Cubbie's Awards Night

Mr. Eric Day and the Crew:

Kaden, Eric, Abbie and Elaina

McKenna, Brie and Abbie Grace

Ms. Jean, PawPaw and Abbie

Ms. Jean, PawPaw, Aubrie and Abbie

Elaina and Abbie

Abbie with her certificate

The ceremony

So due to a technical glitch, we were 20 minutes late to Award's Night but we squeaked in just in time for Abbie to be annouced with her class and receive her outstanding attendance award and certificate of completion. A cubbie no more, my little darling is now a sparky!!! She was excited and can't wait to move from a blue vest to a red one. We had surprise visitors tonight. Paw Paw and our dear Ms. Jeannie showed up to cheer and congratulate Abbie Grace. She was so excited to show off her awards. Brie was ecstatic to see more faces that she knew. It was a super fun night.

Abigail Grace Durham, 5 Years Old, Preschool Graduation: Sherwood First Baptist Church, Mother's Day Out, May 2009

My baby is growing up. Last week she graduated from her MDO program. It was such a sweet little ceremony. They all processed into the cafeteria and had assigned seats they had to find which went better than I imagined. They all sang their "good morning song" and they said the Pledge of Allegiance while one of Abbie's friends held the flag. They reviewed the alphabet in sign language and then they all told their favorite sign. Abbie's favorite sign was for "love." Mrs. Marabeth and Mrs. Jamie had them all play one of their favorite games. Abbie says that the game is called Mouse Count. In this game (based on the book, Mouse Count) the kids are all mice and crawl around on the ground. One child is selected to be the snake who is looking for dinner. He finds the mice and counts each and every one and puts them in a jar. The mice trick the snake and all the mice escape at the last second. It was so cute!! Abbie was mouse number 3. Then the kids all recieved their certificate of completion for the year. Abbie was so excited. You can see on the video that they skipped her and then came back to her. She was so proud as she walked across the stage. I have to say that I was so proud of her that I wanted to pop! After the ceremony was over, we all had lunch and a delicious cake from Littlest Cake Co in Cabot. All the Mom's had brought food for a buffet and decorated the tables. Abbie of course only ate fruit and cake. No veggies and dip... We will miss Mrs. Marabeth and Mrs. Jamie but in a couple of years, Aubrie will be in their classroom so it's not the end yet. Abbie had a wonderful year and was so blessed by her teachers. They were amazing and I highly recommend the program to anyone. It is the only MDO program that is certified by the State of Arkansas. Quite an accomplishment.

One chapter of school is finished for Abbie and soon another will begin. Kindergarten, here she comes!!!!

Playing Doctor

Abbie, Brie and Eric

Abbie & Eric
Dr. Brie

Abbie Grace

We had a friend come over the other day (Eric W) and the kids got out all the doctor stuff and diagnosed each other. There were broken bones and boo boo's galore. They had a fun time giving each other shots...paticularly when they did it on the top of the head for some reason. Brie swiped several items from the big kids and performed her own version of medicine on herself and some stuffed animals. I'm pretty sure none of it was covered under any kind of health insurance plans...

Popcicle Pushers

Here is a little video of the girls with their popcicles and Abbie and Aubrie at their finest!

NiNi's birthday

We had a great Mother's Day and NiNi birthday this past weekend. My dad brought me flowers (since my sweet husband is away) and he played with the kids ALL afternoon while my mom and I played two hands of Phase 10...which I resoundingly lost incidentally. Mom got a beautiful ring for her birthday and I think she really loved it. I got a stunning necklace from Abbie made from beads she and NiNi had found in our craft area. She did a good job stringing the beads...they are decorated in an American Flag theme which works well for what our family is experiencing right now with Big Daddy away. Both Abbie and Aubrie loved the cake and devoured a couple of pieces...well, Abbie ate the icing and Brie ate the cake. They make a great pair together. Abbie's teeth at one point were orange and looked really gross so we made a point to brush really really well since we have a history of cavities. We did have an exciting phone call from Phillip yesterday. It was so good to hear his voice and get to hear him say he was okay. It's hard being separated by distance but it's nice to have all of this technology to keep us in touch even across the miles. All that to say, Mother's Day was nice this year...it could only have been better if Phillip had actually been here to celebrate with us. We are missing him but are so proud of all that he is doing for our country.

Popcicles

Aubrie: 21 months

Abbie 5 years old
Aubrie

The girls first summer popcicles

My kiddos love to eat popcicles. There is something special about sitting on our front steps and just hanging out with an icy treat. These are pictures of our first summer treat this year. It's been warm (not as warm as say in Kuwait) but it's been nice. Brie loved her popcicle and was very protective of it. Abbie tried to swipe it and that got a definitive and swift response from little sister: a boisterous "Sop" which is her version of Stop! Gotta love sibling interactions.