HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO BT!!!!

Happy 6th Birthday BT!!! I could not love you any more if I had given birth to you myself!!!

Making progress..

We took BT with us to a sporting goods store yesterday and he wandered over to the baseball stuff.. He tried out several bats, looked at lots of baseballs, asked a lot of questions about different equipment, and decided what he already had works for him.. I am talking progress!

There may be some hope after all!

Yesterday after leaving work I went to Daughter's house instead of them coming to my house. The weather was nice and she wanted the kids to play outside in their own backyard for a change. When I got there, they were all outside playing. BK was on the trampoline and BT was throwing the frisbee with his mother (or as much as anyone can throw a frisbee with someone who is obsessed with her phone).. But, I won't get off on that soapbox right now. So, when BT realized I was there, he knew he would have all of my attention because I am all about talking to the people I am with... I know, I know...it is hard to get off that soapbox.. Anyway, we started throwing the frisbee and he was doing a great job of chasing down the frisbee and catching it. I commented on it several times and told him he might need to reconsider playing baseball since he was so good at catching the frisbee. Out of the clear blue sky, he ran and got his baseball and we started throwing it and catching it with our bare hands. He was catching almost everything I threw to him. And, he throws really well for an almost six year old. He is very accurate. Then, out of the clear blue sky, again, he ran and got his bat and asked me to pitch to him. (I am almost beside myself at this point). I pitched and he knocked the crap out of the ball.... HITTING LEFT HANDED.. I mentioned something about him throwing right handed and hitting left handed, and he said... THAT IS HOW I LIKE TO HIT AND THROW!!! He said he LIKED something related to sports!!!! As any good G would do, or say, I told him all the coaches would love to have him on his team and I swear he stood up a little taller when I told him that. Then Daughter walked out and saw what was going on and told him she had gotten an email from the coach yesterday about playing ball. Usually he runs in the other direction when baseball is mentioned, or very adamantly reminds us THAT HE QUIT last year BECAUSE HE DOES NOT LIKE SPORTS!!!! I am telling you those are some sad words for me to hear. BUT, he seems really interested this year, and wants to practice again, with me pitching. We stayed outside until it was too dark to see the ball anymore. And, when he went inside to eat his dinner, he was still talking about it..

There may be some hope after all.... a G can hope!

Acorn head...

This is a hat that his great-grandmother brought him from one of her trips. There are actually more attractive ways to wear it, but he prefers the "acorn" look..

Learning about BT's days at school..

Last week I kept the grandkids one night while Daughter went to school.. BT taught me a few things he had learned in Kindergarten... Apparently the teacher will write the numbers down one by one, as pictured above, and then skip a number and write the next number to see if the kids actually know their numbers when they see them, or if they just have them memorized. As you can see BT did the same thing to me, and then told me it was a "trick".. and he spelled "trick" so I would more fully grasp the concept of what HE was trying to teach ME.. Same concept with the alphabet..

Then, because BT wanted me to experience school with him, he drew a picture of the music room at school, complete with a tambourine, cymbals, maracas, etc. The music notes were drawn to see if I could guess what they meant. I am still trying to figure out what "Feel Up Your Orchestra Good Behavior" means..

BT and his friend "K"..

She told her mama she wanted to be cute for BT..

I think the red cowboy boots complete the outfit...

Sniff, sniff...

BT spent the night with me last night. He wanted me to take him to school this morning. We hung out last night, watched Big Brother, and then watched Santa Clause 3 for the 74th time in BT's lifetime. He loves it. He didn't go to sleep until almost 10. Way past my bedtime for sure. But, he woke up on his own this morning about 6:15 and was ready for his second day of school. We got dressed and when I asked him what he wanted for breakfast, he said donut holes and apple juice. So, we headed to the the Donut Barn and got just that. We were a little early for school, so we made a practice run through the drop-off area since I wasn't sure where to go. 15 minutes later we came back, still about 8 minutes too early to drop him off, and parked and waited until the teachers came out to get them. He repeated the rules to me about dropping kids off. Say your good-byes and get your final hugs in before you get to the drop off area. We did that while waiting on the teachers to come out. When the teacher opened his door, he got his back pack with his lunch stored inside, told me he loved me, and jumped out of the truck and never looked back. I cried as I drove very slowly away from the school. I watched him look around like he was not sure exactly where to go, and then a teacher took his hand and they went inside. I am not ready for him to be a big boy yet. Sniff, sniff... :(

First Day of School...

