Graduation!

It had been long awaited, but finally last Friday, the big day arrived--Carter's graduation!  He had been practicing songs for months, and after going through all of the rehearsals last year with his classmates and not actually graduating, I think this one was a long time in coming.  

We had originally been concerned that Craig and Jacob would miss it because of Jacob's lacrosse tournament.  In that scenario, my parents were going to drive Carter and me to Saratoga after the graduation so we only had to have one vehicle there for the weekend, but luckily Jacob's schedule ended up not having any Friday games, so it worked out that we could all stay in Rochester for the graduation and leave right after.  I got out of work a couple hours early to finish packing so we could have dinner and leave directly from the graduation.  Despite my best efforts, the kids ate painfully slow, and suddenly we were running late.  Not late for the actual program (though closer than I would have liked), but no one ever told us the desired arrival time, so in the end we were way late and it was a rush to get Carter ready.  Luckily in the end it all worked out well enough.  We met my parents there and we settled into a very hot church to watch the program.  

Carter processing in...big kid!

We said the pledge at the beginning, and Carter kept his hand on his heart (well, his other heart--oops!) into the first song :)

The kids sang a bunch of songs, which were predictably super cute.  Here's the last one.  The silly part at the end involved some sort of Ukranian term, thanks to the two little Ukranian girls in the class, including Carter's current bestie, Julia.



After some remarks and a poem, they were presented their diplomas.  As they got ready to walk out at the end, they were so cool they got to wear shades!

There he goes!

We all headed downstairs to the much cooler basement for the reception.  Carter was so cute in those shades!

We had some snacks, punch, and cake, as well as a special treat for the graduates - an upside-down Hostess cupcake with a chocolate graham cracker on top, making a graduation cap.

His teacher handed out some awards...

...and this is Carter's...

Apparently he always comes in ready to tell a joke!

Before we left, Carter and I hit up the photo booth...

It's so hard to believe we're headed to Kindergarten in the fall.  When Jacob did this, Carter was still an infant.  Jacob seemed so big back then, but Carter still seems so young now!  Of course, Jacob insisted on dressing up for his in a shirt and tie, but Carter had no interest--and it was really too hot anyway--so it was a golf shirt, shorts, and new sneakers instead.  Two different kids, for sure!

How are we here already?!

All in all, it was a good night.  It's hard to believe we're in the home stretch at daycare, after so many years there.  These last few haven't been the best, but we've made it work.  We may be back next summer, but maybe only if Carter's buddy will be back next summer.  If not, we'll see if I can get him in a better program in the long run.  Heading toward Kindergarten I'm still a little concerned about his writing skills, and feel like they should be noticing what I am, but no one is yet.  I feel like after a year of writing his name, it should be effortless by now, and it's not.  I know he's smart because he remembers countless factoids about stuff, but sometimes his short-term memory seems selective and the trouble writing perplexes me a bit.  I guess Kindergarten will be the true test, but I hope he's ready.  He still also has some temper issues that could have some rough consequences in a school, so hopefully these next couple months are a learning experience for him.

But for now, I'm proud of this milestone and looking forward to the adventures ahead! And that night, adventure #1 was a trip to Saratoga!