The Missing Clothes

After Garrett was born, I became obsessive about boxing up everything as he outgrew it. Clothes, socks, toys, shoes, even some underwear (shhh, don't tell them). It was all neatly labeled and stored away. Although I had no way of knowing I was going to have another boy, I wanted to save everything just in case. Sure enough, Cooper was born 3 years and 9 months after Garrett, so out came all of the containers full of boy and baby things.

Over the past 2 years, Cooper's clothes have consisted of at least 75% of Garrett's hand me downs. It was so nice to not have to worry about clothes each size and season for him. Just pull out the next container, wash everything and hang it up.

Since cold weather is upon us, I've begun the process of sorting through the boys' closets, pulling out clothes they've outgrown and moving everything around. Now that Garrett isn't growing quite as fast as he used to, I pulled out all of last year's winter clothes and made him try on most of them. He was thrilled. Oddly enough, boys don't like fashion shows like girls do.

The boy is all legs, so close to half of last year's winter pants are now this fall's capris.

Not really.

I'm pretty sure Keith would outlaw his boys wearing capris. So they all got boxed up. I made a list of anything pressing he will need for the winter and his closet is now set for the next season. Incidentally, school uniforms have made this process so much easier! I didn't have to worry about school clothes for the winter, just play clothes with the occasional nicer top and jeans for the weekends and church.

After finishing up Garrett's closet, I moved on to Cooper's. He's kind of in that in-between sizes stage right now. Some 2T clothes fit perfectly and others are getting short on him. Some 3T clothes fit nicely and others are way too big. So I wanted to have a mixture of both so that by February, when I know he will have outgrown the smaller things, there will still be clothes that fit in the closet.

Unfortunately, the 3T clothes are missing. I know this isn't that big of a deal to most of you, but I really cannot figure out what's happened to them! Up until this point, I've had no problems finding any of the size clothing he was needing, either out in our garage or up in the attic. I also have the container of 4T and 5T clothes in the boys' closets, so the only missing container is 3T. I've even resorted to looking back at old pictures of Garrett just to see what exactly he was wearing back in that size. Surely he wasn't naked and we just skipped one whole size of clothes?

Nope, he was wearing clothes. Now to figure out where exactly those clothes are. Otherwise I'll have to go out and buy him some new things. Which, now that I think about it, might be fun. As long as Cooper's not actually with me when I'm buying them.

Cooper

It's been awhile since I've shared Cooper's latest, I thought I would do a quick post about him.

Garrett was a late talker and didn't really develop his "chatterbox" gene until he was 3 or even older. I assumed he would need to go to speech therapy at some point because he just didn't say much.

Then there was Cooper.

I don't know if it's simply due to being the 2nd born or if he's just wired this way, but he is a talker. In the past 3 months or so, his speech has just exploded. He started talking fairly early, but now he talks in nearly complete sentences and I can understand about 90% of what he says, though not everyone can understand him. Just yesterday he walked up to me with my iPod Touch in his hand and said "I play Angry Birds." He's been spending too much time with Garrett...

He still has a strong love for Mickey Mouse. I bought him a Mickey t-shirt yesterday and he was thrilled. I let him wear it to school today and he kept point out Mickey's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He also carried his stuffed Mickey with him to school and goes everywhere with it when he's there. He doesn't do this at home, but apparently he needs that security at school.

When he needs a diaper change, we'll go into his room and I'll tell him to climb on the bed while I get the diaper ready. He always climbs to the head of the bed (away from where I change his diapers) and dances around singing "Dance party! Dance, dance party!" He gets the song from a segment on PBS kids that they do most mornings. But for some reason this is his diaper dance. It's cute, but also annoying when I know he's dirty and really needs to be changed. Then I have to chase him around the bed, trying to grab him and it turns into this whole 2-year-old-tantrum-throwing-doesn't-want-his-diaper-changed thing.

Along those same lines, I think he would be amenable to beginning the pottytraining process, but I'm not quite ready for it. I'm thinking after Christmas we'll start going at it full force though.

