carter: daddy, i have a question about the tooth fairy. how does she know i lost a tooth?
daddy: she knows whenever anyone loses a tooth.
carter: does she have a map of the whole world?
daddy: i don’t know, maybe.
carter: actually it’s a map of the world on the computer, and then she can check and see if anyone lost a tooth. and also it’s a magic computer.
daddy: i think that’s right.
after weeks of pushing, pulling, tugging, and wiggling…
…carter’s first tooth finally fell out!! there were no tears (yea!!) and carter was so excited about the tooth fairy coming he could not sleep. i think he woke up four times to ask if she had been there and when she was coming. when the tooth fairy finally did arrive (around 1:00 am) carter came into my room at 1:37 am to announce that she had left him $2! i told him that the tooth fairy would take the money back if he didn’t immediately go back to bed!! he is still thrilled about the $2, and is trying to shake some of his other teeth loose so that the tooth fairy will come again. check out his new grin… 🙂
carter started karate this fall and so far has really been enjoying the classes. and what’s not to love? he gets to dress up in a “costume” as he calls it and everyone gets a lollipop after class. he’s learned some pretty cool moves along the way…watch out world! 🙂
carter’s whole world just got a lot brighter! he loves his new toy that his daddy insisted on buying (daddy: “it’s a great deal – we can’t pass this up!”; me: “yes we can!”). sigh. i lost that argument. three to one.
even little halle agreed that we needed to have it.
she loves jumping as long as everyone follows her rules – no one can jump near her or while she’s jumping and she gets to tell everyone when and how high to jump!
on the bright side, it does tire all the little people out fairly quickly. and we have a safety device to keep everyone on it at all times. more jumping pictures coming soon…someone’s already working on new “tricks”! 🙂
carter’s school hosted a skate night and the whole family joined in. even halle,
she loved the skating but was scared of the other people skating around her so she only went around the rink a couple of times. carter on the other hand, loved it…
…but he struggled. a lot. Â he thought he would be able to strap on the skates and go. very quickly he realized it was harder than it looked. Â and he fell,
repeatedly.  toward the end of the night a friend shared with him a walker-type guide to hold onto and he had a MUCH better time. until it was time to leave the skating rink at which point he was very sad. so it sounds like we’ll be back to visit the roller rink on another day… 🙂
oh kindergarten. where do i even begin? carter is doing well, and at our first parent teacher conference a few weeks ago we (carter, his teacher, and I) decided that carter’s goal for the quarter would be “i will listen when the teachers are talking”. sigh. carter likes to talk. and blurt out answers. and “help” the teacher. a lot. but he’s working on it and we’re getting much better.
i think part of the issue is that sometimes its okay to blurt out answers and sometimes you have to raise your hand. that’s a tough concept to grasp since he’s a black and white thinker – must be his parents’ fault. 🙂
******
i volunteer once a week in his class. last week i happened to volunteer when his teachers were both out and there were two substitutes – yikes! and the poor sub looked like she was going to cry when she was taking attendance. Â i would too with names like naeha, anjini, matteas, and layan. and 25 little voices telling you that everything you’re doing is “wrong” or “that’s not how ms. benforado does it”. ugh. i had a real empathy for subs that day, i really did.
******
carter’s reading teacher’s name is ms. reid. also funny. and ironic. and…just funny.
******
we let carter join the chess club. perhaps this was a bit too ambitious. he likes it, but is easily frustrated because he can’t win games yet. he understands the game and likes the chess coach, but to no avail – he will only be happy if he’s winning.
******
carter’s favorite subjects – recess, p.e., lunch, second recess, quiet time, and…recess. he frequently tells me that the other stuff is very boring. he told me this so often that “boring” recently joined the long list of potty words at our house.
******
carter’s class has 16 boys. and all they do is compete with each other. “i was the first one to class”, “i was the fastest at recess”, “i sang the best”, “i walked in the line the best”, etc. if you can do it, it must be something you can compete in – this must be some genetic trait for boys. Â please keep his teacher in your prayers!
pictures will be coming soon – carter’s school had skate night recently and carter tried roller skating for the first time! 🙂 in the meantime, here’s my latest favorite picture,
the center of it all 