As I've written before, we've got the old-school, free version of Hero Machine on our computer. So far, Wil, Elizabeth, and their friends on occasion, have created about 35 different super heroes. Unprompted by me, Wil came up with this Hawkeye uniform on Sunday.

(The black and gold looked much better/truer in Hero Machine. Maybe it was the Paint.net translation to PNG. Go figure.)

Yes, it is nice to be brilliant

I have never liked that oh-so-popular 'If you give a pig a pancake' book. Then it came home as Wil's reading assignment for this week. I'm supposed to listen to it every night? Couldn't face it.

So last night I hit on an ingenious scheme: I bribed them.

We have this thing Christine started called 'The Goblet of Choice' (she got it from some magazine or website or something). You can earn points throughout the week for good behavior. You can also lose points. The Goblet of Choice is awarded (sometimes) on thursday night. The winner gets to pick friday night dinner, dessert, and family activity.

So I asked them after supper last night (and Christine at work), if they'd like to earn a point each. They said yes. 'Wil can earn a point by reading to Bethy while I take a shower and Bethy can earn a point by listening and helping Wil.' They said they'd do it, no problem.

As far as I know, they did. I do know they each marked down another point.

Now that the weather is so nice, we're trying to walk home from school 2-3 times a week. Yesterday Wil was noticeably tired. He walked right into me without seeming to notice. I asked if he was okay. He explained, "My brain was napping." Later at home when I misspoke he asked, "Momma, is your brain napping?"

[double audio files cross-posted from 'interact']

I was going out to the kitchen to record Wil singing the next selection when I caught him singing this one. Decided to capture it with audioblogger and my cell phone instead of Audacity on the desk top. I will, of course, cross post it to 'twinlog'. He's such a sweet boy!

In Bethy news, she said she wanted something about love next, but she wanted Wil and me to sing it...

This is the one Wil sang in the big bed this morning before we all got up.

(The messed-up schedule last 'night', in case you're interested:

• Everyone, including Momma and Daddy who are lying down with the twins, falls asleep by 9pm.
• Momma wakes up ca. 2:30am. Does laundry and dishes while listening to 'Pride and Prejudice'.
• Momma goes to sleep in her own bed ca. 4:30am. Wakes up Daddy, who gets up and works for awhile.
• Wil wakes up ca. 6am, goes to the big bed.
• Daddy returns to the big bed ca. 6:30am to snuggle with Momma and Wil
• Wil sings 'Erie Canal'
• Bethy comes to the big bed ca. 6:35am
• Everyone up by 6:45am
• Daddy, Elizabeth and Wil leave for school and work before 7:30am.

Crazy, but it's been a great day so far.)

Wil's watch

I was eating at Burger King last month and picked up one of those Star Wars watches for Wil. We held it for him until Valentine's Day. He liked it pretty well. The first day or so he was so cute, giving updates on the time as often as every minute, especially when we were laying down reading before bed. It's too big for his little arm, and fairly uncomfortable, so I think he noticed it a lot. 'Daddy, it's 7:53.' 'Daddy, it's 7:54'. He's a sweet boy.

[cross-posted to 'interact' and 'twinlog']

A follow up from Feb. 16 - Elizabeth told me recently that she sometimes finds quiet time for thinking during Independent Reading. I was surprised at how much thought she'd given the matter, although I guess I shouldn't have been. She's reading Chapter books now. Her first is Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel. I'm really looking forward to reading with her this summer. Working at the library, it's been hard to resist bringing every ER (early reader) chapter book home that I think she'll be interested in. We're having a good time reading the American Girls books aloud, and we've discovered that the Groovy Girls dolls have their own series as well. Elizabeth is very into Groovy Girls these days and is already planning a Groovy Girls swimming party for her birthday in July. Fun!

Here's a little insight into Elizabeth's emerging personality: "Mommy, can I tell you something? I wish there was a time at school to be quiet so we can just think about things."

I told her that was a good thought and suggested that there might be more thinking time in 2nd grade. She thought about that a minute and countered with "There will probably be more quiet time, but it will be for more writing in my journal or math or more quizzes."

Wil has taken a new tack on why he doesn't need to go to school.

"Bethy, if I make a Super Beaver movie, will you write it for me?" She agreed.

Proud parent of rock stars

Listening to my flash player on the way home with the twins today. They were rocking out a little to 'One for the mockingbird', then asked me to play it again when it finished, rocking out even more. Then they rocked out some to 'Owner of a lonely heart'. I am understandably proud.

Bethy's allegiances

A couple weeks ago I explained the local high school's symbol to Bethy (you see it on cars a lot).

The Irmo Yellow Jackets . Stylized. Sorta' ugly. Hard to figure out for a first grader. Anyway, she asked.

Yesterday, on the way to church, she saw one of their logos and asked if they had a football team and if we liked them. I said yes they had a football team and they're probably our favorite high school team. I didn't point out that we've never cared enough to go see them play.

Well, Christine was frustrated by this (though, in the interest of full disclosure, she was already on the verge of crabby ;-). We both agree that Bethy has enough 'pert opinions' as it is. Christine wondered why I was contributing to that. We obviously don't see eye-to-eye on athletic partiality, but I didn't really say much.

