More things they say

Since I just wrote about something funny Parker said, here's a funny from Thomas...

We were in the grocery store and the boys were riding in the kids' shopping cart.  Parker said to me, completely out of the blue, "Everybody loves my hair."  I was surprised by this random thought and said, "Why?"  He said, "Because it's so curly."

Thomas leaned back a little, and as if he were Joe Cool himself, he casually said, "Well...I wouldn't say EVERYbody." This made me laugh out loud. 

But I wanted to make sure he meant it as it sounded.  I said, "Why? Because you don't think everyone loves his hair?"  He said, "Yeah, it's not that great." 

Funny boys.

Daddy's name

Today Thomas and I were having a chat about nicknames. Parker was listening too. Here was the end of the conversation:

M: You know, your daddy goes by a nickname too. His real name is Thomas, but everyone calls him Trey.

P: But his actual name is Daddy.

It may have been one of those "you had to be there" moments, but it made me giggle.

It's in the brows

One of the things I love about Parker is how when he is really excited about something, he talks with his eyebrows. He can be so animated and expressive and it just cracks me up.

Maybe if Thomas' eyebrows weren't blonde, I'd see the same with him, but I really think it is something only Parker does. This picture doesn't come close to capturing the expressive movement, but it will have to do!

Kindergarten graduate

Unfortunately Thomas' school doesn't offer any type of "graduation" for the kindergarten classes, but he finished his year on Friday all the same.

He had a great year and by all accounts was a pretty good student! His report card was nearly perfect, with his only red marks for not being able to tie shoes (he has Velcro shoes and I confess we have not made this a priority) and he struggles to find rhythm when he skips. He is doing great with math, spells very well and reads on the level of somewhere in the range of a 2nd or 3rd grader...so if the worst thing is he can't tie a bow or skip to my Lou, I am okay with that.

He had a wonderful teacher this year and I cannot say enough good things about her. I hope next year we are blessed again with the perfect teacher for Thomas.

Thomas is now thrilled it is "summer vacation" and he is most happy not to have to go to school for a while. He is most looking forward to building a lemonade stand and selling his finest blend. He has been talking about it and planning for it for months. We must tackle that project soon.  This was his last writing assignment for his in-class writing journal:

It says "This summer  will set up a Lemunad stand. I will get a lot of muny."
 
But for now, I will be perfectly happy to not hear my alarm at 6:30 tomorrow morning...though I am sure Parker is perfectly happy to assume the early morning wakeup responsibility!

That reminds me of one of my favorite entries from his writing journal.  I think it's a pretty accurate description of how fun it is to wake him up for school!

It says, "This is morning. I was sleeping.  I wok up and had brekfast."  But the funny part is that he has depicted me (with the lovely brown hair) appearing to yell at him "Get up!" and he says from under his covers, "No."  Yep, that's about right...except I do usually sing annoying made-up-as-I-go-along wake up songs like my dad used to do and rarely resort to raising my voice to get him up!

Happy summer!

Good stuff

Another busy weekend for our little family. Trey and I went to the wedding of someone I used to babysit, so we spent the night at my parents' (they attended the wedding as well).

We always don't mind being there for lunch on Sunday because it means we get to go to our favorite place for a good ol' fashioned meat & three. Thomas has learned from his Daddy and today he made him proud.

He insisted on two biscuits so he could build his own concoctions. This meant ham, mac n' cheese and fried okra on a biscuit.

Thomas said "yummmmmm, this is soooooo good."

Between a very fun-packed friday and then babysitter time Saturday night, church, lunch, and some time at the lake, Parker was exhausted. He was asleep in his carseat before it took us the two or so miles to get out of Pinopolis.

Good stuff.

Thomas the baseball player: 2012 edition

After Thomas finished out the soccer season last fall, he told me he didn’t want to participate in any more sports (except for swimming lessons!) for awhile.  But when spring rolled around and his friends were all signing up for baseball (and Parker signed up for t-ball), I felt like he was really going to regret not playing.  I talked with some friends and one of his best boy friends was going to play and his mother highly recommended the coach they were signing up to have (who they had had the previous year).  She assured me that he was patient and encouraging, but also would teach the kids about baseball.  Thomas had to play coach-pitch and I wasn’t sure if he was ready (he played t-ball last year, but at age 5-6 they are supposed to play coach-pitch), but I felt like he needed to try.

