Friendly James

James, James, James...

This kid is so outgoing!  I seriously am told daily by strangers how friendly he is.  He LOVES talking to people.  He loves to find WHOEVER will listen to him so he can talk their ears off.  If you have eaten at Panera in Montgomery while James was there, you've likely met him.  We leave places like Panera or the farmer's market and we'll hear people shout out something similar to, "bye James...good luck in Kindergarten, I hope your bobo gets better."  I can give him money to go to the counter and purchase something, and he does it without ANY fear.  That terrified me as a child, especially James' age and Jack is only just now beginning to be okay with it.  If we're at a place with a bar type of setup, James has no problems (and actually enjoys) bellying right up to the bar all by himself to order a glass of ice water...although, the last time he did that, he ordered a Shirley Temple.  James doesn't just like to talk to strangers...he talks at home non-stop too.  Sometimes I yearn for peace in the house because James talks all day long.  Don't get me wrong, I love that he's so vocal.  There was a time in James' life when he was not vocal before he learned how to talk and he was the most frustrated person I knew!  He would bite friends and throw a temper tantrum like nobody's business!  Knowing now how much he likes to talk and express himself, I guess he was just overly frustrated by his inability to talk.

With all that comes out of his mouth, we get some pretty good laughs.  It's even more hilarious as his vocabulary starts to become more grown up.  For instance, yesterday we got the kids in the car.  They didn't know where we were going because Jason and I had not decided where we were going first.  James said, "Dad, where are we going?"  Jason, "we don't know."  James, "What?  Uhhh...this is YOUR situation.  You're driving.  You don't know WHERE we're going?"  Later in the day we were leaving the splash park so we could get home to cook.  James is our SLOWPOKE in the family.  Mostly because he wants to stop and talk to EVERYBODY!  So, I nagged him to speed up a bit as we were walking to our bikes.  He actually did a little jog over to where I was, surprisingly.  So I said, "James, thanks for putting a little fire in your rear."  He looked at me puzzled, and then said, "Mom, THAT'S inappropriate." 

I get such a kick out of his little personality.  He's still our little firecracker and full of spunk!  I have a feeling James will always have tons of friends throughout life.  He's so outgoing without a shy bone in his body.  I admire those traits and wish I had a little bit more of that in myself.

His teachers love him, strangers love him, and we love him.  A lot!   

      

Good School Year

I am so impressed with Jack's new school so far.  We couldn't be more thrilled about him being exactly where he should be.  This school is perfect for him!  And I wish so dearly we could stay here forever so that our kids could have this opportunity to remain in such a wonderful school environment.  These students, once accepted into Forest Avenue, will go on to the magnet middle school and the magnet high school as long as they maintain a 3.0 gpa and their good conduct.  The magnet high school is called Loveless Academic Magnet Program (LAMP).  It's ranked as the #8 magnet high school in the United States!  We feel so blessed to have access this academic magnet school for the time being.  

This morning Jack left for the bus, forgetting to bring his lunch.  So, Jason ran it by his school on his way to work.  When he walked in, Mrs. Hill (the principal), was greeting students as they walked in.  She noticed Jason and said, "did Jack forget his lunch?"  It kind of blows me away that she would recognize a student's parent and know who his child is this soon.  There are 762 children attending Forest Avenue this year.  

Jack has come home SO VERY excited to talk about his day.  We have been telling him for a few months now how the teachers have high expectations from the students and that it will be a challenge.  I think we, including Jack, are so happy to see the teachers DO expect a lot from the kids, but still create a very fun and exciting environment for them.  

On his first day of school, Jack came home and HAD to tell James about his day.  He HAD to tell James that he doesn't just have two teachers...he has THREE teachers.  And one of his teachers teaches SPANISH!  This was so exciting for Jack to share with James because James has this deep passion for learning Spanish.  Or, actually he thinks he already knows Spanish.  They learn a little in preschool...so anytime he hears others speaking a foreign language, whether it's Spanish or not, he proceeds to tell them he speaks Spanish and will then spout out some of the words he knows.  People find this hilarious, thankfully!

This is going to be a good school year!

New School Year

Ahhhh...a fresh start for us all!  Jack and James started school.  I've become a stay-at-home mom of one again.  Jason is beginning his job as an instructor in the ACSC program at Maxwell AFB.  And Jude, well he's got his mama all to himself in the mornings!

I must say, I already miss our lazy summer days.  The mornings and evenings have become a lot more hectic.  The rush to get everyone out the door in the mornings and the hectic evenings of cooking, homework, soccer (which Jason will be coaching BOTH boys' teams this fall), and baths have replaced those lazy mornings and relaxing evenings.  I always forget towards the end of summer how hectic the school year really is.  I have been reminded quickly though!

Jack brought homework home on his 1st day of 2nd grade.  It wasn't anything difficult and he didn't mind it, but it required time and parent effort.  His new school has extremely high standards and teaches a grade level ahead in all subjects.  It's accelerated and seems like it'll be a great fit for Jack.  We very excited for him.

James is in Kindergarten this year.  He just turned 5 in July though...so he's one of the youngest in his class.  This will most likely be year 1 of 2 years of Kindergarten for James.  His current school, Frazer Kindergarten, was the school he attended last year for PreK and we absolutely loved it!  He learned so much at this school.  He even started to read by the end of the school year!  So, we obviously wanted to keep him at Frazer for Kindergarten.  After this year, we'll probably put him in another year of Kindergarten at the elementary school we send him to.  I would love for that to be Forest Avenue (Jack's school).  Of course he'd have to score high enough on the test to be accepted AND we'd have to still live here.

The whole "still have to live here" brings me to my next point.  We aren't sure Jason will remain as faculty beyond this academic year.  Originally he was supposed to stay two more years...but there may be a slight change to those plans.  We'll find out more as the next few months go by.  I'm a little too pooped to talk about another impending move at this moment.

All is well in the Trew household.  We're looking forward to the fall season.  Football, soccer, fall festivals, Jude's 1st birthday, cooler weather, and fall foliage are all right around the corner!  Yay!