A New Kind of Puzzle

Nathan had an auction in his class this week and he bought this cool 3D puzzle of the earth.

The twist is that it is 3D, but also that it has numbers on the back that you connect in chronological order (in strips) and build from the bottom (south pole) to the top (north pole).

He needed some help finishing it, but really enjoyed the process!!

Big Boy!

Today Nathan went to the movies with a few of his friends from school. Some of these boys have known each other since Kindergarten! They went to see Star Wars: The Phantom Menace in 3D. T

Happy boys in line for Phantom Menace-3D

So serious in buying his own ticket!

No adults sitting with them- they loved it!

Boy and his Dog

I often will look over from something I am doing and find one or both boys cuddling with Chloe. I just had to take a picture of Nathan with Chloe- We have had our sweet girl for almost 8 months and we just love her so much. She has been a blessing (mostly) to our family!

PS-look how grown up Nathan looks. I can't believe he will be nine this year!

Native American Day

Today was "Indian" day for 3rd grade. There were four stations that the students got to visit- hunting, gathering, games and trade/barter. I was able to volunteer and really enjoyed watching Nathan and his classmates experience a different culture, time and way of life. Happy Thanksgiving!

Nathan's "NEW" eyes

Today Nathan got his first pair of eye glasses. He was really excited to get them and is thrilled that he can see better. The prescription is really low, but he needed a little help with distance! They look big on him in the picture, but in person they fit him just right.

I had my first pair when I was 5. Dan was in first grade when he got his. Maybe Nathan will be blessed and have Dan's vision (mild) and not mine (severe-before Laskik surgery).

Check out my handsome boy!!

Nathan and his buddy, Pasquale~

Glasses?

Well, it was inevitable! Nathan is going to need glasses. Hey, I am just stoked that it took till 3rd grade and not Kinder like me or 1st like Dan. The teacher must have requested that his eyes get checked because he had a special eye exam at school today- and yes, he failed the long distance portion of the exam. "Mom, the nurse put the paper on the other side of the room and the letters looked liked dots."

Looking back I can see evidence that he wasn't seeing as well as he should be, but I am glad we are getting it taken care of now. Unfortunately the earliest eye appointment is in two weeks.

Tonight Dan and Nathan were watching an old anime cartoon called "Robotech" and Dan let Nathan borrow his extra pair of glasses- and they helped!! Lately when he is watching a show on the weekends, he is always sitting up close- duh, it didn't dawn on me that he couldn't see. I would just keep telling him to move back- poor kid!
He is excited to get the glasses and nervous too. I think he will be able to stay on task EVEN better in class once he can see what is on the board clearly (and he already sits in the front row). Thank you Harry Potter for making glasses cool. I was teased so badly for having glasses, but now so many of our friends wear them and they are definitely hip now!!

"Friend"ship

Nathan had his first oral presentation assignment for first grade. It was on friendship- what does it mean to you and why? They also had to do a poster illustrating friendship. Nathan really wanted to make a friend ship. I helped print the photos, but he placed the photos, did the drawing (I did help color since he used colored pencils and they take forever).
He also thought of the words that mean friendship to him- kindness, respect, love, playful, talk, hang out, share and fun!
The poster turned out great and I hear from his teacher that his oral presentation went well too!

Way to go Nate!!

Nate The Great is 8!

My first born son is eight years old. Really? Where has the time gone? I can still clearly remember being pregnant, going through labor, delivering my boy and enjoying those first minutes, hours and days with my baby.
These past 8 years have been amazing as I have watched Nathan grow from a baby, to a toddler, to a little boy, to a young man. He is the joy of my life!

Happy Birthday sweet boy!!

A "big" gift from Grandma Mary!
Cool doodle book

Calling all Angels

Tonight our dear friend Yvonne took us (Dan, Nathan and Melissa) to the Angel game to celebrate Nathan's 8th birthday. Jason, not being into the game, stayed with Aunt Desi over night.
We started the evening up in the highest section (in the hard, tight seats) and thanks to Yvonne and her amazing connections, we made it down to the Diamond Club. Let me just say, the game is a whole lot different up close. It didn't hurt that the Angels got a home run while we were down there and we got to see the fireworks.

I think Nathan had the "time of his life" and that was the most important thing!

Oh yeah, and the Angels won the game too- what could be better?

Up in the nose-bleed section!
Up close at the game!

