awesome kids – My Truant Pen

Today I am filling out forms for Grey’s Kindergarten registration in the fall. I’m pretty sure what I’m supposed to be feeling is How fast the time flies! It seems like he was a baby just yesterday! It can’t possibly already be time for my preshus snowflake to go to school, can it? What I really feel like is You have got to be kidding me. Kid was more than ready THIS fall. It seems like he’s been a big, grownup-person forever… you sure he was actually a baby? Really? Huh, go figure. In point of fact, Grey is five and has been for several months now. He missed the cutoff by four weeks this year.

To say it succinctly: I’m ready. He’s ready. Let’s do this Kindergarten thing.

Since Grey will be attending public schools, I figured that Kindergarten would be my payola — the moment where huge chunks of change returned to my budget. Currently, child care is a bigger cost for us than our mortgage. And we live within 10 miles of Boston in a 4 bedroom house. This is to say… it is a not inconsiderable expense. So Kindergarten will be huge savings, right? Right?

It turns out that while there is free part day Kindergarten, ALL DAY Kindergarten costs money. $3500 to be exact. Ok, so that’s really not bad. It’s like 3 months of preschool. BUT, we’ll have to have after-school care. That (including transportation) is $500 a month. Oh, and remember school vacations? Those end up costing $56/day. So do snow days. So…. yeah. Not really saving anything there. First grade. First grade will be the payola…

Returning to the pastel nostalgia of Kindergarten! School! My child’s entree into education! I’m pretty excited. I think Grey is superbly prepared for it. The sitting still problem will be his biggest challenge of Kindergarten, as it is for so many energetic young children. I’m slightly concerned that his reading ability will pose some challenges for his classroom, but I figure we all have to worry about something, and that’s a good something. I will NOT accept from him complaints about being bored. In that case, the thing he’ll need to learn from his classroom is how to deal with boredom in a productive way. That’s a super-useful life skill that will come in handy in adulthood.

I had meant this to be a chance to talk about Grey, and how much fun he is. Because he’s super duper awesome. It was really fantastic to get to spend lots of time with him at Christmas. He’s got an active imagination and a wide repertoire of blowing-up noises. He can be tenderly solicitous (he likes to make little Lego “babies” which he says are “so cute!”). He can also be very rough and tumble. Over Christmas, he spent considerable time with his 8 year old cousin, and barring a few hungry/tired related meltdowns, he did an excellent job of keeping up with his cousin.

If you ask Grey what his favorite things are, he will tell you “Screens”. And he’s probably right. Although we attempt to limit screen time, Grey loves cartoons and tv, his DS (he only gets to play in the car/on airplanes/when we really need him to), Wii, the iPad, the computer and all manner of screens. At Christmas, I confess, there was significant brain-rottage.

It’s hard to capture the unfolding complexity of your child. He is striving desperately to tell funny jokes, poring over joke-books to try to figure it out. He is surprisingly patient and sweet to his younger brother… most of the time. They created this new game he calls “Ready Freddy” which involves hiding, having your brother find you, then screaming and running away to do it again. He likes to read, but usually only when there’s no more alluring option. He loves Legos and Bakugan and Pokemon cards. He could care less about cars and isn’t wildly interested in art or drawing, although he really likes mazes. He insists on having music playing at night while he goes to sleep. He sleeps with all his stuffed animals piled on his bed and makes special accommodations for Tigry and Puppy. He can play Blokus with actual strategy.

I find myself having more and more things I WANT to do with Grey. I want to play games with him. I want to take him to see the movies. I want to take him shopping with me. (He begged to go grocery shopping with me this last week and did a phenomenal job!) I want to read him books. I want to teach him how to ride a bike.

It’s much harder with younger children. I sometimes look at Mr. Two Year Old and think… “What do I DO with you?” But I can play with Grey in a way that’s fun for me, too.

He’s a fun kid. I’m glad he’s mine.

Also, I want Santa-riding-rocketship pajamas!

OK, I should probably disclaim that I have bronchitis and am hopped up on 300% more drugs than usual… usually I just abuse caffeine. So in case this doesn’t actually have any narrative structure (I, um, have my doubts) here are some bonus pictures to make you forget!

