The Graduate

Nick has officially graduated from preschool!  After a shaky start, in which he was certain that he didn't want to go to preschool and didn't care about learning his letters, he now doesn't want to go to kindergarten because "Miss Shannon is so nice...what if my kindergarten teacher isn't as nice as Miss Shannon?"  (Can you tell he's not a big fan of change??)

Here he was on his first day of preschool, back in September:

And here he is on his last day:

He was so excited for us to come and see his school--especially since Daddy ditched class to come to the big graduation.  (By the way, one of my favorite things about Nick is that he tells everyone that his dad goes to work to "teach knuckleheads.")

Nick went right in and sat at the table full of girls. Apparently, he's somewhat of a flirt. A couple of the girls' parents told me that their daughters think Nick is cute. I agree, girls!

Here's Nick with his teacher, Miss Shannon. I can't say enough good things about her! I loved her curriculum--such a good mix of learning and fun. And she does such a good job with consistency and behavioral expectations.  Nick is NOT the most easy-going kid.  He doesn't like to be told what to do, is always on the look out for loop holes, etc.  But you notice that he still thinks Miss Shannon is "so nice," even though he did spend class time in time out on several occasions.  It's a testament to her skills that he still wants to go see her.

Here's Nick with his whole class.  I wish his kindergarten class was going to be this small.  Don't get me started on my worries about next year...

And here is Nick with Kimball, his partner in crime.  They were born three days apart, and love to hang out.  There were several times when these two would emerge from preschool together, and both head for the same car, yelling to the other mom, "We're going to have a play date now!" 

After graduation, Nick got to go and pick out a graduation present.  He chose some new Legos--Cars 2, to be exact.  Who knew that they made a Lego Mater??  Speaking of, guess what Nick wants to do for his birthday?  You guessed it--go to the movies and watch "Lightning McQueen, Part 2."  Luckily, it comes out right before his birthday.  And by the way, does anyone have any ideas for games for a policeman-themed birthday party??