Jay Promotes to Red Belt!

Jay's Loose Tooth

Sooooooo loose, but not falling out!

Finally!

Our Little Neighborhood Hero

The other night, Rob and the boys were playing soccer in the back yard. Jay heard a strange noise that he said "sounded like fire." They went to investigate and the neighbor's AC unit was on fire (the house two doors down, next to Ronnie's). Rob said the flames were about as tall as he is, and there was thick black smoke filling the air. Jay ran back to our house and told me there was a fire outside. After my initial heart attack, he assured me it wasn't our house.

Rob called 911 and soon two firetrucks with lights flashing and two fire station SUVs pulled up. Thankfully, they were able to put out the fire before it spread. I imagine if it had burned longer, the house would have caught fire too.

The man who lives there was home, but in the garage so he didn't hear Rob knocking. It was only when a fireman burst into the house and yelled that he realized there was a problem.

Later that evening, he came over to say thanks and shake Jay's hand. The next day Jay was excited to tell his class all about it (actually he wanted me to tell), so I went into the classroom with him and told the story. Unfortunately, everyone was busy with morning work, so there wasn't much of a reaction.

All in all, a very exciting evening for us!

Jay Sparring

Robyn sent me a sweet, adorable video of Sophia at ballet class. To prepare her for when Noah gets a little older, here's The Joys of My Boys equivalent...

Our Party Animal

This is an old post that I found in my drafts. It's about a year old, but I could see it happening today!

Jay showed his party animal side recently when we went to going away party for an intern at Rob's company. It was at someone's house and when we arrived, we did the typical "do we ring the doorbell or just walk in" debate. Before we could decide, Jay said "oh, let's just go in" and grabbed the doorknob and walked right in.

People hung out in the kitchen/dining room area and in the porch. Not long after our arrival, we realized we didn't see Jay anywhere. We looked around, then saw a little blond head on the porch talking with Rob's boss David, and two women. He stayed for a little while, then came back inside looking for food.

He has a blue button-down shirt with white and yellow flowers on it that he calls his "party shirt." He was around 3 when he started wearing it to his friends' birthday parties and it was quite big on him. Now, after two years, it is starting to get to small. He insists that it still fits because he can still button it, but his belly shows a bit and he can't move his arms very well.

He really wants to wear it to school, but the dress code specifies solid red, white, or blue shirts. When I told him he had to wear a uniform shirt, he said, "But I want to look nice. It's my nicest shirt." After two weeks of school, he still sadly sighs about not being able to wear it. Last year they had Fabulous Fridays where you could dress out of uniform if you bring a dollar for whatever cause they collect for. I hope one is coming up; otherwise, I may need to let him go to school out of uniform.

Our New Tiger Cub

This year Jay joined Cub Scouts, while Cole ended his scouting career. We were disappointed Cole didn't want to continue, but it is nice not to have to juggle two den meetings. Rob elected not to be the den leader this year, but is still very involved.

At the second pack meeting (the pack includes all scouts from Belle Hall from 1st to 5th grade), the boys had already earned the Bobcat Badge and kickball belt loop. They all went on stage to receive the awards and shake the pack leader's hand. Jay and his buddies were literally jumping up and down. I imagine they are all blurs in the photos. They looked so cute in their too-big uniform shirts and baseball caps. The den leader is certainly going to be challenged by the energy of this group!

The first camping trip was last weekend. Jay came home filthy, which seems to be the sign of a good time! Cole and I stayed home and had a really nice time together. I think we both enjoyed the quiet, but Cole really missed Jay by the afternoon.

The campers cheated a little this year and brought the air mattress. Rob said he is never going camping again without it. Knowing that, I may be willing to go next time!

First Day of School 2012

This year, school started on my birthday! It was so chaotic that I didn't even remember it was my birthday until I saw the greetings online. The quiet house was a treat; nonetheless, I really wasn't ready for the school schedules and activities to begin again.

Jay was very excited to start first grade. (The puppies were excited too!)  He became even more thrilled when he learned his teacher's name is Heather (imagine his huge grin!). She is very sweet and young with a strong Georgia accent, so it will be interesting to hear if his crazy accent changes over the year.

He loves that he has homework this year (what a difference it makes to have an older sibling). Each Monday, the students bring home 3 or 4 worksheets that they need to finish by Friday. Within minutes of walking in the door Monday afternoon, he has them all finished.

I'm going to be one of the room moms in his class, so I'm looking forward to getting to know all the kids and the teacher better.

I can't believe that Cole is in third grade! He looks so grown up! Thank goodness for my new camera or I wouldn't have been able to get this picture in the split second that he paused on his way to the car to say, "Don't take my picture."

The year got off to a great start when he found out that he came in 3rd place (out of the whole school) for the most pages read over the summer. The prize was a gift certificate to his favorite store, Barnes & Noble. (As he says, it has his 3 favorite things: books, legos, and cupcakes!)

He also tested into a gifted class that meets once a week to work on special projects. Later in the year, they'll learn about bridges and study the beautiful one that brings us from Mt P to Charleston. I'd like to go to that class!

