So Proud

Luke has had a really great teacher in his two-year old classroom.  Her name is Miss Crystal, and it's her first year.  She seems to have really taken to Luke (though she might make all the parents feel that way, which is a real skill).  Next week is his last week in her class, and in honor of his "graduation" she gave us a binder with pictures of him from this year and a letter about him.

I have to share some highlights from her letter because she really captured some of the things we love most about our little Lukester.

"It's truly a joy to get to witness the magic that Luke makes every day.  I have never met such a caring two year old in my life . . . he brings toys over to his friends that are sad.  He tries to make other kids happy with his hugs or a pat on the arm as he says, 'It's okay . . .'  He gives up his favorite things to play with in the class room so that another friend can be happy.  He is constantly encouraging his friends in the class room when they are trying to do something--we can always hear Luke saying, 'You can do it!' or 'You did it! YAY!!'  And on more than one occasion, when a child does something to upset another child, Luke has gone up to the child and says, 'That's not okay!  She does not like that.  Be nice.'  The best word to sum up Luke is caring."

And, "Whatever you guys are doing, please never stop!  Luke is an amazing boy!"

The thing that makes me most happy is that Luke has stood up for other kids in his class.  He's an empathetic little anti-bully, and it makes me so proud!  Keep it up, Luke!

Bingo!

We've had a few long drives in recent weeks, so I tried to get some non-video related entertainment for the car.  One thing I found was those old-school travel bingo cards, where you slide the little red door over the item you find.

I thought Myla would enjoy it, which she does, but that Luke would be too young.  It turns out that Luke is the Bingo fanatic in the family.  He now wants to play it all the time, even if we're just on a trip to the grocery.  We hear his constant narration from the backseat:   "We haven't seen a tank truck in a while!" or "I need a silo, an airport, and a cola sign."  And his delight when he sees one--"Gas station!!!"  Now that he's figured out what all the pictures are, he really does seem to get the game.  But he doesn't quite get that we are unlikely to see an airport or a 70 MPH speed limit sign on our way to school.  And in some cases he cheats.  "I saw a police car yesterday . . ."  Where yesterday could mean any time in his life before today.

He's such a fun talker right now, and the Bingo has been a really cute example of that.

Excellent Question

Myla has a little worksheet she has do to for "homework" and bring to the first day of school.  It has little tasks on it, like "draw a picture of something you did this summer," or "write the names of five books you read."  But one task asked us to "Go for a walk and write down something you see, hear, feel, smell, and taste."  I read this to Myla and she looks at me with this incredulous expression and says, "Taste?!?  How am I supposed to taste something on a walk?!?"  I start laughing, so then she does this little act where she says, "Here's some poison ivy, I'm going to put it in my mouth!"

That's a really good point.  Not sure whose idea it was to send kindergartners out on walks to taste things! Fortunately we have some cherry tomatoes in our garden, so we decided to end our walk there.

UPDATE:  In the car on the way home from school, I mentioned that today was the day we were planning to do the walk.  Myla says, "Do we really have to go on the walk? Couldn't we just say we did those things?"  So she figured out how to cheat on her first-ever homework assignment.

The force is strong with this one

Tonight I took Myla to pick out her lunch box for school.  If you've been following the blog lately, it should be no surprise to see what she picked:

I also love how Luke watches her in this video.  Two cuties.

Related:  This morning, I was putting Myla's hair in braids, and I mentioned that Princess Leia sometimes wears braids (trying to relate).  The following conversation results:

Myla:  Yeah, like when she's with Jabba, and also when she's with that other guy, what's his name?
Me:  I have no idea.
Myla:  You know, the one from Cloud City?
Me:  I don't know who you're talking about.
Myla:  Lando!  Lando Calrissian!  She has braids that one time when she's with Lando Calrissian!

And also, on the way home from the store in the car:
Myla:  Mom!  Did you know that the good guys all call R2-D2 "R2"?  Like a nickname?!?

I have GOT to watch these movies again.

Another Old Slideshow

I know we tried back in the spring, so here is a continuation of some of the picture albums containing photos from my phone.  We'll do one today and several more next week.  This week we start with sports-themed photos!

