Wise Men aren't Practical

This month in Pre-K Thomas is learning about different holidays. He wanted to talk more about Christmas at dinner last night. I was explaining the visit from the 3 Wise Men. He interrupted my explanation and asked, "Was one of those gifts a crib?".

He was most concerned about why none of the adults thought to address the issue that the Baby Jesus was laying "in sticks". Tom tried to explain it was hay and there was a blanket, but you could tell from Thomas' face that he considered the whole thing one big adult fail. What on Earth did a baby need with myrrh, etc.? The child needed a crib!

Tis the season - hahahahahahaha!!!!!

A conversation

On the way home from school last week we were having a conversation about squirrels (don't ask):

Thomas: Well, we should let those squirrels dig in our flower boxes now there's nothing there.

Me: Yes that's true. But what if they get into a habit of digging there then when there are flowers they will just dig those up again.

Thomas: I guess one of us will have to stand at the door and scare them away over and over again.

Me: That sounds like a boring job. I don't think I want to do it.

Thomas (totally excited): I know!!!! We can GET A DOG. A dog will sit at the door every day and chase them away. Mommy, can we get a dog? Can we get a pet? Please?



Um. No. Just no.

The Grinch!

Santa was cool......but then there was the Grinch!

Christmas Tree

Field Trip

I was in charge of Thomas and Isiah at the Dekalb Farmer's Market today. Thomas first sat next to Damien on the bus ride there. They were all very sweet (well, isn't that what you are supposed to say?) and I'm really really glad I don't teach Pre-K.

Little brains can do a lot!

At dinner tonight:
Mommy: "Did you talk about things you were thankful for today in class?"
Thomas: "Yes"
M: "What did you tell them that you were thankful for?"
T: "Pumpkin pie and you (pointing to Tara) and you (pointing to Tom) and Gammie and Pop and Grandmommy."
M: "And were you also thinking about Grandaddy when you were saying that?"
T: "Yeah, I've been thinking about him a lot." [This is the point at which I had to excuse myself.]
M: "Yeah? What have you been thinking about Grandaddy?"
T: "That he was a great man ... and he was funny"
M: "He was funny and had silly jokes all the time. He was silly like Daddy is silly. What else do you think about him?"
T: "He did great things."

Sock the Vote!

Obviously, I'm a little behind in my posting.  This is from Election Day. 
Thomas' class has daily jobs.  When your job is 'Caboose', not only do you get to be in the back of the line (which Thomas loves!) but you also get to take the class "pet" home to spend the night.  The class pet is Socky, the Sock Monkey.  He comes with his own backpack full of clothes and a journal to keep track of all his adventures.  We had the great fortune of taking Socky to vote with us!

Waiting for our turn (but not very long!)

Helping to fill out the ballot.

Sending a message!

5 Year Check Up

40th percentile in weight
55th percentile in height

Great health all the way around.

And then there was the flu shot.

I'm pretty sure the people in the lobby thought someone was cutting his arm off with a dull saw.

Man that kid can shriek.

SpiderMan

Birthday Pics

Singing Happy Birthday

Cutting the Cake

 

 Yummy.....cake!

A cool gift - a Knight outfit!

Happy Birthday

Happy Fifth Birthday to our Sweet Boy!

Ssssspppppooooookkkkkyyyy

It's almost Halloween and we are getting ready!

Visiting the Fire Station

Much fun was had by all! This includes Tom who chaperoned this field trip to the Fire Station down the street from Thomas' school.

Heard in Pre-K

"Hocus Pocus, Now let's focus."

"You're in my face, that's MY space."

Brilliance!

Oops

Thomas has some new found confidence and is playing with the other kids in a different way. He keeps getting hurt!

According to his teachers and him, the SpongeBob ice pack helped him feel better :)

Where is Thomas?

Thomas is not at his most charming. As I type this he is in time out yet again. Not in bed where he should be. I love when he goes through these times of refusing to do what we ask and getting out of bed over and over again - we learn all manner of patience and stamina.

I hope you read the intense sarcasm in that last sentence.

Good grief kid - bathe yourself, go to bed. How hard is this? This has been the routine since you were a tiny baby. Nothing has changed. N.O.T.H.I.N.G.

So clearly Tom has more patience than me. That's why he's doing the time out and I'm on the couch on the computer. I'm moral support - there's lower blood pressure for both of us that way.

It's not all on him I promise. I take my turn. Last night I did this routine of time out over and over again. Fun times on a holiday weekend!

This too shall pass. This too shall pass. This too shall pass.

In the meantime, he is sometimes still funny.

At dinner tonight he proclaimed,

A burp that comes out of your bottom. Well, that stands for a fart.

And there you have it. The state of this union.

It's too early!

If your 4 year old enters your room at 5:25 AM, Mr. Rabbit in hand and loudly announces with a smile, "I had a very, very, very, very, very bad dream," I think he might not be completely honest.

Particularly because when I took him back to bed right away it was no problem.

Just sayin'.

First Day of Pre-K

Really? Really?

Thomas' bedroom door opens 20 minutes after we tucked him in and said good night.

I walk to the hallway to see what he is doing.

Thomas: "Um Mommy. I came out to ask you a question."

Me (attempting to sound calm): "What?"

Thomas (attempting to feign confusion): "Did you forget to tell me to not come out of my room tonight?"

Me (attempting less to sound calm): "I told you not to come out of your room tonight because the only way to see a TV show tomorrow is to stay in your bed."

No words, just the sound of a door slamming and a boy jumping back in his bed.

Really? Really?

School needs to start NOW - he is clearly not tired enough.

A Dream

Thomas told us this morning that he had a crazy dream last night.

