Thursday we had some running around to do early in the morning. Andrew was fabulous as usual. I took him to the library where he played with the train table for a while, did the Creative Movement dance class, then some art on the computer, then back to the train table. One of the other moms asked me how old he was and told me that he is so kind and plays well with the others. Always nice to hear.
I bought Andrew his own small flashlight to have since he's often wanting ours and we don't want the battery to run out on it. Thursday evening after I had put him to bed already, I saw a soft blue light under his door. Then I got closer and heard him giggle. I went in there and he was shining the flashlight at the ceiling. He had gotten out of bed, grabbed his flashlight off the bookshelf, and tucked himself back in. I told him it was time to sleep and took the flashlight away and told him he could play with it another time.
Sunday we had an impromptu photoshoot behind Annelise's house. I set up my camera so all she had to do was take the photos. At one point, she was taking photos of Ted and me and Andrew was repeatedly running down the hill and leaping, throwing himself into the tall grass.
We went to her hall after lunch. When he was given a chance to read his answer during the Watchtower - he yelled the first word, shrunk back in his seat and said, "oh, that was loud." That of course made the now very awake congregation chuckle. We convinced him to go ahead and try again and he did fine, but he seemed very self-conscious and disappointed in himself.
After changing into play clothes, we took him to a place to ride go-carts and play some arcade games. He enjoyed that. Skeeball was a little scary to be around. He'd throw the ball and there was no telling where it'd go - but it'd come back somehow. Then we went to Jim n Nicks for dinner. He ordered "a quesadilla and mac n cheese, and that's all!" while emphatically waving his open hand at the waitress with each word.
Monday - he started telling all of us things followed by "that's your two options" or "eleven options"
I let him go out early and play in the sandpile in the yard. He came running in and said he needed a steam roller and took my rolling pin out of the drawer before heading back outside.
Later, we were in the office and he was rummaging in my drawers. He found a giant bag of rubberbands. He dumped them out into a "sand pile" and a couple of minutes later was tossing them up and they were landing all over the room. He cheerfully yelled, "I'm having FUN!" I let him do it - then let him and daddy clean it up together later.
Tuesday, Nana and Andrew tagged along to one of my photoshoots. As soon as we start the car, he asks for "kingdom hall music". He was belting out the words to "Preach the word" and it really was adorable and hilarious at the same time to listen to it. Nana was nearly in stitches.
Tuesday evening I let him watch a video while he ate, to encourage him to eat more before bed. The video wasn't over when he was finished eating so I stopped it and told him he could watch it tomorrow. Wednesday morning he came in my room at 6:47 and the first words out of his mouth, "I want my video."
Wednesday it was back to gymnastics, but this time we had a friend from the hall. Parker is the same age and absolutely fearless. It was perfect. The teacher couldn't be there today so they had to join the younger group but they didn't seem to mind. And at the end I requested that they let Parker ride the zip line in front of Andrew - and sure enough, that made Andrew want to ride it. They both had so much fun. They were rewarded (without permission) with candy. Both of them picked something red. Andrew had a twizzler. I let him eat it anyway, but it made for a more stressful afternoon and evening. He got a little wild, then he got mean. He'd kick you on purpose, do the opposite of whatever you said, and overall was just unpleasant to be around. I wish red dye was banned.
Wednesday evening he read his answer but held onto the mic. He took a quick breath and started to say "I love you" as we whisked the microphone away from him. Everyone else only heard "i love"
He has also recently caught on to the routine of passing the microphone down to whoever is commenting. He got very upset when I passed the microphone directly to each other instead of letting Andrew help.
Thursday was gorgeous. Shorts and t-shirt weather. He played in his sand pit with his tonka trucks and tools and my rolling pin. I pushed him on the swings a bit, and he climbed his fort several times.
Later I was preoccupied in the kitchen and decided to let him have the rest of his train table that I've been hiding. I brought him a big box of wooden tracks and trains and cars to drive on them. He loved it! I even managed to put all the track together so it all fit and looped around and over so everything was connected. He's enjoying it so far.
He was in my room and was stepping into my tennis shoes. He told me, "these are just like Aunt Eese's she used to
jump on fire and she had her piggy tails to help her and she jumped over
like Andy." He was remembering seeing pictures at her house of her jumping over fire during the Warrior Dash. She also had a photo of another friend jumping the fire who he thought was Andy Zylstra.
