First day of school!

Today Thomas started the first day of his 4s class. He's at the same school where he has been for the past two years, and he was quite excited about starting his four-day 4s class.

Parker, on the other hand, is apparently pretending he is only one, so he doesn't have to go to school (tomorrow). :)

This picture looks about right...Thomas can't contain his excitement and Parker...well, not so much.


Thomas loves school. I think he likes the "playing" part better than the learning part, but hopefully he will learn this year that school is really more for education, not recreation (and he'll be okay with that). Don't get me wrong, he loves learning new things, but what he really loves is playtime. He is, after all, four years old.

This year there are nearly 20 children in his class. I was a bit alarmed at the large class size, but his teacher seems great and I've heard nothing but glowing reviews.

As for his friends, he was a bit sad to know that one of his best friends would not be in his class this year. Last year he and two other boys were the Three Musketeers of their class. They didn't do anything without the other two. Even though one of the boys is not in his class, the first thing Thomas told me about class was that he saw H (the third of the musketeers) on the playground. He was so happy about that.

I hope that Thomas enjoys school this year and learns all he needs to know to prepare him for kindergarten. I also hope and pray that his love for school will wear off on his brother. This summer, Thomas went to camp for three separate weeks (at his school). Parker went one week for two mornings and another week for three mornings. The last of the five days he cried the entire morning. I'm not overly hopeful about his first day tomorrow, but I hope he surprises me. His teacher was Thomas' 2s teacher.

Of course I think back to Thomas' first day of his 2s class. He cried and screamed with many other children. And today, he ran into his class and I had to go over to him and ask him to tell me goodbye. The boy loves school.

Oh, and interesting fact... In his 2s class, he was one of two Thomases (Thomas M and our T). Then last year he was again one of two Thomases (Thomas W - his best bud). Well, this year, all three Thomases are in this same class!

Parent/teacher conference

In cleaning up the kitchen today (or rather the stack of papers there), I came across the paperwork from Thomas' parent/teacher conference a few weeks ago. I realized I never got around to sharing it (or documenting it, moreso) here. Basically she told me what we already knew: Thomas is a delightful, happy child, who loves to play and talk!



The teacher checked off all of his milestones, meaning that he is where he should be developmentally at this point. She also added some further words to many of the checkpoints. Here were some of my favorite comments:

* Thomas loves to ask questions

* Thomas is so advanced with his language skills. He comes up with some of the funniest things I have ever heard a child say. He has no problem using his words to explain his wants and needs.

* (Thomas) loves to hear exciting stories. He is very good at retelling stories.

* Thomas is such a smart young boy. All of these skills come very easy to him. He reminds me of someone who will get an A+ on a test without studying.

* I feel that Thomas is very happy at school. All of the children in the class enjoy playing with him. He seems to be very sweet and easy going.

* Thomas is also very good with his math concepts.

* (Thomas) doesn't like getting paint on his hands--he makes a funny face.

* I have really enjoyed having Thomas in my class; he is such an entertaining little boy. ... Thomas enjoys school, and that is one of my main goals of the threes.

All in all, it was a great report. He needs to work a little harder on his fine motor skills, particularly holding a pencil/pen properly. He also doesn't like to stop playing and will have to start understanding that school is for learning, not playing as he goes into the fours next year. It will be an adjustment for him, but I'm sure he will do fine. As it is now, his artwork is already improving. It used to be that I could always pick his out of the lineup displayed in the hall because it was the one with the least amount of effort expended to draw the picture. But these days, he's getting a little more involved.

Right now in the hallway they have self-portraits on display. Thomas' is very cute. And then there is a questionnaire that he answered and some of the answers are hilarious. One is he was asked to complete the sentence "________ is the boss of my house." He said "Nobody." Ha ha. I can't recall the other answers at the moment, except that he also answered "When I grow up I want to be:" with the answer of "babysitter." This is funny since he's never had a babysitter who is not a family member. But he said that it means he could play with Parker and other babies all day. When they send home his questionnaire, I'll have to remember to share more of it.

One more thing because it seems to be a good place to share it. Along the lines of funny things Thomas says... Recently we were all driving back from the Air Force Base or the airport and we were driving around the side of the airport past the construction site for the new Boeing presence that is coming to Charleston. Basically it was a massive field of dirt and cleared trees...some were in piles. I said, "Oh, I guess that's where the new Boeing buildings will be." And Trey said, "Yes, that's right. Thomas they are going to build large airplanes right there." Thomas looked at the site very pensively. I could tell he was really thinking about it. And then he looked at us and said, "How are they going to make planes out of dirt?" :-)

He's too cute and I was glad to hear that he not only does well at school, but he enjoys it too. Let's hope it all lasts!

