Teacher's Pet

Grayson school has restuctured their staff a bit and he has a new teacher in his classroom. I've been getting to know her bit by bit when I pick him up each evening, and although she's fresh out of college, she's great with the kids and seems passionate about her job. His long-time teacher (which we really like) is still there too.

I am happy about the change and since the new teacher is with Gray from 9:30 a.m. through the end of the day, she usually has a detailed report of his day or a funny story to share.

Yesterday she told me that Gray asked her how old she was. The teacher told him she was 21, to which he replied, "When I get to be that old, I'll be in the home."

I have no idea where he got this, but luckily she cracked up laughing. She said she even went home and told her family the story. I think we need to work with Gray on how to make a good first impression. Telling a woman she's old is probably not the best approach.

Thanksgiving 2011

We just got home from visiting Michael's family in Houston and we had such a fun time catching up with everyone. We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving and the birthdays of two cousins while we were there, making it a busy and very memorable trip. Here are a few of the highlights:

Miss Rhyann sporting the cutest turkey shirt ever. Her mama Jennifer made the adorable feathers out of ribbons, so clever!

Gray showing Rhyann how to pump your legs to get more height. Unfortunately, I think I had lulled Rhyann nearly to sleep from the swinging motion.

 

Gray burning off some sugar after Turkey Day nap time.

One of many wrestle/tickle sessions with Uncle Andrew.

Celebrating Rhyann's first birthday!

We also celebrated Blayne's 10th birthday.  I think he may have had a messier face than his baby sister in the end.

Gray having fun on the bouncy at the birthday party. He now wants to ask Santa for a castle bouncy house.

Daddy couldn't pass up the fun, although he said he went in to make sure Gray didn't get hurt. Yeah, right.

Cousins Grayson, Blayne & Rhyann

On our way home from Houston, we took a slight detour off of I-35 and went through the Festival of Lights in Ardmore, OK. We've passed by this holiday light display many times from the interstate, but decided it was worth a tour this year and amazingly enough, it's free! I definitely recommend it if you're in the area. Here were a few of my favorite displays:

Some volunteers handed out candy canes at the end and Grayson thought he won the lottery.

Thankfulness A.D.D.

Grayson has been so focused on Christmas that we have to keep reminding him that Thanksgiving comes first. In an effort to get him excited about giving thanks, we also told him we're going to see Nana and Popper.

Now every morning and night he asks about them and if it's Thanksgiving yet. I'll be so relieved when it's finally here and the rapid-fire questioning ceases.

When I ask him what he's thankful for he lists anything and everything that comes to mind. His response usually includes whatever we're doing at the moment...eating, playing, reading, etc. 

At school, his teacher made a poster with a list of everything each student is thankful for. Next to Gray's name it lists, "food, my mommy and daddy." At least he managed to get his priorities in order for the teacher, even if food did rank before his loving parents.

Full of Surprises

These days Grayson is constantly surprising us. From busting out new vocabulary (in context) to playing computer games, our boy is three going on 13.

Today, I arrived at Gray's school to find him sitting at the computer, mouse in hand, playing a computer game. I've noticed the computer in his classroom before, but it's never been on when I'm there so I didn't think he ever played with it.

To my surprise, Gray was pretty good at maneuvering the mouse and was able to click on various shapes and drag them over to the sandbox and arrange them (which was the point of the exercise). When it was time to go, he clicked on "stop" and then turned off the screen like he does it everyday.

I don't think he's on email yet, but I fully expect a message any day now proving me otherwise.

Daddy's helper

Last Sunday we took a drive after church so we could enjoy the gorgeous weather, fall foliage and also check on Nana and Popper's lake house.

They recently got a deer feeder to train the deer to come back around so we can hopefully catch some sightings. Michael took care of filling it with corn as Gray supervised.

Supervising is hard work, so you'll see he's eating an apple to keep his energy up.

Two thumbs up...good job, Daddy!

After the chores were done, it was time for a little hike. Nothing like tromping around in the mud wearing your church clothes. The day was too nice to say no.

Pass the Kleenex...and the soup

I think I got Gray's cold, which started in my chest and has now moved to my head. My major accomplishments from Saturday through Monday included moving from one couch to another, then back to the bed. I did manage to pull it together enough to go back to work on Tuesday, but it's been a rough week.

Luckily, I have two sweet guys to take care of me. Michael keeps me fed and hydrated, while Gray cuddles up under my blanket on the opposite end of the couch and "reads" me stories.

We haven't been doing much this week (since I've been going to bed earlier than Gray some nights), but I hope to have more updates on our silly boy for you soon. Stay tuned.

TV reality check

Have any of you recently received a blank TV diary in the mail from Nielsen Research asking you to log your TV time for a week? We started ours last Thursday and it's been interesting to look back and see what we watch.

We usually let Gray watch 30-60 minutes of PBS in the evening while I'm fixing dinner and we're waiting on daddy to get home. Other than that, he doesn't watch TV until the weekend when we let him watch a few additional PBS shows like Sesame Street.

Michael and I have always tried to limit Gray's TV time, and when he does get to watch TV it's always PBS or something educational (except for the OU football game last Saturday). This diary exercise makes me wonder about other families and what is "normal" viewing time for kids. Part of me feels like he should probably watch less, and then on the flip-side I don't really care what everyone else does or thinks.

I love PBS because they don't play commercials, so Grayson isn't bombarded by the latest toys, sugary cereal, etc. Plus, each show has some kind of educational component like learning letters or vocabulary words.

I'm probably justifying his TV time a little too much, but I have to say, I think it's pretty balanced with everything else Gray does throughout the day. He would always watch more if we'd let him (and doesn't hesitate to ask), but I think we're all pretty content with the current arrangement.

All that said, I would love to see the results of the Nielsen data once everything is collected and compiled. Is there any national correlation between households with kids who love PBS, men who love NOVA/science shows and women who love House Hunters or Bravo! shows? Or are we a TV viewing phenomenon?