Still, I thought about it some more. And after a little while, I told Bethy, 'You know, Iowa City West is probably actually our favorite favorite high school, and Irmo's second.'

Christine didn't say anything.

Go Trojans! ;-)

And I see in Iowa City news that the Northwest Junior High Knowledge Master Team:

> claimed its third-straight first-place finish in Iowa and a fourth-place finish out of 776 middle schools that competed

And my 7th grade Language Arts teacher, Rhonda Marshall is advising them. Go Vikings!

Footnote: I have to add West's stats because it's such an amazing school:

• West High teachers average 16 years of experience.
• More than 70 percent of West High faculty hold advanced degrees.
• West High annually leads Iowa in National Merit Scholars.
• Ninety percent of students completing AP exams earn college credit
• Jazz Band has won Iowa State Jazz Band Championship.
• Math Club has won Iowa State Math Championship.
• Iowa State Athletic Championships have been won by many athletic teams.
• West High annually achieves large numbers of All-State Musicians in Orchestra and Jazz Band.
• Graduation rate is over 98 percent.
• Average daily student attendance rate is over 96 percent.
• Overall 65 percent of seniors completed the ACT scoring at an average of over 24.0; Iowa state ACT average is 21.0.

It has begun, already

Lying in bed this morning, Wil said 'Daddy, why do I have to go to school today? I don't want to go. Why do I have to learn that stuff? I already decided in Kindergarten what I want to be.'

I couldn't believe it. 6 and a half is awfully early to be coining that argument. I tried to explain that I didn't really want to go to work, either, but that I had to, and that we learn things we're not sure we'll need because it's good for us and because sometimes our plans don't turn out the way we expect. But I don't think he really bought it.

Covered it some at the breakfast table. Christine was less gentle than me. She asked him if he already knew everything he needed to know about reading and writing and he said yes. She said 'Maybe to be a garbage man.' It sounds harsher in print than it was. Wil wasn't really paying attention anyway. I think he was looking at the comic on the back of the HoneyNut Cheerios box.

Recent twin stories

+ I was washing Wil's face thursday night when I stopped and said 'Wil, does Mrs J. ever stop class to tell you how handsome you are?' and he said 'No.' I said 'I wonder why.' and he thought about it for a moment and said 'Maybe she has too many kids to teach to concentrate on my handsomeness.'

+ We took the twins to 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' yesterday. Their pick and it was a really good movie. We all enjoyed it (though it took Wil to the edge of his scared and sad emotions a couple of times). I'd also played some GameCube with them. I'm telling you that to explain the lack of perspective when, around 4, Bethy asked me to play baseball with them. I said 'I'm sorry, honey, but I have to work.' She said, very matter-of-factly 'Daddy, I don't like your new job. It affects me a lot.' I said 'Do you like having more money?' and she said 'I don't get to spend any of it.' Sheesh.

Wil's hit points

Wil and I have been playing some Battle for Wesnoth (as I mentioned before). Wednesday he asked me from the other room what 6+9 was. I told him and didn't think much about it. Then I heard him saying he had 15 hit points. I wondered where he came up with that number. He had put on his soccer shirt, which was #6, and added 9 (6 upside down, naturally). Fun...

I know I've missed posting a lot of great stuff this year, but that's how it goes sometimes. However, I want to take this opportunity to recommend a fun children's book Muncha, Muncha, Muncha. The refrain around our house these days is "Tippy, tippy, tippy, pat... Muncha, Muncha Munch!"

The other night lying in bed (part 2), Wil asked 'Can we pray to God that Jesus will come back before my parents die?' So we did. Sweet, sensitive boy...

When we were lying in bed friday night, Wil started talking about 'Obi Two Kenobi' who's related to 'Obi One Kenobi'. How cute is that? :-)

(cross posted at interact)

Wow, are you ever in luck!

We recorded the twins (and their dad) singing Schoolhouse Rock's No More Kings last night, and you can hear it, too:

No More Kings, by Elizabeth and Wil (and their dad).
lyrics (in case you can't make out our words real clearly ;-)

Of course as Bethy noted, sometimes you can't hear either one of us over Wil's exuberance.

(Anti-procrastination note: this link will only be good for a week. If you need the file after that, email me.)

Nap jerks

When Wil was falling asleep tonight, he turned toward the wall, then kicked it. He rolled back over sleepily and told me that he'd been dreaming about soccer. I told him that's something I used to do when I played soccer. Sweet connection point for the boys :-)

(cross-posted to interact and twinlog)

Bethy said the sweetest thing to me last week, sometime wednesday, thursday, or friday (can't remember which). She said 'Daddy, can you wait 'til monday night?' Now I had no idea what she was talkiing about, so I asked her. She replied 'That's when Wil and Momma go to Cub Scouts and we stay home.' So that's tonight. My daughter makes me happy. I told her to be thinking about what she wants to do...

Spiderman vs. Elektro - Part 2

SpiDy Gets out oF the way.
SpiDy sees ELectric(ity).
Where SpiDy?
ZaPeD!
SiPDY is cLobbrD.
"uuuuuuu."
EleKtRo zaPeD.
Spier sense tinGLinG.
SPiDy jupds. [jumps]
SPiDy swinGs.
EleKtro is srviveing.

