summer is coming to an end...

In one week Aidan goes off to Kindergarten.:(  I know it sounds so cliche, but I honestly can not believe how sad I feel about this event. I know some moms are excited to see their little ones go off to school but I am feeling extremely sad about it. For the past 5 years raising Aidan has been my "job" and I have treated it like one. I have put everything I have into getting him ready for school and ultimately to be on his own one day. I have taken this whole child rearing thing very seriously. lol. He has been with me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (with the exception of 2 days a week of preschool for the past year and a half). I know sometimes it can feel a little smothering, but honestly I have to say I LOVE it! and  I LOVE being a stay at home mama. If he weren't such a little social butterfly I would seriously consider home schooling him. But alas, I have to do what I think is best for HIM and not me. hmmph! In all seriousness I think he is going to really thrive and I can't wait to see it.  It is going to be a whole different era for us with him being in school all day, every day, and with me working part time ( or maybe full time- I will find out more about this tomorrow). Most of our evenings are also going to be busy with after school activities. He starts karate 2 days a week on Tuesday and he is also starting swim lessons again on Friday. We may also do AWANA's with our church 1 evening a week. It seems like a LOT for a kindergarten kid, so I am going to play it by ear and see how he does with just the 2 activities.

Summer is quickly coming to an end so we need to see how much FUN we can cram into this week. Last week we went to the Zoo and Legoland. 

Our last mommy meet up at the Zoo because we will now be in school. :(  Aidan is standing in front listening intently to our guide. This months event was about monkeys and apes. He remembered from last year that the way you can tell the difference between them is because monkeys have tails and apes do not and was able to answer the questions. These zoo meet ups have been invaluable teaching tools. :) Aidan has learned soooo much! This time he was really into reading the signs that describe each animal. He was especially interested in the part that tells if they are "not threatened", "vulnerable", or "endangered". Our guide used to be a kindergarten teacher and was really impressed with his reading skills. She said, "you have to make sure he gets into a first or second grade reading group." lol. As always we ended with a story time that related to the months theme. We will truly miss these mornings at the zoo. :(

 We also went to Legoland. We started out at the water park, moved on to the spray park ( where the pictures below were taken), and then finished with the rest of the park. Aidan spent 4 hours playing in the water. We saw a total of 4 attractions and 2 shows. He finds something he likes and then spends hours there!

 He kept putting his hat over the water and the pressure from the water would push it up. He thought this was hilarious and I just kept thinking " Hey he is getting some physics in today". lol.

 The "mace" he purchased with some of his birthday money.

 Building cars at "Build and Test"

 We just discovered this place for the first time! ( as many times as we have been to Legoland). He spent 2 hours building  "Heroes". So incidentally we also got some fine motor skills in for the day. ;)

 One of Aidans "Heroes"

 Aidans hero on the left and my hero on the right.

 3 D movie.

 We had a super hero playdate a few weeks ago. The kids made super hero capes out of t shirts. Aidan is really into Star Wars these days.