011 to June 2016 — oh, how far our sweet, sweet boy has come! ❤

Kindergarten bound now…..we can hardly believe it! Thank you to everyone who has loved him, hugged him, and taught him along the way. You have made a profound impact on our family, and we cannot thank you enough.