Everything is Awesome

Collin had a great first week of school.  How do we know?  He did not complain when waking up in the morning that he had to get ready for school like he did several times last school year.   He has generally been in a good mood and cooperative in the mornings.

In the afternoons after getting off the bus, we asked:

Us:  "How was your day at school?"
Collin:  "Awesome!"
Us:  "How is your new teacher?"
Collin:  "Awesome!"
Us:  "What about your new friends?"
Collin:  "Awesome!"

I would have preferred more description but I guess I should not complain that he responded with enthusiasm every time...and no, he was not being a smarty-pants about it.

Unlike his friends, he has energy when he gets home.  He has swam at a friend's house (Jacob S), played with neighbors (Saige and Linden) and played games at the house.  No matter what we have done to wear him out a little, he has still gone to bed after 8:30pm and sometimes closer to 9:30pm this week.  With daily and regular visits to see Grandma H and with my upcoming tax deadline, we are all exhausted when we get home....except the 1st Grader.  Let's see what happens when he starts bringing home homework.

One week down.....

First Day of 1st Grade

 

Collin had to be woken up to eat breakfast and get ready for school.  There was no excitement about going to school.  He acted like it was any other day.  After eating breakfast consisting of chocolate chip muffins (how about that sugar boost?), we headed outside into the humidity to take pictures.  We were not the only ones making their child hold a sign or pose for a "first day" picture.  Collin was happy to hold the sign and smile.  He was in a great mood and joking around while doing it. After the first picture, he flipped the sign around and smiled ready for another one. 

What a smile!

Showing off his new soccer backpack

Being a turkey flipping the sign around.  I know he wanted a reaction so I laughed and took the picture.

He gave me the biggest hug.  I loved it!

What a good looking family. :)

We then headed to the bus to meet up with the other kids.  New to the stop this year were his buddies, Saige and Linden, plus 3 kids from down the street.  The bus stop was full. Time for more pictures! 

Collin, Saige, Linden, Patrick (in back) and the new kids from down the street

The entire crew ready for the bus

Buddies - Collin and Jacob

When the bus arrived at 7:56am (they are the last stop), Collin ran over to give me a big hug, then gave Daddy (oh, sorry, I should be using Dad now) a hug before getting in line to get on the bus.  They have one of the new busses this year.  I hope the A/C works better so he is not so hot when he gets off the bus. 

Looks happy to be getting on the bus

This was funny watching the parents watch their kids get on the bus

I had to work late tonight because it's that time of year for tax deadlines so I did not get to see Collin before he went to bed.  I heard he had a good day.  He sat by Jack and Gio at lunch.  He has been in the same class as these guys for the past two years.  Seeing familiar faces helped him, I am sure.

He was tired and in bed before 8pm tonight.  Looks like it was a great first day.

He Made It to 7!!!

Today, we celebrated Collin's 7th birthday.  I think I mentioned that he knew he wanted to have the Game Truck for his birthday after he attended a party that had one.  It's a large A/C truck that holds 16 kids playing video games on 4 different screens.  We also had the backyard pool ready to swim for those that did not want to play video games (aka, the girls).  We did hire a lifeguard to help watch the kids in the pool.

As the kids arrived to the party, the boys went immediately to the truck and the girls went to the backyard to swim.  We did not see the boys until the Game Truck had to go (2 hours later).

One excited birthday boy.  He could not wait for his friends to arrive.

Inside the truck

Alex, Collin, Brody and Foard

"The Brothers"

These boys are having fun!

The girls had the pool to themselves until the Game Truck had to go and the boys were hungry.  We timed it so the pizza would arrive about the time the boys were kicked out of the truck.  They hurriedly ate a slice of pizza (WAY less than I thought they would) and jumped in the pool to swim.  No more quite time in the backyard.  The boys quickly found the water guns and started shooting people in the pool and standing around.  At one point, they found the cold water in the ice chests and used that to shoot people.  It felt good because it was a hot one!

Parents were smart standing in the shade

Paul and Mimi

The boys eating pizza

The girls and a few smart boys at the table eating pizza

Ford, Collin, Davis and Alex

Ford, Collin, Brody, Davis, Jacob and Alex

Arm pit farts!

Jacob and Collin

Water fight time!

