Big events in the life of the Davis boys

My big boys had two big events happen this week.

First, they had their 3-year-old check-up, which is the big boy check-up. It was their first time doing the eye chart, their first time getting a big kid hearing test, and their first time getting their blood pressure checked.

Looking at these pictures, I am struck by how much Dean looks like a big boy and Cary still looks a little like a baby.

Cary always finds the books, wherever we go.

Cary is 36-and-a-half inches tall and weighs 28 lbs. Dean is 39 inches tall and weighs 33 lbs. That puts Cary in the 10th percentile for height and the 25th for weight. Dean's in the 50th percentile for height and the 75th for weight.

We take Cary to the ENT tomorrow to see about his ears, but other than that, both boys are healthy, strong and wonderful! Praise God!

And in other big news:

Today was the boys last day of pre-K 2!! Can you believe it?

The class had a little "graduation," which involved the kids performing "Jesus Loves the Little Children," and "Itsy Bitsy Spider," with spider web hats and raindrop necklaces. I had a work meeting so I missed this part, but Lester took this adorable photo. Soooo cute!

And there was a picnic outside on the school yard, which Lester and I were both lucky enough to be able to attend.

Enjoying the cookies at the picnic.

Look at those big confident boys sitting there on a hill, eating snacks. It seems like just a minute ago they were frightened, sad little 2-year-olds, nervous about having to go to school for the first time.

Not too long before that photo was taken, I remember Lester and I going back and forth about whether we should send them to "real school," whether they'd gain anything more from school that they wouldn't get at home with Michelle. We struggled with whether the considerable expense would be worth it.

I'm 100-percent glad we made the decision we did. It's been a really great year for us, and a tremendous year for them. They've grown and blossomed and learned so much. They started as babies -- and left today as little boys.

I know they won't remember this year, not in any real way. But one day, they'll look back at this blog and remember the love they had for Miss Toni, who loved and hugged on them and called them her boys:

And they'll hopefully remember their friends Jeffery, Penelope, Makenzie, Avery and Marcus (to name a few):

Avery

Marcus

And they'll know ... I hope they'll know ... just how proud their Mommy was of them every single day. (And their Daddy, too, of course.)

 

Congratulations on surviving your first year of school, boys! You did it!

Music, church and wedding weekend!

We had a full (as usual) and good weekend!

We took the boys to a free music class in our area, run by the woman who sings and plays guitar at the sing-along they love so much but haven't been able to go to since I came off of maternity leave.

The boys were sorta lukewarm about the class at first, but warmed up toward the end. Cary even cried when it was over, and said, "I want to go to music class again!"

So we signed them up for a 9-week course. Every Sunday we'll go, and Clair can come too (for free!) if we feel up to bringing her. It starts this weekend and I'm excited. The boys love music so I hope they'll get a lot out of the class.

So cross that off of my list of things I want the boys to do before they turn 3!

Also, Lester and I finally, finally got our butts in gear and made it to visit a church we'd been wanting to check out. The boys were having none of sitting still, so I had to take them to the nursery, where they were having none of being left alone. That meant I heard none of the sermon!

Here they are in the nursery, playing with one of those old-school musical television sets. You know the one that plays "Row Row Row Your Boat" and "Hey Diddle Diddle?" This toy took me back!

But Lester stayed in the sanctuary with Clair and reported back to me. He liked the sermon and seemed to like the Pastor too. We'll go back again next week -- right after music class -- and this time I'll listen to the sermon and Lester will go to the nursery. This way, we'll both get to assess whether we like the church or not.

The civil rights historian Taylor Branch attends this church and he was there on Sunday. I've interviewed him before, but only by phone, so I wanted to go up and introduce myself, but it was too hectic.  Maybe next week.

Saturday night, Lester and I went to the wedding of my brothers' friend Jason. Jason grew up with my brothers since he was in the 2nd grade. I can't remember a weekend that he wasn't sleeping over at our house.  I love him just like he's my own brother and I'm so, so, so, so happy he's found an awesome woman to spend his life with. She is really good for him, and he seems so in love! It's really cute.

The (new) happy couple. The old happy couple. My parents (the even OLDER happy couple). And Lester, posing with the cigars the groom handed out to all the men at the reception. Ain't he suave, y'all? I married well! :-)

We had a GREAT time at the wedding and reception, which were both beautiful and elegant and a lot of fun. There was an open bar and we didn't get home until midnight, and now -- knowing those two things -- aren't you even more impressed that we got up, got ourselves and three kids ready, and went to church on Sunday?

God? See how we're trying? :-)

Lastly, I should mention that my meeting with Miss Toni went tolerably well. Not badly, but not swimmingly either. I think I am just going to resign myself to the fact that she is a really kind, warm and genuine person, who loves kids but is not ever going to be the organized, perky, informative pre-school teacher I'd envisioned in my head.  But as long as my boys seem happy (which is, finally seeming to be the case) it'll all be fine.

And next year, they'll have one of the 3s-class teachers, who are all the way I envisioned! I just have to be patient. Guess I'll work on that virtue in church!

First "No Tears" day!

Hooray!

There was no whining on the ride to school, no whining walking into the building, no whining at the doorway of the classroom and NO TEARS when I left. In fact, Dean refused to even give me a kiss good-bye. And not in a "I'm mad at you for leaving me here" kind of way. More like a "Mom, go to work already!" kind of way. Which was, strangely, kind of nice.

Everything moved so smoothly, I even got to work super early and had to turn off the alarm and start the coffee!! I'm always one of the first ones at work, but I'm not always THE first one at work.

I'm hopeful this is the way things will go from now on. No tears, smooth transitions, get to work early, get my coffee, and quiet time at my desk to read news stories and blog. Whoo-hoo!

Sidenote: I did make an appointment to meet with Miss Toni tomorrow to discuss what I consider to be some significant issues with the way she is reporting on the boys' day. I don't want to go into too much here until after the meeting. So stay tuned. (Pray *I* don't leave the meeting in tears. LOL.)

Meanwhile, I leave you with this musical gem from yesterday:

 
CRACKS ME UP!!!

Day 4: Reprimanded!

I did drop off today by myself for the first time.

I guess I did it wrong, because there were tears! Cary clung to my leg and tried to follow me out the door, tears streaming down his contorted little shiny face.

Miss Toni told me I stayed too long and kicked me out. It is SO hard, symbolically and literally, to turn your back on your crying, clinging child and walk away. But I did it. (Sniff!)

The rest of the morning, I felt like I had swallowed a tennis ball.

Good GRIEF, this is hard. I know it's fine. I know they'll get used to it and so will I. I know. I know.
But seriously, I need a hug!

I'm grateful that today I was able to leave work to go pick them up at 11. (Tomorrow Michelle will start picking them up).

But when I arrived, Miss Toni reprimanded me again. She said (in a friendly but firm way), "You can't stay in my classroom. You got to get to gettin'..."

The lingering exacerbates the crying, she said. So I just need to go!  (Tanika M. Davis, will you please go now?!)

I told her I'd improve and I really, really will. Since I'm going to be doing drop-off four days out of the week, I guess I'd better. For the boys' sake and for mine.

Here's a small clip from today's iPhone video of Miss Toni telling me to knock it off. (And, in true Baltimore style, calling Cary "Curry." Sigh.)

(Also, you can see a small glimpse of the B/G twins in their class, Miles and Isla. They are so darn cute!)