So long first grade!

Boden is officially a second grader!  He became a much better reader in first grade and learned a lot about personal responsibility. He maintained some of his friends from Kindergarten, made some new friends, and still made some time for Mrs. P who I think will always hold a special place in his heart.  Can't wait to see what second grade adventures are ahead, but for now, we're happy to enjoy the sun and the longer days of summer.

Another episode of "kids say the darnedest things"

Two examples of how the things kids say that make you smile...

Below is alerted and picture from Boden to his elf on the shelf, Sammy, who arrived the day after Thanksgiving. He's laying it on thick for the elf.  Yes, Sammy also wrote back--such a polite elf.

Last month, Boden and his class read about the Little Red Hen. I think they were learning about the importance of helping others, but Boden seems to have picked up on another message.  He was asked if he would help out the Little Red Hen.  His response?  "No,...I don't trust a hen."  He's taking this fable very literally, I guess.

Another episode of "kids say the darnedest things"

Two examples of how the things kids say that make you smile...

Below is alerted and picture from Boden to his elf on the shelf, Sammy, who arrived the day after Thanksgiving. He's laying it on thick for the elf.  Yes, Sammy also wrote back--such a polite elf.

Last month, Boden and his class read about the Little Red Hen. I think they were learning about the importance of helping others, but Boden seems to have picked up on another message.  He was asked if he would help out the Little Red Hen.  His response?  "No,...I don't trust a hen."  He's taking this fable very literally, I guess.

Seven!

Boden turned seven this year! The only thing better than a birthday on a weekend is one on Friday, so we were able to eat out, "stay up late" and sleep in! 

Another good thing about landing on a Friday is that I was fortunate enough to be the mystery reader for Boden's first grade class, as well, which was a bit of a birthday surprise for him.  I read two of his favorite books--the book with no pictures and ten on a sled.  It was good to see his class and the range of first grade personalities--god bless first grade teachers is all I have to say!

After much discussion and debate, we ended up at our local restaurant for his usual, pita pizza.  August was well behaved but energetic and Boden was full of questions, as usual, so it was a typical "relaxing" family dining experience.

We ended the night with a family movie night (minus August, of course) and watched the second Night at the Museum movie. 

The birthday festivities continued the next day at Nana and Papa's with a cake and four-wheeler riding.  When we were buying the cake he said before we could serve it everyone had to sing happy birthday.  When it came time to sing, he walked around rolling his eyes and smiling--so funny.

Less than rave reviews

Boden started first grade today and I knew he wasn't excited about it but I hoped for the best and tried to be encouraging.  When I picked him up from his after school care, I asked how his first day went.  His response "I did not like it at all."  When I asked him to explain, I understood how he felt, "there was no toy time and no rest time.  Do not like it." While I thought this was a humorous response, he was very upset and that made me sad for him. As I asked more questions hoping to find a bright spot, it was clear none were revealed today:  only one friend in his class (while good, not great, he's social so this was quite a diminished social circle), at lunch you have to sit with your class (again no established friends), you work through snack time vs having an actual play break, and there is going to be homework every night.  It does sound like it sucks compared to Kindergarten. Todd and I both have lots of reassurance and we're hoping a few more days will create some friendships and fill his social needs...ugh.

He looked happy this morning, though!

School's out for summer!

Boden had a great school year and a great teacher who clearly loves teaching. He learned a lot and I hope most of it sticks with him through the summer.

I asked Boden what he was going to miss most about Kindetgarten.  He said "well, Mrs. P, of course, oh, and choice time."

I'm going to miss Mrs. P, too, and hope that his future teachers will have as much passion for education and kindness in their hearts to handle Boden's energy and encourage him to be his best.  For now, we're on to summer vacation--which hopefully means warmer weather, longer days, new friends at summer daycares, and happy and tired boys.

A surprise ending

Boden had been "working on" a wiggly front tooth for what felt like forever...it probably felt twice as long for me because I was the one who was doing the majority of the wiggling! We called it his snaggle tooth because his adult tooth was pushing its way out and the wiggly tooth started to poke forward out past his lips--it looked pretty ridiculous.

Anyway, some kid in before school care kicked a soccer ball and smacked Boden right in the kisser.  When Todd called to tell me about "the incident" after talking with the teacher, the first thing I asked (after hearing he was okay, of course) was "did The Tooth get knocked out?!".  Yes!! It was finally free--and whatta great story!  

Later in the day, Boden's teacher sent me the picture below and told me he was telling everyone about it.  And he got a tooth box to keep his tooth safe during the school day--bonus!

