David

I caught him taking selfies with my camera. Silly dude. 

Highlights from Kindergarten {Day 1}

David....
- He loves his spot at the yellow table. He was a little disappointed at first to not get a seat at the blue table because that's his favorite color, but yellow turned out to be pretty great.
- His class has 2 pets: a snail and a shark. They named the shark Darko. Sharky was the runner up choice.
- I thought he had gym class on Wednesdays. He says he didn't today, but he did go to a room with a different teacher and they played games and the room smelled like big kids. Pretty sure that's gym class. ;)
- One of his favorite things today was playing on the slide and climbing wall at recess. He played with another little boy and made a friend. He can't remember his name, but he was wearing a shark shirt and that was really cool.
- He came home singing a days of the week song and talking about rhyming words.
- He has 2 snack times, a lunch break and a rest time. My pregnant self is jealous.
- He called both Mongas and Aunt Ashley to tell them about his great first day at school. 

Max...
- Found a tiny back pack and filled it with junk. He carried it around all day pretending to go to school.
- I gave him an old lunchbox to eat lunch out of. That was a big deal.
- He struggled a lot with missing David. Being a younger brother, he has never been on his own. He really has no idea how to play by himself. He's sticking tight to me and needs lots of ideas and encouragement to go play by himself.
- He painted with watercolors, helped me with laundry and dishes and made a trip to Meijer to buy an ice cream surprise for David for doing a good job at school.
- Monkey had a tragic little accident today. Max, Titus and Monkey were fighting invisible bad guys this morning. Monkey tripped over his cape and got caught by a bad guy and bammed with a hammer. So sad. He got hurt really bad and he had a broken leg (just like Max's little friend, Clara, who is in a body cast after breaking her leg). Max called Aunt Ashley (a paramedic) on his toy cell phone that was stashed in his underwear and she took Monkey to the hospital in her ambulance truck and the doctors put a red cast on his legs and tummy. Monkey was then carried around the house on a pillow so nothing would hurt him and no one is allowed to touch him - for almost 4 hours!  

The first day

It's here. The first day of Kindergarten. Wow. Seems like just yesterday that I was changing diapers and recording his first steps. Where did that baby go? 

We met his teacher and dropped off classroom supplies yesterday. He found his locker, nametag and work space at the yellow table. He's sitting next to one other little boy and 4 girls. 

Last night we packed up his lunch {a meat and cheese kabob with crackers, cukes and ranch dip and raspberries} and set out his clothes. He was one proud little dude. 

He was ready and raring to go this morning. He was dressed with shoes on, had eaten breakfast and brushed his teeth and was asking to pack up his lunch box and back pack at 7:40am. And school doesn't start until 8:33! He even begged me to drop him off early. 

saying bye to dad as he leaves for work

one last long hug

An egg, Canadian bacon and cheese english muffin sandwich
for breakfast. 

Ready to go. 

He was totally ok with me not going to school with him. He's very ready to be a big guy. He hopped out of the van in the drop off lane, grabbed his bag, ran right over to his teacher and never looked back. Not a single tear. No panicked or nervous looks. I got my tears out last night. I did much better holding it together this morning. Happiness all around....until we pulled away. Max is missing his buddy. Everything was cool until we pulled out of the drive and left David behind. Max got very quiet then, not a half mile down the road, I heard a sniffle and a teary-eyed, quivery voice say "I think David will be ok today". 

I lost it and the tears started flowin'. He just breaks my heart! My poor guy is torn up about his best friend being gone all day. We've done a lot of special things since dropping David off this morning. It's gotten better and he's adjusting now, but he seems a little lost and unsure of what to do. It will be a hard couple of days until we get used to this. 

A letter to my son

September 3^rd, 2013
Dear David,                                                                                                   

Hey, buddy. Tomorrow is a very big day for you. It’s your very first day of school. We picked out your clothes, you helped make your lunch, we packed your backpack. You’re all set. You were walking pretty tall tonight as we got you ready for your big day.

Tomorrow isn’t just a big deal because you’re meeting new friends and learning new things. It’s also very important because this is the first time you’ll be away from Mama like this. I won’t be there to make sure you eat a good lunch or remind you to wash your hands. You’re a big guy now and you’ll be doing those things for yourself. You’re going to be making your own decisions all day long. Make good choices, buddy.

