Soccer

Just when I thought that soccer wasn't going well...Brantley missed the last practice and the last game because he was sick. Today, we made it to practice and again Brantley got hurt. Probably 10 or 15 minutes into practice Brantley was out there crying. I didn't see what happened but I went out to get him and carried him off to the side. He just wanted to go home. Finally I coerced(threatened with everything I could think of) him to get back out and practice. The rest of practice went smoothly with only 1 other kid crying. After practice, the coach (assistant really) came up to me and said "He's really good. He has the best control and coordination of any of them." I told him that I didn't know where he learned it, he just came home from pre-school one day knowing how to dribble. He said "Some kids are just naturals." Now, uncle Matt isn't the only one who thinks he's a natural. After we left I really tried to play it up to Brantley and tell him not to be afraid to get the ball. Be aggressive. Get the ball. SCORE!!!

Progress Reports

I'm not really sure how you grade kindergarteners or even what standards should be imposed. But, I think this is a pretty good report. Brantley brings home a behavior calendar each day and each day it has been stamped "Terrific Job" until today. Today, he got in trouble. For......are you ready.....talking at rest time. Imagine that. Growing up my report cards would say "Talks to much." Guess we know where he got that from. I feel like he has finally gotten more comfortable with kindergarten. He's been acting more like himself and has made some friends. He's even invited to a birthday party in a couple of weeks. He was so excited the day he got the invitation. He still doesn't like the after-care program so I've dropped it. It actually has worked out pretty well as far as me getting home to meet the bus and it saves me even more money. It's actually really nice to be able to watch him get on the bus and be waiting for him when he gets home.

Family Trip

I'm taking suggestions for a location of a family trip. I want to plan something but I just can't decide on a destination. I really want to go somewhere that I haven't been before, possibly out of the country. I also want it to be somewhere that has some sites that Brantley would be interested in. Any ideas?

Thumbsucking

Brantley broke himself of sucking his thumb at least a year and a half ago. However, he still sucks him thumb in his sleep with out knowing about it. I've been trying to think of ways to get him to stop because he already has a bad cross bite because of the thumbsucking. We have to get him to stop before his permanent teeth come in so that, hopefully, his permanent teeth will come in properly. I tried the stuff that you paint on nails to stop biting. He woke up with a horrible taste in his mouth. A girl in my bunco group gave me the idea to put band aids on his thumbs. I thought this was a good idea until the next morning when we could not find one of them. I was so afraid that he had swallowed it. Wouldn't that be an interesting call to the pediatrician? We ended up finding it, but then I was afraid that he might choke on it if he were to actually suck on the band aid. So, I'm back to the stuff that you paint on the nails. He didn't wake up this morning with a bad taste in his mouth so that means he must not have sucked his thumb last night. Now, I just have to figure out how long I should keep putting that stuff on.

Soccer

This fall Brantley is playing soccer. He seems to like it. However, in 2 seasons of t-ball, I don't remember Brantley ever getting hurt and crying during practice. We've had 2 practices and each practice, something has happened. During the first practice, Brantley got kicked above his shin guard. He cried and got over it. Second practice, Brantley was going for the ball and got tripped up. He landed on the ball which apparently hurt. He cried and got over it. Is this going to happen every practice. I'm not too sure about this soccer thing. Baseball is looking better and better.

After-care

Well, today was Brantley's first time in after school care. He didn't like it. My idea was that he would get to play for 45 minutes or so instead of sitting on a bus. The problem is that they spend the first 10 or 15 minutes checking everyone in and getting organized. Then they give the kids a snack. When I got there, Brantley was just sitting there. He looked so sad, and relieved that I was there. I thought he was going to cry, and I was just about to myself. They had all kinds of cool centers and things. Brantley saw a box of pirate toys and another box of dinosaurs as we left. But, to get to play he'll have to be there longer than I wanted him to be there. He really wants to ride the bus home, but I just don't know. The bus really isn't as bad as I thought it would be. The driver seems really nice and Brantley seems to like it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what works for us.

The School Bus

Today, I put my baby on the school bus. Working full-time, there are some compromises that have to be made. Riding the bus in the mornings is one of them. I think it's important for kids to ride the bus. If everyone drove their child to school, traffic would be a nightmare and it would probably take 3 times as long to get all the children in the school. (Yes, I am trying to convince myself that riding the bus is the best situation.) That said, it was still hard for me to put Brantley on the bus. But, I was comfortable when I talked to the bus driver and a little girl sitting up front said she would make sure he went where he was supposed to go. I didn't get a picture of him getting on the bus because he was too quick, but I did get pictures of him waiting for the bus.

First day of kindergarten

Chicago

Brantley loves going to Chicago. We had a fun-filled long weekend in Chicago. Friday, we went to a children's museum which Brantley really enjoyed. I think Uncle Matt enjoyed it almost as much as Brant. We were going to go see a car show Friday night, but, as it does in Chicago, it rained. We did get to visit what must be the world's smallest candy and popcorn shop. Very cool. Saturday we went to the air and water show. We didn't see the water part - just the planes. Very cool and loud! And, Sunday we went to a Kane County Cougars game. It was just as hot there as it is here. Brantley had his customary soft pretzel as he does at all baseball games. Afterward, Rosemarie's parents had invited us for dinner. Brantley doesn't know what he missed by eating a hot dog instead of the meal Rosemarie's mom made. It was really good. I have to try to make those sweet potato fries. I bet Brantley would like them to if I could get him to try them. As always, I took lots of pictures which you can see by clicking here.

Right of Passage

I think it is correct to say that today was a right of passage. Today, he left behind his old friends to start a new adventure in Kindergarten next week. Meeting new friends will be new and exciting. A new school, a new teacher. Brantley will miss all of his friends and his favorite teacher - Ms. Jennifer. Here are some pictures from his last hurrah at pre-school.

Kindergarten Screening

Screening went very well. The teacher came out and called Brantley's name. He got up and went right to her and said hello. No issues. That was a relief. So, Brantley did his part. I had to fill out this questionnaire. There were questions on there about what his interests are, what my concerns about him are, etc. It also asked what I expected from the kindergarten program. I left it blank. I haven't a clue what I expect. He already knows more that I would expect him to know at this point, so what do I put down? It also asked what I would do to help them and help my child learn. I left that blank to. Jeez. I'm willing to do whatever is necessary to help my child. What is it that you want me to answer here. They'll probably think I'm an idiot but to me you can't answer questions like that on two lines. I'm probably giving them the misconception that I'm easy going, won't give them a hard time and don't expect much. Not good, because I will probably be one of the most over bearing mothers they have. :)

The Fair

We went to the county fair for the first time this year. Brantley had a great time riding the rides. I made the mistake of riding the black widow with him and I paid for it. Not only did I think I was going to throw up for quite some time after getting off the ride, I could barely move the next day. I was screaming(and about to start yelling some expletives) the whole time while Brantley was telling me to stop. He actually didn't like that ride either. Brantley also got to get in this huge tractor which he thought was cool. It was even bigger than papa's tractor! You can see some more pictures here. It was a nice fair but nothing compared to the Wisconsin State Fair. We've been a couple of times and we need to take Brantley some time.

Kindergarten Picture

Here is the picture from kindergarten camp.

Artwork

Do you remember Brantley's version of a stick figure? Well, his stick figures have changed. What do you think? I like the way the hands are shaped like Bs.

Kindergarten

Kindergarten hasn't actually started, but we had Kindergarten camp. Brantley had a blast. They got to go to the different areas of the school, like a sampling of what their days will be like. The first day he got to go on the playground and I think he was impressed. He can't wait to get back on the playground. He also told me something about a mouse that comes out in the library when they have story time. Not sure what that's about. They also got to get on the bus. When I picked him up, I didn't notice his buddy that had been there that morning so I asked about him. Brantley said "He got hurt." He said something about dancing and a table and that he was hurt. Alrighty then - kindergarten hasn't even started yet. We saw him the second day and he did have a pretty good gash on his forehead. No stitches because he wouldn't sit still for that. They used the glue. In the car on the way to pre-school he was telling me about the bus and he said "Mommy, the bus didn't have any seatbelts!!" His friends at pre-school were so funny when he got there at lunch time. One of his best friends came over and said "Where have you been?" just like a mom would when she's worried about her child. The second time another friend said "Brantley, did you go to kindergarten again?"