In the evening we were all outside for a little bit. Andrew asked if he could use his go-cart but I told him it didn't work. We needed to charge the battery and we were unsure of where the charger was. He said, "It's probably in the freezer." "In the freezer? I dont think it's there." I say. Then Ted realized the connection - we keep batteries in the freezer and in his mind, the go-cart just needs a new battery.
I got him to take a bath and put some dish soap in to give him some soapy bubbles to play in. He asked for a cup. He kept filling the cup and dumping water over his toy sailboat. A little later he took the washcloth and threw it to the back of the tub, then stood up and flung cups of water at it. With a huge grin on his face he squealed, "I'm having fun!"
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
"I'll fix you. What's your problem?"
Last Saturday Ted got to take Andrew to "touch a truck" where there was all kinds of tractors, machines, commercial trucks, etc. Andrew had a blast climbing in them and on them, and also experienced his first funnel cake.
Saturday afternoon someone came over to jump in our very cold pool. She didn't feel the water, just jumped in and decided it was much colder than she expected, and colder than 66 degrees sounds. Then Ted plunged in, followed by Andrew. As soon as Andrew hit the water he let out a long yell, but then was ready to do it again. None of them lasted too long in the water, but Andrew enjoyed getting to do a polar bear plunge. The pool was set up just in time for the weather to get too cool for swimming - so they were the first ones ever to swim in the new pool!
Tuesday I was really tired when I had to go pick up Andrew from school. He never wants to leave but usually when I explain that it's time to go home, all the kids go home, that he can come back another day, and it's time to say goodbye to Spring Hollow - he'll at least comply and come. Not Tuesday. I was too tired to battle it. So I had our usual conversation and he refused to come. I took his lunch bags and backpack to the car and came back in. He never noticed I was gone. I got down next to him and made him look at me, "Andrew, it is time to go home. I am leaving, and I would like you to come with me." .... "No." So I got up and headed for the door. I paused for just a moment at the door, he looked at me, and I went out. Then he came running out bawling because he thought I was going to leave him. I didn't say anything, just scooped him up and walked to the car as he cried. I got him settled in his seat and got him to calm down and use his words to tell me what he was feeling. Then I explained to him that I would never leave him here, but I was going to sit outside and wait because I was too tired and overwhelmed to force him to come. That he needs to listen and obey. That the next time I ask him to come - he needs to do it. He listened, took a deep breath and said,"Okay. Okay mommy." We'll see how long it takes before we have that situation again.
Wednesday, I waited until the last minute to get him dressed and tell him we were going to Let It Shine. He burst into tears and asked if I was going to leave him there. I assured him I was going to stay, that it is a safe place, and that Ms. Ray is there to help him. I suggested that maybe today mommy would get to help too. He kept telling me that he was scared of the zip line and the balance beams and that he'd fall and get hurt and have to go to the hospital. I assured him that wouldn't happen. I told him that if he doesn't know how to do something, he asks Ms Ray to help him and wait for her to be able to. Once we got there, he was very clingy. He wouldn't even sit next to me - he had to sit on me. I spoke to Ms. Ray and she said this time I could stay with him and help him get comfortable. So we did some stretches and then slowly guided him to try things by feeling them first and talking about them. It was fantastic!! And it turned out - he was the only one who showed up for class today! So he had me and Ms. Ray all to himself. He jumped in the soft foam block pit, on all the trampolines (on the long one he'd hop all the way to the end and then leap onto the soft pad doing a complete bellyflop faceplant and then getting up laughing), did somersaults and rolls on the wedges, stood on his hands upside down with his feet on the wall, hung on the bars, did some kicks and jumps, etc. He did great! He even walked on the balance beams all by himself a few times. We're hoping that he'll feel more comfortable with all of it now and won't need me by his side for all the classes.
Oh, and during his playtime at gymnastics, he told Ms. Ray that he was born in Wisconsin. I said, "No you weren't! You were born in Nashville." He said, "No, I was born in Wisconsin." "No honey, I was there. You were born in Nashville." Then Ms. Ray told him she was born in Thailand. He said, "I want to live in Thailand." Then started saying something about his grandma living in California.