He said, "I had a crazy dream. Tiger Woods was playing golf in it. He didn't play well then either. But you don't have to say Oh Man because it was just a dream."

And there you have it!

He talks a lot

Thomas and I went to the zoo yesterday with 3 other people - 2 co-workers and the almost 3 year old son of one of them.

At the gorilla habitat...

One of the gorillas started to pee. All the kids around were thrilled.

Thomas (NOT quietly): That gorilla is pee peeing out of her bottom. I don't do that. When I have to pee pee, I go out of my penis. Mommy pee pees out of her bottom.


My co-workers are now in hysterics.


Later on this same trip Thomas grabs himself so I think he needs to go to the bathroom.

Me: Thomas, let's go find a potty.

Thomas: I don't need to go to the potty.

Me: You are grabbing yourself, that makes me think you need to go.

Thomas: No, I'm just grabbing my penis for fun.

My co-workers are again in hysterics.



Good grief, who taught this kid to talk?

That's No Good

Tom and I are headed to a birthday party for some friends of ours. It's an actual adult party with no children and no bouncy house! I needed to go pick up something for them.



Me (to Thomas): I'm going to the store to get a birthday present for Zack and Nikki since we are going to their party tonight. I'll be back soon.

Thomas: What are you getting them?

Me: A bottle of wine.

Thomas: That's not a very good birthday present.

Me: For an adult it is.

Thomas: I don't think so. Maybe a Finn McMissile transformer thing that shoots those missiles?

Me: Is that what you would buy me for my birthday?

Thomas: Yes.

Me: I would not love that.

Thomas: But, I would love that.



It's all about perspective I guess.

Um, It's Complicated

At the dinner table......

Thomas (to Tom): Before you knew mommy, I lived in her belly.

Tom and I (laughing): No, first mommy and daddy met, then we fell in love then we got married then you were in mommy's belly.

Thomas: How did I get there?


Crickets chirping......Parents' heart rate increasing......Panicked looks across the table....


Tara (panic stricken): Um, mommy and daddy put you there together.

Thomas: How?

Tom (also panic stricken): Um, it's complicated. You might have to be older before you understand.



Quick change of subject and disaster averted! We were NOT prepared for that conversation.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Thomas and I went to a playdate with some old friends yesterday. It was great fun to hang out with our old play group and catch up. At one point someone asked their child what they wanted to be when they grow up. I asked Thomas and he said, "A farmer."

Um, what?

I couldn't resist following up on this once we got home.

It turns out he is going to live on a farm with someone he marries and have 6 kids - 3 boys and 3 girls. He will grow fruits and vegetables. He will also have some chickens. That way if he wants a fried egg or a scrambled egg he can get an egg from the chicken. He reminded me he would only take eggs without babies in them. He also said if they were really hungry they could cut up one of the chickens and cook it and eat that.

It was hard to keep a straight face during this conversation!

I had him re-tell all of this to Tom during dinner. At that point he added we could come visit the farm if we wanted to. It wouldn't be in the city because there are too many buildings, but we could drive there.

Say What?

Thomas had some popcorn for a snack a couple of days ago.

Thomas: "Oh Man! My cutters are all plugged up!"

Translation you ask?

Mother Darling, could you help? My molars have a lot of popcorn in them and I am most disturbed by it.

Negotiations

Thomas: "Can I have a dog?"

Me: "No."

Thomas: "Well then....a turtle?"


And so the summer goes.........

When I talked to people about the fact that Tara and I were going to have a child, they all told me of the great things to expect.  I had visions of first fishing trip, helping to learn to ride a bike, playing catch in the yard, teaching to drive.  When our precious son was 18 months old, I was quite surprised to hear my wife say, "Stop licking the front door, please."  And today, when our smart, funny, charming son is 4 and a half years old, while preparing dinner in the kitchen, I heard my wife say to our son, "Is that spit in your hands? No, don't drop it on our carpet!"  These are some of the things they forget to tell you.  And then at dinner, we had the best group conversation we've had in a long time, sharing what Thomas and Tara had both learned on their trip to the museum today.  Apparently Fernbank had a featured exhibit called "The Scoop on Poop."  Fully engaged and involved in recalling an telling all he details of colors, shapes, and international names of poop!  Awesome!

Summer Fun

Full Moon as seen from our condo over the ocean.

Drew and Thomas gathering critters from the ocean. It rained 3 days of our trip so the boys got lots of practice watching TV.

Exploring with Daddy.

Rainy day at the Children's Museum in Myrtle Beach. What chaos this was!!!!

Thomas and Drew had fun.

We got to see some Legos at Broadway at the Beach.

Posing with a Lego creation at the beach.

Back at home. We went to a place call Sensations. Where's Thomas?

Getting stronger! He climbed above our heads!

Last Day of School

It's hard to believe he has grown so much and that a whole school year has passed!

August 2011. First Day of Pre-Primary. Leaving for school.

May 2012. Last Day of Pre-Primary. Leaving for School.

August 2011. First Day of Pre-Primary at The Children's School.

May 2012. Last Day of Pre-Primary at The Children's School.

Battle of the Bands

Thomas and I surprised Tom by coming to Battle of the Bands at The Howard School yesterday. The final band is the faculty band. They played 2 songs - Tom played trumpet in one and bass guitar in the other. Thomas cheered and cheered, "Go Daddy. Yay Daddy!" He was quite charming!

After it was over, Thomas gave it a try. He's actually pretty good. Another trumpet player in the family?

Mother's Day

It was a lovely rainy day. After brunch, my sweet boys found ways to entertain each other so I could read a book :)

Inchy

Inchy the class pet came to visit again! He helped us out at the library and he helped Thomas and Tom make alphabet pancakes. He went back to school today to go home with the next student in line.

Happy Easter