First Day of School 2019

The is the first time the kids have the same first day of school and at the same school! SO HAPPY!

First day of Kindergarten! What a big girl!

First day of 3rd Grade! That's legit!

Adorableness

On the first day, most people walk over so we can stay for pictures and a little mini-parade into the school, so we ran into our neighborhood besties.

Sahasra is starting 2nd grade and Sohan is starting 4th!

Crazy blacktop chaos at school

This jazz band is always awesome!

Miranda made a new friend at the pre-Kindergarten playdates!

This is the first year James gets to start a class full of friends from a previous school year!

Going into Kindergarten!

It was a great first day!

James's 6th Birthday Interview 2017

Interview, 4/24/17
What's your name? James.
What's my name? Ericka. What do you call me? Mama.
What's my husband's name? Dada. 
You know his real name too? Uh-huh. Kevin.
How old are you? Five. I mean, six.
How old do you think I am? Thirty-eight.
How old is Dada? Thirty-seven.
How old is Miranda? Three.

What is your favorite food? Pasta.
    What's your favorite breakfast? Oatmeal and yogurt.
    What's your favorite lunch? Peanut butter & jelly.
    What's your favorite dinner? Chicken nuggets and pasta.

What is your favorite animal? Dog.
What is your favorite color? Blue and green.
What is your favorite book? Sideways Stories (from Wayside School)

What is your favorite song? I don't know.
What is your favorite toy? My kindle.
Do you sleep with any toys at night? Fudgie. 
What is your favorite game? Chess.
What's your favorite sport? Swimming.

Does not like t-ball.

What is your favorite show? Miraculous Lady Bug.
Which is your favorite movie?  Zootopia.

Are you funny? Yes.
How do you know? Because I always be silly. (Said in crazy witch voice.)

Who is your best friend? Kyle.
Do you like school? Yes.
What do you like about school? Computers.
Who are your teachers? Mr. Jackowski and Miss Maloney. And do you know what rhymes with Miss Maloney?
Baloney? Yes!

With his best friend Kyle.

Do you love me? Yes! 
Do you love Dada? Yes! 
Do you love Miranda? Yes!

What does it mean that you love someone? That you really like them a lot.

Do you want to get married one day? Yes.
What do you think the person that you marry should be like? Um, pretty. A girl. 
Is that it? Do you think she just needs to be pretty and that's it? Yeah and a girl. 
What if she's mean? Oh, and not mean, and nice.

What's your favorite thing about Grandma? She's nice. Gave me a lot of candy.
What's your favorite thing about Nana? That she's nice.
What about Bob? That he plays games with me.

James and Kevin

What do you want to want to be when you grow up? A magician.
How come? Well, because they're sort of magical.
Do you know what Dada/s job is? He gets money.
What does he do to get money? I don't know.

What do you like better the beach, the library, the Aquarium, or the playground? The beach.
How come? Well if the ocean's not cold, we can go in it. And we can throw rocks in the ocean.

What do you like to do with Dada? Play chess.
What do you like to do with Mama? Read Sideways Stories with you and cuddle with you.
What do you like to do with Miranda? I like when she watches me play Scribble Hero.
What do you like to play with Grandma? The French Game, and it's also Spanish and England. Oh yeah Italian, French and Spanish. (Duolingo)
What do you like to play with Nana? I don't know.
What do you like to play with Bob? Chess.

What else do you think I should ask? I don't know.

Okay last one, what do you think the meaning of life is? Reduce, Reuse, and Recycling.

Love you so much, buddy.

James's 5th Birthday Interview 2016

James's 4th Birthday Interview 2015

James 3rd Birthday interview 2014

James's interview at 2.5 years old 2013

James wasn't interview ready at 2 years old, but he was starting to use sentences. 

James's First Day of Kindergarten 2016

You're probably not surprised by now, but I took a lot of photos of James's first day of Kindergarten!

My super cute 5-year-old boy!

Modeling the backpack

"You're going to miss me Miranda." "Yeah."

Spontaneous hug instead of posing

I am a bit tired in this picture. Here are some reasons I didn't sleep last night: 1) James was starting kindergarten today!, 2) Tropical storm Hermine was making a lot of noise in Long Island, 3) I was inexplicably itchy, 4) when I finally fell asleep I had a very scary nightmare, 5) when I woke up again I contemplated how worm holes might work for time travel. (I am reading Brian Greene.)