When he found out his buddy Thomas would be on his team, he was game to give it a try.  I am really glad we did.

In the first weeks I was a little worried.  He couldn’t hit.  He couldn’t catch.  He could throw a little bit.  Other children could do some or all of these things…some quite well.  I was a little worried.  When the games rolled around (not just practice), I held my breath when he went up to bat.  Sometimes on the 10th pitch he struck out.  Sometimes he’d get a hit…on the 10th and final pitch. 

Slowly, but surely, he got better!  I was so proud of him.  Most games he would strike out one of his three at bats, but he had a great attitude about it.  The first time I went up to him and told him it was okay and he said, “It’s no problem, Mom.  I am having fun and that’s what matters.”  Love that little kid.  He never seemed to mind even if he was the only player who consistently struggled at batting.

And while his catching still needs some work, he did get better at that too.  Most of the time he was in the outfield, but every once in awhile he manned the infield.

His favorite place to play was with the pitcher.

Then last weekend was his second to the last game.  He did AWESOME!  On his first at-bat he was set to bat last for his team.  I was worried because if he struck out, everyone would be well aware of it because then the kids on the bases would be stranded.  If he got a hit though, it would be a home run.  On his second or third swing he hit a foul ball that flew high in the air and didn’t land until it was WELL beyond the third baseline (but well foul).  The coaches were so happy for him (even though it was foul).  Then he swung a time or two more and got a hit.

The second time he came up to bat, he hit on the first swing!

And the third time, he got a great hit on the second swing.  I could post the video, but I’ll spare you.  :)

Today was his last game.  It took him a little time to get warmed up (he struck out the first at bat), but then he did well.  He got great hits on his other two at-bats.  And then he got a trophy.

Oh, and some blue gatorade.  :)

I am so very proud of Thomas for his improvement.  Both of the coaches agreed that Thomas was by far the most improved over the course of the season and they were so proud of him for his effort and hard work.  I concur.

He had the best attitude (for the most part), and even though sometimes he could have run a little faster or tried a little harder, all in all, he did great and I’m proud of him for going through with the season and for never getting upset when he wasn’t the best player on the team.

I asked him when we got home if he wanted to play baseball again next season.  Without much thought he surprisingly answered quickly, “No.  I don’t want to play anything for awhile.  Except swim lessons.”  Oh well.

My Mommy - 2012 Edition

In honor of Mother's Day this year, I once again asked the boys a few questions about their dear ol' Mom.  It's funny to listen to their answers and I enjoy doing this with them.

What Parker thinks about Mommy:
Mommy's Favorite Color: pink
Mommy's favorite restaurant: Mexican
Mommy's favorite thing to eat: Salad
My favorite thing that Mommy cooks for me: broccoli!
Mommy's best friend: Mrs. Erin
Mommy's job: to clean up the kitchen
Mommy's favorite thing to do: play!
Mommy's favorite tv show: news
What does Mommy look like? A grown up
Why do you love your Mommy? Because "you are so comfy"
Favorite thing to do with your Mommy? play outside

What Thomas thinks about Mommy:
Mommy's Favorite Color: pink & blue
Mommy's favorite restaurant: Mexican
Mommy's favorite thing to eat: "I don't know that"
My favorite thing that Mommy cooks for me: pizza

Mommy's best friend: "Maybe MacGregor's mom"
Mommy's job: To be a mommy
Mommy's favorite thing to do:Rest
Mommy's favorite tv show: Dancing with the Stars
What does Mommy look like? My mommy!
Why do you love your Mommy? Because "you are sweet & nice"
Favorite thing to do with your Mommy? go get pizza

Mother's Day was a bit hectic, I tried to get a picture with the boys, but it never happened.  I was going to go for one last effort right before they went to sleep, but Parker had such a busy day and weekend that he fell asleep during storytime.    So anyway, here's a picture from our trip to see the Riverdogs play the previous weekend. 

I love my boys more than words can express; that should go without saying, but I'll say it anyway.  The job of a mother is exhausting and challenging, but the rewards make every second of frustration worth it.  I feel so blessed to have these two precious boys call me "Mommy."  There is nothing that thrills me more than watching them grow and knowing I get to continue doing just that for a lifetime!