SMA End of School Year Program

Where does the time go?  On May 2, Emily's class had it's annual end of year program.   We all gathered in the Great Hall to watch a slide show of what the children did the past year.  Emily came out in a lot of the slides.  Then the two classes came out and sang songs.  Some kids were a little upset but Emily did a great job and was happy to see mommy, grandma and grandpa in the first row. 

Wow, what's going on?

We are ladybugs and we sing!

Grandma and Grandpa and Emily

Having strawberry shortcake

Proud Mommy with Emily

Ms. Rina and Ms. Annette

Emily's 3rd Birthday Party

Here are some photos of Emily's birthday party at Gymboree in Southlake.  We had lots of fun!

Letter to Emily on Her Third Birthday

Hi!  I'll post new pictures soon.  I just wanted to post a copy of Emily's birthday letter now.  We started this tradition when she turned one.  I hope to keep this tradition going until she's 18!  We'll see....

Emily’s 3rd Birthday 4/15/12


Dear Emily,

Happy birthday, sweetheart! It seems like only yesterday you were crawling all over the house. You’re not a baby anymore, you’re a toddler. You’ve completed a lot of milestones this past year and I want you to remember them like we do.

After you turned 2 years old, you really took off walking, running and jumping. You wore orthotics with your tennis shoes and they really helped you get around and build your leg muscles. We got rid of your strollers and had you walk all the time. Some of your favorite places to walk were Northeast Mall in Hurst, Grapevine Mills Mall in Grapevine and at the park. We took you to the “duck” park in Irving where you enjoyed watching the ducks and playing on the playground. You also enjoyed playing in the indoor play areas in the malls. One of your favorite things to do at Northeast Mall was to ride the small carousel or “the ducks” as you called it. You really liked sitting in the duck, the car and on the cycle and going round and round. Then you became interested in riding the horses on the big carousels at Grapevine Mills Mall and The Parks Mall.

You and mommy still went to story time at the Euless and Hurst libraries where you met new friends and looked through lots of books. Some of your favorite things to do were coloring pages with big crayons, playing with stickers and playing catch/roll the ball with daddy. Some of your favorite Sprout TV shows were “Play with Me Sesame”, “The Wiggles”, “Monkey See, Monkey Do”, “Caillou”, “Kipper” and “The Mighty Jungle”.

After a few months we got rid of your high chair and got you a booster seat. Your favorite foods were cheese, pizza, goldfish crackers, chicken nuggets, chocolate pudding, juice, popcorn and Gerber fruit pouches. You tried oranges, apples, grapes and strawberries and even took a few bites of celery, broccoli, and carrots. Your favorite toys were trains, cars, puzzles, play food, play kitchen, play dough, and V-tech toys.

Last summer mommy and daddy took a short trip by themselves and Grandma and Grandpa Rivera came to stay with you. You did very well and mommy and daddy really missed you! In the fall you started attending St. Michael’s Academy twice a week. That was such a big step for you! You learned so much while you were there. You also made new friends and you really liked your teachers, Ms. Rina and Ms. Annette. By the end of the year it was time to say good bye to your crib and to sleep in your new twin bed. You made the transition all by yourself.

For your 3rd birthday mommy and daddy took you to The Galleria in Dallas to play in the big play area and then to eat at Sweet Tomatoes. We opened presents at home and had cake. Your birthday party was held at Gymboree in Southlake a few weeks after your turned 3 and most of your classmates and family were there. You had so much fun playing on the mats and slides.

My wishes for you this year are to have fun learning new things and to always know you can count on mommy and daddy to be there for you. We love you very much!

Mommy and Daddy