Last Christmas Alan and Jen gave the boys both a train set that you paint and then put together. I have never had the boys be SO focused for so long. It was pure heaven. Thanks Alan & Jen!
Will’s attempting Monet:
Walker, deep in concentration:
Nothing stops the force of the painters:
The finished products:
As I sit here (should be eating breakfast) I am listening to the sniffles from Will and the coughs from Walker. Seems that we all caught the cold Papa Paul was trying so hard NOT to give us. Oh well. It gives me an excuse to be in my pajamas at 9:00am which I always appreciate!
It has also meant that I’ve been able to do a few posts – though not all of the ones I want/need to do! Still, some is better than none 
Eric is having a great time in Canada! Many of you have asked how he job is going and why the heck is he in Canada?
Well, as you all know we took the job down here in CA at Wilden both because Eric felt a good connection with the company and because we hoped it would take us international (specifically to Asia!). Eric has done incredibly well in the short year he has been there including a grade-level promotion, a raise, and a sweet bonus. Over the past year Wilden has acquired several other companies and is now in the midst of creating a new parent company (Pump Solutions Group). This new company, PSG, is merging all of the employees from the several companies, including Wilden. With this change Eric was given the opportunity to become the District Manager for Western Canada!
At this time we are not sure if a move to Canada will happen, or when it will, but it seems likely that if it does it will be within the next six months to a year. For the time being he’ll work out of the corporate office like he does now. So Eric is up in Canada making friends with all the new people he will be working with. He seems to be loving it although they are putting in long days and he misses his family (and we miss him!).
It’s all pretty exciting stuff…well, except for the colds. Speaking of which. I’d better get some stuff done around the house including getting out of my jammies! I can only do that for so long…
Today was the last day of Will’s K.I.D.S program through our community center. It has been one of the best things for him as he learned to make friends and have time without Mom and Walker around.
Of course I was emotional about it – though I couldn’t decide if I was sad (a) because it was over and it’s such a wonderful thing for him or (b) because it’s over for me and it’s been a good thing for me Will was actually apathetic about the whole thing – when I asked him if he was going to miss it he remarked simply “No.”. Well ok.
He made some cute things over the course of his preschool. I think I’m going to save a couple of them and then scan the rest. With the digital age there is just no need to store everything on hand. So having a couple of digital copies of his crafts will be good enough for us.
One of the things he made over the last few months that we (parents) got on the last day was a book set to the story of Down on Grandpa’s Farm. He had cut out shapes to make a scarecrow, barns, and different animals. It is more than adorable. The best part is the “about the illustrator” page. The teachers asked each kid to tell about themselves and the teachers wrote it down. Here is Will’s:
“Will is four. He lives in California with Papa, KK, and Mommy and Daddy. They have a black and white dog. Will likes the color white. His favorite food is crispy white cheese. He likes to play with propellers. He loves to visit the Jelly Belly Factory. When Will grows up he would like to be a builder.”
Don’t ask me what crispy white cheese is – I’m still trying to figure it out! It’s the cutest thing and fortunately Walker doesn’t realize he got kicked out of the house.
When I finally did get him to tell me what he’d miss about preschool, his answer was ‘Ryan, the helper’. He really bonded with Ryan especially because in the Fall, while we were traveling back and forth to see Grandpa Bob, Will wasn’t comfortable with being in class and sat with Ryan.
All of his teachers were fantastic and we appreciate the nine months of learning they’ve helped to give Will.
Mrs. Jackson
Mrs. Weidman
Ryan
