Day 38

Day 37

Day 37

We walked Gray to school today. 

He loved it and I think it may be an every Friday thing, weather permitting.

We parked the trailer when we got to the school and I was able to walk Grayson to his classroom for the very first time.  He was so excited to show me his cubby and how he puts a sticker next to his name every morning.  He made me wait while he showed his sister his desk and the picture of Johnny Appleseed that he was going to finish.  And then, without missing a beat, he gave me a hug and turned to his work, ready to get another day of Kindergarten under his belt.

Day 36

I love seeing what Grayson has done in art class each week.  It's fun to see his interpretation of the assignment his art teacher gives the class.  This is what he brought home this week:

He was so excited to show it to me and when I asked him to tell me about it, he quickly told me it was a monster from "Where The Wild Things Are." 

I think this one will be getting framed and coming out for Halloween each year.

My camera stopped working over the weekend and seems to be really broken this time.  I can't even get it to turn on, let alone stay on long enough to upload my pictures.  So, this blog may be on hiatus until I can get it taken care of or scrounge up enough money to buy the camera I really want.  Keep checking back....

Day 35

Yesterday was "National Walk to School Day,"

so I borrowed a different stroller to accommodate all of my "littles,"

and we walked.

We met up with a family from down the street.

They have 3 boys,

2 of which happen to be right around Gray's age.

Grayson LOVED being able to walk with the other boys,

and spent most of the walk running at least a block ahead.

All of the kids who walked were able to pick out a charm when they arrived.

You can't tell from this picture,

but Gray chose one that has a little guy who looks like he's walking.

 I realized at this point that I hadn't taken any pictures along the way like I had planned.

I guess it's a little hard to do when you're

pushing 100lbs of kid and stroller, though, so

I'm going to go ahead and be okay with the fact that

this picture was taken at the last minute and blurry.

 After listening to some music

and giving high-fives to a couple of IU football players,

Gray headed in with our neighbor friend to start his day.

 

It was a little odd for me to take Gray all the way to school

and then not walk him in.

If I thought that I would have been able to manage getting the

stroller through the halls and wrangling three kids 3 and under

in the process I probably would have.

Instead, I decided to chalk it up to a very important lesson

of knowing when to let go.

Day 34

It may not look like it, but Gray really was in a good mood.  I, unfortunately, lost track of time and was in the process of getting the little kids' shoes on and didn't have time to take a nicer picture.  Our mornings tend to get somewhat rushed with me trying to make sure that everyone is dressed and fed, in addition to dealing with drop-offs and getting business squared away.  I have to say that Grayson is pretty amazing most mornings and has really been a huge help with getting everyone to the bus stop on time.  I love that I can usually count on my little man to help keep our "ducks" in a row.

Day 33

Grayson's current favorite things: making patterns, math, and mohawks.

Day 32

Day 31

Day 30

Day 29

Day 28

OH MY!!

I can not believe how handsome and grown up my boy seems.

Kinda makes me want to cry.

{Big surprise, right?}

And can I tell you how glad I am that this was taken

BEFORE he cut his hair!?!

I have the copyright release for this picture and would be happy to have some prints made for family. 

Send me an email if you would like one and let me know what size you would like.

Day 27

Gray has done really well getting ready for school this week.

Maybe we've finally hit our stride.

{Or maybe I just jinxed us by saying that.}

When the bus pulls up each morning,

all of the kids at our stop line up single file to board.

My son has been walking around the line,

all the way to the front,

and climbing on before all of the other kids.

Maybe I should tell him to not do that,

to wait his turn and follow the protocol that was in place

long before we showed up.

But instead I smile and chuckle quietly to myself.

Day 26

Gray is loving the whole silly band thing.  He puts them on as soon as he gets up and immediately starts talking about which ones he's going to trade.  I'm so happy that something seems to be working.

Day 25

Day 24

Day 23

Another pic from the Open House last night.  Too bad Scarlett wasn't as happy as her brother.

Day 22

We had Gray's Open House at school this evening.

It was neat to finally see him in his classroom

showing off all of his work.

We didn't really get to talk to his teacher,

since things weren't really set up for that,

but it was nice to see the room with Gray

and look at some of the work he has done.

He took us to the library

(which I LOVE!  I seriously wanted to curl up and read every book in there!),

and the "librarian" was excited to see him.

I asked her if Grayson was a good customer

and she replied that he was a "VERY good customer."

I can't tell you how much my heart needed to hear this.

Gray also took us to see his music room.

His music teacher also approached us

and told us how much she enjoyed having Gray.

I wanted to cry because I was finally hearing

(in a round about way),

that my son was ok,

that he is loved,

that he is being seen for him,

that he is succeeding,

even if his classroom teacher isn't conveying that.

I left his school that night feeling slightly better

about our school experience so far.

I know my boy is great,

and that he is going to be an amazing person,

but it was so nice to know that someone else sees it too.

