Workin' at the Carwash

Have you ever found yourself a slave to fashion? If so, you might understand how Luke ended up staging his own carwash last night. A few days ago he rediscovered his bright yellow rain boots and has wanted to wear them around the house, to school, etc. But dry rain boots can only take you so far. It was time for the waterworksl!

His Nanny and Papa came by for an afternoon visit yesterday and while my dad and Ben were taking a look under the hood of our vehicles, Luke decided to help out with the exterior. He got his leaky sand bucket, a mostly used bottel of shampoo per auto left from Italy, a wheel brush, and the garden hose. I suspect he had an accomplice for turning on the spigot. At any rate, he was a workin' man at his own car wash, only taking a break to play with our neighbors' puppy.

My parents graciously took their grand-dogs back to NC with them for the week since we will be flying out to Spokane, Washington tomorrow morning. You can see Luke was already set to go with his Spokane tee. We're looking forward to seeing a new part of the country and having a nice fall break for Labor Day. Hope you all enjoy the long weekend where ever you may be.

First Day, Hooray!

After lots of swimming and a nice visit in LaGrange with past weekend with his Nonna, Luke’s big day has finally arrived. We’ve been reading a library book called First Day, Hooray! and now today was his first day of school! We got back to Knoxville last night and started the first of many a Sunday night rituals to come: pack your bookbag and your lunch, lay out your clothes for the morning. Luke even went right to bed without his usual protest. One, he was tired from swimming and our car ride, but mainly, I think he was just excited about what morning would bring. When we awoke today, the sun was shining but the air was cool and crisp just like you think a good first day at school should be. Luke jumped up happy and headed downstairs by himself to use the potty. Next we ate breakfast and watched Curious George just like any other morning, but this was no ordinary morning. By 8:30 we were dressed, gathered all our bags and his lunch and headed to go to school. I took his picture on our front step, proudly holding his lunchbox and ready for the world. We arrived at school early, like most of the other parents and children but we had to wait until the doors opened at 9 AM sharp. It was so sweet to see all the excited little kids, and I wondered if any of the other parents were feeling mixed emotions about the day.

Finally the doors opened. Luke was the first one to run into his classroom. He had memorized his teachers’ names over the weekend and helped me say good morning to them. He didn’t have much time for chit-chat though because they had brought in a train-track table and he made a beeline for the engines and freight cars. I put his things away, talked with the teachers, and then it was time for me to go. He and I had already talked about how he should try to hug and comfort any of the kids who were sad to leave their mommies and daddies, and as I expected, he was not one of them. He never cried or even looked sad when I said goodbye. He was perfectly content to be there and that certainly made it a lot easier on me.

When I went to pick him up, he was sound asleep on his little cot, holding his lamb. He must have played hard because his teacher said he was the first one to fall asleep. I was worried for nothing! I figured he’d be the one kid that wouldn’t sleep a wink. He presented the shape and color of the day and said he had fun playing trains and that they read ‘Five Monkeys.’ All in all, I’d say it was a great first day of school.

Ready, Set, Learn

After returning home from his vacation in Murphy, Luke came back to Knoxville to get down to business. Luke his cousin Delaney who starts kindergarten soon, he will be starting preschool next week and went to meet his teacher and some of this classmates at orientation. As many of your know, Luke told me earlier this summer he “wanted friends” and is so into playing with other kids at the park that we knew was ready for preschool whether we were or not. He likes the children on our block, but most of them are much older and I know he will enjoy having age-mates to play with and a new environment for learning and group play. We were lucky to finally get a spot at our church’s preschool and so Luke is classroom-bound and thrilled about it. He will carry his Thomas lunch box that his Aunt Holly sent several weeks ago and is constantly packing and repacking his bookbags around the house. His excitement for school is running a close second only to our upcoming trip to Spokane to see his Nonna and Bacca. He’s been packing for that trip for about a month! I can’t believe he’s not only old enough but so eager to start his school career. I know it’s just preschool and only two days a week, but it’s a big deal to me and I imagine it will be an empowering change for him. So next time you talk to him, ask him about school and I bet he’ll have a lot to say.