I had a doctors appointment after gymnastics. He was great there too. Once the nurse left, he got on the doctors chair and said, "I'll fix you. What's your problem?" LOL
Saturday afternoon someone came over to jump in our very cold pool. She didn't feel the water, just jumped in and decided it was much colder than she expected, and colder than 66 degrees sounds. Then Ted plunged in, followed by Andrew. As soon as Andrew hit the water he let out a long yell, but then was ready to do it again. None of them lasted too long in the water, but Andrew enjoyed getting to do a polar bear plunge. The pool was set up just in time for the weather to get too cool for swimming - so they were the first ones ever to swim in the new pool!
Tuesday I was really tired when I had to go pick up Andrew from school. He never wants to leave but usually when I explain that it's time to go home, all the kids go home, that he can come back another day, and it's time to say goodbye to Spring Hollow - he'll at least comply and come. Not Tuesday. I was too tired to battle it. So I had our usual conversation and he refused to come. I took his lunch bags and backpack to the car and came back in. He never noticed I was gone. I got down next to him and made him look at me, "Andrew, it is time to go home. I am leaving, and I would like you to come with me." .... "No." So I got up and headed for the door. I paused for just a moment at the door, he looked at me, and I went out. Then he came running out bawling because he thought I was going to leave him. I didn't say anything, just scooped him up and walked to the car as he cried. I got him settled in his seat and got him to calm down and use his words to tell me what he was feeling. Then I explained to him that I would never leave him here, but I was going to sit outside and wait because I was too tired and overwhelmed to force him to come. That he needs to listen and obey. That the next time I ask him to come - he needs to do it. He listened, took a deep breath and said,"Okay. Okay mommy." We'll see how long it takes before we have that situation again.
Wednesday, I waited until the last minute to get him dressed and tell him we were going to Let It Shine. He burst into tears and asked if I was going to leave him there. I assured him I was going to stay, that it is a safe place, and that Ms. Ray is there to help him. I suggested that maybe today mommy would get to help too. He kept telling me that he was scared of the zip line and the balance beams and that he'd fall and get hurt and have to go to the hospital. I assured him that wouldn't happen. I told him that if he doesn't know how to do something, he asks Ms Ray to help him and wait for her to be able to. Once we got there, he was very clingy. He wouldn't even sit next to me - he had to sit on me. I spoke to Ms. Ray and she said this time I could stay with him and help him get comfortable. So we did some stretches and then slowly guided him to try things by feeling them first and talking about them. It was fantastic!! And it turned out - he was the only one who showed up for class today! So he had me and Ms. Ray all to himself. He jumped in the soft foam block pit, on all the trampolines (on the long one he'd hop all the way to the end and then leap onto the soft pad doing a complete bellyflop faceplant and then getting up laughing), did somersaults and rolls on the wedges, stood on his hands upside down with his feet on the wall, hung on the bars, did some kicks and jumps, etc. He did great! He even walked on the balance beams all by himself a few times. We're hoping that he'll feel more comfortable with all of it now and won't need me by his side for all the classes.
Oh, and during his playtime at gymnastics, he told Ms. Ray that he was born in Wisconsin. I said, "No you weren't! You were born in Nashville." He said, "No, I was born in Wisconsin." "No honey, I was there. You were born in Nashville." Then Ms. Ray told him she was born in Thailand. He said, "I want to live in Thailand." Then started saying something about his grandma living in California.
I had a doctors appointment after gymnastics. He was great there too. Once the nurse left, he got on the doctors chair and said, "I'll fix you. What's your problem?" LOL
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
Scared of Gymnastics
Wednesday morning Andrew woke up around 2:30 to tell me he was hungry. He wanted a bar which I knew would take forever to eat since he likes to socialize while he eats. So I offered him a piece of cheese and fixed some chocolate almond milk with green superfoods, vitamins, herbs, and protein powder, and sent him back to bed. It took me to around 4:20 to fall back asleep. He was up again shortly after asking if he could get up and play with toys. Seriously? SLEEP! But then he stayed in bed until almost 8am!! That was a nice surprise.
