Tractor Boy

Geez, this boy loves tractors. We feed the obsession, but man oh man...

A birthday letter to my G Monster

G,

Your birthday has come and gone and so has my little baby boy. "Where'd it go?" As you used to say. You have grown so big, and you are so smart.

Of course I remember the day you were born and how your cry was so "different" and sounded like you were struggling that it scared the nurses. You have been that way ever since - in a good way though. You constantly ask questions and are so curious about our world. You are so full of life and energy with your big smile and intense imagination. Unfortunately you understand death and loss, but you are so strong. You channel your papaw in your actions and choices and sometimes it takes my breath away - the boots, the toothpick. I don't even know if you realize what you are doing, he must be with you in spirit. It's so nice to see. Let's just hope his stubbornness isn't in there! :)

You are already concerned about sick animals, people and "narc" on the litterbugs on the highway. I see your concern for the world around us. You catch mommy when she's not looking, moving too fast and let me know when I forget something. You like order and like your bed made just right when you are in it, but if you drop something or make a mess you make sure to tell me that "it's okay." You are learning how to work me and wrap me around your finger. Sometimes it doesn't work, but of course there are times that it is just too cute to pass up.

You started a new school this year and are adapting well. I am so proud of you. You are mommy's little buddy, and I am excited about the fun times and things we will learn in the year to come!

Love,
Mommy

G is 3!

So after all of the parties, presents, and soccer games my little boy is finally three years old. We had a quiet night with my sister (meme), another couple and their nineteen month old (E). It was a nice evening. I cooked a fancy dinner and what three year old dinner couldn't be complete without sangria! G had a great day and was pooped. Patches the cat has taken to love G and sleeps with him most nights. They are quite a pair. So sweet!

Celebration of Life

At G's Montessori, they would like at least one parent to come for their birthday and bring a snack or lunch (totally optional) and also bring a poster or scrapbook with 4 pictures per year showing the seasons of each year of their life. So for G, I would need 12 photos. Of course having a graphic design background, he couldn't have an ordinary poster, so I have attached his. After we had his Celebration, the teachers said it was perfect and they asked if we could leave his to show the other parents as an example. :)

The Celebration was cute. We talked about his life over the past three years in conjunction with the months of the year and how the earth travels around the sun with the class. He loved having mommy in class with him. Meme got to come with us too so that was special. Then we passed out fruit and blueberry muffins. It was a nice day.

Pele better watch out!

G had his first soccer game on Saturday morning. We are the Green Giants! G picked lucky #7 for his jersey number. It was a lot of fun and exactly what I expected it to be. Chaos! Grass picking! Crying! Well, G didn't cry. He did pick grass though. He wanted to be out on the field, but I think he was a little intimidated by all of the kids running around. Some of the kids cried because they were tired or didn't want to play, some even cried when they were the ones who didn't make the goals. G was pretty easy going about everything. Towards the end, one of the dads said something to him and suddenly he started chasing after the ball! Way to go G! I was so proud of him. It was only the first game so we are excited to see how he progresses.

Holy Cow! I'm a Soccer Mom!

My little boy had his first soccer practice last night. He barely made the age cut (in fact, he didn't since his birthday is after Sept. 1), but they let him play anyway. I just want him to get used to some type of physical activity, learn an organized sport and have FUN. He did very well!

They all got out there with their own balls and kicked and ran. Nine children on the team. He listened to Coach Joe, and you could tell he was even trying to copy him. Too cute! But then the poor coach decided it was time for a mock game. One ball instead of nine. What a disaster! The parents stood at the goal where their child should kick to. Most children just looked around in amazement, including mine. One little boy, James, went crazy. He scored all of the goals. His parents are from South America - soccer is in his blood. He's going to be our ringer, if he can figure out which way our goal is located.:) Either the children didn't want to fight over the ball or they didn't want to share. Anyway, it will be fun. Three year old soccer can be nothing but fun. More pics will follow I'm sure. His first game is this Saturday.

My ar-teest!

G's friend, Kelsey, sent him a kid's digital camera for his birthday. What a great gift! He's had the best time taking pictures. He's very imaginative. Yeah, that's a great way to describe it. The camera is waterproof and very indestructible. It even has two viewfinders so he can look out of two holes instead of one.

