Ty's Open House

So tonight we had Tyrus' second Open House for his school. He starts on Tuesday, so this was a meet-and-greet to see his actual classroom, his cubby and get reacquainted with his teachers. He's lucky because the school just opened up a new building and he's the first to use the new classrooms!



I was a wreck by the time we got into the class, though. The school had that "new school smell" and when we walked up and I saw the sign that said "Welcome to Kindergarten" and his name on a folder outside on the table, the tears started! I'm such a sap! It was even worse when I saw his cubby and his name all over the room in the individual areas.




His class is pretty cool. There all sorts of areas and centers that are designated for different things. One is weather and time and reading. There's a piano and a guitar and a huge long white board. There's a large TV and a carpeted circle area. On one wall, they have little pockets with "Our Jobs" over the top. On that we noticed that Ty's stick was in "off duty" currently. We all had a chuckle about that... hee hee.




The whole time we were there though, I kept thinking, how is it possible that my kid, my baby, my first born, is old enough to be going to school? How did we get here? Wasn't he just a toddler in his crib calling out "wann ooout!"

And now, he's this tall, gorgeous young man, old enough for Kindergarten. Old enough to be away from mom and dad for the day. Old enough to learn to read and write and count higher than he knows now. Old enough to make potential life long friends and become part of a class - the class of 2020! Amazing.

As we were leaving, we peeked into the Boys' Bathroom so he'd know where it was. I said to him, "what do you think?" And he said in his ever-so-grown-up-way, "it looks like a bathroom." What a goof.

I'm going to be a mess come Tuesday. Anyone have any Kleenex?

Fears, Emotions, Tears

Tonight was quite the night. After I'd tucked the kids into bed, Tyrus was seeming a bit blue, so I sat on his bed and tried to talk to him about what he was thinking/feeling. That's one thing I've always loved about him. He's a sensitive soul and will usually talk to me about what's going on. Tonight he told me that he's tired of doing the same old stuff all the time - picking up toys, playing the same games, etc and how he just feels like he needs some time away from it all. So I started talking to him about how when he's at school in a few weeks, he will have a time, every day, when he'll be gone from everybody else. He seemed okay with that idea, but also a bit unsure. So I talked some more about what school will involve and the things he'll learn (like maybe how to count to 100! or that he'll learn to spell and then will understand what daddy and mommy are spelling over his head all the time - he laughed at that) and the fun things he'll do. We talked about how his teacher told him he could bring a picture in of his family and paste it inside of his pencil box. He liked that idea, and we decided that tomorrow we'll go through the pictures and choose a picture that we'll print out. Over all, it was a positive conversation, and I think he felt better afterwards.

In the mean time, Alexis comes over and climbs on me and asks when she'll go to school. So, I start talking to her about how she'll get to go in a few years when she's a big 5 year old, and how that right now, she gets to be the big kid each day at home with mommy and can have special time. Well, that wasn't the answer she was looking for, and her ever present emotions burst out. She cried and cried. I kept reassuring her that everything was going to be okay, and that Ty would only be gone for a while and that she was going to do great, but she still felt sad and scared, she told me.

Ugh. I expected some nerves out of Ty, but Alexis' reaction totally blindsided me. I guess I should have seen it coming, but I just didn't. Who knew Kindergarten could be such a big deal?

Silly Kid Talk

So yesterday Josh and I took the kids out to lunch at Subway. After we were done, I dug in my purse for a piece of gum and I offered one to Josh, too. Alexis pipes up that she'd like to have a piece. Well, I'm not usually too keen on giving her gum just because she doesn't keep it in her mouth very well and I really don't want to have to clean up a huge mess. So, I told her no.

Well, of course, she flips out and says over and over, "I want some gum! I want some gum!" I kept telling her that she didn't need it, and then she says, "but I want my breath to be comfortable, mom!!"

Hee hee. Can't argue with that, can you?

Tonight, we had a treat of ice cream since the kids helped pick up all of the toys all over the living room. Alexis chose Bubble Gum and Ty chose Moose Tracks. Later, after they'd finished, Alexis asked me if she could have more. I told her no, she'd already had some. Then she says, "but I didn't have any "Mole Traps kind!"

Family, family, family!

We've been lucky this month. Almost all of our family that live in Colorado were able to come THIS way to visit us! How cool is that? In the two weeks, we went to Lake Michigan in South Haven, the zoo in Battle Creek, the Children's Museum in Grand Rapids, out to the Michigan District Camp Grounds a few times and all over everywhere in between! We got to celebrate my dad's 50th and Destiny's 20th birthdays on the same day! It was a lovely time with all of them and really enjoyed the time that they were all here.










In other news, Carsten is standing unassisted at times! Whoa! How did that happen?! He thinks he's so sly too, when he let's go of your legs or the chair and stands up - he always gets a big grin and then starts clapping. It's adorable. :) The kid is 10 months old today. Whew.



Alexis has really been doing well the last month or so. I've seem some remarkable improvements in her behavior and I'm very proud of her. We've been working on cutting down on her thumb sucking (only in her bed at nap and bedtime) and she's working on some preschool lessons.




Tyrus is seeming ready for school. He starts in just a few weeks and we've still got to get his supplies. I know, I know, I should have done this months ago, but to be honest, I haven't had a chance to. Thankfully, we have the list of what we need already, so now it's just going to get it. I think he's going to do great in school - he's ready.