He has this crazy love affair with his Daddy. And not just Daddy, but with Daddy's truck, Daddy's sunglasses, Daddy's boots. Pretty much anything "Daddy" related. We'll play the "I love...." game and he always says "I love Daddy's truck" before he says "I love Momma". That's not a problem for me at all!

He loves music. He has a variety of songs that he runs through and sings regularly. He also loves dancing, as I've mentioned. Anytime a song starts playing on TV, he will say "I dance" and then he does. He also bobs, nods, shakes his head in time to the music in the car.

He's learning to count and currently counts like this: "9,10,11,12,13." He doesn't know the first 8 numbers, but he knows those...

Keith and I feel pretty certain he will probably be the class clown/crazy kid. He loves making people laugh and being goofy. I don't really know where that comes from.

Report Cards

So I realize it's been way too long since my last post. And I have lots of things that I want and need to blog about, but some of those I'm not quite ready to discuss.

I did want to share that Garrett got his first report card this week.

I will be honest in saying that I was anxious to see it. I will even confess to emailing his teacher 2 days after the 6 week grading period was over to ask her when report cards would be sent home. (I promise I normally leave her alone! I'm not "that" mom. I've experienced "her" before and she's not fun.)

I don't know if other moms feel this way (dads too, maybe?) but the main reason I was anxious about this is because I felt like these were my grades.

Now, before you think I'm becoming "that" mom, by making that statement, let me clarify. I don't want or need to project any sort of expectations on to either of my boys. They are who they are and if that person is a straight C student, giving his all, then I'm thrilled. I have no particular aspirations for either of them. I just want them to follow God's will for their lives whatever that may be.

So the reason I felt like these grades were mine were because it gave me an idea of whether or not I had done an adequate job of preparing Garrett for this first year of school. I will admit that I'm not much on doing a lot of structured learning at home in the preschool years. He got some of that in his MDO/preschool program a couple of days a week and the learning he got from home was mostly from teachable moments and games that we played. I was excited to see how well prepared he was for kindergarten and where he stood over the course of these first 6 weeks of school.

Before I share specifics, I have to say that I've always thought of math as something that kindergarteners don't do much of. I know there's lots of counting taking place and other math processes going on, but that's honestly never been a subject I've thought much on during these preschool years. We counted things and sometimes Garrett would ask more in depth questions that involved addition and subtraction, but that was about it. When he started kindergarten, he was able to count to 100.

I was very pleasantly surprised to see that in the 4 areas of math that are graded during the first 6 weeks of kindergarten, Garrett scored all "4's". Their grading system is: 1=a skill that the student is unable to do, 2=a skill that the student can do with help, 3=a skill that the student has mastered, and 4=a skill that the student has mastered and is helping others to learn.

Obviously, Daddy's CPA genes are being passed on!

All other areas, Garrett scored 3's, except in reading skills he scored a 2 (it's the first 6 weeks of kindergarten and he started the year only knowing environmental print, letters, and sounds. I had no expectations of it being any higher than that. He now knows all of his sight words and word wall words as of the lists for the 2nd 6 weeks of school and he's reading all of the guided reading books he brings home. I'm thrilled with his reading progress this early in the year. And I never worked at all with him on reading, other than to learn the letters and sounds and we've always read lots of books together.) He also scored a 2 in writing stories. (He started the school year knowing how to write Garrett and Cooper with no help. He's having a hard time writing when he is still learning to read. Plus they don't teach phonics anymore, which is a major problem that I have with the public school system, in general. So it's harder to sound things out without the phonics foundation. I'm actually strongly considering getting some phonics curriculum and starting on that with him at home. If anyone has any recommendations for it, I would love to hear them!) I got off on a couple of tangents there, but I'm so thrilled with his progress and assumed this was roughly where he would be (with the exception of the math skills I knew nothing about).

