Thomas' 3rd birthday

Thomas... according to Thomas: What's your favorite color? Bwack. How old are you? Ummm...Thomas. What do you like to eat? Noo-doos. Are you a choo-choo? Noooo. Do you like choo-choos? No, nood-oos. Where do you like to eat? P, S, S, C, U, B Which is your favorite choo-choo? Thomas boo engine. What do you like to play? My fwends. How many friends do you have? Five What do you like to play outside? My five fwends.  It waining outside and I closed door ;hind me wight now even wet outside. Are you going to get married? Yup. Who are you going to marry? Kami. How many kids are you going to have? Nineteen. Are you going to marry Kami, or her car, or her keys? Kami car. Where are you going to live with Kami? Kami house where you bwing me. How many years are you? Two. Are you three? Yeah.

Shoo fly, don't bother me...

It's fly season in Herriman again (read:  Summer) and we are so sick of those little buzzing things bumping into our arms and legs and getting "all up in our grill."  We've become handy with our fly swatters, much to the (recently discovered) chagrin of our family's most sensitive soul.

Today's conversation with Adam:

Adam:  I'm not going to kill another fly.
Me: Okay.  Why not?
Adam: Well, you know how we have lives?
Kristin: Yeah...
Adam: How would you like to be swatted by a giant finger?

The kid does have a point.  It won't stop me from tirelessly working to eradicate the fly issue.  Perhaps I'll just save my swatting for after bedtime.

For our next vacation, can we go to... the dentist?

Adam had a checkup and a teeth cleaning with a new dentist today.  He sure is a little chatterbox.  He told jokes on his way from the lobby to the chair.  They took his x-rays and had to ask him to be quiet so they could take his pictures.  Then they leaned him back in the dentist chair.  Looking up, he spied Looney Tunes being played on the TV in the ceiling.  With a huge sigh of contentment, he put his hands behind his head and said, "Ahhh.  This is the life."

What could be better than a TV in the ceiling at your doctor's office?

"How 'bout one in your bedroom," the dental assistant NOT so wisely suggested to my son.  Yeah, sure, thanks.  And then we can get him a pony, and move into Disney World.  Thanks a lot for that suggestion, lady. 

"Yeah," said Adam, "And then I would never have to get out of bed!"

Hahahaha.  Fat chance.

And in other news...

After the dentist, we went over to our local elementary school and got Adam all signed up to go back to public school.  He has been so looking forward to going back to school.  He's aching to make new friends, have new adventures, and have some time away from Thomas the Tank.

Here in Utah, we have year-round school.  This means that at any given time, three "tracks" of students are in school, and one "track" is off.  The first three tracks started two and a half weeks ago, so we assumed that Adam would join the fourth track.  Nope.  "We've put you on C track," said the school secretary, "and they're going off track next week.  So, Adam will start school the day after Labor Day."

He cried.

Adam, I hope you always love school the way you do today.  But much like your hope for getting a TV installed in your ceiling, my hope for you continuing to have this level of passion for school is not likely to be realized.  But a boy can dream, and so can a mom.

And hopefully, one day, we can have that vacation too.  But not at the dentist's office.

Not even three and he's ready for the workforce.

Last weekend I made these really cute schedules for Frankie and Adam.  I spent a good deal of time on them, cut them out, and put them on clipboards.  I gave Frankie one for her room, and I gave Adam one for his room.  I also made one for each of them that will be posted in a central location on the first floor.  I hadn't gotten around to hanging up the first floor ones when I found this:

sitting on my desk.  Considering I don't remember making any little cut-in designs, I asked the older kids if they knew anything about it.  Of course, they didn't. 

So then I asked Thomas.  "Did you do this?"  I asked, holding up the schedule.  "Yes." he said.  Not quite sure if he quite knew what he was admitting to, I said "How did you do it?" "Scissors." he said matter-of-factly. Knowing he knows his colors, I asked, "What color scissors?" "Owange," he said (yeah, not so much).

I considered that answer inconclusive.  Wanting to see what else he'd "admit" to, I held up a piece of paper that Frankie had written dog training instructions on.  "Did you do this?" I asked.  "Ye--eesssh," he said delightedly.  "How?" I asked.  "Pe-skewel."