I really thought the first day of kindergarten for BT would be similar to our first ballgame. He wouldn't want to go, would walk in the his room, and then run out crying for his mama, etc. You know the story. But, I could not have been more surprised. He was excited! I went over to Daughter's house so I could take BK to daycare so Daughter could take BT to school, since I feel sure if BT was going somewhere new, BK would want to do it to... Strangely enough he wanted me to take him to school, but I told him only moms could take you to school on the first day, and I could take him any day after that. And he bought it. But, BK couldn't understand where her "brudder" was going when only she and I left for daycare. She was sad. And, when I dropped her off at daycare, she cried. She kept asking where he was going. It broke my heart.

Anyway, BT had picked out what he wanted to take for his lunch for his first day of kindergarten. Most kids would want PBJ, chips, pre-packaged cookies, capri sun... but, not BT. He wanted a cheese sandwich (not grilled), toast rounds that I got at Fresh Market, a slice of a cake I baked that he said is the "best cake ever," peanut butter crackers for his snack, apple slices, fruit chews and apple juice. I am sure when he started pulling everything out of his lunch bag, he got a few stares. But, he is an individual, and is not swayed by what everybody else is doing, eating, wearing, etc. That is one of the MANY things I love about him.

When Daughter asked him how his first day of school went, he said it was fun, he didn't remember what they did, he liked his lunch and was ready to go back. Unfortunately they don't get to go back today, but they do go back tomorrow and then they are on a regular schedule after that.

And I don't know why that one picture is turned sideways.. And, I can't figure out how to remove it.. Another DUH moment..

BT Day

We had another BT Day recently. Sunday night he informed me he needed a BT day since he had not had one in quite some time. This means he wants his sister to go to daycare, and he wants to go to work with me and stay all day. The bosses were going to be gone all day, so I agreed. And, he was a sweetheart, as usual. I keep stuff at my office for him to do "art" projects, and he loves to play computer games. He ran some "important" errands with me, i.e., oil change, Marshall's, mexican food for lunch, etc. He loved all the snacks they had at the oil change place and ate the entire time we were there. That is what a G does.. she lets you eat crap! Then we went to Marshall's where he decided we needed a new ice cream scoop, with a cow handle, along with four small ice cream spoons, with various farm animal handles. He didn't want them for eating ice cream, he wanted them to play with. As I type, they are all five lined up neatly on my coffee table, all facing the same way, and have been since Monday afternoon. They will stay there until I dust, or he moves them, whichever comes first. And, when I pick them up today from daycare, he will go straight to my den to make sure they are still there. And, he talks to them.

When we were on our way to pick up his sister from daycare, I told him his sister would need a BK day soon, since he had a BT day, and he would have to go to daycare that day. He informed me she really would not like a BK day, and it would be a waste of my time to do it. But, he is available for another day in honor of himself next week.

Awwwwww.....look at its....

Friday night we cooked out at Daughter's house for Mother-in-law's birthday (which I had forgotten). Since I love to read other people's blogs, I wanted to share something I had seen on another blogger's website with BT and BK. Go here http://suzannemcminn.com/ and see if you can find the video of the baby chick being born. This lady has an awesome website and I look forward to reading it each day. BT and BK were sitting in my lap watching the baby chick being born, commenting on it ocassionally, listening to the "tweets" of the other two little chicks that had recently hatched. When it finally broke loose from its shell, BT said "Awwwww, look at its pecker."

Enough said..

Graduation from Pre-K...

BT graduated from Pre-kindergarten this morning. I was not going to go since I am the only girl in the office this week, but in the end, I decided keeping BT happy was way more important than keeping the guys who sign my check twice a month happy.. Anyway, I now believe BT when he says he wants to be a musician. Not only did BK sing for us along with her fellow classmates who are all 3 and under, but BT and his classmates sang three songs as well. He was the "maestro" for one of the songs, and when I tell you he was TOTALLY into his job, let there be no doubt. He sang the loudest, moved around the most, and was totally into what he was doing. When it was another classmate's turn to be maestro, Benton was still "maestroing" it up. He was definitely giving it 100% from beginning to end. Daughter has pictures and hopefully she will send them to me soon so I can share.