The sweetest thing

I've been saving this to put together an update on Thomas and include his school review, but I can't seem to find the time to get it all together. So, I'm going to share this video now because I think it's just the sweetest thing.

Trey taught this to Thomas some time ago (he says it with him nightly with his prayers, but when Trey's not here, I usually don't say it), but I kept forgetting to record him saying it until now. Here's Thomas saying "The Lord's Prayer."


I try to remember to record some of these things (even though I rarely share them on here) because I want to remember how they said things when they were this little. So cute.

Christmas class party

To finish the school year, Thomas enjoyed a wonderful Christmas party with his class. The kids were too cute as they sang their blessing:



Thomas couldn't wait to dig into his bag of cheetos:


Afterward his teachers presented the children with their Christmas gifts, which included a book about New Year's Eve. In it, they included a picture of each child (in his/her own book).


In the back of the book, the teacher's started a sentence: "In the new year I plan to..." Thomas filled in his blank with "run on the sidewalks." :) I thought that was a cute, and safe, thought for the new year.

Thomas has enjoyed his 3s class and loves his teachers.


This was actually the last day for his assistant teacher (pictured on the left), who has to start student teaching to finish her master's degree in the spring. I know Thomas will miss Ms. S, but will adapt easily to her replacement.

I had to giggle about the artwork in the hallway. I have quickly learned that Thomas is the minimalist when it comes to artwork. His teacher tells me it's because he would rather be playing, but he's just not all that interested. When artwork is displayed in the hallway, I can always easily pick out Thomas' just by finding the one with the least amount of drawing.

The kids created beautiful Christmas trees and attached cut-out pictures from catalogs of things they wanted for Christmas. Can you tell which one is Thomas'?


Yes, that would be his, the first on the left. His wish toys were some tree thing and a ladybug tent. I wonder if Santa will come through for him?

Gymnastics class

Thomas took a gymnastics class as a supplement at his school last semester. We wanted him to take a supplement, and that was about the only not-too-girly class that worked with our schedule. He likes to tumble around at home too so I figured he would enjoy it. Even though he was only one of two boys in the class of 12 children, he enjoyed it very much.

On December 16, parents were invited to come to class so that the kids could display all that they had learned.

First there was "the bridge":



Walking the "balance beam":


Ta-dah!


Preparing for his flip:


Pushing up on the bar:


And then at the end, they earned their certificates and their medals. Thomas was so proud of his medal!


Since there was nothing else that fit our schedule next schedule, he'll be taking gymnastics again in the spring. I think he'll enjoy it just fine!

Thomas meets a "superstar"

Thomas met a superstar today...at least as far as he is concerned. We went to the aquarium today to meet some friends and we had a great time. We had not been out the house in a few days and today was our first Tuesday without school, so it was great! A few of Thomas' school friends were there along with some other friends. It was perfect! And to top it all off, I knew there was a possibility he would meet a (preschooler's) superstar...and he did!



I forgot my camera, so all I had was my cellphone, but it worked well enough. That's Thomas and his friend Eli along with Bob the Builder! Thomas was so excited and completely in awe. He just kept looking up at Bob and followed him wherever he went. It was great.

The aquarium folks were staging this picture of Bob surrounded by kids, but it was not good from a lighting perspective. Still you can see Thomas looking up at Bob...


There is a live Bob show in Charleston tomorrow and we will be there. I bought tickets before they even officially went on sale as a birthday gift for Thomas. He saw a little commercial on a video once of "Bob dancing" (it was a recording of the live show) and he loved it. He asked me to play "Bob dancing" over and over and over again. And even though he's not as into Bob as he once was, I know he's going to love the show tomorrow.

The Aquarium sent out a notice last Friday about a special members only event with Bob today at the aquarium to meet him and build a wooden sailboat. I called right after I got the email (about three hours after it was sent out) and the event was already booked up. I didn't realize until after I got home today that our names were on the waiting list (didn't know there was one!), but it was okay. I think all Thomas wanted to do was meet Bob and we accomplished that. We already had today's trip planned when I found out Bob would be there and I figured maybe if we hung around long enough he'd show up and he did. It was great.



