The Yellow Fellow

On Wednesday, August 29, Joshua's elementary school offered kindergartners the opportunity to ride the school bus with a parent at either 9 or 11 am. I debated on whether to go or not because we won't ride the bus since we live close enough to walk. But, the paperwork said that important safety tips would be discussed, and I know that Joshua will ride the bus when he goes on field trips. Plus, this was another event to get him used to the idea of school and see his kindergarten friends, etc. So, I asked Grandpa Georgia what he was doing that morning. When he agreed to watch the two younger boys for us to go to the 9 am bus ride, I figured it was worth our time to go. Normally I don't like to leave Ryan behind with Grandpa since he requires a lot of "help," but I figured that the bus ride wouldn't be more than a few minutes since the driver simply circles the block in our neighborhood.

I was glad we went. Joshua was very excited to go on the bus ride, and it was more quality time I could spend with just him. I thought the tips were good, too (not that we'll need most of them). One was to always have a name, address and phone number card in your child's backpack in case he would ever board the wrong bus. I chuckled as I remembered my friend's mom (who drives school bus) tell the story of a child who didn't belong on her bus still sitting there after her run was done. She asked the child where he lives, and he answered "Pennsylvania." She said that wasn't all that helpful and tried to radio the other bus drivers to figure out where the child belonged. :) :) :)

As I read the safety tips, I reminded Joshua that bus drivers sit up high and don't see children. Always make sure the driver motions you to walk in front before crossing the street and stay far out in front of the bus for visibility. While this may not seem important for a walker, in our development there are often buses going through at school times. So, I thought it was worth noting.

Joshua saw some of his school friends, he was excited to drive by our house, and we were fortunate enough to get on the first of two buses going on the run so we were back to the house in a relatively short amount of time. I wished I would have taken my camera along that day, but I forgot it. So, I "borrowed" these pictures from a friend.

My sister took her kids to the school's open house that morning to see their classrooms and meet the teachers (available to everyone EXCEPT kindergartners who have their Open House on the first day of school). After they were finished, she took Daniel on the 11 am bus ride and Grace and Faith came to our house to play Wii with Joshua and Caleb. My boys had been begging for their older cousins to come play Wii again ever since Mamaw brought them one time with her. We had called and invited other days that didn't work out, and they had been at the beach the week prior. I knew that since this was the last week of summer, this would probably be one of the only days that might suit for awhile due to sports schedules and the girls being in full day school. So, they walked across to our house to play while Jen took the younger three shopping after the bus ride. I fed them all mac & cheese for lunch before their mom picked them back up. I laughed at listening to them play - it is a difficult game to play with four players! But they were having fun. :) :) :)

That afternoon, Joshua had his dentist appointment to get the spacer put in his mouth. He had been fitted for it previously, but this appointment was to cement it in based on the mold Dr. Miller had taken. It must have tasted awful because Joshua gave a shriek as it went in, and Dr. Miller sympathized with him. Then he said to Joshua that maybe Mom would spring for a milkshake. My little buddy got very excited, and I had no intentions of going for milkshakes. I was slightly annoyed that he would suggest something to a child that wasn't in our budget for the day, so I jokingly said "If Dr. Miller is offering you a milkshake, he should be the one who pays for it" and smiled. He got his wallet out and handed Joshua $1. I told him that wasn't necessary, but I think he could hear in my tone that I didn't think he should get a kiddo excited about something before discussing it with his parents. I did take Joshua for a shake afterward, and it cost me more than $5 as I had to get one for Caleb, too, to be fair.

Since we hadn't had the opportunity to go earlier in the day, that night we went to the gym. It was the first night that Ryan went into the "big kid" area of the gym. They section off a smaller area for babies with swings and bouncers and even smaller toys that kids who are more mobile can play with. But, bigger children aren't allowed in that area to keep the small ones safe. Ryan was getting bored there, and since he's walking well, they let him out to explore in the next size up area. This isn't the ball pit and maze yet, but he's having a blast playing at the train table and other toys that are out where you can see the maze and the other activities going on. While he used to cry at times when I'd drop him off, he seems much happier now going to the bigger kid area to explore and have fun and watch all the action! He is getting so big!

I loved these pictures of Ryan & Shawn from the previous night. This is the age where the boys start preferring their Dadda over their Mama and Ryan is no exception. He LOVES to play games with Shawn, who is enjoying this stage of him being more interactive and less cuddly. They have a blast together!

High five for growing so big and strong!