Waddling out of the pond

Today was Kate's last day as a Mighty Duck!  They had their end of year picnic at noon, in the 98 degree heat!  It was actually very nice - laid back and casual.  The kids got to run around and socialize with their friends while the parents tried (unsuccessfully) to convince them to eat lunch, which was catered by Chic-fil-a thanks to one of the other moms. 

Kate with two of her friends, Lilliana and Hannah.  There are actually only 5 girls in the class, out of 17 kids, but I'm not sure where Ava and Izzy were during the picture taking!

Kate and her teachers - Ms. Janet on the left is one of the assistants, Ms. Cathy (top right) is the other assistant, and Ms. Mary Grace (bottom right) is the head teacher.  These women are like saints because that class is a little crazy!  Nothing like 12 three and four year old boys to keep things interesting :)

The kids each had a paper bag FULL of goodies to bring home - mostly various artwork that had been hanging up in the classroom and the hallways.  There was also a book full of funny quotes from Kate from the whole year... here are a few of my favorites:

• When asked what gift she would bring Baby Jesus... her response was "A princess Ariel!"
• Instead of Roses are Red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet, Kate said "My shirt is red, Bennett's shirt is Blue, Sugar is sweet, and so are you!"
• "If I were part of the circus, I would be the Pooper Scooper!"
• "If I caught a leprechaun I would let it play Barbie's with me!"
• "If I found the pot of gold, I would hide it under my bed."

We also got the End of Year update (progress report, sort of) and here are a couple highlights:

• Kate's cutting and gluing skills are excellent! (my toy room always covered in her scraps is good proof of this!)
• Kate can write all the letters in her name and can identify every letter in the alphabet!
• She is one of four children who are in the "Hundred Club!" (They can count to 100.)

We're so proud of Kate and how much she has grown this year!   We will greatly miss Ms. Mary Grace and the rest of the Mighty Ducks.  What a fun year it has been!