Careers update: We played teams with the boys on Saturday night. They beat us soundly. It was certainly the worst game luck the girls have ever had.

This morning in the car Wil said, "I wish it was Monday." I couldn't believe my ears. Who wishes for Monday? Especially as he and Sean had been wishing earlier that they could stay home today. But I asked, "Why do you wish it was Monday?" "So I could go to Cub Scouts again," he said. I'm so glad Wil likes Cub Scouts. It's more work for parents than Girl Scouts has been so far, but I think it will be worth it for him and for us.

Wil's Spiderman story so far...

Peter Pokr was At his hous.  he want ed to do sPiDer werk.
So he Did.
he USEd his SPier sense.
He saw EleKtRO.
EleKtRik!  SPiDY Gets zaPeD.  "Gua Gua Gua!"

Bethy and I had some nice time together last night, also around Tolkien. Christine took Wil to Tiger Cub Scouts and Bethy and I stayed home. She decided she wanted to watch The Fellowship of the Ring, which was fun, laying on the couch together.

Another fun Bethy story: this weekend, maybe sunday, I was singing Smashmouth 'I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed', and she asked me about that. Eventually she asked me what the sharpest tool is in out shed. I showed her my new Aluminum-Tim-Nickel plated utility knife. Bethy is fun!

Last night I read most of the chapter Inside Information, Bilbo's encounter with Smaug, to Wil. He really got into Bilbo's riddles to Smaug, which I hadn't ever given much thought to. He had me repeat them one by one so he could 'solve' them. Then, this morning, he recounted almost all of them to Christine. It makes me really happy, yes that he's smart, but moreso that we enjoy the same things.

twinlog update

twinlog now has an Atom feed, and Christine, especially, has been updating pretty regularly. You might want to check it out and/or subscribe.

2 stories about Bethy from today:

1. She has told 3 or so relative strangers that she's going to Disney World on the 17th. She's pretty excited.

2. We went to El Chico for lunch. She asked me 'How do you spell 'Max'?' and I told her. She asked 'How do you spell 'Barker'?' and I told her. Then I followed her eyes. She was looking at some writing on the wall that said 'Where Tex [break] Mex Began' and she thought that looked like the name of one of the students in her class. Smart cookie!

Perhaps you wouldn't guess it, but Elizabeth is incredibly savvy when it comes to playing games, especially board games. I picked up a copy of Careers on clearance at Target this week. It's marked ages 8+, so I thought we'd play a modified version by just playing for the money instead of trying to earn all the necessary hearts and stars to fulfill the "Success Formula." Silly momma. Elizabeth quickly realized that the fastest way to make money in this game is to get your salary up and then go around the board, skipping the career paths, as quickly as possible. When we quit today she had $689,000 and I had a measly $245,000. We're scheduled for a rematch tomorrow, only this time we're going to play by the rules to give me a fair chance.

Recently a couple of people have commented on what a good helper Elizabeth is, and the music teacher stopped me after school yesterday to tell me how nice the twins are. Wil's teacher wrote on his progress report, "Wil is a great student! He has lovely manners and a good work ethic! He is a talented artist." I read it to him twice. It's nice for us all to have affirmation from outside sources once in a while.

The twins will not admit to saying this, but here is the conversation as I heard it:

Wil: Elizabeth, will you please play with me?
Elizabeth: No, I want to play by myself.
Wil: Pleeease.
Elizabeth: No, Wil!
Wil: I'll be your best friend.
Elizabeth (exasperated): You already are my best friend!

Lunch on Friday was fun. We invited Elizabeth's friend Rachel to sit with us because Elizabeth "promised." She also promised Brooke that she could sit with us next time. She has entered the age of making promises to her girlfriends. The sweetest part to me is how seriously she takes her promises. After school Rachel and her twin William stop by to play. Total chaos, but fun. Elizabeth further solidified their budding friendship by giving Rachel one of a pair of necklaces that say "Best" and "Friend." I was proud of her act of generosity.

Elizabeth loved showing me around her classroom. Notable moments included puzzling out why there is a picture of a fox with the letter X, and explaining to me about fiction, non-fiction and poetry books.

It took Wil a little longer to get into the spirit of showing me around his classroom, but then he had a dozen things to say. He also had a funny story about morning greeting. He was paired with Will White. "Hello, Will. Hello, Wil," seemed pretty silly to them. At lunch they were still smiling about it whenever they caught each other's eye.

After School

Me: Wil, what was your favorite part of school today?
Wil: The part where we got to go home.

No one wanted to go to school today. Wil said, "I wish we could all stay home together." But they did pretty well getting ready, and Elizabeth was consoled by my promise to join them for lunch tomorrow. We'll try to finish eating ahead of her class so she can show me around her classroom while it's empty. We like that.

Me: Wil, what was your favorite thing about school today?
Wil: Math.
Me (surprised): Did you say Math?
Wil: Yeah, we did 1 and 2.
Me: You mean you wrote the numbers 1 and 2? Did you add them or anything?
Wil: We practiced writing them, and we drew pictures of one thing and then two things....

Aha, now I understand. Drawing is the key to Wil's heart or at least the way to capture his interest.

First Grade - Day 3

Elizabeth favorite thing: designing and coloring a balloon which she called "Prisas Colorfur" or Princess Colorful.

