1st day of preschool (open house)

Gabe unofficially started preschool this week. We had our open house where he went and checked out his cubby (which he picked right out - recognized his name right away and I was so proud!) He met his teacher, some of the kids in his class (there will be 7), did a craft and had a treat. The funny thing was that he was SOOOOO shy. For those of you who know him - Gabe isn't a shy little guy - he talks NON STOP. But in new situations it takes him a while to warm up. And if I'm around he's really good at hiding behind me and using me as a crutch. I hope that he does warm up and enjoy things. He did much better when he went over and started playing with the other kids - so that was good. I really think once I'm not in the room that he'll do much better. Kind of makes me sad that he doesn't 'need' me - but at the same time I'm glad that he's becoming independent and can pull his own weight when I'm not around. (but when I am around - I'm going to be ok if he wants to hide behind me a bit.)

When we were leaving the house for preschool he said, "Mom - don't forget your camera!" So I grabbed it, but when I tried to get him to pose with his teacher for a picture, or outside of the school - he would NOT do it. I was lucky for the few snapshots that I got. I told him he could get out of it this week - but on the first official day of class - I was totally going to take his picture. We'll see how that goes.

I'm excited for Gabe to get to go to preschool. Since he's only 3 I'm not doing it as much for the academic aspect as I am for the social experience. He will enjoy learning with other kids and playing with other kids I think. I got a call today from his preschool teacher to tell me that she had decided to have his class go for 2 hours rather than the hour and 1/2 that was originally planned. I'm excited about that - I think 2 hours will be better.

And on the subject of academics and learning - I am THRILLED to announce that Gabe is really catching on to his colors. He has known a lot of his colors since he was like 19 months old - he caught right on to pink, orange, purple, brown - but he was having a VERY hard time with the more basic colors - red, yellow, blue, and sometimes green. I was getting worried about him being color blind, I'd even talked to his pediatrician about it. But this week something clicked and he gets it! Now he's still not PERFECT with it - but he's got it about 98% of the time. In fact, last night he was even telling me that yellow and blue made green, and that red and yellow made orange. So not only does he 'get' the colors - but he's figured out how primary colors work. Smart cookie!

One afternoon this week we had a "read-a-thon". We'd just gotten our new library books for the week, and Hunter was down for his nap. Gabe and I snuggled up on my bed and we read a BUNCH. In fact, we read for over 2 hours! He wasn't even sick of it - I'm the one who said we needed to stop so I could make dinner. I love that he enjoys books and reading.

He's also been starting to recognize letters too. It's hilarious because several times a day he says, "Mom - how do you spell _____?" I'll go through the letters with him, talk about the sounds of the letter, and he's catching on.

I love seeing their little minds working and churning - so fun!