Donkey Bottom

We were at the mall this morning buying David some new clothes. While there, we spent some time at a kiosk that had a lot of board games, puzzles, and other misc. toys. David pointed out a game to me called Smart Ass. We were giggling about that when we noticed the tag line: Even a dumbass can win! and giggled even harder. Thomas noticed us looking at it, saw the donkey on the cover, and asked what the game was called. We said, "Never mind, it has a bad word in it." Well, our little reader sounded it out himself and proudly said, "Smart Ass!" We explained to him that "ass" is a bad word that can either mean a donkey or a person's bottom but that we don't say it. He thought about it for a minute and then said, "Well, I'm just going to call this game Donkey Bottom."

Finally An Update!

I know you've been waiting for an update...Jerry. ;-) Here you go. And while I'm on the subject, where does the time go? My last post was over a month ago? Really???

Thomas has been full of funny comments lately. And since it's been a month, I don't remember them all, but I did write down a few that I wanted to share.

David was out of the country last month for a week and a half, more on that later in this post, but while he was gone, the boys and I decided to have Chick-Fil-A for dinner one night on our way home from the Y. And since no one was waiting at home for us, we decided to eat in the restaurant so they could play on the playground. Thomas immediately climbed up to the top and came down the slide. Jonathan was having fun climbing up and down the stairs but wouldn't go where Thomas wanted him to...the rest of the tube area. That really bothered Thomas and he made it his mission to get his brother up there to show him all the fun things he was missing. He kept telling Jonathan to "come on, I'll take care of you! Do you wanna go down the slide? It's fun! Come on up!" There were a couple other parents in there and they told me they thought it was really sweet how Thomas encouraging his brother. Jonathan finally decided to go the rest of the way up (a mistake because it took 15 minutes of coaxing and a trip up there by me to get him down when it was time to go) and it wasn't 5 seconds before I heard Thomas saying to another child, "Don't you block my brother from there!" We parents giggled at that. Thomas is a sweet big brother but he can also be the enforcer if required.

As I mentioned, David was out of the country, he was in Amsterdam and London. He called us every day and each day, I would ask if Thomas wanted to talk to his daddy. Each time, his response was the same, "No thank you." Luckily David thought that was funny and understood why Thomas didn't want to talk. If it'd been me, it probably would have hurt my feelings. :-)

On our way to the airport to get David on the day he returned, Thomas said, "I can't wait to see what Daddy brought me." I then reminded him that we'd missed Daddy and that the first thing we said to him had better NOT be about souvenirs. Thomas listened and then said, "I think I'm feeling what you're saying Mommy." And he did well. It was at least 5 minutes before he asked.

David brought Thomas some Euros from The Netherlands. Thomas put it in his wallet and a couple days later while counting his money said, "I'm going to take this with me when we go to Arizona next month since I can't use them in this country." We explained that although Texas IS the best state in the United States that there are actually 49 other states in this country.

Thomas is doing really well learning to read. He's sounding out words all the time: as we drive around town, in the grocery store, in his books, etc. Today he checked out a new library book from school and was trying to read it in the car on the way home. He read a page or two and was really excited that he knew all the words. The last page cracked me up though. Here's how it went:

"These are my FRIENDS! They are here to PLAY! Mommy, do you know why I said that last part really loud? Because there were two straight lines and two dots under them and that means yelling."

All I could get out between my stifled giggles was that he was right, those were exclamation points. We'll discuss another day that the whole sentence should be exclaimed and not just the last word.

Ice Skating

Lisa sent this pic of Thomas ice skating. Thought you might enjoy it. I definitely did NOT have my camera out there. :-)

Lyrical Missteps

We haven't listened to our Queen Greatest Hits CD in a while. We've been too busy with our Abba one, but Thomas still sings 'We Will Rock You' pretty regularly. The actual lyrics say, "You got mud on yo' face, you big disgrace" but Thomas sings two versions. One, "ya got mud on your face, you big green snake." And two, "ya got mud on your face, you big bee sting."

I have to say he comes by it honestly. David keeps telling me that the Scorpions are actually singing "Here I am. Rock you like a hurricane" but I hear and sing, "Here I am. Raunchy like a hurricane." We've had many debates on what exactly a raunchy hurricane is. :-)

Funny Kid

Thomas is cracking us up as usual. He's had some pretty good ones lately. Enjoy.

Thomas' friend Sembree had her birthday party on Saturday morning. David told him that he and Jonathan were going to watch Tech/A&M game while we were at the party. Thomas said, "Daddy tell me if the Aggies win." David agreed. Then Thomas said, "Oh wait Daddy, if the Aggies lose, don't tell me at all."

Friday night, we went to Amy's, James' big sister, 9th birthday party. It was an ice skating party and I've only ice skated once, fell down, realized how hard the ice was and immediately stopped. So even though I had a bad prior experience, I still had to suck it up and help my 5 year old try to ice skate. We started off around the rink, staying by the wall to hopefully not fall down much. Thomas had a very hard time figuring out how to keep his feet underneath him. I ended up supporting his entire weight while his legs were going opposite directions. It was slow going but we eventually made it about 1/3 of the way around the rink. At that point, Lisa and Judee skated up and offered to help Thomas. He was a little hesitant but I told him they were much better ice skaters than me and could probably help him learn faster. So off they went, holding his hands and supporting him between them. They finished the first lap around the rink and then I took over again. By that point, Thomas had figured out how to keep his feet under him and started doing much better. He then said, "Mommy, you helping me" (and gave me a thumbs down) "Lisa and Judee helping me" (thumbs up). Our second lap around the rink, he was doing a lot better and didn't need much help from me. He could hold onto the wall himself. Then he said, "Mommy, you're getting better helping me! Oh wait, I'm getting better learning on my own."

After the birthday party, we met David for dinner. It was really crowded and the only table available was one of the tall tables with big barstools. Thomas loved sitting there. When they brought him his milk, it was in a big glass and he said, "Wow, big table, big chair, big drink, this is the best big day of my life!"

Last night, David and the boys were playing catch with a big ball. Thomas said, "Daddy get ready 'cause I'm gonna eat your dust!" We did eventually explain that when you're smack talking, it's the other way around.

My Little Aggie

We went to Lubbock last month and while we were there, I wanted to go to my favorite Tech store downtown to buy some new t-shirts for us all. I told Thomas where I was going and asked if he'd like a shirt. He said, "No way, Mommy! I'm an Aggie...REMEMBER!" So no Tech shirt for him.

I think he was disappointed in that later though because he wanted to wear a Tech t-shirt and his Aggie shorts one day to school so his clothes could fight each other.

ABBA

David and I went to see Mamma Mia a couple weeks ago at the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth. It was a LOT of fun and I came home and bought an ABBA greatest hits CD right away. We've been listening to it a lot in the car and Thomas loves it. His favorite song is Mamma Mia and he also loves Take A Chance On Me. I just love hearing him sing, "Honey, I'm still free. Take a chance on me." and "Mamma Mia, here I go again. My, my, how can I resist ya?" I know I can't. :-)

Mr. Phonics

I've tried over the years to use phonics to teach Thomas. That never interested him. But now he's Mr. Phonics. Between school and a new Leapfrog Word Factory DVD that he loves, he's now crazy about phonics. Every word he says is enunciated like this: "C-c-c-c-a-a-a-t-t-t-t, C-A-T spells cat Mommy!" or "P-p-p-p-pizza, Mommy, pizza starts with P!" It's pretty cute.

