The Tooth that Cost the Tooth Fairy Double

As you may recall the tooth fairy has been making a lot of visits to our house lately. During this last visit the fairy had a hard time obtaining the actual tooth. The fairy was able to leave her payment, but the tooth was rather well hidden directly beneath Leo's head. Rather than risk being detected the fairy slipped away. For the previous two teeth pick-ups Leo has forgotten to check under his pillow until reminded by his thoughtful parents. The fairy thought once Leo was awake he might forget to check once again, and when he was out of the room the fairy could sneak in and snatch the tooth.

Wouldn't you know that when Leo's mom came to check wake him up in the morning the most amusing thing was waiting for him. Leo was wide awake and had a curious thing to show her, "Look at this mom the tooth fairy left me a $1 and my tooth. Why do you think the tooth fairy did that?" Being the smart mother that she is, and being well aware of how difficult it can be to carry all of those teeth the obvious answer was that the fairy had simply dropped it. Mom assured son that the fairy would probably be back that night to collect it. Whereupon Leo stated, "Great then I can get another $1"! That fairy had better start working out a better system or business is going to start going down hill.

The tooth fairy

The tooth fairy has been making a lot of visits to our house lately. In the past couple of weeks Leo has lost 3 teeth.

Tonight he was munching on an apple and lost his tooth. He was so excited.

Choosing your Battles

Ken is usually the one who is charge of dressing Liam on Sundays, or at least is supposed to direct him in the picking out of clothes. Of course considering that my husband's favorite attire is sweats and a holy sweatshirt this may not be the best idea. A friend of mine and I actually had to give Ken a dress code when we invited him on a date back when we were dating (no sweats or flannel.) As a result I realized this past Sunday I may have to rethink this plan as having Ken being Leo's fashion guide. We were rushing to get to church (how does the happen when we have 1:00 church?) Any way I really didn't look at what my son was wearing until he stepped out of the side of the van as we were going into the building. I tried not to stare as I noticed he was wearing a blue button down shirt, a different color blue shorts with beagles on them, and red and black argyle socks with black dress shoes. He had the socks pulled all the way up. I said to him, "So Leo that is some outfit you have on." His reply, "Yep I picked it out all by myself." When I met Ken's gaze from across the van he said, "He thinks he looks good." When it gets right down to it who am I to tell him any different. If the kid wants to look like a retired old man from Florida who has just gotten off of the golf course and is going to stop by a few tourist shops why not. If the kid thinks he looks good who am I, and my little reputation as a mother to say different.

A Morning in the Patch

One of the things I love working part time is that I can still help out with the kid's classrooms. Today I got to go with Leo's class to the pumpkin patch. Little Miss was able to come too.

Little Miss is in this phase when I bring the camera out she refuses to smile. Plus she usually points to the camera and says, "Go Away".

The only way you capture a smile is if you put her near animals or catch her by surprise.

Luckily there were plenty of animals. All she wanted to do was sit and watch them.

Eventually she started playing with the kids in the fort.

Leo loved this part. The kids climbed up the straw fort to the platform on the top.

Little Miss didn't want to go on the tractor ride because we had to leave the animals, but once we started going she enjoyed the ride.

Leo has got the cutest little friends.

This picture cracks me up: Leo with his friend Leo.

A final group shot of the gang with their teacher Mr. Jordan

Leo's Big Day - Finally!

Leo has been waiting for this day for so long. He keeps saying, "when can I go to the big kids school"?

Midge has been so funny about showing him the ropes and being very protective of him. At least when they are not arguing

Leo was so excited to get Mr. Jordan. This was Midge's old teacher and we love him. He greeted every child at the door as they came in.

Mr. Jordan plays the guitar and has the kids learn a lot of songs. Here is Leo getting his name tag.

The day before Leo went to school Little Miss was enjoying the sunshine and Leo pulled up a chair next to her and the two of them sat there and talked to each other.

In his own sweet time

Leo is a funny kid. If he doesn't want to do something he doesn't no matter how much begging and cajoling we give him.  For the entire summer we have tried to get Leo to start riding his bike. We didn't give him a choice and removed his training wheels. He would ride along with his feet down pushing himself along, but usually after a half a block he would say that he was tired and didn't want to go any farther. He has two friends who have been riding for a year, but peer pressure doesn't really work with Leo. 

Last night we decided to go and see the kid's new school. Leo said he wanted to ride his bike. Ken was a little reluctant to let him because we figured he would get sick of riding and then we would be carrying the bike for him. After Leo kept begging we relented. About a half a block from our house Ken persuaded him to put his feet on his petals Leo did and then he just started riding. He rode about 20 feet until he lost control and rode into a bush. At first Leo was a little scared, but we were all so impressed and praising him that he jumped back on and kept going. Every time he rode he was able to balance for longer distances. By the time we got to the school he was able to ride the entire length of the parking lot without once falling. Then on the ride home he was able to ride almost the entire way with just a few stops. There were a few run-ins with brick fences but he even made a turn at the corner without falling. 

By the time we got home it was getting dark, but I had to run in and get my camera so I could get a few shots of him riding his bike.