The cute girls who shoot the shirts into the stands!

Oh Yah- this boy is HAPPY!

A New Bike For Nathan

You've come a long way baby!!

Nathan is turning 8 in a few days- I can hardly believe it! In honor of his birthday, we bought him a new bike to fit with his growing size and ability.

Nathan is now the proud owner of a 24 inch bike with 21 speeds. It is amazing how much faster he can go with the gears and larger tires. He is finally excited to go for a ride.

Today, he and Dan went for 6 mile bike ride and it was no problem. Dan said he had no difficulty going up the hills or keeping up with him- so cool!
Now to get Jason up to speed and then the Crout family can really zip around Irvine!!

Nathan:: Joy of Reading

I have been waiting for this day for a long time. Nathan WANTS to read- yes, you read correctly. Now, it may not be the most intellectual reading, but he is doing it on his own without me having to ask and he reads chapter after chapter (begging to read "just one more"). It brings tears to my eyes. I shared this great news with his teacher and I saw tears come to her eyes- she is as thrilled as I am.

Nathan has always been good at reading, but it has been like pulling teeth for him to sit and do his daily reading of 20 minutes. I know it doesn't seem long, but it is long enough for him to get through 1 chapter and then he quickly moves onto something he likes doing better.

Yesterday was different. He had gone to the library with his class and instead of bringing home his typical non-fiction book (about lasers, space, electronics, etc) he brought home Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilet. As I said, it isn't the most intellectual reading, but he sat down and read 1, 2 then 3 chapters while we were driving to swimming. When we get there he asks if he can bring the book into the pool area and keep reading. We get home from swimming and he quickly picks up the book again- begging me if he can read one more chapter. I was seriously astounded.
The next day he finished the book in another sitting (25 chapters in all). He likes it because it is silly, but it is developing the patience to read through a book with quicker fluency and we couldn't be happier (all of us). As a treat we went and bought him the first 5 books of the series so he can keep up the reading (and he is).

Yeah for reading!!

Here is Nathan reading to Jason a few days ago-

this brings me such joy!!

Mad Scientist?

So, Nathan had the good fortune of getting to take apart a CD player that no longer worked. I of course hate when things don't work anymore and he revels in it- go figure. He is happiest when he is tinkering with electronic things, inventing things, building things- hmmmmmmmm? Engineer much?

Hero:: Thomas A. Edison

Nathan just finished a project at school. They had to choose someone that they admire(their HERO) and do a report about them. Nathan's first choice was Inspector Gadget. He was quickly told that Gadget (although cool and robotic) wasn't a real person. So............ his next choice was Thomas Alva Edison. What a great choice. As Nathan said, "He is my hero because he is just like me". They both love science, doing experiments, inventing things and thinking outside the box. Our family now knows more about Mr. Edison than ever before. He invented so many things that effect our life today!
"I have an idea"- that's right, Mr. Edison invented the electric light bulb that replaced gas lamps back in 1879. He also invented the phonograph, the first movie camera and many others!
Besides a written report on his hero- listing who they were, where they grew up, what were their accomplishments and why you think they are a hero and why you want to be like them- the kids also had to make a poster (mommy helped a little bit)
Part of Nathan's assignment was to dress like their hero. In most pictures of Mr. Edison, you would see him wearing a bow tie and vest. I think Nathan makes a great T.A.E.

Nathan:: Mathobotix -part 3

Happy Nathan!

Nathan has moved to a Tuesday class that seems to be better suited for him. It is smaller and he has more attention from the teacher and also isn't so distracted.

His latest project is called "Dog Sled"- it is almost built and soon he will be doing a technical report on the computer and then programing it to race on a set field. It is so over my head and I am so glad a program like this exists so that my boy can learn and grow!

dogs for the sledNathan following directions on the
computer to build sled

Nathan:: Mathobotix

So, I finally got to take some pictures of Nathan at Mathobotix. Tonight he went to his second class and LOVED it. He had to build a "five minute bot". He had to build a robot and program it on the computer. It had to go straight, turn 180 degrees and go straight again and turn again. He wasn't able to get it to do everything it was supposed to do, but will get to work on it next week (problem solving is important). He won't get his next assignment until he finishes this project. He has to complete so many projects or objectives to graduate to a Roboteer (right now he is a Robot Cadet).

Nathan and his "5 minute bot"