We LOVE Kindergarten!

Every day when I pick Thomas up from school, I ask, "How was your day sweetie?" And every day he answers the same, "Awesome!" That statement combined with his other frequent, enthusiastic comment, "Mommy, Kindergarten is even more fun than I thought it was going to be!" help us know that we made the right decision concerning his school.

First Homework

Thomas got his first homework assignment yesterday. It was a questionnaire titled All About Me. Things like, when is your birthday, who's in your family, what's your favorite TV show, etc. As we sat down yesterday afternoon to do it, Thomas looked at me and said, "Mommy, when am I going to get homework where I do all the work? Big kids have homework like that you know." I told him he could write the answers on his paper if he wanted to and I'd tell him how to spell it all. He decided that was too much writing and that I could do it this time. I'm glad he's excited about homework and am definitely NOT going to burst his bubble about how much homework he's going to have in his lifetime and that it may not all be fun.

First Day of Kindergarten

Thomas had his first day of Kindergarten today. He's going to the same school he's gone to for the last three years and knows most of his classmates. But it's in a different building and with different teachers and he was nervous today. He was talking about how nervous he was at breakfast in that teary/cryey voice that just breaks my heart. And he was talking about it as we were getting dressed and I tried mentioning the new girl and how scared she must be not knowing anyone but that he knew pretty much everyone. And we talked about it in the car on the way to school when he said, "My outside is unnervous but my inside..." I asked if his inside was a little nervous and he said, "No, my inside is a LOT nervous." And as I was getting ready to leave his class, he started crying, not screaming and sobbing like one of his classmates, just tearing up. I gave him lots of hugs and left knowing he was in good hands. When I picked him up, he said, "Mommy, remember how at art class I started out nervous and then things got better?" I said that I did. He said, "Well it was the SAME thing in Kindergarten! I was sad when you left but then I just recognized that I could do it and I did!" And he did. We're so proud of our Kindergartener. Seems like just yesterday he was born...

Splashers

I thought I posted this a couple weeks ago. Just noticed today it hadn't.

While we were at the lake, Bobby swam under the dock with Thomas. It's a neat place for little boys...very cave-like. You won't get me under there though, too many creepy crawlies. I was up on the dock while they were swimming under it and heard Thomas yell, "Uncle Bobby get your splashers ready!" Can you figure out what that meant? That's right, to get the spider webs and various other bugs out of the way, Bobby would splash water on them.

Olympics

We LOVE the Olympics in our house. Thomas' favorite thing so far has been the Opening Ceremony. The drummers were totally awesome. He watched intently the whole first hour yelling repeatedly, "This is the best show I've ever seen!!" And since we still have it on our DVR, we've watched it several times since then.

He also likes watching the sporting events, but he cheers differently that us. He always ALWAYS cheers for China. Even if he just walks through the room while a race is going on, he'll yell out, "Go China!!" If they're not in the particular event on TV then Thomas will condescend to cheering for the U.S. We were watching one of the swimming relays last week and David and I were yelling and happy that the American team had won. Thomas stood there, stomped his foot, and said, "I am SO mad at China!" I'm not even sure China was in the race, but he was still mad at them.

On a completely unrelated note, if you've been following the birthday gift saga, or lack thereof saga, you might be wondering what happened. David did not get me anything, and no, Wanda, it is NOT ok. :-) I bought my own present when we were at the outlet mall in San Marcos last week. Let's just say the letters C-O-A-C-H were involved and David actually likes it.

Social Cues

Thomas is really picking up on social cues a lot more these days. Maybe that's not the right phrase for it, but I mean the hidden meanings and clues in adult conversations. Just like him knowing I wasn't happy about the lack of birthday gift even though the conversation we were having was in a joking tone.

Well, last night another one happened. Mom and Dad came over after we had all eaten dinner together. At the restaurant, Thomas had asked Dad to play Lego Star Wars with him...big shock huh? As Dad was walking into the house, he said, "Thomas, what are Wiiiiii going to play?" I looked at him and slightly sarcastically said, "Ha ha" at his lame joke. Thomas immediately said, "Grandpa that's not laughing."

Fishing, Fighting, and Fun

I started this post two weeks ago and never finished it. It might not be perfect but I'm going to post it now before another two weeks go by.

Thomas and David went fishing for the first time a couple weekends ago. They were both really excited about it. When Thomas woke up that morning, he immediately came downstairs and into our bedroom (unusual for him as he usually calls for us over the monitor wanting us to come to him) and woke David up. He said, "Daddy, this is going to be the best day of my young life." I think maybe it was.

We drove to Keller several weeks ago for Bryanna's 2nd birthday party. Since we hadn't been to their house in a while, we set the navigation system to tell us the best route there. As we were getting close to their house, Thomas started repeating everything the car told us to do: Turn right in 1/4 mile, next right turn, etc. After listening to Thomas' repititions for several minutes, David said, "Ok, dude, I got it." Thomas said, "But Daddy, I'm just trying to be helpful." His little innocent expression and priceless inflection cracked us up.


I've told you before about Thomas and Lego Star Wars. He's still obsessed. He and I have managed to unlock every level of every movie over the last month or so and he's really proud of that. The other night, we let Thomas play a little bit before bed. After about 15 minutes or so, David said, "Ok, buddy, time to turn it off. Thomas looked at David and said, "But Daddy, can I just start a couple bar fights?" Definitely words we never thought would come out of our five year old's mouth.

We celebrated my birthday early today because Grandma is going home tomorrow and I wanted her to get to celebrate with us. We were meeting at Cheesecake Factory at 5. David worked all morning and and did bring me flowers when he came in. A little after 1, David looked at me and said, "You didn't want any birthday presents right?" I stared at him and said, "You ARE kidding me aren't you?" He said he wasn't. I then said, "Are you seriously telling me that four hours before we're celebrating my birthday, you're asking for gift suggestions? Haven't you been listening to anything I've said over the last few months? Pick one of them." He apparently didn't listen to any of my suggestions over that time because he claimed he had no idea what I wanted. Thomas listened to this interchange and then said, "Mommy, you're not happy are you?" David and I both laughed hysterically over that one. I didn't tell him any new suggestions and so far he hasn't gotten me anything but he does have until Tuesday. I don't want to have to buy my own gift again this year, but if I do, I can guarantee you it's going to be a big one. :-)

Thomasisms

Thomas and Natalie had their first sleepover on Thursday night. Thomas wanted her to come to our house first and said he'd sleep at hers next time. It went very well and they had a lot of fun. That night before bed (which happened way later than normal but isn't that how sleepovers go?) they wanted to say their prayers and Thomas decided to pray. He said, "Dear God, thank you for this day and thank you for letting Natalie come over for our first sleepover...."