When I was in school, there was a boy named Terry. Terry didn’t have a lot of friends because he looked a little different and he wore funny clothes and sometimes he even smelled a little bit. Terry didn’t smile very much. He didn’t have anyone to eat lunch with and he never played with anyone else on the playground at recess. Terry never did his homework. I don’t think his parents reminded him like Dad and I will remind you. The other kids teased him a lot. Whenever they did, his head hung lower and lower and lower and he looked very sad. I never teased him, but I never told the other kids to stop, either. And I never talked to Terry. I never invited him to sit next to me at lunch or to play with me at recess. Instead, he sat and played by himself. He must have been very lonely.

I still think about Terry. I wonder if he remembers me? Probably not. I bet if I’d asked him to play and be my friend he’d still remember me.

 I think that God puts people in our lives as gifts to us. Sometimes those gifts turn out to be our very best friends and sometimes those gifts help us learn and grow. The other kids in your class this year, they are some of God’s gifts to you. So please, buddy, treat each one like a gift from God. Every single one.

Buddy, if you see a child being left out, or hurt, or teased, a part of your heart will hurt a little. Dad and I want you to trust that heart ache. Your whole life, we want you to notice and trust your heart ache. That heart ache is called compassion, and it is God’s signal to you to do something. It is God saying to you, David, help! One of my children is hurting! Do something to help! 

Whenever you feel compassion you should be SO happy! It means God is talking to you, and that is wonderful. It means He is trying to use you to do good things. Sometimes compassion will make you want to act right away. It might lead you to tell a teaser to “Stop it!” or say “That’s not kind” and then ask the teased kid to play. You might invite a left-out kid to sit next to you at lunch. You might help someone pick up their things or carry their lunchbox if they are feeling sad or having a bad day. These things could be hard to do, but you can do hard things.

Sometimes you will feel compassion but you won’t do something right away and that’s okay, too. You might choose to tell your teacher or other big person at school or tell us. Sometimes, that’s the best choice. Asking for help for someone who is hurting or being picked on is not tattling, it is doing the right thing. If someone in your class needs help, please tell me, buddy. We will make a plan to help together.

When God speaks to you by making your heart hurt for another, by giving you compassion for them, please do something. Remember, that is God whispering to you. I really wish I hadn’t ignored God when He whispered to me about Terry at my school. I remember Him trying, I remember feeling compassion, but I chose fear over compassion. It seemed too scary to talk to a new friend so I didn’t do anything. I wish I had. Terry could have used a friend and I could have too.

David, Dad and I don’t care – at all - if you are the smartest or fastest or coolest or funniest kid in your class. There will be lots of contests at school and we don’t care if you win a single one of them. We don’t care if you are your teacher’s favorite or not. We don’t care if you have the best clothes or coolest backpack. We don’t send you to school to be the best; We would be SO proud if you did all those things, but it’s not what’s most important to us. We want to see you make good choices and do what pleases God.

Dad and I thought about homeschooling you instead. You’re a great kid and we know you’d end up super smart and awesome either way, but we chose to send you to public school this year. God calls us to be a light, His light, in a dark place. We think you can do a great job of that at school. By showing compassion and being a good friend even when it’s hard, you’re shining Jesus’ light at your school. Don’t try to be the best this year, honey. Just try everyday to show compassion and love to your classmates. That’s all that Dad and I could ask for.

I love you so very much. Nothing will ever change that.

 

Love,

Mama

 

 

 

{The idea for "The Talk" from this mama}

Muscles

Don't mess with him. For realz. He'll mess you up. 

David's first self portrait

A head with hair, ears, eyes, nose, smile, legs, feet and
knees (the dashes across the middle of his legs)

A First

When we started homeschooling just 15 days ago, he couldn't hold a pencil correctly or spell his name...and look what he can do now! David can write his own name without help!! That's a pretty big deal for a boy who hates pencil work. 

The Bike

My big boy became an even bigger boy tonight. He learned to ride a bike. Sure, it still has training wheels, but still. It's a big kid bike. And he rode it. 

A family friend was kind enough to think of us and pass down this bike to David when his own sons outgrew it. When we got it, the training wheels weren't attached yet so we found a special place for it in the back of the Papa's garage for safe keeping until Papa could get home from work and fix it. David checked on it throughout the day - just to make sure it still looked as cool as he remembered. It did. Each time he had a hard time pulling himself away from it to go play again. I'm sure he would have just sat on the dirty garage floor all day next to his precious new-to-him bike if I would have let him. 

