Parker's Big Day

Today is the day we have been preparing Parker for for quite awhile, his first day of Kindergarten. When he woke up this morning he couldn't wait to get his clothes changed, teeth brushed and shoes on, as he knew that it was his big day. Here he was this morning posing with his brother and his newest pride and joy, his Spiderman backpack.



Sara and I met him at the school this afternoon so we could be there with him as he began his first day.





We were optimistic that he would enjoy his first day of school, but there is also that shadow of doubt that we had about how he was going to handle this new, more structured, setting. To our delight, he loved it!

We had the opportunity to meet his teacher this past Saturday, and she seems like she is going to be a very good fit for him. She too learned English as a second language around the age of 6, and in the short bit of time we were able to spend with her, she seemed to think he was doing very well picking it up. We agree. He is progressing so well in all aspects, not just language.

Here are a couple pictures of Parker as he officially enters into Kindergarten.





In wake of all of his incredibly good behavior as of late, we told him that tonight was the night to take a trip to the Ethiopian restaurant in Cincinnati. He had been yearning for injera since leaving Ethiopia, so it was quite enjoyable to take him. He asked Sara the other day if we had to fly back to Ethiopia to get injera, so I think he was pleasantly surprised that he could get injera in America. In fact, when we arrived at the restaurant this evening he asked me, almost in disbelief, "Injera in America?", and when I said yes, he got that oh so adorable little smile on his face. It was very cute.

Here he is feasting on the injera (and acting silly for the camera).





The restaurant we ate at was Emanu. It is run by an Ethiopian family and the food was fantastic. If I were a restaurant critic I would give it 4 stars. Our experience in Ethiopia with injera was not that great, so we were a little apprehensive about whether or not we would like this restaurant. We loved it. The staff was fantastic and the food far exceeded our expectations. Parker is dying to try the kitfo, so it looks like we will be heading back in the near future.

Check out their website
www.emanuea.com

I must take a second of your time to praise Parker. He has been behaving incredibly well as of late. His teacher at daycare told me this afternoon when I picked him up that Parker has been the best behaved and biggest helper in the class over the last week. That is sweet music to my ears. I believe the technique we have so adamantly utilized of rewarding his good behavior is setting in. The 4 Star system that explained in a previous post has worked wonders.

I know end alot of posts with this, but here goes again.

Here's hoping the good behavior continues, it's alot more fun around here when he is behaving well.