First Day of Summer School, 2016

On Wednesday, June 8th, we got into the car and headed to the first day of summer school. You had only been on "summer break" for 5 days yet you were more than ready to go back to school. I am simultaneously relieved and grateful that you both seem to enjoy school so much and embrace the idea of attending school for 7 weeks each summer. 

Jonas, as you walked to the car, you were singing songs in French. It inspired me to hit record on my phone and record the next 20 minutes of your lives. We are in the car for the 15-minute commute to school, then we are walking into the school building, finding your classrooms, greeting your teachers, and meeting your new classmates. 

Gill, you were equally eager, trying to sing along with Jonas, but not knowing the words. The world will open wide for you when you begin to read, and you are ready. It will happen very soon.

As you listen to the recording, you will hear a negotiation over water bottles. As we walk into the school, you can hear the nearby church clock tower chiming 8. We always get to school right at 8am, rarely late, but never early. Jonas quickly went off, on his own, to the new wing where third grade classrooms are. Gill, you and I headed downstairs to the cafeteria where we waited for your teacher. You introduced yourself to lots of people, and tried to convince me to let you into my phone using my "fingerprint" software. 

Here's a link to audio of our morning. 

Gill, you and I walked upstairs to Mme Defosse's classroom; you are wearing the blue shirt. 

After I left Gill, I walked back downstairs and down the hall to the 3rd grade classrooms to snap a quick photo of Jonas' class.

And here's a photo of our family before we left home. Sadly, it's blurry. Oh well.

Capoeria Batizado, February 2016

Gill's Batizado:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1Z_k33j4PNzaGpqSGU0UzNGZXc

Jonas' Batizado:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B1Z_k33j4PNzbDNVTmdqcnNsTHc

The Power of Spin

Dear Boys,

I haven't been blogging here much lately because we've been emailing you both with important memories, pictures, even videos.

*sigh*

What can I say? I have a touch of ADD. It's hard for me stay focused on one thing for very long.

But tonight, I'm inspired to write you and brag a bit about my parenting.

Wow, had to take a moment and step back to look at that sentence that I just typed. Those are words that don't often leave my lips (or fingertips). But that's a subject for another day.

Back to my parenting.

Tonight, I invented the term "micro-chore." Totally came up with it on my own though it likely exists somewhere, in some parenting magazine or "how to" book.

Gill, you wanted to watch TV or play a video game. You, my dear youngest child, are the hardest head of the group. You just don't want to do anything, and I mean anything, we ask of you.

"Hey Gill, come here and eat this ice cream." Your reply to this statement would be "No!" If you were a little older, it would probably be "Hell no!"

But tonight, we negotiated. After you realized you weren't going to win, you were more willing.

"Micro chores," I explained, "are quick chores, like, making your bed, sweeping the walk, unloading the dishwasher, picking up toys."

Jonas, you and Gill trotted upstairs to make your beds. In fact, you made each bed by working together. Without my help. There was no nagging, no begging, no negotiating, and no pleas for "Help me Momma. I don't know how to do it."

See?

And never once did you or your brother pick up on the fact that micro chores were virtually indistinguishable from plain ol' regular chores.

I'm feeling quite proud of myself, but the true test will be in how long you buy into this. But maybe it will turn out like "Spiderman Spaghetti"  which you guys still request.

Yep, boys. That is the power of spin. And I never even took a marketing class in college.

Your mother is a genius.

Love you.

Mom

Imagination at Work

This is your LEGO creation Gill. 

You call it a Basiliss. It sounds like the word Basilisk. To me, it looks like a crab. It is very delicate and breaks easily.

We talked about learning curves and how you will grow in your your use of Legos and learn how to make things stronger as well as symmetrical and graceful. but for now, for a 5 year old, I think it's pretty amazing!

First Day of (Summer) School

Jonas & Gill,

Today was your first day of summer school. Jonas, you are starting 2nd grade; Gill, you are starting kindergarten. 

Both of you are excited, and, near as I can tell, not nervous at all. 

We tried very hard for a photo of all of us, but these two are the closest to good that we could manage. 

No, Poppa is not mad, he is just concentrating. 

