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Have some sweet photos--a TON, maybe the most of any sneak peek! Loving how all of their photos are turning out....check them out here!
Sam came bounding out of school today, his new title pinned to his shirt. I don't know what being "apple of the day" actually entails, if there is any prize money or scholarship fund, but I'll be on the lookout for that letter. He sure is proud of himself, though...
And you know that if there is a camera out, she wants her picture taken too...
Happy Friday everyone!
My kids are loving gymnastics.
Jane had her first class on Monday, and it was a BIG hit. She is as outgoing as her brother, and as thrilled about every part. (Sadly, I have to do the gymnastics too...and I stink.) But I do love being in there to hold her hand and see her excitement up close. The class is teeny, there were only 4 parent-kid combos in there, and Jane is clearly the oldest. (In order for her to be in an independent class, she has to be 3.) But that means she pays the post attention, and in return GETS more attention too. Love that part.
She seems to be pretty strong, or that's what they were telling me as she was dangling and swinging on the rings. She shook off all of my attempts to hold her hands on the low balance beams, only looking for me when she was up a little higher. She LOVES the trampoline (which we knew she would, the kid spends half her day jumping around the house) and she does a mean "ta-aaaah!". Can't wait to see what this kid can do...
A couple of funny exchanges before we left the house: We both showered that morning, and she was brushing her teeth as I was blow drying my hair. She said "I want my hair dry too!" and when I told her that yes, of course, I could dry her hair, she came back and said, "ummm, mom? Can you call Tricia?" Yes, she wants her hair stylist on call to come and blow her hair dry. Punk. She did let me do it, though, and I can see why she wants Tricia to do it...I am clearly NOT as good at it. Secondly, as she was getting dressed, she made it abundantly clear that she was NOT going to wear pants in class. That "girls don't wear pants". Happily, she forgot as class started...
First day of homework today. Two sheets where he had to write the words "the" and "a". (Solid words to start the business of reading and writing, if you ask me.) He couldn't wait to show me the papers he had to do "for work at home". Actually, the VERY first thing he couldn't wait to tell me was that another boy in his class, Erik, who has been having trouble making the |m| and |s| sounds finally got it today. Sam was beside himself with excitement. This is one of the characteristics that Sam has that I truly cherish. He told me all last week how Erik was having these troubles, and was genuinely proud of his friend for getting it right today. Maybe even at the tender age of 5 he remembers that feeling of frustration and then that huge boost of pride when he conquered another sound. Maybe he remembers how that feels. We've always known that Sam is a compassionate kid, but how I love to see that in action.
Anyway, while driving home and listening to him ramble on and on about school (seriously, rambling: "Mom. Mom. I-S is. T-H-E the. And I was in music class and we were chickens stomping around the room and the chair was the water that we drank out of and the teacher was singing and then she said FREEZE! and we all had to freeze! And then we were chickens again.") Clearly they have not gotten to the lesson on run-on sentences in class yet. So I asked him if he wanted to play for a while outside before getting to his homework and he said, "NO! I want to do it first when we get home! I love working!" Oh, sweet heavens, let that feeling last....
Snapped a few pictures of the first homework session. It needs to be noted that I am completely unprepared for homework time. I mean that literally. It took me about 12 minutes to find a pencil for him to use. So I am off tomorrow to stock up on homework supplies.
ps--I know that these last few posts have been very Sam-centered....I promise more good stuff to come on her highness, Jane Louise...believe me, I'm not short on material for that one.
Today was Sam's first gymnastics class. If there is a CUTER gymnast, I haven't seen one.
He has been feeling a little sick since yesterday, stuffy nose and a little cough. Not enough to keep him home from school, but I thought that if anything was going to sabotage the first class, this was it. Then he fell asleep in the car on the way. When I woke him up, he got out of the car and his foot was asleep. We had a small meltdown in the bathroom at the gym and I thought it was going to be a disaster...but when they called the Kindergarten class into the gym, he marched right in and said to the instructor as he passed, "This is Sam!"
Stretch, stretch, stretch. I particularly like the straddle, when they wanted Sam to then lay his upper bosy on the floor, and he flattened himself right ONTO his stomach, legs behind him. Awesome. The instructor came over to take his name (he wasn't on the list) and we watched him spelling his name, stopping, starting over, starting again, and finally I see him say "ask my mom". The instructor comes out to the bleachers, laughing out loud, saying that in all of his excitement, this is how he spelled his name for her:
"S A M M N O P Q R S T U V space W X Y Z."
And he actually said "space". We got a great laugh out of that one...
They did somersaults, climbing, backward tumbles, the balance beam, the trampoline, and finished on the bars. The place was full of bigger, older, very good gymnasts, and I am so excited that Sam is part of this. He is the only boy in the kinder class, and it is pretty clear that most of the girls have had some gymnastics before, as nothing seemed new to any of them, they kept their toes pointed and their legs straight, which made the contrast to Sam seem HUGE. The boy is all knees and elbows, all bent at the same time. Not exactly the most graceful looking boy on the floor.
The best part for me was watching him interact with the instructors and his fellow classmates, he was SO excited to be there, volunteered to go first a bunch of times, it was wonderful. I think I got a glimpse of what my boy is like in school...and I am very pleased!
Jane was very happy...give a girl an iPod with some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and she's quiet for almost the whole hour. (her gym class starts next Monday, but I don't think I'll be taking many photos, as I have to be part of the class with her...I promise at least a photo of her in her outfit!)
I hope that when Sports Illustrated does an article about Sam and wants some good pictures for the cover, they'll use some of these....
I thought that this was perfect to post, since Sam hasstarted the endless barrage of sentences starting with "why?" We knew this day was coming, and definitely should have spent the last 5 years reading every book we could find. Some questions are easier than others, but all of them come out of left field...Auntie Noelle emailed me with a few choice ones too, which makes me glad that I am not the only one who has to come up with these answers on the fly..
Why do we have hair?
Why do crickets make that sound?
Why do we have eyelids?
Why does the clock in the car light up?
I hope that I can come up with some good answers, eiher real or imaginary, and hope that it is some time before the questions become either too existential ("mom? Why are we here?") or too reproductive ("Mom? Where do babies come from?")
In any case, I always have a standby answer: "Because I said so."
