Whoops...no updates since Jack's first day at his new school!  And, now he has been there for several weeks.  He seems to be happier overall at his new school, and benefits from their much more organized and structured environment.  Doesn't hurt that the class sizes are much smaller and that it has a play area that rivals most public playgrounds.  Everyone that works there also seems to be very caring.  They are very gung-ho about the holidays and have all kinds of fun decorations up.  He does not have the best bud that he did at his old school, although there is one student that he likes to play with and talks about.  They do not always seem to get along though, and Jack gets sad when they do not.

Today though, they were getting along fine.  Mom snuck this pic of them working on their "laptops." 

 

Jack the Elf!

The Class

 

Ho Ho Ho!

Jack can't wait until Christmas!  He is having a hard time waiting to travel to Washington, let alone wait for Christmas gifts.  He can't stop talking about the Transformers related gifts that he assumes Santa is bringing for him!

We went to the Spring Preserve Holiday Spectacular last weekend.  Below is a short video of the light show.

Jack posing with Mom's school's art club's Gangnam Style Snowman!

Don't ever give your child a doughnut before a public event!!

1st day at the new school

Jack had his first day at his new school today.  After many behavioral issues, he was....ahem, asked to not return.  In retrospect, it was probably not a good fit for him anyway.  At this school (the old one), he did so well with his last teacher.  When she had to move and a new teacher started, he never got back on track.  We spent the last week driving across town to his old daycare who, would have loved to take him back.  The drive is just insanely far. 

 So we found a place that is even slightly closer to home that seems to be a better place!  Tomorrow they even have a performance for the Thanksgiving holiday.  They go to the music room twice a week and function more like a real, organized school.  He had a great first day.  The playground is awesome... lots of things with wheels. 

We are really, really hoping that this is the place for Jack, and he does not abuse it!

Jack gets political?

Today Jack said, "Mitt Romney win'd.....right Mama?"  He said that another boy at his school told him that.  Guess even 4 year olds get political! 

He also saw an Obama ad on Facebook and called him Mitt Romney.  He than said that he liked it when they talked and we watched them on the TV, and that he wanted to watch them talk again.  Jack, you may be one of the few that actually LIKE watching the debates!

FOUR!

Jack's B'day party.....last Sunday.......

                                                                     The robot army!

                                                   Jack wanted Halloween style cupcakes!

                                                                              Sammy

                                                                           Austin

                                                                          Hunter

                                                                      Baby Charlie

                                                   Kingston, Charlie, Collin, and Jack

                                                         Sophia

                                                                  Peyton and Jack

                                                         "Happy Birthday to YOU!"

                                                   Andrew

                                                                                                     Kingston

                                                           Audrey

FYI....

Jack has stated that he does not like the following:

crickets, cockroaches, camels, shrimp, sharks, gorillas, whales, bees, big spiders.

He was in the office today at school because he hit someone and pulled a chair out from under someone else.  So no toys or cartoons for him today.   This is why he was talking about what he does not like.  He refuses to go outside because he does not want to potentially see any from the list above.  He is also more of a scaredy-pants these days.  It is going to be a long night!

First Self-Portrait

Jack made this about a week ago.  He drew himself, in profile (you can see his right ear, and he made his hair "spiky) .  He said he was getting ready to take a bath in the picture and was pulling down his underwear (multiple lines) and pants, ha ha! The grey blob on the right is just a broken part of the toy.  The first version (above) is where he realized he did not draw arms and added them in.  PS the strange naps that he was taking (two times) after school turned out to be that he hardly slept, or didn't sleep at school.  His new teacher had thought he had taken naps but did not after all. 

After school nap??

It must have been that run Jack and Dad went on yesterday evening....because Jack is actually napping right now!  He still naps daily, but what is unusual is that it is after school.  He has not done this in forever.  He was even yawning and closing his eyes on the short ride home.  This just had to be documented!

Jack says the darndest things...

Today we were discussing how good macaroni is. 


Jack:  It makes you feel better, if you are sick. 

Mama:  So it heals you?

Jack:  Mmmhmmm.  Sometimes they call it medicine.

Updates

Jack is getting taller and losing his "baby face."  While it is sad to lose Baby Jack, it is fun to see how Big Jack learns and grows every day.  He is proud of how he is getting bigger and bigger. 

Having been in his "new" classroom for months now, he finally seems comfortable.  He likes his teacher so much that he told her he wants to "keep" her.  He invited her over to have Macaroni and Cheese.  He also informed her that she is one of his beloved Power Rangers.  He says his favorite color is green now, and that is surely due to his favorite Power Ranger being green.  We are sad that Jack's teacher that he adores, is moving to CA this week.   It will be hard to tell him that he won't get to see her again.  His new teacher seems nice though. 

Jack is going through a time of being extra afraid of the dark.  He has difficulty going to bed and often sneaks into Mom and Dad's bed late at night which does not make them sleep more soundly! 

Installation Art

Jack requested a picture of this, his "artwork."

Almost Four!

Jack has been looking forward to turning four!  His next birthday theme will be robots.  He is even more into building things than ever.  The tiny Lego sets are his favorite.  He seems to like the little details.  He has been a good boy at school.  They traced their names the other day and he did a great job.  He really enjoys painting, and likes going to his Mom's classroom to paint while she works. 

Best words to wake up to in the morning

Jack crawls into my bed this morning and says, "Mama, you are so beautiful." 

Jack says the darndest things

Looking at Jack's artwork, I try to get him to do a bit more to it because he spent about 30 seconds on it.  I say, "Jack, can you add a little more? It needs something else. I know these things, I'm an Art Teacher." He replies, "I'm not an Art Teacher. Here, I will get out of the chair, and you sit in it. You can do it." 

 It's true.  What will he say when he's 4?!

A vareity of photos from our June-July WA Trip

click on the top photo (or any) for a slideshow