Just some cute pics

August is turning into quite a ham--he enjoys being silly, dressing up in Todd and Boden's shoes and hats or any of Boden's dress up outfits.  In this picture, I caught him on wacky Wednesday dress up day for school--he chose his dad's shoes and hat to accessorize.

Boden is becoming a little temperamental about getting his picture taken, but he always poses well with his brother.

Penguins in crisis

Boden's report on penguins is in the picture below.  I got a good chuckle after reading the first sentence and had to share: penguins "like crisis".  I asked Boden to read it to me: "penguins, which I didn't spell out because I put the sticker of the penguin on there, um, penguins like Christmas."  

Christmas, crisis, what's the difference, really? :)

From the mouths of babes

Driving past the cemetery on the way to Home Depot, Boden looks out the window and says, "There sure are a lot of dead people."  Todd nearly spit out the soda he was drinking.  You have NO idea, li'l buddy.

Holiday blooper photo below 😊:

Whirlwind

Whew, it's been quite a whirlwind since Kindergarten started. We're already way past back-to-school, MEA, and Halloween and already sliding into Thanksgiving! It's been a crazy 2 months!  

Anyway, school is going well. Our first parent teacher conferences went fantastic. Boden's teacher, Mrs. P, seems really energetic and kind with the patience a kindergarten teacher needs. She said Boden is doing well and she really likes how "spunky" he is. Mrs. P also started a blog so we can learn more about what goes on in class -- I'm really enjoying it and appreciate her efforts to keep us nosy parents informed. http://heartsaresmilinginkindergarten.blogspot.com/ 

At the top of this month, Todd and I ran out first race together in years. I think it was 18 years ago that we ran a 5k and this year we got into the TC 10 mile. We were long overdue for another run together and had a great time even though it was soooo cold.

Boden also turned 6 (on the same day as his parent teacher conference, actually) this month and I continue to be amazed at how big he's getting. I feel like he'll be carrying me to bed pretty soon :) He's a very good big brother except when it comes to sharing...but, he's very entertaining and can get August laughing like no one else! 

To add to this busy month, August turned one and is as sweet as Boden is sassy :) He's walking much more--about 95% of the time. Crawling continues to be a draw because he can really cruise when he's on all fours.  

I had my first work trip this month, as well, and survived one night away away from my sweet little guy...I know it gets easier but it was hard to be away from him!  Boden enjoyed the "guy time" with his dad and little brother but still had plenty of kisses and hugs for me when I came home.

First Day of Kindergarten

Well, we waited almost six years for this day and it finally arrived -- the first day of Kindergarten for Boden!  I think I was more jazzed about it than he was, but that's probably what it's like for parents in a lot of "firsts" with their children.  With all my years and wisdom (yes, I'm being a little fascetious), I know that Kindergarten is a special time and hopefully a wonderful time.  I remember my Kindergarten year with fondness.  It fostered my love to learn and I hope that's what happens for Boden.  He asks so many questions and has so many interests (yes, some of them a bit neurotic at times) that I hope his energy can be channeled into a positive experience so that he looks forward to not only play time, lunch time and after school care, but also the learning time in between.  That's a lot to hope for, right now, and I'm just thankful the first week is over.  I haven't gotten a lot of information from him about the happenings at school but I did ask him on his first day before I took him to school, two things:

What are you most excited for the first day of school?  Answer:  Playing with his buddy from preschool who is in his Kindergarten class and finding out where the toy cars are because he didn't see them on Back To School Night.

What are you most excited to learn in Kindergarten by the end of the year?  Answer: How to tie shoelaces.

Reasonable goals!

Change!

August has gone through lots of changes  this past month.  For one, his smile is transforming on a daily basis! His two front teeth erupted at the same time, putting an end to his mysterious "crankiness" (cranky for him, but still pretty darn happy).  He has a total of 6 teeth now which is always comes as a surprise to me--I still imagine his sweet, gummy smile.  He's also getting very close to walking on his own, although he crawls very quickly which makes this his default mode of transport when he really wants to turn on the accelerator.  He's very into wrestling--his Boppy, Boden or fellow classmates.  So, while his young infant room teachers love him, it's time for him to quit mauling the itty bitties and move up to the older infant room, where he can have a little more freedom to roam.  August also had some fantastic illnesses over the past few weeks--hopefully he's built up some immunity to take on the bugs in the new classroom!