Wednesday was his first day of gymnastics class at 9:30am. He has often asked to go to Let It Shine, but today he said he didn't want to go. I took him anyway. There was only one boy in his class that looked like a regular, and then a visiting boy and girl. So four kids total and one teacher. All of them seemed to have trouble paying attention and following directions. The teacher handled them great. Andrew was doing all the stretches and bars and flips fine at first. Then they lined up for the zip line. He completely fell apart. I was watching from far away and I couldn't tell if he was hurt or scared, but the teacher seemed to be handling it fine. I saw him start resisting her and decided it was time to intervene. She was telling him he didn't have to do it, but he just wanted me and wanted us to go home. I talked him into staying and just watching. Then they moved into another room where they had to jump, do flips, crawl through tunnels, walk across a balance bar, etc. We sat and watched for a minute and then he decided he was ready to try again. And he enjoyed it as long as I was there. Then they got to jump into a soft pit of squishy squares for a while before doing another obstacle course. The first trick was to lay on their back on a big soft round thing and then the teacher helps the kids flip over it. Again, Andrew got scared and started crying. I convinced him to just watch for a minute and if he wasn't ready for it, he could skip it and go to the next obstacle. So back in he went. The teacher was so great with him. And he ultimately did give it a try and succeeded and was very proud of himself.
Thursday morning Andrew slept in until 7am for which I am grateful. Every extra 30 minutes of sleep I get helps tremendously! He helped me pick up the few toys that were out and we vacuumed the floors. He helped me do laundry. He jumped on his trampoline, did some tracing in his workbooks, played with toys. He was being super sweet all morning. He ate quite a bit for lunch and then around 12:55 he said, "mommy, I'm getting worn out." Then he went potty, turned his air purifier on and crawled into bed! I tucked him in and gave him the rest of his drink to finish. Love days like this!
Friday morning on the way to school, Andrew got a very firm tone in his voice and said, "Stop Andrew. Stop!" I asked him what he was telling to stop. Then in a matter of fact way he said, "I was telling my finger to stop hurting."
I explained to Andrew at home and again before going in, that I couldn't stay at school at all today. I had to go to work. I helped him get his things organized and asked for a hug and said goodbye. He was totally okay with it! The teacher said that mid-way through the day they were playing music and slowing down and Andrew started to miss me. He told her, "I think I'm ready to go home now." She explained to him what time it was and what time mommy was going to come back and he perked up. He also got tired at some point and said he wanted to go home and nap, and he noticed that they don't sleep at school. You could really see in his eyes today that he was tired and needed one. Yet, when I came, he was excited to see me but said he wasn't ready to go home. He wanted me to go back home and stay. I reminded him that everyone else had to go home too. So I waited for all the parents to show up and he could see all the other kids leaving. Then he was more agreeable, though he still wanted to stay and play.
I got two small hula-hoops and a velcro catch game for just $1 at a yard sale Friday. Andrew told daddy he got a hoop-a-loop. so cute!
He also says 'slippy' instead of slippery. I put lotion with essential oils on his feet and he tells me his feet are slippy.
Sunday morning, Andrew says, "Can we go somewhere?" I ask, "Where do you want to go?"
"To Kroger. To get daddy something to eat." I ask, "What does daddy want to eat?"
"Meat. Daddy wants to eat meat." (mind you, daddy is still in bed sleeping.)
Andrew to mom: "When I get bigger I can drive the car. And when you get little, you can sit in the car seat."
When it started sprinkling outside, said in a very dramatic tone, "Daddy! Oh no! It's dripping!"
"I'm not a kid anymore. I'm the boss!" (hmmmm) He's been getting lessons from daddy lately that mommy and daddy are the boss and that Andrew doesn't get to tell them what to do.
Tuesday it was pleasant outside. We spent almost an hour outside on the school playground waiting for daddy to get off work. Then we met up and headed to the mall. Daddy needed something for his phone and mommy needed to go bra shopping. We were there for four hours! Andrew was an angel the entire time! Very obedient and well behaved and polite. When we were heading to the last store to try I told Andrew that since he's been so good, we can get him a treat after the next store. We walk into the store and he goes up to the clerk, "Excuse me, do you have any treats?" I finally sent him and daddy to the cookie store by themselves. Oh, and Andrew loved riding on the "eskewlators"
Wednesday, October 10th. Back to Let It Shine. This time it was just him and another little boy who was doing a trial class. A different teacher. They started off jumping in the jump house, and then did the zip line - which Andrew did twice! The other little kid was not a very good listener and kept running off to do his own thing and the teacher had to leave Andrew and go get him (while Andrew was in the jump house and on the zip line). The teacher thinks that it is that scenario (being left alone for a minute) that made Andrew freak out and start crying. After that - it was pretty much over. He refused to do anything. I asked him to tell me what was wrong and he said he was scared. I asked him what he was scared of and he said the teacher and the other kids scared him. We just sat on the bleachers and watched the entire time.
