Newfound freedom

Sam does things on his own timetable.  He apparently waits to learn a new skill until he feels he can perfect it.  He didn't potty train until he was 3 1/2, but the day he finally decided to train, he never had another accident.  Not even at night.

The same is true for riding a two-wheeler.  We have been bugging Sam to learn to ride a bike for over a year.  He was very resistant to practicing.  He didn't even like to ride the bike with training wheels on.  He simply walked everywhere. 

Well, he finally decided he was ready.  He mastered the skill with minimal help from Bill (and zero help from me).  And now, the kid is everywhere.  He is so proud of himself and he loves to ride his bike (which is a hand-me-down from TJ).  He spent hours tooling around the neighborhood after school today.  To look at him, you'd never know this was a brand-new skill.

It took him so long to master this, that he's really outgrown this bike already.  I guess it's a good thing he has a birthday coming up later this summer.

In case you are wondering, it is now much easier for him to check on the neighbor's sprinklers.  He can zoom over as soon as he sees one turn on!

Here he is, practicing at Grandma's house yesterday.

A new perspective

On Saturday evening, I got the phone call I had been dreading.  My beloved grandmother had passed away.  We all knew it was coming.  I just kept hoping it wouldn't be for awhile.  That I'd have time to go visit her again.  That I'd be able to see her smile again.  That I'd be able to kiss her soft cheek again.

But she's gone.  After I hung up the phone, I cried harder than I've ever cried before.  I've struggled to figure out why.  I loved my grandpa just as much, but his death didn't hit me quite as hard.  I think it's because they are both gone.  The two of them are part of my most cherished childhood memories.  Now that they are both gone, it's like that part of my childhood is gone.

The boys are sad, to be sure.  But they really dislike how sad I am.  I can understand.  As I child, I hated seeing grownups cry.  A child's world feels less secure when grownups cry.  But I can't help it.  I've explained to the boys that I am not sad for Grandma.  I know she's in heaven, and I know she's happy to be with Grandpa again.  It's just that I miss her so very much.

TJ listened to me explaining this for probably the third or fourth time the other night.  Then he said, "Yes.  But think about her mom and dad.  They were probably awfully happy to see her."

I hadn't thought about that once.  My grandma hadn't seen her dad in 30 years.  And honestly, I have no idea when my great-grandma died.  It was much longer ago than that.  She must've been overjoyed to see her parents again.

His comment was made very matter-of-factly, but it did cheer me up.

I still miss her though.  Heaven just got one amazing lady.

And I'll probably still cry.  I can't help it.

Tigers Game

Last week Friday, we went to the Tigers Game.  We got tickets through the boys' school and some of the proceeds went back to the school.  It was so much fun.  Bill's mom came with us, and it was the very first Tigers game Sam and Nolan had been to. 

We made it through the entire game, which the Tigers won quite handily.  The boys all enjoyed it, but Sam was enthralled.  He never left his seat once.  No bathroom trips, no trips to explore the park, no trips for snacks (although he did almost single-handedly polish off a bag of peanuts Bill bought).  Sam was just soaking everything in.  He asked questions about the game.  He watched the idiotic seagulls flying around.  He noticed the lighting.  He noticed the moths flying in front of the lights.  Bill pointed out some bats (as in, blind flying mammals, not baseball bats), and Sam studied those.  Sam kept saying, "This.  Is.  Awesome!"  Two Tigers hit home runs.  The Chevy fountain in the outfield shoots up water when a home run is hit.  Sam was ecstatic.  Sam's most favorite part was the fireworks display at the end.

As we left, Sam asked when we could come back.  It's too bad Tigers tickets aren't cheaper.  He'd be there every week if he could.

Hollyword Week

The kindergarten classes have had 'Hollyword Week' all week. They've been doing fun activities utilizing the popcorn words they've learned all year (one activity was a paper snowball fight. The papers had words written on them and when a kid was 'hit', they had to read the words to the class. Cute). Today they capped off the week by dressing like Hollywood stars. I pondered this one all week. I didn't want Nolan to get too dressed up, as he still had outdoor recess. I thought about covering him in tattoos and pants that were falling down and having him go as Justin Beiber, but opted not to do that. Finally, I just put him in a preppy button-down shirt and some khaki pants and told him to look cool. He had brand-new sunglasses to wear as well. His awesome Angry Birds sunglasses met a grizzly fate last week. He still has no explanation for why he'd put them out in the grass right before Daddy started mowing. 

Anyway, Nolan got dressed this morning and asked me to snap his pants. He said the snap was too hard for him. This concerned me, as he obviously would need to go to the bathroom at some point during the day. I asked him if his teacher could help him. Nolan said yes, but then he added, "or Ricky could help me. He's a good helper". Ricky lives a couple houses down from us and is in Nolan's class at school. They are good buddies and I was touched to hear that Ricky looks out for Nolan. 

While the boys were eating breakfast, I was finishing packing up their lunches. I commented that in exactly four weeks, I wouldn't be packing their lunches because they would be on summer vacation. Nolan grinned and said, "Yep, and I'll be a first grader!" I looked shocked and I asked who told him that. "Ricky. He knows lots of stuff."

That comment cracked me up but part of me was saddened. First grade? My baby? How can this be happening?

Here's Sam posing with our nutty little super star, and then a picture his teacher emailed me:

Super Hero Second

Nolan was snuggling next to me at bedtime. He asked me if I would carry him down the hall to bed. I nodded and he jumped in my arms. I had a good grip around his waist so his head was way over mine. He was thrilled and told me I was a super hero. I was feeling pretty good about myself until he proudly added, "I can call you Big Mama."

Moment over. Ego deflated. 

Happy Mother's Day!

My favorite part about Mother's Day is the cute projects the kids bring home from school. It really gives me insight into what they are thinking. And they almost always make me laugh. 

Sam's paper cracked me up right away. He gave it to me on Thursday. I pointed out to Bill that I wasn't going to church that day, so there were no expectations for me to look good. I also laughed about Sam's understanding on how I love a good vacation. Finally, I love my walks with Sam, too. He's so observant and insightful while we walk. 

Nolan had made me a small book. The cover said "I love you because.." and each page was a different reason Nolan loves me. My favorite page said 'you made me a minion cake'. On that page, I'm saying "Nolan is going to love this!" 

TJ didn't make me anything this year. Guess he's getting too old for that. He mopped for me instead, which I totally appreciated!