Batman and Charlie

It might not seem like much, but the first day a little boy wears his very own Batman shirt (not even a hand-me-down from Jack!) is a big deal -- at least around here. Henry came running down the hallway this morning pointing to his shirt after Nathan put it on him. And Jack was so excited Henry was wearing a Batman shirt that he had to wear one too. Although Henry doesn't even know about Batman yet; he does know he has a shirt like Jack does and that's enough for him.


Jack made the most astonishing discovery of his life the other morning -- the existence of two Charlies! How could this be? We just couldn't figure it out. And the mystery kept going when one Charlie disappeared later in the day. Hmmm...where could he have gone? To the top of Mommy's closet perhaps? For the next time an emergency Charlie is needed? Maybe, maybe not. We'll never know.

17 Months and A Very Special Breakfast

Henry is 17 months old today. I am quite upset about it. That seems much older than 16 months. 16 months is so close to 15 months, which is still a baby. 17 months is so close to 18 months, which is more of a toddler. Here is the brown-eyed, blond-haired 17 month old.



He is so precious, and so busy. A typical day for Henry includes:

7:20 - Wake up, tell Mommy "hi" when I come in to get him and then ask for Daddy. Drinks his milk (warmed up for 22 seconds in the microwave. Anything else is not acceptable and will be greeted with a stern head shaking back and forth to tell me no.) Starts causing trouble, opening drawers in the bathroom that have child locks on them, asking for my hairbrush to comb his hair, trying to go wake Jack up, etc.
8:00 - Eats breakfast with Jack. As of last week, he doesn't like much of anything for breakfast, but he has settled on yogurt as a good choice to start his day.
After breakfast to lunch - Plays, climbs on things, runs around and yells with Jack. Favorite toys right now are his Little People animals and barns, shape sorters, cars and trucks, balls and books. He has also started to demand a playmate most of the time. He runs up to you, sits down and then pats the floor next to him to inform you it's time to play.
11:30 - Lunch
1:00 - Nap. About a month or so ago he started sleeping with his trusty sidekick Mickey Mouse.
4:15 - This is usually the latest I'll let him sleep and I have to wake him up pretty much every day.
Play outside until supper. He loves the water table, swing set, eating strawberries from our garden, throwing rocks, running away from me into the cul-de-sac, throwing balls and sidewalk chalk.
6:00 - Supper. His favorite time during supper is when we pray before we eat. If we are aren't praying quickly enough for him, he holds his hands out to Jack and Nathan to tell them it's time to start. He loves the hand holding part. Then he claps when we're done and wants to do it again.
7:15 - Bath time and up to bed with Daddy. He very much prefers Nathan over me when it comes to bedtime. He also loves running from his room to the bathroom with his hoody towel on. Each night he stops at the balcony to wave to Jack and I downstairs. He's usually in bed by 8 but isn't asleep until about 9. Yes, he chews on his crib... if you're wondering about the bite marks in the pictures.





Here are the boys, I love this picture -- that they are hugging and smiling, and that they're both holding their stuffed animals.


Jack wanted me to write about his breakfast so all the grandmas would know about it. He was very excited that I put his whipped cream and sprinkles on his yogurt and granola this morning. And to top it off, he got cotton candy milk in a foot glass. Very special.

Last Day of School

Today’s was Jack’s last day of preschool. Here’s a picture from this morning and next is his picture from his first day of school back in August. He looks so much bigger and older, and today he refused to pose next to his tricycle unless his bike was also in the picture. Tricycles are for babies.

 

This morning the kids did a little program and sang songs they learned in Spanish class and in music class, and then all the parents went to their classroom for a little presentation from their teacher, Ms. Angie. I am so thankful God placed him at Second Friends, and specifically in Ms. Angie’s class. I was nervous about him going to preschool this year, and everything at his school confirmed our decision for the positive. The area I’ve most enjoyed watching him grow in is learning how to make friends on his own. There were six boys and six girls in his class and the boys especially are all now great friends and have all sorts of games they made up together on the playground. One of his friends is coming over tomorrow morning and Jack is already talking about how they’ll play “agent” together.

Another blessing this year was his teacher. Ms. Angie set the bar very high for all future teachers, both in Jack’s eyes and for Nathan and I. Today she gave each child a portfolio she made for them throughout the year. It is a really great scrapbook, complete with samples of his writing, cutting, crafts and pictures from their field trips and special times throughout the year. Jack loves looking through it and has already declared it, “His new favorite book.” She also created “Who Am I?” sheets for each child and read them aloud this morning. Then the kids had to guess who she was describing. Here is how she described Jack:

“I have a great imagination, which is strengthened by all the books I love. I love new experiences as I make memories with my parents and grandparents. I am an investigator and make many observations about what I see. I am brave and always willing to try new things.”

Jack is completely mystified by the fact that Ms. Angie won’t be his teacher next year. She goes to our church and we tried to explain he’ll still see her on Sundays. He didn’t buy it and said, “I don’t think she’ll recognize me, because I’ll be an adult.”

Before he becomes an adult, he’s pretty excited about summer and going swimming every day. In August, he’ll start his pre-K year at Second Friends. He’ll still go on Tuesday/Thursdays but next year he’ll be there from 9 to 3 instead of 9 to 12.

Mother’s Day

The boys gave me a great day today, complete with getting to sleep in this morning and a nap this afternoon. Jack made me a sweet card and he wrote “Happy Mother’s Day” and the message on the inside all by himself (copying what Nathan had written for him). This afternoon we planted flowers and ate dinner outside on the deck. Then we enjoyed apple crisp for dessert, homemade by Nathan. The funniest part of our day was taking pictures before church. We got a good one with both boys smiling and looking at the camera. This is quite an accomplishment given Henry’s newest talent – he loves to scrunch his face up and close his eyes when you tell him to smile for a picture. It cracks us up; you can tell he is so proud of himself. I couldn’t pick just one of his silly pictures to post, so here’s a recap of the photo shoot.

Jack’s prayer at bedtime was very sweet tonight. “Dear God. I like the way you made the world. Thank you for making Henry and Mommy and Daddy and Jack.” Amen.