I remember occupying entire afternoons playing tag or hide-and-go-seek. Now, Squirt is at that age where he understands and loves these games too.

Ask me anything

Squirt's first year of preschool is coming to an end in a few weeks and, like many parents do, I can't help but think back on the past year.  Even before preschool started it was tough for my wife and I to even decide which school he should attend.  When the first day of school finally came around I had high hopes but, unfortunately, it didn't turn out as expected.  To make matters worse, over the next few weeks Squirt didn't adjust well to his preschool. After much thought, we transferred him to a preschool with which he was more familiar but quite far from our home.  We managed to get him squared away in his new school and he came to enjoy it very much.  This was a weight lifted off my shoulders. Last summer I remembered looking forward to Squirt's first year of preschool very much and now that it has pasted, some memories will always stay with me.

Dressing Squirt for school in his little uniform.

Getting that last hug and kiss from him before he goes into his class.

See that day come when he wanted to walk into the school yard on his own and he made me kiss him in the truck where no one would see.

Seeing him almost burst at the seams with excitement because he had his latest school project to show me.

Doing homework with him.

Listening to him recite the songs he learned in class.

Seeing him write his own name (still a work in progress).

Letting him take the school bus home from school (his preference by the way).

Finding a best friend and inviting him over to play after school.

Listening to the high lights from his day in school.

http://twitter.com/squirtsdad/status/71730180082769920 I can only imagine what the next school-year holds for him, and I, but we are looking forward to it.  In the mean time we have a whole summer vacation to enjoy...

Sometimes it is a lot of fun seeing the things my son does or the things in which he becomes interested. The things with which he identifies and calls his own. My four year old son's latest obsession is drifting.

Drifting - A type of precision driving where the driver intentionally over steers, producing a controlled slide through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed.

Doesn't matter if it is his HotWheels toy car, a racecar in a video game, his bicycle or even a shopping cart, he can make it 'drift' and he loves doing it. So much so that we've almost had to ban him from pushing the shopping carts in the grocery store. He has had carts land on top of him, he has ended up on top of an over turned cart and has knocked more than a few items of the shelves. And, yes, his favorite movies are The Fast And Furious series. I hope he either out grows it or masters it by the time he is old enough to drive but until then it is a lot of fun watching him drift and enjoying his favorite movies with him.

[slideshow] Placencia is a small beach village here in Belize.  One of the better beaches in Belize actually.  It is about a 3 hour road trip from where we live so we don't go out there often but I can definitely say that Squirt and our daughter are completely at home on the beach.

Last year I passed on my beloved iPod Touch to Squirt, my four-year old son.  It was actually a Christmas gift I got from my wife years ago (1st generation iPod Touch) and it had an engraving on the back so even though it was now his, it still had sentimental value to me.  A few days ago he misplaced it and we haven't been able to find it yet so I'm sad to say, it looks like it is gone for good.    It was still in great condition too and had a flawless screen--no easy feat when living with two kids.  Squirt loved it as much as I did so he is constantly asking for his iPod. This could be an opportunity to get him something better but what?  Another iPod?  PSP?  3DS?  Things I'm considering:

1. Price of the device.
2. Also, the price for games and/or apps.  I don't want to spend a fortune on games/apps.
3. Playability -- He is four years old so the platform of choice needs to have a large library of suitable games.  I know the Apple app store has a lot of games that are both educational and easy enough for a four-year old to play.  I really haven't played any other games on other portable gaming platforms.
4. Ease of use.  My boy pretty much grew up with that iPod so he is adept at the touch screen interface.  I'm not sure how complicated or intuitive other devices (PSP, 3DS) are?

So parents, please help me out here with the poll below and any thoughts you may have to add in the comments:

[polldaddy poll=4867530]

UPDATE: I found Squirt's iPod Touch under the driver's seat of our truck.  He is quite happy now so we won't need to buy him another one.  Although, I think our daughter (and me *cough*) could use a new iPod.