Wil's favorite: Music class and writing in his journal.

It's only the second day, but Elizabeth is already frustrated about First Grade being boring. "We don't do anything new," she complained. After school, unprompted by me, she pulled out her Usborne Learning Palette and Math problems because, as she explained, they hadn't done any Math yet at school.

First Grade - Day 2

Wil: Why do we have to go to school again? When is this going to end?

First Grade

To Elizabeth,
  You were so bright and confident this morning on your first day of First Grade.  Despite lack of sleep, maybe from excitement or nerves, you hopped out of bed this morning when I began our "Good Morning, Princess" song.  It was a day for hopping, as you wiggled into your new school uniform.  You know you look adorable in it.  You jumped out of the car at the entrance to Leaphart, all ready to go.  I smiled as I watched you chat with the aide that was helping us unload.  Yes, you can carry that heavy bag of school supplies.  Yes, you know where to go.  You didn't even turn around to say 'good-bye' as you headed inside.  Back at one of your favorite places.  Back where you belong.


To Wil,
  I was so proud of you this morning on your first day of First Grade.  You woke up cheerfully - you knew today was a special day.  You got ready for school with little complaining and we were all ready early.  At school, you kissed me good-bye as we said "I love you."  I will always remember your pinched little face as I drove away.  You were trying so hard not to cry.  I shed a few tears myself.  You are so full of hopes and dreams.  And I am full of hopes and dreams for you.

Mission Organization

Mission Organization

Elizabeth to Wil: I've figured out something. Momma is more interested
in the organization part than the decorating.

--

Last night

Wil: Daddy, do you think Secret Agent Barbie is cool?

Me: (thinking fast) Well, I think the 'secret agent' part is cool, but I'm not so crazy about the 'Barbie' part. [Pause to bask in the glow (and relief) of my great answer.] Do you think Secret Agent Barbie is cool?

Wil: Well, I think the 'secret agent' part is cool, but I think the 'Barbie' part is eek!

This morning at 5:45

Wil: Daddy, why can't I go to that Brownie meeting?

This came out of a dead sleep, such that I wasn't even sure he was awake. But he was, and this was the first thing he thought of, poor boy. I have to take Bethy to an organizational Brownie meeting tomorrow morning and he doesn't want to stay home.

I was singing 'Keane' in the car one day and Elizabeth said 'Daddy, where is someplace only we know?' I thought that was pretty cute. Wil said 'I know: Gramma Sue's house.' Last night they said 'Tulsa Oklahoma'.

Today we finally had a summer day like the one I dreamed about before school ended. We did a few housekeeping chores after breakfast, ran errands, ate lunch and then played in the pool until almost 3 pm. Now the twins are going to play while I get a few more things done. Then it will be time for Sean to come home and supper. Maybe we'll get back in the pool after that!

More multimedia twin goodness:

OK, OurMedia didn't work more times than it did. So I'll use YouSendIt and you can get the file for up to a week. After that, if you come around here and want to hear it, email me.

Wil doing Edna Mode from The Incredibles

Bethy doing Edna Mode

Time to warmup this Blogger Images rig!

Ever since I showed the twins (and especially Wil) the UGO HeroMachine there's a constant queue to create more heroes. Here are the ones we've done in the last 2 days (Some of these are copyrighted by Marvel. Hope I don't get cease and desist-ed):






Now this next one is a Wil special. He's mostly designed based on Disney Tarzan.


In Wil's milieu there is also Naked Man, Naked Baby, Naked Woman, Naked Girl, and Naked Dog.

Thanks to the twin miracles of Audacity and Ourmedia, I have some new sound files of the twins to post for you:

Wil singing 'O Leaphart' (their school song)
Elizabeth singing 'ZYX'
Wil singing 'Take me out to the ballgame'

More to come...

Elizabeth's Valentine to God

The first part is fill-in-the blank, but then she wrote the rest.

I love God more than anything!

Dear God,
I love you God!
I can't wate to see you!
I sik dat it will be gate. (I think that it will be great.)
Love, Elizabeth

Elizabeth is a list maker. I found these two lists after she and Wil were playing shopping. Taking care of Wil's dog Freckles was a major priority. Here are the things they needed:

Gosrey lits (Grocery list)
1. peycoo (pizza, originally spelled peesoo but then she erased it)
2. kani kugry (Kanine Krunchies)
3. doGy biGis (doggy biscuits)
4. vegtabro (vegetables)
5. fots (fruits)

TRGit (Target)
1. magi (matches)
2. soov (stove)
3. dusp panre (dust pan)
4. fmondinre (thermometer)
5. medsi fwh (medicine for Freckles)

When asked, the twins disagreed about whether fwh spelled Freckles or his initials: Freckles Rescue Hero. Regardless, I think Elizabeth's spelling is brilliant. She has also begun to enjoy word searches and filling in the squares on Sean's crossword puzzles.

I'm not going to get this exactly right, but hopefully you'll get the gist of it.

Wil was playing last night and half talking to himself and half talking to me. He was talking about fighting The Bad Guys. Then he said something like 'But Jesus said we should love our enemies [or The Bad Guys, I forget which]. So how can we fight them and love them at the same time?' He thought about it and said 'I think if we put them in a cage, we could fight them and love them at the same time.'

