last day as a kindergartner

today was hayden's last day of kindergarten! the school year went by so quickly. i very vividly remember going to orientation the day before school started and hearing mrs. holmes tell us about the "light system." i distinctly remember her telling the parents that if a student moved from a green light to a red light a note would be sent home that day explaining what happened. "but," she stated, "that rarely happens." and i laughed inside and quite possibly even outside saying "oh, hayden will be the child to change that statement." and i believe that he has.
hayden had his ups and downs in kindergarten, always due to his behavior. we did receive MANY notes about regarding his red light days. we turned to a punishment and reward system here at home to help motivate him to get more green lights. there were some months he was able to get 5 green light days in a row and other months where he barely got a single green light.
thankfully, hayden ended the school year on a great note! the week before school ended he came home with 4 green lights and then a red. and he was SO upset that with that red, something he usually doesn't care too much about. and then this week he came home with greens every day! we are so proud of him as we know that is truly a HUGE accomplishment for him.
despite his many red light days, mrs. holmes always told us that he was a great kid. always happy and very enthusiastic about learning. he was one of the smartest kids in the class and was reading when school started, something that maybe only 1 other student was doing.
hayden seemed to really love kindergarten and is already talking about how excited he is to be in first grade next year and that he will be able to go into the lunch room.
i remember being in school thinking how long the school year was, but as a parent it goes by in no time.
in order to celebrate hayden's kindergarten graduation and especially his excellent behavior at school the last two weeks, we took him to logan's (his favorite restaurant simply because they have peanuts on the table) for dinner. after logan's we all walked over to costco so that we could buy a new wii game (mario kart) and then headed to 7-11 for a "frozen drink." we got home, played some mario kart and then all went upstairs, popped some popcorn and watched wipeout...hayden's favorite show (he's been telling me for almost 2 weeks that when he turns 18 he's going to the wipeout zone). it was a big day for him and he was so excited about all of it he could hardly stand it.
congratulations, hayden! we love you so much and cannot believe how quickly you are growing up!

me and my baby before his last day of kindergarten:




hayden, eric, hannah, legoless and jason waiting for the bus:



home from his last day in kindergarten!:

hayden's favorite restaurant, logan's. he really just likes the peanuts: