Bullsikes!

Anyone heard that word before? I don't have a clue where Brantley picked that one up. He'll tell you a story then say, "Bullsikes, tricked you!" I had to ask him to repeat it so I could figure it out. You assignment: figure out how to work the word Bullsikes! into your day.

The Loose Tooth

Okay, those of you who knew me growing up know I have issues with pulling teeth. I'm not sure what is holding Brantley's tooth in. It's so loose and it is sticking forward. I flossed around it some thinking it might pop out if I got it just right. I just can't stand the thought of pulling it out. I read an article (on parent center I think) that said you should let you child pull it out and encourage them to keep wiggling it because only they know if it hurts or not. Now, if it were left to me as a child, I'd still have all my baby teeth. Brantley has really been wiggling the tooth and seems to be getting looser. Maybe it will come out soon.

Dinosaurs and Caves

Today we went to Dinosaur World. It was okay, but there wasn't much to it. I think Brantley enjoyed it though. Since Dinosaur World didn't take as long as I thought it would, we decided to go to a Cave. We went to Diamond Caverns. There are no diamonds in the cave, but when they caves were first discovered, they saw shiny stones that they thought were diamonds and the name stuck. I was really glad we decided to go to the cave. We were really lucky and ended up getting a private tour. Not that it was really private, just that Brantley and I were the only ones there for the tour. The tour after us was full though. It was really nice having the tour guide just for us. He was really nice and knowledgeable. He had a history degree (used to be a middle school teacher) so he was really into the stories behind the discovery of the cave and the explorations. He kept asking us if we had any questions and we didn't until we got to the part when he turned off the lights. When he turned them back on, Brantley said, "I have a question. How is there a light switch in that rock?" It was really cute and I wish I had gotten a video clip of it. Check out the pics here.

Funny Story

I had to go to the doctor for some bloodwork so I took Brantley with me. As we were walking to the area where they were going to take my blood, Brantley said, "I don't think I can look." He sat in the chair across from me and started to cover his eyes. Then, he decided to watch. Afterward, I said, "Piece of cake, huh?" To which Brantley replied, "Cake? Where's the cake? I want some cake."

Happy St. Patrick's Day

This is from 2005, but I think it's so darn cute!

Annual Fun Run Update

Brantley did 16 laps in the fun run and raised $67 for his school. Thanks to all who donated!!

Funny Story

Have you ever gotten that email about things you learn as a parent, like how PB&J sandwiches don't really eject from a VCR like in the commercial. Well, we learned something today. We learned that Brantley's underwear can be flushed down the toilet and it doesn't clog. Yes folks, underwear can be flushed. I just wish it had at least been dirty underwear.

Teeth

Brantley is growing up so fast. He has his first loose tooth. I almost cried this morning. And, I talked to Ben's mom, and he has a loose tooth too. Brantley said that he hoped the Tooth Fairy brings him a dollar for his tooth. Ben, on the other hand, has higher aspirations. He thinks the Tooth Fairy is going to bring him one hundred dollars for his tooth. Well, the teeth have to come out first - wonder how long that will take?

Play Ball!

Baseball practice has started. I switched Brantley to a different coach for several reasons, but I didn't know the coach was new - and the team was new too. Apparently, last fall was the first time any of them played ball. This is Brantley's third season, so needless to say I was surprised to see them put him on the Tee. Of course they were surprised at how he hit that ball. He didn't miss a bit. Perfect swings. I guess I need to talk to the coach and be sure they are going to try pitching to him.

Pledges needed

Brantley is asking for pledges for the annual Fun Run at his school. This is a fundraiser for the school. You can pledge a specific amount or an amount per completed lap. Each lap is 1/10 of a mile and they have 30 minutes to complete as many as they can. Please let me know if you would like to make pledge. Brantley appreciates it!

Happy Birthday Dr. Suess

Tomorrow is Dr. Suess' birthday. All week the kids have been reading his books. Tomorrow they are supposed to dress like their favorite Dr. Suess character. I was able to borrow a hat from a friend at work, although I don't know if he will wear it or not. He's not much on participating in those types of things. He won't even wear his pajamas to school on pajama day.

Go Mariners!

It's baseball season my friends! Brantley is on the Mariners this year. He's been out practicing and according to Lawson, he's batting about 350. ;) In all seriousness though, he really is good. Lawson is amazed that he can hit an overhand pitch. (I think I said that right - apparently it's good for being so young.) He's throwing really well too. He says he's going to be a pitcher. I'm glad he enjoys it so much. It gets tougher this season. He has 2 practices per week until the season starts and then 2 games a week (possibly a practice in there each week too!).

Brantley Absent from School?

Today I got an automated phone call about 11:00 saying that my son was not in school and to be sure to send a note explaining his absence to school tomorrow. I was extremely upset by the call considering it was 11:00 and I put him on the bus at 7:40 this morning. I frantically called the school and it turns out there was a mix up because they had an early assembly for K-2 and Brantley's bus was late. First problem, even if his bus was late, shouldn't his teacher have corrected the attendance once she knew he was there? Second problem, the call did not happen until 11:00. If he truly were missing, a lot could happen in 2 1/2 hours. Errors like this should not happen. The principal said this morning was unusual and that the calls usually go out earlier. But, shouldn't someone verify the absences. There can't be that may kids absent each day they the list can't be verify so that parents like me are worried unnecessarily. She also said they just started using the system in January and that this was the first problem. All I have to say is it better not happen again.

Happy Valentine's Day!

I wasn't able to go to Brantley's party at school today. That's OK though because now when I do go to a party like that he just wants to leave and go home. Today's homework was to make a card and give it to someone you care about. Brantley decided to make a card for Carson. I told him I'd mail it tomorrow. He also made cards for me and daddy. He's doing really well with writing and spelling. Eventually, I will hook the scanner up so you can see some of his work. It's quite impressive.

Play Date

Brantley doesn't get to see his best friends from preschool very much so it's nice when they get to have a play date. By the way, that is the remnants of cheetos on their faces.

Breaking News!

Brantley finished the last 2 books in his stack so he gets to pick out a surprise. Congratulate him on a great job!

Reading Update

Brantley has read 21 books. He has 2 more to go before he is through the stack and gets a surprise. I'm pretty impressed with these books. Most of them are 12 pages long and have 1 or 2 lines of text on each page. He is having a hard time with words that don't sound out right, like what, this, that, with. I'm trying to tell him that letters such as TH and CK make a different sound than the individual letters together. You don't really think about how bad the English language is until you try to teach someone to read and have to teach all the exceptions to the rules.

SNOW!!!

Believe it or not, we actually had some snow!

Chuck E. Cheese

It took over 2 years of collecting tickets to get this!

Naked Brothers Band

Well, Brantley has been dying to watch the new Nick show - Naked Brothers Band. Last night was the premier and he was counting down. Well, the first 10 minutes we had already seen because all of it had been shown in the previews. Fifteen minutes into it, Brantley wanted to quit watching. So, I guess the show was a bust. We did end up sitting through most of it but we didn't watch then end. Oh well.