New Class

Today I dropped CJ off in the transition class that he normally attends (18 to 36 months), but he was not there when I went to pick him up. I saw his show-and-tell (Thomas the Train Goes Fishing easy reader) waiting for me, but there was not a chorus from all the kids in circle "Christian your mommy's here!" like usual. Instead Ms. Amanda came up to me, followed by a few of the girls, to tell me he spent the day "up front". The girls then proceeded to ask me where he had gone. I think they were very confused to have their ladies man taken away from them.

I had known this was coming, but it took me by surprise none the less. Ms. Amanda shared that he had been a bit confused, just sitting there at first, but had eventually begone to participate. At that point I said my good-bye and proceed to "the front" where the 3 to 6 year-old class is held.

The older kids were just getting done with nap, and CJ was taking his turn in the potty when I arrived. He didn't even get to have his snack so he ate it in the car. Ms. Ann said he did very well with using the restroom, and eating (I told her the eating was an easy one). I was also told that I should just bring him to that class in the morning and we would see how it goes.

There were three kids from his class that moved with him to join the 13 that were already there. Then next month there will be three more from the younger class moving up. There are three teachers in the room and one is the owner. I can't wait to see how much he progresses in his new class.

As a side note he was really getting into Nirvana today on the way to school.

Family Vacation

I took the advice of my IB coordinator and turned a summer training opportunity into a family vacation. When it was initially suggested to me my first step was to check the calendar for conflicts and second was to look at the daily agenda. Well there were no conflicts and the days were fairly short, we ended at 4:30 and then 2:30, so I would get to spend the evening with the boys.

CJ and Daddy got to spend some awesome quality time together. They went to visit one of Daddy universities, our state capitol, and took advantage of having a pool on site. We were lucky to get a suit so they could grab a bite and have quiet time before I would come home each afternoon. Thankfully the training itself turned out to be very worthwhile or I don't know if I could have stood to miss out on all of the fun.

On the first evening we took advantage of the unique food trucks located all over the city. The spot we choose allowed us to start with some amazing sushi and follow with the best Thai Putt-Thai Daddy and I think we have ever had. CJ didn't quite understand that we were indeed going to get more food after the sushi was gone and kind of had a bit of a panic, but I was eventually able to convince him that did was not over.

The second night we traveled to a town about an hour away to play in the river. The cold water was very refreshing, and after an initial issue with a too large life-jacket, Christian seemed to really enjoy himself. The end to a great day was being joined by Grandma and Pops for dinner. They arrived just in time to get Christian to eating, and we found a pleasant location with seats over the river. Then as a bit of a special gift to all involved CJ went home with his grandparents for his very first overnight stay. Everything went extremely well as far as all that was concerned.

Appa and I returned to our hotel, after I finished off a half day of training the next day, we took a leisurely journey towards the grandparents' house with a stop for some excellent BBQ along the way. That final afternoon and evening was full of good quality family time which included one of my father's brothers and his wife. We left early the next morning to make it home in time for a classmates birthday party.

1, 2, 4....

CJ has been saying his numbers more and more lately. Not always that he is necessarily counting any particular item, but just kind of absentmindedly practicing saying them while he is playing or doing other such things. Interesting fact is that  when he does start at the beginning he seems to always skip his age or maybe the fact that he always skips the three is why he tends to start at four or beyond.

This morning he and I were once again talking about how the figure on the front of his shirt is not a frog, but a monster, when he asked about the figures on the front of mine. This is a night shirt I wear often and having been a gift to me from an Alaskan trip (taken not by me but my Grandmother) has several moose on the front. Each moose is several different bright unrealistic colors and patterns. After he asked me what the third figure was, to which I relpied "a moose" yet again, I asked if he wanted to determine out how many moose were on my shirt.

Now we let the counting begin. While he did need help several times, to get started and keep going, there was one time when he got all the way from one to nine without any reminders or needs of assistance. I am sure you can imagine how excited I was and that the overwhelming positive feedback from his success encouraged him to continue trying. CJ does seem to be taking to numbers faster than letters to which you know I couldn't be more than please.

A Day at the Museum

A new NRA member is born.

Fun Mirrors

"I don't know who Harry Potter is, but anyone that wears a hat and glasses has to be cool."

Papaw Participates

"I NEED a bike!"

"Wait, I NEED a car!"

Patience Pays Off

"I NEED a kitty cat! MINE!"

Food is Good

Who sent me down this rabbit hole?

I'm the king of the world.

Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow

Christian was so sad about saying good-bye to his Mamaw and Papaw this afternoon after spending the early part of today with them at the Children's Museum. It was CJ's first visit to the museum and as expected he had a blast. He was so tired and so sad that at first he refused to even give hugs and kisses. Thankfully he listened to advice, that they would have to leave regardless, and calmed down enough to give a little hug. When he was taken back to his room he just cried and cried, but what seemed like forever when your little guy is so sad was only 15 minutes until he fell fast asleep.

We all three are so grateful for not only today, but the past two evenings with Mamaw and Papaw as well. While they are headed back home for now, we hope that their house hunt was worthwhile, and that they will be returning very soon with boxes.