Outdoor Soccer

Charlie played soccer again this fall - this time it was outdoor soccer.  Once again, his favorite position was goalie!

Kindergarten!

Charlie was so excited to start Kindergarten this year.  He started talking about it last winter, and as the month of September approached the topic consumed more and more of our conversations.

Finally, it was time for us to go to his school's ice cream social - an opportunity for the kids to find out what class they are in and to meet the teacher.  Kindergartners get an added bonus of actually getting to see their classroom.  Charlie was a bit excited.  This may also have had something to do with the fact that he knew he would soon be eating ice cream.

Then, the day before Kindergarten we gave him a new book to read.  We love "The Night Before" series... it is a lot of fun!  Charlie read this book three times before he went to bed.  And I suspect that he may have crawled out of bed to read it some more!

The morning of the first day of Kindergarten, he woke up with excited energy.  We had special oatmeal with sprinkles for his school colors - red and black.

And then we took just a few before school pictures.  

We walked the short distance to school (it is about 3/10 of a mile from our house.)  We got there before the doors were open and paused to take another picture in front of the building.

And then it was time.  Charlie remembered how to get to his class from the scavenger hunt we'd done during the ice cream social.  He did ask to stop and take smiling pictures by the smile sign.

He marched into class and read the first day directions.  Yes, he can read - and well.  

He followed the directions perfectly.  Charlie loves it when things are spelled out so clearly.  He was so very proud to sit at his desk.  I stayed and watched as he started his very first morning work and met his table mate - Kollin.

And then, I did as I was instructed.  I said goodbye, and marched out of the classroom.

It was definitely more difficult for me than it was for him.

He was right at home at that desk!

After school he couldn't stop talking about everything they'd done.

I took some more pictures since he was so happy.

Inside the house he showed off his first day work.  

We couldn't have had a better first day of school experience.  So proud of my kindergartner!

Charlie the Builder

Charlie has really grown in a lot of his skills since we started therapy about a year ago.  He became a skilled bike rider, developed his musical ability on the piano, started reading, got better control of a pencil, and... started excelling in lego building.

One night I noticed there was a growing collection on Charlie's dresser, and I asked him if I could take a picture.  Andy and I had both worked with him multiple times on how to follow the picture instructions to assemble legos.  Honestly, he just didn't seem to get it... but he always had fun watching us build, and also created some great structures all on his own.

But, we went from incapability to a sudden ability.  He just figured it out on his own.  He went from us trying to explain what pictures were showing until we were so frustrated that we would just give up... to magically understanding them and not requesting an iota of help.  Things like this started popping up everywhere.

That's Charlie.  I've learned a lot about him in the past few years.  But the most important thing I have learned is that Charlie is very, very capable.  That when he is ready, he can do just about anything he wants to do.  I like the surprise of it all and constantly wait to see what skill he will suddenly pick up next!

Charlie's First Tee Ball Experience

We had such a good experience with indoor soccer this year that we decided to sign up for the next sport... tee ball.  Charlie had a lot of fun playing.  A lot.  However, he didn't quite get the game as well as he did with soccer.  For most of the season, his coach and I were encouraging to do what he was supposed to do.  And he finally started hitting the ball without the tee at the end of the season.  Sometimes.

But the most important thing is that it was fun.  And, although it taught us that soccer is more of his game, we will probably do the baseball thing again next summer!

Preschool Picnic

The day after the last day of class, Charlie's teacher organized a final picnic at a local park.
Most of the kids in Charlie's class have siblings Ephram's age, and both boys were very excited to go play.  It was a little difficult to get pictures of Charlie playing for two reasons - first, he was moving super fast.  Second, Ephram was too and I was a little afraid he was going to decide to jump off the structure.

After some play time, Charlie sat down to eat the Happy Meal we'd brought.  He was super excited to eat outside with his classmates.

Then the kids enjoyed some more playtime.  Charlie and his classmates ended up playing a crazy little game of tag on the grass.  We got them to all gather together for one final picture.

Charlie, Ava, Shay, Caden, Kyler

Too soon it was time for the picnic to end.  We got one final picture of Charlie with his teacher, Mrs. Hereth.  Hoping for a great Kindergarten experience to match this wonderful year of preschool!

The End of Preschool

Throughout May, Charlie was concerned and excited about his last day of preschool.