He's having a morning of "I don't want to..." and I've pretty much been ignoring it rather than acknowledge it at all. A couple of times in the car I told him he was not being nice and then I turned his music off as a consequence. He didn't like that. Once we got home he didn't want to get out of his seat (but did), didn't want to wear his shoes (but I silently put them on him anyway and walked to the door.) He didn't want to come in, and although he started to come up the front steps, he then turned and ran down the sidewalk. I put everything I was carrying down and walked back out. I never said a word. I just walked toward him and he started saying, "don't spank me!" I scooped him up and started walking in the house and he's practically grabbing my face asking, "are you going to spank me? are you going to spank me mommy?" I never answered. I set him down inside and told him we needed to wash our hands. This was the first time ever he didn't fight me on that.
Then I sat down at the computer for a minute. He came in, picked up a toy and threw it across the room. I didn't acknowledge him. He leaves and I hear him say, "Stop that attitude!" and he slammed my door. I didn't do anything. Then a minute later he opens the door gently and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry I slammed the door." I immediately turned around with a smile on my face and said, 'thank you' as I opened my arms for a hug. Then he had my undivided attention. He told me that he threw a toy on the floor. I said, "I know, I heard you do it." Then he told me he yelled and slammed the door. I said, "Yes, I heard that too." Then he told me he said 'sorry' and I smiled big again and said, "Yes! And I appreciate that." He told me he was "ready to cooperate."
Then he called me into his room and asked for a couple of toys that were up high in his closet. I got them down for him. He asked me to build something for him and I asked him if he could try. He told me he couldn't try. So I said, "well then why should I? If you're not going to try, then I'm not going to try either." Guess what? He started building some pretty neat things and showing them to me. I commended him for trying and said, "see! see what happens when you try!" He just smiled and laughed as he played with his inventions.
Wednesday was his first day of gymnastics class at 9:30am. He has often asked to go to Let It Shine, but today he said he didn't want to go. I took him anyway. There was only one boy in his class that looked like a regular, and then a visiting boy and girl. So four kids total and one teacher. All of them seemed to have trouble paying attention and following directions. The teacher handled them great. Andrew was doing all the stretches and bars and flips fine at first. Then they lined up for the zip line. He completely fell apart. I was watching from far away and I couldn't tell if he was hurt or scared, but the teacher seemed to be handling it fine. I saw him start resisting her and decided it was time to intervene. She was telling him he didn't have to do it, but he just wanted me and wanted us to go home. I talked him into staying and just watching. Then they moved into another room where they had to jump, do flips, crawl through tunnels, walk across a balance bar, etc. We sat and watched for a minute and then he decided he was ready to try again. And he enjoyed it as long as I was there. Then they got to jump into a soft pit of squishy squares for a while before doing another obstacle course. The first trick was to lay on their back on a big soft round thing and then the teacher helps the kids flip over it. Again, Andrew got scared and started crying. I convinced him to just watch for a minute and if he wasn't ready for it, he could skip it and go to the next obstacle. So back in he went. The teacher was so great with him. And he ultimately did give it a try and succeeded and was very proud of himself.
Thursday morning Andrew slept in until 7am for which I am grateful. Every extra 30 minutes of sleep I get helps tremendously! He helped me pick up the few toys that were out and we vacuumed the floors. He helped me do laundry. He jumped on his trampoline, did some tracing in his workbooks, played with toys. He was being super sweet all morning. He ate quite a bit for lunch and then around 12:55 he said, "mommy, I'm getting worn out." Then he went potty, turned his air purifier on and crawled into bed! I tucked him in and gave him the rest of his drink to finish. Love days like this!
Friday morning on the way to school, Andrew got a very firm tone in his voice and said, "Stop Andrew. Stop!" I asked him what he was telling to stop. Then in a matter of fact way he said, "I was telling my finger to stop hurting."