On Saturday while waiting for the wedding to start, Thomas wanted to go one direction David wanted to go another. He told Thomas to go ahead knowing they'd meet up on the other side. Thomas looked at David and said, "But Daddy, you can't let a child go off all by himself!"


He's been to a wedding before but he's older now and much more interested in the whole process. He had lots of questions and I was whispering in his ear everything that was happening and going to happen. He saw the groom come down with the minister and then the bridesmaids and groomsmen all started coming in. Thomas said, "Wow, are ALL those people getting married?" He said it a little loudly and people all around us were chuckling. David didn't get to see the wedding. He was back in the back chasing Jonathan around, but Thomas and I enjoyed it.


This week, Thomas has really gotten into playing his Lego Star Wars game. We play it a little every day during Jonathan's nap. Up to this point, he would play it but never really showed any interest in advancing the storyline. But now, we're working our way through it and having a lot of fun. Last night, we ate with Mom, Dad, and Grandma and Thomas looked at them and said, "You are offered to come over to my house to watch me and my mommy play Wii Star Wars after dinner." I'm pretty sure he meant "invited" but they understood and came over for a little while. Dad played with him and Mom, Grandma, and I enjoyed watching Thomas get so excited about it. When they're having light saber battles or gun fights, Thomas dances/runs in place and waves his Wii Remote wildly. Pretty cute. And then Jonathan got his own Wii remote out of the drawer and "played" with them.

Girls

Saturday night, we ate dinner with my parents and grandmother at On The Border. The waitress was really taken with Thomas (and if you keep up with the blog, you might remember another OTB waitress flirting with him, but this was a different one). He was being such a little man ordering our queso, his dinner, talking to her about his brother, politely asking for more water, stuff like that. She told him she thought he was so cute and said, "I just have to ask you something, do you like girls?" He paused. Thought for a minute and then said, "Wellllll, I'm not used to them yet." We all cracked up.

Boo!

This morning, I went to wake Thomas up to get ready for camp. He was sleeping hard and it was taking a few minutes to get him up. I gently said, "Thomas" a couple times and rubbed his back. He still didn't stir. Jonathan was entertaining himself with all of Thomas' forbidden toys and I went over to try to stop him from putting a small pirate cannon in his mouth. All of a sudden, Thomas yelled, "Boo!" I jumped and Thomas died laughing. I said, "I thought you were still asleep!" He kept laughing and said, "No, I'm still awake!"

Yes, Sir!!

The other night we went out to eat at Chili's. We ordered their Skillet Queso appetizer and Thomas actually liked it this time. Usually he says it's too spicy. So the three of us were sharing the chips and cheese and Jonathan was munching on chips. Then Thomas started yelling at David and me for eating too much cheese. He told us twice to slow down and then said, "Alright now, that's it. I'm going to have to cut you off." Bossy little thing.

Camp Stories

Thomas had his first day of camp today. He's going with his friend James and is his first all day summer camp. It goes from 9-4 every day this week. This camp is so popular, I signed him up for it in November. November. For camp in June. That should tell you everything you need to know. We went to Open House at the camp a couple weekends ago and David and I thought it looked awesome. Zip lines, rock climbing walls, three swimming pools, to name a few.

Thomas was a little nervous this morning which is understandable when doing something new. He and James are in the same little group and I know that helped. David and I couldn't wait to hear all about his first day. When I picked him up, I asked how his first day at camp was. He said, "Mommy, I think I'm just going to wait to talk about it tonight that way I only have to say it once." I said, "No! You tell me now because you might forget by tonight!!!" in as whiny a voice as I could. :-) He sighed and then started talking. Then later I called David on the cell phone because I knew he was waiting to hear. Thomas saw me and yelled, "Don't tell Daddy anything!" So all I could say was that he had fun and would tell David all about it tonight. But I will tell you a little something. Thomas did the zip line today which he hadn't planned on but said it was "awesome!" Oh yeah, and if being absolutely filthy is a sign of how much fun you had, he had a blast.

It is very hot here today and since I didn't know exactly how camp worked, I packed two waters, a juice box, his lunch and his towel in his backpack. I asked if that was enough drinks for him. He said, "Yep. Two waters." I said, "Well, what about the juice box? Isn't it nice to have that as a choice too?" He said, "Mommmyyy, I think the word you're looking for is POWERade." So tomorrow, POWERade it is.

Lemonade Stand

We had a garage sale today and Thomas HAD to have a lemonade stand. He decided to serve pink lemonade and made the sign for his table last night. I told him last night that we'd already be outside with the garage sale when he woke up this morning and that he should get dressed and meet us outside whenever he did. So he came running out, fully dressed, about 20 seconds after his eyes opened this morning. Hmmm. Why is it that it takes 20 minutes of cajoling to get him moving when it's something I need him to do, but when he wants to, he can do it lickety split?
Here's my cutie serving lemonade. He made $7.50. We didn't expect him to earn so much money, but almost everyone who stopped by bought lemonade from him even if they didn't buy anything from us. One older woman walked up to his table and asked him how much it was. He said, "A quarter." She said, "A quarter huh?" And since he's still learning his salesmanship skills, he didn't ask if she wanted one, he said, a little sheepishly, but matter-of-factly, "Well. That's what the sign says." She laughed and bought one.

Bridge Sequence

Monday at Six Flags, Thomas, James, and Amy found a ride they LOVED: Aquaman Splashdown. None of them had ridden it before and they tried to make up for that lost time by riding it repeatedly. (For how many times exactly, see below.) When they finally got off, they decided they weren't quite wet enough and decided to wait on the bridge while another boat came down. Here's the series. Thomas is wearing the orange shirt in the middle. Amy and James are on either side of him.

Waiting for the water. See Thomas trying to put one hand up? He just saw Amy do it before she decided maybe she'd better hold on. Thomas compromised. Safety and adventure.
Here it comes!
Whoosh!
Aftermath.
HOW many times did you three ride that?

Bedtime Books

Thomas has been staying up late recently "reading" books. One night last week, he was still awake at 10 when David went in to check on him reading his bible. He told me the next morning, "Mommy, I stayed up till 10 o'clock reading my bible!! I read all the way to the story about the fish." I said, "Jonah?" "No, Mommy, the one about Jesus and the fish." That's a lot of reading when you start at the beginning.

Last night, he wanted me to come check on him after David put him down and I put Jonathan down. I went into his room and he asked me to get him a book but not one of the ones on his nightstand because he'd already read all of those. I got him one and then asked him not to stay up too late because he needed his rest since we were going to Six Flags today. He said, "Ok, Mommy. I'll stay up early."

Handsome

After getting ready to go see Kung Fu Panda with Dayton on Friday, Thomas said, "Mommy, don't you think I look handsome today?" I had to agree. He put the outfit together himself, including his necklace from Turks and Caicos.