I told him that was really good thinking.

Smart boy.

We're having an afternoon snack the other day and Wil very sweetly brought some crackers over to the kitchen. I said 'Oh, no thank you. I've already had my crackers, but it was nice of you to offer.'

I warmed up some pot roast vegetables for myself, and asked him if he wanted some, as a joke, because I knew he didn't like them. He said, sweetly and sincerely 'No thank you, but it was nice of you to offer.'

I love that boy.

We went to Irmo Middle School for "Lunch with Santa" on Saturday because Wil has asked repeatedly to meet Santa. He knows it's just someone pretending to be Santa, that Santa doesn't exist, but he's still enamored with the idea. The middle schoolers performed some songs, solos and a dance. Elizabeth really enjoyed it. But, of course, meeting Santa was still the big attraction. Wil told him he wanted Rescue Heroes for Christmas. Elizabeth said she wanted the My Little Pony Castle. (Translation: she saw a commercial for it on television that morning. Then she surprised me by repeating the wish at Daisy Girl Scouts last night.) But the bigger deal was explaining to them about not telling other kids that Santa isn't real. The twins know the story of St. Nicholas, and the only Santa-business we've ever done is buying presents for less fortunate children. So I explained that even though we know the truth about Santa, we have to keep it a secret. They were very impressed by having such an important secret, so hopefully they won't be the bringers of bad tidings to their classmates. However, it made me hope very much that there aren't many more times in their lives when I have to tell my kids not to tell the truth.

I've missed posting some good stuff lately, but here's a funny little conversation Elizabeth had with one of Sean's students at our InterVarsity Christmas party on Saturday night: They were discussing our Christmas decorations and how there will be more decorations at GiJi and GrampAl's house when we go there for Christmas. The student asked if Elizabeth was going to get anything in her stocking, referring to the stocking hanging on our mantle. Elizabeth said seriously, "Now that is a problem. I have two stockings. There is another one at GiJi's house because that is where we are going to do Christmas." We couldn't help laughing.

Wil playing basketball

From Christine's email:

I'm happy to report that Wil is playing better at basketball. He still doesn't like it, but he's improving none the less. On Saturday he twice stopped a kid from moving the ball, (okay, he fouled them.) He caught a pass and he attempted a pass. He's also fastest up and down the court. Partly that's because he's nowhere near the ball usually, but it also means he's paying attention to when possession of the ball changes. I missed the pass, but caught the attempt on camera. Enjoy!

Must be nice to be so handsome. 

Telephone

This may not have been what they said, but it's what I heard:

C: Wil, what are you up to?
W: What?
C: I just asked what you are up to.
W: Yes.


What they really said (I found out later):

C: Wil, are you OK?
W: What?
C: I just asked if you're OK.
W: Yes.

I promised a Bethy ballerina picture, and here it is. 'Bethy' seems a little too frivolous for this serious ballerina, so I'll title this one: Elizabeth, ballerina.
 

More on Wil and girlfriends: On saturday, after basketball, Wil surprised me saying, out of nowhere 'Daddy, I know why you married Christine.'

me: 'Oh, why?'

Wil: 'Because she was your girlfriend.'

me: 'Momma says you're too young to be thinking about girlfriends.'

Wil's map of Middle Earth

Wil's map of Middle Earth
Originally uploaded by Sean Meade.

Wil is a Tolkien prodigy. He made this 'map' himself. Click through to Flickr to see my notes on each part of the map. You will stand amazed. The descriptions are mine. I will probably do a higher quality version later with his own descriptions.

We just got word today from Mrs. Wertz that Wil was chosen as a November Terrific Kid for his citizenship. The focus of citizenship at Leaphart includes being considerate and fair, and showing appreciation and commitment. We are so proud! He asked me last week to come to school when he was on WLES-TV, but I didn't understand he'd already been chosen. Of course I'll be there on Friday!

I've been surprised at Wil's interest in "girlfriends." Elizabeth totally caught me off guard today with this bit of wisdom: "Here's one way you can know Julia is Robert's girlfriend - Julia patted Robert on the shoulder the last time I was at centers."

When we went to have lunch with the twins last Friday (since we'd both been out of town), I said to Elizabeth, 'Do your friends in your class know you're a princess?'

And she said, 'No, and don't tell them, either!'

Mostly funny with just a touch of sadness (that she's getting to the age where she'd want to hide something like that).

I don't think I ever wrote about why Elizabeth said she wanted to be a bride.

We were at Jennifer's wedding in March of 2003. Bethy had mostly been saying that she wanted to be a ballerina when she grew up. I took her to the ballet in Tulsa in January.

During the wedding Elizabeth said 'Oh, daddy, the bride looks very beautiful.'

It was later, at the reception, when she said 'Daddy, when I grow up, I want to be a ballerina and a bride.'

Ballerina Bethy (in street clothes) with Ballerina Bear (downtown Hendersonville). 

Pretty mommy and twins. 

Big and cute! (Christine's fave) 

Bethy this morning (because I'm wired, baby!) 