"Okay," I said.  I held up a typed invoice from my doctor's office.  "And did you do this?" I asked.  "Yeaahh," he responded.  "And how did you do that?" I asked.  "Because I'm type wedy fast."

Okay Thomas. Forget pre-school.  Time to hit the classifieds and earn your keep 'round here.  Anybody need a typist?

Silly Old Bear

 
Thomas hit a milestone this week.  He got to go to the theater and see his very first big-screen movie.  Our friend, Kami, took him to see the new Winnie the Pooh.

Now, for those of you who know our Thomas, you know that he's not exactly a sit still for an hour-and-a-half kind of kid.  He's not really a sit still for five minutes kind of kid.  But I hoped that the animation and simple storyline of Pooh would combine to help his restless little legs be still.

Before Kami picked him up, I had a talk with him.  "Thomas," I said, "You are going to a movie.  We don't jump or run in movies.  We sit in our seats."  "Okay mommy," he said.  "Thomas, do we run in a movie?"  "Nooo."  "Thomas, do we jump in a movie?"  "No."  "Do we sit still in a movie?"  (emphatic) "Yes!!!"

Just to be safe, I had that conversation with him once more before he left.  And then Kami had that conversation with him twice in the ten minute drive over there.  I told her to call me if there were any problems and she needed me to come get him.

The movie ended and my phone had not rung.  I called Kami (wondering if she had just dealt with my little monkey's rowdiness without calling).  "So," I said, "How'd he do?"  "Oh," said Kami, "Remember how you were worried about him sitting still?"  "Yes." (Somewhat nervously) "Well," she continued, "You do not have to worry about him sitting still in a movie."  "I don't?" "No," she said.  You don't."  "Okay." I said, somewhat surprised and relieved. "What you do have to worry about is how much he gets into the movie.  The whole time it was playing he was shouting loudly at the characters.  Every time anything went wrong, he would shout "Nooooooo!!!" at the top of his lungs.

Remember how he wanted to go to college with Steve, Joe, and Blue? I'm thinking there will soon come a time when a pre-movie conversation will involve somehow teaching Thomas that life and media are not actually one and the same.

But perhaps, I can let him stay engrossed just a little bit longer.  He may look like a five year-old, but he only gets to be almost three for a very little while.

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit.  "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."

Back to life. Back to reality...and the dawn of a new "ism"

It's too soon!!!!

I'm not ready for school to start for Adam, but, he'll be heading back in just two weeks.  I'm not a big fan of this whole year-round thing for elementary students and traditional schedule for junior high and high school students.  It leaves us with too many schedules to manage.  Preschool for Thomas, 4th grade for Adam, 12th grade for Frankie and they're all on different schedules.

I want to squeeze every last drop out of what's left of our summer.  Our summer started late and I'm mourning the early end of it.  The skies may be sunny but mamma's feeling a little blue.

At least I have Thomas to lighten things up --

Conversation with Thomas this morning:

I just explained to my friend, Nicole, that Thomas pronounces his name as "Nomas."  I thought it was adorable and endearing.  He would say things like, "Me Nomas.  This my Nomas choo-choo." I called him over to us so I could show off his cuteness.

Me:  "Tell Cole the name of your choo-choo?" 
Thomas:  "My choo-choo name Thomas."
Me: (astounded) "And tell Cole your name."
Thomas:  "My name Thomas wike my choo-choo."
Kids - they'll always prove you wrong at the least opportune moment.

Conversation with Thomas this afternoon:

Thomas:  "Daddy, what are you making dinner?"
Michael:  "I'm making chopped salad."
Thomas:  (with all the hope a little boy can muster) "Chocolate salad?"
If only Thomas, if only.

Conversation with Thomas this evening:

Me:  "Thomas, are you excited to start preschool?"
Thomas:  "Yes.  And I want go college."
Me: "Oh, you want to go to college?"  (what on earth -- where did this idea come from? Not that I don't want him too.  It's just a tad premature.) "Hmm.  And what will you do in college?"
Thomas: "Wif Steve, and Joe, and Blue."
Me:  "Ohhh, okay.  Of course."
Thomas:  "Yeah."
Note:  If you have no idea what I'm referring to, click here

The torch passes forward as we usher in a year of new schools, new experiences, new language skills and the dawn of... Thomasisms.