Daddy bought Andrew a new kite.. a good kite. It looks like Kipper the dog. We've actually had several windy days that have allowed him to try and fly it.
On April 11th he got to start his trial kindergarten. He was awake at 5am ready to start the day - he said he didn't want to be late. We arrived early to meet the teacher and see the room before any chaos. He started off excited and slowly melted into me, getting more nervous as we waited to meet her. She was super nice and showed us around. When she said it was time to say goodbye to me and walk back to the classroom, he barely batted an eye. I hugged him and told him what time I'd be back. I watched as he walked next to her down a long long hallway. He glanced behind and waved at me and then kept talking to her. Jamie Vaal popped in to see him a little later and said he was all smiles and doing well. He came home with the work he did in class. They had reading/writing and math - all of which he was able to do with no problem. (and here they are at the end of their school year; K is going to be so boring for him!) He told me he had fun and said the other kids are "really smart AND nice. They didn't show me their penis and I didn't show them mine." And that he said no to the M&M's because they had food coloring. I'm so proud of him.
He has been happily telling everyone "I am in Pre-K AND Kindergarten!"
I have SUCH A GREAT KID - I love him SO MUCH!
He has a new favorite sushi roll. The Crazy roll from Fulins (it's our favorite too!) We go out to dinner together and try to invite friends after the meeting on Sunday. Two weeks ago we went to Fulins so he could get his crazy roll he'd been asking for. He ate 1-1/2 crab rangoon, two pieces of pineapple, some noodles, and the entire crazy roll plus one bite of daddy's roll. I dont know where he puts it!
April 14th he was very excited to go to the Memorial since it was held at the UAW hall instead of Kingdom Hall. He LOVES visiting new places. He sat in the row behind us with Samantha. We suggested he sit with us when it was time to pass the emblems but they were faster than him so he missed passing the bread. But he did a good job passing the wine. He had a lot of fun playing with his friends. Afterward, he got very upset that Sam wouldn't let him be in their family picture. lol
As we were leaving, Logan Stockholm held the door open for us and he and Andrew kind of bumped into each other. Andrew turned around and with a mean attitude yelled, "watch it!" I have *never* heard him speak that way before! I was mortified but at the same time all of us wanted to laugh because it's so not expected from him!
Unfortunately - another day, Ted and Andrew were in O'Reillys Auto Part store. Andrew was playing in an aisle and when another customer walked through the aisle, Andrew rudely said, "Get out of my way." Ted scolded him - but we're not really sure where this new way of talking is coming from.
April 16th - he didn't want to wake up to go to school. The teacher said he went out like a light and he was still asleep when I got there at 2:20 to pick him up. I let him sleep until 2:30. He has been asking if he can do the easter egg hunt at school knowing we don't celebrate easter. We've talked a little bit about it with him. The teacher asked me about it - knowing we wouldn't want him to participate. She suggested he just stay with teachers and I offered to send some candy with him that he could have to feel special. She said that would be fine. Then she told me that he's told her that we are making M&M cookies together on Friday and that is a special activity to him that he's looking forward to and knows that we do special things randomly - not just for holidays.
When we got home, we built a helicopter with his snap blocks. Then he discovered an unopened barbie doll in my studio. I was intending to give it to a girl in the hall but he begged me to let him play with it "because she is lovely." He asked if it was princess Belle and I told him he could name her anything he wanted. He chose "Modern Major General." Later he named her Belle Modern Major General.
Saturday 19th - We made cookies with M&Ms and chocolate chips. They were delicious! I put Raw food vanilla protein powder and shredded coconut in them too. A little later, Samantha Pingle came over to play for a few hours. They play so well together. We had Parker over a week or two ago and they seemed to have no real interest in playing with each other and it felt more stressful than fun on Andrew (and us). It seems like Sam is his best playmate and she is 7 and lives 35-40 minutes away.
When my nephew Colt was 2.5, I bought several Winnie the Pooh books that have friendly underlying lessons in them. Andrew LOVES them right now. Every night he asks to read one before bed, and sometimes randomly throughout the day too.
He has somehow got into a habit of having four "loveys" at bedtime. Two blankets, a stuffed yellow dog, and a stuffed brown bear that was mine as a kid. He will not go to sleep unless he has all four. He is no longer allowed to have loveys at school. He kept putting the blanket he had behind his neck which is a hazard since he could turn in his sleep and strangle himself. And if he took a stuffed toy he'd only play with it. So, he only gets the quilt Nana made for him.
Andrew has also decided he no longer wants to eat breakfast at school. I'm guessing it's because the kids who eat breakfast go into a different classroom to eat - and he probably feels he is missing out on playing in his homeroom.
On Tuesday April 22nd, Daddy worked from home and was able to go get Andrew registered to start Kindergarten in August.
He randomly tells me "I love you" all the time. And he begs me to stay with him just a few minutes at bedtime after prayer and lights out. "I promise I'll fall asleep quickly." I will lie with him just a moment
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
"I think I kinda love her"
I haven't had much time to keep this updated. We had the circuit assembly March 22nd and 23rd. I was really sick with pain that Saturday so we only made the Sunday session. On that Saturday, a new Green Machine bike arrived for him. He and daddy assembled it after nap and then took it for a spin. On Sunday, cousin Kaleb got to sit with us the entire day and the two of them really enjoyed that.
Sunday March 30, we sat in the same row as the Pingles so he and Samantha could sit together. They both enjoyed that and were very good, drawing pictures and writing notes to each other. Early in the meeting I had to go to the bathroom to fix my dress and Jennifer Pingle was in there doing the same. Andrew was telling her that he had a heart cut-out that he colored and gave to Samantha. "You know why I gave it to her? Because I think I kinda love her."
April 1st it was 80 degrees out, so I picked Andrew up early so we could play outside before I had to make dinner and do homework. I had to wake him from his nap (he hardly ever naps at school anymore, but of course the day I come earlier than 2:30, he's asleep.) We came home and had a cupcake treat and then played outside. He rode his Green Machine for a bit and then asked if I would play ball with him. He got the tennis racket and ball. The very first throw he hit it and it went high and hit the side of the house and bounced back behind me. "Wow! Did you see what I did? I'm inVINCible!" I have to say, he did really well hitting the ball regardless of where I threw it!
Then he wanted to try climbing the tree. So I put him on the bottom branch and he stood up. He didn't really have anywhere to go and an itty bitty spider made him nervous. But I was proud of him for trying it out anyway. I didn't have my camera.
At dinner we had grilled chicken, asparagus, and garlic bread. The only way he'd eat all of it is by dipping it in a plate of olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar.... but he ate his entire plate!
After stories at bedtime, I kissed him goodnight. Then I hustled back in to him and gave him a tight hug and lots more kisses and told him that I love him so much and think he is so wonderful and I hope he sleeps well. He said, "Awww. You're lovely. You're my girl."
Sunday March 30, we sat in the same row as the Pingles so he and Samantha could sit together. They both enjoyed that and were very good, drawing pictures and writing notes to each other. Early in the meeting I had to go to the bathroom to fix my dress and Jennifer Pingle was in there doing the same. Andrew was telling her that he had a heart cut-out that he colored and gave to Samantha. "You know why I gave it to her? Because I think I kinda love her."
April 1st it was 80 degrees out, so I picked Andrew up early so we could play outside before I had to make dinner and do homework. I had to wake him from his nap (he hardly ever naps at school anymore, but of course the day I come earlier than 2:30, he's asleep.) We came home and had a cupcake treat and then played outside. He rode his Green Machine for a bit and then asked if I would play ball with him. He got the tennis racket and ball. The very first throw he hit it and it went high and hit the side of the house and bounced back behind me. "Wow! Did you see what I did? I'm inVINCible!" I have to say, he did really well hitting the ball regardless of where I threw it!
Then he wanted to try climbing the tree. So I put him on the bottom branch and he stood up. He didn't really have anywhere to go and an itty bitty spider made him nervous. But I was proud of him for trying it out anyway. I didn't have my camera.
At dinner we had grilled chicken, asparagus, and garlic bread. The only way he'd eat all of it is by dipping it in a plate of olive oil, garlic, and balsamic vinegar.... but he ate his entire plate!
After stories at bedtime, I kissed him goodnight. Then I hustled back in to him and gave him a tight hug and lots more kisses and told him that I love him so much and think he is so wonderful and I hope he sleeps well. He said, "Awww. You're lovely. You're my girl."
Monday, March 17, 2014
Such a Sweetie Pie
I came home late from a really long day at school. I told Ted that I
had just hit someone's cat with the car and started crying. Andrew
jumped up from his table and ran to his room. He came back with his
teddy bear and offered it to me to make me feel better. I thanked him
and he asked me if I wanted to keep it. I told him his hug was enough
for me. He said, "He's soft!" I rubbed his cheek and said, "You're soft
too!" He giggled and fell into me. He's such a sweetheart.
We had our first toilet retrieval. One morning Ted and I were sleeping in and Andrew came in to tell me that there was a coin in the toilet that needed to come out. I told him to leave it for now and just use our bathroom. Sure enough, he'd dropped a dime in the toilet. I washed it and set it on the counter. He was so excited to discover it the next time he went in to his bathroom.
Poor munchkin had one day of constantly getting hurt. I think he wasn't feeling great but still had energy. He fell and got hurt what felt like every 20-60 minutes of the day. At one point he was coming across the back deck saying, "bad decision, bad decision" and right before he got to me, he tripped over a rake and got hurt all over again. We never did find out what that bad decision was.
I suggested to Ted that we start doing one or two paragraphs of the Watchtower lesson every night so that he'll feel more a part of the meeting and hopefully understand more. So far, that is going well and Andrew is able to answer the questions.
I picked Andrew up from school but forgot to get a thermos or snack for him to have before leaving the house in the morning. As he was getting in the car he asked, "What did you bring me?" I suggested we go to Whole Foods where he could pick out a snack (I know this is going to bite me later as he will no doubt suggest that as an option if he ever dislikes the snack brought along) He loved the idea. He got excited to see a display of strawberries as we entered. I put some in his little cart and he said, "but I don't want those as my snack!" I told him they weren't for his snack and then put some beets in his cart too. He was about to get upset so I told him, "I promise - we will not leave this store without a snack YOU pick." He cheered up and was very patient and cooperative as we wandered the store. Early in he saw things he liked but wasn't sure he wanted to settle for. I told him he knew they were there and we could always come back for them if he still wanted them once we'd gone through the entire store. When we got to the yogurts, they were on sale. I picked him up so he could reach any that he wanted and let him put them in the cart. He loved that. I let him pick a string cheese to have a snack, let him pick one cookie from the cookie display too. Oddly enough, he didn't actually pick a cookie - he picked a cheddar biscuit that looked like a cookie (which he decided he didn't like after half of it.) And then I let him choose a drink: a local dairy's chocolate milk. We picked out some more grocery items and then headed to check out. He liked putting half the cart on the conveyor for me. He was SO GOOD and cooperative, and kind, and respectful. Very enjoyable trip together.
On the way home, he asked what road we were on. I showed him Pope's Chapel Rd on the GPS. He thought the word Pope was hilarious.
Andrew was sitting up in bed hitting his mattress. I came in and he had pushed his comforter to the foot of the bed and thrown his bear, dog, and blankies on the floor. I asked him why he was upset.... "because I bit my lip and I want someone in here with me." I tucked him all back in and laid next to him, then rubbed his head, face, arms, and hands. Then he told me he wasn't going to fall asleep because of noises. "Can you guys try and not make noise. Both of you. Sometimes you make noise that wakes me up." I apologized and assured him we try to be quiet (I do anyways)
Thursday daddy gave Andrew an Armitron toy like he had as a kid. He was SO excited to have it. He likes that it is loud and that he can pick up legos and other toys with it. On Friday I saw a small toy plane, Dusty Crophopper from the movie Planes (Andrew loves that movie) at Kroger and got it for him. I told him that because he's been so nice, kind, obedient, and cooperative, that I wanted to get him that toy. He flew it around a bit, and held it while getting to watch the movie that evening too. He also hooked it up to the armitron wires and said that it was filling the plane with air.
