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We actually did not have to wait too long: I planned to leave on the Sunday following graduation. I felt it was the best way to get Keegan not to think about leaving his friends. We did, however, find the way to squeeze in some extra fun before the trip.

On Saturday morning, bright and early, we met with Sara, Alyce and Betty to watch Monsters University, the sequel of Monsters Inc. Keegan was very excited, even if he had to give up his normal Saturday morning TV time. The movie theater had a fun display, and kids could climb on a stool and made their own ID card.

Keegan wanted to sit on the top row, which was great, so the kids could freely move around. Sara brought some snacks and water (oh-oh) and we thoroughly enjoyed the movie. It was actually pleasant, even for adults.

The rest of the weekend was mellow. I obviously had a lot of packing to do, so Matt tried to entertain Keegan as much as he could. The new, two lanes slip and slide definitely helped.

By Sunday I had pretty much packing under control, so were were ready to head over the airport around 6pm. We flew British Airlines again, which I love, in part because it leaves at night (=more time to pack and more sleep on route).

Keegan had his second passport issued: quite a difference 5 years makes! It is funny because the Italian passport will not expire till he is 10, so he has 5 more years of using his baby picture. Ready? Italy, here we come!

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The very anticipated, waited and dreaded moment arrived: Keegan reached the end of his preschool year. I am not sure who feared the moment the most; Keegan has been talking about it for a couple of months, expressing his sadness at leaving. I did not feel much better: after all, I have been dropping him off or picking him up there for the last 5 years…Despite our initial doubts, I have to say, it turned out to be a really good school, especially this last year. His teacher, ms. Jill was incredible and he really flourished in her class.

Graduation preparation started at the end of May, when the kids received their Reading Medals. We have been keeping track of all the books we have been reading, and any kid who reached the goal of 200 books received a medal. Keegan blew them out of the water, with 277 books read (mainly because I am a very fastidious record-keeper). He was very proud.

After the ceremony, the kids posed outside for a class picture. They all wore the “friendship t-shirt”: they placed their hand-prints on each other’s shirt. Very cute.

Then it was off to Chuck E Cheese…and of course Matt was the designated chaperone. It was a fun, and well deserved trip. Now, if only I could get Keegan to actually try to do some of the reading on his own…I guess the medal rewards parent’s reading skills.

May was also the time for graduation pictures. I have always said that having graduation in preschool is dumb. I still stand by it, even after having my own child: by the time the kids are in college, graduation will have lost some of its impact. Plus, does anyone ever fail to graduate preschool??? Anyway, I can’t deny they are very cute, wearing their caps, and who knows if we are going to see a college graduation anyway.

The last few days were fun: diorama making and just playing with friends.

Camren, Elliott, Rozelin, Van and Keegan

Then the day finally came. We all received an animated digital invitation.

The ceremony was held on the last day of the regular school year. For us, it was even more bittersweet because it was also our final day at Bay Park Early Learning Center.

We started by taking pictures everywhere, upon Keegan’s request. He really wanted a memory of his school.

the outdoor area entrance and slide and shed

the dress-up house

the ball area

the bike area and the garden

the tables and his detached, multi-rooms Golden Lions classroom

We also took a picture of the last project they worked on: the volcano.

We brought a nice orchid plant to Ms. Jill. We worked together to make the “thumbprint-hearts” bookmark. I can’t take creative credit, but I was impressed I was actually able to find the time to do it.

That afternoon, under a beautiful sun, we gathered for the ceremony itself.The director, Ms. Gail, came out first and made a few remarks, and then Ms. Jill, who commented on how interesting ( and challenging) that year had been: 10 rowdy boys and only 3 girls. The exact words she used were:

” It was a fun, energetic year… I have learned a lot…and I’v became a better teacher because all that I have learned…”

So, basically what she said was that it has been exhausting! And who can blame her?

Then, as the music, the classic he Pomp and Circumstance, started, the kids walked in and lined up.

Adorable! They immediately performed the song by Luis Amstrong, What a Wonderful Life, using sign language. Of course, Keegan (and Van to some extent) started goofing around, while the other kids were trying to sign the song. Ms. Jill had to come out and remind Keegan to behave. Why is it always my child? It was even more obvious since Cathy, the girl right in front of him, was doing such a great job.

