Sharing at the Sandpit

We picked up some new sand castle building molds ($1 each at Target) so Dex had to try them out at the sandpit in the park. He did a great job sharing his new molds and bucket when he wasn't using them...

and communicating clearly and politely when he was using them and couldn't immediately share.

What a Catch!

Last weekend Ben took Dexy to a local fishing hole. They didn't have any luck with the fish but Dex caught

 some moss (unintentionally)

and a half-eaten slice of watermelon (intentionally)!

Peter Cottonswab

I am busy working on work, Dex is busy making an intricate wooden track for his green marbles. He asks me to watch "Peter Cottonswab" go down the track. "Peter Cottonswab?" I ask. "Yes, he's a water drop." "Why would a water drop be called Peter Cottonswab?" I ask. Dex pauses for a moment and walks around in a circle thinking. Then he says, "Well, he comes from a family of water drops and they are all the cottonswab type of water drops and his first name is Peter so he is Peter Cottonswab." I turn back to the computer and hear Dex behind me talking about Peter Cottonswab's wife, Mrs. Peter Cottonswab, taking her turn down the track. This is both distracting AND entertaining. 

First Fort

Dex announced to me the other day that he wanted to build a fort. I asked if he had any ideas about what we could build the fort out of and he matter of factly said, "Blankets on chairs or tables."

I used it as an opportunity to get him to clean up the coffee table and we gathered all the blankets in the house and built a fort. He took a flashlight, pillow, and some activity books inside.

No Wonder He Thought I Was a Barrista

The other day, Dex turned to me out of the blue and said, "When I grow up, I want to work at Starbucks." "Oh, you want to make coffee drinks?" I asked. "Yes, just like you." I looked at him blankly for a minute before I realized that he hears me say, almost daily, that I'm going to work at Starbucks. He had no idea that I meant that I was going to Starbucks to do MY work! He now knows.

Super Fun Play Date

Dexy's friend Tabitha came over for an afternoon play date the other day. They played with bugs in the basement,

jammed in a band (Dex and Tabitha took turns alternating on the drums and organ while Ben played the bass),

and made crafts.

Dex's pinecone creature is an alien (on the right), Tabitha's (on the left) is a unicorn.

Reclining

I've gotten plenty of enjoyment out of the zero-gravity chair that my Mom sent as a surprise gift - and so has Dexy!  He loves looking up at the clouds and

contemplating what it all means.

Wobbly Biking

We loosened the training wheels on Dexy's bike so that he can get a better sense of balancing himself. At first, he was not happy about it. He would keep his weight on one side so that one of the training wheels was always on the ground.

But with lots of encouragement to get it into "the middle", he eventually he got into it and was very proud of himself "balancing".

He even shouted at two teenagers biking by, "Hey guys! I'm riding my bike just like you guys are!"

Bowling Birthday Bash

Dex got to go to a schoolmate's birthday at a bowling alley the week after his school year ended. Exciting!!

Dex enjoyed the bowling - he came in last but didn't even notice. Ben said he also bowled down the wrong alley twice but didn't even notice.

 When the song "Happy" came over the stereo, Ben said the kids immediately started dancing...

and recreated their graduation performance with some new improvised moves.

Field of Dandelions

Dex loves the fact that the field we went kite flying in was full of tall dandelions. It gave him the opportunity to practice blowing the dandelion seeds.






He's still not very effective - I keep telling him to make an "O" with his mouth. He was sad when we drove by the next day and the field had been mowed. I reminded him that he should feel happy that he got to play there before they mowed. 

Supposed to Be Writing a Paper (or Three)

But when Dex suggested that we go fly his kite the other day, I couldn't turn him down. I'm so glad that we did it - it felt so relaxing to watch my child's sheer exhilaration at flying a kite on a warm and breezy afternoon.

Last year, Ben or I had to get the kite going for him but, this time Dex was able to get it up in the air all by himself (with a little help from the perfectly windy day).

 At one point, he got it up "super duper high"!

 He didn't stop running the whole time.

And he and I both didn't stop smiling the whole time.

Car Problems, Potty Problems

Coming home from work the other day, my car suddenly downshifted as I was easing off the gas on an exit ramp from the highway. After the stop light, it wouldn't shift out of first gear (it's an automatic). Ben and I took it to Car X - they don't do transmissions so they referred us to some transmission people down the street. Those folks did transmission work but didn't work on Volkwagens. We ended up taking it to a foreign car mechanic. When the called the next day, the news was not good. The transmission needs to be replaced or rebuilt and the cost to do the work would be just about as much as the car is worth. When we went to pick it up, I asked how long they thought it would last ("could be a month, could be a year"). Since I'm in the last month or so of my coursework for my doctoral program and have ZERO time to be dealing with a new car search and all the insurance and registration paperwork, I was hopeful that this car would get me through this quarter at school. "Tell me this," I said, "When it finally stops working for good will there be any explosions or fire?" "No," the mechanic replied, "it will just stop running." "Give me the keys. We're gonna see how long this thing lasts." And with that, we were out the door.