Beautiful blue eyes. He's probably asking if he can have more candy/screens/presents.

I took a gazillion shots of this scene and they were all lousy.

He rearranged the icons on Grandma's iTouch and she almost didn't forgive him!

One of my coworkers had a Diwali invitation up on his screen today, and I was reminded. It was Diwali the night Thane was born. One of the attending nursing students at the birth was from Kerala, and between contractions I wished him a happy Diwali. I thought it a good omen that my son was born during the festival of lights.

My sweet Thane is a light. He is a wonderful and joyful child. Knowing this post was coming, I’ve been thinking about what I want to tell you — tell him — about who he is at two.

The first thing you notice is the language. Thane is a talker. And talker. And talker. He has a remarkable vocabulary and command of language for a two year old. He is constantly commenting on the world around him. In the car, he’ll comment on the cars he passes, “Bu van! White truck! Red Essyoovee!” He clearly expresses what he wants, “I need the blue marker! I need the blue marker!” He will always repeat himself until he is satisfied or you have made it clear you have heard him. When he wants to know the name of something, he will often ask “What does this mean?” If he locates something he likes, he’ll proudly announce, “I found it!” He will learn the names of things often after hearing it only once — he remembers when you tell him what it is. He knows all these incredibly random words too — every weird animal in his stupid Young Einstein’s ABC book, the sounds every animal makes. I can understand pretty much everything he says, and he understands most everything I say. This whole verbosity can actually be kind of tiring. He has a second child’s persistence in being LISTENED TO and will repeat himself until you take the time to truly pay attention to what he’s telling you. “Yes, Thane, that is a blue car.” But there’s nothing like having him walk up to you, thumping at every step, wearing your shoes, then have him crack a grin and tell you, “Dese Thane’s shoes!”

Thane is a young man of great passion. He loves cars with an unflinching adoration. He will wander through the house, with as many Matchbox cars as possible pressed to his chest. (Note: He usually organizes his collections of cars around colors — so he’ll carry all red cars or all green cars.) He loves his books of cars, unlike his parents who loathe and despise his books of cars and attempt to hide them where he will not notice them. While cars are his primary passion, he also really likes books. One of his birthday presents was an ABC book of construction vehicles. After I’d read it to him, he took it with great authority and said, “Thane read dis book now.” He likes construction equipment and putting things into things. He enjoys throwing balls in the backyard and running around and giving me heart attacks by trying to run and jump and slide like his big brother.
Smiley guy!
There are so many things that are important about him. Perhaps I should move to bullet format:

He has the cutest, most amazing golden curls ever

He is obsessed with his Scooby-doo lunch box

He eats huge breaksfasts — usually shovelling the cereal in with his hands

He loves water to a degree that scares my husband and me. Even when he submerges his head for a considerable time, he is completely unafraid. He will stay in the bathtub until he is a prune.

He loves talking on the phone with “gamma”

He’s a singer. He will sing “Old Macdonald Had a Farm” for hours, with multiple animal noises. He hates new songs, though, and will firmly tell you “No, thank you!” if you attempt to expand his repertoire

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From October2010

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He will insist he is right, past your willingness to argue, “No, dat a bu car!” (No, it really isn’t. It’s a black car!)

He firmly believes that car is HIS

He still goes to sleep like a dream. I know better than to think that is anything but sheer luck.

He has two friends, Puppy (who is a bunny) and Grover. They are his comfort and stay as he sleeps.

He sucks his thumb to fall asleep. No other time.

He’s incredibly tough. He falls down and gets right back up.

He hero-worships his big brother, whom he ALWAYS calls “Brother Grey” (never just Grey)

If he sees you getting your coat on, he’ll put his coat on too. Half the time, even when we’re not going to school, he insists on carrying his Scooby Doo lunchbox.

He’s my snuggle bug. I’m the only person he usually snuggles, but I’ll take it.

He is my persistent, singing, playing, happy son, and I love him with my whole heart.

Happy birthday, Thane!

Tag: awesome kids

Kindergarten Registration

Thane is Two