We are so proud of you both. We walked you to your classrooms. Gill, you have Mme Rebekah Hyer, but Lilliane Chagoyenne was your substitute teacher this morning. I heard her grown son (who is a teacher's aide) in the hall talking about her. He said, "My mom is subbing for Mme Hyer this morning, and she doesn't know anything about computers." While that is probably true, she knows a lot about kids. She taught for over 30 years before she retired. And she raised 3 boys. You will like her even though you might only have her for a few days.

Jonas, you have Mme Sandrine Salas. She is a hoot! Very funny French lady. But she is out this week, so you too had a substitute - Mme Marie Catherine Marchand. She is from Canada and has two little girls. Both teachers are amazing. You are a lucky boy. You were surprised (and a bit disappointed I think) to learn that your classroom was the same! Mme Cahoon had cleaned it out so it looked a lot different. 

You both walked in with your school supplies and snacks so your backpacks were really, really full. I made you lunches: PB&J sandwiches, grapes, cheese, and water bottles. You didn't eat much breakfast - milk and hash browns. Gill, you took only about 2 bites, so I am sure you will eat a lot of lunch!

Love you both,

Mom

A Letter From Your Mother

Hi Jonas and Gill,

It is May - the month of birthdays. We have been talking about it a lot and you are both eager to meet the next year of your lives.

Gill, you admitted that you are actually looking forward to losing the paci, though I'm not sure you really understand that you have to give it up. We are luring you with the idea of being a big boy and aspiring kindergartner. 

Speaking of, you had your "kindergarten round-up" last week, and you passed the Dial 3 assessment. Verbal was the lowest score (in the upper 80th percentile), mostly because of pronunciation challenges. Cognitive and motor were in the 90th percentile. You told the ladies who tested you that your named was misspelled, "there are two "Ls" in Gill" you said. When asked what you should do when you enter a room in which the light is turned off, you said, "If you are scared, get your mom and dad." 

You will graduate from preschool at the end of the month. Both Noni and Grandma will be with us for the important event. Even your godmother Aimee will attend the picnic after graduation. Still super affectionate, you have to touch someone while you sleep. 

Jonas, you are doing super great in school. We are so proud of how independent you are. Math remains your favorite subject and you are quite the creator with legos. You love robotics and enjoy piano and Capoeira though we sometimes have to cajole you to get to your lessons. For your golden 7 year birthday (turning 7 is your golden since you were born on the 7th day of May), Noni will drive in. You have requested a Pump It Up party, even though it means you will not get a big gift from us. (The party costs $350!) We invited all of your friends, some of our neighbors, and some of Gill's friends. Almost everyone immediately accepted. Like your Poppa, you have a few close friends, but not an extensive network. Emmet, Oscar, and Miriam are your closest friends.

Speaking of Miriam, the other day, Poppa overheard an interesting conversation. Henrika was visiting and she brought up the topic of marriage; specifically, who would marry whom. Since Jonas was going to marry Miriam, that only left Gill for her to marry. She seemed fine with that. Gill, I'm not sure you cared.

Lately, I've been trying to get you both to eat dinner with us; usually you eat something different than what Poppa and I eat for dinner. In an attempt to "market" our food to you, we had Batman Beef Monday night, with a side of Robin Hood Rice and Green Lantern Green Beans. The Robin Hood Rice was a huge hit. (It was Spanish Rice.) Last night was Spiderman Spaghetti. Gill, you pronounce it as "pasghetti." And you still say "aminal" instead of "animal." Oh, and you pronounce Netflix as Neckflix. But that's okay; since Jonas learned to read, he calls Hulu, Huh La. 

Both of you love the song "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons. We played it about 6 times this morning. I learned the chord progression on the piano and we sometimes sing it at home in the dining room.

This past weekend, you visited the Klumbs' farm in Harrisonville. You found an old skull and promptly mined the teeth from it. You came home with these giant molars. Jonas, you deduced that the animal was an herbivore because the teeth were flat. And you noticed a cavity in the tooth. I was totally grossed out and made you soak it in alcohol.

Gotta get to work. Love you both.

Mom

Say What?

Gill, Tonight, after dinner, we were talking about eye color. I mentioned that you, Jonas and Poppa's eyes were blue. You said they were like blueberries. You asked me what color my eyes were. After I told you they were brown, you said, "You have meatball eyes."