Boys having fun

We let the boys swim for 30 minutes before taking a break for cake and cupcakes. That's when you could see just how many kids where there. I could tell Collin was having a great time and loved having all of his friends around.

Collin did get the chocolate cake and vanilla cup cakes he wanted

Gather around to blow out the candles

Singing Happy Birthday

More singing



Blow those candles out!

There was just enough cake and cupcakes for everyone that wanted one.  There was NO cake left.  That's the way I like it.  I did not want to have to look at cake...and eat it....for several days.  After cake, most of the kids got back in the pool until their parents came to pick them up.  There was music playing the entire time.  At one point, I noticed Collin dancing and pretending like the water gun was a guitar.  Then, another friend joined him and then another.  It was too cute not to get a few pictures.  Looks like they are all having fun.

"Let's play some music"

Jammin' Boys

Cutest Boy Band Ever!

As the kids were leaving, I let them choose a toy Wii controller that shot out Smarties candy.  These were a hit...unless the color the child wanted was already taken.  I also included a thank you note signed by Collin.  It said:

Thank You.  I am glad you were able to make it to my party and share the fun with me.  Your friend, Collin.



Eye Check Up

Collin was WAY overdo for an eye exam.  His last exam was over 3 years ago.  Yikes, I know!  We have seen lots of doctors together as a family but not that one.  I thought about it because his cousin, Timmy, has his eyes checked recently and needs to wear glasses.  Because both of us where glasses for near-sightedness, we are sure Collin will need corrective lenses at some point.  The last time we went, he had swollen optic nerves in both eyes but more so on the left.  We did have two additional follow ups but with no change in the nerve.

Daddy took Collin to his appointment today because I needed to work.  He said that the doctor was impressed with how cooperative, inquisitive and still Collin was.  She said that she just saw an 11 year-old that refused to sit still for the "puff" test.  Collin did great with this one.  He asked what each machine did and how it worked.  After the end of the tests, the results are.......he has 20/20 vision.  He is slightly far-sighted in the right eye but it's so slight that he probably does not even notice it.

1st Grade!!

Collin is indifferent about school starting next Monday.  "Why does everyone ask me if I am excited about school starting?"  I asked, "Well, are you excited?"  Collin then replied, "See!  You are doing it too!"  We were going to get anywhere.  Because he played sports and kept up with his good friends over the summer, he probably did not ask about when school was starting again because he did not need to go back just to see his friends.

This morning was "Meet the Teacher".  This is when you get to meet the teacher, sign up to volunteer for classroom activities, fill out paperwork and see where your child sits.  Collin's teacher for 1st Grade is Ms Davis.  She just moved from San Fran, CA six months ago and seems to be nice but could have a firm touch to her teaching.  She is very personable which I liked.

When we walked in, we found Collin's assigned spot right away.  He is at the table right by the door.  He knows at least Meredith from Pre-K at his table.  Otherwise, we did not recognize the three other names.  Collin was excited to see that Brody sits diagonal from him at the next table over and Kyan is at the table behind him.  Oh no Ms Davis!  I am sure she will quickly find out that these guys are buddies and either move them or have to keep an eye on them.  We stayed for about 30 mintues so Collin could hang out with his buddies and for us to meet the parents.

I am looking forward to a good school year.

Oh, the final assessment from the tutor is that Collin is where he needs to be for entering 1st Grade. She wrote:

 

Reading - Level 6 - Where he should be entering 1st Grade

Writing - good job

Math - right on target

 

A pleasure to work with!  Carol A

He just lacks coinfidence.  That's the same thing we heard last year. 

He's 7 Years Old

Collin is 7 today.  FINALLY, he really is 7 even though he has been telling people for a month that he is. 

This morning, I had to leave before the boys woke up.  Mainly because they have been sleeping in while they can before school started.  I set up some balloons around his chair where he eats breakfast and made him a sign saying "Happy Birthday Collin" that I taped to the back of the chair.  I also laid out a birthday hat for him to wear if he wanted it.  Daddy said that he really liked the balloons but you cannot tell from the picture.

He did call me in the morning to tell me that he loved me and hoped that I had a good day.

