Xavier's First Day of First Grade
Greetings to everyone.
Today was Xavier's first day of first grade. It's been a busy last couple of weeks getting ready.
Through some confusion, mostly because we are so new to the whole school thing (this is definitely not the school system and way when Rebecca and I went through school), Xavier and I visited the school twice before today to get some clarification on some issues.
Last night, we visited the school, picked up his school supplies we ordered in June, found his classroom and met his teacher.
After that, we headed over to the school meet and greet picnic at a local park. Xavier had a lot of fun on the new play equipment and running around with friends from the last school year.
Today, though not the big day, was officially his first day as a first grader. It was a half day of school. Tomorrow will by the big day and be a full seven and a half hours of school.
It's all exciting. We parked and walked Xavier to his class today, making him lead us. He knew right where to go, even the room number.
He was disappointed that Rebecca and I walked him to class. "I thought you were going to drop me at the sidewalk?" he scolded.
Wow. What a difference a summer can make. We couldn't get him to drop at the curb and walk in unescorted last year to save a life. Now, he wants that and complains we (his parents) are walking him to class. How the worm has turned.
Tomorrow, we will drop him at the curb and see if he holds to his resolve. We think he will.
Xavier Holds Church
Greetings to everyone.
Upon walking in the front door today after work, Xavier greeted me with his usual enthusiasm.
Soon after, he wanted to show me a surprise. He had spent the morning building a pulpit, Tinker Toy musical instruments and a microphone.
His instruments included a piano, a drum set, tambourine and cymbals.
He asked Rebecca and me to sit down. He then handed out books to us both. These we pretended were hymnals.
Xavier got behind his pulpit and started playing several of his instruments. Singing into his microphone, he lead us in a couple of songs, starting with "Down to the River to Pray".
He then transitioned into his sermon. Xavier preached on Gethsemane, the Crucifixion and Resurrection.
He ended his service with another round of hymns. It was awesome.
I wish I had a white handkerchief to wave around.
Xavier's First Fireworks
Happy Fourth of July to everyone!
Xavier is finally old enough to enjoy setting off fireworks instead of running from the loud noise they make.
We purchased several state-sanctioned items: sparklers, snakes, a couple of fountains and one of Rebecca's favorites: tanks.
We started with the snakes. Xavier thought they were cool.
Then, we moved to sparklers. Not the sparklers Rebecca or I had as kids, but still Xavier enjoyed them.
We lit up the tanks. They lasted a while and had two stages. With one setup, we had the tanks fighting, one tank set off the second.
The fountains lasted longer than expected, and they were loud. Xavier lit them with a punk, then ran across the yard to watch. I guess he wanted to keep a safe distance from the pyrotechnics.