Saturday I had a migraine just about all day. I tried to go out in service but had to cut out an hour short and go to bed. Daddy brought home some bbq because I'd been craving a bbq sandwich all morning. He got other things instead though. One too hard to eat and the other didn't taste right to me. So the boys took Daddy's truck back into town just to get me a sandwich. On the way home, Andrew said, "You didn't have to buy her a new sandwich. I'd have shared mine!" Such a sweetie.
Later Andrew came tiptoeing into my room to bring me a huge dandelion he picked out of the yard. He kissed my hands a few times trying to make me feel better too. At one point though, he brought me his notepad. He had written "I want a toy" on it. I reminded him he got two new toys this week.
In the evening I took a long bath. Halfway through, Andrew got in too. I turned my back to him and he watered my hair. Then he kept squeezing the water out and twisting half my hair. He got frustrated and asked how to twist my hair up. He said I take two sides and twist them into one. He was wanting to know how to braid my hair! I showed him that it takes three cords of hair and that I'll teach him another day on a doll maybe.
Ted said, "Andrew! .... I love you." Andrew replied, "Daddy! ....." "What Andrew?" "Nothing." and then Andrew laughed because he knew daddy was expecting an I love you back.
Sunday he was up super early. He sat and played games on his ipad until we got up. Later in the morning he had a breakdown of some sort. He decided he didn't want any of his toys anymore. He put away all his legos, all his trains.. everything got cleared and put away. He did put some of the wooden train track back on his table, but that was it. He said he wanted to sell all his "baby toys" and get new ones (he says that every couple of months anyway). I explained to him that none of the toys he was looking at were baby toys, but he was welcome to put them away for a while, but we were not getting new toys. We talked about the importance of taking care of our toys too. I gave him an example of a time when I didn't take care of something I really liked having and once it was gone - there was no getting it back, no getting a new one. He decided he'd keep his stuff afterall. But we also learned that he just needed to eat and he'd feel better. I gave him some carrot sticks and ranch to munch on while I made him a half peanut butter jelly and half peanut butter honey per his request. He was a much happier kiddo after getting lunch! He tried to take a nap but 30 minute later came out all chipper asking if he could stay up. I told him he could, but he should go read a few books as his quiet time. He did, and was very pleased to have read three big books himself.
We had our first toilet retrieval. One morning Ted and I were sleeping in and Andrew came in to tell me that there was a coin in the toilet that needed to come out. I told him to leave it for now and just use our bathroom. Sure enough, he'd dropped a dime in the toilet. I washed it and set it on the counter. He was so excited to discover it the next time he went in to his bathroom.
Poor munchkin had one day of constantly getting hurt. I think he wasn't feeling great but still had energy. He fell and got hurt what felt like every 20-60 minutes of the day. At one point he was coming across the back deck saying, "bad decision, bad decision" and right before he got to me, he tripped over a rake and got hurt all over again. We never did find out what that bad decision was.
I suggested to Ted that we start doing one or two paragraphs of the Watchtower lesson every night so that he'll feel more a part of the meeting and hopefully understand more. So far, that is going well and Andrew is able to answer the questions.
I picked Andrew up from school but forgot to get a thermos or snack for him to have before leaving the house in the morning. As he was getting in the car he asked, "What did you bring me?" I suggested we go to Whole Foods where he could pick out a snack (I know this is going to bite me later as he will no doubt suggest that as an option if he ever dislikes the snack brought along) He loved the idea. He got excited to see a display of strawberries as we entered. I put some in his little cart and he said, "but I don't want those as my snack!" I told him they weren't for his snack and then put some beets in his cart too. He was about to get upset so I told him, "I promise - we will not leave this store without a snack YOU pick." He cheered up and was very patient and cooperative as we wandered the store. Early in he saw things he liked but wasn't sure he wanted to settle for. I told him he knew they were there and we could always come back for them if he still wanted them once we'd gone through the entire store. When we got to the yogurts, they were on sale. I picked him up so he could reach any that he wanted and let him put them in the cart. He loved that. I let him pick a string cheese to have a snack, let him pick one cookie from the cookie display too. Oddly enough, he didn't actually pick a cookie - he picked a cheddar biscuit that looked like a cookie (which he decided he didn't like after half of it.) And then I let him choose a drink: a local dairy's chocolate milk. We picked out some more grocery items and then headed to check out. He liked putting half the cart on the conveyor for me. He was SO GOOD and cooperative, and kind, and respectful. Very enjoyable trip together.
On the way home, he asked what road we were on. I showed him Pope's Chapel Rd on the GPS. He thought the word Pope was hilarious.
Andrew was sitting up in bed hitting his mattress. I came in and he had pushed his comforter to the foot of the bed and thrown his bear, dog, and blankies on the floor. I asked him why he was upset.... "because I bit my lip and I want someone in here with me." I tucked him all back in and laid next to him, then rubbed his head, face, arms, and hands. Then he told me he wasn't going to fall asleep because of noises. "Can you guys try and not make noise. Both of you. Sometimes you make noise that wakes me up." I apologized and assured him we try to be quiet (I do anyways)
Thursday daddy gave Andrew an Armitron toy like he had as a kid. He was SO excited to have it. He likes that it is loud and that he can pick up legos and other toys with it. On Friday I saw a small toy plane, Dusty Crophopper from the movie Planes (Andrew loves that movie) at Kroger and got it for him. I told him that because he's been so nice, kind, obedient, and cooperative, that I wanted to get him that toy. He flew it around a bit, and held it while getting to watch the movie that evening too. He also hooked it up to the armitron wires and said that it was filling the plane with air.
Saturday I had a migraine just about all day. I tried to go out in service but had to cut out an hour short and go to bed. Daddy brought home some bbq because I'd been craving a bbq sandwich all morning. He got other things instead though. One too hard to eat and the other didn't taste right to me. So the boys took Daddy's truck back into town just to get me a sandwich. On the way home, Andrew said, "You didn't have to buy her a new sandwich. I'd have shared mine!" Such a sweetie.
Later Andrew came tiptoeing into my room to bring me a huge dandelion he picked out of the yard. He kissed my hands a few times trying to make me feel better too. At one point though, he brought me his notepad. He had written "I want a toy" on it. I reminded him he got two new toys this week.
In the evening I took a long bath. Halfway through, Andrew got in too. I turned my back to him and he watered my hair. Then he kept squeezing the water out and twisting half my hair. He got frustrated and asked how to twist my hair up. He said I take two sides and twist them into one. He was wanting to know how to braid my hair! I showed him that it takes three cords of hair and that I'll teach him another day on a doll maybe.
Ted said, "Andrew! .... I love you." Andrew replied, "Daddy! ....." "What Andrew?" "Nothing." and then Andrew laughed because he knew daddy was expecting an I love you back.
Sunday he was up super early. He sat and played games on his ipad until we got up. Later in the morning he had a breakdown of some sort. He decided he didn't want any of his toys anymore. He put away all his legos, all his trains.. everything got cleared and put away. He did put some of the wooden train track back on his table, but that was it. He said he wanted to sell all his "baby toys" and get new ones (he says that every couple of months anyway). I explained to him that none of the toys he was looking at were baby toys, but he was welcome to put them away for a while, but we were not getting new toys. We talked about the importance of taking care of our toys too. I gave him an example of a time when I didn't take care of something I really liked having and once it was gone - there was no getting it back, no getting a new one. He decided he'd keep his stuff afterall. But we also learned that he just needed to eat and he'd feel better. I gave him some carrot sticks and ranch to munch on while I made him a half peanut butter jelly and half peanut butter honey per his request. He was a much happier kiddo after getting lunch! He tried to take a nap but 30 minute later came out all chipper asking if he could stay up. I told him he could, but he should go read a few books as his quiet time. He did, and was very pleased to have read three big books himself.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Balderdash
Andrew asks me nearly every week if I am a massage therapist yet. I generally say no that I'm not licensed for it yet, that I'm still learning; I'll be one hopefully in June. He still asks anyway so finally I just said, "yes. I am." He responded, "Wow! That's crazy awesome."
Thursday evening we were expecting storms that could produce tornados. Andrew had trouble falling asleep because of the lightning and thunder - but when the hail crashed against the windows and house it was rather frightening. We all huddled in the laundry room. My laundry basket was full of blankets and sheets that I had used at school - so he crawled on top of that to stay comfy and warm as we watched the weather on daddy's phone. Once it past, we sent him back to bed but I had to lie there with him for a while to keep him calm. Even the next night he was worried there would be another storm and that he'd see scary lightning outside his window. I assured him he was safe and the storm had moved on.
Friday evening we were in the kitchen and I commented that the ligaments in my rear end hurt. Andrew piped up, "How about the red light?" as he reached for it to hand it to me. Boy is he trained already!
Saturday was mild weather again so after service, the boys met up with the Pingles and Lafferty's at the park to play for a couple of hours.
One day recently he came up to me, "mom look at this!" then he bent his knees a bit and started shaking his knees back and forth with his hands out to his side. It was hysterical and he had the biggest smile while doing this performance.
I dont know if I got through to him on this or not. Lately, if he does something he knows is not right he says he's sorry and claims he was just kidding or it was an accident. That's all well and fine. But he seems to think that if he is disobedient or is told no he can't have something, all he has to do is say 'i'm sorry' and everything is okay and he can have what he wants. I was really frustrated with him Sunday morning because he wasn't listening when I'd ask him to stop doing something - he'd sit there, still doing it, and questioning why I'm telling him to stop. I finally took away what it was and he said he was sorry repeatedly. I gave him a piece of paper and told him to tear it in half. He thought it was a fun game and tore it. I said, "now say you're sorry to it." He laughed and said sorry to the torn paper. I asked him, "Is it fixed now? Is it okay and back together?" His laugh dwindled to a slight smile as he said no it was still torn. I told him that while saying sorry is nice and appropriate - it doesn't actually fix anything. And if he doesn't listen to me immediately - I cannot keep him safe or trust him. I asked him if he went running in the road and I yelled stop and he didn't listen, and then he got run over by a car - would saying, "I'm sorry" make him feel better and everything be okay. He said no. I reminded him that not every time is it going to be as serious or involve him getting hurt - but I still need him to listen and obey immediately. He can ask questions later.
Andrew loves playing rhyming games in the car - thinking of a word and seeing how many others we can come up with that rhyme. Occasionally, though, he will make up a word and when you say it's not a word, he says, "yes it is...." and proceeds to make up a definition for it. I can't remember the word he gave but the definition was fur that is yellow mixed with gray. Another word he created is when 'you try to make a dinosaur out of string.' And with that one he also went on to tell a story about trying to do just that and all the crazy things that happened or couldn't happen. He has such an astounding imagination but speaks about it as if it's all factual and relevant. He will definitely be good at the game Balderdash when he gets older - where you have to create a definition for a real word and convince people it's right.
Andrew loves outer space. Ever since he could talk he'd been asking when we get to go to the moon. Since the air and space museum, he's even asked if we go back there, can he take a rocket to the moon. I hate telling him (but do anyway) that it's very unlikely that he'll get to go to the moon because they just don't send a lot of people up there anymore, and robots can do a lot of the work and exploration that gets done. He remains hopeful as he asks, "Well, can't I just be a kid astronaut? Can I go up in space as a kid?" I told him he can visit outer space as often as he'd like to in his imagination, but that might be as close as he gets. Then he told me that there are aliens in outer space.
Thursday evening we were expecting storms that could produce tornados. Andrew had trouble falling asleep because of the lightning and thunder - but when the hail crashed against the windows and house it was rather frightening. We all huddled in the laundry room. My laundry basket was full of blankets and sheets that I had used at school - so he crawled on top of that to stay comfy and warm as we watched the weather on daddy's phone. Once it past, we sent him back to bed but I had to lie there with him for a while to keep him calm. Even the next night he was worried there would be another storm and that he'd see scary lightning outside his window. I assured him he was safe and the storm had moved on.
Friday evening we were in the kitchen and I commented that the ligaments in my rear end hurt. Andrew piped up, "How about the red light?" as he reached for it to hand it to me. Boy is he trained already!
Saturday was mild weather again so after service, the boys met up with the Pingles and Lafferty's at the park to play for a couple of hours.
