Ty's Preschool Update and Baskets of Fun

So we're three weeks into preschool, and two for Ty. He got sick last week, so we thought it was in the best interest of the other kids to stay home. The bad part was, it was my week to teach, so another mom graciously traded weeks with me (I will admit, I liked having one more week to prep though). He was pretty sad when he wasn't able to go, but his friend Mason always brought the fun things they did to Ty so he could do them at home.

At our house we learned all about the five senses. As much as five three year olds will allow at least.

Here are the kids busy at work on their "I Spy" pages. Ty loved using his glue. I had told him ahead of time that he was going to use glue when preschool was at his house. So as soon as the kids got there, he had his glue stick out and ready to go.

He was very excited to show Dad his paper and it is proudly displayed on our fridge, which only entices Jordo to pull of all the fun things.

Day two was smells, hearing and taste. The kids were so full of energy today that we did a lot of running around. I used a tool from my childhood. Some of you may remember "See Me Run". We 'listened' to what we should do and then did it. It works, right?

These are our cups of smells. The garlic was a bad choice and the pickles were a split. Ty really liked the cinnamon and held onto that cup (he didn't want a turn with the garlic). He got a bit intense and breathed right into the cup which caused the cinnamon to blow up right into his face and eyes. Well, it immediately started burning and he was freaking out, so we ran to flush his eyes out with water and the other three kids were just standing in awe. I think they all will have a fear of cinnamon now. Oops. At least it was my kid, at my house. In spite of the disaster, Ty still loves preschool and is already asking when he gets to go to Grace's house.

And the end of our long post:

One day, a long time ago when Ty was little, we were looking for ways to entertain him. He liked the laundry basket, so Kev tied an old tie onto it and it became a ride. The tie stayed and we have kept it up. Kev will drag the boys around the house, in the laundry basket. Well, Ty, in his "I'm bigger" stage wants to do it too. He tries to pull Jordo, but that's slow going, so he finds other things he can dominate. And you can only guess what Jordo wanted, to be like Ty. So we found another basket and let the boys drag all their toys and books around the house. It's great what occupies little kids!

First Day of Preschool

Today Ty started preschool, sort of. I got together with some other moms in our neighborhood and we are all just taking turns teaching a few days a week. It will be nice for me to only teach every fifth week, and great for Ty to start learning some basics and interacting with other kids. He loves playing with friends, so this is going to be no problem for him.

Here's my little school boy who couldn't wait for today. He asked all morning if it was time to go yet and wouldn't let his back pack out of his sight. I could tell he was feeling pretty grown up when he told me, "Not my nigh nigh, not to preschool." For those of you who know Ty, you know how attatched he is to that little blanket.

Here's another picture of him trying to be cool with his hands in his pockets and trying not to smile. This kid is always making me laugh.

Well the other side to the story is, what did Jordan do while his big brother and best buddy was gone for the morning?

He waited until it was his turn to go out too. We had somewhere to be this morning, so he was busy for most of the time. But as soon as we got home and Jordan realized that Ty was outside with his preschool friends (this week it happened to be just a few doors down, in our four-plex), he went to the front door and kept knocking, hoping they would let him come out too. It sounds sad, but it was more cute than sad. Jordo wasn't upset, he just wanted to be part of the action and hang out with Ty. I thought we needed to let Ty enjoy his freedom, so Jordo stuck it out.

I know Ty isn't even three, but it is weird he's going to 'school'. Mostly that he's going somewhere, and is not with me. First the big potty, now preschool, and too soon, it will be kindergarten.

Victory!

I have finished one of the most rewarding things as a parent. Ty is officially POTTY TRAINED! After almost 15 months of buying diapers for two kids, we have cut our diaper expense in half, that is huge! It definitely took some work and some bribing, which I am totally comfortable doing for things such as this, but we made it. Ty had some anxiety issues with going diaperless. Most children love to be naked and take every chance they get. Ty on the other hand, always wanted his diaper back on. So running around with nothing, or even underwear, was a big adjustment for him.

After a few days of thinking about nothing but potties and underwear, total dedication, complete exhaustion (for both Ty and me, but mostly me) and only one mishap, Ty had earned his prize. His prize was a scooter that he has wanted ever since he has been borrowing his friend Mason's. And now he is totally addicted. He wants to ride his scooter all the time, everywhere.

The money and diaper changing thing makes potty training really nice. But it is a bit sad to think my little boy is old enough to use the 'big potty'. He knows he's getting bigger too. This morning he came up and said, "Mom, it alright I play outside by myself?" He's not quite that big. I love that little kid so much and it's hard to see him growing up so fast and not needing me as much.

So here is my amazing little boy, who went from this...

...to this...

Best of luck to all of you who may be potty training or will be in the future!

Christmas in September!

My dad has been using a basically dead grill for much longer than he should have. He wouldn't buy himself a new one, he would just quote his good friend Jeff Foxworthy, "We just can't have nice things." So his kids decided that a new grill would be the best choice for his Christmas present this year. Well, after everyone's plans got decided, it turns out that none of my siblings, that are out of town, will be here for Christmas this year. Which is sad, but good to have everyone miss the same year. Shortly after that was decided, my dad's grill all but died. He didn't even really like grilling on it. So we took advantage of the Labor Day sales and gave him an early Christmas. Since no one would be here to miss it in December, what difference would it make to miss it in September.

Here's the grill (sorry about the lighting). Before my dad came in the room to see it we told him to close his eyes. He gave us all this attitude about why was he getting a gift now, there wasn't any reason for it. Those of you who know my dad, can see him doing this I'm sure. Then when Ty told him "Merry Missmiss", he was really curious. He closed his eyes and we turned the Christmas music on and set tried to imitate the holidays.

If you enlarge the picture, you can see his face and the look of annoyance. That's Dad for you. He sees something someone does for him and he wants to know why anyone would go to the trouble. Well Dad, you deserve it, so get over it.

Merry Christmas Dad. Now we all expect nothing less than perfection in our steaks and burgers!