A proudly brought me these from his trail walk with B on Sunday. That boy can pick a flower. Three days later and they are still beautiful!
First time at bat
A had his very first t-ball game this weekend! He swung the bat, stood in the outfield, and kicked up some red dirt. And I got to have the experiencing of yelling “RUN!” when he actually tipped the ball off the T.
He’s a cardinal. “Not like the bird”, he said. Then he decided it was like the bird, but he is not a bird.
This is A showing me his “t-ball stance”:
Very serious posing!
A’s last first day of pre-K
Today A entered his very last year of pre-K before he moves on to the big world of elementary school. As you can see here he was totally calm:
This is his smile where I can hear myself saying “Smile, A. No normal. No stand still. Stopping moving back. No you aren’t looking at me. Try to look at Mommy. A, hello? Are you listening to Mommy?”. So obviously a totally stress free situation. Kind of makes me wonder if that’s why my Dad doesn’t like his picture taken…HA!
Anyway, A marched into pre-K and didn’t look back. He grinned as he left the hall (and luckily J was just nervous enough about all the people that he wasn’t trying to run off…yet) to go into his classroom. And it made me so, so happy when one of his friends from last year (who is in his class again), said “Hey A! Cool, you’re here! Come sit by me!” Isn’t that the best?
He returned home with two stickers for good behavior, and even ate some of the cucumber slices I put in his lunch! We played outside for a good while after he returned home to run off some of the energy of sitting and listening at school. He told me he is excited to work on sight words and use his new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pencil box he got to bring to school. He also told me very seriously “and the ninja turtles box has to stay at school. It’s for the work I do”. HA! I’m so excited to see all the ways he grows and learns this year!
First and Last Day of School
Okay ready? Here is A’s first day of school picture (August 2012):
And the picture I took today from his last day of school (May 2013):
Talk about changing in a blink of an eye! He looks like such a big boy now, a kid! Here are some stats on A and what he has learned this year:
– A is wearing a size 10 shoe, and 5T shirts and 4T shorts (and he can ride almost all the rides at Disney World….I am figuring in about a year so will J at the rate he’s growing…road trip!)
– A is most interested in playing castle outside, building Legos, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and playing Mario Brothers. He is up to the third level of Mario Brothers on both the Wii and the DS which is pretty ridiculous for his age.
– A is a true showman for his brother, he will do almost anything to make J laugh and dance (singing, dancing, pretending to fall, you name it!).
– I asked A the other day what he wanted to be when he was a grown-up and he said he wants to be a teacher like me, so he can be with me everyday, FOREVER. Bwahaha. And yes I am so using that when he is fifteen and all like “leave me alone, Mom”. I will say “remember when you wanted to be with me FOREVER?” HA!
– A went in to this year of preschool knowing his colors, but now he knows how to spell them (thanks to some terrific songs from his music teacher…she’s awesome!), and has a pretty good understanding of color mixing (blue/red = purple, so on).
– A is starting to really take off on reading. He is getting a handle of being able to pick out words on the page, and he does great with picture word association.
– A is working on writing and he makes a pretty good A. We are working on him slowing down enough to try to write the rest of his name and other letters.
– His drawings are beginning to have form and purpose and he always has a story to tell of what he has drawn and why.
– He has a really good knowledge (for his age) of different Bible stories, and his interpretation of the stories are pretty hilarious at times. Especially the story that he told about how Jesus said (and I quote): “Look people, I am trying to heal everyone but sometimes you have just gotta move on.”
– I think A would tell you his favorite part of preschool this year is putting shapes and plastic bugs in play doh, reading books, running at recess, and learning lots of new songs to share at home.
– What I have really loved seeing this year is how A has grown socially. Although we have days that are crazy, and days he is VERY dramatic, it has been nice to see all that we have been working on (and that he’s been working on at school) sinking in. He was wonderful at our friends’ wedding this past month, and he has been overall consistently polite and kind when we are out at restaurants and stores (except for the JCrew incident in Destin that will remain nameless). I know that part of that change is from what we do at home, but part of it is also how terrific his preschool is. I really can’t say enough good things about it!
