Thank goodness for new shoes

Day one of pre-K is officially over. It took a lot of convincing to get Gray dressed and out the door, despite the smile on his face in this picture. He still isn't feeling 100 percent, but woke up without a fever. Yay!

He's been home from daycare since last Friday, so he really wasn't excited about getting out of bed and having a new routine. I, on the other hand, had been awake since 5:30 a.m., unable to get myself to go back to sleep. 

The only way I managed to convince Gray he wanted to go to school was the fact that he got to wear his new shoes. We bought them a week or so ago and haven't been letting him wear them to daycare. That made them extra special since they were being saved for "big boy school."

Michael and I dropped Gray off together and he got to ride in the bike trailer which always makes him happy. He hugged us each about four times and hesitated a bit when we left, but the teacher distracted him with a coloring page. When we picked him up, he was really happy and said he had a good day. 

They had a snack (gummy fruit treats, his favorite) and got to play on the playground. He also told me he didn't fight...not sure why that was important since he's not usually a fighter, but it was one of the first things he reported. He said his teacher was nice and he is excited to go back tomorrow. Whew!

Then we rode from the elementary school to his daycare where he's also transitioning into a new room. It was a lot of change for one day, and there were tears when we left the daycare, but he at least has the same friends there that moved up with him to the new class so I'm sure it will be fine. 

I plan to pick him up early so he's not worn out from his first full day back. Fingers crossed his fever will stay gone this time around. 

Pre-K Eve

Tonight is officially a school night. Seems crazy to write that, but it's true. Tomorrow, Grayson begins life as a pre-kindergartner and our lives start rotating around the school calendar.

He missed going to Back to School Night with us on Monday due to a fever and prolonged upper respiratory infection. We're hoping some antibiotics we got today will kick in quickly so he can start on schedule.

Michael and I got to meet Gray's teacher, Ms. Daniel's, and see his brand-spankin' new classroom. The paint literally wasn't dry on the walls yet. I couldn't help but look around at some of the other kids and think they looked so big, so mature.

Some of them are pushing five while Gray is still a few weeks away from turning four. Of course, this makes me question if we're doing the right thing by sending him to school this year instead of next. Then he goes and does something that blows my mind, like reciting the names of every planet or building things like this all by himself:

I'm curious to see what happens at this new "big boy school" and if he loves it as much as I think he will. He's excited about his new "speed-fast" shoes, fresh haircut and first-day-of-school outfit, so if nothing else, at least he'll look good if he has a meltdown when we drop him off. Wish us all luck!

Weekend al fresco

The weather has (finally) become bearable again and we celebrated by spending a lot of time outdoors. We had a rough start on Friday, with Gray coming down with an upper respiratory infection that caused a low-grade fever.

The doctor told us to just treat the symptoms with over-the-counter medicine and by Friday night he was fever-free and doing better. Luckily, Grayson rebounded in time to see our friends Matt, Gina and Julianna, who recently moved to Fayetteville and came over for a visit.

Here are a few shots from Saturday with our friends:

Gina, Matt and our newest friend Julianna. So glad this family is now a short drive away instead of in Pennsylvania. 

Claire enjoying her rice! 

Every time Julianna saw the camera she hammed it up right on cue. Too cute! 

Gray and Cora relaxing in the hammock  

 Miss Cora taking a swing

We may have overdone it a bit the last few days because Gray's fever came back with a vengeance on Sunday, so we're spending the day taking it easy. I hope he kicks this thing for good before pre-K starts on Wednesday! 

Making an entrance

I'd like to introduce you to Lincoln, the newest heartbreaker in our extended family. He entered the world six weeks early, but at 5 lbs. 10 oz. and 19 inches, he's doing extremely well.

Lincoln is our newest cousin on Michael's side of the family and we are so proud of his mama Kristin and all that she endured the last few weeks of pregnancy (and kudos to new dad Jarrod too!). I can't wait to meet him and really hate that he's so far away in Houston.

Tonight as I was rocking Grayson, I was telling him about Tanta (that's what he calls Kristin) having her baby and that his new cousin was named Lincoln. He got a big smile and asked, "Can we keep him?"

I explained that Lincoln was going to live with Tanta and Jarrod, but that he was our family's to keep. We are so lucky and excited to have a new cousin to watch grow up and play with us!

The Jr. Artist

Michael has been teaching Grayson his love of painting and I think some of his recent artwork is kinda cool. Gray always starts out with green (his favorite color) and most of the time he's drawing "rockets," but it makes me happy to see him being creative.

The artist (and his farmer tan) at work 

I love the head tilt. He's really thinking about what he's doing. 