One day recently he came up to me, "mom look at this!" then he bent his knees a bit and started shaking his knees back and forth with his hands out to his side. It was hysterical and he had the biggest smile while doing this performance.
I dont know if I got through to him on this or not. Lately, if he does something he knows is not right he says he's sorry and claims he was just kidding or it was an accident. That's all well and fine. But he seems to think that if he is disobedient or is told no he can't have something, all he has to do is say 'i'm sorry' and everything is okay and he can have what he wants. I was really frustrated with him Sunday morning because he wasn't listening when I'd ask him to stop doing something - he'd sit there, still doing it, and questioning why I'm telling him to stop. I finally took away what it was and he said he was sorry repeatedly. I gave him a piece of paper and told him to tear it in half. He thought it was a fun game and tore it. I said, "now say you're sorry to it." He laughed and said sorry to the torn paper. I asked him, "Is it fixed now? Is it okay and back together?" His laugh dwindled to a slight smile as he said no it was still torn. I told him that while saying sorry is nice and appropriate - it doesn't actually fix anything. And if he doesn't listen to me immediately - I cannot keep him safe or trust him. I asked him if he went running in the road and I yelled stop and he didn't listen, and then he got run over by a car - would saying, "I'm sorry" make him feel better and everything be okay. He said no. I reminded him that not every time is it going to be as serious or involve him getting hurt - but I still need him to listen and obey immediately. He can ask questions later.
Andrew loves playing rhyming games in the car - thinking of a word and seeing how many others we can come up with that rhyme. Occasionally, though, he will make up a word and when you say it's not a word, he says, "yes it is...." and proceeds to make up a definition for it. I can't remember the word he gave but the definition was fur that is yellow mixed with gray. Another word he created is when 'you try to make a dinosaur out of string.' And with that one he also went on to tell a story about trying to do just that and all the crazy things that happened or couldn't happen. He has such an astounding imagination but speaks about it as if it's all factual and relevant. He will definitely be good at the game Balderdash when he gets older - where you have to create a definition for a real word and convince people it's right.
Andrew loves outer space. Ever since he could talk he'd been asking when we get to go to the moon. Since the air and space museum, he's even asked if we go back there, can he take a rocket to the moon. I hate telling him (but do anyway) that it's very unlikely that he'll get to go to the moon because they just don't send a lot of people up there anymore, and robots can do a lot of the work and exploration that gets done. He remains hopeful as he asks, "Well, can't I just be a kid astronaut? Can I go up in space as a kid?" I told him he can visit outer space as often as he'd like to in his imagination, but that might be as close as he gets. Then he told me that there are aliens in outer space.
Friday, February 14, 2014
"Can I talk to you a lot?"
There have been a few times lately when Andrew is on his ipad and asks "how do you spell ___? Don't spell it fast!" And he is typing the letters as I say them. It turns out, his ipad gives him previews of new games to get parents to download, and he had opened up a memo pad and was typing out the names of each game he wanted us to consider downloading for him. He made the list all on his own!
Monday February 3rd, he had his first lesson with the new violin teacher (remember, more serious and not as fun and games) He told her "I already know how to play the violin." She changed his bow hold and also how he was holding the violin. He has to practice the bow hold, and also holding his violin with his chin with no hand use. She said he appears to be a fast learner though. She would lead him when using the bow, and then held her finger at his elbow and said, "okay, don't hit my finger with your elbow" and he immediately had proper form when playing. He also kept trying to sit down in the chair as much as possible (so that will be gone next week) and he kept watching in the mirrors that are on two walls (so they will be facing the opposite direction next time). I had to remind him that he needs to listen and obey the new teacher and do things her way. She told him that even though he knows how to do some things - she's going to get him to do it better. It will be interesting whatever happens.
On the way home from the grocery store, "Mom, I love you all the way from Earth, to the Moon, to Jupiter, to Mars, to Saturn, and back to Earth."
We were driving home from school and Andrew asked if we could stop and skate through the woods. Then he picked out a field he wanted to play in. I told him that neither were options and explained trespassing and property ownership. I told him that Nana had woods we could walk through sometime. He asked when we could go. Then he contrived a story telling me that he and daddy need to buy a red and green racecar for him and daddy. I had to have a pink one. He told me just how fast it could go and that it would be a little faster than the pink car, because pink cars can't go as fast as red and green ones. He'd race it to Nana's house. Then he wants to pull over on the side of the road and skate through the woods looking for animals that are supposed to live in woods. Like coyotes and yaks. lol Though Yaks are more commonly found in Massachusetts he said.
Also while on the way home we passed a cement truck. "Mom, can daddy and I buy a cement truck?" I told him we don't need one and we talked about what they are for. He said he wanted to build a skate park. I told him we had no place for one. He said, "I have a big back yard! There is space there!" I told him I liked having a large backyard with grass where we can run, play, host splash parties, and have a garden. I didn't want a concrete skate park in the back yard. I suggested maybe we go to a skate park some day. He agreed and reminded me we'd have to wear "skate helmets" too.
At bedtime, the boys showed me a new trick of theirs. Andrew stands on a small comforter on his bed and Ted quickly snatches the blanket out from under Andrew who lands on his back laughing hysterically and then wants to do it again and again.
Wednesday morning I was taking Andrew to school again. Usually when I'm in the car with him, it's often evening hours and we're all exhausted. So when he starts asking a million questions, or repeating strange noises and such, it gets wearisome quickly. Right away this morning he asked, "Mom, can I talk to you a lot? Like all the way to school?" I cheerily said, "Absolutely!" And when I answered one question he'd tell me, "okay, I'm gonna keep talking now" and tell me stories or ask more questions. I wish I could remember all the conversation. All in all, a pleasant ride to school.
He was assigned his third bible reading for Wednesday night. He worked SO hard on it - it had some big names. But he read it beautifully when he practiced, though he was a little stressed about trying to make sure he read it all in 4 minutes (which he did, barely, but it was practically perfect!) He didn't have time to lose his place or get tongue tied and he knew that himself. And he'd been begging to skip going out for ice cream just to have friends come home with him to play after the meeting. he is so desperate for people to play with. I think he was a little relieved when the meeting got cancelled due to ice. We let him have ice cream and a movie in honor of his working so hard on that reading.
Thursday night I was lying next to him talking for a couple of minutes. I started massaging his scalp hoping it'd help him relax to fall asleep quickly. "I love you mom. Thank you for doing the Bars on me." I said, "I'm not doing the Bars on you, I'm massaging your head." He replied, "Oh! That's nice. I love you mom, thank you for massaging my head."
Passing a field, "Are those cows, or yaks (pronounced Yee-acks and no we did not teach him that) ?" Cows. "What if they were ye-aks! What if we could smell a ye-ak! That would be yee-uuuck!"
Friday he and daddy dropped me off at an appointment and then went further down the road to play at Chik Fil A. Daddy said Andrew scarfed down his food and had a wonderful time playing and making new friends. Almost more interested in having a friend to talk to and play with than playing in general. They came back to pick me up and Andrew asked questions all the way home. Then we played a little bit and read a story together. He likes the Winnie the Pooh books that I bought when my nephew Colt was three.... I think that was almost thirteen years ago!
Andrew asked me why I get the Bars done. I told him it helps me cope with stress and allows me to stay calm and peaceful and be happy. He asked why I needed it and I told him that sometimes being an adult is stressful. "Does that mean you want to be little?" I told him no and said I just want to be a kind, loving, peaceful, mild, happy, patient adult. "Oh. Okay."
He's had a rash on his hands for over a week that keeps getting irritated. Ted said several of the kids at school have them. We think it's an allergy to the soap and they've been doing extra hand washing lately to make sure no one spreads colds and germs. Arg.
I just love this kid so much. He's so wonderful.
Monday February 3rd, he had his first lesson with the new violin teacher (remember, more serious and not as fun and games) He told her "I already know how to play the violin." She changed his bow hold and also how he was holding the violin. He has to practice the bow hold, and also holding his violin with his chin with no hand use. She said he appears to be a fast learner though. She would lead him when using the bow, and then held her finger at his elbow and said, "okay, don't hit my finger with your elbow" and he immediately had proper form when playing. He also kept trying to sit down in the chair as much as possible (so that will be gone next week) and he kept watching in the mirrors that are on two walls (so they will be facing the opposite direction next time). I had to remind him that he needs to listen and obey the new teacher and do things her way. She told him that even though he knows how to do some things - she's going to get him to do it better. It will be interesting whatever happens.
On the way home from the grocery store, "Mom, I love you all the way from Earth, to the Moon, to Jupiter, to Mars, to Saturn, and back to Earth."
We were driving home from school and Andrew asked if we could stop and skate through the woods. Then he picked out a field he wanted to play in. I told him that neither were options and explained trespassing and property ownership. I told him that Nana had woods we could walk through sometime. He asked when we could go. Then he contrived a story telling me that he and daddy need to buy a red and green racecar for him and daddy. I had to have a pink one. He told me just how fast it could go and that it would be a little faster than the pink car, because pink cars can't go as fast as red and green ones. He'd race it to Nana's house. Then he wants to pull over on the side of the road and skate through the woods looking for animals that are supposed to live in woods. Like coyotes and yaks. lol Though Yaks are more commonly found in Massachusetts he said.
Also while on the way home we passed a cement truck. "Mom, can daddy and I buy a cement truck?" I told him we don't need one and we talked about what they are for. He said he wanted to build a skate park. I told him we had no place for one. He said, "I have a big back yard! There is space there!" I told him I liked having a large backyard with grass where we can run, play, host splash parties, and have a garden. I didn't want a concrete skate park in the back yard. I suggested maybe we go to a skate park some day. He agreed and reminded me we'd have to wear "skate helmets" too.
At bedtime, the boys showed me a new trick of theirs. Andrew stands on a small comforter on his bed and Ted quickly snatches the blanket out from under Andrew who lands on his back laughing hysterically and then wants to do it again and again.
Wednesday morning I was taking Andrew to school again. Usually when I'm in the car with him, it's often evening hours and we're all exhausted. So when he starts asking a million questions, or repeating strange noises and such, it gets wearisome quickly. Right away this morning he asked, "Mom, can I talk to you a lot? Like all the way to school?" I cheerily said, "Absolutely!" And when I answered one question he'd tell me, "okay, I'm gonna keep talking now" and tell me stories or ask more questions. I wish I could remember all the conversation. All in all, a pleasant ride to school.
He was assigned his third bible reading for Wednesday night. He worked SO hard on it - it had some big names. But he read it beautifully when he practiced, though he was a little stressed about trying to make sure he read it all in 4 minutes (which he did, barely, but it was practically perfect!) He didn't have time to lose his place or get tongue tied and he knew that himself. And he'd been begging to skip going out for ice cream just to have friends come home with him to play after the meeting. he is so desperate for people to play with. I think he was a little relieved when the meeting got cancelled due to ice. We let him have ice cream and a movie in honor of his working so hard on that reading.
Thursday night I was lying next to him talking for a couple of minutes. I started massaging his scalp hoping it'd help him relax to fall asleep quickly. "I love you mom. Thank you for doing the Bars on me." I said, "I'm not doing the Bars on you, I'm massaging your head." He replied, "Oh! That's nice. I love you mom, thank you for massaging my head."
Passing a field, "Are those cows, or yaks (pronounced Yee-acks and no we did not teach him that) ?" Cows. "What if they were ye-aks! What if we could smell a ye-ak! That would be yee-uuuck!"
Friday he and daddy dropped me off at an appointment and then went further down the road to play at Chik Fil A. Daddy said Andrew scarfed down his food and had a wonderful time playing and making new friends. Almost more interested in having a friend to talk to and play with than playing in general. They came back to pick me up and Andrew asked questions all the way home. Then we played a little bit and read a story together. He likes the Winnie the Pooh books that I bought when my nephew Colt was three.... I think that was almost thirteen years ago!
Andrew asked me why I get the Bars done. I told him it helps me cope with stress and allows me to stay calm and peaceful and be happy. He asked why I needed it and I told him that sometimes being an adult is stressful. "Does that mean you want to be little?" I told him no and said I just want to be a kind, loving, peaceful, mild, happy, patient adult. "Oh. Okay."
