First Day of School 2013

Or...maybe not.  :)

Yes, he was ready, and yes, he had a GREAT first day!  His teachers this year are Ms. Christina and Ms. Natalie, and they provide a real classroom experience for 12 3-year-olds.  They even have subjects - science, music, language, etc.  Tru did very well on the first day.  He walked in there without any prodding and with the biggest smile on his face.  He has had 5 days of school so far, and each time he has been happy to be there.  After school is another story.  :)  The boy is WHOOPED!  He is so tired at the end of the day that all he wants to do is lay on the living room floor and watch Thomas the Train.  Fine by me. :)

Also of note this year is how cooperative he was during his photo shoot.  :)  He is finally taking directions.  YAY!  Here are some more cute ones:

I made aprons for his teachers again this year.

Our First Day of School tradition of ice cream was enjoyed at the BK on base so Daddy could join us.

NOW we're talkin'.

After I picked Tru up from school, we had the following 'conversation' in the car (he's about as good at answering questions as all the other Brown boys I know):

Me:  How was school, Truie?  What did you do?

Tru:  Ms. Natalie.  Ms. Christina.

M:  Oh, did you see Ms. Natalie and Ms. Christina?  Who else?

T (answering Jeopardy-style):  Did you play with Jonah?

M:  What did you play?

T:  Did you play trains with Jonah?

M:  You played trains with Jonah!

T:  SO MUCH FUN!!

M:  What else did you do?

T:  Did you play trains with Brody?

M:  Trains with Brody!

T:  SO MUCH FUN!

M:  What else did you do?

T (in a small voice):  Did you obey?

M (laughing):  DID you obey?

T (smaller voice, frowny face):  So much fun.

And there you have it. :)  I guess we know what Ms. Natalie and Ms. Christina had to say to Truett on the first day of school.

Grammoo and Granddad Visit: August 2013

We sure did have a good time with Grammoo and Granddad while they were here!  Thanks to Bub and Jen for allowing them to drive their Magnum across country, they were able to come spend a week with us before the start of school.

We kept the visit pretty low key this time around.  There were no huge events except the mini-celebration we had for Jason's making Lt Col.

I take it back - there was a HUGE EVENT:  Truett learned how to pedal!!  Grammoo and Granddad gifted him with a retro Radio Flyer tricycle, and he loved it immediately. :)  Riding his tricycle is now the favorite activity.  He trolls along the sidewalk down to the end of the block and back, pausing just long enough for the houseful of girls 2 doors down to spot him and come racing outside to play.  His favorite is Gabby, a 4-year-old red-headed firecracker.  She talks about a mile a minute and Tru just tries to keep up.  Mostly, he just stares at her in awe, frozen in his tracks.  Gabby doesn't understand why Tru needs 'training wheels' (she has no idea what a tricycle is because at 4, she can ride a 2-wheel bike at about 30 miles an hour, long red hair blowing straight out behind her).  She also can't understand why he is still in diapers.  *sigh*  Neither can I, Gabby.

Of course Moo spoiled us with some good eats during the visit.  I always gain 5 pounds while they are here.  Thanks for the nummies, MOO!

I didn't get many pictures of the visit.  Oops.

Peas, pod.  They are watching Thomas the Train.  I'm not sure who was into it more.  There is Moo in the background making us something yummy to eat. :)

Oh wowee.  Look at those ears.

The action:

FIRE TRUCK!

Truett's buddy Jonah celebrated his 3rd birthday at the O'Fallon Volunteer Fire Department.  Of course, the theme was 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.'  Everyone knows the two go together.  Tru had a fantastic time!  Pizza, chocolate, chocolate milk. turtle costumes, and a ride on the fire truck!!!

All decked out as a Ninja Turtle.  The mask didn't stay on his eyes for long. :)

Waiting for his turn on the fire truck.  He's starting to lose his turtle shell. :)  Tru was very patient as he waited, and was actually on the last ride of the day.  He watched the truck pull out without him at least 5 other times.  I was proud of him for being patient and kind to the other kids.

Daddy is heaving him onto the truck.

Now he realizes Daddy isn't coming with him...but his excitement won out over trepidation. :)

Here they come!

Stretching

Tru has decided he needs to help me stretch after my workout at the YMCA.  Rolling is his favorite part.

Fun at the Hairplane Park

One of our fun summer happenings was to have a picnic at the Hairplane Park on base every Monday evening.  It was actually very pleasant weather all but a couple of times.  Some days Daddy was even able to get out of work early enough to change out of his uniform so we could play a family game of frisbee!  (Tru is a fantastic frisbee player, if you're wondering.)

Flying the space shuttle.  (How hard can it be?)

Summer (Home)School

Because Tru has been doing so well learning numbers, letters, and reading, I didn't want him to turn into a blob over the summer due to lack of academic stimulation.  So, we tried our hands at Homeschooling.

We used the Raising Rock Stars curriculum from this blog that corresponds with My ABC Bible Verses.   Thank you, Julie, for the recommendation!

The idea is to learn one letter each week, but since Tru is only 3 and because he IS a boy after all and because there is value in just playing pretend or running around outside, too, I didn't push him.  We took at least 2 weeks per 5-day lesson.  He really loved it, though.  In fact, he was usually the one reminding ME it was time for school!

For each letter, Tru memorized a Bible verse, learned a new song, did a craft, practiced reading, and practiced handwriting.