Thomas didn't want to let Bob go. He just wanted to keep hanging out with him. Though he did ask me, "Why is Bob not talking?" :) I told him that Bob is going to sing and dance tomorrow and he needs to save his voice so he can sing for all the children.



I look forward to tomorrow and seeing how much Thomas (and Parker) enjoy the show. I know we won't be able to get up close and personal with Bob tomorrow so I'm so happy he had this little treat today!

Last day of school

Today was Thomas' last day of school! i'm so sad about it...partly because he is just growing up so fast, but also because now I've got to entertain him those two mornings a week. I'm sure I cannot even come close to creating any kind of art projects and other things like he has been doing at school.

Today his class had an end-of-the-year party:


It was a luau theme and very cute. That's Thomas sitting next to his friend Ella. She is one of the few who is also switching from two mornings to three next year (like Thomas) and I'm hoping that they will be in the same class.

As usual, the kids enjoyed their party and their special snacks:




Parker enjoyed it from the sidelines...


After snacktime the kids tried their skills at a game of limbo:

Thomas' technique needs a little work. :)

Ella decided to make the game really hard. Limbo LOWER now...




Parker and Ella's little brother enjoyed testing out the toys. They're looking forward to their turn at the 2s class in Fall 2010. Oh my! That's just next year! It has been funny this year because about half of Thomas' classmates have siblings the age of Parker and all of them are boys!

Parker cannot wait for his turn!


Thomas' first year of school has been great. While I cannot believe how quickly it has gone by, I'm so thankful for all that this year of school has done for Thomas. When he first started going last August, he was timid and every morning I dropped him off he would cling to me and usually cry. Today when I took him he started running into his classroom as soon as he rounded the corner and the room was in sight. I had to follow him in there and ask him to tell me goodbye. That's about how it has been for weeks (or months!) now.

His class was perfect...six boys (two named Thomas and two named Parker!) and six girls. He has made new friends and learned so many new things. When he first started going last summer he didn't participate much with the art projects, but now he comes home with such elaborate creations. I know I have to keep them forever!

His teachers have been wonderful. They always have two teachers in the classroom (a lead teacher and an assistant). The assistant position actually changed three times in his class this year, but he has loved all three and transitioned quite well. In the end he finished with these two teachers and they have been fabulous. And they both say that Thomas is a very sweet boy.


(Mrs. K is the main teacher (the one holding Thomas) and Miss C is the assistant.)

Yes, Thomas only went two mornings a week and I know it was only a class for 2-year olds, but I still felt a lot of pressure to choose the right school for him. I think we did. We couldn't have been more pleased. Mrs. K said Thomas loves school and she thinks he will do great transitioning to three mornings next year. He would be going to a bit of summer camp this summer, but he has to be potty trained first. Since that is not going so well, he's currently not scheduled to go until late July and early August. We sure are going to miss school!

As an aside, I should mention that I begged Thomas for 30 minutes to let me take a picture of him with his teachers. He kept telling me no, even to the point of tears. He does not like to pose for pictures! I kept offering all sorts of bribes. Finally, we were two of the last people there and I was still trying. I threw out an offer for a "stick popscicle" as soon as we got home (you know, the cheap Flavo-Ice things that come in the little plastic wrappers and you have to push them up?). And he said, "Okay." And then he posed and smiled perfectly. Little stinker. If only potty training could be that easy!

Showertime fun

One of the things Thomas enjoys most about going to his Nannie & Papa's house is bathing in their spacious shower. He gets all sandy down at the lake and then comes and enjoys a nice, very long shower. I tried to avoid taking any truly "naked" pictures, but I'm sure I'll end up taking a few of these down. But for now, I thought I'd share.

He really enjoys the hand-held showerhead:




Getting clean is so much fun!


But it's really hard work!


If he was Miss California, would this picture make him lose his crown? Or rather, maybe if he was Miss California we'd have much bigger problems on our hands. :)

(The crocs, by the way, are for slip prevention.)

I'm sure he's to blame for a higher water bill for my parents lately!


Oh, to find such joy in the little things!

The Very Hungry Caterpillar Picnic

Last Friday, we attended the annual Very Hungry Caterpillar Picnic at James Island County Park for all of the 2s classes at Thomas' school. He had so much fun. Thomas was very excited about it and the weather was perfect that day. Parker seemed to enjoy it too and I'm sure looks forward to his own picnic in two years!

All the kids wore the t-shirts they made in class. Thomas was very proud of his.


I should have made him stand a little closer to the banner, but he was in a hurry to get over to Spray Play.