Then it was time for diplomas. Each kid went up to Ms. Jill, who shared some of their hopes and dreams. I guess Keegan wants to take care of seals when he grows up! I never heard that one before. Matt was a few minutes late, but he made it in time for watching him receive his diploma.

Then it was time for another song and this time all the kids sang it.

Then it was off to refreshments, and goodbyes.

Goodbye ms. Deborah

Then we all got inside, led by  collages for each child, hanging on the walls. It was fun to see and read what the kids have created.

Ms. Jill played a long slideshow, that showcased some of the best moment from this year, and also some really early moments for some on the old-timers, like Keegan and Julia. It was so strange to see two or three year old Keegan.

I have to say I was able to keep it together up to that point, but after seeing other moms crying, I broke down too. It was sad to have to say goodbye to so many people I shared so much for the past 5 years.

goodbye ms. Jill

After saying goodbye to all the parents, and promising to see each other for play-dates during the summer, we took one last photo outside before leaving.

Fortunately, that night Keegan had a Parents’ Night Out at the pool, so the fun atmosphere helped him to focus on something else, and the mini-date helped me too. We had many great memories, and that is what will stay with all of us. We will try to keep in touch with his best buddies (and our favorite parents), and hopefully, the transition to kindergarten and the new Montessori school will not be as hard.

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Father’s Day weekend is here. As someone else recently asked, I wonder why Mothers only get a Sunday, while Fathers get a whole weekend, but regardless, I am more than happy to celebrate our super guy.

We started off, as always, with the party at Keegan’s school. Keegan was excited to have Matt there, and there were hot dogs, chips, fruit and drinks…honestly, mostly for the kids. Not too many adults feel like eating at 3.30pm. Ice cream, however, was a different story. They had the infamous water balloon toss, and for once Matt get out of it unscathed.

Matt had a stressful week, so he started off the weekend with some well deserved rest.

This year Father’s Day fell on the same weekends as our anniversary, so we had a double celebration. On Saturday we went to the San Diego Fair. It was a beautiful day, and we enjoyed spending some time outside, for once free of the marine layer that has been present most of the month.

Keegan got totally exhausted and slept almost 2.5 hours, something we have not seen in a very long time! Whataver was left of the afternoon was spent playing around and reading.

When Keegan finally went to bed, it was time for our Anniversary Celebration. We had a wonderful dinner, and reminisced about our past 11 years together. It was amazing to see how much we still think alike.

Happy 11th Anniversary to us!

On Sunday morning, Keegan got up bright and early, very excited about the day. Of course we let dad sleep, and I got up with him. We watched a movie, then we “baked” some banana chocolate chip bread/muffins. Once again, I get confirmation on how I suck at cooking. Even with a pre-made box I can create something that does not look good at all…at least it tasted OK.

When dad woke up, Keegan could barely contain himself…he was so excited. He really wanted Matt to open the gift I got from him: a funny book called Darth Vader and Son.

And of course, he also really wanted to try the muffins!

After breakfast, I called my own wonderful dad to wish him Happy Father’s Day. Well, in Italy Fathers day is in March, but it is harder for me to remember in advance, so June it is.

After some playing, we had a nice pic-nic in Mission Bay. The weather was nice, if a little windy but what else is new? We ate, then Keegan and Matt played froggy catch on the grass.

Then we all lay down in the sun, making up outrageous stories…well, since I am not the most creative story teller I did borrow  from a movie or two, but Keegan could not tell anyway. (-:

At home, Keegan went to take a nap, and I tried to catch up…He woke up pretty early, still looking tired, but he did not want to sleep anymore. So, while I finished up what I was doing, he went in the living room to drink his milk…and the house went quiet, too quiet for quite a long time. Of course I am not one to disturb the quiet, but after more than 20 minutes, I went to investigate…so I first went outside, where Matt was reading…and he had fell asleep in the lounger. Then I went in the living room, and here he was, Keegan, all wrapped up in his soft blanket, sleeping peacefully!

like father…

…like son

They were too cute!!!!

Once they both woke up we played and read books. We offered Matt to go out for dinner, but he wanted to BBQ instead, and whipped out a great dinner for all of us. What a great guy.

So happy Father’s Day to a really exceptional dad. We are lucky to have you Matt. We love you!!!!