My feelings were also mixed.

How could it be that my little boy would be attending preschool for the very last time?

And moving on to the "big kid's school" in a few short months?

But wouldn't it be nice to not have the commitment to drive him to school three days a week.

And pick him up, an event that always somehow interrupted Ephram's nap schedule?

And we could have our days to ourselves again.

Me and my little boys.

To do whatever we want together until the school years really started.

But... how could it be that he was actually old enough to graduate preschool?

The last day of class came faster than I'd imagined.

I'm sure it was slow coming for Charlie.

He was so excited as he ate lunch before the last day.

He chose out his Toy Story 3 shirt special - he said that his Toy Story friends needed to be there.

To help him sing in the Spring Show.

We loaded up in the car and walked Charlie to class.

One last time.

We left, to return 90 minutes later for his show.

Ephram was so excited to sit on the benches in the chapel and wait for the kids to come in.

When Charlie's class came in and took their place, I couldn't help but notice

A difference

Charlie looked proud.

He looked obedient.

And he looked so excited to show everyone what he knew.

They sang several songs.

The most amazing thing happened.

Charlie sang every word of every song.

He did every hand motion.

He didn't try to leave his place,

He didn't refuse to participate,

He didn't have any disagreements with the other children.

I was so proud.

I'm sure my smile stretched ear to ear.

Maybe he truly was ready to move on.

I recorded the songs that the kids sang,

(with Ephram's help, so some recordings are a bit jiggly.)

I had a hard time choosing which to share,

but I whittled it down to three.

I can't figure out how to imbed more than one YouTube video in a Blogger post.

So I imbedded my very favorite and provided links to the other two.  

No One Like You, a song by John Denver...

My absolute favorite.

Not just for the words and the joy on Charlie's face.

But because he proudly pointed at his family,

(and announced as much at the end.)

It makes me remember how lucky we are to have Charlie in our family.

Tap Your Sticks, was cute just to see how well Charlie followed the cues.

And also that he finally understands rhythm.

Tap Your Sticks

And a song about John 3:16, because of the complete silliness.

Not the message, but the body movements and gestures.

John 3:16

And, if you look at the videos, you may notice.

Charlie's had a bit of a growth spurt too.

He ended up being one of the tallest in his class,

And is quite taller than the other kids to his right

Who are all the same age as him.

After the show we walked to Charlie's class.

Gathered his things one last time.

And walked outside.

I told Charlie how proud I was of him.

And how excited Daddy would be to watch the movies and see how well he'd done.

Charlie was absolutely beaming.

Ephram was asleep.

So we took one last picture, in front of the school.

I will miss Prince of Peace preschool very much.

Charlie will too.

It was an excellent place for us.

And now, we wait for Kindergarten to start!

Charlie Plays: Sur le Pont d'Avignon

I started teaching piano lessons this fall. Charlie was my second student. He has done really well. He is definitely musical! Here is a recording of him playing (and singing) a song that he learned in April.

Playing Ball

...From inside the ball.  Charlie used to be terrified of this thing.  For whatever reason, he suddenly was no longer scared and decided to insert himself in the ball.  Ephram even tried to get in on the action for a little bit!

Hide and Seek

One April afternoon, Ephram woke up from his nap and together we went into Charlie's room to end his quiet time.

But when I opened the door, he wasn't on the floor playing like usual.
He wasn't hiding in the corner under his bookshelf.
He wasn't tucked under the blankets piled on the floor.
He wasn't behind the door.
He wasn't crouched in the small space next to his dresser.
He wasn't in either closet.
And he wasn't under his desk.

That just about exhausted all of the usual hiding spaces.

I backed out of his room to see if I'd walked right past him in the bathroom.
No Charlie.
I came downstairs to see if he'd snuck down to color.
No Charlie.

I kind of started to panic a little.
And then I heard a giggle.
That infectious 15-month old rolling laugh that always meant the big brother was being silly.

I grabbed my camera and went upstairs.

One of these things is not like the other ones... can you spot it?

Here's another, more obvious angle.

During quiet time, Charlie had climbed into his stuffed animal tub and carefully piled all his friends back around his body.  I probably should have noticed the smiling face in the middle of the toys, but I truly didn't expect to see my son there.  Who knows how long he was sitting in their... but it had to have been warm.

He is such a goofy, happy, silly kid!