People had warned us that third grade is challenging and we've seen that from the beginning. A month into the year, however, we've finally settled into a good homework routine and he's doing well with the higher expectations.

Mother's Day 2012

I received many hugs, kisses, and artwork from the boys for Mother's Day. Jay's gift included a song...

Jay's First Day at the BIG SCHOOL

 

Jay is finally in kindergarten. I say "finally" because he has been waiting to go to the BIG SCHOOL since Cole started two years ago. As usual, his favorite classmates are girls. Cecelia, his friend from preschool, is in his class, as well as Gracie, the girl who lives across the street. His new crush, however, is Kaylee. Not long after school started, they asked the teacher if they could be girlfriend and boyfriend. Apparently, however, there's trouble brewing in class K-E. Another boy told his mom that he and Kaylee are getting married.  According to the mom, he said very seriously, "Mom, I can't believe I already met the girl I'm going to marry." Kaylee came over for a playdate and Jay put on a nice button-down shirt. When I complimented him, Cole teased, "He dressed up for Kay-lee." Cole also took his big brother role quite seriously and teased and annoyed them the entire time. We need to have her over again soon and banish Cole to his room!

As room mom, I've been able to spend time in his classroom and I'm quite impressed with the class. His two teachers have been at the school since it opened about 25 years ago. They handle the kids beautifully and seem to really enjoy teaching kindergarten.

Academically, he's doing very well. His reading improves daily and he loves to do math problems. I find pieces of paper filled with equations all over the house. He takes computer class once a week and for awhile he muttered "www-dot-com" under his breath. He always tries to look over Cole's shoulder when he's doing homework and when I quiz Cole on his spelling words, Jay chimes in with the first letter. It makes Cole mad, so I try to give Jay some "homework" to do at the same time. He recently told me he doesn't like art because he has to do what the teacher tells him to do. He'd rather do his own projects (he's always creating little projects at home with tape and scraps of paper), but he is still proud of his school artwork.

The school's uniform policy is the hardest adjustment for him this year. He's always had a unique sense of style, from dressing as spiderman with his baby blanket as a cape and cowboy boots to wearing a batting helmet backwards while carrying a purse. The uniform is very casual (a red, white, or blue shirt [solid or with the school logo] with khakis or jeans), but the first few weeks, it seriously cramped his style. He'd come downstairs wearing his favorite Hawiaan shirt and I'd have to send him back. "But Mommy," he'd say, "It's beautiful." As the year has progressed, he's gotten more used to the dress code, but there are many days we let it slide. The other day he wore his blue fleece hoodie (with the hood up), gray gym shorts, and his cowboy boots. His teachers got a kick out of that.

They recently celebrated the 100th day of school. I can't believe Jay's kindergarten year is almost over!

Jay's First Day of the Last Year of Preschool

This year we decided to move Jay to a different preschool. While the one on Isle of Palms was terrific, the drive to and from was not. For some reason, I didn't realize how long it took to get there. Going back and forth cut a big chunk out of my 3-hours of free time. The new school is only 10 minutes straight down the highway. It's worked out great, not only time-wise, but because Jay has thrived! We send him to a four-days per week class because I wanted another year with my sidekick on Fridays. He would have loved to go all week though and is definitely ready for kindergarten.

The curriculum is more structured than at the previous schools. I now think this is a better approach. While a student-directed method may work well in later grades, kids still need to be taught the basics and at that age, they don't know what they don't know.

 I can tell the biggest difference in phonics and writing. The class has a letter of the week and all the activities revolve around that letter. This week is Mr. W with the Wonderful Wink. They sing a cute "wuh, wuh, W" song and practice writing it. All week Jay comments on words that start with that letter: "Hey, 'word' starts with W. Wuh, wuh, Word!" When I am quizzing Cole on his spelling words, Jay likes to blurt out the first letter (which infuriates Cole).

With all the phonics practice, Jay is learning how to read at lightning speed. I think watching big brother become a bookworm has made him especially eager. And Cole relishes being the teacher. He's patient most of the time, but gets frustrated by certain things, like Jay thinking words rhyme if they start with the same letter. He has given Jay all his sight word books from kindergarten and Jay can read most of them. I wonder if he'll be bored in kindergarten when he receives the same books.

The kids in his class get along incredibly well. If they see each other in the parking lot, they shriek and wave frantically to each other, as if they're long lost friends. Jay flirts with the girls constantly by getting very close and making this loud, i.e. annoying, chirping noise. It seems to work! His favorite, Cecelia, has announced that she is going to marry him. She's a tiny girl, so when they hug he almost squashes her. Her big sister, Isabelle, was in Cole's kindergarten class and he has always liked her too.

Jay's Mating Call

After school Jay and a few kids like to play in a drainage ditch next to the school. They call it the "Secret Spot," although it isn't secret since they talk about it all the time. They chase each other, pile sticks together for a bonfire, and move rocks around. It gives the parents a chance to chat, although sometimes it can be difficult to make the kids leave.