Here's the first canvas. The red dot in the corner is Gray's "mark" or signature.  

Here's the second canvas. We hung this one in the doorway to his room. Most of the artwork in Gray's room is Michael's, so Grayson was excited to have his piece hanging up like daddy's.

Can you hear me now?

Although we've been having all kinds of fun lately, in the spirit of honesty I should also share our current struggles. Gray has been having a really difficult time listening the last couple of weeks and we've had to form a united front with this preschool teachers to nip it in the bud. 

It started with several reports at school that he hadn't been listening to his teacher. Each time he gets a bad report or note sent home from school he knows something is going to get taken away. Usually that means no TV time or Buzz Lightyear gets put on the shelf. 

Despite our follow-through, it wasn't working so his teacher had to call in the big guns on Monday morning. She had been threatening, "Don't make me call your daddy!" and made good on her promise. Grayson had to get on the phone with Michael and get a talkin' to, plus he had to tell Daddy that in addition to not listening, he also threw a block and hit a girl in the eye. Let's just say none of us had a good day that day. 

In addition to the listening issues, we've also been having a really difficult time getting Grayson to go to sleep and stay in his bed. This makes him impossible to wake up each morning and further complicates the situation since he's tired and whiny. 

I've been noticing that each day we go without watching TV, his behavior seems to get better (we started Monday night). He wasn't even watching that much, but it's amazing to see how creative he has become with his toys and how much of a helper he wants to be around the house. Today he had a good report at school, but we're still not going to digress into the TV cycle again. He'll probably watch some over the weekend, but not in the hours leading up to bedtime. 

I'm also teaching him to say "Yes, Mommy" or somehow acknowledge a request so I know that he's heard me. I know his teacher can't do that with all her students, but hopefully if he's a better listener at home it will trickle over into when he's at school. 

Fingers crossed we're on the right track before "big boy school" starts in a few weeks. Wish us luck. We need all the help we can get!

Someone loves his veggies

When I was downloading the superhero photos I came across these on my camera. Thought you might enjoy them as much as Gray enjoys okra!

Introducing Super Robot!

This morning we channeled our inner superheros and drove down to Pauls Valley to participate in International Superhero Day at the Toy & Action Figure Museum. They were trying to set the Guinness book record for most original superheros in one place. 

Super Robot with Super Mom and Super Dad (you can't see it in this shot, but Michael and I have jet packs on our backs)

Being an original superhero meant you couldn't dress up like Spiderman or Batman, you had to create your own superhero. So we created Grayson the Super Robot! (You may recognize his Halloween costume, but this time we added a cape and omitted the robot legs since it was so hot.)

Unfortunately, we arrived about 30 seconds too late for the group picture, but managed to make it in time for the superhero parade back to the museum. All was not lost since I can honestly say Grayson was the most-photographed superhero there.

Everyone loved his costume and wanted to take his picture, even a couple of passing drivers stopped and asked if they could get a pic as we were walking. There was also a photographer from The Oklahoman who got a lot of photos of us and took down our names (both real and superhero names to be clear). Maybe Gray will make the paper again for attending a community event. 

Super Robot and Super Mom during the parade back to the museum

Here are a few shots from inside the museum. This place is a big and little boys' dream! 

It was an epic morning of fun and I'm glad we made the effort to attend. I'm not sure if they ended up setting the Guinness book record, but I'll keep you posted once they tally the numbers. 

Ready or not

Although I'm more than ready for fall, I'm not quite ready to shift into back-to-school mode. My mind still doesn't quite believe that my baby is already headed to "big boy school."

It may just be pre-K (or pre-kindergarten as our boy calls it since he insists on using the full word), but there are school supply lists involved, transportation logistics to work out, enrollment confirmation to deal with and teachers to meet...this is about to get real folks!

Tonight, I found myself making lists of supplies he needs and inventorying Gray's wardrobe as we prep for the big day. I'm trying to decide if it's all worth braving the tax-free crowds this weekend.

His recent growth spurt isn't helping matters either. All of a sudden, Gray's shoes are cramping his toes, he's too big for most of his pajamas and his t-shirts are too short. Not that we need to worry about it anytime soon, but all of his pants have become capris as well. At least with his shorts we can get away with them going from knee-length to just above without too much of an issue.

We've got a couple of weeks to get ready for the big day and I should warn you...I'm totally going to be "that" mom on the first day of school. Camera in hand and holding back tears, but so excited for our boy to start a new adventure.

Grayson is excited to have "homework" (a concept he learned about from the Arthur TV show/books). I should record his excitement now and play it back when he's a moody tween that I can't get to roll out of bed for the first day of school.