Friday: carnival

This evening was a carnival at Isaac's school.  It was a fun night.  I think Isaac had a ton of fun, while Joshua had fun.  Joshua didn't want to try all the games.  (This ended up being fine, since I didn't realize all the games would cost more than one ticket.  We probably still came out even over buying the 'unlimited' pass.)

There were a lot of throwing games.

And several games where you just ended up with candy no matter what.

Their favorite game was fishing.  You threw the hook over the board and then got some candy.

There was also a bounce house that they both had a blast with.  And dinner.  And balloon animals.  Isaac got a giraffe and Joshua got a red monkey to be friends with Monkey.

What was especially fun was to see Isaac find the kids in his class.  Sometimes he said hi first, sometimes they did.  He knew everyone's name and was always happy to see them.

Thursday: almost break

Spring break starts the end of next week.  It means that the lab schedule changes a bit and I don't have quite as tight deadlines as normal.  It's nice.

This semester has been a lot better than last semester though.  I added a half day to my work schedule and the graders that I have are much more on top of it.  I'm able to plan better which makes a huge difference.

Wednesday: milestones

Today was Grey Bear's birthday.  He turned 5.

I had my first email from a parent asking to talk about their student's performance in class.  I'm not allowed to talk to parents though, so it was easy to write a nice email back.

Isaac had a super, super, super, super, super, super,  super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super, super good day.

He lost his tooth.  The adult tooth is actually quite visible.

Tuesday: baskets

So, Joshua does a pretty good job of actually telling me what he did in a day.  (At least big picture stuff.)  Several times now he's said, "and we have circle time and then we put our baskets away."  I thought there were basket pictures on the rug, but today I realized there weren't.  Then I saw laundry baskets by the teacher's chair.  I quickly realized Joshua meant real baskets.

Isaac: 72, 73, and 74 months

And now for the last three months with Isaac... Like before, any text is recent observations.

72 months:

Playing: Isaac has been much more willing to play with Joshua lately.  They've been doing a lot of bouncing, running, and other random things.  Today they were putting 'poison' on a lego plate to keep the bad snakes away.  Isaac has also really enjoyed playing games, and he's gotten to the point where the games he enjoys I also enjoy.

 

Math: I had gotten a cheapo calculator from Lockheed and it ended up in the toy room.  Isaac found it the other day and was fascinated by it.  He used it so much that he wore out the screen and we had to order another.  He is understanding math concepts very well, and will often tell us stuff I didn't realize that he knew.  Today he said "Five times five is...twenty-five."  Ben and I are both rather excited by this. :D

Reading: His reading keeps surprising me too.  He can do the consonant-vowel-consonant as long as they follow normal words, words that end in e, and a few other miscellaneous.  Then today he read 'woods' and 'keep'.  This has also been lots of fun.

73 months:

School: School is going well.  He doesn't really have a 'best' friend, but after talking with people that doesn't seem to be abnormal.  I have heard the name of one person several times lately, so that is encouraging.  There have been a few minor incidents with other kids, but nothing that makes me worry...at least, not worry for more than the day it's taken to get it resolved.  His favorite specials are gym and technology.

Health: His super annoying cough disappeared after getting the flu like thing that the whole family got.  It is like throwing up got rid of whatever was tickling his throat.  He also has a loose tooth.  I find loose teeth disgusting and so always send him over to Ben whenever he says anything about it.  Isaac asked how the tooth fairy gets into houses the other day.  I said she can go through walls, although I wish I had said she has a magic key.

74 months:

He was much more willing to do his pictures standing up, so my guess is that's what we'll do in the future.  (Not that he was unwilling to do them laying down, but this just worked better.)

Chores: he's been voluntarily doing more chores around the house for more money.  He's trying to get up to $50, because I think he wants to see a $50 bill.  He is also making his lunch sometimes...today he made a strawberry jelly and nutella sandwich.  I told him that is probably a one time thing since most of the health comes from the peanut butter.

Growing up: While still very silly and crazy, Isaac has also grown up a ton in the last few months.  I'm not sure if it's something listed above or just a general feeling.  I sure do like the kid he's becoming.

Saturday: today

Today started with Isaac and Joshua running around the couch dropping Duplos.  It was rather loud, but they played so well for quite a while.

When our house cleaner came, I had the boys clean up the Duplos.  Joshua semi-happily cleaned them up and then naturally continued with his room.  It was wonderful not to have to deal with him not cleaning it.

Isaac came up with some game that involved a homemade pinball machine.  He ended up with about 162,800 points, as counted with Duplo dots.  He did a lot of multiplying with the calculator.

Isaac and I went for a run around the lake, although it ended up being more of a walk.  It was cool, but nice.  Afterwards Isaac ran another mile around the couch, doing another made up game that included z-zips and arrow-parrows.  Joshua joined him.  Hopefully we won't have to replace the floor around the couch, although it would probably be worth it.

Joshua: 41, 42, and 43 months

We're doing a catch up here.  I've taken pictures the last three months, I just haven't posted them.  The text will be about current things, since I can't remember month to month changes.

41 months:

 Imagination: This boy has a wonderful imagination!  He got a fire house for Christmas and has used it a ton.  I try to put it away periodically, but it usually comes back out within two hours.  The conversations that the people have are hilarious, although I don't have any specific examples.  He also made a house out of Duplos for Grey Bear a few days ago and used lava to keep the bed warm.

School: He loves 'home days' more than 'school days' but never puts up a fight about going to school.  I think he has a good time there, although he's not really picking up any letters.  (We're not helping that at home, though either.)  His counting is good.  He knows the names of all his classmates and I sometimes get stories about them, which is much different from Isaac.  Mack and Clyde may be his 'best friends' but I'm not sure that means much.

42 months:

On his brother: He loves his brother and would do stuff all day with him if possible.  (After school today they were playing some game where Joshua was the cow and Isaac was teaching/directing him on what to do.  At one point Joshua walked over to the learning area, so they both sat on the chairs for science time.  Isaac was going to teach Joshua how to make a potion that would give him boosters so he could break out of his pen.)  Times without Isaac are a bit harder...he does a good job playing, but would obviously rather play with me.

Favorites: Legos, Duplos, donuts, pajamas, Grey Bear, Monkey, screen time (although often watching something), music, reading.

43 months:

On getting dressed: Joshua despises changing his clothes.  A few times he's mentioned that it's because he's cold, although he also says this when he has no clothes on so it's hard to tell.  I'll ask him to change his clothes and he'll immediately fall to the floor and say, "I'm wobbly!" or "I can't get up!" or other obviously untrue statement.  I've started making him get dressed right away, before breakfast, because it seems to make it just a tiny bit better.  Getting his pajamas on is a bit better, but not much.  For the most part I ignore him.  I've told him my expectations; if he doesn't get dressed and there is a time limit I will put him in the car in whatever state he's in.  (It hasn't gotten to that yet though.)  If there isn't a time limit then he can choose what to do with his time.

On clothes: Joshua likes soft pants and no picture shirts the best, although there are a few picture shirts that he likes to wear.

Overall, Joshua is a very fun and imaginative boy.  He still likes his cuddles which is super nice.