He's had a rash on his hands for over a week that keeps getting irritated. Ted said several of the kids at school have them. We think it's an allergy to the soap and they've been doing extra hand washing lately to make sure no one spreads colds and germs. Arg.
I just love this kid so much. He's so wonderful.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
IQ results
Monday we were home together for MLK day and we decided to take Andrew to a place to play since he's been begging to be with friends or go someplace and it just hasn't been working out. He seemed fine. We took him to Pump It Up which is two rooms of inflatable bounce play. He seemed overwhelmed right off the bat but went ahead and joined in the fun of climbing and sliding. A little later he got out of a bounce house and said, "I had to get out of there because there were too many kids!" And a few times he came and sat in my lap on the floor and said he needed to rest. The third time of that made me start wondering - it was very out of character for him to want to rest so much. He said he was having fun, but he really didn't look like he was enjoying it. We were only there an hour and a half and decided to go get lunch - maybe he just needed refueling. He fell asleep in the car and we waited in a parking lot of an Indian buffet. He wanted to be carried in and was completely limp. He drank a little lemonade and took a couple of bites of a piece of bread and then wanted to lie down and rest. We felt horrible that we didn't just go straight home from the play place. He said his legs hurt (I guessed from all the extra jumping and climbing he wasn't used to) and he had a headache for a little while. His temp was 100.2 when we got home so we kept loading him up on fluids and let him rest on the couch. He watched Kipper for a while and then fell asleep. He never did eat anything after breakfast except for the little bit of bread. We gave him some homeopathics, an epsom salt and oil bath, and did red light therapy and applied essential oils to his tummy before bed.
When it was time to brush teeth and head to bed, he was starting to cry about having teeth brushed. Daddy said, "Look sweetie, it's either brush teeth, go potty, and say goodnight to everyone, or it's go potty and hit the sack right away. It's one or the other."
Andrew whimpered, "The other!"
By Saturday, mommy and daddy were fighting colds. Andrew actually let us sleep in until almost 8! I had heard Andrew rustling around in the pantry earlier and felt bad that I knew he was getting a clif bar and wouldn't have the strength to open it and I was too lazy to get out of bed and help. Turns out, he located scissors and cut the top off the wrapper and opened it that way! And ate a yogurt.
Thursday January 30th we had CO meeting. Andrew was wonderful. He had let me read the book study lesson to/with him earlier in the week but we never prepared answers. He had trouble getting called on, but paid attention and finally got one in and then went back to drawing. One of the songs we sang had a repeated lyric "keep your eyes on the prize" and after the first one he muttered "what is the prize?" I told him it was everlasting life. Then he whispered, "it's Paradise!" Other songs he was belting out phrases that he could read well enough. After the meeting he asked if he could help clean the men's bathroom but I told him he had to ask daddy because I dont go in there. He raced off to find daddy. He came back to me looking like he was fighting back tears and said, "I can't because no one is in there." But then he said, "But when we get home I can have cake and ice cream because I was fantastic!"
On the way home he serenaded us with a song about monkeys swinging in trees taunting an alligator and the alligator snatching them out of the tree. He was hilarious singing it and changing the pitch of his voice for the characters and getting louder and quieter at different times.
Friday I met with the elementary school to get the assessment results. His IQ ranked in the 97 and 99 percentile on two different IQ tests, he exceeded the requirements to qualify for special education and is considered 'gifted'. They do feel he qualifies intellectually, emotionally, and socially to start Kindergarten this year but would like him to attend Kindergarten 'on trial basis' a few times after Spring Break so we can make the best educated decision about it and get Andrew's input as well. Plus he'll have an hour each week with the special education instructor (though right now that doesn't fit into my schedule but isn't really needed or urgent right now anyway) He has to attend Kindergarten and once that is done they can see where things stand as to whether or not he'll be able to just continue on as normal or skip a grade or incorporate sections of different classes according to his needs.
Saturday February 1st we were supposed to go roller skating with the Buffingtons after service. We had lunch at Moe's with them instead once she learned that that rink was filthy dirty and to be avoided. We invited the girls to come home with us and play and have the parents join us for dinner. They had a blast! They played outside, swinging, decorating the playset with pine branches, climbing the pine trees and riding the limbs, collecting pine cones. Inside they loved pushing each other up and down the hallway in the tonka trucks, and building things with the various blocks and legos. A few moments of disagreements and hurt feelings, but overall a success.
When it was time to brush teeth and head to bed, he was starting to cry about having teeth brushed. Daddy said, "Look sweetie, it's either brush teeth, go potty, and say goodnight to everyone, or it's go potty and hit the sack right away. It's one or the other."
Andrew whimpered, "The other!"
By Saturday, mommy and daddy were fighting colds. Andrew actually let us sleep in until almost 8! I had heard Andrew rustling around in the pantry earlier and felt bad that I knew he was getting a clif bar and wouldn't have the strength to open it and I was too lazy to get out of bed and help. Turns out, he located scissors and cut the top off the wrapper and opened it that way! And ate a yogurt.
Thursday January 30th we had CO meeting. Andrew was wonderful. He had let me read the book study lesson to/with him earlier in the week but we never prepared answers. He had trouble getting called on, but paid attention and finally got one in and then went back to drawing. One of the songs we sang had a repeated lyric "keep your eyes on the prize" and after the first one he muttered "what is the prize?" I told him it was everlasting life. Then he whispered, "it's Paradise!" Other songs he was belting out phrases that he could read well enough. After the meeting he asked if he could help clean the men's bathroom but I told him he had to ask daddy because I dont go in there. He raced off to find daddy. He came back to me looking like he was fighting back tears and said, "I can't because no one is in there." But then he said, "But when we get home I can have cake and ice cream because I was fantastic!"
On the way home he serenaded us with a song about monkeys swinging in trees taunting an alligator and the alligator snatching them out of the tree. He was hilarious singing it and changing the pitch of his voice for the characters and getting louder and quieter at different times.
Friday I met with the elementary school to get the assessment results. His IQ ranked in the 97 and 99 percentile on two different IQ tests, he exceeded the requirements to qualify for special education and is considered 'gifted'. They do feel he qualifies intellectually, emotionally, and socially to start Kindergarten this year but would like him to attend Kindergarten 'on trial basis' a few times after Spring Break so we can make the best educated decision about it and get Andrew's input as well. Plus he'll have an hour each week with the special education instructor (though right now that doesn't fit into my schedule but isn't really needed or urgent right now anyway) He has to attend Kindergarten and once that is done they can see where things stand as to whether or not he'll be able to just continue on as normal or skip a grade or incorporate sections of different classes according to his needs.
Saturday February 1st we were supposed to go roller skating with the Buffingtons after service. We had lunch at Moe's with them instead once she learned that that rink was filthy dirty and to be avoided. We invited the girls to come home with us and play and have the parents join us for dinner. They had a blast! They played outside, swinging, decorating the playset with pine branches, climbing the pine trees and riding the limbs, collecting pine cones. Inside they loved pushing each other up and down the hallway in the tonka trucks, and building things with the various blocks and legos. A few moments of disagreements and hurt feelings, but overall a success.
Monday, January 20, 2014
"When I'm 16, I'm gonna play the Fiddler"
Overheard while Andrew was playing Legos:
"I'll text you when I get back. I'll text that I love you, but I think I might be bad. ... Okay, I'll wait for your text."
On Wednesday the 15th, we picked Andrew up from school early and went to Integriti Music Conservatory to meet a potential new violin teacher in Spring Hill. Andrew was very excited. We were early and invited to sit in on another student's lesson. He had never heard the songs before but he was tapping his feet to the tempo of each song, and when the student paused a moment trying to find the right fingering, Andrew was leaning his chest forward anticipating the next toe tapping note. The student then had a piano lesson so we went back to the waiting area where he sat and chatted with the other parent. He told her, "when I'm 16, I'm gonna play the Fiddler" She looked at me and asked why 16 and I shrugged my shoulders and suggested maybe that's when he considers himself to be grown up and allowed to make his own decisions?
We stopped into a hobby shop recently and Andrew and Ted both fell in love with a neat little RC car. We got to see them race it in their back room too which was fun. So we told Andrew that he can work towards earning it. Instead of a big lego set for practicing violin, he can work for the RC car one month. He liked that idea.
At school one day they made their own briefcase looking suitcase out of construction paper. They had to cut up magazine photos to put things inside it. Andrew was happy to show everyone that he now had his very own wallet like daddys!
Saturday we had a stove insert put in our fireplace so we can have a safer way to heat with wood that also would not suck the warm air back out as the fire dies. But it created a much smaller space for wood so our wood was too long. There is usually someone on the side of the road on weekends selling ricks of wood so Ted got one to come deliver the truck load. Andrew was very eager to watch and then helped daddy haul some inside. Such a good helper.
Sunday January 19th, he finally got to sit away from us during the meeting. He wanted to sit with Samantha Pingle and they didn't mind. He was actually very good. Most of the times that I glanced over to see, they were quiet. Kelly said they only whispered to each other a couple of times.
Sunday night Ted plugged Andrew's clock back in and told him he's not to get out of bed before 6am (there have been several times lately that he's up between 1-4, sometimes he falls asleep on the couch and sometimes he doesn't) The security camera shows he came out at 6:01. lol
"I'll text you when I get back. I'll text that I love you, but I think I might be bad. ... Okay, I'll wait for your text."
On Wednesday the 15th, we picked Andrew up from school early and went to Integriti Music Conservatory to meet a potential new violin teacher in Spring Hill. Andrew was very excited. We were early and invited to sit in on another student's lesson. He had never heard the songs before but he was tapping his feet to the tempo of each song, and when the student paused a moment trying to find the right fingering, Andrew was leaning his chest forward anticipating the next toe tapping note. The student then had a piano lesson so we went back to the waiting area where he sat and chatted with the other parent. He told her, "when I'm 16, I'm gonna play the Fiddler" She looked at me and asked why 16 and I shrugged my shoulders and suggested maybe that's when he considers himself to be grown up and allowed to make his own decisions?
We stopped into a hobby shop recently and Andrew and Ted both fell in love with a neat little RC car. We got to see them race it in their back room too which was fun. So we told Andrew that he can work towards earning it. Instead of a big lego set for practicing violin, he can work for the RC car one month. He liked that idea.
At school one day they made their own briefcase looking suitcase out of construction paper. They had to cut up magazine photos to put things inside it. Andrew was happy to show everyone that he now had his very own wallet like daddys!
Saturday we had a stove insert put in our fireplace so we can have a safer way to heat with wood that also would not suck the warm air back out as the fire dies. But it created a much smaller space for wood so our wood was too long. There is usually someone on the side of the road on weekends selling ricks of wood so Ted got one to come deliver the truck load. Andrew was very eager to watch and then helped daddy haul some inside. Such a good helper.
Sunday January 19th, he finally got to sit away from us during the meeting. He wanted to sit with Samantha Pingle and they didn't mind. He was actually very good. Most of the times that I glanced over to see, they were quiet. Kelly said they only whispered to each other a couple of times.
Sunday night Ted plugged Andrew's clock back in and told him he's not to get out of bed before 6am (there have been several times lately that he's up between 1-4, sometimes he falls asleep on the couch and sometimes he doesn't) The security camera shows he came out at 6:01. lol
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Self-Sufficient
I love how self-sufficient Andrew has become. He gets up quietly and lets us stay asleep in the mornings. The security camera shows that he came out one Monday morning, went to the kitchen and got a cup and the container of juice and brought them back to his little table in the living room. He opened the cup, read the outside of it, then poured juice into it. He put the lid on, but the straw he had for it didn't fit the cup. He went back and fort a couple of times and each straw was the wrong one. So then he came back with a thermos. Taking the top back off the first cup, some juice spilled on his shirt. So off with the shirt. He pours the juice into the thermos but it doesn't fill it to the top so he went back to the fridge for the juice and filled the thermos to the tippy top. He stared at it for a second and then leaned over and sipped from it so it wouldn't spill when he put the top on it. Picks it up and sips some more. Puts the top on and it does spill a little bit, but there are no napkin/rag/towels in the pantry because they're all in the dryer. He gets a kitchen towel instead and cleans up the spill. Then when he goes to put the top back on the juice, I guess he sees there isn't much left in there, so he drinks from the juice container. Puts it back on his table and gets his thermos and goes to sit on the couch and drink. He sees he forgot to put away the juice, so he gets back up and puts it away. Puts his shirt back on and gets on the couch. Then he switches sides of the couch to get under a blanket and plays with his leappad for a bit and then gets off to get his ipad. Some mornings I find empty yogurt cups on the table so I know he fed himself too.
