Tot School- more interested!

Since he has turned 3, R-man has really taken more of an interest in totschool, which is exciting for mama! He has been expressing more interest in learning academic subjects, even wanting to "read" books to me- which is of course adorable and fun to hear the stories he comes up with!
He sat down for totschool the other morning (which we decided to do in his room at his little table- less distractions) and actually worked on his lacing cards for the first real time! He did such a good job- it was encouraging to see the progress he has made!
We worked with his stickers, putting the correct numbers in each box. He liked all the different guitars and it was a good way to keep him concentrated on counting.
Puzzles have been a big hit! He will even go get them out by himself, although he usually ends up needing my help on the more complex ones. I just like seeing him initiate!
We have also been working with workbooks more, which he has never been one to sit down and concentrate on before, but now he seems to have taken a real interest in them. He likes the diversity of activities and also like having something he can tangably show daddy when he gets home from work!
Other things we have been working with that aren't pictured are his new easel, his old totbooks (especially "Cars"), and some different alphabet flash cards. I am just so proud of him and glad to see him excited about learning and exploring!

Here he is, proud of the guitar sticker (on his hand) that he received for being so good during our morning of totschool!

Valuable to a 3-year-old!

The other day R-man wanted to take some pictures with my camera, which I said was fine since I was sitting right there! He proceeded to take pictures of some of his favorite things around the living room, which happened to include (at the time):

His Guitar

"Cars"

His Hoop

And of course.. his mama! (I can't believe I am posting this pic! But hey, he loves me!)

Tot-Baseball! Too Funny!

Well, last week Roman began his first week of baseball lessons (lessons isn't the best word for it, but I can't really think of another one that fits!)! It is basically a class for 3-year-olds that teaches them all the basics of the game in 3-year-old terms (such as, "make your hands like an alligator to catch the ball!"). He hasn't been in many of these sorts of settings where he has to follow directions from people other than family (he just started a one-morning-a-week preschool co-op, at which he is equally hesitant), so understanding and following through on what the coach directed proved to be a little bit difficult, but he had fun none the less!


At one point the coach did an exercise where each kids was supposed to individually chase him around the bases and grab a flag that was hanging from his pocket. When R-Man was called to homeplate he proceeded to tell the coach that he had white teeth and white and blue shoes (his recent fascinations and opening lines when he meets anyone new!)- it was hilarious! The coach had no clue what he was talking about but my mom (Nana to R-man) and I got a good kick out of it!



This week should be better as they are splitting the class into two groups- those closer to 4 who have taken sports classes before, and those who just turned 3 and are essentially clueless about what is going on! R-Man is in the latter! That's okay though- it is a chance for him to learn, oh and provide some good, mid-week comedic-reflief for me!

R-Man's Birthday Extravaganza!

So, it is a little late in getting posted, since his birthday was a week and a half ago, but at least I am getting it done!

R-Man had a wonderful 3rd birthday! The day of his actual birthday he woke up to streamers at the top and bottom of the stairs, to which he exclaimed, "Is that my present?!" Haha- if only we had known that would be enough! Throughout the day we gave him his gifts from us, which included an Ironman Watch with changeable wristbands and face-plates, a set of golf clubs, and a rug for his matchbox cars with a track printed on it- all of which he loved! We topped off the day with a trip to Cold Stone for ice-cream, and all-in-all had a great day!

Enjoying his ice-cream picnic-style!

On Saturday of that week we had the birthday party festivities! Sadly, all but one family couldn't make it to R-Man's kids party at the park (yup- you heard me right, only 2 kids were there!). Luckily, there were lots of other kids at the park, and R-Man didn't seem to realize that they weren't there to celebrate with him, so it all worked out! Also, the two kiddos who did show up are some of his dearest friends, so he had a blast despite the turn out!

Tearing into his gifts with the fam!

That evening we had the family party at my in-law's house (which of course included more of the people on our guestlist, so he felt double-honored!) and R-man and I actually shared the night of celebration, as my birthday was on the 29th!


He made out well in the gift department with all those grandparents (both grandparents & great-grandparents, so 7 in total!) and was so excited to receive (among other things) a scooter, chalkboard/whiteboard easel, and LOTS of "CARS" cars (oh, and the Dinico Helicopter, I should not forget!)! Mama, on the other hand, was excited about all the clothes he received (yeah- stuff that fits!)!


One of his favorite parts of the night was having "Happy Birthday" sung to him and getting to blow out his candles! He had specifically asked for cake, which I had just intended to have at the kid's party (I am not a big cake fan, so we were going to have my grandma's pies at the family party, since it was for my birthday too!), but since hardly anyone showed in the morning, we had a plethora of Wall-E decorated cupcakes to make the rounds for the adults as well!

How wonderfully optimistic 3-year-olds are! They can celebrate anywhere with anyone and it is all good by them! If only I could be a little bit more like that!

Out of his mouth, as of late!

R-man has had some very interesting things to say lately! I know that if I don't record them soon, I will never remember (especially with this pregnant brain of mine!)!


So first off- he has taken to calling me "Mom" instead of "Mama." Ugh! He just sounds way too old when he calls me that! It is like he turned 3 and just decided he was too grown up to call me "Mama" anymore! And I am sorry, but I thought him saying "Mama" a million times in a row was annoying, however I am quickly finding that "Mom" repeated over and over is SO much worse! I long for the days of "Mama" to return!

On a funny note- here is some 3-year-old logic for you! The other day R-man pointed between my legs and said, "That is where the baby is going to come out." This in and of itself surprised me, since he hadn't watched any birth videos in a while and I was amazed that he had actually correlated that that was how the baby would be delivered, instead of through my belly button, which he has alluded to before. It got better though when he proceeded to explain to me how the baby would come out- he said, "There is a door!" Ahhhh, I was rolling! That was just too funny to me! I love when I get little peaks into how his crazy brain makes sense of things! I just love it!

Okay, and now for my last R-man quip for the day! About a week-and-a-half ago we were going to have BBQ steaks for dinner which my lovely husband was going to cook up for us. However, due to some distractions and how fatty the steaks were, they caught fire and were burnt to a crisp! My husband, obviously frustrated himself, came into the house less than happy, which in turn (and in my pregnant state) made me feel like he was somehow blaming me for the steak debacle. In my pregnant rage I stormed downstairs to our deep freeze, ranting over how I always got blamed for everything and saying that I was sick of everything always being my fault, and quickly flung a frozen pizza up the stairs and then proceeded to camp out in our room for the next hour or so.

Later that evening when we were putting R-man to sleep, saying his prayers and singing him a song, he turned to me and said, "Mama- it's not your fault, it's daddy's fault." I turned to my husband and asked if he could make sense of the statement. He explained to me that when I had run downstairs earlier that evening R-man had turned to him and said, "Daddy, it's not Mama's fault- it's your fault!" Haha- that's my boy! Always stickin' up for his mama! We got a pretty good kick out of that one and I occasionally make reference to that statement, just to remind my dear husband of that distinct fact which our 3-year-old so bluntly pointed out! Haha! Gotta love the mind of a 3-year-old!