Sports

What Was I Thinking

Luke has shown no interest in using the potty yet.  One morning last week, Kasey thought it would be a good idea to let Luke run around for a few minutes in his big-boy undies.  I came out of our bedroom and saw Myla and Luke playing in Luke's room.  Since Luke has had a tendency to pee in his big-boy undies the other few times we tried this, I thought it would be good to ask for Myla's help:

Me:  Myla, I have to go get dressed for work.  You are in charge of Luke so don't let him pee on the carpet again.
Myla:  You are putting your five-year-old daughter in charge?  I don't think so.

I love to tease her in many ways (and she usually likes it too, though I have definitely pushed my luck a few times).  I loved this exchange because she had a comeback for me without any hesitation.

*****
UPDATE FROM KASEY:   I had a similar exchange with Myla this week.  I was trying to get myself and the kids ready before school, and I asked Myla if she could help by putting Luke's socks on.  She says to me, "I am not able to put on another child's socks!"  It was the precise language that killed me.

Thick as Thieves

Kasey shared the following exchange she had with Myla and Luke one morning last week while we were all trying to get ready:

Kasey was in our bathroom getting ready while Myla and Luke were doing something in the hallway.  Kasey walked out of the bedroom to check on them:

Luke:  Myla, somebody's coming!
Kasey:  (walks out into the hall and sees the two of them just standing at the top of the stairs with the gate closed but they had clearly been playing on the railing) Guys, this is not a play area.  You can play in my room, or Luke's room, or Myla's room, but this area at the top of the stairs is not for playing.
Myla:  I know mom!  I'm not new here.

Seriously.  My five-year-old daughter is using the line "I'm not new here." 

I Hear You Girl!

A couple of weeks ago when it was nearly 100 degrees for several straight days, Myla had clearly noticed.  One the way home from school, she made the following comment from the back seat:

Myla:  Dad, we went on a walk today at school and it.  Was.  HOT!  It was sticky.  Gooey.  DIS.  GUST.  ING!

I tried to capture in writing the funny and kind of grown-up way she put the emphasis on her words.  I love the way this girl thinks and communicates.  So fun to see the wheels turning in her mind as she grows up.

Me Too!

The kids had one of the funnier exchanges in the car on the way home from East Bank yesterday:

Myla: Dad, say that you are excited to see mommy.
Me: What? What are you talking about?
Myla: Just say you are excited to see mommy.
Me: Okay. I'm so excited to see mommy when we get home!
Myla: Luke, now you say "me too!"
Luke: You too!
Myla: No, say "me too!"
Luke: You too!
Myla: No, say "me too!"
Luke: You too!
Myla: (Now starting to giggle because Luke doesn't understand) Luke, say "me too!"
Luke: (Having no idea what is going on) You, too!

This goes back and forth close to 10 times with Luke as serious as can be repeating the same thing over and over again like a spoof of Abbott and Costello. Myla never gets frustrated and actually finds it very funny, but she is determined to get him to say "Me too!" She finally changes her tactics....
Myla: Dad, can you get Luke to say "Me too!"
Me: (I'm now laughing pretty hard too) Luke, Myla wants you to say "Me too!"
Luke: Me too!
Myla: (With great delight) Me three!
Luke: You're not three! I'm three (even though he isn't), you're five!
Myla:  (Just starts cackling with delight)

So fun to listen to these two clowns interact with one another. Kasey and I are blessed that they get along so well. I hope they stay best buddies forever and keep making each other laugh!

Star Wars Art

Myla's mania for all things Star Wars is most easily seen in her artwork.  No matter the medium--sidewalk chalk to watercolors--the subject stays pretty much the same.

Here are some examples she cranked out this morning while I was getting ready for work.  In the first, she created her own Star Wars coat of arms: a heart, with a blue, green, and red light saber in the middle.  Then she drew stars, to show me she could do that now (impressive!), a W for "Wars," and then a random design.

The next picture has an X-Wing (good-guy plane), with music notes coming out of it indicating good-guy music (dun dun dun DUUUUUUN dun, dun dun dun DUUUUUUN dun, dun dun dun duuuun).  Yoda and Luke Skywalker battle Darth Vader and his Storm Troopers at the bottom.  This one is a bit unusual in that it doesn't feature a bunned-out Princess Leia, but she probably just ran out of time.  Love this girl.