There are numerous things that make the twins' elementary school a cut above the rest. National Blue Ribbon School of Excellence, Red Carpet Award for being "family friendly," Everyday Math, reading and literacy programs, etc. Most recently I discovered they have a full kitchen in their classroom cluster and why - they baked a cake! Together! At school! Last week they were learning colors and talked about primary and secondary colors. On Friday all four classes baked their own Rainbow cake. That's cool. Also, the principal still leads the school in the Pledge of Allegiance, God Bless America and a moment of silence every day. Elizabeth's teacher sings a thank you song with her class every day before lunch. We are so pleased with our first public school experience.

Last night during family devotions we read about evil King Ahab and Queen Jezebel and the righteous man Naboth and his vineyards. Elizabeth prayed that good people like Naboth get to go to Heaven. So Sean asked her, "What do people have to do to go to Heaven?" She said, "Tell people about God." Not exactly, Sean told her. "Believe in God," she said. Yes! "I've always believed in God," she said. That's probably true.

Time to brag. Elizabeth is a star. Mrs. Hilton sometimes gives out Skittles as rewards for sitting quietly, following instructions, etc. Elizabeth doesn't like Skittles so she has her own special Hershey Kisses and Hugs. On Wednesday Mrs. Hilton said Elizabeth was going to go home with a bag full. Elizabeth didn't, of course, but she understood the compliment and was so pleased. Then yesterday during "Literacy Centers" Mrs. Hilton said that she and Mrs. Huck were going to have big heads when their students go to First Grade. Elizabeth didn't exactly understand that one, but she knew it was because they were the smart kids.

Looks like a pro, aye? And Beckham-handsome, too. 

It's been a big week for starting new things. Wil had his first ever soccer practice last Saturday and Elizabeth went to Daisy Girl Scouts for the first time. Wil told Sean, "Soccer is cool," when Sean got home on Saturday. Elizabeth was happy they did a craft at Girl Scouts on the very first day. I had warned her it might just be an information meeting.

Wil had soccer again on Monday evening and got to try his skills as a sweeper. He was very enthusiastic and I thought he played well. During both practices he started asking me 'how much longer?' after the first 30 minutes, but he assured me later that everything was fun, just long. His team is the Waves.

At long last Elizabeth started ballet and tap classes at the Community Rec Center. Parents weren't allowed to stay in the room, but we got to watch through the one-way window. She looked as though she was concentrating hard on what her dance teacher told her to do and equally hard at what she looked like in the mirror. I wish I could have gotten a picture. I certainly thought she was the most graceful of the ten little girls there!

We have 'homework' assignments now. They're just short activities about counting, patterns, the alphabet, etc. For example, "Name two words that rhyme with tree." That's it. We've got a calendar and the twins can choose what they want to do that day and then we check it off. There's something for every day but right now they only have to do one a week. We're having fun with it, however, and have done more. Yesterday Wil picked, "Draw a picture of your teacher and list three things you like about her." He said:

I like (Mrs. Wertz) because she teaches me.
I get to help her because I like her.
I like her because she wears cool shirts.

The twins get to check out books from the school library now. It's a big deal at our house. Elizabeth has been talking about it since school started. "We get to check out books after Labor Day. When is Labor Day?" She picked the same Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer book that my parents have at their house. Wil picked out a Rosemary Wells book about a mouse called Shy Charles. Charles looks a lot like Max even though Max is a rabbit.

When I asked Wil what he had to do to borrow the book, he said, "I paid for it." I was a little surprised by that answer, but a upon further questioning I figured out that the librarian scanned a barcode that must go to Wil's name, ("It went beep like at the grocery store,") and then the barcode on the book, ("It beeped again.") I think he understands that he didn't actually buy the book, but we'll find out when he has to return it on Friday.

This is the time of day when I try to keep one eye or ear on Wil. He used to fall asleep at this time and ruin his sleeping pattern, which is much more critical now that they're in school. This has only happened once since they started school, so he seems to have broken the pattern, but I'm still anxious about it.

Christine and Elizabeth were in the other room counting and I hadn't seen or heard Wil in a while. So I went to check on him in his room. He was sitting under his table.

Me: Whatcha doin?
Wil: Finkin.
M: OK, just wanted to check on ya.

pause

W: Daddy, can I keep finkin?
M: Sure.
W: Because I need people to leave me alone in my room to fink.
M: OK, no problem. I just wanted to make sure you were OK.

I guess this is what introverts do when they come home from school.

Christine tried to quiz him on his PIN (for school lunch) after they got home, and he just couldn't pay attention. Maybe later.

We met Wil's friend Chandler and Elizabeth's friend Brooke at lunch last week. Chandler didn't have much to say although he seemed to enjoy sitting with us and talked a bit to Wil. Wil was so pleased that we'd come to meet his friend. Brooke on the other hand chatted happily about everything. She may have talked even more than Elizabeth.

I put the "popcorn words" will, go, and we on the refrigerator to see if the twins would notice. Elizabeth did and she rearranged them to write We will go. Brilliant!

Sean asked Elizabeth "What did you learn today in school?"

Her answer: "You can write numbers as numbers, in a set, or as a word!" She was fascinated by the last. She told me later that two numbers start with f but she couldn't remember which ones. And then Wil piped up that he couldn't remember how to spell one. But I know they'll learn.