A few days ago I was helping Andrew brush his teeth. He stopped me and said, "when I get a little older, can we put string across my teeth so they don't fall out?" I explained to him that the teeth he has now are called baby teeth because he was a baby when they came in, but eventually those will fall out and he will grow adult teeth in their place and those he will keep. He seemed okay with it. I think he was nervous because several of his friends are at the age of losing teeth.
I was using the red light therapy on him and asked if he could count to twenty for me. He said, "no, but I can count to ten and then count backwards from ten after that." I'm just going to assume that he knows ten plus ten is twenty. Other times he'd decide to count to twelve but start at six going up to twelve and then start over at one and go to five.
One Monday late morning we took the Equinox in to get a computer update. Andrew was dressed as Ironman and in the waiting room the lady seated behind me spoke to him. After introducing himself as Ironman in a deep whisper, I gave him his ipad to play. He takes it and then asks if he can go sit in the row next to the lady who spoke to him. I told her "you spoke to him, so you made a new friend." He was so good, and so polite and kind while we waited over an hour. Later he was pretending the floor was water and the seats were boats and the play area was dry land. He had his first taste of a hostess cupcake which of course he wanted to know where to get more.
Afterward we went to hobby lobby so I could get a new baby album, and daddy and Andrew picked out a rocket to build and launch. Then we all experienced Chik-fil-A for the first time. They had a nice little play area that we let Andrew play in for an hour and a half or so. He was so good.
He's been very kind and affectionate lately. Probably because he was out of school for a couple of weeks. I was sitting on the couch studying one day and he stood next to me smiling. Then he said, "I'd really love a hug." Finally! I finally convinced him that he can have hugs anytime - not just when he's hurt or going to bed! So he has been hugging us a lot randomly and telling us out of the blue, "i love you!" Other times he'll ask, "Do you know how much I love you?" and then give you some crazy numbers that often include infinity too.
One day we had subzero temperatures and a half inch of icy snow. I bundled him up and the only skin showing was a tiny circle around his mouth and eyes. He lasted about ten minutes before he came in and asked if his skin was red and burned because it felt so frozen. He didn't ask to go out again.
Andrew and I were chatting in his bed and we were talking about how far away school is. How his is halfway between home and my school. At some point I asked him "do you know what the middle of something is?" He said, "Yeah, it's where this half and this half come together." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Another night he described in perfect detail how to tie shoes. I told him that is how but sometimes our hands just have a hard time with it and asked if he'd like to practice the next day. He said "I would like to try that - in your room."
One afternoon he had the sniffles again. He said, "Sniffles, I'm gonna tell you something. Return to sender with consciousness attached." lol
A few days ago I was helping Andrew brush his teeth. He stopped me and said, "when I get a little older, can we put string across my teeth so they don't fall out?" I explained to him that the teeth he has now are called baby teeth because he was a baby when they came in, but eventually those will fall out and he will grow adult teeth in their place and those he will keep. He seemed okay with it. I think he was nervous because several of his friends are at the age of losing teeth.
I was using the red light therapy on him and asked if he could count to twenty for me. He said, "no, but I can count to ten and then count backwards from ten after that." I'm just going to assume that he knows ten plus ten is twenty. Other times he'd decide to count to twelve but start at six going up to twelve and then start over at one and go to five.
One Monday late morning we took the Equinox in to get a computer update. Andrew was dressed as Ironman and in the waiting room the lady seated behind me spoke to him. After introducing himself as Ironman in a deep whisper, I gave him his ipad to play. He takes it and then asks if he can go sit in the row next to the lady who spoke to him. I told her "you spoke to him, so you made a new friend." He was so good, and so polite and kind while we waited over an hour. Later he was pretending the floor was water and the seats were boats and the play area was dry land. He had his first taste of a hostess cupcake which of course he wanted to know where to get more.
Afterward we went to hobby lobby so I could get a new baby album, and daddy and Andrew picked out a rocket to build and launch. Then we all experienced Chik-fil-A for the first time. They had a nice little play area that we let Andrew play in for an hour and a half or so. He was so good.
He's been very kind and affectionate lately. Probably because he was out of school for a couple of weeks. I was sitting on the couch studying one day and he stood next to me smiling. Then he said, "I'd really love a hug." Finally! I finally convinced him that he can have hugs anytime - not just when he's hurt or going to bed! So he has been hugging us a lot randomly and telling us out of the blue, "i love you!" Other times he'll ask, "Do you know how much I love you?" and then give you some crazy numbers that often include infinity too.
One day we had subzero temperatures and a half inch of icy snow. I bundled him up and the only skin showing was a tiny circle around his mouth and eyes. He lasted about ten minutes before he came in and asked if his skin was red and burned because it felt so frozen. He didn't ask to go out again.
Andrew and I were chatting in his bed and we were talking about how far away school is. How his is halfway between home and my school. At some point I asked him "do you know what the middle of something is?" He said, "Yeah, it's where this half and this half come together." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Another night he described in perfect detail how to tie shoes. I told him that is how but sometimes our hands just have a hard time with it and asked if he'd like to practice the next day. He said "I would like to try that - in your room."
One afternoon he had the sniffles again. He said, "Sniffles, I'm gonna tell you something. Return to sender with consciousness attached." lol
Saturday, December 28, 2013
A Visit to the Space Center
Sunday the Perry's were back in town and we went to the Allison's house to visit with them over dinner. Jade and Andrew were sitting together at the table. Andrew asked her why she moved to Michigan and she just shrugged her shoulders. Then Patty piped up, "Yeah, especially after you two got married? You just up and left him behind." Andrew leaned toward her, "Would you marry me again?" We all laughed and Jade got up and left the table with a bashful smile. Andrew said, "Awww, come on!" We just laughed harder. It was so cute.
They all had a blast being together and playing all evening.
Monday morning Andrew quietly snuck up behind daddy who was in the kitchen and tapped on his rear. When Ted turned around, Andrew lifted his own shirt and then let out an audible and smelly toot and then walked away.
Monday evening we all went to Amigos for dinner. Someone dressed as Santa came in. Later I hear Jade tell Lauren Milke, "Look! There's Santa!" Andrew yelled, "That's not Santa! That's just someone's dad!" I was so proud.
After dinner, several of the kids were using quarters to buy candy and toys in the vending machines. All on his own, he turned down the M&M's with food coloring, but he asked if he could at least get a hard toy. Amber gave him some quarters so he could buy some silly teeth to wear. All of them bought silly teeth and had fun trying to wear them without laughing hysterically at each other.
Tuesday he got to play Gran Turismo with daddy and Cole Vaal. Andrew actually won one round. He also read (very well!) the story of the Israelites creating and worshiping the gold calf to Jamie and Alli. In the evening he played Boxers or Briefs with us and Charles and Marion Hailey who were visiting. He held his own there too and had a wonderful time.
Wednesday morning when I got up he had a huge smile on his face. "Mom! Do you know what today is?! Christmas!!" I said okay and he said, "Aren't we going to the Space Center today?" I hated telling him that we were going the day after xmas and it'd be tomorrow. He said, "Oh man!" all disappointed. He was a good sport though. He did had an emotional breakdown after losing the game of Sorry. He threw the board and got in trouble. I was so proud of what happened next. He went to the bathroom and cried, then yelled, then screamed, hit things a few times. I had run the Bars therapy on him yesterday and evidently he had some emotions that needed to come out. I was proud of him for letting them out instead of suppressing them. Then he and daddy talked about why throwing the game wasn't a good idea and they talked about feelings and everything got worked out.
Later daddy told him he wanted to reward Andrew for saying no to the colored candy at Amigos (apparently he had promised treats at home at a later time and it hadn't been fulfilled yet.) Andrew voted for ice cream - strawberry and chocolate. I had fallen asleep in Andrew's bed and he woke me up when it was time for him to be getting in for a nap. I stayed to cuddle for a few minutes and he told me that after nap, he was getting a huge ice cream and it was going to be ten scoops with a pattern of strawberry and chocolate, strawberry and chocolate..... , and all with a cone on the bottom. He asked if I'd like that and I said no - because ten scoops of ice cream would make my tummy hurt.
Wednesday night at the meeting, he was very hard on himself. He dropped his songbook and started trying not to cry. I took him to the back and we sat on the floor by the water fountain finishing the song. Then he told me that he was upset because he couldn't read the words and keep up with the song to sing, so he didn't get to sing. I told him we could practice the song at home sometime, but that it's okay. We all have trouble sometimes and none of us do a perfect job. He drew a picture and was trying to color it in and got very upset that he didn't stay inside the lines perfectly. I kept trying to tell him it was good enough but he didn't accept it. Then he got upset that he couldn't write a letter S perfectly. Again, I tried to tell him that it was still obviously an S and it was a very good S and it doesn't have to be perfect. He didn't like that answer either. Then he had an answer prepared and didn't get called on, so we prepared two more and got missed on those too. He asked, "Why does everyone keep taking my answer?!" Finally he got to give one but he sounded disappointed by then.I asked him why he answered like that and he said, "Because I'm sad. I'm sad that I'm not ten like Cole." We also realized his shirts are getting too small. The sleeves were too short on his arms. He asked me to unbutton them and roll them up, but then he got cold. Time to start shopping for 5T dress shirts I guess. Some of his regular 4T shirts are getting small too. And he just moved up a shoe size. When we were at Bess' house last week, I realized the seams at the toes of the shoe were separating and sure enough, his toes were at the very end. I felt bad that I hadn't noticed his shoes getting too small! Thankfully I already had the next size up in the closet ready to go!
Thursday we took him to the Space Center in Huntsville, AL. He was so excited, especially when you could see one of the rockets from the interstate. We decided to watch one of the IMAX movies about outer space which showed how a telescope was built and used in the desert to capture images of galaxies and stars and nebulas, etc. He wasn't too sure about it (and this was his first experience in a theater), especially when the optics made it feel like the room was moving. He decided it'd be more secure to sit on a lap. And before the movie was over he told us he thought it'd be a good time to "find the exits and use them." He stood in line to wait for a moon rover simulator, but decided not to try it at the last minute. He enjoyed pedaling pretending to be in a lunar bike race, and attempting to simulate landing a shuttle, and he liked watching astronauts training underwater. One lady was playing basketball underwater using a bowling ball and she waved to Andrew anytime we were standing at the window watching. We were all disappointed that there wasn't a rocket to go inside, but there were a lot of displays to look in. The highlight for him was a small kids play area where he could pretend to pilot a rocket and run around and slide on a moon rock. All in all it was interesting. The last thing we did was tour one of the traveling exhibits that were a lot of little handmade machines, gears, pulleys, etc - all out of wood. One was building a bridge out of round wooden stakes - Ted and Andrew successfully built one before Andrew cheerfully knocked it back down.Upon leaving we asked what was his favorite thing about the space center and he said, "all of it."
Friday morning daddy finished the painting in Andrew's room so now one wall is red, one is superhero blue, one buttery yellow, and one lime green. By nap it still hadn't aired out all the way so we let Andrew nap on daddy's side of the bed while I sat and studied on my side. I tried to take a nap but I couldn't stop looking at Andrew sleeping next to me. He's getting so big.
Friday afternoon we played the games Sorry and Life. He does a good job keeping up with it all. In the evening, the Chumleys came over. At one point Andrew asked, "Am I really married? .... I must be because everyone kisses on me!"
Saturday we played board games with him again. I found a Disney version of Sorry in the closet and thought it'd be fun to try. He immediately claimed "the bad guys" and sounded evil through most of the game. We tried to explain to him that the bad guys never have true friends and they are the ones that usually die at the end. Then we made pizza together and watched an Ice Age movie where there was a bad pirate ape and we were able to tie that in to the previous conversation since the ape had no true friends and ended up dying at the end.
They all had a blast being together and playing all evening.
