Make Your Own Discoveries

Tobias likes a PBS Kids show called “Dinosaur Train”. To my knowledge there are about 40 episodes containing two stories each about a species of dinosaurs. After each story Dr. Scott the Paleontologists comes on. He tells you about the dinosaur in the story and he always waves goodbye saying: “So remember, go outside, get into nature, and make your own discoveries!”. Tobias loves that and this past vacation in Crete we were out walking to a ruin when Tobias said: “We did good listening to Dr. Scott, Papa, we are making our own discoveries!”. Yes, Tobias is a real explorer .

Why am I telling you this? Well, because yesterday we did just that… It was a nice day so, we went outside, got into nature, and made our own discoveries… We discovered several kinds of trees, nuts, bushed, and mushrooms, like the one in this picture…

Besides all these discoveries, Tobias’ favorite thing in the forest is playing baseball with a stick and some acorns or pine cones… It amazes me how well he can hit those things.

Well, in short: we had a very nice afternoon yesterday!

Computer Talking

This is really a post for my Dutch readers... Tobias has always been a language boy. He is improving soooo fast in reading. Some of the teaching materials are on the computer. He does not seem to like that so much which surprises me, because at home he wants to play on the computer all the time. The teacher thought it might be because of two reasons:

1. He has to use a computer in another classroom

2. He has a hard time finding all the letters on the keyboard

I am sure that the first one is the primary reason, but just to be sure I thought I'd try to address the second reason too. So, tonight, I we talked without using our mouths :-). We chatted on the computer... and he LOVED it! Tobias was upstairs in the office, I was downstairs on the couch. He typed very slow but he did quite an interesting and an extremely cute job spelling though :-). I most definitely want to save that so I thought I'd put it on my blog...

He loved it so much that before we went to bed he told me he wants to do it again tomorrow :-).

Here is our chat:

7:03 PM

me: hallo tobias

7:04 PM

hallo tobias

7:05 PM

Tobias: hallo papa

7:06 PM

me: goed zo! vind je dit leuk?

Tobias: ja

7:07 PM

me: okee. kun je het goed lezen?

7:08 PM

Tobias: ja

me: hoe heet jij?

7:09 PM

Tobias: tobias

me: ik heet Tobias

Tobias: oo

me: wat vind jij leuk op school?

7:10 PM

Tobias: taal

me: oo, en wat nog meer?

7:11 PM

Tobias: rekenen

me: hoeveel is drie plus twee?

Tobias: 5

7:12 PM

me: goed gedaan.

Hoe heet jouw juf?

Tobias: eva

me: wie staat er achter jou?

7:13 PM

Tobias: mama

me: dat dacht ik al.

Ze helpt je toch niet?

Tobias: wel

7:14 PM

me: Dat is gemeen!

Vind je tiepen leuk?

Tobias: ja

me: je kunt het al goed hoor!

7:15 PM

Wat is je favoriete dier?

7:16 PM

Tobias: ch

me: wat is een ch?

7:20 PM

Tobias: wat ben je tog vor een oen papa

me: Een oen?

waarom?

6 minutes

7:26 PM

Tobias: ik wou sieta schrijven

me: dat is goed.

7:27 PM

In het echt schrijf je: cheetah

Het is eigenlijk een engels woord

Ik weet een raadsel

Wil je het horen?

7:28 PM

Tobias: ja papa

me: het is groen en het heeft een mes.

7:29 PM

Tobias: ik weet het niet

me: een snijboon

7:32 PM

Tobias: dad bustaat tog heelumaal niet

7:33 PM

me: Ja hoor. Echt wel. Ik weet er nog een. Wil je die ook horen?

Tobias: ja

me: Het is geel en het staat.

7:35 PM

Tobias: vaanieu vlaa

me: Nee, nog een keer...

7:37 PM

Tobias: dan weet ik het wir niet

me: Een stanaan

7:39 PM

Tobias: dad bustaat tog niet

me: Nee, dat bestaat niet.

Nog een?

7:41 PM

Tobias: ja maar niet zoo moelek

me: okee. de laatste. deze weet je denk ik.

het is bruin en het stinkt.

7:42 PM

Tobias: poep

me: Nee

wel bijna

7:44 PM

Tobias: een stnk sok

me: nee.... een DROL!!!

7:45 PM

Mag ik jou straks op bed leggen?

7:50 PM

Tobias: ja maar ik wil nog eeven dor praate mag dad?

me: ja dat mag. wil je straks nog wel een boekje lezen?

Tobias: ja

me: welk boek?

7:52 PM

Tobias: suup er dofje

me: oo leuk. dat doen we!

7:53 PM

die huisje boompje beestje met raaf en zijn geld, was die heel leuk?

Tobias: okee

7:54 PM

me: wil je samen naar een huisje boompje beestje kijken?

Tobias: ja

me: die van dat geld?

7:55 PM

of een andere?