The next day, Ben noticed a crack in the porcelain base of our toilet. Water was leaking out so fixing this became the immediate priority. Ben and Dex picked out a new toilet at Menards and Ben scheduled the plumber to come out the next day to install the new toilet. Before the plumber came, Dex realized that installing the new toilet meant that the old toilet had to go somewhere. He wanted to keep it. I told him that was not an option. He had lots of suggestions for where in the house we could keep it and how we could repurpose it. When I nixed those ideas, his anxiety about where the toilet would go and how he would "remember" this toilet came flooding out.

I eased his fears about letting go of the old toilet by suggesting he take pictures of it so he could "always remember it." He took about a dozen different shots of this potty.

Kim and Dylan Come to Town (and I Don't Get a Picture with Them!)

Elissa was gracious enough to have a small dinner party when Kim and Dylan made a recent visit to Chicago. Kim brought Boston T-shirts for Dex and Ian (with plenty of room to grow into!).

Elissa made a fabulous meal (as always!). The boys joined Elissa, Jason, Kim, Dylan, Julie, Bill, Ben, and me at the dinner table.

The boys played together wonderfully while the adults enjoyed some conversation and laughs.

Ian and Dex got to ride on Jason's feet before we left for the night. That's what Jason gets for positioning himself near the front door.






I'm happy I got some cool pictures of the boys but am sad that I didn't get any of the adults! Elissa, please send me a copy of the group photo you took.

Graduation Afterparty

Free-for-all balloon fall!

 Checking out his graduation gift bag.

 Binoculars!

Dex's "stand in" sitting with Maddy while he was busy running around with his balloon. Eventually he sat down and enjoyed some civilized conversation.

Receiving His Diploma

Making the Rounds

Dex is going to be a wonderful cocktail party guest someday - he excelled at working the crowd during the pre-K "Shake Hands with Friends" finale. Definitely NOT a wallflower.

Happy Dance

The children performed a lot of songs during the graduation ceremony 

but my favorite was the performance of Pharrell's "Happy".

Just like his Daddy, Dexy laid it down during the solo!

"Where Are the Stairs?"

Dex was a little confused but he made it!

The (Pre-K) Graduate

Each child was announced and walked from the back room, under the arch, down the aisle, and over to the stairs to the stage. Announcing...Dexter!

Graduation Decorations

The children in Dexy's pre-K made many of the graduation ceremony decorations.

Others were made by the teachers, celebrating and commemorating each child's achievement.

 Can you tell which silhouette is Dexter's?

Low-Tech Linked In

Before Dexy's graduation ceremony Ben and I had Dex make up a bunch of cards with his name and phone number that he could pass out to friends so they could stay in touch over the summer. He did a great job cutting the paper into small rectangles and writing his name and number onto about 15 "business cards". We had him put the cards into his pants pocket but they didn't stay there for long!

As soon as Dex handed his thank you cards to his teachers, he started finding friends and giving them his card. We overheard him saying, "This is my phone number so we can have play dates in the summer!"





It was adorable to see Dexter doing such a great job socially and really cute to see the kids receiving the cards excitedly run to their parents and make sure they kept it safe for future reference.

Teacher Appreciation

On the way to Dexter's pre-Kindergarten graduation ceremony, he signed and addressed the cards he picked out for his teachers, Miss Jill and Miss Jenny.

Dex on the Farm

The timing of our visit to the great-grandparents worked out beautifully - Ben's parents were also visiting so Dex got to see his grandparents and his great-grandparents! We had lunch with Ben's parents and then they drove Dex out to the farm while Ben and I picked My Bologna up from the "babysitter" on Rim Road.

When Ben and I pulled up to the farm, we saw Gunker standing by himself at the fence, looking out over the land. Then we heard Dex shouting excitedly and saw that he and Great Gunker were riding in Great Gunker's Polaris!  It had six wheels (Dex counted them all) and a dumper in the back.

 It was so much fun for Dex to talk and play with Grandma and Gunker and Great Grandma and Great Gunker. He (very proudly) read them the book he wrote, "Woofdiddy, the Emergency Dog".

 It was all fun and games until it was time to start saying good-bye. Dex did not want to leave and he did not want to say good-bye. Try as I might, he was not in the mood for smiley photos.

I managed to capture a slight smile when Dex was saying good-bye to Great Gunker (Great Gunker must have said something funny about his chair, "the Beast").

Super Duper 8

Dex was very excited to spend the night in the Super 8! He and Daddy built a model car (one of the gifts Dex picked out for Ben's birthday) while I was at my meeting. When I got back, Dex was busy "dancing" around the room and Daddy and My Bologna were resting.

We tucked Dex into his own big bed - pillows on all sides and on the floor on either side of the bed. He fell asleep immediately.

Dex didn't fall off the bed during the night but he certainly didn't stay tucked in!