Monday, September 24, 2012

the Kids

Once again...an eternity has passed since my last entry.  We have been incredibly busy growing up around here!  Graham is finally doing better with preschool.  Right now he can recite the "Before Meals Prayer" "Angel of God" and "Pledge of Allegiance."  It is so fun to hear his little voice say those amazing things!  He has been doing great with potty training as we have wished the pull-ups a permanent fairwell!  I tell you what...once you erase one set of diapers and a container of formula from your grocery list, it feels like you have been given a small pay raise! 
Graham started going to "Happy Handstands" gymnastics class on Mondays/Wednesdays.  He had been asking me almost daily if I was going to sign him up for "mynastics" (that is what he calls it) so we waited until he turned 3 to get him going.  Graham really enjoys the class but we have not been too successful earning our stamps.  After each class is over, the kids are instructed to line up and go sit down on the balance beam with both hands on top of their head.  The coach walks down the line with her rubber stamp and ink pad.  If the child was a great listener and did a good job, they get two stamps.  If the child has some work to do in the listening department, they get 1 stamp.  Day 1:  Gabe and I watched alot of the class.  Every class, the kids start off by running laps around the gymnastics floor.  Next to the floor, there is a regtangular shaped trampoline that basically lines the whole South wall.  As all the kids are running their laps, Mr. Graham decides he is going to run on the trampoline....The coach attempts to stop Graham but as the coach gets to the end Graham is on, Graham runs to the other end.  This happened a few times before the coach finally caught him.  Proud parent moment right there.  NOT.  After their warm-up they sit down and do some stretches.  Graham decided that stretching was not really what he wanted to do so he was going to walk around through the other groups.  This class is for 3-4-5 year olds so they are all in small groups. When the first class was over, the coach gave Graham one stamp.  He looked at his friends and noticed they were all getting two, so he asked why he only had one.  The two coaches looked at each other and she gave him another stamp!  Both Gabe and I witnessed this and at the same time "shouted" "Come on!...He didn't deserve that!"  She responded, "I know but he is so cute!"  We told her not to give him two stamps unless he deserves it next time :) It took some work but he has finally managed to fall into the routine along with his fellow gymnasts.  He is the only boy in his group.  I drop him off and then leave but I do try to watch at least 10 minutes or so of the class.  Graham EARNED 2 stamps last Tuesday for the first time!!!  And then Thursday I took him to class...he refused to walk in...wanted me to carry him...refused to let me put him down...refused to take off his shoes....I had had to wake him early from his nap and that did not go over so well.  Needless to say, we left.  We shall see how this week goes :)

As for Kamryn Louise....she continues to be a social butterfly as she tells EVERYONE she sees, no matter where we are, "HI!" or "Hello" but hello sounds more like "Hel-whoa!"  She is also saying, Dada, Mama, Papa, Nana, Azzi, bubba, "tank tee" (her version of thank you), "more" (prounounce 'Moh!", signing more, please, and thank you.  Her other favorite word is "NO!"  She hears this quite a bit.  Kamryn still enjoys splashing in the toilet bowl, Azzi's water dish, eating Azzi's dog food, chasing Azzi with whatever food she has in her hands, pushing Graham's buttons, playing with her little tyke basketball goal, and getting into her mama's purse.  She is not a girly girl yet.  The instant I put a bow in hair, she rips it out...looks at me and does a cackly laugh.  Is "cackly" a word?....She melts your heart by giving you this special puppy dog look and sticks out her hands opening and closing them wanting you to hold her!  This is hard for anyone to resist!  As onery as she is becoming, we love her to pieces!  Graham and Kamryn absolutely adore each other.  They get so excited to see each other when they have been away from one another...even if it is just 5 hours or so.

Well, I suppose I will wrap up this post.  Time to wake up Graham so we can get ready for Gymnastics...as the journey continues.........Good day :)