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.