Wednesday, March 9, 2005

Great Job!


Great Job!
Originally uploaded by Jagrap
The Dublin Schools promote reading and writing at all the levels in their curriculum; as part of that effort is that they have kids work towards "publishing" a book of their own creation. Michael and his comrades recently completed their manuscripts, and to celebrate they had an "Author's Tea."

It was a big event for the children as they shared their works with each other, their family and friends. Alex was very proud of his brother, as you can tell by this image.
RAPatton

Monday, March 7, 2005

Stuffed Animal Fight


Stuffed Animal Fight
Originally uploaded by Jagrap
The young lady who is about to be bopped by Spider-man is not Karri; it is another young lady from Michael's class, Olyvia.

We have suspected, for a while, that she has had a crush on Michael, because she has been asking to come over to our house for a playdate. I have always said that Michael's good looks will help him in social situations and that appears to be true; he will not always have to be the one seeking out people, some people will seek him out. The afternoon went very well; the boys were very excited to have her over and show her all their toys.
R

Friday, March 4, 2005

Father's Night


Father's Night
Originally uploaded by Jagrap
Monday we had our annual, and our last (at least for us!), Little Shepherd's Father's Night. When I say annual, I mean annual; it feels like we have been doing this for years and years. In that time my sons have built many things; 2005 project: a mail holder. Alex hammered well, and we were the second pair done.

Afterwards, Alex had three rootbeers: mine, his and a refill! With his social nature, you assume that Alex is the center of attention when he walks in a room, and that is not true. Alex has charm, and he uses it to BECOME the "it" boy. On this evening, Alex used a prop: my astronomy class green laser (you can see the beam in the air at night). As soon as his friends saw it, the only words you could hear were "Alex, Alex!" Being the player that he is, he made his way around the room, and let all his classmates give it a shot, charming his way to the top.
~~~RAPatton

Thursday, March 3, 2005

Fast Shoes


Fast Shoes
Originally uploaded by Jagrap
One of our errands Saturday was to get both boys a set of new shoes. What does a boy do when he gets new shoes, how does he test them out? Does he walk around and see if they are snug in the toe? No. A boy runs as fast as he can to try his new footwear.

Originally this was a picture of him running at me, but these new shoes were SO fast all I could see was Michael's dust. In addition to being new and fast, these shoes have another interesting attribute: they are Michael's first pair with laces.
RAP

Wednesday, March 2, 2005

School Psychologists Office


Alex
Originally uploaded by Jagrap
Last Friday, Jen and Alex had lunch with Michael at school, and whenever Alex visits his brother at Eli Pinney, he takes a detour. He likes to goes to this inviting room filled with games, toys and stuffed animals. It is a happy place where the door is never closed; it is... the school psychologists office. Let us all hope that this is not an omen of what is to come!
~~RAPatton

Tuesday, March 1, 2005

What Could Be


Book Club
Originally uploaded by Jagrap
In popular entertainment much is made of young children asking "Why" questions. They are supposed to hound their parents and query them about topics ranging from the mundane to the profound. Michael has never really asked "Why questions."

However, that does not indicate a deficiency, or lack of curiosity; you see Michael asks an entirely different sort of question: "What if..." In matters ranging from the observable world to metaphysics, he often wants to know what would happen if a single factor changes. He is not so much concerned with what "is" as with what could be. RAPatton

Tuesday, February 22, 2005

Don't Know The Meaning of Quit


Don't Know The Meaning of Quit
Originally uploaded by Jagrap
Michael is trying to get cousin Abby to smile, despite her protests. Eventually he decides to help her along by pulling the corners of her lips into a faux smile. He just does not know when to give up.

Last night, I met with Michael's teacher, Mrs. Coho, for his interim progress report. His academics are all stellar, and she showed me a 110 word midterm spelling test he took. Michael spelled 109 words correctly, and missed only a single word: "quit." I guess you could say that "quit" is not part of Michael's vocabulary.
~~RAP