reading by himself

Timothy spends more time 'reading' his books alone these days. He still likes to have them read to him, but after the third or fourth go, when I have to deal with Luke or I just can't take another round of Green Eggs and Ham, he'll sit alone with the book and look at the pictures and sometimes tell himself stories. I love it.

This morning's conversation:

I'm going to make breakfast for you and me now.

Ok. May the force be with you.

houston, we have a problem

Just back from Tim's first Dancin' Dumplin' class. It was an absolute failure. There were a lot of things working against him today. The classroom windows have all been covered with paper so that the kids are isolated from their parents, who aren't allowed in the room with them. The teacher does no transition time before class: she unlocks her door, lets the kids inside and shuts the parents out in a matter of seconds. She didn't even introduce herself. The other students were all a year older and had taken at least one class with this teacher in this classroom before. It was just a little too much for him. When she brought him out, less than three minutes after shutting the door in my face, she told me about some holes that were cut in the paper on the windows around the corner where Tim could watch until he was ready to join them. He watched, but every time I asked if he wanted to join them, he started to cry. I'm disappointed but ready to jump back on that horse and try again, only it'll be a different horse this time.

We already planned to put him in an additional class called Amazing Athletes. It teaches the basics of 9 different sports: basketball, baseball, soccer, volleyball, football, lacrosse, hockey, tennis, and golf. Just like Dancin' Dumplins, the parents are not included in the class, so that's a hurdle and a concern. However, the classes are broken into two age groups: 2.5-3 and 3.5-5. That will work to Tim's benefit, making him amongst the oldest instead of the youngest. Classes don't start until May, so he'll be a little older and maybe a little braver. And there will probably be some boys in the class, not just girls in tutus. Fingers crossed that we don't have a replay of today. We have some time before we need to register, so that's good too. And, I can raise enough money with my blog to pay for it. As Great Aunt Cath says: "Ca Ching."

The catalog of classes put out by the city's Parks and Recreation Department is impressive. Proceeds from the Colorado Lottery help fund our Parks and Rec Department. The offerings vary from dance lessons to sign language classes for ages 6 months old to senior citizens. The Farm that Tim did with Gran and Grand-da last summer is part of the Department. I hope Tim will be able to take advantage of this resource.

When our morning of dancing and tumbling dissolved into tears, we came home and had great fun playing trains with Legos. Sometimes the simple things are the best.

move over woody, obi-wan is back in town

I want my Star Wars shirt! I want my Star Wars shirt!

I think it's in the hamper.

Will you get it for me Mommy?

Okay. (It's not THAT dirty; it's 18:00; and I can wash it in the morning.) Here you go (giving him the t-shirt that Johannes picked out for him and that he wears to bed almost every night because it's too big to wear during the day.)

No, not that Star Wars shirt. The black one.

You don't have a black one.

Yes I do; the black one that Melissa gave me.

Oh you want the Jedi cloak.

Yes, yes, yes!


wielding his lightsaber


getting instructions from master yoda

hiking with dad

Tim loves to go hiking with Paul. It's becoming a regular activity; they walk from the parking lot at the foot of the foothills up one of several trails near Horsetooth rock. Tim 'hikes' for some of it and lets Paul carry him in the carrier that goes on Paul's back like a backpack for long stretches. They observe nature: the clouds, the rocks, the birds, sometimes a deer, the reservoir, the bugs. It's a wonderful activity. I believe that Neville used to do the same thing with Paul when he was a boy. It's a great family tradition.


checking out the camera


above horsetooth resevoir


tim's backpack holding his water and 'fruit candy' snack


this backpack belonged to paul, who used it as a child when he hiked with his father, neville









A recent conversation:

I want to play Flight Simulator.

Okay, but you’ll have to wait until Daddy gets home.

I want to play Flight Simulator NOW.

You need to get some patience.

I want some patience NOW!

memory

Jenny and Neville bought Timothy the game Memory for Christmas, and the first time I played it with him was almost the last time. It takes a lot of patience to teach a three-year-old the basics of turning over the card so all can see it, turning over only one at a time, turning the card back over when a match isn't found, and turning over only two cards. Melissa was here and can attest to the way my words were clipped and the agonized tone in my voice when the game finally ended. However, Tim doesn't have to be taught most things more than once before he understands what must be done. He struggles actually doing it at times, but we all do. This is a great game and one of my favorites from my childhood.


where's another top?


gonna go again



in typical ocd fashion, tim has to organize his winning cards before he can take his turn