Day 21

Gray was still fairly excited about school today.

I think it has something to do with feeling like

one of the "in-crowd" thanks to the silly bands.

He was excited to tell me that he "traded" some of them with a friend,

but somehow came home with fewer than he had left with.

Think we'll have to work on the concept of "trading" tonight.

Day 20

 Waiting at the bus stop.

Much better morning thanks to the incentive of these

crazy little bracelets otherwise known as

silly bands.

Gray had been asking about these since the first week of school.

I finally bought some and am making him earn them.

Seven on the first day seems like a pretty good deal to me.

Day 19

Another rough morning.

This one complete with "I don't like school" and

needing to somewhat force him to get on the bus.

He didn't get enough sleep,

and I know he was still tired.

I can't seem to convince him that he

needs to stay in bed at night

and allow his body time to fall asleep

instead of getting up repeatedly to play in his room.

{SIGH}

Also,

he lost his recess yesterday

for not completing an assignment.

Totally NOT ok with this.

I would much rather

he have homework when he gets home

than lose the only chance he has

to run off some energy during the day.

I'm curious to see how his day went today,

but it looks as though we may be having

another conversation with his teacher.

{BIGGER SIGH}

Day 18

Well, even if our mornings are still rough, I at least know he's learning something.  I especially like the way he pauses near the end of the song to actually visualize the word "September."  ;)


S-E-P-T-E-M-B-E-R from Kelly Irwin on Vimeo.

Day 17

I didn't bother with a picture this morning,

didn't even try. 

The morning started out better. 

 Gray got himself up, came downstairs,

and was in the process of pouring his own bowl of cereal for breakfast

when I made it to the kitchen. 

I was so proud of him for being such a great helper this morning. 

But then he wanted to listen to The White Stripes,

and he wasn't dressed yet.

I told him to get dressed while I got the song ready.

He whined and crabbed.

I explained that I had to pull it up on the computer

and that he had plenty of time to get his clothes on.

He complained some more, but got his shirt and shorts on.

I couldn't remember the name of the song he liked and we couldn't find it.

I told him to get his socks on while I called Nate.

He whined some more.

We finally got the socks on, found the song, and Gray started rocking.

He turned the music way up and danced around the kitchen.

He couldn't hear me tell him to get his shoes on,

so I turned it down.

More whining and complaining.

Are you getting the picture?

So, yeah, I didn't even attempt the picture today.

Day 16

Gray was NOT having the picture thing today.

Another rough morning in the Irwin house.

He wanted to wear his pajamas to school.

I had to draw the line.

Being the mean parent every morning sucks.

I feel like all I do is hound Gray every morning.

"You need to get up. 

You need to get dressed, get out of bed. 

 Did you hear me? 

Grayson, I said get your clothes on. 

 Pick out your cereal for breakfast. 

Pick out your cereal for breakfast. 

Grayson put the toy down and pick out your cereal! 

Are you finished eating? 

Hurry up. 

You still need to get your teeth brushed and your socks on. 

Are you still eating? 

 Finish up please! 

Go brush your teeth. 

No, I said go brush your teeth. 

We'll talk about that after you go BRUSH YOUR TEETH. 

GET IN THE BATHROOM AND BRUSH YOUR TEETH!"

I feel horrible every morning.

This is not a good way for anyone to start their day,

and I can understand Gray not wanting his picture taken.

I hope that this is still us just settling in to the school year.

And if it's not,

just for today,

lie to me and tell me it is.

Day 15

A little better today,

but most definitely forcing the smile. 

Gray is struggling with waking up when it is still dark outside. 

And he's just now figured out that he has to do this

every.

single.

day.

He comes home happy enough in the afternoons,

but these mornings just may do us in.

Day 14

I've been having all sorts of issues with Blogger.

Or maybe it's my internet connection.

Then again, maybe it's just me.

Anywho, here is Day 14,

a Tuesday

following a 3-day weekend.

Gray was not amused.

Day 13

*Sorry this picture is so dark.  I don't have the time to go in and adjust it right now, but at least it's posted.

Day 12

Day 11

Day 10

Day 9

Yesterday seemed to be a better day.  Gray was excited to go to school, and was in a great mood when he came home.  I made sure he got a snack and some down time right away and it really seemed to help him get through the rest of the afternoon and evening. 

I love Mondays because it's the day that Gray has art.  I love seeing what he has created when he comes home from school.  Yesterday was fish and they were great!!  He did a great job drawing the fish, and I loved seeing Gray's creativity come through with the colors and stripes that adorned his creations.

Gray talks more and more about the kids he plays with.  Paige is a common name that comes up, mostly because he sits next to her, I think.  He gets excited when he learns the name of a new friend and remembers it long enough to tell me what it is when he gets home.  I'm looking forward to the Open House in a few weeks so that I can try to put some names and faces together.