– This fall A will start his last year of pre-K and I am excited to see all the ways he will grow from this fall to next spring. I am also excited to be able to have a summer with the boys to run through the sprinkler, bake treats, and make pizza from scratch!
A great big bundle of potentiality
A’s school had their music and art show this past week. Last year A informed us that he was not going to sing and he did not. This year he had the routine for their music performance down pat and he said he was going to sing, and he did! He even practiced his smile before the show:
And he sang beautifully at the show! He did all the motions for the songs and it was so fun to watch. I got him to pose for one picture with his class art display after the show:
And then he was done and ready to go home and have our annual after the art and music show ice cream. I can’t say enough how wonderful A’s preschool is. He has learned so much this year!
Easter eggcitement
Sorry. Sometimes you just have to use a pun. Here is how the boys’ Easter baskets turned out:
Pretty eggcellent, right?
And this boy:
Was most eggstatic about his TMNT Shredder. He has not left his side since.
And this boy:
Really just wanted his brother’s stuff. And to put the empty Easter eggs in the basket.
And here is a really terrific picture of the boys with their Granna and Papa:
Happy Easter! Hope yours was eggspecially wonderful. Okay I’ll stop now.
Right in the middle of reading
If I could describe J right now it would be “in the middle”. J tries to get right in the middle of what anyone is doing right now…whether it be when I am standing out the counter fixing a meal, or when we are reading to the boys, or when A is playing in his room.
Case and point:
J toddled over to my husband, pushed his arm aside, and plopped down in his lap. Guess he didn’t want to miss what happened in the Phantom Menace!
From rain to snow to sun to COLD.
After over a week of literally non-stop rain on Thursday the weather took a turn a few degrees colder and we got a little bit of snow and a lot of ice. So A got to go out and play in his first snow of the season:
Obviously it was a VERY small amount of snow where we live. A was disappointed it was not enough to make a snowman. However, it was nice to have a change from the constant rain.
My husband LOVES snow. It doesn’t take much encouragement for him to get bundled up and go outside with the boys in it (J was not interested in going out on this occasion).
It snowed for about two hours then stopped and the sun came out and we were left with just icy roads and cold air. But there was sun!
This weekend it warmed up decently and we took advantage of the opportunity to play outside before the temperatures plunge back into the thirties:
J was thrown off by the prickly grass and pretty much sat watching his brother play for most of the time. 
A was excited to pull out his slide and play boat.
And after watching football most of the day A decided he wanted to play a little football himself. Which mainly means A runs from you with the ball, yelling “it’s my ball don’t touch it!”, and then periodically chunks it randomly at someone. Silly boy!
This and That
This is what I like to call A “spinning his wheels”
And….
That is the reason all of our curtains in the living room are currently pulled up and I have to keep J’s door shut. J loves a good curtain to play in.
Super A is FOUR
A is four today! I can hardly believe it! He was very excited about his birthday day gift:
Here are some updates on what our big four year old is up to:
A weighs 32.8 lbs (he wanted to weigh himself this morning…silly boy)
He still loves to sing all the time (his current favorites are songs he learned at school, Toto’s Africa, Katy Perry’s Firework (yes still), and the many, many songs he makes up on his own).
His favorite foods are lasagna, fruit, bagels, fruity pebbles cereal, and pizza
He loves playing legos and with his bucket of massive random items (that he creates into various things)
He loves playing Mario (he can complete half a level of the first Mario…pretty impressive for a four year old!)
He has enjoyed soccer practice, but can’t really get interested in the soccer games
His favorite show is Octonauts and his favorite movie is How to Train Your Dragon
He loves Cousin Day, school, coloring, and playing with his baby brother as long as he doesn’t mess with the stuff he is playing with.
Happy Birthday A! I know you are super excited about your birthday party this weekend!