Ok, I'll admit that most of the 55 pictures he's taken so far were all black or white or blurry, but he's not even 3. :) Here are 10 presentable pics. I just think it's funny. Most are of bits of furniture or doors. Hey Mimi, maybe you can get inspiration for your photo classes from G. I'm sure your professor would love these!! Ha!

G's early birthday!

We had an early birthday party with the family at Incredible Pizza. It has everything. Pizza, salad, dessert, games, go-karts, mini-golf, bowling, and LOTS of people. It was fun though.

G had a BLAST! He got to see all of his immediate family including Mamaw, Meme, Granddaddy, Bernice, Uncle Brian, Aunt Kelly, and Zachary. He ate his requested strawberry cupcakes with vanilla icing that Meme made for him (after a mommy cooking fiasco that I can post later). We had tractor hats and poppers as you can see from the pics. G now understands what this birthday thing is all about. He received the most thoughtful presents including:

A scooter from mamaw
John Deere tractor with wagon from meme
Soccer Goal from granddaddy and Bernice
Books and puzzles from AK, UB and Zachary
Space Shuttle kit from Mommy and Daddy

His school will have a Celebration of Life for G on Friday. I am taking a requested "healthy" snack and bringing photos of G - four per year per season of his life. I'll do a poster or something graphically delicious, of course! Meme will get to come down for the weekend and come with me that day. That will be a treat. She'll get to see his school and hopefully take pics.

We are having a small celebration at our house on Saturday on his actual birthday. We are inviting our friend's, the M's, they will come over with their son, E. He's 18 mo. They are bringing a John Deere cake. It will be a surprise to G, and he will LOVE it!

Fun at the park

We went to the elementary school by our house to play this weekend. G is really too old for this swing but he loves it. Know why? Because he and daddy do "extreme swing" where daddy pushes him so high that it looks like an amusement ride. I allow it to happen only because he's bolted and strapped in unlike a regular swing. I just close my eyes...

If you notice in the picture of G on the slide, he is wearing his new shin guards. We signed him up for soccer. It's going to be hilarious. I can't wait to watch. Our first unofficial practice is this week with his first game on his birthday. He loves his shin guards so much that he slept in them the first night.

Awwwww!

Last night as I was tucking him in bed, he turned and looked at me with those sweet, innocent eyes and said, "Mommy, you are my best friend." Awwww, doesn't that just make your heart melt?

Now I shouldn't tell you that later he told Patches, the cat, the same thing. A mom will take what she can get, when she can get it. HA!

Big boy school!

Do you think the teacher is ready for this? LOL! Today I dropped my big boy off for preschool. He told me last night that he was scared, which is understandable. I was nervous for him. I told him that it was okay to be scared. He would have so much fun and that before he knew it, I would be there to pick him up. The big change is that I will make him breakfast and lunch everyday. He is excited about that. We talk about what he wants me to pack for him in his lunch. Today he got peanut butter and jelly, of course! On our drive to school we talked about his teacher Miss Carol and all of the animals in his classroom, and all of his new friends, about how he'd get to go outside and play and then eat his sandwich. Then he'd get to use his hew John Deere tractor nap mat, play some more and then I'd pick him up. When I dropped him off, he walked right in, and never cried even though some of the other kids were crying. The kids were all sitting in the middle of the room on a mat. There were probably 30 or so. Miss Carol took us to his cubbie. We stacked his backpack and his nap mat in there, but when it came time to leave his lunch box, he said, "No, I want to hang on to it." Funny! He thought someone might eat his sandwich. Leave it to our kid to be obsessive with his food! I'll post an update when I pick him up tonight. I am positive he'll do great and am excited about all of the things he'll learn!

UPDATE: I picked him up tonight, and his teacher was busy with the after-school care. The director said no news was good news. He didn't take a nap, but he did eat his lunch. (of course!) He did tell me that he didn't eat his carrots, I was hoping I could sneak those in and he'd eat them by the power of peer pressure. The director said that would actually work as the year went on! :) G did say that he had a time out for screaming. The director looked confused and said she hadn't heard anything. I'll try to find out more. Let's hope we don't get kicked out the first week. Just kidding... I'm sure there are more stories to be told. Next Monday night is Parent's Night. We'll meet all of the other parents and learn what we are doing wrong, etc. It will be fun. I'm sure they'll want us to volunteer for lots of projects. You know how much extra time I have right now, so I'll just have to be careful as to how much I take on, but I do want to be involved.