Wil's got a great new repertoire of songs from Kindergarten. Some of them are definitely geared towards 5-year-olds, like Food Fight, Herman the Worm, and one about a stinky diaper. He's also learned the days of the week in School is Cool and the months of the year. The one that makes me laugh the most is "Who let the Y out? Yuh, yuh, yuh, yuh, yuh."

Popcorn Words

"I see two popcorn words," the twins said, "'Will' and 'go'."

Elizabeth's teacher, Mrs. Hilton, sent a message home and the twins recognized those two words when we opened it up to read it. Elizabeth also knew 'we' and 'P.E.' as in "We will go to P.E. and Music today." They can read! It was a proud moment in the Meade household.

Elizabeth got a "Blue Ribbon" for solving the Alphabet Riddle today. She is so proud and we are very proud of her too. Sean and I went to lunch yesterday and her teacher told us Elizabeth is very good about volunteering to help, raising her hand when she wants to talk, and she always knows the correct answers. We watched her in class for a little bit after lunch. Sure enough when Mrs. Hilton asked a question, Elizabeth's hand was first in the air and she knew the answer.

Wil was so happy to have us come to lunch. His teacher asked if he would like to have someone sit with him. She meant one of the other students, but Wil pointed to us.

Stories from Days 3 & 4

When I dropped Wil and Elizabeth off at school on Monday morning, they didn't even turn around to say good-bye. That may have been because Wil was deep into a story he was making up about a stray dog we'd just seen. Elizabeth said the dog needed a leash. I suggested the dog had followed its owner to school, and Wil took up the story from there.

Yesterday I watched them go in. They didn't need help and headed straight to their classroom. They're so BIG!

According to the schedule, Wil's "Special Areas" yesterday were Spanish and Computer Lab. I asked him what he learned in Spanish. He said, "I raised my hand when I wanted to talk. I learned where to put my hands (in his lap) and where to put my feet (crisscross, not sticking out.) "Did you learn any Spanish words?" I asked. "No." What about Computer Lab? "We saw the computers, but then it was all talk, talk, talk."

Elizabeth got to play in the Kitchen Center yesterday with Brooke. She was thrilled! Brooke was wearing green and pink and had a green scrunchie in her hair.

Elizabeth's teacher taught them some Number Games. So we spent a lot of time last night writing numbers on each others' backs. Elizabeth would mimic her teacher, "You are so smart," except you know when Elizabeth says it it comes out, "You are so fart." She also says, "Round the tree, round the tree, that's the way we make a 3," and "Down and over and down once more, that's the way you make a 4."

This one is for my mom and sister: Wil said Max and Ruby were in the story about Jack and Jill. Check out your Rosemary Wells' Mother Goose books. The bunnies do look a lot like Max and Ruby. Elizabeth will, however, be quick to tell you all the ways they don't look like them. Wil told us the nursery rhyme this morning at breakfast with Max and Ruby in it. Then he went on to Shoo Fly, so they must have done that one yesterday too.

Day Two

Today was much better. They both said so. Elizabeth said, "I love you Leaphart," when we left this afternoon and was sad to learn that there was no school tomorrow. They got to play outside. They had their first day of Spanish. Wil made a book about his friends which included himself, Freckles the Dalmatian puppy, and LarryBoy. He also colored a picture of Angelina the Ballerina for Elizabeth. And he made a chart when he got home so our kitchen could be like Kindergarten. Elizabeth got to play with shells in the Science Center, although she was sad about not getting to play in the Kitchen Center because it was already full. She played with Brooke who sat beside her during Circle Time and was wearing pink today. As a follow-up to yesterday, Wil taught us a song about Herman the Worm at supper. He said, "Momma I learned a funny story at school. It's a song. You make sounds and it goes like this...." We probably sang it and some made-up verses for 30 minutes. So there were some good things about yesterday too.

In related news, I registered Elizabeth for ballet and tap at the community center. She starts in about a month. Tomorrow we'll register Wil for a Fall soccer clinic. It starts next Tuesday. Elizabeth brought home a flier about Girl Scouts today, so of course we'll look into that too!

First Day of School

Well, we all survived the first day of school pretty well. No one cried this morning. They had lots to do when I dropped them off in their classroom so that made things easier. Wil's teacher, Mrs. Wertz was taking a group of day care kids to their bus when I picked the twins up this afternoon. We didn't have time to talk but she said Wil had a very hard day. All Wil has told me is that he didn't get to play on the playground, (it stormed most of the day here,) it was too long, and he doesn't want to go back tomorrow. However, when we got home, the first thing he did was get out our "Gingerbread Man" book and tell himself the story. The Gingerbread Man was part of the theme this week and, I learned from Elizabeth, they read the story and made Gingerbread Man crafts. I also learned from her that she saw Aubrey 4 times, where and when, but they didn't get to play. In typical Elizabeth fashion, she told me a lot about the things they didn't do.

Transient Synovitis. How's that for a couple of big words? It causes hip pain in children and Wil's got it. Oh the things you learn once you become a parent! The good news is with rest and regular doses of ibuprofen he should starting feeling better in 3 or 4 days. The bad news is he has been limping for over a week. He only complained occasionally about pain in his leg and, obviously, I wasn't too concerned. Perhaps the times he had trouble standing should have been a clue. Anyway, we spent the afternoon at the hospital for blood tests and an x-ray just to make sure it isn't anything more serious. Poor Wil was exhausted. He fell asleep in the car almost as soon as we left the parking lot. But he and Elizabeth are playing their usual loud and silly games now.

