All four of us got to be at school today for Gavin’s last day of Kindergarten.  Lilah was so excited to go that she had to wear her backpack!  Gavin gave her a big hug and told her, “I’m so glad you’re coming to school with me.”  I was a bit sad that our time in that classroom is over, but I know it will be just as much fun next year.

There was a brunch for all the kids and parents and the kids put on plays they’ve been working on.  Lilah ate a lot of strawberries and Gavin drank a lot of orange juice.  Gavin was in the Little Red Hen.  He was Chick 1 with a handwritten sign on his chest and a little orange paper beak.  

I think the group bow was my favorite part!

When the kids all mentioned their favorite part of the school year, Gavin said the Halloween party was his favorite.   There were personalized awards for all the kids so Gavin’s says Fastest Race Car.  They have had spotlight words to learn sight words and each kid comes up with a sentence using that word.  Most of Gavin’s sentences involved race cars, fast ones.

It has been such a wonderful year and we are so grateful to have so many more years in a community that has a place for Gavin and for us!  Here is a story that Gavin told a month or so ago and then illustrated in class.

Ninja Go

One day the ninjas were about to fight because there’s a Bone Guy and Sane are Ninja Go.  Then they have spears.  They are getting closer and closer.  They have a little fight.

And I pick up a fire pit.  It comes from fire.  Sane built a fire pit.  He fights the bone guy with his fire pit.  Sane wins!   Then the bone guy gets bigger and bigger and fatter because the water makes him fat.  And Sane’s legs change, they stick together because the water makes his legs stick together.

Sane gets bigger because the waves in the water get him bigger and the Bone Guy turns into a square with arms and legs.  Sane gets bigger and bigger and bone guy doesn’t have legs and arms and head.  There’s much more water in Bone Guy.  That’s why he’s changing and doesn’t have arms and legs and a head.

The End

The stories the kids came up with in class were so fantastic that we have been asking both kids to tell more stories at home.  Especially since it was Gavin’s favorite part of the Art they did at school this year.  So, here are some new ones:

Bill Highway

One time Sane, Kai and two Jays went to Sane Kai Highway.  And then a bad guy whose name is Karma Pill spoke and spoke and spoke until he’s all dizzy.  And then he disappeared.

The End

Man On Car

Once upon a time there was a ninja with a man on a car.  And then the ninja pushed the man off the car.  Then the person hit his head his head was warm and disappeared.  The carnival for ninjas about to begin.  And then the ninjas were about to come in.  And then it is time to play in the carnival because it’s nine o clock.  And then they were running on cool rollercoasters to Gurj.  And then the ninjas say “Hi, Gurj.”  And then Gurj say, “Hi, ninjas.”  And then Gurj disappeared.

The End

And, one from Lilah:

The ninja girl has some special flyer feet.  And then she flew and flew and flew and flew and flew and flew.  And also fights the bad guy and then flew away.

And here is a little insight into what Gavin and Lilah will be doing all summer. This creation took several hours and was spectacular. Gavin told me that they were having a birthday party for EVERYONE with a large yellow brick cake.

We got a new bug “house” a few days ago.  It’s a clear plastic box with a lid shaped like a roof that lets air in.  It has a handle for easy transport of newly made insect friends.  Both Gavin and Lilah were very excited and immediately wanted to catch something in the new bug house, so we went honey bee hunting.  The kids enthusiastically watched, while I maneuvered a bee into the box.  It’s something I spent many hours doing as a kid, so I’m pretty confident and we had a bee in the box in a minute or so.  Gavin was thrilled to hear the buzzing from inside and Lilah was excited enough to pick up the box herself to get a good look.  I wasn’t at all surprised by Gavin’s enthusiasm.  He’s been interested in insects since he was big enough to notice them.  Lilah, on the other hand, developed a bug phobia last spring and still hasn’t gotten entirely past it.

We were up in City Creek Canyon last spring on a breezy warm afternoon and there were lots and lots of bugs around, as usual.  Butterflies everywhere, caterpillars, boxelder bugs, wasps, flies and mosquitoes.  She got stung by something.  I’m still not sure what.  She didn’t get a welt or anything, but all of a sudden she was screaming and didn’t stop for twenty minutes.  After that, she was terrified anytime we came across any kind of flying insects with the exception of butterflies.  I tried really hard to help her feel less scared.  I really wanted to be able to hike and camp and also wanted her to understand that most bugs don’t set out to hurt people.  We talked about it.  We read books.  We asked Gavin about bugs.  Nothing worked.  She was somewhere between screaming in terror and whining uncomfortably anytime we went outside and encountered flying insects from that day until the present.

So, I am very excited about the bug house too.  I hope Lilah will be able to get more comfortable with being up close to insects and maybe be a little less scared next time there’s a fly near our picnic.  Now, off to catch another specimen to watch.

Last night I was lying next to Gavin waiting for him to fall asleep and was annoyed by him tossing and messing around trying to avoid sleep.  I told him that he needed to go to sleep Now and he turned and said “love you too”.  

I told Chris later on that I think I’d forgive Gavin almost anything when he says “love you too” with such incredible feeling in his voice that makes his words glow.  There’s really nothing better.

Gavin was playing with some toy people this morning.  Here is the conversation he made up between them.  

person 1: “Come back! Come back!”

person 2: “Okay.”

person 1: “What are you doing?”

person 2: “Firetruck!   FIRETRUUCK!”

My mom found a bunch of dolls clothes from when Meara and I were kids for Lilah to play with.  We brought them home tonight and she’s been trying to put all ten to fifteen outfits on her babydoll at the same time.   And hugging and rocking the doll in between.

Lilah has been hugging and rocking her baby doll tonight.  Very sweet!

Gavin likes to make sure that Lilah gets her juice too and will point to the kitchen and tell me “juice”… “wawah” to make sure I take care of her too.

we’ve been potty training g with some success, although the number 2 has been a bit more of a challenge.  but because of this, the words pee pee and poop have become more common in our everyday vernacular.  except gavin does not say poop, for whatever reason.  he prefers “poot.”

a couple weeks ago we were out of coffee creamer.  this is a sad and dire day in our lives, the day without coffee creamer.  all we had to cream our coffee was almond milk, which is not the same.  i thought i could make myself a bit of a ghetto mocha, using some microwave chocolate sauce i had lying around.  so i put that in, but it did not taste very chocolatey.  experiment fail.  

however, when i was done with my coffee there was a large unseemly lump of brown at the bottom of my coffee cup.  i thought it looked rather like poop and said so.  erin says “look gavin!  there’s poop in daddy’s coffee mug!”  gavin looks over, interestedly.

“POOT!” he says, excitedly, and points at the bottom of the mug.  “POOT!”

we would say something here, but we’re too busy laughing our heads off.  for example, i’d like to assure gavin that i don’t really drink poot.  but he’s so excited about the poot in my mug, do i really want to crush the illusion?

so this morning, gavin comes over and sees my mug.  “Poot?” he asks, and leans over to check.

no, gavin, no poot today.  and it will be a long time before i live this down…