Evan is 3!

My baby turned 3 last weekend!


One of the many things that I've learned from the older boys is that birthdays are better when they are kept simple!

He DID enjoy the candle...


...and digging into the cake!

We gave him a couple of his presents on his birthday (Saturday), but we didn't have the sand table set up until Monday. I was sure he was just going to love it!


And by looking at the pictures, one might get the impression that he actually did like it. The day we set it up, it was windy and in the 60's, so I didn't add the water...I thought the sand would be enough to start with.

With lots of help from us, he stayed at the table for just a few minutes.

I tried again the next day--this time with water.

He stayed with it a little longer. He thought that maybe if he got in it, it would be a little more fun. I convinced him otherwise.

Trying to wipe off the sand!

Got To Watch Those Homophones

Kyle and Matt's teacher once again invited her students to a sporting event at the high school; this time it was baseball (what a great teacher!). To get to the high school, we travel in the same direction that we would go if we were going shopping at the usual place. Evan was with us, and when we made a turn that wasn't in route with going to the store, he let out a few screams. The boys didn't say much, but of course, they noticed this. I thought I would help them understand why he was doing this--you know, give them a little insight. So I explained that Evan was feeling a little frustrated and nervous because we weren't heading towards the store anymore, and that's where he wants to go. I went on by comparing how he felt to the way they feel when they are somewhere they don't want to be. I don't remember what their response was to that, but basically, they understood.

But then, I may have pushed the whole "insight" thing a bit over the top. I slowly said to myself, yet out loud, "Because---he---has---the---same---genes---as you guys do."

The quick response to this was,

"No, we have shorts on!"

I Heart Faces

Here's my entry for this week's I Heart Faces contest: Laughter.

Evan enjoying an afternoon of kite flying.

Check out some of the other pictures at I Heart Faces by clicking here.

Mother's Day

Acts Strangely

Evan had his very first experience in his adventure into the school system...sigh. He and I went to the preschool on Wednesday so that they could do some casual observation.

As expected, when we pulled into the parking lot, he let out some screams; he doesn't like going to places that he is not familiar with. We made it into the building, and they brought us into a big room that had a few toys. They started to ask me a few questions, but Evan still wasn't too fond of being there. I asked if they had any books with animals or letters; they quickly provided him with some which improved his mood. They also brought in the Leap Frog Alphabet Fridge Magnets, and because that is one of his favorite toys at home, that went over fairly well.

Another activity he enjoyed there was the Play Tent/Ball Pit; that kept him content for quite a while. He did, though, also "enjoy" going to the door and saying, "Ba" (bye) as he lifted his arm gesturing to me that it was time to go. The trampoline--definitely a hit.

Before leaving, we tried to peak into the classrooms, but he didn't think that was a very good idea.

It was a fairly quick visit. It's hard to believe he'll be 3 this month. It makes life so much easier when people ask how old he is now: 2...just 2...no extras such as, "He's almost 3." I don't get as many puzzled looks as I will when I respond with "3." Oh well.

They sent some paperwork home with us for me to fill out. There were two different forms; one was mainly concerning ability, and the other was focused more on his emotional state...kind of tricky. My "favorite" was: Acts strangely....what??? That's a fairly broad statement. What's their definition of "strangely"? Out of the hundred or so answers I circled, that is the one I left blank.

OH!!! I almost forgot...sleeping. Now that Chelsey is home, he has been staying with her during the day. The first 4 nights of her first 4 days home were awful (he wanted to make sure we were aware that his routine had been changed), but then, there was a sudden change, a very wonderful, sudden change; he starting sleeping through. He did this for A WHOLE WEEK! Yeah, the appointment on Wednesday cured him of that silliness...

yawn...

Rain

Home today! Here's why: Lots of water! Our house is completely fine; I can see some puddles in the field behind us, but that's about it. So, we have a 3 day weekend, but really, that's not such a great thing. First, if we're going to have an unexpected day off, Friday would be my last choice of days. Second, we've used all our built in snow days; this one gets tacked on to the end of the year. We're already going to school later than normal because we started later due the construction of the new school not being completed on time. AND, this coming year, we're starting at the regular early mid-August time which equals: a short summer break. I had voted for a later start, not so much because I wanted a longer summer, but more because even before I was a teacher, I disliked having to send the kids back when summer was still going strong! Oh well, I've been given a day off...time to go

enjoy it!