The rest of the report card is based on behavior and graded with E, S, and N, which I'm sure we're all familiar with. He got all E's except for an S in "follows classroom rules" and "works neatly and carefully". Neither of those S's are surprising in the least if you know Garrett. I was surprised he didn't get an S that would somehow relate to "talking when he's supposed to be quiet". Or "oversharing about Super Mario". That one would result in an N, I'm afraid. His teacher wrote that she loved having him in her classroom and he was a great joy to her.

I feel like I passed this first test of motherhood. And I promise the rest of the report cards from now until graduation will be a sole reflection of Garrett!

The Stare

Over the past 6 years of being a mom, plus the 4 years of teaching public school, I have perfected "The Stare". It's that look that you give a child who is misbehaving (or thinking about misbehaving) that stops them in their tracks and makes them think twice about what they're doing.

And maybe shed a tear or two because you're scaring them.

I have enjoyed this skill and have used it many times over the years with a pretty high success rate. Garrett has almost always responded to The Stare. If for no other reason than he knows if he doesn't, there will be further consequences.

However.

However. There's a new kid in town. This kid has been the recipient of The Stare a few times over the past year or so, once the tantrums began. For the most part, it received the sought-after response.

Until recently. Recently, this new kid has decided The Stare doesn't bother him. When he's mid-fit or argument or rule-breaking and I whip out The Stare, he immediately stops what he's doing, smiles really big and starts laughing.

I don't quite know what to think about this response. Is it good that it makes him stop the problem? Or is it bad because he think it's funny rather than scary/a premonition of what's about to come if he doesn't stop it immediately?

Frankly, I'm at a loss as to what can be my new go-to move with Cooper.

Because obviously my current one just ain't cuttin' it.

Changes

I am contemplating doing something crazy.

I'm considering going back to school to get my masters. I never ever thought I would do something like this, but the fact that I'm 4 years away from having both my boys in school has gotten me thinking about what I'm going to do when that day comes. While I do have my bachelor's degree and teaching certificate, I don't know if I want to go back to teaching for sure. I liked teaching and it was a great job, but I've been having other thoughts.

I've always wanted to do something like being a book editor. However, I know a job like that would be hard to come by. I would probably need more than just my masters in order to have all the qualifications for a job like that. Not to mention that I have zero connections in that field.

So my thoughts have settled on becoming a school librarian. It requires a couple years of teaching, which I have, so all I would need is my masters and to pass the certification test. I've found a college that's relatively local to me that offers most of the courses online, so we'll see. Now I just need to find the time to call the advisor there and see what my first steps to take would be. If anyone reading my blog has any experience in this area, I would love to learn from you!

First Day of School

Our school district has a uniform policy. Hence the reason why he's dressed this way. :)

Yesterday was Garrett's first day of kindergarten. He didn't really seem all that nervous. Right before we parked to walk him into the classroom, he said he wanted to be sure Keith and I both gave him a hug and a kiss before we left.

He went right into the classroom, sat down and started playing with the Playdoh that his teacher had set out for us. Even though I tried to talk to him a couple of times before we left, he was in "the zone" and didn't respond. We stood at the doorway, waving and saying goodbye and he never looked even once at us. I'd much prefer this to him clinging to my leg and crying, so I'll take it.

When I picked him up, it was a little crazy. You have the option of parking and walking up to the front of the school and escorting your child back to your car, or you can stay in the car and slowly make your way around the parking lot until you get to the front and someone helps your child into the car. I opted for the second one. With a 2 year old and temps over 100 degrees, trying to make my way through a crowded parking lot did not appeal to me. I had warned Garrett that I would not be one of the first parents there to pick him up, so he would be prepared for the fact that other kids would leave before him. I was in the parking lot about 10 minutes before the last bell rang, but it still took awhile before I made it to the front to get him.

He was super excited about his first day. He said it was his "best day EVER" and he told me about a couple of new friends he made. One he couldn't remember the boy's name and the other's name was Lucas (which is Garrett's middle name). Garrett was really excited about that. He also has another boy in his class named Cooper.