I explained to Andrew at home and again before going in, that I couldn't stay at school at all today. I had to go to work. I helped him get his things organized and asked for a hug and said goodbye. He was totally okay with it! The teacher said that mid-way through the day they were playing music and slowing down and Andrew started to miss me. He told her, "I think I'm ready to go home now." She explained to him what time it was and what time mommy was going to come back and he perked up. He also got tired at some point and said he wanted to go home and nap, and he noticed that they don't sleep at school. You could really see in his eyes today that he was tired and needed one. Yet, when I came, he was excited to see me but said he wasn't ready to go home. He wanted me to go back home and stay. I reminded him that everyone else had to go home too. So I waited for all the parents to show up and he could see all the other kids leaving. Then he was more agreeable, though he still wanted to stay and play.
I got two small hula-hoops and a velcro catch game for just $1 at a yard sale Friday. Andrew told daddy he got a hoop-a-loop. so cute!
He also says 'slippy' instead of slippery. I put lotion with essential oils on his feet and he tells me his feet are slippy.
Sunday morning, Andrew says, "Can we go somewhere?" I ask, "Where do you want to go?"
"To Kroger. To get daddy something to eat." I ask, "What does daddy want to eat?"
"Meat. Daddy wants to eat meat." (mind you, daddy is still in bed sleeping.)
Andrew to mom: "When I get bigger I can drive the car. And when you get little, you can sit in the car seat."
When it started sprinkling outside, said in a very dramatic tone, "Daddy! Oh no! It's dripping!"
"I'm not a kid anymore. I'm the boss!" (hmmmm) He's been getting lessons from daddy lately that mommy and daddy are the boss and that Andrew doesn't get to tell them what to do.
Tuesday it was pleasant outside. We spent almost an hour outside on the school playground waiting for daddy to get off work. Then we met up and headed to the mall. Daddy needed something for his phone and mommy needed to go bra shopping. We were there for four hours! Andrew was an angel the entire time! Very obedient and well behaved and polite. When we were heading to the last store to try I told Andrew that since he's been so good, we can get him a treat after the next store. We walk into the store and he goes up to the clerk, "Excuse me, do you have any treats?" I finally sent him and daddy to the cookie store by themselves. Oh, and Andrew loved riding on the "eskewlators"
Wednesday, October 10th. Back to Let It Shine. This time it was just him and another little boy who was doing a trial class. A different teacher. They started off jumping in the jump house, and then did the zip line - which Andrew did twice! The other little kid was not a very good listener and kept running off to do his own thing and the teacher had to leave Andrew and go get him (while Andrew was in the jump house and on the zip line). The teacher thinks that it is that scenario (being left alone for a minute) that made Andrew freak out and start crying. After that - it was pretty much over. He refused to do anything. I asked him to tell me what was wrong and he said he was scared. I asked him what he was scared of and he said the teacher and the other kids scared him. We just sat on the bleachers and watched the entire time.
He's having a morning of "I don't want to..." and I've pretty much been ignoring it rather than acknowledge it at all. A couple of times in the car I told him he was not being nice and then I turned his music off as a consequence. He didn't like that. Once we got home he didn't want to get out of his seat (but did), didn't want to wear his shoes (but I silently put them on him anyway and walked to the door.) He didn't want to come in, and although he started to come up the front steps, he then turned and ran down the sidewalk. I put everything I was carrying down and walked back out. I never said a word. I just walked toward him and he started saying, "don't spank me!" I scooped him up and started walking in the house and he's practically grabbing my face asking, "are you going to spank me? are you going to spank me mommy?" I never answered. I set him down inside and told him we needed to wash our hands. This was the first time ever he didn't fight me on that.
Then I sat down at the computer for a minute. He came in, picked up a toy and threw it across the room. I didn't acknowledge him. He leaves and I hear him say, "Stop that attitude!" and he slammed my door. I didn't do anything. Then a minute later he opens the door gently and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry I slammed the door." I immediately turned around with a smile on my face and said, 'thank you' as I opened my arms for a hug. Then he had my undivided attention. He told me that he threw a toy on the floor. I said, "I know, I heard you do it." Then he told me he yelled and slammed the door. I said, "Yes, I heard that too." Then he told me he said 'sorry' and I smiled big again and said, "Yes! And I appreciate that." He told me he was "ready to cooperate."