When I got home, I was ready for us to have pizza and the chocolate cup cake he said he wanted to have.  Change of plans.  He wanted to go to the new Chili's and have a hamburger.  "I love their hamburgers so I want to eat there for my birthday.  Why are they called "hamburgers" anyway?  There is not ham in there.  I am going to call them burgers.  Can we go to Chili's to eat a burger?"

We stopped by to see Grandma H first and open his presents from us (lightening machine), Aunt Nancy (the children's version of The Story and $$), Layla from my work (a board game focused around dog poop...well, that will be a hit), Mimi (small toy sharks) and Grandma H (remote controlled car and several books aimed at his reading level).  Grandma H was happy to see us and said that she had looked forward to this moment all day.

The Doggie Doo Game

Collin holding the sharks Mimi got him

Here he is with the remote controlled car

Grandma H watching Collin open his presents

Then, we left to have dinner at Chili's.  Collin did get his burger.  While there, we let the waiter know that it was Collin's birthday.  He had no idea what was waiting for him after we finished our meal.  When the time came, all of the wait staff came over to sign Happy Birthday to him.  He was not sure about this and huddled close next to Mimi.  "That really scared me!" as you can probably tell from the video.

When we got home, we gave him his big present which was a new, bigger bike.  He did not seem excited about it at first but then was all smiles when we asked him again about it and took pictures.  Here he is first seeing the bike.  He is carrying the lighting machine with him.  I think he was really focused trying to get the machine out of the book and did not think about or process that he just got a new bike.

Daddy also got a new bike.  Look at the happy boys!

He's growing up!  Happy Birthday Collin!!!

Getting Ready for School

Like last year, we have Collin seeing a tutor for a few days this week to assess if he is ready for 1st grade and to give us an idea of where he stands (behind or not).  Yesterday, he read and wrote his letters.  She said that he read and wrote really well.  Today, he worked on math.  I was happy to see that all of his numbers were facing the correct way AND looked really good.  The last several times we have worked on his numbers, most of them were backwards.  He said he did not realize that they were when he was writing them.  Possibly today, he did not write them backwards because we just talked about it last week.  He also read a book two levels above the book he read Monday (Level 6 vs 4).  He was able to read this book too.  She said that 1st graders should be reading at a Level 4-6 so he is were he needs to be.  I was surprised by this because he does not like to read when I ask him to. 

Other than getting a backpack and lunch bag with soccer balls all over them, we did not buy anything else to get ready for school.  He grew during the summer but still fits into his clothes,  We did buy shoes over the summer and these still fit and look good.  What a relief for this mommy that does not like to shop and was not sure when I was going to make time with all of the other things we have going on right now.  I pre-ordered his school supplies at the beginning of the summer.  These should be sitting on his desk on the first day of school.

We received a postcard in the mail with the name of his teacher.  He will have Ms Davis who was a 3rd grade teacher and will be teaching 1st grade in the Fall.  I emailed some of the mommies of Collin's friends to see who their kids have for 1st grade.  Other than Brody (his friend that he refers to as his brother), none of his other friends are in his class.  Most of them are in the same class with another teacher.  At first, I have my lower lip out reading through the email but then thought this might not be a bad thing.  This will force Collin to at least pay attention to the teacher for the first few weeks of school.  He will also get to meet new friends.  He will be able to see his other friends on the playground, after school or during sports.  I am sure he will be fine.

We meet the teacher this Friday at 10am.  This is a tradition that they do every year.  I like it because we get to meet the teacher, get to see where Collin will be sitting, meet the parents of the other students and understand what the kid's day might be like during the school year.

Sweet, Thoughtful Collin

Collin is so excited about his upcoming birthday.  He has been practicing saying that he is 7 for a month now.  The count down to his birthday has been "How many more days until my real birthday?" and "How many more days until my fake party (which is his birthday party a few days later)?" Yesterday, I showed him a few pictures to get some ideas for his birthday cake.  He looked through them and passed them up until he came to the one with cake in the middle and cupcakes around the cake.  He aid he wanted that one because "if people like cake, then they can have cake.  If they like cupcakes, they can have cupcakes.  This way, they have a choice."  How sweet was that? 

He chose the cake below and said he wanted chocolate.  We will have to see if the local bakery can make this cake.  She has done great the last 3 years so I am sure it will look great.