Monday morning Andrew quietly snuck up behind daddy who was in the kitchen and tapped on his rear. When Ted turned around, Andrew lifted his own shirt and then let out an audible and smelly toot and then walked away.
Monday evening we all went to Amigos for dinner. Someone dressed as Santa came in. Later I hear Jade tell Lauren Milke, "Look! There's Santa!" Andrew yelled, "That's not Santa! That's just someone's dad!" I was so proud.
After dinner, several of the kids were using quarters to buy candy and toys in the vending machines. All on his own, he turned down the M&M's with food coloring, but he asked if he could at least get a hard toy. Amber gave him some quarters so he could buy some silly teeth to wear. All of them bought silly teeth and had fun trying to wear them without laughing hysterically at each other.
Tuesday he got to play Gran Turismo with daddy and Cole Vaal. Andrew actually won one round. He also read (very well!) the story of the Israelites creating and worshiping the gold calf to Jamie and Alli. In the evening he played Boxers or Briefs with us and Charles and Marion Hailey who were visiting. He held his own there too and had a wonderful time.
Wednesday morning when I got up he had a huge smile on his face. "Mom! Do you know what today is?! Christmas!!" I said okay and he said, "Aren't we going to the Space Center today?" I hated telling him that we were going the day after xmas and it'd be tomorrow. He said, "Oh man!" all disappointed. He was a good sport though. He did had an emotional breakdown after losing the game of Sorry. He threw the board and got in trouble. I was so proud of what happened next. He went to the bathroom and cried, then yelled, then screamed, hit things a few times. I had run the Bars therapy on him yesterday and evidently he had some emotions that needed to come out. I was proud of him for letting them out instead of suppressing them. Then he and daddy talked about why throwing the game wasn't a good idea and they talked about feelings and everything got worked out.
Later daddy told him he wanted to reward Andrew for saying no to the colored candy at Amigos (apparently he had promised treats at home at a later time and it hadn't been fulfilled yet.) Andrew voted for ice cream - strawberry and chocolate. I had fallen asleep in Andrew's bed and he woke me up when it was time for him to be getting in for a nap. I stayed to cuddle for a few minutes and he told me that after nap, he was getting a huge ice cream and it was going to be ten scoops with a pattern of strawberry and chocolate, strawberry and chocolate..... , and all with a cone on the bottom. He asked if I'd like that and I said no - because ten scoops of ice cream would make my tummy hurt.
Wednesday night at the meeting, he was very hard on himself. He dropped his songbook and started trying not to cry. I took him to the back and we sat on the floor by the water fountain finishing the song. Then he told me that he was upset because he couldn't read the words and keep up with the song to sing, so he didn't get to sing. I told him we could practice the song at home sometime, but that it's okay. We all have trouble sometimes and none of us do a perfect job. He drew a picture and was trying to color it in and got very upset that he didn't stay inside the lines perfectly. I kept trying to tell him it was good enough but he didn't accept it. Then he got upset that he couldn't write a letter S perfectly. Again, I tried to tell him that it was still obviously an S and it was a very good S and it doesn't have to be perfect. He didn't like that answer either. Then he had an answer prepared and didn't get called on, so we prepared two more and got missed on those too. He asked, "Why does everyone keep taking my answer?!" Finally he got to give one but he sounded disappointed by then.I asked him why he answered like that and he said, "Because I'm sad. I'm sad that I'm not ten like Cole." We also realized his shirts are getting too small. The sleeves were too short on his arms. He asked me to unbutton them and roll them up, but then he got cold. Time to start shopping for 5T dress shirts I guess. Some of his regular 4T shirts are getting small too. And he just moved up a shoe size. When we were at Bess' house last week, I realized the seams at the toes of the shoe were separating and sure enough, his toes were at the very end. I felt bad that I hadn't noticed his shoes getting too small! Thankfully I already had the next size up in the closet ready to go!
Thursday we took him to the Space Center in Huntsville, AL. He was so excited, especially when you could see one of the rockets from the interstate. We decided to watch one of the IMAX movies about outer space which showed how a telescope was built and used in the desert to capture images of galaxies and stars and nebulas, etc. He wasn't too sure about it (and this was his first experience in a theater), especially when the optics made it feel like the room was moving. He decided it'd be more secure to sit on a lap. And before the movie was over he told us he thought it'd be a good time to "find the exits and use them." He stood in line to wait for a moon rover simulator, but decided not to try it at the last minute. He enjoyed pedaling pretending to be in a lunar bike race, and attempting to simulate landing a shuttle, and he liked watching astronauts training underwater. One lady was playing basketball underwater using a bowling ball and she waved to Andrew anytime we were standing at the window watching. We were all disappointed that there wasn't a rocket to go inside, but there were a lot of displays to look in. The highlight for him was a small kids play area where he could pretend to pilot a rocket and run around and slide on a moon rock. All in all it was interesting. The last thing we did was tour one of the traveling exhibits that were a lot of little handmade machines, gears, pulleys, etc - all out of wood. One was building a bridge out of round wooden stakes - Ted and Andrew successfully built one before Andrew cheerfully knocked it back down.Upon leaving we asked what was his favorite thing about the space center and he said, "all of it."
Friday morning daddy finished the painting in Andrew's room so now one wall is red, one is superhero blue, one buttery yellow, and one lime green. By nap it still hadn't aired out all the way so we let Andrew nap on daddy's side of the bed while I sat and studied on my side. I tried to take a nap but I couldn't stop looking at Andrew sleeping next to me. He's getting so big.
Friday afternoon we played the games Sorry and Life. He does a good job keeping up with it all. In the evening, the Chumleys came over. At one point Andrew asked, "Am I really married? .... I must be because everyone kisses on me!"
Saturday we played board games with him again. I found a Disney version of Sorry in the closet and thought it'd be fun to try. He immediately claimed "the bad guys" and sounded evil through most of the game. We tried to explain to him that the bad guys never have true friends and they are the ones that usually die at the end. Then we made pizza together and watched an Ice Age movie where there was a bad pirate ape and we were able to tie that in to the previous conversation since the ape had no true friends and ended up dying at the end.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Lego Space Station
Sunday December 8th.
Annelise had a dance expo Saturday night and due to expected inclement weather and our exhaustion, we didn't get to go. She got home really late and still had her make up on Sunday morning and it was really dark around her eyes. Andrew and I were playing Flippity Frogs at the table when she came in. He stood next to her asking her some questions. She made some expressions on her face like she was wondering why he was asking these things. He then backed away and said, "you look kind of creepy." We all got a good laugh.
Later Andrew told her, "If you use your imagination, you will be smart too!" She said, "I think you're smarter than me." He said, "Yeah, I think so."
After breakfast, Andrew decided to get the erasable crayons and do most of the pages in the workbook he likes that practices drawing lines and shapes and following paths. When he was done he said, "I need to show this to mom! She will be so proud of me!" I just love him!
At the meeting, he was very proudly drawing beautiful pictures. He drew a flower, a boat, played tic-tac-toe by himself. Then he drew a snake and wrote the word "snake" under it with no help at all.
When the talk was over, Brian Stockholm announced that we won't be here next Sunday, we will be in Cookeville. Andrew piped up really loudly, "We won't be here? We'll be in Cookeville?" Brian smiled at him and said, "yes, we will be in Cookeville for our Special Assembly Day."
He had his own Watchtower with his answer underlined. He looked like such a big boy. After his comment, he rolled up his watchtower like a telescope and looked around, then came and crawled into my lap. He curled up and fell asleep. As his body relaxed, his face fell further and further into my stomach so that for most of the lesson, I had to press down on my side and pull my belly away from his nose so he'd have a pocket of air to breathe! I was too afraid of waking him up if I tried to move him. At one point we noticed that his hands were in tight fists, so daddy reached over and tried to pry his fingers loose to relax - it was not an easy task. He slept through the song and prayer and I did shift him so he could breathe easier. Even after waking up, he chose to stay cuddled for a while. He asked me if we could go out to eat and I said I'd mention it to daddy. Then he heard Ann Arnold invite us to Amigos and he hopped off my lap to talk to her and made it very clear to us that he wanted to go to Amigos because he likes Ann. We opted for Frankie's Pizza and Grill (which made him grumpy for a bit) but we let him have a strawberry milkshake and he ordered a pineapple pizza and enjoyed being out.
Once home daddy announced that he was going to put mouse traps in the attic. That unleashed a barrage of questions from Andrew about "where is daddy going? why is he laying mouse traps? are they the same traps as in the house? is the attic under the house? is he going under the house? do we need to call a fire truck to use their ladder? ...." I finally got so overwhelmed because he was firing the questions so fast, I told him to go follow his daddy around and find out.
Tuesday he got to stay home because of icy roads closing most schools and they'd be coming home early for his IQ testing anyway. Daddy worked from home. While I was eating breakfast and studying, he asked me if I had any muscles he could color. So daddy printed off a human body showing the muscles. Andrew started coloring, "Is this the rectus femoris mom?" He even pronounced it correctly. Later daddy introduced him to "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" which he loved.
At 2:30 it was time to meet for his IQ testing at the elementary school. I met them there since I did have school and Andrew and I built with blocks for a few minutes. He told the psychologist "just 1-2 more minutes and then I'll be ready." He placed two more blocks and then marched over to her table and sat down ready to go! He sat for almost an entire hour to complete the testing. She was impressed that he sat that long. She really couldn't predict how he did on it and said there was really only one area that he seemed to not excel in - but was at least average if not above still. It was looking at a picture and recognizing what was missing from it. The problem is, he was picking out things that would expand the photo rather than find what was missing IN the photo. One was a photo of a girl writing on a chalk board, but she was missing the chalk in her hand. It was zoomed in to her waist up. So he was saying that she was missing legs, that the chalkboard was missing the border/frame around it... things like that. He never noticed that her hand didn't have something in it.
Once he was done he told Ms. Casey "we're going to eat at Logans after, you're welcome to join us." She thought that was really sweet of him. We did enjoy dinner at Logans - he loved the fact that he could crush the peanut shell and just throw it on the floor.
Tuesday night I was putting him to bed. He got settled and then reached up and grabbed my neck to squeeze. I giggled and then he giggled, I giggled more and he giggled more, then he giggled harder and I did to. He said, "WHAT are you laughing about?" I told him I was laughing at him and asked why he was laughing. He said, "I'm laughing at you laughing."
Then I asked who was saying the prayer. He said, "We have a pattern going. Daddy, me, you, daddy, me, you. It's your turn." I laughed and complied. Then during my prayer he speaks up, "and pray for those who do not have houses and only eat oatmeal." We've had a couple of conversations lately when he complains before he even tries something that he should be glad he has food to eat and a place to live because not everyone does. And the oatmeal I think came from when we were trying to tell him to be thankful he doesn't have to eat the same food for every meal every day like the Israelites did for a time and I likened the manna to having oatmeal every meal. Hey - it's a start.
Wednesday his new Lego set arrived (a day early). I didn't have a chance to go get a cake and balloons and make a big deal out of all the hard work he's accomplished lately. So I baked a gluten free chocolate cake mix I had in the pantry and melted chocolate chips on top of it for icing. When the boys walked in, Andrew was mad and tried to slam the door on daddy. He saw that I was making a cake and I told him I was making it for him: that we have been so proud of him and how kind he's been, cooperative, and working so hard on practicing violin, working with Ms Casey (testing) and even workbooks and projects on his own. But he wasn't getting any unless he shapes up and acts nicely the rest of the evening and reminded him he owed daddy an apology. He went to daddy and said he was sorry and when daddy opened his arms out wide for a hug, Andrew swung his arm out wide and hit daddy (for the third time since he was picked up from school.) He sat in time out for two minutes. I told him again how proud we've been of him, but that behavior is not acceptable and he should be respecting daddy (and I listed a bunch of reasons why.) Then I told him he was going to get one more chance, but I needed two things from him. 1) apology to daddy 2) telling me why he was so upset. He told me he was disappointed that things did not go well at school. Something about kids at the yellow table being not nice and going "naa naa na naa naaa" and it really upset him. He wasn't at that table but he somehow got in trouble or felt like he was in trouble because of those kids. But he was taking his frustration out on daddy. So I told him I'm sorry that happened and I would be frustrated and upset too, but suggested maybe next time he TELL daddy what happened to make him feel disappointed and frustrated and ask what they can do to deal with it (like punching a pillow or his punching bag, or yelling outside, etc.) He clearly felt much better, went and hugged daddy and apologized, then came running to me and said, "Thanks for talking to me mom!" He was good the rest of the evening.
