Ordinary Miracles

August 24th was our first day of school. We are participating in a Classical Conversations community. There are several communities in our area; this one meets only a few miles from our house at a wonderful church.

The short explanation of it is, we meet once a week to learn a common curriculum. We have a director to lead the entire community, and also a tutor who leads the smaller, age-based groups. SK's group has five boys who are 4 to 5 years old. The purpose of this program is not so much to have the tutor teach the students, as for the parents to observe and learn how to teach their own children through these methods at home. At one point this past week, we had three adults working with five children. We are learning as much as they are!

There are so many things we like about this program. As soon as I learned of it, I was ecstatic. We believe this is going to be a great fit for our family. I am enjoying sharing the materials with SK at home. It is fascinating to watch him learn, especially while enjoying the process. We started a new rule, though, of only 1 hour of TV on weekdays, while I am preparing dinner. When Saturday morning came, he was thrilled to be able to watch a morning cartoon, but wanted to know if we could please do school at home that day, as well.
One of SK's favorite aspects of the community is playing with several of the 10-11 year-old boys. Their parents emphasize the responsibility to be good examples for the younger children, and so far, it seems to be working well. It is heartening to see older boys playing gently and inclusively with children half their age. I write "boys" because this community seems to have a statistically disproportionate abundance of male children. It is an active and fun group!
SK was excited about his new tennis shoes, which make him run faster. He was also excited about his backpack. In it he carries his item for show and tell, a few books to look at while announcements are made in the large group assembly, and his morning snack. WB quickly ascertained that he, too, had his own special bag, which he takes to nursery. It holds his snack and a few diapers. He has insisted on carrying (dragging) his own bag, just like big brother. It takes us a long time to get into the building. Still, faster is not always better!

WB is enjoying the nursery at school, and at church too, for that matter. The mothers of children in the nursery volunteer on a rotation. It is so precious to be around so many sweet little toddlers and young preschoolers. I am enjoying getting to know the other mothers, as well.

The same Monday--the 24th--was SK's first T-Ball practice for the fall season. It was a busy day! He was confused upon realizing that his teammates and coach were not the same as those from the spring season. But he was excited to get back into it. They are going to be the Wildcats, and the first game will be this coming Monday.

WB is obsessed with his shoes. After much struggle and consternation, he learned how to slip on his own croc-style clogs (which look like Lightning McQueen). Now, he is deeply attached to all of his shoes, and always wants to have a pair on. He had a check-up recently, and threw a fit when we had to take his shoes off to weigh on the scale. We allowed him to carry them to the scale, and then I held them for the interminable 15 seconds it took to weigh.

He is all-toddler. Even as SK is maturing in his patience and ability to share, WB is intensifying his desire for anything his brother has. This past week he began clearly vocalizing "mine," complete with the apparently requisite whiny tone.

SK got a foam-ball-shooting gun at Christmas, and they both are crazy about it. I must admit, it's pretty fun to shoot. But on a recent afternoon, SK and I discovered that it is now a toy that can only be played with while WB is napping.

They enjoyed helping me start seeds for the fall garden. Nothing like dirt!

SK tells us stories that begin when we pull out of our driveway and end at our destination. They're exciting and dramatic, with hand motions and sound effects. And there are always--always--good guys and bad guys.

WB imitates him, of course. He waves his hands and babbles wildly. He also pretends to whisper in our ears by making little "tsk" noises.

But this week, he has moved beyond pretending to talk towards actually saying words we can understand. He calls Tex, "Eck." He says "Guck-oo" for "Thank-You." I can't think of them all right now, but he's learning very quickly. It's as if a language switch was tripped.

SK really wants to learn to read. We are in the thick of talking about letters and the sounds they make. He also wants to learn Spanish. I have put up a few labels around the house in Spanish, and although he doesn't yet read, he keeps asking me to say them aloud for him.
Both boys thirst to be read to. SK knows he's allowed 3 books at each bedtime and naptime, but he almost always pulls out more of them in an attempt to persuade me to read more. I don't give in, but it's really hard for me to say no to a book! Some of his favorites this summer have been, "Captain Raptor and the Moon Mystery," which is about dinosaurs in space; the Henry and Mudge books, which are the adventures of a boy and his pet (looks to be) Mastiff; and anything by Mo Willems.

He likes to grip the rail on his crib and get some air time. But yesterday, he was jumping on SK's bed and actually jumped without holding onto anything. As in, both feet simultaneously left the mattress and landed solidly. Glee! We went to our neighbor's birthday party this evening; she turned 10. They have a pool, in which the boys wore themselves out. Thanks to the practice he received from swimming at my Great-Aunt's house in Dallas, he was single-minded about jumping in. He now has no fear about walking to the edge and plunging in. Quite the opposite: he is crazy about it!
He's serious about that Lovey and his Mama upon waking from a nap.


Curiosity! In abundance!


Show us your muscles! Bad guys, beware.

SK keeps us in stitches. He likes to think he can tell knock-knock jokes. They're nonsensical, but we laugh anyway. Now, WB parrots him and says, "Ock, Ock, " and then starts laughing.

The newest addition to our family wriggled his way into our hearts and home on July 17th. KiSA got him at the Humane Society at a mere 5 weeks old. He was waiting when KiSA brought the boys and me home from the airport the next day.

He's supposedly Golden Retriever, but we also think he has Australian Shepherd in him. Either way, right now he's just a fluff ball.
It didn't take long for SK to bond with him. "Me and my dog are great buddies," he frequently says. As for WB, well, I just keep them separated. Neither one knows how to behave around the other. And until a couple of days ago, he merely tolerated me. For the most part, it's been all about Daddy.

He seems to grow before our eyes. He's gained 3 1/2 pounds in two weeks. We've managed to crate train him, and he's coming along with the housebreaking, but he still has no idea what a leash is for or how to follow any commands. We're confident he'll come along, though.It has been cathartic for SK to have Tex. He still thinks Jackson is our dog, and now he tells people we have two dogs, but one lives in Texas. We did not anticipate how much he would miss Jackson, and having Tex has seemed to alleviate most of his sadness. He had a good cry about Jackson after Tex arrived, and I'm of the opinion that it's healthier for him to have gotten those emotions out.
Our neighbor, who is a native Texan herself, thought up his name. He still doesn't know it's his name, but we like it. I'm sure he'll be the subject of more posts to come!