Four kids in the class will go to Belle Hall for kindergarten (including Cecelia). Jay and I would be thrilled if they were all in the same class.

And we wonder why our grass doesn't grow

Plastic shovel = $3.99.  Water = $3.43/1,000 gal.  
Making a mud pit in the front yard = Priceless.

A Trip the the Grocery Store

One day in September, Jay and I made a much-needed trip to the grocery store. Jay wore his uniform--spiderman costume and cowboy boots. I made him leave his blankie cape behind since it was close to 100 degrees.

Harris Teeter provides mini carts for kids and he immediately grabbed one. As he zoomed down the aisle, I saw two young men laughing at him.

Of course his first stop was the display of free cookies; the second was the cheese samples. With a cookie in one hand, he grabbed a fistful of the toothpicked cheese cubes with the other. The toothpicks stuck out of his fist in every direction. He twisted his hand around trying to figure out how to get a cheese cube into his open mouth. His perplexed expression was priceless.

Then, I overheard one of the men exclaim to the other, "I love that kid!"

To Our Future Guests

I'm afraid the queen-size bed we bought Jay so you would have a comfortable place to sleep is already fully occupied. You'll have to share it with all Jay's "aminals."

Jay's Addition to the Previous Post

We've had many funny conversations with the boys about how adults stop growing taller and then start to shrink when they get older.

This morning Jay said to me:  "When I am really old and start to get smaller, I want to be three."

Me:   "You want to be three years old?"

Jay:  "Yes, so I can be with Ms Cathy again."

He had looked at the pictures in the previous post about his old preschool and teacher, and, apparently, had been thinking about her. It would be worth a trip to Isle of Palms just to tell her this story.

The Graduate

Since Jay has started his last year of preschool, I better post about his "graduation" from the 3s program last spring. (Here is the link to the post about his first day of school.)

He had a wonderful year at the Isle of Palms Rec Center. All the kids loved the teacher, Ms Cathy, and she adored them right back. It was a big year in terms of accomplishments: he learned all his letters and some letter sounds; how to write his name (usually with the J backwards and spelled YAJ); count to 100 (one, two, skip a few, 99, 100!); actually count to 20; and lots of cute songs and poems (True blue/Me and you/Friends Forever/Through and through).

He also began to wear his favorite baby blanket as a cape and call himself "Super Jay." He wore his cape to school, soccer, and karate (on top of his uniform), and with his Spiderman costume from last Halloween. When Yingy and Grandpa Pat sent him cowboy boots from Arizona, the outfit was complete! We always got lots of smiles and comments whenever we went out. At the end of the year, the program held a graduation for the students. (The stage was set up for a performance of Charlotte's Web.) Here is Super Jay walking across the stage.
Super Jay performing a piece about summer with his class.
And Super Jay receiving his diploma. The director of the program even announced him as "Super Jay Mirman."

This year, he is in the 4s program at a different preschool. Although I loved the IOP program, it was too far to drive back and forth. Now his school is only 10 minutes away (yet we are still always running late).

But, his new school is another post for another day...

There Are No Tea Parties at Our House

Jay's Time Saving Idea

Jay had a brilliant idea for when you have a runny nose and are too busy to keep wiping it. I think he may be on to something!

Our Native Son

We have been a little concerned about Jay's speech. Sometimes we find it difficult to understand him and often have to translate for other people.

Rob found a program through the school system that evaluates kids for free. It seems to be designed for the diagnosis of learning disabilities, but they also do speech analysis, so Rob brought him in.

They found Jay thoroughly delightful and said his vocabulary is very advanced (apparently "suddenly" isn't a word typically used by four-year olds). They also determined that his intonation is at the proper stage for his age. However, one lady commented that he had a "little southern twang."

So now we wonder if that is why his Yankee parents don't always understand him!

The Jig Is Up

Puppy #2 came out of the closet!

Apparently, he grew tired of hiding on the top shelf of the pantry and took a kamikaze dive onto the tile floor.

Cole, Jay, and Puppy #1 discovered his existence when they went downstairs before bed to retrieve Orange, Cole’s beloved monkey. They found Orange in the kitchen, and then, a few feet away spotted Puppy #2.

Laughing wildly, the boys raced upstairs to show Rob (I wasn’t home).

“There’re TWO puppies!” Jay exclaimed ecstatically.

Thinking quickly, Rob told them it was puppy’s brother visiting from Africa for a few days. Then, this morning, Rob told Jay that puppy #2 had to go back to Africa soon.

“No he doesn't,” Jay replied. “His parents are coming here.”

Now we need to keep track of two puppies. I may be online ordering more spares.

(For the back story, see here and here.)

"I'm Four!"

After his friend Tyson had his fourth birthday in September, Jay insisted he also turned four and ignored any attempts to correct him.

One day a neighbor asked how old he was. He held up four fingers and said:

"I'm four, but my grown-ups think I'm three."

(Now that his birthday is a couple months away and talk of his own party has started, he's decided to be three again.)