Thank goodness - because I really wanted us to enjoy cake and his surprise! So after dinner we had cake and I told him as soon as he was done with it, there was another surprise for him. "What is it?" I told him it wouldn't be a surprise if I told. After another reminder to finish his cake he said, "Is my surprise my new Lego set?" I didn't even answer and just smiled at him. Then when he was done, daddy told him to go look on his bed. He ran down the hall to find a large box holding the Space Station Lego set. He squealed and jumped up and down on the bed for a minute and then did a face plant into the mattress (and then did it again asking us if we saw it.) Then he sat discussing the picture on the box for what felt like an eternity. He had less than an hour to get started on it before bed.... he built the control tower and the shuttle carrier all by himself (and it's for ages 6-12!) Daddy only turned the pages in the instruction booklet and helping get the pieces ready.
Saturday we had to get groceries. He wrote out the grocery list on the way.
Sunday the 15th we were off to Cookeville for the Special Assembly Day. He did really well considering it was a long drive and a long day of sitting. He had a blast running around with other small children on the arena floor. He wrote a note to Nana saying, "I lofe you" It's the first time he's ever spelled love incorrectly.
Wednesday I let Andrew use my new Red Light Therapy tool on acupressure points on himself for Wellness and also the Common Cold to see if it will help release him of the sniffles he's had for the past month. His nose doesn't run.. he just sniffles. Earlier a friend was here with her daughter to tell me more about the red light therapy and Andrew was taking her around showing her all the mouse traps and spider traps he knew of and told her not to touch them because they could really hurt her and take her finger off.
Thursday Ted opted to work from home so Andrew will be home on winter break until January. He enjoyed being home. I learned a new therapy called Bars on Tuesday and practiced it on Ted for the second time and the first time on Andrew. Later Andrew and I played 'baseball' with a tennis ball and racket because we didnt know where the bat was. He's pretty good! While I was making dinner, daddy played with him and helped him climb a tree too.
I don't know if the Bars therapy played a roll in this or not: For the last several weeks, when we say it's time to brush teeth he'll fight us one way or another. He would tell us he's still hungry or thirsty, or he'd fall to the floor moaning and drag out the time, he'd not cooperate with brushing or getting pajamas on.. it felt like a battle every step of the way every single night. Not this night. He and I were playing legos and I said, "okay, it's that time. Let's go brush teeth." He said, "Okay!" tossed his legos into the bucket and headed to the bathroom asking for no toothpaste. Then he asked if he could try the cinnamon toothpaste in our bathroom - which turned out to be the peppermint one, not cinnamon.I thought the wintergreen would be less intense but he didn't like it much, but there was no battle. No battle getting pjs on or getting into bed. No requests for food or drinks or toys.
Well after we'd put him to bed, he got up and opened his door. I went in and he was sitting up in bed. We talked for a little bit. He told me he needed a massage so I massaged his back and legs and had him turn over so i could do his feet and scalp. I started singing Dream A Little Dream to him and he sang, "Close your eyes..." so I switched to the Beatles song instead. I sang as far as I knew and he asked me who sang that song. He thought the Beatles was a silly name for a band.
He also told me that when I'm sleeping and I hear a knock at the door that it will make me happy. I told him I don't need to hear a knock at the door - all I have to do is think about him and I am happy. He told me, "I'm going to think about Meemaw and Bebop because they're nice to me sometimes." Hey - whatever works to have sweet dreams.
Friday Andrew and daddy got to see the new school I'll be attending. Since we were in Nashville, we had lunch with Grandma Bess. We all sat down in the living room and Andrew sat in his seat and crossed his legs like everyone else had. Then he bashfully asked me if she had any toys and if I would ask her about them. They found a tiny wagon and a couple of stuffed animals. "Do you have any other hard toys?" I thought that was a cute way to ask for something other than stuffed animals. He also wanted a tour of the house, so Bess took him downstairs and then upstairs. He liked that.
Several nights lately he has pretended to be a horse pulling a carriage that you have to ride in to take him to his room or bathroom for the bedtime routine.
Saturday he was pretending to be the pilot of a plane taking Bess to Maryland (she leaves to visit family on Sunday). Then on the way to service he was telling me how he wanted to arrange car groups. He wanted Rick Mann and Delilah and Kelly Pingle and Samantha to come in our car and told me where each of them would sit. He did get half of that - Rick and Delilah came with us and they played beautifully together all morning.
On the way home he said he wanted to build a cave in the backyard by digging a hole out of the dirt. Instead, Daddy clamped a large blanket over his entire bed so he could take his nap in a pretend cave. He loved that... slept all night in it also.
Also Saturday night he decided to write up his own menu.
Annelise had a dance expo Saturday night and due to expected inclement weather and our exhaustion, we didn't get to go. She got home really late and still had her make up on Sunday morning and it was really dark around her eyes. Andrew and I were playing Flippity Frogs at the table when she came in. He stood next to her asking her some questions. She made some expressions on her face like she was wondering why he was asking these things. He then backed away and said, "you look kind of creepy." We all got a good laugh.
Later Andrew told her, "If you use your imagination, you will be smart too!" She said, "I think you're smarter than me." He said, "Yeah, I think so."
After breakfast, Andrew decided to get the erasable crayons and do most of the pages in the workbook he likes that practices drawing lines and shapes and following paths. When he was done he said, "I need to show this to mom! She will be so proud of me!" I just love him!
At the meeting, he was very proudly drawing beautiful pictures. He drew a flower, a boat, played tic-tac-toe by himself. Then he drew a snake and wrote the word "snake" under it with no help at all.
When the talk was over, Brian Stockholm announced that we won't be here next Sunday, we will be in Cookeville. Andrew piped up really loudly, "We won't be here? We'll be in Cookeville?" Brian smiled at him and said, "yes, we will be in Cookeville for our Special Assembly Day."
He had his own Watchtower with his answer underlined. He looked like such a big boy. After his comment, he rolled up his watchtower like a telescope and looked around, then came and crawled into my lap. He curled up and fell asleep. As his body relaxed, his face fell further and further into my stomach so that for most of the lesson, I had to press down on my side and pull my belly away from his nose so he'd have a pocket of air to breathe! I was too afraid of waking him up if I tried to move him. At one point we noticed that his hands were in tight fists, so daddy reached over and tried to pry his fingers loose to relax - it was not an easy task. He slept through the song and prayer and I did shift him so he could breathe easier. Even after waking up, he chose to stay cuddled for a while. He asked me if we could go out to eat and I said I'd mention it to daddy. Then he heard Ann Arnold invite us to Amigos and he hopped off my lap to talk to her and made it very clear to us that he wanted to go to Amigos because he likes Ann. We opted for Frankie's Pizza and Grill (which made him grumpy for a bit) but we let him have a strawberry milkshake and he ordered a pineapple pizza and enjoyed being out.
Once home daddy announced that he was going to put mouse traps in the attic. That unleashed a barrage of questions from Andrew about "where is daddy going? why is he laying mouse traps? are they the same traps as in the house? is the attic under the house? is he going under the house? do we need to call a fire truck to use their ladder? ...." I finally got so overwhelmed because he was firing the questions so fast, I told him to go follow his daddy around and find out.
Tuesday he got to stay home because of icy roads closing most schools and they'd be coming home early for his IQ testing anyway. Daddy worked from home. While I was eating breakfast and studying, he asked me if I had any muscles he could color. So daddy printed off a human body showing the muscles. Andrew started coloring, "Is this the rectus femoris mom?" He even pronounced it correctly. Later daddy introduced him to "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" which he loved.
At 2:30 it was time to meet for his IQ testing at the elementary school. I met them there since I did have school and Andrew and I built with blocks for a few minutes. He told the psychologist "just 1-2 more minutes and then I'll be ready." He placed two more blocks and then marched over to her table and sat down ready to go! He sat for almost an entire hour to complete the testing. She was impressed that he sat that long. She really couldn't predict how he did on it and said there was really only one area that he seemed to not excel in - but was at least average if not above still. It was looking at a picture and recognizing what was missing from it. The problem is, he was picking out things that would expand the photo rather than find what was missing IN the photo. One was a photo of a girl writing on a chalk board, but she was missing the chalk in her hand. It was zoomed in to her waist up. So he was saying that she was missing legs, that the chalkboard was missing the border/frame around it... things like that. He never noticed that her hand didn't have something in it.
Once he was done he told Ms. Casey "we're going to eat at Logans after, you're welcome to join us." She thought that was really sweet of him. We did enjoy dinner at Logans - he loved the fact that he could crush the peanut shell and just throw it on the floor.
Tuesday night I was putting him to bed. He got settled and then reached up and grabbed my neck to squeeze. I giggled and then he giggled, I giggled more and he giggled more, then he giggled harder and I did to. He said, "WHAT are you laughing about?" I told him I was laughing at him and asked why he was laughing. He said, "I'm laughing at you laughing."
Then I asked who was saying the prayer. He said, "We have a pattern going. Daddy, me, you, daddy, me, you. It's your turn." I laughed and complied. Then during my prayer he speaks up, "and pray for those who do not have houses and only eat oatmeal." We've had a couple of conversations lately when he complains before he even tries something that he should be glad he has food to eat and a place to live because not everyone does. And the oatmeal I think came from when we were trying to tell him to be thankful he doesn't have to eat the same food for every meal every day like the Israelites did for a time and I likened the manna to having oatmeal every meal. Hey - it's a start.
Wednesday his new Lego set arrived (a day early). I didn't have a chance to go get a cake and balloons and make a big deal out of all the hard work he's accomplished lately. So I baked a gluten free chocolate cake mix I had in the pantry and melted chocolate chips on top of it for icing. When the boys walked in, Andrew was mad and tried to slam the door on daddy. He saw that I was making a cake and I told him I was making it for him: that we have been so proud of him and how kind he's been, cooperative, and working so hard on practicing violin, working with Ms Casey (testing) and even workbooks and projects on his own. But he wasn't getting any unless he shapes up and acts nicely the rest of the evening and reminded him he owed daddy an apology. He went to daddy and said he was sorry and when daddy opened his arms out wide for a hug, Andrew swung his arm out wide and hit daddy (for the third time since he was picked up from school.) He sat in time out for two minutes. I told him again how proud we've been of him, but that behavior is not acceptable and he should be respecting daddy (and I listed a bunch of reasons why.) Then I told him he was going to get one more chance, but I needed two things from him. 1) apology to daddy 2) telling me why he was so upset. He told me he was disappointed that things did not go well at school. Something about kids at the yellow table being not nice and going "naa naa na naa naaa" and it really upset him. He wasn't at that table but he somehow got in trouble or felt like he was in trouble because of those kids. But he was taking his frustration out on daddy. So I told him I'm sorry that happened and I would be frustrated and upset too, but suggested maybe next time he TELL daddy what happened to make him feel disappointed and frustrated and ask what they can do to deal with it (like punching a pillow or his punching bag, or yelling outside, etc.) He clearly felt much better, went and hugged daddy and apologized, then came running to me and said, "Thanks for talking to me mom!" He was good the rest of the evening.
Thank goodness - because I really wanted us to enjoy cake and his surprise! So after dinner we had cake and I told him as soon as he was done with it, there was another surprise for him. "What is it?" I told him it wouldn't be a surprise if I told. After another reminder to finish his cake he said, "Is my surprise my new Lego set?" I didn't even answer and just smiled at him. Then when he was done, daddy told him to go look on his bed. He ran down the hall to find a large box holding the Space Station Lego set. He squealed and jumped up and down on the bed for a minute and then did a face plant into the mattress (and then did it again asking us if we saw it.) Then he sat discussing the picture on the box for what felt like an eternity. He had less than an hour to get started on it before bed.... he built the control tower and the shuttle carrier all by himself (and it's for ages 6-12!) Daddy only turned the pages in the instruction booklet and helping get the pieces ready.
Saturday we had to get groceries. He wrote out the grocery list on the way.
