"You sit! . . . Time out!"

I don't know what his street signs did.

But apparently it wasn't good. . .

How to Catch a Bird: Part 2

He's not about to give up. This week he announced yet another plan to catch a bird. . .

Since the whole throw water on the bird (logic: birds don't fly in the rain) hasn't worked out yet. . .nor the sneak up quietly so it can't hear you and grab it either. . .The next plan would be:

hide behind a tree when the bird is on the other side: grab it! (logic: because he won't know you're there)

I'm having Wile E. Coyote flashbacks.

exhibit a:

Today marks the last day of my volunteer visits with Jack's Kindergarten class. There was a sub today. . .which made my last day interesting =0]

However, this story is about Luke.

PapPap so givingly watched Luke once a month while I went to Kindergarten with Jack. He was a little nervous in the beginning. . .watching Luke all by himself for 3 hours. . .just the two of them. . .and Luke was a little nervous too being without Mama.

He quickly grew to love this time with PapPap. . .looking forward to their time together. . .

Especially because the first order of business was to climb into PapPap's truck

[ big twuck ]

and head to Eat and Park. Where they have breakfast together. . .well, PapPap has breakfast. Most importantly, Luke drinks milk from a big cup and a straw. . .and has the coveted Eat n Park smiley cookie.

Then PapPap buys a whole dozen of them to bring home (so the boys can live on a cookie fueled sugar high for days). As the months wore on, PapPap liberally allowed Luke to have another cookie to munch on when they returned home.

Today, I opened the box to find many cookies with one or more bites out of them . . .

Seven bitten cookies to be exact.
One one completely gone.

No wonder the child won't eat anything else.
Gotta love time with PapPap =0]

must read stories this week. . .

Luke has new favorite stories often. . .ones that we read over
and over
and over and over and over. . .
Until he has them memorized. And he can read them himself at naptime. . .or bedtime. . .
Or repeat them as he plays (or while in the car. . .while we shop. . .).

This week's favorites include:

Little Bill's Happy Valentine's Day (he loves when Baby Jamal grabs Little Bill's nose)

The Monster Under the Shed (he loves the thump! thump! as Thomas hears the monster outside his shed)

and Percy's Chocolate Crunch (he loves anything that involves crashing and huges messes)

boyish memories

He says little things all the time that give me pause. . . Witticisms. . . Views of the world. . .

And memories. . .

Can a five year old boy really have memories beyond this past year?

Tonight. . .

He told me of when he used to throw blue and green (his beloved blankies) on the floor. . . Just so I would come in and pick them up (such a little stinker). . . I remember. . .

And he was two. . .

And days ago, at bath time. . .

Mama, do you remember when I got too big for the blue seat in the tub?
Yep, I do. A sad day. . . A reminder that he was growing so big. . . No longer a baby. . .
And fearful. . . Can he really be ready to balance on his own. . . Was he ready to sit all by himself in the tub? Wouldn't he slip under the water. . .

And again, he was two. . .

And he did just fine. . . but I cannot believe he remembers those days that should be almost a lifetime ago in his childhood years. When waiting for Disney next month is just too far away. . . and will never get here. . . And summer is a lifetime. . .

And yet, he remembers. . . Moments that I will never forget.

second soccer practice

Yesterday. . .

A warm early evening spent at Hempfield Park. . .

Watching Luke pick dandelions (headfirst into the grass under the bleachers. . .
prettee fowers. . .)

And Jack run back and forth across the field. . .
Happily kicking the soccer ball in a game with five other boys (all in blue shirts). . .
not knowing which goal really belonged to their teams. . .
but delirious to play. . . with other little people. . .
playing with a child's abandon: running pell mell and full tilt. . . screaming meaningless sounds proclaiming his consuming happiness. . .

And happy to announce that he made four scores! And that blue team won (never mind that both of their teams wore blue shirts, grin). . .sixteen points!

Such a happy day =0]

living purposefully. . .

A good morning this morning. Made a conscious effort to start early. I'm such a last minute girl . . . and pay the price of rushing every time.

So, ran off to shower after getting Jack on the bus. Made a list of items to do this morning (post office, drug store. . .). Filled sippy cups. And off we went. . . chores completed. Made it to Luke's class early.

And he was so much happier for it.

He immediately said hi to a boy as we hung up our coats. And he is the shyest boy I know. Shrinking behind his Mama's leg in fear of any child. . .

My heart singing already.

Immediately he was ready to sit Mama in circle time. Ready to sing.
Where's Max? [his school buddy. . .at least the one he fears the least]

After no one joined us, we were off to play.

He climbed the steps for the slide (with a Mama's help). Many times. Not too intimidated by all the children climbing and sliding and screaming around him.

No complaints when the clean up bell rang. Immediatly running to the carpet to sit by moonie moooonnnn! Sang fun songs. And played ring around the rosy.

Such a great day. =0]

Making me think more about living purposefully. . .rather than just existing day to day. Making meaning in my day. Looking ahead. But, savoring our small and big moments together.

Thinking about finishing my list. . . What do I want this year to mean? Where do I want to be? Time is flying past me so quickly. . .what do I want to feel like I didn't miss. Things that won't have passed me by because I grabbed them and made them part of me. . . My memories. . .

So that's today. Finishing my list. . . And getting to work on my year that I want to remember. . .