Boys 'n Banks

We are attempting something new in the quest to understand how to parent. We've entered the age of the 6-year old boy. This is him, talking to a friend from our old neighborhood -- I love this picture, he totally just kicked back and chatted for 30 minutes! This age brings with it some interesting things --- lots of humor, most of which is an attempt to be funny in efforts to understand what makes people laugh, lots of noise making with various body parts and lip positions, and constant pushing, boundaries, limits, etc. and trying to get out of anything and everything that looks, tastes or smells like homework, chores or boredom! So, I found a lot of PGA tokens (yes - they are golf tokens) on ebay, put them in a jar labeled "the Bank" and each child has their own jar labeled with their names, into which they can put coins they've earned. These in turn are given back to the bank for time on the Wii, computer or T.V. time and special treats, toys etc. Everything costs different amounts and lets just say Master S will be earning coins for a LONG time in order to save for a toy . . . But, it's working! Chores get done in the morning, his bed is made, his clothes are picked up, homework actually gets looked at and it is usually before I get to the "I'm tired of nagging you, just sit down and do it NOW" stage. We'll see how long it lasts . . .
So, Big D is everywhere, he's trying to walk and he is crazy cute! Just had to post these pics of him :)