School Pictures | 2018-19

Ryder is attending Pre-Kindergarten at Faith Lutheran School this year. 

He attends Mrs. Mattingly's class on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and is seeming to really enjoy this new adventure!

Ryder originally started at another school, which we believed would offer him a high quality pre-kindergarten education. Unfortunately, we were wrong. The "exceptional academy" we selected turned out to be nothing more than a crappy daycare center, and Ryder spent less than two miserable weeks there before we pulled him out.

After a lot of research, a promising tour, and at the recommendation of many local friends, we enrolled Ryder at Faith Lutheran, where he almost immediately began to thrive.

Although Stewart and I are not religious, we feel so much better about this new school and all that it offers. Ryder gets to look forward to a fun year filled with new themes each week. He'll build pre-reading skills and math skills, have sensory time, and work on vocabulary/language building. This will all be accomplished in a fun atmosphere with toys, games and seated work. 

In the classroom, students focus on kindness, community and safety, which creates a caring environment for optimum learning and growing. Children are encouraged to use kind words, to listen to one another and to share. This is all done through positive reinforcement, modeling and redirection. 

We love that Faith Lutheran School has strong academics, small class sizes, and caring, loving certified teachers. Additionally, they also offer on-site childcare before and after school, which is great for us as full time working parents. At childcare, Ryder will continue to develop his social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills. All of the childcare providers at Faith value play based learning, creativity, and curiosity. Every child is loved, accepted, and valued as an individual. 

After transferring to Faith Lutheran, Ryder's behavior and mood almost immediately began to improve. He started laughing and singing again, he began to talk about friends and teachers, and each day he came home with adorable art projects, drawings, and stories. It was such a relief to see his happiness and ease as he settled into a loving environment where his well-being is clearly the priority of every adult who he interacts with.

Our sweet boy is growing up so fast, and we can't wait to see how much he learns and grows this year!

Ryder Starts Pre-K

Our sweet little boy started Pre-Kindergarten today at a brand new school in a brand new town, and it was a wonderful experience!

Ryder Steven Alway | First Day of Pre-K | September 5, 2018

Prior to our relocation to the Olympia area, I did a bunch of research on local preschools, and eventually found one that I thought would be the best fit for our little buddy's big personality. Cadence Academy Preschool gives children "an exceptional education every fun-filled day in a place as nurturing as home."

Although Ryder won't be hanging out on a farm like he did last year, he won't have a barnyard at elementary school either, so we're confident that his experience here will be an excellent transition to prepare him for Kindergarten. And in the meantime, we'll just have to plan extra trips to the zoo. 

Cadence Education schools use an expertly developed curriculum to give every student the skills and confidence for the next step in their life. "Kind Child" coursework emphasizes social skills, courtesy, and internal values, while "Kindergarten Club" prepares Pre-K students with key skills to excel in problem-solving, mathematics, reading/writing, social studies, and science. 

Everybody learns better when they're having fun, and Ryder jumped in immediately. The school has a large outdoor area filled with various equipment and activities, and hopefully we'll get a few more weeks of nice weather to take advantage of it. 

This year I was much more emotional than Ryder when I dropped him off. He gave me a lovely hug and kiss goodbye, but looked back for a second a little longingly before heading off to play with his new friends. It felt like a chunk broke off of my heart, and I expect to feel this way more and more as he continues to grow and gain his independence. But I also swelled with pride at his bravery during this new experience. And although he admitted that it was a long day (this year he's doing full days at school), he also came home with lots of stories about his fun-filled day. 

I can't wait to see how much he blossoms this year.

We love you so much, sweet Ryder Steven, and we're so proud of you!

White Pass | 2018

We took our two little snow bunnies up to the mountain this past weekend.

Ryder went to White Pass for the first time when he was about nine months old, and we really wanted Kiley's first ski trip to be just as fun. 

It was a success!

We arrived super late on Friday night and checked into our room at White Pass Village Inn. It took a while to unpack the car and convince the kids, who had slept most of the way, that it was still nighttime, but eventually we got them back to bed. 

The next morning, Ryder was thrilled to wake up and realize that we were at the mountain! 

We could see the ski area and the lifts opening right from our front window.

Ryder was super excited to try snowboarding on his own for the first time this year.

We all bundled up and headed out on the hill just as the sun started to shine through the clouds.

Kiley chose to nap through that first morning snowboard lesson...

Ryder was all geared up and ready to go...

He did such a good job as Stew took him up and down the bunny hill for his first few times!

Eventually, he even tried out the magic carpet.

Even though Ryder was a total trooper, learning to snowboard is tiring stuff, and eventually he just wanted to play in the snow like a little kid.

 

As usual, we were on the trip with the Christiansen family. Baby Jane even learned to ski!

Later that day my mom and sister arrived, and since the weather ended up being so beautiful, a group of us decided to go snowshoeing around the frozen lake in the afternoon.

When we weren't playing outside, we found lots of ways to entertain ourselves in our condo...

Ski Hat Hair.

Ryder was thrilled to learn that he could stand on the porch and feed birds right out of his hand!

In the evenings, we all took turns spending time in the hot pool. Swimming in the mountains in an outdoor, hot spa temperature pool is literally the best after spending a day in the cold.

Our good friends were celebrating their TENTH wedding anniversary, hence the themed pool attire.

The weather the next day didn't turn out nearly as nice, but even though the fog never burned off, we still got Ryder out on the slopes a second time. 

He also did some sledding with Daddy.

Kiley managed to stay awake this time.

Even though taking a ski trip with little kids involves a lot of planning, effort, and a literal ton of gear, I think that being out in the snowy mountains with my family makes it all completely worth it. 

And one of the best aspects of the trip was that we were cooped up in a tiny condo together, which meant we literally had nothing better to do than to get down on the floor and play with our kids. At home these weekend moments are consumed by various chores and errands, but tucked away in the mountains we could really take time to appreciate and reflect on the memories we were making as a family. 

We were absolutely thrilled that Ryder came away from his first snowboarding experience with a positive attitude, and we can't wait to go back again next year... maybe by then it will be Kiley's turn! 

Bookroo Take Two

I am super passionate about helping my children develop a love of reading.

Loving books means that my kids can experience an amazing world of learning and exploration. Books and stories fill a child's mind with knowledge and help develop literacy skills and language development. Reading stimulates imagination and play, curiosity and discussion. Books provide inspiration, thoughts, and reflections. Pictures help readers develop an appreciation for art. A love of reading is a stepping stone to becoming an enthusiastic learner and a confident reader, writer, and speaker. Sitting down with a book also provides us with a time for quiet and calmness in our busy lives. 

I first learned about Bookroo when Ryder was only a year old. They believe, as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle did, that: 

"It is a great thing to start life with a small number of really good books which are your very own."

Bookroo's mission is to enable and empower parents to build their children's book collections in an affordable and exciting way through curated monthly book deliveries. They believe in the power and impact of the written word in the life of a child, and believe it's never too early to start reading to children. 

Obviously, I was hooked.

Ryder still absolutely loves books, but he's passed on most of his board books to baby sister Kiley and has moved on to big boy stories. His latest delivery from Bookroo included The Very Fluffy Kitty, Papillon by A. N. Kang and The Spelling Bee Before Recess by Deborah Lee Rose. Since it's the holiday season, their classic adorable wrapping paper had a Christmas theme, and Ryder was especially excited to open up some early presents.

Bookroo is an adorable little subscription service, and a family-run business. Give it a try!

DISCLAIMER: I was provided with a free subscription box in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own and not influenced by Bookroo and/or its affiliates in any way.