Gametes In Love

G has been really getting into “photography” lately. He sneaks off with our phones, and last night he found an old Powershot camera and went to town. I discovered this secret trove of pictures he took with my phone (even though both S and I lock our phones, you can still take pictures from the lock screen). Enjoy a G afternoon in photos!

Of course I took photos 🙂

the families of the graduates

The kids watched a slideshow of their past year

Or more specifically, a cat. A cat that thinks 3-5am is play-time, and doesn’t for the life of her understand why you’re not up hanging out with her.

Things I pried from Zoe’s paws over-night:

– a container of powdered sun-screen- a blister of pro-biotic pills

No bueno!!! I heard the popping of the blister pack and instantly jumped. S for the first time last night left out a pack of pro-biotics on the bathroom counter, and she took instant advantage. She didn’t get to them to eat them, but her nails had pierced through the blisters.

Things that I found missing things morning:

– my headband
– one of my socks

Luckily, both were found canoodling on our bed, tucked in between the blankets.

At this point I can never assume that things were where I left them/saw them last. She’s strong! I’ve seen her drag a big ole bath towel from the bathroom, through the bedroom, onto the bed. She’s also an excellent soccer player, and those paws can kick small items into deep, dark, foreign places.

I don’t even know how to begin cat-proofing for this one!

(where’s the kitty?)

Second day drop off was MUCH better. No clinging. Just a hug and he was off to play. Finding the room to go to, though, was difficult. There are 3 rooms to drop off depending on what time you arrive. We circled almost the whole campus going from empty/dark room to locked room for a good 10 minutes. G was a great sport though. There was a shark drawn on the ground (by chalk by one of the older kids), and he had fun with it by “running for his life” from it.

I’m taking a sigh for the hour and hoping today will go well. I pick him up mid-day to see his therapist, so hoping that I’ll get a bit more brief from his teacher then too.

It’s a two for one day!

A glimpse into a week-end day:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/DTBcGjnBfFU]

S2 at circle time at school:

[youtube=http://youtu.be/cSa0bbEx5y0]

G had his first day at his new school today. Drop-off was hard: he turned into a barnacle attached to S, and almost had to be craw-barred off. He cried as we left, and it hurt to leave him. But luckily, it appears the tears didn’t last long. S wasn’t able to get the full download at pickup since his teachers were gone for the day.

The unexpected part, for me, was how I’d feel only with S in tow. We walked out of the house this morning, just the two of us. I know that the boys wont be attending the same school all the time, and this is the first day in a series of times they will no longer over-lap. But it made me sad a bit for S2. He’s only ever known a school as a place where his big brother is there with him. Ms. S pulled me aside today and told me that she found our little man sitting on the floor sulking for a bit this morning. He told her that G was at his new school. On the car ride today, he told me the same thing. And then he immediately told me he wants to go with his older brother. I was instantly jealous of parents with kids spaced more than 4 years apart in age :-/ I felt as if I ripped S2 away from his best friend. The two appear to battle for survival the way they go at it half the time, and moments like this make me realize how much their absence is felt.

Blah. Hoping this transition will go smoothly for all… and quick!

S2 is at the age where he’s fighting naps, but isn’t really ready to stop napping either. He naps at school: he just fights us on it at home. I remember this time with G all too well — S and I got more exhausted over nap time, and we were likely to fall asleep while he ran circles around us. S2 is no different.

What worked for G was to literally restrain him, in his car seat, and drive him around. This was when we’d go drive and visit the horse ranch in Palo Alto. Wouldn’t you know it, it works for S2 as well! We got in the car, drove up the hill, and he was out before I could hit mile 4. Thankfully, he was a bit more environmentally friendly than his brother. I brought my laptop and pulled over and sat there, culling through images from my client session this morning.

Guess what we’ll be doing again tomorrow? I just hope he passes out quickly again so I don’t have to drive too long. I also need to map out my free wifi routes too. I have some Netflix I could catch up on 🙂

G’s last day at his pre-school is tomorrow. It’s going to suck having to clean out his cubby tomorrow. He’s been with this program since he was one year old. While I hope the decision we made to move him is the right one, my heart is sad that he’ll be leaving the teachers that he’s remembered all his life. It’s more of a “becoming of age” sadness, really. Watching him at his “graduation” made me tear up for thinking how far he’s/we’ve come. (I’m quoting graduation here because since he’s not going to kinder this year, his actual pre-school graduation won’t be until next year). None-the-less, it’s a milestone for the monkey, and S and I got to snag a threesome photo with him.

(yep, I’m lazy and you get a picture of a picture right now)

As part of his graduating his current program we got his scrapbook binder of photos/projects. On the very first page was a photo of him at 1, with some quotes from his time in the infant room. It’s an incredible keep-sake!

I can’t help but think how hard it will be to watch storm graduate pre-school. I’m not ready for grown up kids. I’m ready for calm kids, not big ones!

G was standing up on his book-shelf looking out the window

I can’t see China!

Why not?

We live on a hill.

Why can’t I see it?

Can we move to a different house?

… so I can see China… from here?

Sure, bud! We’ll move right next to Sarah Palin’s house.