And how was Kung Fu Panda you ask? Several times during the movie Thomas said, "This is the best movie ever!" And then when it was over he said, "Mommy, that was the best movie I ever saw!!!" I had to agree. It was a very good movie...very funny. One of the best kid movies I've seen in a long time. And sitting beside my 5 year old, enjoying his multiple squeals of laughter, made it a perfect experience. Even better since Mom and Dad watched Jonathan so I could actually SEE the movie. :-)

Eavesdropping

Natalie was with us yesterday afternoon for several hours while her big sister was at an end of school party. We went to Chick-Fil-A for lunch and on our way home, I overheard this conversation.

Natalie: Hey, Thomas, wanna hear a joke?
Thomas: Sure!
Natalie: Told some nonsensical joke about a bull that I don't exactly remember.
Thomas: Natalie, that's ridiculous!
Followed by peals of laughter.
Thomas: Ok, Natalie, now it's my turn. Why did the skeleton cross the road?
Natalie: A pause and then. Oh no, not THAT one again!
Together: Because he didn't have the guts!
More peals of laughter.

New Glasses

Thomas went to the eye doctor yesterday. Not just any eye doctor but a pediatric opthamologist. La di da! :-) Anyway, his pediatrician recommended that we take him to one at his 5 year check-up. With everything that was going on then, we didn't get around to it till now. David went with us to help corral Jonathan. The technician did an initial eye exam before the doctor came in. Just asking Thomas what letters popped up on the screen. I was standing by Thomas and David was over with Jonathan by the door. I knew immediately that he was going to be getting glasses when he couldn't see what I could so very clearly see. They dilated his eyes so the doctor could examine him and he said, "You know, I actually don't like drops in my eyes." It was so polite and I hated that we had to make him do it anyway. Thirty minutes later, he had the official examination. The doctor said his right eye is basically normal for his age, but that his left eye showed some astigmatism. So he's going to wear these glasses for now and then depending on how things have changed by the end of August, he might have to wear an eye patch on his good eye a few hours a day to strengthen the left eye.

So this morning we went to pick out his new glasses. David and I both wanted him to have some cute ones. Not just silver metal frames, and no offense if that's what you prefer. I took him to Walmart first because I figured why spend a lot of money on kid glasses that will likely be broken. Well, 95% of their frames were plain metal. No character at all. So then we went to Eyemasters in the mall. They had 3 times as many frames and we actually had a hard time deciding.

Thomas picked out this first pair because he said you could see flames out of the corner of your eye (with the light reflecting off the tortoiseshell part) and that he could practice his karate with them on. When viewed from above there's a lime green color visible too which he loved since green is one of his two favorite colors.
Then, since they had a deal going on to buy two pairs for a good price, we picked out this pair too. From the front, they kind of look like mine which he liked. Viewed from above, they look yellowish-goldish. Thomas says it's gold and I'm sure it'll come into play sometime when we're pretending to be pirates.
He'd been eating Fun Dip before taking these pics and wanted to do a silly one to show off his tongue.

Burpaholic

Thomas has just figured out how to make himself burp whenever he wants. And he does. For hours on end. All day long. Until I say, "NO MORE BURPING FOR THE REST OF THE DAY!" See how nice and calm and patient I am about it? :-)

It actually is kind of funny when he catches me off guard. He'll come up when I'm busy with something else and say, "Hey, Mommy! Guess what I'm really good at?" And since I'm distracted, I'll answer, "What sweetie?" "Buuuurrrrrpppppp!" (That was my attempt at typing the sound of him burping really loudly in my face and not him actually saying the word burp.) And then he runs off giggling before I can tickle him.

The other night, David was washing Thomas' hair in the bathtub. Thomas yelled, "Daddy stop! I've got soap in my eyes." David in his typical ohnothingshouldbotheryoubecauseyou'reatoughguy way said, "Oh Thomas, that doesn't hurt because this is baby shampoo and it says here, 'No Tears!'" Then Thomas said, "Well, I'm a big kid and it DOES hurt my eyes!!"

Both boys spent the night with my parents on Friday night. It was Jonathan's first sleepover and from what I heard, it went really well. Thomas was so cute planning for the night. He said he was going to be in charge of Jonathan and that Grandma and Grandpa were in charge of him. He also said if his brother got sad at any time and started crying, that he'd stop whatever he was doing and come running. I don't think his services were needed but it was a typical sweet Thomas offer. Thomas did tell on Grandma though. The boys were coloring at the kitchen table and according to Thomas, "Grandma wasn't paying attention and Jonathan wrote on himself with pink marker." I'm sure Thomas had nothing to do with distracting Grandma. :-)

Preschool Questionnaire

Tonight was Open House at Thomas' preschool. Included in his packet of letter books, number books and various other cute arts and crafts was this questionnaire titled "A Peek Into Your Child's Mind." Click on it to view it larger.Ok, so now my question is, of all the things he could have said about me, why did he choose to comment on the 2-5 times a year I actually get to take a nap...when I'm SICK!?!?!?!?

Like Father, Like Son

Want proof that Thomas is David's son? How's this? On Sunday evening, Mom was asking Thomas all about Mayfest. He told her it was fun. She asked what he liked best. He said, "All of it." David and I said, "The Scorpion?" "Oh YEAH! That was the funnest, scariest ride out there!" And then Mom asked him what else he did at Mayfest. His reply? "I can't remember that cause it was yesterday." Sounds just like his daddy who can't remember what he had for breakfast. :-)

Spoilin' Time

My grandmother is visiting. She's staying with my folks but we're trying to spend as much time with her as we can. Today, we went to pick her up and bring her to our house so she could spend the day with us while Mom and Dad were working. On the way home, I asked if Chick Fil A sounded good for lunch. Thomas said, "Or maybe Old McDonald's?" Have I mentioned that that's what he calls McDonald's? Has since he could talk. I said, "Well, let's ask Gma what she'd like." Grandma turned around in the seat and whispered to Thomas, "What do I want for lunch?" He whispered back, "Old Mick." She said, "What?" "Old McDonald's!" Then she turned back around and said, "I believe I'd like to have McDonald's today." See what I mean? :)

Mayfest and More

We went to Mayfest yesterday. It was our first time to go and we had a blast. We tried to get there in time to see Natalie dance, but found that leaving your house at 2:30, driving, parking, walking 25 minutes to get to the gate, waiting in line for 30 minutes to buy tickets, and then running across the park to get to her stage gets you there just after she's finished a little before 4. But we rode rides and watched shows with them afterwards so it was still fun.

Thomas had hurt his neck the previous morning. Bad enough that he spent the morning crying and laying on the couch. He started feeling better by Friday night and was actually sitting upright and playing with some toys (yeah!) but was still hurting a little yesterday morning. He even wanted to skip his t-ball game. Since he was acting better, just favoring one side a little, we encouraged him to go and try and he did fine. By yesterday afternoon, he was completely better. So he rode one of the wildest, scariest rides out there. The Scorpion.
See David and Thomas in the car on the top left? By the pole on the left? Crazy! I'll ride roller coasters all day long but you will NOT get me on one of these rides. By the way, the blur on this shot is intentional. :-) Look for a slightly better intentionally blurred shot on my Pics By Kim blog tomorrow.
And then after he got off, Bethany's friend Kendra wanted to ride and no one would ride with her so Thomas volunteered. Your 13 year old friend won't ride with you? Ask a 5 year old! :)
At dinner last night, Thomas heard a song on the radio, "You Raise Me Up," and asked who was singing that song. I said I didn't know. He said, "Well, is it Ben?" A You Tube search later proved that it was Josh Groban. Josh Groban or my cousin Ben. Easy to get the two confused. :-)

On the way home, David and I giggled after listening to me say something that we never thought I'd have to say, "Don't spit in the car and don't spit on your brother." Boy the things we have to deal with as parents. :-)

Eat at Billadelphia!