7:56 PM

klik maar op de blauwe letters: http://player.omroep.nl/?aflID=13128402

7:57 PM

Tobias: ik snap er niks van

me: ik kom eraan.

For news on Tobias' sister Lorelei visit: Lorelei Michelle

Carnival

Every year, not long after the start of the new school year, the Carnival is in town. It started yesterday. Lisa went after school yesterday, and today it was my turn. I am not a big fan of carnivals, the noise, the people, the food, the junk stuff you can “win”, or anything like that. I am a big fan of my kids though, especially with the joy in their eyes and the smiles on their faces. Basically all the carnival stuff is rather worthless, but those lovely babies are priceless!!! (and makes it all worth it).

It is funny to see what they like. Apparently Lorelei is kind of a thrill seeker going on a rollercoaster-type-thing and wanting to go again where Tobias didn’t even want to go at all. I did not go on that rollercoaster-type-thing today. I think I wrote about this last year, but two years ago I took Tobias on a ride he was too young for at the time, and I have a feeling he might be traumatized for life…

What was absolutely adorable though, was the two of them in a car on the car-merry-go-round. I would expect Tobias to have outgrown it by now, but apparently not, because they went on there twice… I have often written about the fact that I (desperately?) want to hold on to that kind of cuteness, so, I am not complaining, just enjoying!

Swimming Lessons

Tobias has always been kind of a fish. But swimming for real is a whole different matter. He has been taking lessons for quite a while now. They are always on mondays right after school. That’s when Lisa’s “on duty”. I have been once or twice after work, but never took my camera. During the vacation they were on a different schedule. I got to take him one wednesday. This time I did take my camera and took some nice pictures and movie clips. Here is one of them. Right after the vacation he was bumped up one group, to the group right before you can get your diploma.

I hope that he will get that sometime really soon. Not that I worry about him not being able to stay afloat or anything, but well, I guess it feels even safer when he stays afloat with his diploma or something like that…

First Day of Group 3

I have said this many times and I am sure I am gonna say it many times to come….: I can’t believe how fast my little boy is growing. Although he is still a little boy in many many ways, he is also becoming a big boy in many many ways… He is no longer a “kleuter”, he is now a schoolboy… in Group 3…

He is so enthusiastic about it, and that is such a joy to see. He comes home every day telling us about the new word he can read or the new letter he can write. Today the word was “lip”. I often try to remember how that went with me, but it is hard to remember that and compare it to your own kid. Even my parents have a hard time remembering, or at least comparing. All I can say is that it is FAST! We already had some books that he would read, very slowly, but the speed is picking up and the help required is decreasing rapidly. Soon, I am sure, he will read a bed-time story to me rather than the other way around.

Another very interesting thing is all the stuff he wants to do on top of that. All of a sudden he can tie his shoe-laces… all it took was showing him once, helping him twice, and now he can do it. Of course we went out and got him laced, rather than Velcro shoes…

Another thing it telling time. He has had a watch, but the battery was dead. Well, we went out to have it replaced, but it still didn’t work. He was much upset at that, so we got him a new watch. He is wearing it proudly and trying hard to tell time. He was already able to tell whole hours, but now he is able to tell half hours as well, and sometimes quarters.

Finally, every summer, right after the vacation, there is a summer party at school. Everyone is invited, the adults get to drink beer and the kids get to play games and eat, among other things, pancakes. We made some pancakes (which I had to buy back for a euro a pop at the party ) and while I was doing that Tobias said: “Papa, if I want a pancake I am just going to ask for it, because I am not shy anymore because I am in Group 3 now.”. I was quite stunned and not quite convinced, but it was true. Before he had to have one of us accompany him to games or in getting food or drinks. Not this time… He did that all by himself.

Proud? Yes!

Sad? Well, a little I guess, but in a happy kind of way (does that make any sense?).

Proud…

I believe Tobias is quite proud of many things. He loves his bike and biking and I think he is quite proud at how well he does. He likes arts and crafts and I am sure he is quite proud of most of his work. He is proud when he makes money, for example by mowing the lawn. And rightfully so. I am proud of my boy to. One of those futile things he is proud of is the fact that he can blow up balloons by himself.

He has been able to do that for a while, but today as I was taking some pictures, he was playing with a balloon that he had gotten at Floor’s birthday party earlier today and while we were doing that he asked: “Papa, can you take a picture of me blowing up this balloon?”. So, I did .

Just one of those things; you don’t even think about it, but apparently it is a big deal somehow…

Golf

Well, we did have a little bit of decent weather… We used it to play golf. I am not exactly sure why, but I believe it was Valentine who came up with the idea. Tobias had already played a couple of times in the Netherlands with my dad, so he was definitely up for it… We ended up going twice, once with just Tobias and Valentine, the second time with all of us. Lorelei was not quite there yet (an neither was Tristan for that matter, but hey, how can you deny him a try…), but Valentine and Tobias got quite some shots in…