When we were talking about his day at dinner, Gray casually mentioned something about his teacher that immediately put me on alert.  I emailed his teacher this morning in the hopes of getting some more feed back from her and am probably going to drive Gray to school tomorrow just to have an excuse to pop in and check things out.  I'm sure everything will be great, and as long as Gray continues to come home happy and seems to enjoy school, I'm going to try my best not to get overly concerned.  I just have to say, though, that home schooling sounds more and more appealing every day.

Day 8

My heart was too heavy to actually write anything here on Friday.  I was still upset with Gray for the poor choices he had made the day before.  I worried most of the day over a phone call I had made to his teacher and the speculations I made from a conversation I had with a neighbor about his teacher.  I felt relieved when Gray came home claiming he had had a great day, and then quickly became overwhelmingly sad when I found a note from his teacher in his backpack explaining that Gray had made yet another poor choice with his scissors.  My heart literally hurt as I tried to rack my brain and figure out what could possibly be going on with my boy. 

He lost TV.  He lost his trip to the creek.  We talked, and talked, and talked some more.  I tried to get him to talk about school as much as I could to get a better understanding of what might be causing him to act out in this way. 

I had a small "Aha" moment over the weekend when I was wondering about what exactly Gray's teachers are expecting him to cut.  It's pure speculation on my part, but my guess is that he's bored.  Gray has been using scissors for the past 2 1/2 years.  The boy knows how to cut.  So my guess is that he's not really engaged with what he's supposed to be doing. 

This doesn't make his choices ok, though.  Not even a little.  We still need to get to the bottom of things and find out what is really going on.  I have plans to talk with Gray's teacher, to get a little more information about the school day and what his teacher's expectations are.  I'll do whatever it takes to get us all through this.

Day 7

He cut his flippin' hair again.  At School.  On picture day.

Day 6

We had kind of a rough start to the day today when Gray decided he wanted to wear his Batman costume to school.  I'm all for independence in the clothing department and Gray usually chooses his own clothes and gets dressed before I get to his room each morning.  I try to be okay with his choices even when I don't really "appreciate" the style Gray is going for.  But today I had to draw the line.  And things got a little ugly.  And so I forgot to take a picture this morning (even though I did walk out the door with it).

So, I made up for it by taking one at the park this afternoon.

I've been struggling to understand this boy that gets off of the bus each afternoon, the one who greets me happily enough and then quickly turns into a mouthy, rude, obnoxious little boy who tries to test his limits as far as they will stretch (and my patience with it).  I knew that we would experience some of this, and I get it, I really do.  But I absolutely do NOT have to like it.  It's not fun for anybody involved and by the time bedtime rolls around our nerves are all kind of shot. 

I swore today would be different.  I thought and thought about what I could do to make it an easier transition to go from school to home.  The one thing I came up with is trying to get Gray moving to work off some of the extra pent-up energy, and maybe find some neighborhood kids for him to get active with.  Today we met Gray at the bus stop and instead of coming straight back to the house, we walked right to the park.  The kids played for about 35 minutes and then we walked home.  He still tested me, but it was better, more bearable.  He'll be starting swimming soon, and possibly soccer or gymnastics, and I really hope that funneling his energy in those activities will help with the attitude at home.  Or at least use enough energy that he's too tired to talk.  ;)

Oh, and the friend from the bus is Braden, and Gray wants to have him over for a play date, yet another thing that I will have to figure out how to navigate in this year of firsts.

Day 5

Gray seems really big to me in this picture.  Maybe it's the new shorts that actually fall below the knee. 

Gray was excited to get on the bus again this morning, and came stepping off this afternoon saying,

 "I had even MORE fun!"  I'd say things are going relatively well. 

Gray made friends with the boy he sat with on the bus the first day of school and talks about him every day when he comes home.  His job for tomorrow is to learn his friends name.  ;)

Day 4

All better!  I was really worried about what this morning would bring.  Gray did not want to get out of bed this morning and it was a struggle to get him dressed and downstairs.  Once we needed to leave for the bus, though, he really rallied.  He was excited to show Scarlett and Cameron how it was done, and kept looking back and saying "Watch guys" as he was getting on the bus.

I am feeling a little lost without my boy today.  The house just seems too quiet and empty, and the fact that I only needed to make lunch for 2 kids today kind of shocked me to the core.  I know that it's going to take time for me to adjust to having Gray away from home all day, but right not I'm really looking forward to 3:25.

Day 3

I think it's safe to say that he's feeling better, but I kept Gray home again just to be safe.  I really struggled with my decision, but in my heart I knew what I needed to do.  Hopefully Monday will go smoothly.

Kindergarten Day 2

Apparently, school must have really worn Gray down yesterday.  He woke up this morning with an upset stomach and a fever.  After sleeping 11 hours straight last night, he only managed to stay awake for about 6 hours today.  Poor guy.

Kindergarten Day 1

Gray had a great time today!  I think he's really excited to go back tomorrow.