Please!! We've been in there for the last four Saturdays after Thomas' t-ball games and each Saturday he gives us something. Two baseballs, a ball stand, free food, and this Saturday, he gave Thomas 2 free Rangers tickets (up to a 45 dollar value). We need more of you to eat there because he's sure not making any money off of us. So if you're in our area, or when you visit...eat at Billadelphia! :-)

Phone Prank

Thomas wanted to call David with my cell phone today. He giggled and said, "I'm going to answer like Twopa did, you know how he'd answer 'Pool hall, eight ball speaking' well I'm going to do that to my father!" Never mind the fact that you only say Grandpa's joke when you're on the receiving end of the call and not the initiator. So he pushed the speed dial button, and as David answered, Thomas, through his laughter, said, "Pool hall, eight ball speaking!" David asked him a few questions and then Thomas answered, "I'm with your wife." What fancy ways this boy is talking these days. Is he five or 50?

Sick

I had it yesterday. Blamed it on bad food from Genghis Grill the day before. Then Thomas woke up with it today. He wasn't at Genghis Grill. So it must be a bug. And you KNOW Thomas is sick when he asks to take a nap, on the couch, in the middle of the day, for an hour and a half. Then the boy wakes up, says he's feeling a little better and might like to try some orange juice. I concede, but water down the juice just in case. 20 minutes later, I'm cleaning the couch. My first response was that it's a good thing we have old furniture. But after cleaning the mess for 30 minutes, I'm thinking it's time for leather sofas.

Whistling, Funerals, and Food

If you read the last post, you know that we've been listening to Grandpa's funeral a lot in the car. We keep pausing it to discuss. "Who's Thomas F. and Emma?" "How did he get a purple heart?" "Why was there a bomb in the road?" "Why are you sniffing when you were talking?" "Why do you keep saying the same thing every time we hear this?" "Why didn't you call him Tom?" "Am I one of the 7 grandkids or 8 great grandkids?" And on and on. He definitely knows the order of the CD and tells me exactly who he wants to hear and when.

We were listening to it yesterday and Thomas again talked about Twopa's train whistle. He was practicing his version as we were driving to the store. When I got out and opened the door, both boys were trying it. So glad I had my camera with me!

One story from the funeral I haven't shared yet is when Thomas was asking me what he should say to Grandma when he saw her in Lubbock. I told him the best thing to say is, "I'm sorry Twopa died" or "I'm sorry for your loss." 4 or 5 words everyone should know. Little words that mean a lot. Thomas thought about it a minute and said, "How 'bout if I say 'Too bad Twopa died?'" I said thought my suggestions were probably a better way to go. I'm not sure he actually said anything to her when we go to their house, but since he's 5 he can get away with that. If he'd been older, or I'd been less distracted, I'd have made sure he said something one way or another.

I know I wrote about eating lunch after his t-ball game and him signing his autograph. Last Saturday, he wanted to go back there to eat to see if his autograph was still posted. It was. And as the owner noticed Thomas, he yelled out to him "Hey, it's THOMAS!" Thomas had a huge grin on his face. Then he suggested that another customer might want Thomas' autograph so he got one too. And Thomas got another ball, a Phillies hall of famer. Two nights ago, Thomas said, "Mommy, can we go eat at the same place again after my game on Saturday?" I said, "Maybe so." He said, "Mommy, the answer isn't 'maybe so' it's 'yes!'"

Grandpa's Funeral

Hi everyone. Grandma sent me a copy of Grandpa's funeral on CD and I thought it was so beautiful, I spent an hour and a half, actually now we're up to 2 hours, figuring out how to get it here so you could hear it. I'm not posting the pastor's sermon although that was beautiful too. I'm just posting the family members' contributions. I hope you enjoy them. Just click on the play button for each selection. You'll see it in the oblong oval with the word "box" in it. That's the site that's hosting the audio for me. Don't click on the mp3 link unless you want to download it to your own computer.

During the actual funeral, my cousin, Jeremy, went first and gave a beautiful eulogy. My brother, Mike, went second and read several of Grandpa's poems. I went third. My uncle, Bobby, and cousin, Ben, went last playing and singing the two songs. How Great Thou Art was first and Beulah Land was the last thing before the pastor spoke.

How Great Thou Art

Bobby playing and Ben and two friends singing. Wasn't Bobby's playing awesome? I know Grandpa was up in Heaven loving listening to his incredibly talented son playing so beautifully for him. And I absolutely love Ben's voice, that's why we had him sing at our wedding 15 years ago.
How Great Thou Art.mp3

Beulah Land

Bobby playing, Ben and two of his friends singing. Absolutely beautiful. I cry every time I hear it.
Beulah Land.mp3

Jeremy's Speech

My cousin, Jeremy, the former youth minister, gave the eulogy. Doesn't he have an awesome voice? Very pastorly. :-)
Jeremy's Speech.mp3

Mike's Speech

My brother, Mike, read three of Grandpa's poems. One of which you've read here on this blog. I think you'll enjoy the other two. They're funny. Excellent job Mike!!
Mike's Speech.mp3

My Speech

Here's my speech. First of all, I had no idea the Texas twang I had until I heard myself speak for 5 minutes. Wow! And secondly, you know I'm such a perfectionist that I just have to point out that I know that I should have said, "...things his grandkids thought WERE special" but I'm going to give myself a break here. It was my grandfather's funeral and I was up on stage speaking in front of at least a hundred people.

Thomas likes hearing this speech in the car. He loves hearing the part where I talk about him. And every time, he agrees with me that yep, he did love Grandpa's train whistle. After he listened to it a time or two, he asked me, "Mommy, why are you going like this?" and sniffed his nose a couple times. I explained that I was crying. "Why were you crying?" "Well, it was his funeral and I was sad he's not here with us anymore." "Well, his BODY'S here on Earth, right, Mommy?" "That's right Thomas." "But his soul is in Heaven with Jesus, right, Mommy?" "That's right baby."
Kim's Speech.mp3

The Best Channel Ever

We've been listening to XM Kids a lot in the car this past week. Thomas LOVES XM Kids. As we're walking out to the car, he's already asking if we can listen to his channel. Like he even needs to ask. That's all that's played in the car for 7 straight days. This afternoon, we were driving and listening to XM Kids and some of his favorite songs played in a row. First came the Momisms song by Anita Renfroe that's been a hit on You Tube.