At the end, the graduates all gathered in the center of the room and threw their hats in the air.... just like I remember doing a few years ago when I graduated from high school... :)

Well... B.T. played his first t-ball game Saturday...

It will also be his only t-ball game. And, I really use the term "played" very loosely.. Daughter got BT dressed and he didn't like the pants. They made his legs itch. I truly thought it would be the new cleats he would have issues with. Not. And, he didn't like his ball jersey. Or the hat. Or being at the ballpark. He refused to sit in the dugout. Or go on the field and warm up. His team was home team and they took the field first. BT sat in the bleachers with his fan club. We begged, bribed, pleaded, threatened (Daughter did the threatening part), etc., and he was not interested. G'mere, who is not a morning person, was at the ballpark shortly after 11. She wanted her money's worth. She asked him was there ANYTHING she could do that would get him to go on the field. There was not. Finally Daughter told (kind of sounded like yelling) him if he would bat one time, we would go home. He told her she was being difficult. His words, not mine... although she is difficult. Sometimes. He decided he would bat one time if he could leave as soon as he was done. He walked up to the plate, RELUCTANTLY, hit a shot to left field, and I do mean a shot, (the best hit of the game so far) and ran straight back to the dugout to his mama. He was ready to go. He was crying. There is a picture, but I have not received it yet. He NEVER agreed to run the bases. In our negotiations, we didn't mention he would need to run the bases after he hit the ball. We just asked him to bat one time, and he did. The season is over for him, and he could not be happier about it!

T-Ball

BT had his first T-ball practice yesterday afternoon, and although he was adamant he did not want to play, wanted his name scratched off the list and wanted his mama to get a refund of the registration fee she paid, he LOVED IT!!! Daughter had class last night and could not attend practice, but one of her friends was there with her son who is also on BT's team, and she was texting Daughter and telling her what a great job BT was doing. When they left practice BT called his mama and told her all about it. He said he had a great time, he did really well, BUT, he does not want to go back!!! BUT, he WILL be going back, and I will be there this time, as will Daughter. I love baseball, even T-ball, and I can't wait!

BT Day

For whatever reason, BT believed he should have a day that was just all about him this past week. Apparently he brought it up to Daughter earlier in the week, and he did not forget about it. His idea of a "BT Day" is a day at the office with "my G"... I wasn't sure I could make this happen last week, and probably didn't need to make it happen, but I gave it up and did it. He didn't want to go to school at all Friday, and called me crying Friday morning when he found out he would have to go for a little while, but I promised him if he would give me a few hours at work without him, I would come get him by 10. After much conversation, and several assurances that he would indeed get to go to my office, he was fine with only going to school for a couple of hours. His class was outside riding their bikes when I pulled up and he started dancing in the parking lot when he saw me round the corner. He made sure we were not getting his sister too. How can you have a "BT day" if she tags along?!! Believe me when I tell you, you can't. Anyway, he ran a couple of office errands with me, and then we headed to the office. He is actually very good when he gets to spend time at my office. He will draw, hang rubber bands on my office plant, play Elmo games on my computer, etc. while I do other things, etc. He is easily entertained and very well behaved, especially when his sister is not around. Per his request, we had McDonald's for lunch, but only after confirming the toy was worth having. At the end of the work day, we went to Walmart, and after much consideration, picked out a ball with water and glitter inside as our "toy of the day." We also purchased 3 new fly swatters shaped like butterflies and suns, and called them magic wands. He already had one shaped like a sun, and he wanted to get a matching set for his sister. He never leaves her out when he is getting something for himself. When we got back to my house, he sat in the floor with Man and rolled the ball back and forth and told me "G, this has been a wonderful BT day." And it was.

Air Freshener

Since BT was potty trained, we have taught him that air freshener must be used if he does anything other than tinkle. He caught on to that task instantly, mainly because he loved to spray the stuff himself. Without fail, he uses air freshener. The other day I went into the bathroom to help BK potty and noticed something dripping off a picture in the bathroom... it was air freshener. I will certainly give him credit for being thorough in eliminating any offensive odors.

This past Sunday, Daughter took BT to a birthday party at the home of a good friend. BT had to go to the bathroom and apparently stayed gone for quite some time. Daughter went to look for him and as she approached the bathroom, she could hear cabinet doors opening and closing. She asked him what he was doing, and he told her....."I am looking for the air freshener!!!"