Holding his certificate for completing the letter T.  He had just gotten spanked for disobeying, hence the sad face. :)

Holding his certificate for completing the next letter...the letter H.  The verse was "Honor your father and your mother.  Exodus 20:12" and the lesson focused on OBEDIENCE.  Ha. :)

Jason's Birthday 2013

We sure did have a fun time for Jason's Birthday this year!  He took the day off work (bonus), and we filled our day some fabulous activities.

Truie's and my present to him this year was actually a series of presents.  He had one for each hour of the day.  Most were just little things, and some were coupons for things like a trip to the ice cream shop.

Jason's tickets.  One for each hour.  The ticket was either a coupon or a clue for where to find an actual gift.  He had to search all over the house. :)

I'm not sure who enjoyed it more.  They were both pretty funny. :)  (And eager!)

After a lovely breakfast of donuts, we all headed to the City Museum in St. Louis.  This place is quite interesting.  It is a very industrial-like atmosphere with all sorts of random things on which to play.  Tru gravitated toward the "Skate-less Park" where he slid down the slides for what felt like HOURS.  There was also an arts and crafts area where he did some painting, an aquarium, a giant ball pit, and a 2-story slide.

Strange attic-like area.

Tru wasn't too fond of being able to see all the way to the bottom floor.  He kept saying, "I gotcha, Daddy!" which is, "Make sure you have me, Daddy!" in Truie-speak.

Giant ball pit.

Sliding at the Skateless Park.

BIG slide.  I went to the top to see what it was like, and I had to walk back down.  I was not going off that thing.

We were whooped when we got home, so we called the pizza dude and ate our dinner in front of "Cars".  We also Skyped some fam.

Gifts from Moo and Dad:  shirt and Starbucks cup

Gift from Ab and Matt:  Tickle Monster set, complete with story and Tickle Monster gloves.

(We've also eaten at Cracker Barrel twice thanks to Jack and Jen and their gift cards. :))

At bath time, Jason's boss called him to give him the biggest gift of all:  notification he made Lt Col!  WOO HOO!

We then spent the rest of the evening and night and wee hours of the next morning with a very sick Truie.  I guess the fun was just too much for him.  He won't be wanting more Papa John's pizza any time soon, that's for sure. :)

Happy Birthday, Jason!

Big Boy Bed

Truie met another milestone last month when he was promoted to his BIG BOY BED.  This thing is huge!  He loves it.


So far, we've learned it's great for jumping on and for fitting all the toys he *insists* on sleeping with (Dozy, Bunny, Turtle, Scoutie Dog, Bus, Big Thomas, Little Thomas, Octagon in the Bus, Camaro, Red Car, Brown Car, and Mater).

It took us all day to get this thing set up.

TruReadsClifford

Grammoo & Granddad Visit: May 2013

We sure did have a great visit with Grammoo and Granddad last week!  They drove 22 hours straight through to get here because they were running away from that awful storm that hit Moore, OK.  By the time they got here, they'd been up for 36 hours!  Holy moly smokes and cow!

We did all sorts of fun things:  went to the airplane park, ate at the German restaurant with Uncle Bub, went to the park at Our Lady of the Snows, had a picnic, played until we could barely stand up, ate all sorts of yummy food, went to Studio M for a photo shoot, and did I mention we ate a lot?  Thanks for coming, Grammoo and Granddad!  Truie misses you already.

The warm-up period this time around was non-existent.  Tru invited himself into Granddad's lap immediately.

Played New Fun Toy with Grammoo!

The boys:  doing what they do with their electronics.

Tru starts to hatch his plan to leave with Grammoo and Granddad in the Big Brown Truck.

...Still working out the details.

Ah, here we go!

Park at Our Lady of the Snows

Tru was pretty upset when he woke up from his nap last Monday and they were gone.  We told him they went home, so he went and got his and Daddy's shoes and said, "Okay, shoes.  Let's go home."  All week long he would say things like, "Granndad downstairs?"  "Grammoo upstairs asleep?" So sad!  He sure does love them and misses them desperately when they leave.  Until next time, padres!

Last Day of School 2013

Today was Truie's last day of school!  Let's see if he has grown...

Here is his First Day of School picture on 23 Aug 12...

...and his Last Day of School picture on 16 May 13.

If he's not bigger, he's at least HAPPIER! :)

After school, we went to Sweet Katie Bee's for a treat. :)  Cu'cakes!

This year, Tru has learned the order of the ABCs, he can sing the ABC song, he understands counting (whereas before he could say the numbers in order but didn't know what counting was), his favorite things to count are school busses (which he calls 'Octygons in da BUS!'), he loves to sing along to songs, he speaks in full sentences, being the center of attention is still his favorite pastime, he is a soccer pro, he loves to paint, stamp, color, and stick stickers, he is much better with accepting instructions and following them, he understands that Jesus loves him, he knows who Moses, Sarah, Abraham, and Isaac are, he can play at the playgrounds without help...and he is just a BIG BOY!  If the last 2 months are any indication, 3 will be be easier than 2. :)

Here are some pics of the teacher gifts:

tote bags

I had some cream card stock that I stamped, embossed, and inked

I made these cute little envelopes

Paper purses to hold their gift cards :)

It was a fantastic year with Ms. Jen and Ms. Donella!  We will miss them!  Though, I'm sure they will still take top billing in Truie's prayers.  Every prayer (except the bedtime ones) start out:  Dear God, thank you for this day...Ms. Jen...Ms. Donella...

Happy summer, everyone!