I think it's hilarious and so does my son. So far, he hasn't heard me say some of the typical mom sayings like "If your friends all jumped off a cliff, would you jump too?" and "Stop crying or I'll give you something real to cry about!" and cackles listening to them. And he loves when she asks her kids to please try a food they hate because he HAS been there.

So that song played and then a Naked Brothers Band song came on, followed by a song from Lazytown and then capped by a song from Shrek. He could hardly contain his glee. "Mommy, this is the BEST CHANNEL EVER!!!

Three Mealtime Stories

Tonight I have three stories to share with you. Two happened tonight at dinner. We went to David's Barbecue after swim lessons with my mom. An elderly couple in the next booth were watching the boys playing together and smiling. The woman in particular was very friendly and asking how long Jonathan had been walking and then listened as Thomas explained all about that and 10 other things. After a couple minutes, we turned around to start eating. Thomas said in a relatively loud voice, "Mommy, that sure was a nice old lady." I said, "Yes, she was a very nice lady." He said, in an even louder voice, "No, Mommy, I said she was a nice OLD lady." And they're still sitting behind us at the next table...

Also at dinner tonight, I noticed Thomas wiping ketchup off his arm and I thought he was using his sleeve so I asked him to please use a napkin. He turned around and said, "But I'm using a french fry!"

And last night at dinner (we've eaten out a lot this week), the waitress really took a shine to Thomas and he talked her ear off. Toward the end of the meal, she asked him what his name was. He told her. Then she asked how old he was and he said, "Five!" Then she grinned and told David and me how cute he was and that she just loved him. After she walked away, Thomas said, "Let's just pretend I didn't hear that."

Irony

Hmmm. What to wear? The Texas Tech hat your parents bought for you or the A&M clothes Natalie gave you for your birthday? Both!

Games and Food

After Thomas' t-ball game on Saturday, we went out to eat lunch at a local cheesesteak place called Billadelphia. The owner was SO nice to Thomas and asked him all kinds of questions about his game. When Thomas told him they'd won and that he'd gotten two hits and scored two runs, he told Thomas he'd need his autograph for when he got famous. So Thomas wrote his name and number down and the owner immediately put it on the wall by the cash register, see pic below. He also came out later as we were eating and gave Thomas a Phillies baseball and ball rack to keep his other balls on. Very nice man and the cheesesteaks weren't too bad either! We'll definitely be going back.
On Friday after school, the boys and I went to the mall to get them some new shoes. We ate lunch at the food court first and as we were walking up to Chick-Fil-A, Thomas noticed a man standing there in a black and white striped shirt and black pants. He motioned to me and whispered, "Is that guy a prisoner?" I chuckled and said, "No honey, he works at Foot Locker."

Wednesday night, David took the boys to McDonald's after t-ball practice. I'd gone out with mom and some friends to play bingo. I've played twice and it's a lot of fun even when you don't win. But anyway, as they were in the drive-through about to order, Thomas was explaining to David all about how to order Jonathan's Happy Meal. He told him that Mommy always ordered Jonathan a toddler toy and not a big kid toy, something that is new as Jonathan now eats enough to merit his own meal. Then after David correctly ordered, Thomas praised him for doing such a good job.

Which Do You Like Best?

Contemplative Thomas
or Silly Thomas

A Couple Stories For You

Well, I haven't posted anything in a while and have been meaning to for a week or so. Now I think I've waited too long and I can't remember all of the funny stories I wanted to share with you. So you'll just have to make do with the ones I did remember.

My mom's great-grandmother used to make her peanut butter and banana sandwiches. I make mine the same way my mom learned, by mashing the peanut butter and banana together. After almost 15 years of marriage, my hubby who will eat anything, still has yet to try one. Thomas just discovered the yummy gooeyness of a good peanut butter and banana sandwich and wanted to share it with his daddy. David absolutely refused. Then a couple days later, we had spinach and cheese pasta for dinner. Thomas tried it and liked it. As he ate it, he said, "Daddy since I tried this green pasta, you need to try the peanut butter and banana sandwich." David said he guessed Thomas would never have to try anything new again because he wasn't about to do that.

The boys and I were at Discount Tire last week getting a new tire put on my van, what a joy that was to make not one, not two, but three trips to Discount Tire over the course of two days, but I digress. Jonathan was in the stroller and Thomas was sitting on my lap sharing some freeze dried apples with him. Next to us was a morbidly obese woman. After several minutes, Thomas leaned back, and whispered very quietly in my ear, "Mommy, that lady is like a big round ball with a head on top." I whispered back my fervent thanks that he didn't yell it out loud and embarrass his mommy on an already stressful day.

Thomas has been playing soccer for about a month now. He tries and I think he likes it but it's not his thing yet. He has now progressed to running WITH the pack instead of behind it but he's not aggressive enough to take the ball away from anyone. If the ball spurts out, then he'll dribble down the field. It's only through the good shot timing and the magic of cropping that I got shots on my other blog that make it look like he's really good, but we know the truth. :-) Now t-ball on the other hand, is a little more his cup of tea. You don't have to take the ball from anyone, you play in your own position and don't have to run with a pack of 11 other boys. It was only as he started trying to learn the game that we realized how complicated baseball actually is. He can field the ball pretty well. And he can throw reasonably well, but he's just not a fast runner. Running bases is hard. When do you go, when do you stay? And he gets upset if he gets out. I was talking to him after practice the other day about that and trying to explain that everyone gets out sometime or another and that it wasn't anything to cry about, as he's been told "There's no crying in baseball!" He said, "Well, if you get out, are you out for the rest of the game?" It's a complicated game we Americans love.

Missing Grandpa

I'm a very lucky woman. I knew not only my grandparents, of which I had four+1 (Pa remarried after Granny died, so Bill is the +1) but I also knew 4 of my great-grandparents, and TWO great-great-grandmothers. I have friends who never even got to meet their grandparents. How lucky am I? Even knowing I'm lucky doesn't change the fact that I'm sad for myself, for my kids, for my mother, and especially for my grandmother, his wife of 61 years, that my beloved Grandpa is in Heaven now.

• I'll never get to see that twinkle in his eye as he tries, and always gives himself away, cheating at cards.
• I'll never hear him make that awesome train whistle sound with his hands.
• We'll never get to play Wii Bowling with him again.
• I'll never get to argue with him over who gets to pick up the tab for lunch.
• I'll never get to be on another road trip with him, have him slam on the brakes and honk the horn and ask us if we saw that elephant.
• I'll never have him walk me to my car as I'm leaving their house and spend 15 minutes asking me how many miles I have on it, am I sure I like driving a foreign car, and any other question he could think of to stall my departure.
• He'll never write any more poems for us or draw any more Mickey Mouses.

He is in a better place, and playing with Old Zackie Boy, and knowing that helps. I'm sad today because I found a song by the piano that I meant to learn to play for him and never did.

So I leave you today with a poem he wrote. This one is untitled, but he wrote it for my Grandma.

