special day

at Peyton's pre-school they have a 'special day' for each child throughout the school year. it has something to do with how some kids have birthdays over the summer and they don't get a 'special day' at school with their friends. so they came up with a day for each child to make all about them. (being one of the kids who has a summer birthday i know the feeling, but honestly i REALLY liked my birthday being in the summer and, as it turns out, both of my boys both have summer birthdays as well, so it works for us.) today was Peyton's special day. it was up to us to bring the snack and a book to read to the class. so Peyton chose pretzels for his snack (we don't have candy or sugar snacks at our house), he also picked out one of our Disney books for story time. i was excited for Peyton but i have to admit i was a little nervous for me, since i was the one who had to read the book to his class. you'd think i'd been fine. i mean i had worked with kids forever! i was a nanny for 8 years and 5 years after that i taught kids between the ages of 5-11 as an assistant teacher. why in the world was i getting nervous about twelve little 3 year olds? but.... i kept reminding myself that this was not about me, it was about Peyton and making his day great. so i got over myself. (no my hair isn't really orange, i have no idea what happened here.)

this morning Grandpa came over to babysit Jayden. Jayden could have come with us, but again, i wanted this to be ALL ABOUT PEYTON. so before we left i put Jayden down for his nap, Grandpa came over and Peyton and i left for pre-school. Peyton was sooo excited! i dropped him off and had about 45 minutes until his 'special day' started so i went to a store that is right down the street to pass the time. i started looking at their children's books and found one that i knew Peyton would love, called 'Dolphin Finds a Star' i bought it and decided i would let Peyton choose which book he wanted me to read to his class. finally it was time for Peyton's day to start. i walked into his class (with my camera, of course, and everything else we needed). Peyton had his back to me so he didn't know i was there for about 10 minutes. i just stood back and watched him. he was sitting in circle time. they were talking about the weather and putting the sun and clouds on a poster. it was SOO great to see Peyton with his class. doing big boy things and answering questions his teacher asked. finally Peyton saw me and said 'Hi Mommy!' his whole face lit up. (such a great feeling to see your own child light up when you walk into a room. just plain awesome). Peyton's teacher made a crown for him with his name on it, and he sat with his friends at the snack table. they sang a song, said a prayer and had their (pretzel) snack.then it was story time. everyone sat in a circle, Peyton sat on my lap, and everyone sang 'Happy Special Day' to him. he chose the new book i had bought. all the kids LOVED it! they were so quiet while i was reading. (so great!) the story was over and it was time for them to do free time & crafts. again i stood back and watched Peyton play with his friends. (this is Kenzie, she's sweet, she gave me a big hug after story time).Peyton painted with a marble,then glued some cotton balls on an Easter project with Aiden. he was so busy and did such a great job with everything. i was so proud of him. i took a few more pictures, hugged on him, then went home to get Jayden. when pre-school was over, Peyton came out of school with his special crown on. looking proud. we drove through mcdonalds and got some french fries. i wanted to continue Peyton's 'special day'. fries are always a treat for the boys. they LOVE them. it was such a great day for everyone. Jayden and Grandpa had fun at home playing while we were gone this morning. i caught them playing peek a boo with pillows & reading a book when i walked in. so cute!i rememeber being so nervous the first day i dropped Peyton off at pre-school. (i cried, he was fine). i was hoping he was ok and couldn't wait to pick him up. here we are at the end of the school year and i am THRILLED with his school and soo happy he loves it so much.