Milestones

This week we had some major milestones in our family.  On May 20th Lauren received her First Holy Communion.  She worked all year long in class, passed all the tests, learned all the prayers...and when the day came, I was one proud momma!  Here she was with her classmates-can you pick her out? 

Here is a shot RIGHT before the big honor.  (I made her veil-not perfect...but it worked!)

Her First Communion-by our AWESOME priest-Father Rob (Moriarty).

And the wine....

The Knights of the Columbus were also there.  I've never seen them in their garb.  Matt's Uncle Jesse is one of the Knights at our church and it was cool to see him all dressed up.

Here was my cute Jamie...chubby cheeks and all...excited for his sister!

Lauren exiting the church.

Here she was after the service.

Family shot.

Us again.

(sometimes I hate when there are two cameras and you don't know what camera to look at!) LOL.

Lauren and her dad and grandpa.  She was lucky to have Papa Leo, Grandma TT, Papa Bud, Grandma Anne, and Aunt Sarah there...in addition to her family there to support her on her special day.

Papa Leo and Grandma TT and Lauren.

Aunt Sarah came over to do her hair...this isn't the BEST shot..but it was super cute that day-I loved it.

One of Matt's cousin's son's named Anthony also got his First Holy Communion!

Matt's Aunt Liz (there to support her grandson) and Lauren.  These two have a special bond!  I love going to church and seeing family there.  They are almost always at mass with us.

I told Lauren that after we could go eat any where she wanted to-and she chose Red Lobster.  One of the workers there was super nice to let the kids touch a lobster-probably one of the reasons Lauren wanted to go there.  Uncle Greg and Aunt Ashley (her Godparents) joined us...and they brought their kiddos. It was very nice to have so much of us together for lunch.  (Much better than all the cost and the stress and mess of having something at my house-so I am glad she chose this instead).

My camera battery died...so I grabbed a few shots with my phone.  My little girl looked so grown up in her dress. Here is her dress without the jacket.

Here she is WITH the jacket.  I was SOOO lucky to find this dress.  We went to a bunch of stores...and couldn't agree on a dress.  These dresses can be very expensive-I saw some upwards of $120.  THIS darling dress was one we BOTH liked AND it came with a jacket AND it was the cheapest one we found! MAN-we lucked out...it was meant to be!

Here she is with the jacket and no veil.  I am so proud of her!  What a great day!  Top it off with a nap and an ice-cream and all was perfect....until 3am when she threw up....(but let's just not talk too much about that).

On Thursday May 24th Jamie graduated from Pre-School!  Of all the stops and starts-this one was really hard for me.  My baby is getting soo big.  PLUS I loved his pre-school.  His teachers were REALLY good.  He learned so much!  I wasn't sure how it was gonna go-but after attending a few times with him-we saw what a GOOD BOY he is.  Literally-every boy in his class was either wild and out of control OR too quiet-never speaking.  JAMIE was the perfect mix.  He was quiet but he also responded when needed.  The teachers also put him next to the bad kids as they couldn't distract him.  He was kind, helpful, got along with everyone, he paid attention and listened to the rules.  I think he is ready for Kindergarten!  I will miss LOTS of the people...and LOTS of the kids.  This is a picture of Ms. Lynette and Ai-Ju...the girl Jamie had a crush on.  In back is Jerzee and Ahmed.  The class had a lot of ethnic diversity-one of the beauties of living in West Valley!

Obviously the ceremony was not exactly thrilling.  Next to Jamie is Jackson and Julius.  I love the graduation hats they made, so cute!

And here he is with his AWESOME teachers.  Ms. Lynette, Ms. Julie, and Ms. Kristi.  At the start of the year, we met Ms. Julie and afterwards Matt and I both commented on how Ms. Julie looked and acted like Matt's mom.  She was such a great teacher and definitely had a spirit like Suzanne.  She had good classroom control, yet was patient, kind, and had a great sense of humor.  I really admired her teaching style and I am so grateful that Jamie had such a great teacher as his first.  I believe that she is one of the reasons that Jamie LOVED coming to school every single day (literally I never had to drag him and never a tear was shed).  I hope to see her around the school next year!

AS per tradition...I got some pics on the last day of school.

Cutie pie Jamie.

Big boy backpack.

Look out world-here he comes!

Outside shots.

He is adorable!

He has changed so much this year!  I will work on a comparison post of first and last day shots...and you can see it.  BUT he has changed inside and out.  He has accomplished so much and I am so proud of all that he has learned.  I think he might just be better prepared for Kindergarten than Lauren was!

SO...it has been a very monumental week in our house.  Time sure flies...both my babies are growing up...I wish they could slow down JUST a bit..Jamie just keeps telling me that he "can't control it"....but it doesn't stop me from asking.