All she thought she really wanted
Was just a little kiss
As they sat so close together
Her thoughts he couldn’t miss
But that was forty years ago
Before grandkids and such
How can such a little thing
Turn out to be so much

Grandpa

I spoke at his funeral on Wednesday. I was nervous and emotional and was going to try to write something better here. But I'm stuck. So I'm just going to post what I've got so far.

I was very lucky to be his first grandchild. I had 37 years with him as my Grandpa. He was a special man.

Kids can really make you weepy and lighten the moment sometimes all at the same time. On Thomas' birthday, I was in Lubbock helping at the hospital with Grandpa. I called him early that morning to sing Happy Birthday to him. After I finished, he said, "Thank you, Mommy. Do we need to come to Lubbock? Is Twopa bad or good?"

On Tuesday morning, after his death on Saturday, we were driving over to Grandma's from Dale and Wanda's when Thomas asked me, "Why did Twopa have to die?" I explained that it was his time to go be with Jesus. He then talked about how Twopa was in heaven with Zack, our dog who died a year ago, and said, "Well, he'd better watch out!" I asked why and he said, "Old Zackie Boy bites!" After we stopped laughing, I told him I doubted Zack bit in heaven.


It was an honor and a priviledge to be there to help while he was dying. I could fluff his pillow and adjust it just right to suit his stiff neck. I could swab his mouth with a wet sponge when he wasn't allowed to drink anymore. And I could anticipate his needs and try to accomodate them: covers on or off, a Snickers bar, adjusting his position in the bed, time for more meds, etc. And as it got harder for him to speak and be understood, I was one of the ones who was able to interpret for him.


The day before he died, he had basically lost most of his ability to talk and couldn't get my name out, but as I walked by his bed on the way to get some snacks out in the hall, he pointed at me and said, "Her. Her. Her." Grandma was sitting by his bed, heard him and told me so I happily dropped my purse and sat and held his hand for a long time.


Although I wasn't there when he died, I'm so glad that my grandmother, my parents, my aunt, my two uncles, and two of my cousins and their wives were there by his bedside as he took his last breath. He was a family man and it's just like him to wait till they were all there surrounding his bed before he would go. As a matter of fact, the day before, I was in the room with him and his good friend, Bill, just the three of us, when he said, the loudest, clearest thing he'd said all day, "No! I can't go yet!" He wanted to wait till more loved ones were near.

Guitar Hero

We got Guitar Hero a couple weeks ago and have had a blast playing it. Thomas enjoys trying it. I'm better than Thomas. And David is the master. When Dale and Wanda were here Super Bowl weekend, Thomas wanted to show them how good he was at Guitar Hero. So he tried playing a song and quickly got booed off the stage. Then I played a song. Wanda told Thomas, "Your Mommy is pretty good." Thomas said, "Yeah, but my Daddy's better."

Earlier this week, we went to Chuck E. Cheese and while we were there "Hit Me With Your Best Shot" started playing in the background. Thomas got very excited and yelled, "Mommy! This is the song from Guitar Hero!!!" It reminds me of my teenage years, but reminds him of a video game. :-)

Holey Jeans

We ate dinner at Cheddar's the other night. As we were leaving, Thomas started climbing on the rocks out front. He was doing really well, until he said, "Hey look how good I can do this!" and then promptly fell down. He tore a big hole in his jeans, the first time that's ever happened. I thought he must have really hurt himself because how can you tear a hole that big in your pants and not bleed? So I tried looking through the hole and couldn't find any blood so I ripped it little more to get a better view since it was dark outside. And he didn't injure himself. Just ruined his jeans. After he got over crying and realized he was ok, he got very excited. "Mommy, I can't believe I tore a hole in my jeans! James had a hole in his pants the other day at school and now I do!!!" And then later, telling David about it, "Daddy, can you believe I got my first hole and then Mommy made it bigger!!"

Funerals

Our friend, Chris', dad passed away on Monday. I talked to Thomas about it told him that Mommy and Daddy would be going to the funeral. We talked about how funerals are celebration of someone's life and that people who loved them attend. I went to the viewing last night and my dad kept the boys so Mom could go with me since David was still working. They spent the night last night so David and I could go out for a Valentine's Day meal when he got home. I tell you that so you'll know why Mom was at our house this morning before school. So, she gets a phone call this morning, from Dad I think, and she was telling him that I was going to the funeral today. Thomas heard her saying that and came running into the bathroom where I was brushing my hair. He said, "Another funeral? Who else is dying?" I explained that they were both for Evie's grandpa. That tickled me but not as much as Evie asking if her grandpa was going to be buried or laminated.

Happy Loser

Jonathan and I went to Thomas' Valentine's Party today at school. The last activity of the party was a version of the game Hot Potato using a heart pillow, we'll just call it Heart Potato. The kids had never played it before and were so cute. Once they got the hang of passing it quickly from person to person, the music was cut off and the child holding the pillow got a heart sticker and was out of the game. Well, wouldn't you know it, my sensitive child was the first one out. It melted my heart, and cracked Lisa up, when Thomas came running up to me excitedly saying, "Mommy, can you believe I'm the first person to win?!?" And the rest of the kids were excited too. As each person ended up with the pillow, received their heart sticker, and got out of the circle, they clapped madly and cheered for the "winner" before the music started again.

Dandelion Fun

Took this one of Thomas last night as I was trying to get the dandelion pic on my Pics By Kim blog. Cute huh?

First Trip to Dentist

Thomas went to the dentist for the first time on Monday. This sign greeted him as we entered the office (it's a cell phone picture but that's all I had with me). He went to a pediatric dentist that came highly recommended. After our experience, we agree. To help him get ready, I downloaded a book from their web site about what to expect during your visit. After we read it for the first time, he said, "Oh, so they're just going to clean my teeth and not pull one out?" On Monday, he wanted to take his book with him to the dentist so he could check off each page as it happened: play in the play area, wait for them to call your name, get tooth pictures taken, etc. As they called his name to go back, he stopped, got his pen out and checked off that page before going with her. He went back by himself and came out 45 minutes later proud of how well he did. They said they'd never had another child bring their book with them and thought that was really cute. He asked them to show me his "tooth pictures" and everything looked great. He's got a good bite and no sign of cavities. He couldn't wait to go to school afterwards to tell everyone about it.

Map Confusion

Thomas is going to a birthday party tomorrow for a friend from school. On the way home today, he asked me where Aiden lived. I told him he lived in the north part of our city and we lived in the south part. He said, "Huh?" So I drew a map in the air and said, "Aiden lives up here and we live down here." He then said, "Oh, you mean he lives up in the sky and we live down on the ground?"

DVR Guru

Ever since we got a DVR 9 months ago, our TV viewing habits have dramatically changed. And as much as David and I have enjoyed it, we were a little surprised how much Thomas has enjoyed it. He loves recording his favorite shows so he can watch them whenever he wants instead of waiting for them to come on. He loves fast-forwarding through the commercials, and sometimes scary parts, so he can keep watching his show uninterrupted. He likes that so much that he's disappointed when he's watching live TV and he can't fast-forward. And then today at lunch, we were in the kitchen eating but he could still hear the television in the other room. He said, "Mommy, I'm going to go pause my show so I don't have to keep worrying about what I'm missing."

