Rainb-OH!

It does not rain in San Francisco for 6 months out of the year. Fog yes, rain no. But last week after work, I was driving home and there were a few brief raindrops on my windshield. That's odd I thought.

Then the sky turned bright pink. And I could see people literally stopped in their tracks, some standing in the middle of the streets, people were taking out their cellphones and taking pictures of the sky as if aliens were coming to make contact.

And then I saw the most spectacular rainbow that lit up the sky and turned my already pink deco building a brighter shade of pink. It literally made me excited and happy, joyful feelings that I haven't had in a long time.

 

I couldn't capture its awesomeness with my iPhone, but I tried.

 

First Day of Preschool for Jackson

It was exciting when Jack was accepted to preschool earlier this year. When summer started, we decided to get him used to his new school, the teachers, kids, location, walk, etc. and enrolled him in the summer camps that were also held at the school. What a smart idea - get him used to the new routine and he'll be prepped for when classes officially starts in September.

Well, it never quite panned out that way. The summer camps were held in several two week sessions. So every two weeks there was turnover with the kids and Jack wasn't able to make friends. The preschoolers and older kids were often in the same session, but the older kids were allowed to play in areas of the schoolyard that the younger kids couldn't. The kids varied wildly from session to session as families came and went on vacation so there was no continuity between sessions as to which kids were attending. Jack would complain that there were "too many friends" at school and didn't want to go. The friendships and structure just weren't there. I couldn't wait until Labor Day when Jack would start a more structured day when school officially started, with the consistency of a daily routine and the same kids and teachers.

Jack started preschool the day after Labor Day - and what a difference. In just a day or two, he was right into the routine. Each morning upon arrival in the Teddy Bear classroom, Jack puts his lunchbox here, his jacket in his cubby over there, washes his hands, and "gets to work" (that is, he gets to choose what activity he wants to do - the science table with magnets, the water table, art, building, etc.) At 8:30am, the bell rings, Moms and Dads say their goodbyes, and all the kids gather for their "morning meeting". They sit "criss cross applesauce" in a circle, sing a welcome song, review what day it is (in English and Spanish no less), and what's on the agenda for the day.

Interestingly, it turns out there are 2 Jack's in his class. And they are both Jack B's. So, Jack goes by his full name in class: Jackson. Fun fact: both Jacks were born 3 days apart.

Anyway, we are off to a great start! Here are pictures of the first day of class.

My lunchbox goes here

I wash my hands

 

And get to work

A Vision of Loveliness

Truth be told, I have always wanted to get Stella a tutu. Two reasons: 1) she is always mistaken for a male dog and 2) in typical bulldog fashion, she throws her hindquarters back and forth when she walks so a tutu would accentuate her cute sway. Plus, it's getting towards Halloween and what better time of year to dress up your dog?

 

Recently I passed by a kids consignment store and decided to pop in and see if they had tutus. Turns out they had a huge selection (who knew?), and cheap. So I picked out the fluffiest pink one with lots of tulle and a satin wasteband studded with a few rhinestones. Perfect.

 

 



"Summer"

I keep hearing about all the extreme summer weather along the mid-Atlantic and other regions.

Here's the other extreme - a San Francisco "summer". Note the hats, coats, MITTENS, and leggings!

Jack's View of the World

Jack (and his Mom) are fortunate to be surrounded with friends who love him. Here's a view of Jack's world. 

I guess you can never be too loved...

...or too entertained!

Here's Web in Your Eye

Jack is currently obsessed with the classic superheroes -- Spiderman, Superman, Batman, even Wonder Woman.

When he saw this advertisement for the upcoming Spiderman movie, he was excited to throw webs and have his picture taken.

Shooting webs

Spiderman shooting webs at Jack shooting webs at Spiderman

Preschool Camp

Last day at Ladybugs with beloved teachers Maliya and Colleen

We were very sad to leave Jack's current daycare which both he and we loved. But as I explained it to Jack, it was time to graduate from Ladybugs and start his new school. In order to get him used to a new routine and make the transition to Preschool easier, we enrolled him in the Preschool Camp which is also held at the new school during the summer until the academic school year starts in September.

The school is two blocks from our house so we start with a walk each morning which is a fun ritual. Once he is signed in, we put away his lunch box and he goes out to play with the tricycles, basketball hoops, etc. What's nice is that the Camp's daily schedule is similar to the Preschool's schedule during the school year (free time, activity, nap, etc.)

First day at Camp

The camps are split into several themed sessions of two weeks each. Jack completed the first session, World Travelers, this week. The class made passports which were stamped daily and had a morning and afternoon activity related to a different country. They made Mexican maracas, Czech crowns, sampled pasta from Italy, learned about Indian elephants.

I knew that transferring to a new school would be a momentous change in routine so we made several trips to the school beforehand to peek through the gates and familiarize him with the location. I bought him a little backpack of his own and unveiled it on his first day. Before the first day of Camp, Jack had readily caught on to the excitement of going to his new school but was quite clingy and hesitant the first week. And I would be too - he didn't know any of the kids, where anything was located, what the schedule would be like, who the teachers are. Each day he quickly rebounded, participated in class, was social and happy at pickup time. Though, it was evident he was still adjusting because he became a little defiant at home. The second week was better and the dropoff became increasingly easier, so I think we are on our way.