First Visit from the Tooth Fairy

Gabriel got his first visit from the Tooth Fairy this week!

After several weeks of wiggling his tooth around, it was finally loose enough that I declared it was time to pull it.

We tied one end of some dental floss to his tooth and the other end to a Nerf dart. G pulled the trigger himself and out came the tooth!

We put his tooth in the pocket of the tooth fairy pillow he helped pick out, hung it on the outside doorknob to his bedroom, and when he got up the next morning, his tooth had been replaced with a $2 bill!

We heard a rumor that the Tooth Fairy had a secret stash of $2 bills so she doesn't get caught off guard in the future. ;)

First Week of Kindergarten

Gabriel started kindergarten this week.

The night before school started, as we settled in for bedtime, he asked me to tell him a story he hasn't heard before and wasn't about school.

Me: Once upon a time, there was a boy named Gabriel. He was about to start Kindergarten, so he got some good sleep and then he went to school in the morning and he had a great day. When Kindergarten ended, he rode the bus to daycare, and he had a great day there, too. Then mommy picked him up and they went to Gabriel's favorite restaurant, Jason's Deli, for dinner to celebrate the first day of school.

<Gabriel turned over to face me with the biggest light in his eyes and a huge smile.>

G: Let's bring that to life! Can we bring that to life?

(We did.)

He was pretty goofy when I tried to get a first day of school picture. He really didn't want to take one at all, so I'm glad we still got to capture his silly self.

J and I both walked him into school on the first day. We got to his classroom, and G said he was scared. Bit he walked in the room with both of us, hung up his backpack on the hook next to his name, and found some cars to play with. J and I  both managed to get a hug before we left, and everything was fine. :)

On the second day, I walked him in to the cafeteria where they gather before time to go to individual classrooms. G lined up with his class and followed them down the hall when it was time. J said he didn't even look back.

On the third day, parents aren't supposed to walk past a certain spot without getting a visitor's pass. We planned to drive in the car drop off line to show him what that would be like. At first G said he could get out and walk inside the school by himself, but J and I decided we'd both go in case a parent was needed to walk inside. Sure enough, G got anxious about getting out by himself, so I hopped out too and we walked in together. But when we got to the spot parents should stop at, G kept walking and didn't even look back. 

On the fourth day, I took him through the car line and he got out and walked in. Done.

We seem to be off to a pretty good start.

We're excited that he is in the dual language program. He will have about 90% of instruction in Spanish this year. We think it's going to be great for him, and it's fun to already see him apply what he's hearing.

We had this conversation after the first day of school:

G: Does "more bien" mean "good job"? 

Me: "Muy bien" means "very good."

G: I knew that because I did something good and my teacher said "more bien."

(He argues vehemently that it's "more bien," not "muy bien."

At bedtime on the second day of school:

G: Can we go to a different aqui?

Me: A different 'here'?

G: A different house. <points down>

Me: Well, we're planning to live in this house for a while.

G: ok

He told me on Friday that he can't understand everything his partner says, but he said that's ok. 

The first week of kindergarten was a success, it seems. We're sure the rest of the year holds great things.

Preschool Graduation

At Gabriel's preschool graduation, they called up each graduating student and announced what he or she wanted to be when they grew up. 

There were a number of princesses, some doctors, a couple of mommies, but only one dad. Gabriel said he wants to be a dad when he grows up. :)

Gabriel and his Primary class teacher, Ms. Karima. They started out as Fireflies and then changed their class name to Dandelions when they moved to building 2.

Gabriel and his Pre-Primary class teacher, Ms. Tracy. He started at Sunrise as a Doodlebug with Ms. Tracy. 

After the graduation ceremony, there was an all-school carnival. I didn't get pictures of the jumpy house, the balloon animal clowns, or the snow cones, but G got to ride a pony and he enjoyed the animals at the petting zoo. 

Gabriel and his buddy Grant Michael.

Oh, and today, about a month later, G told me "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a dad. Actually, I want to be my dad. I want to floss kids' teeth....Maybe I want to be a dentist."

Birds and Bees, Part 1

On the eve of his fifth birthday, Gabriel asked me where babies come from.

Well, actually, he asked me how the workers make the people.

It took me a few rounds of questioning to make sure I understood what he was asking.

G: How do the workers make the people?

K: Do you mean how is a person's body made?

G: NOOOOOO!!!!!! How do the workers make the people, and how do the people make the workers?

K: Are you asking how people decide what kind of work to do?

G: NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <aaaaaaghhhhhhhhhhh> I said how do the workers make the people?

K: So, how was your body made?

G: Yes

K: Your body was made in mommy's tummy.

G: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! <aaaaaaaaggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!> I want to know how the workers make the people. Like how do they build a person?

K: Ok. I can tell you how a person's body is made.

G: How?

K: Every person's body was made in a mommy's tummy. A special part of a daddy and a special part of a mommy mix together. They're called a sperm and an egg. When they mix together, it starts to grow tiny, tiny things called cells. The cells grow and grow and grow and more cells grow until they grow so much that it makes a baby's body. And when the baby's body has grown enough, the baby comes out of the mommy's tummy and everyone gets to see the baby and hug the baby and hold the baby and kiss the baby.

G: One time on PAW Patrol, Rubble didn't want to get wet just like Rocky doesn't like to get wet. He didn't want to take a bath.

And that's how that went down.

If I Lived on a Ranch

During the month of July, Gabriel's school chooses a theme to explore each week. One of those themes was Texas. This is one piece of work Gabriel did during Texas week.

I like the part where he puts on boots to keep away bugs. I really like the drawing of cowboy Gabriel and his trusty horse. I haven't seen him draw a lot of people or animals yet, so this picture really struck me as far as his development in that area.