Spelling

Tonight at bedtime, Thomas and I were reading Dr. Seuss' One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish. Thomas was spelling the words for me. He went: "O-N-E-F-I-S-H." Sensing a teachable moment, I decided to take this opportunity to explain the pause we use between words and that he needed to take a small pause after spelling one word before going onto the next so the listener will know it's two different words. So he tried again, "O-N-E" (a long pause) "I paused Mommy. F-I-S-H."

New Glasses?

I was putting Thomas down last night when he gave me a huge, hard, almost-5-year-old-boy hug. I asked him to be careful of my new glasses. I'd just picked them up and didn't want them broken the first night. He stopped. Leaned back. Looked at me. And said, "You got new glasses?"

If you want to see them, check out my third blog (two just wasn't enough for me!).

Turks and Caicos Slide Shows

Wow, how lucky are you? Sometimes I go a whole month without posting and now you get THREE in ONE day? :-) I finally got around to making a couple slide shows of our trip to Turks and Caicos. How is it possible that that trip was almost 2 months ago? Boy it was amazing though. My first time leaving the country was this trip, at age 37. My youngest son? 11 months. I hope he continues to be able to take trips like this the rest of his life. As long as the rest of us can go with him. Boy do we have Island Fever now. It was so beautiful and relaxing. Enjoy our pictures! If you don't know everyone in the photos, we went with my parents, Gary and Jeanette, my brother, Mike, his wife, Amy, and their boys, Mason and Palmer. And by the way, I took 95% of these pictures using the Manual settings on my Nikon D80. I was excited and proud how well they turned out.

Make a scrapbook - it's easy!

Make a slideshow - it's easy!

Height Conversation

Today on our way to meet Melinda and Dayton for lunch, Thomas was asking questions about how tall he would be at certain ages. Here's how the conversation went.

Thomas: "How tall will I be when I'm 13?"
Me: "Hmmm. Probably at least as tall as my shoulder."
Thomas: "Well, I'm already as tall as Grandma's shoulder." (Not quite but close)
Me: "Well then, maybe you'll be as tall as Grandma when you're 13."
Thomas: "When will I be as tall as Grandpa?"
Me: "Boys grow taller at all sorts of different ages. And we have no idea how tall you'll be until you stop growing. But maybe when you're 15 or 20."
Thomas: "Well, when I'm sixty one hundred years old, I'll be taller than everyone."
Me: "I'm sure you will Thomas."
Thomas: "Oh wait a minute. When I'm that old we'll all be dead."

Sound of squealing tires as I laughed so hard I almost drove off the road.

Yes and No

Yesterday, we bought a small box of Goldfish crackers. Thomas wanted some as a snack during the afternoon and ate about half of it. Later, Jonathan wanted to try some so Thomas got some out for him. He'd eaten a lot of them earlier and we were going to have dinner soon so I told Thomas he couldn't have any more. Just give his little brother one at a time. That worked for about 2 minutes and then Thomas said, "Can I have this one since Jonathan's not eating it?" I said, "No." "Can I eat this one that fell on the floor? It's too dirty for Jonathan to eat." "Well, if it's too dirty for him to eat, it's too dirty for you to eat." "Can I just have ONE?" "No, no, no, no, no!" By this point we're both laughing. I looked at Jonathan and said, "Jonathan, I don't think your brother understands what N-O means." Thomas got this little twinkle in his eye and said, "Y-E-S!"

Cowboys and Older Women

Yesterday was Cowboy Day at Thomas' preschool. He was really excited about it and got dressed the second he woke up that morning. That was a nice change of pace since I'm usually saying, "We need to leave in 6 minutes and you still have your pajamas on!" But I digress. He has outgrown his old cowboy boots (they're size 11 and he's wearing a 13) and has been needing some new ones. So I thought Cowboy Day was a good excuse to go get them. But his teacher, Mrs. Petrelli, had told the kids not to buy anything special just for Cowboy Day so he refused. I tried to explain that she meant not to buy anything JUST for Cowboy Day and that since he was going to wear his boots other days, it would be ok, but no dice. So we made do with tennis shoes and the cowboy things we had around the house. And he had a blast. Last year, they had to convince him to sit on the horse for a few seconds to get a picture for us. But this year, he not only sat on the horse for a picture, but got on another horse for a ride around the playground. He's growing up.

And speaking of that, when we got home yesterday, he tugged on my arm and said, "Mommy, I need to tell you something." So I bent down and he whispered, "Mommy. A Kindergarten girl told me that she hates all boys but she doesn't hate me." And he then gave me this little shy smile. I said, "Oh really?" and asked him what her name was and he thought for a minute and then said, "Hmm. I don't know." Well, whatever your name is Older Woman, stay away from my baby. :-)

Christmas

We spent Christmas in Lubbock this year. It was a quick trip because David's really busy at work. And it was a busy trip because we were there for 48 hours and in that time had Christmas with both sides of our family, attended the Christmas Eve service, AND threw Jonathan's first birthday party because, well, first birthdays are all about family and we wanted as many family members as possible to attend. More on that whenever Jonathan has time to write his own post.

Every year Christmas only gets more fun as Thomas gets older. This year, I think I already mentioned that he decorated our tree all by himself. That little tree was so special, he decided it needed an angel AND a star on top along with a picture frame ornament with his smiling face. He also helped my parents decorate their little tree and would have been willing to help you with yours if you'd just asked.

While we were exchanging gifts with my parents and grandparents, David unwrapped one of his gifts and said, "Yeah, an old cell phone!" He was joking of course, and knew that there was something else inside the old cell phone box, but Thomas got really excited for him. "Oh Daddy! You got a new cell phone!" David explained the joke and proceeded to open the box and show Thomas what was inside. I think maybe it was coffee beans. About 5 minutes later, it's Thomas' turn to open another present. He carefully selected one and unwrapped it. He looked at the old cell phone box and said, "I'll just put this up till I'm 8." We had to convince him to open it right away and explained again that it wasn't an old cell phone. And as for how he decided he was going to be ready for a cell phone when he's 8, I have no idea.

Christmas Eve night, I was in the bedroom doing something and Thomas ran in to ask me a question. On his way out, he turned off the light and left me in the dark room alone. I could hear him crowing about his funny joke clear across the house. I came out a few minutes later and he was still laughing about it. To tease him back, I said, "Santa, did you see that?" His face fell and he got really quiet and said, "I think...maybe...not." We decided that Santa probably knew it was just a joke.

Christmas morning at 6:30 am, it was still pitch dark when Thomas whispered, "Mommy? Do you think Santa's come yet?" I asked why and he said, "I really need to go potty." I said I'd go check and reported that he must have because the cookies were gone. He said, "Good because I held it in as long as I could!" So we tiptoed down the hall and went potty. I figured we'd be up for the day since he knew Santa had come, but he thought it was still the middle of the night and tried to lay back down to go to sleep telling me he'd see me in the morning. Luckily for him, Jonathan heard all that whispering and decided sleeping time was over.