"But mom I'm just sorting..."

Yes, I normally would usually stop this standing on the furniture a lot business, but Alicia was being good, and so darn cute. I asked here what's she doing? And usually I get a "nothing" in a sheepishly voice when she's doing something she shouldn't. But this time I got a proud, "mommy I'm helping you clean." I respond back with well you shouldn't be standing on furniture and you need to be careful.. And I got a "but mom I'm just sorting my movies out and helping." oh, how do I scold her about that, right? So yes, I don't and let her by with a be careful warning...

We match!

Alicia thought it was pretty cool this morning when we left for dance class and she realized her and her baby doll matched pretty well. "we both have blue dresses on mommy!!"

Bike riding at safety camp

Alicia's 5th Birthday

Just realized that we never really documented Alicia's birthday. Boy was it a busy time. I'll try to catch everyone up via pictures with a little description of what went on.

Birthday Day Blog Post:
http://thekluesners.blogspot.com/2011/05/alicia-turns-5.html

Cake:
I'm prety sure Heather will get around to doing a http://yummytomytummy.blogspot.com/ post for her cake at some point, but here are a few pictures from her Princess Cake. (She felt like Cake Boss from Food Network when we had to transport it home).. Special Thanks to Grandma Kloss for coming in for a few days and help out watching Ben while Heather had the Cake Making experience.

Monkey Joe's Party

Alicia's been looking forward to having her birthday party at Monkey Joe's for a long time. Monkey Joes is a jumpy house which all of her classmates appear to have their birthdays at). I think she's been talking about it for about 6 months (since Carl had his birthday there). So how could we let our little girl down. We invited a bunch of classmates from her school, as well as a couple other family friends. A good time was had by all.

Day Care Party

Alicia's last day at Daycare coincided with her birthday party there. Grandma Kloss/Ben Heather and Drew were able to come visit for her "moment". She gave out fudgecicles and had her classmates sing to her.

See other pictures from this day at this blogpost.

American Girl Party:
The Girls took a trip to American Doll (Downtown Chicago) for their birthdays.
American Girl Blogpost

Trip to the Zoo

For her birthday, we took her out of school, and went to Brookfield Zoo. She had a great time. She loved the Dolphins and the carousel.

Previous Zoo Post

Bowling (farewell) Party

Wow, We are behind in some blogs. So i'll make this one short and sweet. Last month, (The day before Ben's baptism), the Daycare clas decided to have a bowling party. When it was originally planned, Alicia was still in daycare, but as time went on, she had her last day, and well... she crashed the party anyways. :) Actually the class had made tie-died shirts during the week, and they made an extra one for Alicia. We (Heather and Drew and Alicia for that matter) really enjoyed her classroom this year. Her teachers Ms. Katie and Ms. Carol were awesome. Thanks!

It was great to see everyone from her class one last time, and get a few pictures. I've added a collage of pics from the day. The kids had a great time. (that is until Alicia heard them make an announcement on the PA system). She essentially shut down after the "loud" speakers went off. With a little coaxing from others (and actually alicia) We were able to sneak in a class picture, and then we got an early start on Ben's baptism Weekend.



NOTE: I have a bunch of pics, if anyone wants to see more, i can post them somewhere, just leave a comment.
Stay tuned for future blogs at both here and thekluesners.blogspot.com

Hanging out

goodbye daycare, hello mommycare

Pictures from Alicia's last day at preschool

Well, the seasons are changing that is for sure... At the end of May, Alicia officially ended daycare/preschool at Bright Horizons. It was a very bittersweet day for us all, as it meant that Alicia was no longer gong to be seeing all her classmates and friends that she had spent time with the last 4 or so years. I made the big switch from corporate-world working 4 days in an office, to being a work from home contractor/full-time mommy x2 and working what it feels like 24/7 some days.

A super-cute picture hanging up in the classroom of Alicia and her bff Carl

Alicia had been going to daycare part-time since she was about a year old, I think. Ranging from 1-2 days a week, to almost a full week the last few years. Alicia really loved it there and the teachers have taught her so much. We are so grateful for all their care they have provided. So a change in the routine for Alicia, as now, she gets to enjoy being at home for the summer with mommy and Ben before Kindergarten starts in the fall. Kindergarten is only a half-day school session, so she will be continuing the fun at home with Ben and mommy before and after school.

Alicia and her teachers Ms. Carol and Ms. Katie



I have to admit that we were a bit bummed that her daycare doesn't do preschool graduations there, since many of her other little friends were having one. Since the daycare has a private kindergarten onsite there, they wait until kids finish that kindergarten class before they officially graduate them from that site. :( But the teachers from her pre-k class Ms. Katie and Ms. Carol were pretty cool in setting up a bowling party to celebrate the summer (another post to come soon with bowling..) So we decided to have our own little celebration and took Alicia to the zoo to celebrate. (another post as well :) So as I ramble, going back to the original reason of this post, Alicia's last day at pre-school... I was able to take special treats to school that day as we could her birthday and her last day. Since her 5th birthday was only a few days away, it worked well. Even Grandma Kloss, Ben, and daddy showed up for the party. She had ice cream treats at school with her friends, and packed up her cubbie, and said her goodbyes. Sniff.sniff. :'( It was a nice ending for Alicia.

An accumulation of pictures that her teachers took of her throughout their normal classroom activities. https://picasaweb.google.com/105185905045049370319/AliciaPreKMcAuliffeClass?authkey=Gv1sRgCPfg-cvO9ZTK0gE#



Alicia heading out for the last time... and we are outta here!!





And it's done. The last check out.