Last Day of School!!!!

 the LAST day of new school for ms. liza! we had been talking about it for weeks, ok months. liza LOVES to talk things through.over and over again. we have discussed what will happen this summer and where all her friends will go and how she will have a "pattern" of going to vandergriff and then going back to new school in the summers ect.  i thought she would be pretty sad about leaving new school but she has mostly been so excited about it all! she will miss this school and everything and everyone under it's roof TERRIBLY! liza has always LOVED going to school. she misses it on the weekends. this last week of school she got up extra early every morning and wanted me to take her before mccoy woke up because she wanted to get there as soon as the doors opened.liza knows almost every adult and kid in that school and shouts out "hi so and so" as she goes up and down the halls. she has been with pretty much the same group of kids for the past 3 years there. she knows everything about them. what allergies they have, what their favorite things are, what they are scared of, what makes them laugh, ect.
we spent time prepping for this last day of school (similar to a holiday, liza style! ;)
she wanted so bad to get each of her classmates a present so they will always remember her. we went shopping and she REALLY wanted to get each a PRESENT picked especially for them. so after a little squabble about not being able to pick 18 different huge toys for our friends we found some things that would work. each of the boys would get some sticky strong men and the girls got clip in hair braids. she also requested a cookie cake to take with Ms. Lindsey's class written on it. we got busy making cards and wrapping presents for the teachers. she REALLY wanted ms. lindsey to cry when they left. hahaha.

 woooooohoooooooo! schoolsssssssss out for summaaaaaaaaaaa! (ok, a few weeks, but they don't know the difference)

 and this lil dude.
he is in a tricky 3 YEAR OLD spot right now. ;)
he is wild. a boy. a 3 year old boy. i keep having to just say those things over and over to myself.
this year in school has been interesting for him. he has tested every boundary.
bless his teachers. they are truly angels. their patience is a gift.
see, with liza, i had her number by this age. mccoy, not so much. we are still trying to figure out which discipline styles he responds best to.
i have leaned on ms. ruth so much this year. she has taught me a lot. she has given me perspective on so many things.
 mccoy had many episodes where he was acting out at school. there was a group of about 5 boys that LOVED playing off of each other. mccoy especially craved the attention from them and did whatever he could to get the most laughs. there was a time he was getting up from the lunch or breakfast table and RUNNING down the halls from his class then another friend would get up and run the other way so then the teachers were stuck and couldn't leave the whole class to go get them. he also went through a time when he was taking off his shoes and then throwing them over the fence on the playground. it then escalated into him taking off his pants and throwing them over the fence. there was also a time he was purposefully peeing his pants so he could change into "new school" clothes that he liked. all the while, ms. ruth assured me that this too shall pass, and they did! ;)

there are times i want to squeeze his arm all the way out of that school and into the car and then times i shake my head and can't help but laugh at his stories with embarrassment. he is a strong willed, wild little 3 year old boy. he is thoroughly amused and satisfied when he can tell he is getting to someone. although he can be crazy at home, he wasn't getting away with or doing things like that at home everyday so it was frustrating for me to hear these stories and not be able to do anything about it while he was at school. i had COMPLETE confidence in his teachers. they are beyond experienced and patient with this. one thing ms. ruth taught me and had to remind me so many times is at 3 years old it is so hard to cross punish from school to home. she wanted mccoy to have happy excited parents at pick up everyday and so she didn't want everyday to be us getting on to him for something he had done hours before. i totally understood but it was hard for me because i never want to be that parent that is not on top of discipline and turns their head to bad behavior just because that is the easy thing to do, you know? :)
SO, nonetheless. we learned a lot this year. both him and i.
his outfit in these pics is one example! ;) he wears this outfit a LOT. he loves it. he does not want to throw his favorite razorback pants over the fence that is for sure. i also got him the ugliest "light em up" shoes from target that he had been wanting and told him that if he threw those over the fence they would stay there forever. so that has stopped that! :)
one thing i knew for sure was that no matter what mccoy was doing at school. ms.ruth and ms.rhonda ALWAYS showered him with love. they were always happy to see him and loved on him constantly. that was such a gift to me. such a gift.
ohhhh mccoy, what will we do with you?? :)
love ya, thats what we will do. ;)

 with one of his best buddies, camden.

 going in for the last time!!!!
the day before i asked her if i could take her picture in front of school and she replied, "oooohhhh maaahhhh gaaaaahhhhsh moommmm. nooooo! (in her best valley girl accent) i have a tween.

 liza LOVEd being on the "i noticed" board!

 liza and jolie with ms.lindsey. we love her so so much!

 and ms. jessica! she ALWAYS makes us laugh!we will miss them terribly!

 carson is one of liza's VERY best friends. when i picked her up on the last day he ran over to her as we were walking out the door for one last hug and told her he would miss her. :( so sweet.

 wilburt is on the right. a few years ago he threw up in class and liza has never forgotten it.

 he was so excited to bring his sweet teachers gifts and the cards he made.

 this pic of him and ms.ruth made my eyes water ;)

thank you to everyone at new school for the love, guidance, patience, experience, education and fun this year. we are so grateful for this place and everyone in it! :)