Kevin slept just fine.

Kindergarten jitter-glitter confetti!! YAY! Congratulations!

Adjusting the straps to the smallest setting.

Here comes the bus! Almost 9 AM.


I am not sad yet because I'm going to stalk him at school.


Miranda is very sad she didn't get on the bus too. "I go school bus!"


Got off the bus with his backpack and everything! (He doesn't know I'm there.)

I saw some people that looked like parents, and even though I was pretty sure I wasn't supposed to go in, I went in to check- and maybe get a picture of James going into his class. Unfortunately I got busted by the Principal who very nicely told me there were no parents in the building today. Off to a good first impression!

James's teacher greeting one of James's classmates.

After that I went home and bawled like a baby. I counted down until he would be home. 

Mercifully, they sent me this class picture via email. Thank the heavens!

He was a little crazy when he got home, but at dinner he told me he had two teachers today but one would stay, Mr. J, and one was temporary. He colored his hat, above, a bear picture, and ate his entire huge snack at snack time. He had an art class, and the art teacher Mr. B told them they could draw anything so he drew his kindle. His homeroom teacher Mr. J asked them if before kindergarten the kids were excited, happy, or nervous. Most of the kids said they were excited, James said he was happy, and the teacher said he was nervous.

K: "The teacher was nervous?"
J: "Well, it was before kindergarten."
K: "Why?"
J: "Well maybe that the kids would be mean to him."

He talked about his Kindle video games with one of the boys who has the same Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion game, but didn't learn his name yet. I asked if they were BFF, and he looked at me like I was crazy and told me it was only the first day.

The buses were super late to pick them up at the school! He's supposed to be home by 4:30 which is bad enough, but didn't get home until almost 5:15 PM! While we were waiting at the door, it occurred to me that based on how Miranda kept saying James was on the school bus, she thought in her little toddler brain that he'd been riding around all day on the bus. Kevin pointed out that she'd gone to the school three times including today, but when we asked her, she confirmed she thought he was on the bus all day.

Finally home! Here we go again tomorrow!

• James's First Day of Pre-K 2015
• James's First Day of Nursery School 2014

James Lost His First Tooth 2016

Monday afternoon James was super excited to discover he had a loose tooth. This kid has been talking about the tooth fairy forever. I asked him why he wanted the tooth fairy to come and he said, "Money!" I told him to leave it alone or we might have to pull it and it might hurt. Kevin also told him to leave it alone. So of course, Tuesday night James pulled it out himself.

First tooth!

Tooth fairy came and James excitedly ran into our room at 6 am to tell us she had left $1. Wish those fairies would do their deliveries in the afternoon. A little consideration for tired parents, you know?

Outtake of picture with Miranda trying to steal limelight

James's Pre-K Graduation 2016

James is a PreK Grad!

James finished half-day 3-day-a-week PreK at Little Rascals private school. He will start at public kindergarten next fall in his new elementary school. His PreK had a little Move-Up ceremony to say good-bye. Did you want a million pictures of that? Yes? Oh good. Here you go.

James and Miranda pre-ceremony

The ceremony began with a few songs performed by our graduates.

Dr. Seuss themed! James is dressed as a scientist.

Powerful dance moves

Singing

Then they got in cap and gowns and marched to their degrees!

Morning class lined up

Close-up of James, Emma, and Ellie

Miss Jill and Miss Tasha look proud.

Ellie, Natlia and Adrianna looking this way

Dillon (and Rebecca waiting)

Class picture! Teachers: Miss Jill, Miss Tasha, and Miss Jackie

Close-up: Lyla, Natalia, Ellie, James, Emma, Lexi, and Cora

Mama is proud!

Family picture!

After-party!

Complete with cotton candy!

The best award ever! I had to explain "compassionate."

James's 5th Birthday Interview and Pre-K Party 2016

James had a little birthday celebration at school on the actual day of his birthday. We got him some Snoopy and Woodstock cupcakes and his teacher made him a Snoopy hat. So nice! James says Woodstock is his favorite and insists that he's not a bird but a fish. Oh well.

James's PreK class the day he turned 5!