The park recently renovated the playground and it was supposed to be finished before the picnic. Then they told us it would not be ready until later that afternoon. Apparently the right people made phone calls and it was magically ready the morning of the picnic (as had been promised).

Thomas enjoyed the new play area (and Parker liked all the new shady spots)...


But as soon as the water was turned on at the Spray Play area, he wanted to check it out. He ran across the field very excitedly:

(He's the little guy to the right)

As the videos in the previous post attest, he had so much fun.




This is Thomas and his buddy Braxton. That was the first name he ever told me of a friend at school and he still talks about him (and playing trucks with him) all the time. I'm sure he will miss Braxton over the summer and next year (they will not be going the same days next year).


I don't know these girls, but Thomas is never afraid to make new friends. He likes to talk to everyone!


Parker watched from afar and enjoyed an occasional misting from the fountains:


Finally I convinced him to leave Spray Play and come have our picnic lunch under the trees. He ate quickly so he could get back to enjoying more fun and games, like trying his hand at baseball.


And bubbles!


Just to show the other side of their cute shirts...


Thomas has had such a great first year of school. He has only gone two mornings a week, but he has really enjoyed his time there. Nowadays when I take him to school, he starts running when he gets in sight of his classroom and only tells me goodbye if I ask him to stop playing long enough to do it! It seems forever ago that he was shedding tears, holding on tightly to my legs. I'm so proud of how well he has done.

I know he will miss his teacher dearly. He has loved her so. At the picnic he wasn't cooperating well for a picture with her, but we managed to make one work.


He only has one more day of school left! I don't know who will be more sad about that on Thursday, him or me!?! :)

On being three

When Thomas turned 3 I had every intention of stealing an idea from Taryn & Nancy and posting a list of his favorites. So I'm a few weeks late, but I still thought it would be fun.



Favorite color: Red?
Favorite food: Changes frequently. Currently probably fruit snacks (either Finding Nemo or John Deere; to him they are "fish fruit snacks" or "tractor fruit snacks." Or maybe it's french fries!
Favorite toy: anything with wheels (which he loves to remove, much to my chagrin!). Right now he loves two of Parker's new toys.
Favorite movie: He's never really watched a movie, but since he loves the Cars characters, I'll go with that one
Favorite TV show: Calliou (he's starting to love Handy Manny, too; and he also enjoys Zooboomafoo (or Zaboo, as he calls it). We try to limit his TV to an hour or so a day...pretty much just when I need to occupy him while I feed Parker to put him down for bed/nap.
Favorite school friend: Hmmm, Braxton? Maybe also Ella & Grace. But really, he talks about all of them quite a lot. It seems to change each week.
Favorite playgroup friend: Lily
Favorite person: His brother Parker! He always wants to be near him.


Favorite costume: He's not much of a dress-up kid, but he still likes to sport his dragon costume from two Halloweens ago
Favorite book: Changes weekly. Right now his faves are Horton Hears a Who (he calls it "the elephant book") and Library Lion
Favorite room in the house: Wherever everyone else is!
Favorite place to visit: Aquarium, or his grandparents' house (either set) where he can be spoiled and treated like a prince!
Favorite thing to do at school: play outside
Favorite thing to do outside: Play with water or ride his Jeep


Favorite animal: our dog, Sully
Favorite song: Jesus Loves the Little Children, ABCs
Favorite restaurants: Chick-fil-a, Moe's, Andolini's Pizza, Wild Wings

Taryn talked about the things Lily says that she doesn't want to correct (for the cuteness factor). The one word I love that Thomas says is what he calls the remote control. It is a "malote." And speaking of Lily, he still calls her "Yeelee." I'm sure there are other Thomas-isms that I love, but I am too tired to think of them at this moment. I'll have to try to dedicate a future entry to that.
We also had his three year well child visit a few weeks ago. Everything went great and the doctor thought he was right on track. She agreed with everyone else I've talked with, that it's best not to push Thomas too hard to potty train. He will be willing sooner. We just need to keep asking and keep encouraging. As for his measurements, they were:

Height: 38 inches (55th percentile)
Weight: 31 pounds (50th percentile)

I think the height measurement was a tad bit off. He didn't have his head straight (he was kind of looking down and I don't think he was standing up very straight). He's all torso though. He wears 3T and 4T tops and 2T bottoms (preferably with an adjustable waist that I can cinch to nearly the smallest option!).

So in summary, life is pretty good as a three year old. Our litle one has many favorites and not too many complaints. Life is good.