I know I've been saying it for almost a year but I love this age! The twins are almost 5 years old and their play has become increasingly more elaborate, imaginative, and imitative. Yesterday they played 'family.' Elizabeth was in the living room pushing a baby in the stroller while shopping and Wil was in her room tending to the other babies. They were talking to each other on their pretend cell phones:

Wil: Sweetheart is feeling better, so we don't need medicine.
Elizabeth: Okay. I'll be home soon after I buy some more Disney toys for Katie.
Wil calls back: We need milk. Can you get some before you come home?

Me: You sure look pretty to me.
Elizabeth: I always do to you.

Mission accomplished.

Hermione (Bethy) and Harry (Wil) 

Wil's haircut 

Bethy's hat 

One evening as we walked back to our apartment at Rockbridge, Elizabeth told us, "My favorite thing about summer is swimming. But my favorite thing about Rockbridge is worship."

I finally took Wil back to the pediatrician for his hearing retest. We had tried once before but they were not available for lab work at the time. He got 10 out of 10 correct in both ears. Even though we continued to think his hearning was fine, we are thankful and relieved to know nothing is wrong. Wil was pleased too. "I got them all!" he announced when the test was over even before the nurse said anything. And again in the parking lot he said to me, "Momma, I heard everything!" We called Sean from the car, "Daddy, Momma said I did a very good job."

Just to show how smart Wil is, (not that you all need more proof,) I want to share something about the test. The test consists of 12
pictures. I forget the word for it, but all the pictures are of things that are made up of two words like sailboat, bathtub, ice cream, airplane, etc. Before the test began the nurse reviewed the pictures with Wil to make sure he knew the full name, e.g. sailboat instead of boat. She didn't do them in any particular order and when she was done, Wil pointed to the baseball and said, "What about the baseball? You didn't ask about the baseball." 12 random objects on a page and he knew which one she had missed.

I feel certain now that Wil is ready for Kindergarten. The question remains is Kindergarten ready for Wil?

Yesterday in the car the twins were singing along with their favorite tape of Sunday School songs. "No power or king, can do anything, to take (God's) love away...." When the song was over, Wil went on to ennumerate the powers that can't take God's love away - monsters, bad people, wizards.... Finally he ended with "God is the MOST powerful!" Amen.

The other day Elizabeth told me, "I love you and Daddy 1000. But I love Jesus 1001." We didn't teach her that, so I'm inclined to believe she really does love Jesus more than Momma and Daddy. Later I'll get Sean to post about yesterday's playground evangelism, something else we didn't teach her. She's a natural.

Yesterday the twins played in the water sprinkler for the first time this year. I took a couple pictures, but I wished I could have captured the sound! They were squealing with delight. Elizabeth ran up to me and said, "This is already like Walt Disney World!" Then later, "Momma, did you have this much fun at Walt Disney World?"

Wil has a new favorite computer game, "Detective In A Jar," on DisneyBlast.com. Tonight he was playing his version of the game with his Rescue Heroes. "Detective In A Jar's first question," he says to them. "House of Robbers. Who are the robbers?" If you've been around our house during Lent, then you know the answer is "moneychangers" and refers to when Jesus cleaned out the temple. I love how Wil combines the stories and things that interest him most.

The twins have been reading and looking at Usborne's Flip Flap Body Book. It's a really neat book about things like exercise and healthy eating and answers questions like "what happens to your food?" It also has a section about how babies are made. They were looking over the pictures and Elizabeth asked what sperm is. Wil said, "I know. Tadpoles."

Overheard: "It's 100 o'clock and that's enough time."

"I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart...." Wil has been singing it off and on since breakfast. It makes me so happy.

I love it when the twins say "I love you one hundred." For awhile that was the biggest number they knew. Then one day Elizabeth asked, "What number is bigger than 100?" I started with 101. Now they work to outdue each other "I love Momma 101." "I love Momma 102." "Momma, what's bigger than 102?"

On the way to the ballet yesterday we drove by a billboard that said, "Introduce your children to a real superhero: Jesus Christ." I will spare any readers my thoughts on billboards, but I did pause to think about whether or not my kids thought of Jesus as a superhero. How does Jesus compare in Wil's mind to LarryBoy or the Rescue Heroes? What would Elizabeth say is the difference between Gandalf and God? Then last night we were reading Disney's version of The Black Cauldron and Elizabeth asked "What does 'rule the world' mean?" I said that it means the owner of the Black Cauldron would be in charge of everyone and everything. She answered, "But he wouldn't, because God is."

Another ballet: yesterday Elizabeth and I went to The Sleeping Beauty also performed by the Columbia City Ballet, but it was the entire thing not just a preschoolers version. She loved most of it. However, the third act would have been too much for both of us had there not been the promise of meeting the dancers afterwards. She had her picture taken with three of the fairies including the Lilac Fairy, the Queen and one of the attendants all dressed in lavendar. Alas Princess Aurora was no where to be found. But I still got a lot of good shots for the scrapbook.