Snoopy cupcakes

Since James's fourth birthday he's matured in so many ways that sometimes I forget that he's really still a little kid. He can read and he can speak and reason the way that I see slightly older kids doing, so I forget that he's still a very sensitive "little" preschooler.

Close up! Dillon, Ellie, James and Lexi

James's Happy Birthday Cupcake-face

Interview, 4/27/16
What's your name? James.
What's my name? Mama.
What's my husband's name? I don't know.
   The guy who left for work this morning? Dada. You had to give me a hint.
How old are you? Five.
How old do you think I am? Seventy-six? (I am 37.)
How old is Dada? Fifty-five. (He is 36.)
How old is Miranda? Almost 3. (Nope, just turned 2 last week.)

What is your favorite animal? An elephant.
What is your favorite color? Green, yellow, and pink.

What is your favorite food? Apples!
    What's your favorite breakfast? Yogurt.
    What's your favorite lunch? Pickles.
    Do you have anything with the pickles? Yes. Cheese sandwich.
    What's your favorite dinner? Pasta. And chicken nuggets!

What is your favorite book? Hm... tick tock tick tock... I know! I Love You Stinky Face.
What is your favorite song? Rock-a-bye-baby.
What is your favorite toy? Play-Doh. (Currently playing with Play-Doh.)
Do you sleep with any toys at night? Um, Fudgie. (In a "duh, mom, type voice)
What is your favorite show? (Thinks about it.) She-zow.
Which is your favorite movie?  Like at the movie theater? Inside Out. I see it at the movie theater. Movie theaters have all different movies, and one time I saw Inside Out at the movie theater. You took me. Sometimes we see movies and the movie theater right? Wait, what are you typing?
Me: Everything you're saying!

Are you funny? Yes.
How do you know? Since you always say that.
Do I say you're funny or do I say I'm funny? I am sometimes.

Who is your best friend? Adrianna. (Girl at school.)
Do you like school? Yes.
What do you like about school? To play and I like show n' tell.
Who are your teachers? Miss Jackie and Miss Tasha. Oh yeah, Miss Jill. Well there's four, so there's one more. Wait, it's Miss Patti!

Do you love me? Yes! 
Do you love Dada? Yes! 
Do you love Miranda? Mm, a little bit. (I laugh.) What? She does bad things. I call her Bad News.

What does it mean that you love someone? That you like someone and that you like them a lot.

Do you want to get married one day? Yes.
What do you think the person that you marry should be like? Ellen. (8.5 year-old girl that lives on Cape Cod.) 
Do you think Ellen would make a good a wife? Yes.
Why? Because she's my BFF. Do you know what a BBF is mama?
Best Friends Forever, that's a good reason. Yeah!

What's your favorite thing about Grandma? That she's really nice.
What's your favorite thing about Nana? That she's also really nice to me.
What about Bob? The same thing?

What do you want to want to be when you grow up? A teacher.
How come? Because I want to teach people work. Dada's a teacher.
What kind of a teacher is he? A worker teacher and I want to be a teacher.
What does Dada teach? Work. Wait, what does Dada teach really?
He teaches people to write stories. So he's a writing teacher? You can erase work, and write writing teacher.

What do you like better the beach, the library, the Aquarium, or the playground? The library, because we can play in the children's room and there's lots of toys.

What do you like to do with Dada? Work.
What do you mean? I used the sucky thing when the mud got in the pipes. (James has been using a siphon to help Kevin fix the sprinklers.)
What do you like to do with Mama? Play. What do you like to play with me? Legos.
What do you like to play with Grandma? I like to play with her iPad.
What do you like to play with Nana? I like to show her Rope Rescue. (Game he plays on TV Roku.)
What do you like to play with Bob? Pretty much everything.
What do you like to play with Dada? You mean Work? 
No, you play with Dada sometimes. What do you like to play with him? She-zow. (They act out James's favorite superhero scenes.)

What else do you think I should ask? What Elmo is.
What is Elmo? A monster.

I thought of another question, what do you think the meaning of life is? Don't know.
I mean, what do you think life is for? It's a game?

James is 3.5 years old 2014

James 3rd Birthday interview

James's interview at 2.5 years old

James wasn't interview ready at 2 years old, but he was starting to use sentences.