Celebrating turning 4!

Now that we are back to school weekends are back to being cherished. Time to catch up on sleep, play with the kids, clean the house (yes, it gets neglected all week long), and take care of all of those things that just don't get done all week long.
Well, this weekend was all about my youngest son. 4 years ago he surprised us by arriving 2 months early. It was the scariest day of our lives and in a matter of hours our family changed dramatically.
Because he was early, we were not prepared and we really started flying by the seat of our pants. It is now 4 years later that I feel that things are settling down. We still fly by the seat of our pants because kids don't come with handbooks (although I really think they should!),  but no longer do we have to take millions of sick days, visit tons of doctors for lots of check-ups, nor spend all of our paycheck on diapers!
For 1 month we drove back and forth to the hospital to squeeze in all the time we could so we could build that bond. The bond is incredibly strong and I am thankful we had support and time to give to him!
 I still tear up when I think about the day we brought him home and the reaction of his older brothers, especially our middle son because that was the first time he got to see him in person and not through a glass window or lens of a camera.
So not only is August back to school time for me, it is time to celebrate my youngest son. He is spunky, funny, sweet, and incredibly healthy. A little asthma interferes, but compared to what health conditions we had to potentially face, we are so lucky and happy that is all we still have to deal with.
This was the first birthday we really talked about how things began. He even told me, "I used to cry because I had to stay there without you." Not sure he really remembers, but man did that tug on my heartstrings (told you, he is a sweetie)!
So reaching the milestone of 4 was the focus of our weekend. Turning 4 was fun because he really grasped that it was his birthday. He grasped that people picked out gifts especially for him and wanted to spend extra special time with him. He cracked me up because he asked everyone where they picked out his gifts. We enjoyed cake (2 different times), and he insisted on holding my hand each time. And we enjoyed seeing Disney's Planes on Friday night. At the end he jumped up to hug both his Dad and I saying, "Thank you for bringing me to see this for my Happy Birthday!" Aww, just have to love that little guy!

Our youngest minion!

Weekends also mean lots of lesson planning. Seriously, I just cannot seem to find enough hours in my days to get it done thoroughly during the week. I try, but there are tons of things to tackle during the day and with my 2 oldest kids at work with me, it is almost impossible. So this weekend I sat and thought about how to start my social studies lessons, been a while since I taught social studies. I used to team with a teammate and share the responsibility of science/social studies. Since she retired, I am running solo. 

In addition, I tackled a science activity to start off classification this week. I actually made a compare/contrast activity with buttons and added it to my Teachers Pay Teachers store. 

If you are a follower of my blog, check it out. The first to comment on the packet will get a copied emailed to them for free! Introduction to Classification/Compare/Contrast  

Thanks for reading along! Hope you had a chance to cherish something you love this weekend!