Then he called me into his room and asked for a couple of toys that were up high in his closet. I got them down for him. He asked me to build something for him and I asked him if he could try. He told me he couldn't try. So I said, "well then why should I? If you're not going to try, then I'm not going to try either." Guess what? He started building some pretty neat things and showing them to me. I commended him for trying and said, "see! see what happens when you try!" He just smiled and laughed as he played with his inventions.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Another new school
Sunday I bought a small trampoline from another lady in town. She even delivered it. I left it outside at first but when we were listening to the meeting by phone (Ted has bronchitis and Andrew is coughing) Andrew was just too noisy. So I brought it in. He got all excited, "Is that for me?!!" It took less than five minutes for him to start jumping from the trampoline to the couch and vise versa. He is really enjoying having it.
Well, we made it a full three years before he got sick to the point of vomiting. Not sure what caused it. He's had a cough for a couple of weeks like everyone else we know, but hasn't ever acted sick. Monday morning at 2:28a.m. I awoke to him crying hysterically for daddy. I ran in there and calmed him down and asked him what he needed. He calmly said, "I need a drink." I said, "Okay, I'll get you a drink." He burped.. and then all of a sudden started throwing up over and over. I yelled to Ted to come help me. He brought some towels and when there was a pause, he ran Andrew to the bathroom. I got everything cleaned up, got him some water to rinse his mouth with, and some juice to drink. Then it was back to bed. The entire incident was only about 35 minutes from start to finish and we were back in bed.
He was talking around 4:30, babbling a bit at 5, and up at 6:30. He said he was feeling fine and wanted to go to school, but it didn't seem right. So... he missed his first day of school. I'm glad I kept him home. He cuddled into a pillow on the couch around 12:15 and I stroked his head and then laid on the floor. I checked at 12:30 and he was asleep. He woke up around 1 and moved to his bed and slept until around 3:30. He had no appetite all day which is unusual.
Tuesday morning he woke up feeling much better. He still has that lingering cough. I asked him if he wanted to go to school today or if he wanted to stay home. He said he wanted to go. A few minutes later, he let Flash inside and I overheard, "Flash kitty - you want to go to Spring Hollow?"
I have been trying to teach him to say 'no thank you' if there is something he is offered that he does not want. Well, Tuesday morning, I was the one being corrected. I was sitting on the potty and Andrew came in and offered me an envelope with sticky tape on it. I told him, "I'm on the potty, I don't want that right now." He turned to leave and then looked at me and in a low tone said, "no thank you." I smiled and said, "yes, you're right. No thank you is a much nicer way to say that."
He seemed to enjoy his first day at Spring Hollow Early Learning Center. Before getting off the front steps, he had to double check that I was not going to leave him at the school alone. I told him I would stay for a little while and I wouldn't leave until he felt settled. He double checked again before sitting in his car seat. It felt a bit overwhelming when we got there. Lots of kids and parents and activity. Andrew was being a bit bashful and really just wanted to play with the wooden car tracks alone. A few people came to introduce themselves but Andrew made minimal conversation and went back to what he was doing. At circle time (to get their day started) he was a little chatterbox at first, but as more kids collected to the circle and things started getting more organized, he clammed up and observed.
Soon the kids were allowed to choose their activities. Andrew was trying to play with the wooden tracks again. The elevator of the garage wasn't working so the teacher gave him a screw driver, they took it apart, analyzed how to fix it, and put it back together. He really liked that. Then all of a sudden he announced, "I want my rain boots." He was very confused about where his belongings were. He was checking his lunchbox looking for his raincoat. I helped him locate his raincoat and went outside and showed him where his rainboots were. He wanted to ride the bikes so I got a helmet for him and off he went. After one ride along the sidewalk, I asked him if I could go home now and come back at 3 o'clock to get him. He said 'yes.' I went inside to talk to the teacher briefly, and then asked again when I came out. He said I could leave!
They said he was playful and seemed to fit in just fine over the course of the day. I was told he was the only child who said, "may I please be excused" after finishing his lunch. They were in circle time for reflection when I got there. When he saw me, he came running out and said he wanted to go home with a big smile on his face. I told him we'd leave in a little bit, but he could finish in circle time. Then he decided he didn't really want to go home, he wanted to stay and play. It took some convincing for him to realize - everyone - was going home. I told him he'd be back on Friday.