I tried to post a picture but it's not working. I will try again later.

Pictures

I finally took Brantley for his annual pictures. This is probably the last time I will do this since he will start having school pictures. All of the pictures were so good, I couldn't decide what to get so I ended up with way too many pictures. And, since I bought so many pictures I got the whole session on a CD. I put them on the gallery website to share. Let me know your favorites and if I have them I'll send them. The printed ones have been cropped, centered, etc.

Hummingbird

Something interesting happened today. A hummingbird got trapped in our garage. They are so pretty, but apparently pretty stupid. We left the door open thinking it would fly out and it didn't. Then, we put a feeder in there hoping it would eat and it wouldn't go near it. So, what do you do but get on the internet to find out what to do. I actually found a website that had the specific question, "Help, I have a hummingbird trapped in my garage." Apparently, they are attracted to the red handle on the chain release that hangs down when the garage is open. They fly in and get disoriented and immediately fly straight up. Our garage has a really high ceiling so the poor thing just kept flying back and forth. The article on hummingbird.org said that they do not like to fly in the dark so close the garage door and when they fly over a clear space on the floor, turn off the light. They are supposed to land on the floor, but this little guy wouldn't do it. It would grab onto the wall and perch, or perch on parts of the gargage door mechanisms. I had my hands on it a couple times but I was too afraid that I might hurt it. I was amazed how tiny they really are. And, this one wasn't very colorful. Apparently, it is a black chinned hummingbird. At one point it landed on the bar that the chain from the opener runs through. I got on the ladder and set the feeder right next to it and it wouldn't get on it and eat. I tried to nudge it but it just cried. Not it's normal chirp, but literally a cry. I think the poor thing was about to starve. I gave up after about a hour of trying. I can't believe it didn't die. Finally, I opened the door and hung the feeder on the red handle. I figured, that's what attracted it in there, maybe it would find the feeder that way. After I went inside, I got another idea. I went in the back yard and got the hanger for the off insect repellent lantern and took it around to the garage. I was going to try to put the feeder on it and put it just outside the garage. As I was trying to get the lantern off, the hummingbird landed on the feeder. I just stood there but I didn't want to scare it. Finally, I moved away and went in the house through the back door. I peaked through the door to the garage and watched as the bird landed on the feeder again and finally flew out! YES!!! I closed the garage and put the feeder outside. Hopefully she will find it. I'm sure she's starving.

I got in trouble...

One thing I know is that you have to pick your battles. So, there are things that I am really strict about, and others that I'm not. One thing I'm really strict about is being buckled up the the car. Brantley knows that he gets in the car, gets buckled up, and stays buckled up until the car is parked and no longer moving. Well, you know I have this habit of unbuckling while I'm parking in the garage - it's the multi-tasker in me. Today, I unbuckled while parking and Brantley called me on it. He said "Mommy (in a stern 5 year old voice), you took your seat belt off before we were parked." What do you say to that. "Yes, Brantley, you are right. It won't happen again." :)

Brantley Collage

We are putting together a scrapbook for my boss who was promoted and is moving away from us. Each of us has one square to do with as we please. I figure she doesn't want to look at a picture of my ugly mug, and I'm definitely not creative enough to write a poem or do anything other than tape pictures to the square. So, I did a collage of Brantley baseball pictures. She's a baseball fan and she likes hearing stories about Brantley. So, here is my Brantley collage. Pretty cute I think.

Quotable Quotes

Various phone conversations: "A real power ranger came to my party. Yeah. He was awesome."

While watching Little People with mommy: "Mommy, let's talk about kindergarten."

On the morning of his actual birthday: "Are you sure I'm 5 today. Let me look at my hands. Nope, my fingers aren't long enough. Are you sure I'm 5."

At dinner today: "Mommy, will I have to do homework when I'm in kindergarten. I like homework. I can't wait to do homework."

After dinner: "I'm doing my homework. See, these are check marks."