 

 

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We came to realize that Keegan is definitely 100% boy: from the toys that he plays with, to the rough way he plays, you can definitely feel the male energy. I won’t even dwell on his comments about how much he likes girls, and how he want to see girls naked when he grows up (oh boy, we are in trouble), but it is fun to watch, especially for me, since I have never had the chance to be around lots of boys growing up.

Case in point: we took him to a special fundraising event, Touch A Truck, and he absolutely LOVED it.  This is the official event description, and they could not say it better:

This family-friendly car show is a sure hit with kids and parents alike, as all the vehicles are open for you to climb in and honk the horn! From military vehicles to monster trucks, Harley’s to HumVees, classic cars to emergency vehicles, big rigs to construction rigs – we’ll have it all and more. Touch A Truck will include two live music stages, roving entertainment, Star Wars Characters, Shamu and even Ronald McDonald. The funds raised at this event go to childhood cancer research.

We arrived in the morning, just before the first of the two Robosaurus’ shows. What is Robosaurus you ask? It is half machine half dinosaurs, a huge chunk of metal that spits fire and crush cars in two, before throwing them to the ground. You can watch a video of Robosaurus in action to get a feel for the action.

It was awesome, seriously. Keegan get a little bit scared at first, but then enjoyed it so much we watched its encore presentation. So we started and ended the show with it.

Besides mutant dinosaurs, Keegan got the chance to climb over tons of vehicles: from police cares, to military armored machines…

…to huge, loud, honking trucks

…to mom’s favorite, cool sports cars.

It was LOUD, but it was a blast.

Keegan also shows a great interest in number and mechanical things. Hopefully this will last. Once I moved my ancient Mac G4 to the garage, ready for recycling, he could not wait to take a peek inside. Fortunately Matt was handy, so he could explain him what is inside.

He also loves fun rides, and once again we took him at the San Diego Fair. Once again we bought the wristband that allows unlimited rides, a great investment that paid off within the first 20 minutes. Just like last year, we arrived at opening, to score a convenient parking spot. So we started checking out the animals, and watching the pig race: the highlight of it it the final swim of Swifty, the  cute piglet.

getting excited for the pig race

go Swifty, go!

Finally it was ride time! We spent 2.5 hours in the area!!! Keegan remembered all the rides and was finally tall enough to go alone on pretty much all of them. yeah! This year’s favorites were the rides he could not go on last year, at least for the most part.

ready to go…

I am flying…

The slides are always a big hit, especially the long, twisty one.

Another new favorite: the frog hop

Despite all his ‘boyness”, though, he is still a very sweet, sensitive little boy. He often runs over and tell us how much he loves us; he give us huge hugs and kisses for no reason; he is sympathetic if we are tired or have to work late.

He stops to marvel at everything and makes us look at the world with different eyes. He actually stops and smell the roses (or in this case the weird Ficus’ flower)…

During a recent visit at the zoo, despite the amazing new Koala’s exhibit or the majestic elephants and leopard, the animals that captivated him the most was a duck walking around the zoo with her ducklings in tow. He followed it forever…

I really hope that, as he grows older, he will keep both sides of his personality: maybe he can toughen up a little, but I really wish he will never lose his sweetness and empathy.

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We are coming to the end of Keegan’s preschool year. While we are all sad to say goodbye to his friends and his school, I have to say that Keegan had a really good time this year. I have said this before, but his teacher, Ms. Jill, was great: warm, but firm, smiling but strict, and especially very warm and encouraging. He learned so much from her. The day was structured, and he had the chance to do art, projects, learning, computer and many activities. He even had his first taste of homework.

One of the things Keegan really enjoyed was bringing home “pets” from school. He would take them places, and sleep with them, and watch tv with them on the weekend.

First was his hibernating animal, a squirrel he name Squirly. Yes, once again, broken pants we can’t throw away…

Next, it was the turn of the class’s pets. Each came with a couple of books, and  a special blanket. First off was Drake the dragon, who got to come to Target with us…and not too many other places, since it was so HUGE.

Keegan did manage to find some space for him in his bed, together with his other three animal friends.

Where is Keegan going to fit?

Then it was Horton’s turn (from Horton’s Hears a Who). Surprisingly enough, Horton was pretty small, so he went to a hike in Penasquitos with us and at the skate park, and of course he played with us at home too.

