big brother

this weekend, i was doing something in the kitchen, and i overheard moses and eden really interacting like brother and sister in the playroom. moses was teaching eden how to play with the "zany zoo" wooden activity toy, saying "... and what's behind this door? *gasp* it's a zebra!!" and then you can push these beads on top, and you can move this piece up and down... and eden was intently listening! when i walked in, he had his one arm around her back as he was teaching her. it was one of the single-most heart-filling moments i've ever experienced as a parent. i am so proud of him, i can hardly stand it.

also this weekend, moses read a book to eden for the first time. so...i guess he can read now? kindergarten is awesome!

punching

we got our first serious note home from the teacher this week. mo had punched brady on monday, then on tuesday, he had punched luke. twice. ms. mcmillon had given him a serious talk after each incident, and finally, she moved him down to a yellow (instead of green). when i heard the news, i was so very sad. i began to try to figure out where we had gone wrong; where had he learned to punch? was he a bully? was he a troubled child? was my absence last week (i was at the maloneys) traumatic for him? was he getting enough sleep? was he internalizing all the fighting at home? was this the beginning of the end of our thoughtful little boy? after crying a little bit, i came back to reality, that he is a five-year old boy. he has never had troubles like this before, and he is surrounded by people who all agree that this is not appropriate behavior. i used the afternoon to try to figure out whether there was some trouble at school, and after finding none, we worked hard on a letter to the teacher to say that moses was sorry, and he doesn't want to punch. he promised me that he would never do it again (unprompted). he drew a picture of what kids do when they're friends, even down to the wood chips that must be on his playground. and specific colors of jackets that his friends wear. i also withheld a very coveted toy last night. i think we maneuvered through that situation pretty well, not over-punishing either, because i really don't want to create a different kind of situation, where he is terrified of punishment, or he does bad things to get attention, or what have you. 

anyway, the bottom line is this: moses, please treat people well. be a defender of the weak and downtrodden. don't take advantage of others. love deeply and speak truth. 

Butterflies

The other day, Mo and I were outside and we were admiring a butterfly who was fluttering around our backyard. He told me that it's good that we had caterpillars who ate through our cabbage, because they grew up and became these beautiful butterflies, because you like butterflies. The connection made me feel really comforted about my lost cabbages actually. I love that kid so much. :) 

Style and reading

It's been a little while, but Moses said to me that he thinks I should go shopping and buy some new clothes because mine are getting old and stained. I sometimes wonder where he gets it, and then I remember that so much of his family is artistic. Uncle David is even a fashion designer. Of course he notices things like this!

Moses started kindergarten a couple of weeks ago, and he is doing great. Ms. McMillon is so sweet and she told us how bright and eager Moses is. He gets along with everyone and always makes her laugh. She said she would encourage us to work on his letter sounds (that he only knows about 2/3 really well). I'm super impressed that she knows that, right? 

During parent night, she told us about how they will learn narrative style, opinion style, and instruction style writing this year. And that one of the goals is proper punctuation. And you know what I was thinking? Mind. Blown. My baby is going to know what "punctuation" means, and how to use it. 

I'd been wondering when it would click for him that when we read books together, the words we say are connected to the words he sees on the page. Well, i noticed him doing that tonight for the first time ever! It was pretty exciting! It's happening!! 

Little man

Driving with Justin Timberlake (deemed "cool" by little man) blasting and windows rolled down, by request. Fun! Haha 

Reading

Moses is slowly starting to read and its so exciting. He is also really delightful these days. He stayed up to watch fireworks with us tonight, and we even had real ones go off over our house (thank you across the street neighbors!).

he knows so much, but he's also still 4

"mommy, this car is a corvette (gesturing to one of his hot wheels)."

"oh yeah?" i responded, with a bit of doubt.

"yeah, mommy, see, it's got [tail] lights like a corvette," he answered me in a knowing/teacher-like way.

oh. my son's knowledge of cars has officially surpassed mine. haha :)

meanwhile, later that day, "mommy, my tummy hurt, and when i went poop, i had a diorama." hahaha