So, as I'm sure everyone knows by now....Ryan started Kindergarten last week which has left me a tid bit of a mess! Don't worry, I'm recovering nicely and focusing on the good now. As I write, he is beginning his 5th day of school and I cannot tell you how well things are going! For those of you who really know Ry, you'll appreciate the following things I am about to tell you:

Number 1: We have not had any meltdowns due to the "uniform not feeling right". I was anxious for weeks prior to school about how those first few mornings would go. Uniform material is stiff...no matter how long you soak it in pure fabric softener and for how many days, trust me I tried. I love you Downy, but you didn't put a dent in these suckers! We dealt just fine with the shirt tucked in AND the the belt...did I mention that this shirt is a "collar"?? We aren't big fans of the collar...nonetheless, I was pleasantly surprised by this seamless fashion transition. Not one tear shed!!

Number 2: We no longer mess with Mommy and tell her how much we don't like school, or how boring school is...and yes, I do think that he has been torturing me this whole summer on purpose with that. Freaking me out...WAY too early to display that attitude...and who is this kid anyway??? I L-O-V-E-D school supply shopping, Ry was indifferent. School is boring??? Weird. But yet again, a pleasant surprise...we love Kindergarten & MATH is our favorite subject so far. When we get home each day, we have a full report on what everyone else got in trouble for. Notice I say everyone else here, because....that's right, HE has been an excellent little boy every day. (I suspect we aren't comfortable getting a little wild yet...but who knows, Mommy could AGAIN be wrong!!)

3. And last, but definitely not least...the proudest Mommy moment yet came yesterday in the carpool line. I was talking with some other moms (of girls in his class) when one of them turns to me and says: "I've been meaning to tell you something" to which I immediately think uh-oh! Was Ry chasing her daughter, trying to kiss her, trying to play with her "fahfi" (hair, duh!)??? What could she possibly want to talk to me about!?! Apparently Ry saved her daughter from a not so nice little boy in their class who was hitting her in the back(pack) all the way down the hall at dismissal the day before. Ry told the little boy to STOP IT, in a voice that I'm sure sounded just like me on the most serious of occasions HA! I was so proud...but before I could tell him how proud I was he was walking ahead with the new boy in the class (new as in, he didn't attend pre-school with their class) to help him find his Mom in the carpool line because he was a little worried that he didn't see her....awwww I love this kid!!

Now just to be fair, I think it's appropriate for me to also tell you that everytime I tell this story now, he gets very embarassed. So embarassed that he proceeed to tell me he was going to punch me in the "stuff" if I didn't stop telling people...so much for the bragging, huh??

So, the long and the short of it is this: All in all, I have a pretty darn good kiddo on my hands. He makes me laugh, he makes me cry, he makes me roll my eyes with the best of 'em! I do have a feeling though that the terrible 3's are finally coming to an end. WHEW!

It's Happening SO Fast!!!

This past week or so has been full of realization that my baby is really growing up....FAST. I guess it started when I had to buy all new clothes for the coming fall season...this has never happened before because Ry could atleast wear pants for a couple of seasons before they were too small. This year we have gone from a 5T to a 5 or even 6 in some cases!! Shirts are up to a 7 at some stores (which I will never shop at again)...so depressing. The beginning of Kindergarten has been looming but still far enough away to not freak me out...but here we are, 5 days away. Officially freaking. I haven't even gotten to the worst parts yet though...it gets much much worse...and again this has all taken place in the last week or so!! We no longer have much of an interest in "kid" shows, when he wakes up he wants to watch The Final Score on Fox Midwest, he can talk baseball like a man, better than some men in fact. This brings me to yesterday, the most accelerated day of all: horrible: on our way to the pool yesterday he was telling our 9 year old neighbor about the infamous Cards/Reds fight and he sounded like a newscaster. "Brandon Phillips tapped Yadi on his shin, usually this is how he says hi to the catcher but it made Yadi mad because he said all that bad stuff about his team the day before. The words he said were SO bad that they didn't even tell us all of his real words"...on and on and on...Seriously, who is this kid?! Still, it doesn't end...after the pool, it was time for his first camp...as in, I drop him off with his water bottle and come back in 2 hours. Weird, all so weird. But again, I'm not even to the worst part yet. It happened as we were about to brush teeth and go to bed. I wish you could see my face right now....he has his first loose tooth!!!! We were both literally screaming, both for different reasons obviously but it was very exciting (for him, not me).

I get it, kids grow up too fast, it'll be over before you know it, enjoy this....and whatever else I've heard about my baby in the 67.5 months that I've known him but come on!!! This is WAY too fast...