He waited not so patiently for Papa to get home from work to help him attach the training wheels. It was just about all he could take to wait alllll day. David was beside himself with excitement when he finally saw him pull in the driveway. He forced out a quick "Hello" before diving into the whole story about the cool new bike and "broken" training wheels that needed to be attached. Luckily for David, Papa's love helping little boys with tools. Before we knew it they had both disappeared into the garage and were rummaging through the toolboxes looking for just the right tool. 

In no time at all, Papa and David had the bike in ride-able condition and David was perched on top ready to try it out. With no direction or help whatsoever my boy peeled out of the garage and pedaled his way to the end of the driveway and back again. He can ride a bike. 

Wait, he can ride a bike?! When did that happen? We live in an apartment complex in the city. He's never owned a bike. He's never had space to store one or ride one so we've never been able to get him one. He's rode tricycles at Monga and Papa's house before, but that's not the same, is it?? 

Starting preschool, outgrowing every piece of clothing in his dresser AND learning to ride a bike {with training wheels} in the same week?! My mama heart can't take all this at once. Yikes. 

David

My David. 

Oh my dear, I love that boy. 

He's sweet, caring and protective. He has an eye for details and an incredible memory. 

He's a natural born leader and superb comforter which makes him an outstanding big brother. 

He's logical, thought out, careful and cautious. He likes a plan and 

he moves with purpose. ...Just like his daddy. His laughter tends to come in awkward outbursts, he's stubborn and strong-willed, he's shy in a crowd and, once set, you can't change his mind for anything....just like...well, someone other than Daddy. ;)

The need for knowledge never ceases to amaze me. He has such a hunger for learning! 

A simple bird feather or boring acorn is never left unexplored. We have to check it out. And not just look at it...we need to know everything about it. What bird did that feather come from? Where did the bird live? 

And where is that country on the map? What's inside the acorn? Why do they fall from trees? How big does that tree get? The questions never end. Ever. 

And what a helper! He thrives on structure and tasks. He loves being needed. It does his heart so much good when I give him "jobs" to do to help me. 

He's the perfect blend of sensitive & affectionate and rough & tough big boy. He's silly and he's sweet. 

And did I mention he's super cute?

Four!

He's been looking forward to his birthday for a few weeks now. I had to make him a countdown calendar so he'd stop asking us every morning if it was his birthday yet. I cut out construction paper balloons and traced their outlines on a sheet of white paper. Every day he added one colored balloon onto an outline. When all the outlines were filled with colored balloons he knew it was his birthday. He was very excited when the last balloon went on this morning. He proclaimed that he is now a man. He is four. :)

We invited some of his cousins over for a birthday lunch. A dinosaur themed birthday lunch. We ate dino shaped PB&J sandwiches; green dino shaped jello jigglers; lame, not dino related veggies and Bugles that looked like dinosaur claws when we put them on our fingers. It was so fun!

I made chocolate, dinosaur topped cupcakes. 

And I decorated in dino -like green and brown

And made a nest of dinosaur eggs for the table.

And then, when it was party time, I forgot to take a single picture. Lame. There were 6 little boys here so things got a little crazy. I guess I'll just spin that one to say that we were making memories rather than taking pictures. That sounds waaay better than "Sorry, kid. Mama forgot.".

After the cousins left and the little brothers went down for a nap, David and Mama sat down for a cup of peppermint hot chocolate together (we have central air so the fact that it was 95 degrees out meant nothing to us).  We filled the mug half full of hot chocolate and topped it with half a mug of squirt can whipped cream. Just as hot chocolate was meant to be. 

He was into making silly faces. I think the giant mug of sugar had something to do with that. We made the best of it and took lots of funny pictures. 

Look at me! I'm FOUR!!!!

When the little bros woke up we went outside to play. I froze water balloons with teeny plastic dinosaurs inside. We took them outside and watched the dinosaurs "hatch" as the ice melted while we waited for Daddy to get home from work. It was the perfect activity for such a hot day.

The idea came from Pinterest, originally pinned from
this website.

I completely underestimated how fun it would be to drop,
throw and smash  these on the cement.

Soon, this...

....turned to this. 

Hi there, baby dinosaur.

Titus wasn't impressed. 

When David got home from work we pulled out our present for the birthday boy. He got cap guns, superhero masks, a teeny Batmobile and more tools to add to his toolbox - a square and a set of Allen wrenches. 

After dinner, we went to Monga and Papa Sager's house. David got a birthday ride on the 4 wheeler and Papa's big tractor. That's a big deal for a little boy. 

What a great day! And this morning this is all I've seen....

....bad guys beware. 

(How was that for low key, Ash? :D)