Mercer finished Kindergarten as well as another season of baseball... + some more "ordinary" things....

Mercer finished kindergarten!  He really did enjoy it in the end.  There were some patches where he said he did not like school, but by the last week, he was sad it was going to be over.  

He said he missed his teacher already and that when he was in 1st grade, he would go back to visit her.  She told me that Mercer professed his love to her.  She said that lots of kids say that - yeah yeah yeah - but when Mercer said it, she was shocked... touched!  She said he really meant it - was very serious about it!  

Todd and I attended the kindergarten completion ceremony at his school.  The kids sang several songs together.  Also, each class sang a song about no longer being in Kindergarten -- moving to 1st grade.  Not looking back.  It's over.  It doesn't seem that they really grasped what the songs were really saying (one of the songs lyrics included something about no more recess / lots of homework / etc), but they had fun and did a cute job with the songs!    The photo cuts off the banner in the background, but it says "Class of 2026!!"  wow!  

The week before, the school had their annual field day.  Again, the kids didn't really know what was going on.  I stayed for only a couple of events - the tug of war and a dizzy bat contest.  (The kids looked really confused why they were pulling on a rope!)  Mercer told me when we were walking from his classroom out onto the field:  "Field Day is like Field Trip - minus the trip!"  Then he started talking about trucks.  He really had no idea what was in store.  When he came home at the end of the day - he was full of stories about what a fun time they all had.  We knew he would have a blast... and by the time field day rolls around again, he will be pumped!

Here is Mercer sporting the Stinger (school mascot) temporary tattoo on his cheek.



A couple of other things that happened around the end of school:  Mercer's baseball season for the East Marietta Pirates came to an end the weekend before school let out.  

Todd coached his team again.  There have been some of the same kids on the team as in previous seasons.  There were also some kids that were brand new to baseball.  At the team party after the last game, Todd mentioned that the Pirates won all of their games!  It was hard to tell because the scoreboard rarely worked, but he kept track.  He commended the kids on their success - and told them the reason they won all of their games... good defense.  Quite simply, they made a lot of outs compared to the other teams... stopping others from scoring as many runs.  

Mid-way through, Mercer became a little afraid of the ball.  He didn't want to hit or catch.  Thankfully, he worked through it and finished the season strong.  He says he wants to play again this fall.  Todd is happy about that!  

Here are some images of a portion of the artwork that Mercer brought home the last week of school.  

Except for the flag, all of these pieces are 2' x 3' or even 4' long!  Love capturing the digital image of them since we don't have the wall space for these masterpieces!  :) 

We walked to the square on the last day of school for pizza, ice cream, and a very late night of playing on the kid's train.  I love this image of Mercer and Todd holding hands while we're walking to the square.  "Ordinary" photo but oh how sweet it is.  I wonder how long it will be before he refuses to hold his daddy's hand - or mine - when walking down the street? 

There has been lots of change this week.  Friday, Mercer moved from being a kindergartner to an upcoming first-grader.  Saturday, he loses a front tooth!  (The other front tooth is loose too)  He looks SO DIFFERENT without it.  It's very hard to get used to seeing that beautiful smile of his have a big 'ol gap in it!  Both events are rights of passage to growing up!!

Isabella has started to say some new things:  Bauble is ball or balloon or bubble.   "Sue" is shoe.  She could sit on the floor and try to put shoes on for hours.  Socks too.  Really any other clothes as well.  She loves to play with buckles too - especially the ones on her stroller and high chair.  (Maybe she likes those the best because she also has to climb up to get to them.)  I think she's going to be into clothes and jewelry - just an early observation.  We'll see how / if it plays out.  Isabella still does the cute thing where she says "le-le-le-le-le" and grabs her foot when she wants to be tickled.  And - "mmmmm" while leaning in when she wants to kiss.  She's becoming more expressive.  

Have I mentioned before that we think "ay-ya" means brother?  She also says "baba" sometimes for brother (which makes more sense to us), but "ay-ya" is the usual thing she yells when she's looking for Mercer. They are really sweet with each other.   We are very glad to have them in our lives, but I think they are glad to have each other in their lives too!