Then we brought home Huggly, a small green monster, that appears to be a character in a computer game he plays at school, and a series of books. I liked Huggly, since he was small and easy to bring along. Huggly accompanied Keegan at his haircut place and he followed us at the restaurants afterwards.

For each of this animal, Keegan had to write a small journal entry, explaining what fun activities he did with them. Even though, Keegan only had to write his name and come up with the content, every time was a struggle. I am not looking forward to the real homework, even though we started explaining him that homework and going to school is his job.

They are also planting and tending to a small garden just outside their room. They planted: Sunflowers, tomatoes, strawberries, beans, oranges, and cilantro. We already tasted the green beans…delicious!

Every week, they have a different theme at school. One week the theme was bugs. The did lots of activities, including handling real worms for their small compost bin to use in their garden. The also made ladybugs wings and had a big bug dance.

They built their own Magical Creature from the same components, and it was amazing to see how the same elements could be combined in so many different combinations.

working hard on his bug creation

his finished bug

the class gallery

One other week they learned all about the rain forest, and built their own version inside their classroom. My favorite is the sloth.

Huggly was there too…

Even free play is a lot of fun. I never know what I am going to find when I pick him up and in what state he will be. Some days they do mud rivers…

…some day are in full sugar rush after a sweet snack.

One other great project was the wild animals’ dioramas. The kids painted a a shoe box and chose a wild animal. Then they recreated the environment the animal lives in and placed the animal in a box. It was fun. Keegan chose a snake and created a desert scene. Ms. Jill brought in a succulent to stand in for the cactus.

During the whole school year, Ms. Jill strongly encouraged pre-writing and pre-reading skills. She asked us to read a book everyday and to record the title on a sheet to turn in at the end of each month. If you turned in your sheet, every month the kids got to choose a small prize. The goal was to read 200 books, at least, by May. If you did read at least 200 books, the kids would get a medal and then the whole class would go celebrate  at Chuck E. Cheese. Of course, Keegan loves to read, (or at least to be read to) so we easily reached that number. In fact, we recorded 277 books and he was the kid who read the most. He was so proud…beaming, at least from what I could see from the video Matt shot. I had to go to work, unfortunately, so I could not be there…but I am not sorry I missed Chuck E. Cheese. We tried to capitalize on that moment, hoping he will enjoying excelling, even when it will be up to him.

Of course the medal should go to the parents who read all these books and recorded their title, right?

After the awards ceremony, all the kids all posed for a group photo with the friendship t-shirt they painted themselves: all the kids put their hand-print on each others shirt: what a nice memory!

Then, they were off to play. They had a blast.

Keegan and Brady, zoning out during the game

It is easy to understand why Keegan is so sad to leave: they definitely have a great time at school, and they learn lots too. The school we chose in desperation when he was 4 months old, turned out to be the best choice we could have ever made. I hope that, once he is over the sadness, he will keep the memories of his preschool dear to his heart. I know I will.

 

 

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Once again, this year we decided to grow our butterflies. Keegan really would like a pet, so that was my concession. (-: We only got 5 this time, but it was still very fun. One of the caterpillars was much smaller than the others, so we ended up having and watching butterflies for quite a while, almost two full weeks.

Once again, they arrived in a cup, filled with food. And once again they did not do anything but wiggle and eat (and poop, as Keegan promptly added). They changed skins multiple times and finally hung upside down as chrysalis. This is when we moved them in their mesh habitat and waited.

Finally, within a week, the first 4 emerged as beautiful Painted Ladies butterflies. We enjoyed watching them flutter around, and we fed them sugar water and fresh flowers.

We waited day after day, hoping the last, little one, would emerge, but to no avail. They were in their pavilion for so long (almost a full week) they started to mate. It was interesting explaining Keegan what they were doing. We settled on” they are kissing and getting married”. Keegan noticed that, together, they formed a heart shape.

Finally, worried they would try to lay eggs inside, we released them in the front yard. This time they were ready, and flew right out. One one needed a little help, and Keegan was happy to lend a hand.

It was a pretty sunny day, and we had many plants in full bloom: it was as if we brought them to a Las Vegas All You Can Eat Buffet, and they lingered a while, flying from flower to flower.

Keegan smiling next to “his” butterfly, enjoying the jasmine in the garden

Keegan was a little sad, but we still had one left. And sure enough, just as we let the others go, the last one came out of her chrysalis, and we got to enjoy it for many more days.

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