Tuesday evening I was exhausted and volunteered the idea that we all sit on the couch to eat our homemade nachos/taco salads and watch a movie. At one point, Ted asked him if he was finished chewing the bite in his mouth. He started to pretend chewing to avoid taking another bite right away!
He's so silly. But I'd say his first day at school was a success. He was even pleasant all evening despite the changes and having no nap.
Well, we made it a full three years before he got sick to the point of vomiting. Not sure what caused it. He's had a cough for a couple of weeks like everyone else we know, but hasn't ever acted sick. Monday morning at 2:28a.m. I awoke to him crying hysterically for daddy. I ran in there and calmed him down and asked him what he needed. He calmly said, "I need a drink." I said, "Okay, I'll get you a drink." He burped.. and then all of a sudden started throwing up over and over. I yelled to Ted to come help me. He brought some towels and when there was a pause, he ran Andrew to the bathroom. I got everything cleaned up, got him some water to rinse his mouth with, and some juice to drink. Then it was back to bed. The entire incident was only about 35 minutes from start to finish and we were back in bed.
He was talking around 4:30, babbling a bit at 5, and up at 6:30. He said he was feeling fine and wanted to go to school, but it didn't seem right. So... he missed his first day of school. I'm glad I kept him home. He cuddled into a pillow on the couch around 12:15 and I stroked his head and then laid on the floor. I checked at 12:30 and he was asleep. He woke up around 1 and moved to his bed and slept until around 3:30. He had no appetite all day which is unusual.
Tuesday morning he woke up feeling much better. He still has that lingering cough. I asked him if he wanted to go to school today or if he wanted to stay home. He said he wanted to go. A few minutes later, he let Flash inside and I overheard, "Flash kitty - you want to go to Spring Hollow?"
I have been trying to teach him to say 'no thank you' if there is something he is offered that he does not want. Well, Tuesday morning, I was the one being corrected. I was sitting on the potty and Andrew came in and offered me an envelope with sticky tape on it. I told him, "I'm on the potty, I don't want that right now." He turned to leave and then looked at me and in a low tone said, "no thank you." I smiled and said, "yes, you're right. No thank you is a much nicer way to say that."
He seemed to enjoy his first day at Spring Hollow Early Learning Center. Before getting off the front steps, he had to double check that I was not going to leave him at the school alone. I told him I would stay for a little while and I wouldn't leave until he felt settled. He double checked again before sitting in his car seat. It felt a bit overwhelming when we got there. Lots of kids and parents and activity. Andrew was being a bit bashful and really just wanted to play with the wooden car tracks alone. A few people came to introduce themselves but Andrew made minimal conversation and went back to what he was doing. At circle time (to get their day started) he was a little chatterbox at first, but as more kids collected to the circle and things started getting more organized, he clammed up and observed.
Soon the kids were allowed to choose their activities. Andrew was trying to play with the wooden tracks again. The elevator of the garage wasn't working so the teacher gave him a screw driver, they took it apart, analyzed how to fix it, and put it back together. He really liked that. Then all of a sudden he announced, "I want my rain boots." He was very confused about where his belongings were. He was checking his lunchbox looking for his raincoat. I helped him locate his raincoat and went outside and showed him where his rainboots were. He wanted to ride the bikes so I got a helmet for him and off he went. After one ride along the sidewalk, I asked him if I could go home now and come back at 3 o'clock to get him. He said 'yes.' I went inside to talk to the teacher briefly, and then asked again when I came out. He said I could leave!
They said he was playful and seemed to fit in just fine over the course of the day. I was told he was the only child who said, "may I please be excused" after finishing his lunch. They were in circle time for reflection when I got there. When he saw me, he came running out and said he wanted to go home with a big smile on his face. I told him we'd leave in a little bit, but he could finish in circle time. Then he decided he didn't really want to go home, he wanted to stay and play. It took some convincing for him to realize - everyone - was going home. I told him he'd be back on Friday.
Tuesday evening I was exhausted and volunteered the idea that we all sit on the couch to eat our homemade nachos/taco salads and watch a movie. At one point, Ted asked him if he was finished chewing the bite in his mouth. He started to pretend chewing to avoid taking another bite right away!
He's so silly. But I'd say his first day at school was a success. He was even pleasant all evening despite the changes and having no nap.
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