Kindergarten Blues

Connor's got 'em.

Every weekday (since his first day) he's been crying and telling me he doesn't want to go to school. The reason? He's bored, he's sad, he doesn't want to be away from us all day.
The all-time most painful comment from him...

"Some kids don't have Kids Country on their nametag. They get to be a car rider or bus rider and go home after school. Why can't I come home right after school?"

Uggggghhhh. Just a minute.

Extracting. knife. from. heart.

So, ya see, this is pretty painful for all of us right now.

I know that he's bored in his class because they are doing "boring" things like talking about the alphabet and reading easy books. It isn't his fault he's a prodigy, y'know.
And the after-school program? I am thinking it must be lacking in structure and activities. His teacher told me he gets progressively "sadder" as the Kindergarten time draws to a close and the time draws nearer for him to go to Kids Country.

This morning was another sad one, with him repeatedly crying to me that "I don't want to go to school!"
"Me neither, Pal," was my response one time.
I asked Connor what he wanted me to do and he had a couple of solutions:

"I want to go to school with you or Dad." "I want to stay home." "Can't I go to Grandma's today?"
He did seem to settle down a bit when I told him that I was looking into other options for him. I won't tell him what they are, just in case things don't work out.
I then asked him to trust me. That Jeff and I were doing all that we could to make sure he could have a good day every day. "Do you trust me?" I asked.
"Yes."

So now I'm on a mission and there MAY be a solution in sight. I am quite excited for the possiblity of returning to a familiar place for part of his day. Much to the chagrin of my independent self, I can't solve this problem alone. But God is good, and I am so grateful for the army of love and support that is being shown to our family right now.

So, if you think of us, will you pray for our family? The adjustment is rough, and when a kiddo's heart is broken, so is Mom's.

Connor's 1st day of Kindergarten

Connor went to Kindergarten on Tuesday. It was a really big day for him. Being teachers, Jeff and I don't always have the most flexible schedules, but we were both fortunate enough to take him in for that all-important first day.

He and Jeff went out for a breakfast sandwich at Hardee's, then off for a quick visit to Grandma's house, then I was able to meet up with them at Connor's school.

We got a picture of him with his teacher right before I went in. I think we both kind of wanted to stay, but in asking the teacher, she said that "it's really best for all of the kids if you go ahead and leave." So, reluctantly, we did. We were pretty torn up, but we made it though the day.


Connor did better than we did on that first day. It's a big step for mom and dad too.

Connor outside his school.

At home, heading out the door with dad!

Alabama Vacation

A few pictures from our 'bama vacation...

We spent 18 hours in the car going both there and back...this is how Connor spent MOST of his time.

If you ask Grant what he liked most about vacation, he will tell you that he got to eat Teddy Grahams in the car. Clearly, we didn't need to spend money a beach vacation. A $1.99 box of chocolate chip teddy grahams was all the boy wanted. You can see him applauding in the car in response to my question, "Would you like some Teddy Grahams?"
"Yayyy Teddy Grahams!"

We got to the beach too late to play the first night, so this was our first day out there. Connor and I spent some time jumping over the waves.

Grant--taking in the Gulf.

Connor, surveying the waves...

Now he's having fun. He was running, jumping, riding, falling, and just generally enjoying the waves!

We went to the U.S.S. Alabama--a retired battleship docked in Mobile Bay.

This is Connor in front of a WWII airplane they had on display at the Battleship Park.

Another day, we went out to Alligator Alley--an refuge for "nuisance alligators" (those that grow over 6 feet long, those found outside of their natural habitats, and a couple that were found in people's backyards--eating their dogs.)

The boys both got to hold the 2 year old gator. He was REALLY strong!

Grant held and kind of "hugged" the gator.

Thought Grant didn't love playing in the waves like we'd hoped, he did enjoy floating with me. We did this quite a bit, and even saw dolphins swimming out just a little ways away from shore while we were out there!

Jeff and Connor spent a lot of time building sandcastles.

Grant spent a lot of time digging in the beach bags, looking for any stray snacks we may have brought.

We buried Connor in the sand!

More castle-building!

My handsome big boy.

Grant, trying to get the sand off of him, or throw it. He alternated between the two actions.

First try for a family pic on the beach.

We liked this one a bit better though.

We had a great time. The boys got to sleep in bunk beds, which was a source of endless excitement for Grant. We loved our condo, there were a bunch of pools and the beach was just beautiful. Maybe in a few years we can go back!