Back to the books

Here I am in front of my school. Ready to learn!

Growing up. Sniff. Sniff.

I will hold it up high, like this!

Hi new friends. Ms. Chamberlain and Ms. Boone pictured. Ms. Milem, not pictured

Being three and stuff

So many fun things going on in life right now. Shepard is increasingly verbal about EVERYTHING. He sorts out life out loud, as most kids his age do.

"Mommy, you have a normal car. If you hit that car in front of you, it will break."

"When I get bigger, I can drive too."
(Yes, but you have to take a very hard test, drive around with a teacher, learn what all the signs mean...and if you try to drive without doing all that, you can go to jail.) This actually happened in the car yesterday. I'm pretty sure he thinks he's qualified to drive a big car now, so I have to do everything in my power to keep him a little fearful of trying it.

I turned off the lamp in his room for night-night.  "How rude. I like it a little bit light. How rude."
He wasn't trying to be sassy. Once we adjusted the light to his liking (what do I care...just go to BED!), he said, "Now, that's just the way I like it."

"Mommy, that's a concrete truck. It pours out...and you can't walk on it because it's sparkly."

So, you see. Sometimes things make the best sense in his head, but if you hang around him long enough, you start to see where he's coming from and the connections he makes. It's like peeking into his brain, because he processes everything through questions and dialogue. I love it. I've made a promise to myself and to Jerod to answer every question. Always. Even when I'd rather just pull out a Jen Hatmaker and say "I don't know. ASK JESUS!" (She's my favorite. That's her blog link back there, but for good fun and frivolity; I like to see what she posts day-to-day on facebook.)

We started a new preschool program this week. He left behind the best day care we could have asked for (he's been there since he was 9 weeks old!), and has moved on to a program that's more structured and very close to my work. As a matter of fact, they were having a picnic on the lawn today; and I got to see him for a few minutes unobserved.

Here are his first day of preschool photos:

No more baby here. Sigh.

 

 

 Oh, and remind me to tell you about the time he called me on his hand (by dialing it like a phone...).

It's the year of the retro-post. Happy Fourth of July!

Pay no attention to the post date.

I would say it's been a crazy year, but I'm beginning to think they're ALL crazy. So, no excuses. I'm spending more time with Shepard these days due to a later bedtime, so I think my blog-time must have been in the evenings after he went to bed. But I can't remember because I'm so flippin' tired.  :)

Shepard's day care has a great tradition of doing a Fourth of July parade each year. Each class makes t-shirts and hats, the fire truck comes out, and a four-piece jazz band...and they go around the block in their strollers, wagons, golf carts, etc. ALL decked out with stars and stripes. It's great fun. Jerod got to go this year and take some photos (it was on July 3, and I had to work). It's such a big deal for the kids. When they come back in to the gym, they get sno cones and there are bouncy houses. It's a big party.

Parade-goers. Lots of parents and grandparents.

Shepard in the bouncy house

The fire fighter let the kids sit up in the fire truck!

Then, he let Shepard hold a real fire hat.

The squinty-eyed smile of late.

Passing time before the big parade.

While you're waiting...

...for delinquent Mama to post something funny or meaningful, here are Shepard's April 2013 "school" pictures. When did he get so big?
I will also add that the "no free time" issue that has prevented me from posting anything awesome in two months is directly tied to my little night owl who refuses to sleep before 9:45 pm and the mama who refuses to let him just run willy-nilly around the house until then.
I have a delightful backlog of items that will be getting a proper blog post.
But yes, until then...here's sweet Shepard:

 

This week, Shepard has been talking non-stop about fire ants. After our "rain walk" a few weeks ago when we saw the poor, flooded fire ants having ant parties on top of their mounds, he's been searching for and observing them. He helped Daddy eradicate several mounds from the yard yesterday. 

He's also really, really good at delaying bedtime. Here's an uncomprehensive list of tactics.

 

"I gotta go potty." --what do you say to that? I can't deny him the potty. We've barely gotten that party started as it is.

"I need some chocolate milk." --bring chocolate milk-- "NOOOOOO! I need regular milk!!!!!!"

----um. I brought you what you asked for, so that's what you have. Deal. (yes, I say this)

"Can you read Llama red pajama again?" --ad infinitum, ad nauseum

"I need to go say night-night to _________ (insert anyone here)."

*poop in diaper* *change diaper* *wash hands* --if he's on his game, he can turn this one into a good 10-15 minute situation

"Let's play blocks/cars/anythingexceptreadingabook!" --um. No.

I want to squeeze him and spank him all in the same moment. Most nights I end up falling asleep in his bed and just hope he's ok until he falls asleep himself.

 

School pictures

I'm a sucker for the school picture. I just have to get them. They couldn't get a class picture of his spring class, which made me sad, as we really liked his teachers and classmates. So, this picture is priceless to me. These are his "school friends" that we go see each day. They are such a big part of his life right now. He comes home singing all kinds of songs these days, like "Baa, baa black sheep," his ABC's, "Bringing home a baby bumblebee..." It seems he is constantly learning new things.
Here are his friends and teachers, Miss Lecara and Miss Leah.

L-R: Front-Trevor, Xavier, Rylen; 2nd-??, RJ, Devin, Shepard, ??; Back: Miss Lecara, Aiden, ?? Hayden, ??, ??, Miss Leah

I need to work on the girls. A lot of the boys he's been with since he was tiny.

They have group time in front of this wall each morning and discuss what month, date and day of the week it is. They go through their shapes and colors. It's terribly cute to see. None of them can sit still for more than 20 seconds.


 Who's that handsome little man!?!?!

It was 90 degrees outside when they took these "fall" pics. I didn't know there would be a full-length pic. Oh well. Please note the blue bandaid on the big toe.  :)

Why does my child look five?

August has flown by. Our house is on the market, so that means extra excitement every morning, trying to make sure there isn't wet oatmeal on the wall or a fire truck in the hall. I have a few little videos of nothing much to get on here soon. Meanwhile, enjoy these photos of Shepard I took on Tuesday. He looks sooooo grown up (and handsome, if I do say so myself). Every year we "help" Daddy with his school bulletin board, so these were for some posters that will go up in Daddy's room.

Sweet smile. Sweet boy.

He's got the whole world in his hands...and a few bruises and knee scrapes.

Who's that cute guy on the screen?

Here's a flashback from bulletin board 2010...sigh.

And one more from 2010...

Hee hee hee hee haa haa haa haa!

Shepard has learned the fine art of the social smile. I hope to capture it soon. He is also googling (not on the computer!) and gurgling and making noises other than "I'M STARVING! DOES ANYONE HEAR ME! STARVING! HELLOOOO?!!!???" which sounds a lot like a cry. Not that we're withholding food, mind you.
As a friend said tonight, he's turning into a baby...to which I replied..."You mean, not a lump that sleeps all the time?" And yes. He was a cute sleeping lump, but we're starting to get those wee glimpses of person and personality.
We visited his new school today for a while and met his "teachers." I'm not sure what else to call them. They must have a lot of patience. I can't quite imagine multiplying Shepard by 7 and handling that well. He's sweet, but MAN! That's a lot of diapers and tending.
We're fairly sure he's at least four feet tall now (I joke, I joke, I kid), but looking forward to his two-month visit next week. I'll be sure and post his stats. I will return to work next week, so I'm having mixed emotions about all of that. He's been my sidekick now for eight weeks. Thankfully, I can ease into things with several half-days and Labor Day off.
Signing off now. Hoping to get a wee nap before the next feeding.

~The Mom.