He didn't bring anything home in his backpack, so I have no idea if that's good or bad. Did he forget a folder he was supposed to bring home? Surely not since it was the first day of kindergarten, I can't imagine that his teacher wouldn't check on that sort of thing. The beginning of school has forced me to become more trusting. Trusting that my child is bringing home what I need and doing what he is supposed to and trusting that his teacher is doing what teachers do and not needing any input from me. :) I have to say that after just a couple of days of being the mom of a school kid, I would have changed several things I did when I was teaching. If I go back to it, I know a few things I will definitely do differently based on what I'm learning from the parent side of it.

The remainder of our time at home that afternoon and evening were so pleasant! Cooper acted out a little towards Garrett, trying to hit him or push him. I'm not sure what's up with that other than he was trying to let Garrett know he wasn't happy that he had been gone all day. But Garrett was so well behaved and excited and happy about school. It was really nice! They both went to bed really easily and slept great last night.

This morning, Garrett got up without any problems and was ready to go to school again. We had a few issues with drop off. His teacher had said we could walk the kids to their classrooms for the first 2 days and then after that they have to be dropped off at the school door. So I walked him to the classroom one last time this morning. Keith waited in the car this time with Cooper. But when we got to the classroom, the door was locked and no one was there. There were 5 other moms and kids waiting in the hallway for both of the kindergarten classes. We stood there for probably 15 minutes before the classes finally showed up. The teachers were in the cafeteria with the classes. I wish I had known that because I would have just dropped him off. It was a little frustrating because I had a couple of questions I wanted to ask, but by the time the teacher got there with all the other kids and the other moms were standing around, I just didn't get the chance. Garrett was a bit more clingy because of the mix-up and he asked a few times if we could just go out to the car and wait. But once the rest of his class and the teacher got there, he joined them without hesitation, so that was good.

I'm hoping every day will go smoothly.

Happenings

• Last week, we had a birthday party for Garrett. His birthday isn't until the end of the month, but it seemed like a good idea to get it out of the way before school starts. He had so much fun with all of his friends at the bounce house place. And I'm happy to have another year before I have to deal with another birthday party. (Does anyone else dread them? No? I'm a horrible mom...)


• 5 days and counting until life changes. Kindergarten. I'll blog more about that once we have a few days under our belt. Garrett says he's excited about going and learning new things. He did have a moment of being unsure and apprehensive about it, but I forced myself to be chipper and upbeat about it and that seemed to help talk him through it. I'm really trying to restrain my own apprehension and nerves.


• We never ended up getting to take a family vacation this summer, which bothers me some, but we've been looking through the school calendar to figure out when we might squeeze in a family getaway sometime soon. Garrett is starting to ask more and more about going to Disney World. We watched "Tangled" for the first time yesterday and he wants to know if Flynn Rider (or whatever the guy's name was) will be at DW if we ever go there. Maybe in another summer or two we can plan a fun trip like that. Keith and I have never been either, so we're both excited about the possibilities.


• This morning, I started reading "5 Conversations You Must Have with Your Son" by Vicki Courtney. So far it's an amazing book. It's opened my eyes to things that I know are issues today, but never really considered the impact they could have on my sons. If you're a parent of a boy, I highly recommend this book. I'm about 1/3 of the way into it and have already learned quite a bit. (She also has one for conversations with daughters. I haven't read it, of course, but I would imagine it's just as good.)


• Keith and I have become addicted to the show "Pawn Stars." We've been watching episode after episode on Netflix every night. You learn a lot about history, plus you see some crazy people on there. And Keith is a big pawn shop fan, so he enjoys the show simply based on that. I have to admit that I'm just as into the show as he is.


• This Sunday, we will start a year of teaching one of the kindergarten Sunday School classes at our church. I'm hoping that will go smoothly.


• Cooper has become Mr Polite lately. He says Yes, ma'am, Please, Thank You, etc. It's really sweet. Of course, he's also full-blown into the No phase too and that's not polite or sweet. He also is great at counting down from 10 to 1, but he has no idea how to count from 1-10. It's amazing how much they learn from older siblings. It's funny to hear him countdown like he's launching a rocket or something.