On the same week that Augie moves up to be with the older babies full-time, Boden starts Kindergarten!  We're all very excited for this.  We went to Back to School night where his principal already knows him by name (so far, this is a good thing) and we met his teacher, saw his classroom, and dropped off school supplies.  We even found out there are at least 2 buddies from preschool in his class and a new friend he met over the summer.  While he's sad his best bud isn't in his same class, I know he'll see him in the after school program.  

Many exciting transitions for the little Brown boys--just when you get things down, change happens!  

Boden's pirate ship

Riding waves

While the cost of swimming lessons seemed questionably high, we are starting to see some small payoffs in Boden's attitude toward being in the lake this summer.  He's trying new things like wake boarding (yes, really!) and not getting crabby when he's on the tube and gets water in his eyes or bounces off into the water (thankfully, for his parents' sake, that doesn't happen often.). He still needs more practice but he definitely likes being in the water.

Picture post

Just updating with some pics...

One of Todd and the boys--it's either Boden all over August or the other way around these days.  Boden says they are wresting but there's lots of reminding that Augie is a BABY (so settle down!!).  In this picture, August wasn't able to use his "gentle hands" but he does love reaching out to his big brother.

This picture of August is so cra cra adorbs I can hardly stand it!  He's crawling like a champ now and it took about 2 minutes for him to realize he could pull himself up onto things (everything)--now the fun begins, by fun I mean heart palpitations every time I watch him fall, almost fall, head towards danger...etc.

Here's a pic of Boden on his last day of preschool.  He looks so stinkin' skinny and lean -- it surprised me how quickly he went from toddlerish to little boy to big boy (he's all arms and legs). 

Graduation Day!

We attended Boden's preschool graduation this evening--it was short and sweet, as all parents of preschoolers would appreciate!  He still has another week left in his classroom but this marks a significant milestone.  After they were done handing out diplomas, one of the teachers announced "here is the graduating class of 2027!"  What??!  Yikes.

All About Boden

Boden was chosen as one of the Students of the Week at preschool a couple weeks ago.  That meant we had homework--a poster that he would share with his class to tell them about him, his family and his interests.  I don't know how much time he got but, given the chance, he would spend a lot of time talking about things he wants to do and future professions.  For this assignment, he said he wanted to be a police miner when he grows up. If you don't know what that is, and you might not because it's not a terribly popular profession these days, Boden will be happy to explain.

Tooth, be gone!

After a lot (A LOT) of talk about how wiggly Boden's loose tooth was, what was going to happen to the tooth, why teeth fall out, and many, many details about the Tooth Fairy and her tooth business, I finally managed to liberate the tooth from Boden's mouth right before bedtime last night.  It was literally dangling there and I told Boden the tooth just needed a little nudge.  He was reluctant to let me touch it, but I was quick--like tearing off a band-aid--and then it was over before he could worry anymore about it (blech).  We celebrated with a little ice cream and put the tooth on a pillow in a tiny box next to his bed so the Tooth Fairy could take a look at it.  The famous fairy snuck in during the night and left him $5 and a note to congratulate Boden and remind him to keep brushing and flossing. 

Existentialism for pre-schoolers

I don't know how we got on the conversation the other day, but on our drive home from school, Boden asked about everyone he knows that has died.  He's only 5, so thankfully it's a short list, including musicians.  Based on a conversation months ago, he often brings up the fact that Bob Marley is dead.  Then he asked me about the king singer in Chanhassen--I was puzzled at first, but he said the king who sings at the white office by dad's office.  "Oh, you mean Prince!  No, he's not dead."  In follow-up to mentioning Bueller was dead, he asked about Bueller's parents.  I said I thought they were both dead.  Then he asked about Sloan's parents--"how did Sloan get born?".  I thought it was going to be a line of questioning about reproduction but it took a sharp turn--"how did Sloan's parents get born", "and before that, how did the very first dog get born?"  I said I wasn't really sure where the very first dog came from.  Somehow we moved on to people and dinosaurs and how the very first ones ended up here, on the planet.  I said these were good questions and there are two theories, evolution and creation--no one really knows the answer.  I told him to keep asking tremendous questions and he'll learn a lot!  Thankfully, we pulled into the garage and we moved on to the important topic of what was for dinner.  Sheesh, he keeps me on my toes.

Which is which?

I happened to find a photo of Boden taken about the same age as August is now. So I put a picture of each one below:  One of the babies is Boden and one is August.  Can you tell which is which?  Given that both were/are nearly bald, it's a bit of a toss-up.  Boden has a distinguishing feature but I'm not sure everyone would remember it--extra credit if you know it :)