More than Just Fountains and Fish

After exhausting the fountain area, Dexter enjoyed exploring the rest of the store.  We spent a long time looking at the miniature fairy gardens, chimes, mailboxes, birdhouses, and toilets. 

Dexter also was excited to go upstairs and sit in a variety of patio seating.

Fountain Fanatic

We took a drive out to a fancy western suburb for a cheap burger lunch but we also stopped at an expensive home and garden store.  It's too pricey for us to buy anything but I like going there to look around.  Dexy resisted at first but when I mentioned that this was the place with the fountains and fish, he changed his tune. 

Dexy took off running, excitedly pointing out fountains to us, explaining how they work ("the water goes down here and then into here and then the pump pumps it back up to the top again").

Even when we looked at the fish for fancy garden ponds, Dexy was focused on how the hoses and pumps moved the water.

Turtle Sandbox Opening Day

Despite yesterday's perfect weather for opening the turtle sandbox (and Dexy's strong desire to play in it), we had so many activities that we didn't have time. So we promised Dexter that we would do it tomorrow. Turns out the weather wasn't quite as amenable today to the turtle sandbox as yesterday but we proceeded with the grand opening nonetheless. Dexy wore his winter coat, hat, and socks.

Daddy "Watching" Dexter

I had followed Dexter to another nearby playground where he played for a full five minutes before Ben started looking around for him.  Over here, behind you, Daddy!

Spring Fever

We hit "almost 60 degrees" yesterday - very sunny skies and crocus and tulips and daffodils starting to poke through the thawing earth. After the play, we took Dexter to the park near school. Ben and I were impressed when Dexy went over to a teenager on the swing and asked if she would please get off so he could swing.  She obliged (how could she not!).

Dexy had a blast on the swings and slides,

making friends (mostly girls),








and feeling the thrill of the huge slide.  He always looked pretty worried while going down but had a huge grin on his face when he made it to the bottom and insisted on running back up to do it again and again.

No Pictures Allowed

While we weren't able to get any pictures during the performance of Chicken Little (which was wonderful - Dexy was completely enthralled, clapped along to songs, and laughed his head off when Chicken Little came running down our row of seats as she was trying to escape from Foxy Loxy), I was able to get some shots of Dexy in the theater before the performance began.

Dexy was very entertained (and slightly freaked out) by the theater seats that folded up and down. Eventually, Daddy had to put his leg over it so Dexy could concentrate on the action on stage.

Where is Dexy?

Not Flat Hood School Bus

It turns out the our school bus was not a flat hood school bus (although Dexter pointed out that the one parked behind us in the theater's parking lot, was).  This didn't dampen Dexter's school bus riding excitement.

The three of us (Dexy, Daddy, and me) packed ourselves into one seat (Dexy on Daddy's lap, half of my behind hanging into the aisle) for the drive there.

Coming home, it was a different story.  Dexy got into the last seat on the bus with Daddy and I got the single seat across the aisle. Three other boys from Dexy's class were in the two seats in front of us: acting up, switching seats, taunting Dexy. 




The mothers of these boys were right there, ignoring their sons as they climbed all over each other, stood up in the seats, poked and slapped at each other, spat at each other (yes, spat!), and called each other names.  The mom's were having a lovely conversation with each other about the new Costco coming to town and where to go for lunch, oblivious to their kids' poor behavior (or safety).  At one point Dexter asked one of them to stop reaching back over the seat to grab his hair and I finally firmly told the boy to sit down in his seat (prompting his mother to finally chime in). At another point, Ben told another one of them to stop poking Dexter and the kid got all upset (prompting his mother to finally chime in). I was so proud of Dexter. He wanted to stand on his seat too but complied when Ben or I told him to sit down. And he didn't act aggressively towards the other kids (who were being aggressive) but was definitely assertive telling them to stop. Ben and I told Dexter how proud we were of how he handled himself. I know boys will be boys but I was horrified at both the boys' behavior and the mothers' behavior.

Teacher's Helper

Dexter was very excited about his field trip for school yesterday.  The class (and parents) were taking a bus ride to a theater to see a production of Chicken Little. Dexy seemed most excited about the bus ride. The night before, he told me that he thought it would be a "flat hood" school bus (where the hood goes straight down from the windshield).  When we got to school in the morning, there was no bus waiting for us.

Dexter asked Ms. Lois where the bus was and she asked him if he would help her out by looking out for it. He readily took on the assignment (and told her that he thought it would be a flat hood school bus - she had no idea what he was talking about even when she figured out the words he was saying).



Dexy kept an eye out for that bus and alerted Ms. Lois (and everyone else) when it finally arrived. "The bus is here! The bus is here!"