First Day of Pre-K

Today was Tommy's first day of his new school.  He's in pre-kindergarten now and was very excited to start at his new school.

 First Day of School Last Year:           First Day of School This Year:
            

Tommy's view of Mom and Dad running out the door on his first day

The school also has a K-8 so the school yard was crowded with a lot of other students and adults.  Tommy wanted to skip the morning assembly and get right to his classroom.  Fortunately, the pre-K kids were allowed to do that so we went right into his room and met his new teacher.  Tommy did so well.  He put out his hand and introduced himself.  He made himself comfortable, found his cubby (even labeled "Thomas"), put his lunchbox and sweatshirt away and checked out the playdoh and book selection.

Wearing his favorite shirt

Mommy and Tommy in the classroom

And again, Tommy's view of the day.

And then he laid down in the middle of the room with "Ten Apples Up on Top" and got to work.  We said goodbye and skipped out.

There are 14 kids in his class, one boy who also came from his old preschool, and it looks like it will be a good fit.  Tommy even broke from routine and brought a hot lunch (mac n cheese) in a Thermos!  Tomorrow we have our first Sunbutter and Jelly sandwich (there's a nut allergy in the class...)

Just don't offer him any Gogurt... it won't go well!

Last Day of Summer

Tommy starts his new school on Monday so today is his last official day of summer vacation.  I've found a few random pics from the summer scattered around.  Please enjoy.

This was my cheerleader outfit for the Artichokes back in the day

(how long her hair is when it isn't curly...)

You know Tommy likes claw games... well each time we've been to Great America he's begged to play this one.

 

The prize?  An iPad 2.

We bought a new lunchbox, thermos, and blanket yesterday so I guess that means it's Back to School time!

When Dada's Away

We've been trying to keep busy these last few days while Tom and Nana are out of town. Here are just a few of our exploits.

We took a trip to a big playground with all the cousins.

Went to Great America with Grandma, Papa, and Marco

I'm pretty sure there's a sign behind us that said "don't climb on the statue"...

Fun fact: the girl on the stage behind her in the red skirt and black top is a former student of mine!

Watched "Despicable Me," of course.

We got artistic at the Discovery Museum. Tommy painted "the tall minion with two eyes"

Lucy painted this. Nothing fancy except that under all previous visits, Lucy has refused to paint and freaked out if she got paint on her hands. So this was a major breakthrough. I think since the alternative was meeting a giant Curious George, she opted for this.

Earlier in the week Tommy drew this picture for Tom on a placemat. Originally, I was told they were each holding two blue lightsabers, but then it changed to blue lighting (like the Emperor). Also a significant milestone since Tommy usually draws in the abstract and avoids human figures.

Lucy enjoys ice cream while Papa has a nice salad.

Looking totally 80s at the playground today.

Tommy's gym coach let's them try the rings and he learns a new trick, unassisted!

Lucy has learned how to harass Tommy. She refuses to call him "Tommy." Originally she was calling him "Brother," which was sweet, but that has turned into "Bro Bro" or now "Bo Bo." He is very tolerant of this, but actually doesn't like it. So we're trying to get her to say Tommy or something close. She's well aware of this and has turned it into a game.

Tommy demonstrates a new dance move he "invented." Looks an awful lot like a move someone in college taught me called "The Tom."

As mentioned, Lucy met Curious George in person. She was not very pleased with this, he kind of snuck up on her. She remained calm but continued to say "Bye George"

Last night we were reading 10 in the Bed, to which Lucy likes to contribute the "roll over." I happened to be recording to catch that cuteness when she managed to work in another song about falling off a bed...

Boogie Fever

Today I received two emails from Nana and Grandma about 20 minutes apart. Both were links to a recent video each had taken of Tommy. To make things easy, I edited the two videos together. The content was nearly identical. Please enjoy and BOOGIE! (Grandparents: if you get an ad pop up, just click the X and close it.)



This comes from his new favorite movie "Despicable Me" and it's two disco themed numbers. Tommy is a big fan. I would like to add that he is unprompted from off screen (he's looking at his own reflection in the glass doors in the pool video). This is all Tommy!