Sunday the 15th we were off to Cookeville for the Special Assembly Day. He did really well considering it was a long drive and a long day of sitting. He had a blast running around with other small children on the arena floor. He wrote a note to Nana saying, "I lofe you" It's the first time he's ever spelled love incorrectly.
Wednesday I let Andrew use my new Red Light Therapy tool on acupressure points on himself for Wellness and also the Common Cold to see if it will help release him of the sniffles he's had for the past month. His nose doesn't run.. he just sniffles. Earlier a friend was here with her daughter to tell me more about the red light therapy and Andrew was taking her around showing her all the mouse traps and spider traps he knew of and told her not to touch them because they could really hurt her and take her finger off.
Thursday Ted opted to work from home so Andrew will be home on winter break until January. He enjoyed being home. I learned a new therapy called Bars on Tuesday and practiced it on Ted for the second time and the first time on Andrew. Later Andrew and I played 'baseball' with a tennis ball and racket because we didnt know where the bat was. He's pretty good! While I was making dinner, daddy played with him and helped him climb a tree too.
I don't know if the Bars therapy played a roll in this or not: For the last several weeks, when we say it's time to brush teeth he'll fight us one way or another. He would tell us he's still hungry or thirsty, or he'd fall to the floor moaning and drag out the time, he'd not cooperate with brushing or getting pajamas on.. it felt like a battle every step of the way every single night. Not this night. He and I were playing legos and I said, "okay, it's that time. Let's go brush teeth." He said, "Okay!" tossed his legos into the bucket and headed to the bathroom asking for no toothpaste. Then he asked if he could try the cinnamon toothpaste in our bathroom - which turned out to be the peppermint one, not cinnamon.I thought the wintergreen would be less intense but he didn't like it much, but there was no battle. No battle getting pjs on or getting into bed. No requests for food or drinks or toys.
Well after we'd put him to bed, he got up and opened his door. I went in and he was sitting up in bed. We talked for a little bit. He told me he needed a massage so I massaged his back and legs and had him turn over so i could do his feet and scalp. I started singing Dream A Little Dream to him and he sang, "Close your eyes..." so I switched to the Beatles song instead. I sang as far as I knew and he asked me who sang that song. He thought the Beatles was a silly name for a band.
He also told me that when I'm sleeping and I hear a knock at the door that it will make me happy. I told him I don't need to hear a knock at the door - all I have to do is think about him and I am happy. He told me, "I'm going to think about Meemaw and Bebop because they're nice to me sometimes." Hey - whatever works to have sweet dreams.
Friday Andrew and daddy got to see the new school I'll be attending. Since we were in Nashville, we had lunch with Grandma Bess. We all sat down in the living room and Andrew sat in his seat and crossed his legs like everyone else had. Then he bashfully asked me if she had any toys and if I would ask her about them. They found a tiny wagon and a couple of stuffed animals. "Do you have any other hard toys?" I thought that was a cute way to ask for something other than stuffed animals. He also wanted a tour of the house, so Bess took him downstairs and then upstairs. He liked that.
Several nights lately he has pretended to be a horse pulling a carriage that you have to ride in to take him to his room or bathroom for the bedtime routine.
Saturday he was pretending to be the pilot of a plane taking Bess to Maryland (she leaves to visit family on Sunday). Then on the way to service he was telling me how he wanted to arrange car groups. He wanted Rick Mann and Delilah and Kelly Pingle and Samantha to come in our car and told me where each of them would sit. He did get half of that - Rick and Delilah came with us and they played beautifully together all morning.
On the way home he said he wanted to build a cave in the backyard by digging a hole out of the dirt. Instead, Daddy clamped a large blanket over his entire bed so he could take his nap in a pretend cave. He loved that... slept all night in it also.
Also Saturday night he decided to write up his own menu.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Practicing for Legos
Sunday night, I used Andrew's markers and made a sign that says I Love You Andrew then a heart and mommy. When he wasn't looking, I taped it to his wall next to the light switch. I was washing my hands in my bathroom when I heard him read it outloud and then he yelled, "Mom!!" came running to me "Mom! I found something! Come see! It's beautiful and has beautiful words!" He took me to his room and showed me the sign. He read it to me again with a big smile on his face and said, "I love you too mom. Why did you put this here?" I told him I just wanted him to know that I love him. I got him settled into bed and before I left he took my head and kissed my cheek, then forehead, and other cheek and gave me a hug. He's so sweet when he wants to be.
Monday I picked Andrew up from school early - right after nap time. He was very surprised to see me and gave me a big hug. Once we got home, he pulled a toy out of his pants pocket and told me that he accidentally brought a toy home. I inquired further and he said that he found it on the floor during nap time (and because I picked him up right after, he'd forgotten and didnt get a chance to put it away.) He asked if the teacher was going to be upset. I told him he didn't mean to take it home and that he can just return it to it's place in the morning. He asked for a baggie to put it in and put it in his backpack.
Tuesday Andrew told us that Elf on the Shelf believes in Santa. Daddy asked if Santa was real and Andrew said that his teacher told him Santa is real. So daddy asked, who are you going to trust - your teacher, or your mom and dad? He said mom and dad and that Santa is not real. I have a feeling he'd like to believe he's real. He has such a great wonderous imagination, it'd be easy to believe in all of that.
Who knew Math would get Andrew to eat his dinner? Tuesday night he went through what is becoming a routine for him. Announcing he doesn't like dinner (even before knowing what it is) and saying, "well, I'm not going to eat it." Once at the table with his pouty face, he'll maybe take a bite of something and then leave. I asked him if we needed to go to his room and talk and he nodded yes. We sat on the bed where he tried to play. I finally held up my hand and said to imagine you only have five minutes before bed. You can take 1 minute to eat (as i put one finger down) and have 4 minutes left to play which is what you really want to be doing. Or, you can take one minute to pout, another minute fighting us, and spend three minutes sitting at the table and have zero time for play before bed. Which one do you want? He got the point right away and agreeably joined the dinner table and ate his dinner. He still took a while to eat, but he got it done and was happy and still had plenty of time to play!
Wednesday - Annelise was on the couch wearing socks with a tootsie roll character. Andrew leaned against the couch and said, "I like you're socks." Annelise asked him if he knew what a tootsie roll is and he went over to examine the socks closely and said, "Hmm, they are a cylinder with a head, arms, and feet." We all got a chuckle over that.
Thursday he had his final assessment at the Elementary School (next week he starts his IQ testing). Before we got started he needed to potty so I walked him across the hall and waited outside. Another boy walks in and asks him how old he is. Andrew says 4 and the boy replies,"oh that's cool." Andrew asks the boy how old he is and he's 6. Andrew says, "In two weeks I'll be six!" (two years) The boy was trying to figure out if Andrew was in Kindergarten at age 4. Then I hear Andrew tell him "you know what? In ten weeks I'll be 18!" The boy thought for a second, "What?! No that can't be right."
The teacher said his assessment will be really easy for him, but it's a basic standard test for 4 year olds. She said during the test, Andrew got bored with it and started making his own game out of it. She'd ask a question and he'd say a wrong answer and then make an "eennnhh" sound like a wrong answer buzzard. Then he'd say the right answer and say, "Ding!" like a bell. Although she found it amusing, she did tell him that they'd be done faster if he just gives her the answer, and then he complied.
The two things he missed were that he saw a photo of a hinge and he knew it belonged on a door and allowed it to open and close, but he didn't know what to call it. And he said the compass was a clock. She said he was unique though in that other kids get the answer wrong and don't care - Andrew wanted to know what was the right answer so he could learn it. And he asks a lot of questions and listens trying to understand everything fully. She said he's truly an exceptional child, and so well rounded. She likes that you can carry on an adult conversation with him, and he's so personable and kind. He scored above the 99.9 percentile again on this test.
At bedtime, in his prayer, he thanked Jehovah for "endurance in the tummy" which I can only guess was on his mind because his tummy hurt after dinner. I massaged his stomach in a clockwise motion and then he went running to the bathroom a minute later which helped.
Friday daddy worked from home due to expected inclement weather in Nashville. I came home from school to them playing Yahtzee! He said Andrew was doing pretty well at it too!
Andrew was slightly upset that I wouldn't let him have a popsicle. He picked up some of the trio blocks that he'd built into some interesting form but he was making what sounded like machine gun sounds. I asked him if he was shooting something and he said no. He then proceeded to tell me some story about how it was a spaceship and it made that sound to pick up people in space.
Andrew saw a noisy fire truck toy once that he has his heart set on. I think it was at Kohls. Anyway, we'd been giving him quarters anytime he practiced his violin, but he has since decided it's not worth it. However, this morning he asked me "if I put my socks on all by myself, can I have a quarter?" I look at him, "you want a quarter for putting your socks on all by yourself? How about a nickel?" He starts bargaining, "how much is a nickel?" I tell him it's worth 5. He decides that is acceptable and tells me excitedly he'll get five and asked me if I'll be buying him anything at Kohls. I told him no and he said something about that noisy firetruck. I told him I don't want him to have that noisy firetruck because it's loud and I don't want to listen to it. He said, "you don't have to listen to it! I can play with it in my room!" By that time he was done putting his socks on. So I lay out five pennies and one nickel and tell him the nickel is the same as five pennies. He opted for the pennies.
We also finally told him that once he has 24 stickers on the calendar for practicing violin - we'd let him have a Lego set. It was hard for him to understand that he'd probably still have to wait to get the prize. He only had three practice sessions left to earn a lego set (of 5 minutes each) and wanted to do them all in one day. Yeah... he barely made it through five minutes. He doesn't want to practice the same song over and over again - he wants to play it well enough one time and move on.
Monday I picked Andrew up from school early - right after nap time. He was very surprised to see me and gave me a big hug. Once we got home, he pulled a toy out of his pants pocket and told me that he accidentally brought a toy home. I inquired further and he said that he found it on the floor during nap time (and because I picked him up right after, he'd forgotten and didnt get a chance to put it away.) He asked if the teacher was going to be upset. I told him he didn't mean to take it home and that he can just return it to it's place in the morning. He asked for a baggie to put it in and put it in his backpack.
Tuesday Andrew told us that Elf on the Shelf believes in Santa. Daddy asked if Santa was real and Andrew said that his teacher told him Santa is real. So daddy asked, who are you going to trust - your teacher, or your mom and dad? He said mom and dad and that Santa is not real. I have a feeling he'd like to believe he's real. He has such a great wonderous imagination, it'd be easy to believe in all of that.
Who knew Math would get Andrew to eat his dinner? Tuesday night he went through what is becoming a routine for him. Announcing he doesn't like dinner (even before knowing what it is) and saying, "well, I'm not going to eat it." Once at the table with his pouty face, he'll maybe take a bite of something and then leave. I asked him if we needed to go to his room and talk and he nodded yes. We sat on the bed where he tried to play. I finally held up my hand and said to imagine you only have five minutes before bed. You can take 1 minute to eat (as i put one finger down) and have 4 minutes left to play which is what you really want to be doing. Or, you can take one minute to pout, another minute fighting us, and spend three minutes sitting at the table and have zero time for play before bed. Which one do you want? He got the point right away and agreeably joined the dinner table and ate his dinner. He still took a while to eat, but he got it done and was happy and still had plenty of time to play!
Wednesday - Annelise was on the couch wearing socks with a tootsie roll character. Andrew leaned against the couch and said, "I like you're socks." Annelise asked him if he knew what a tootsie roll is and he went over to examine the socks closely and said, "Hmm, they are a cylinder with a head, arms, and feet." We all got a chuckle over that.
Thursday he had his final assessment at the Elementary School (next week he starts his IQ testing). Before we got started he needed to potty so I walked him across the hall and waited outside. Another boy walks in and asks him how old he is. Andrew says 4 and the boy replies,"oh that's cool." Andrew asks the boy how old he is and he's 6. Andrew says, "In two weeks I'll be six!" (two years) The boy was trying to figure out if Andrew was in Kindergarten at age 4. Then I hear Andrew tell him "you know what? In ten weeks I'll be 18!" The boy thought for a second, "What?! No that can't be right."
The teacher said his assessment will be really easy for him, but it's a basic standard test for 4 year olds. She said during the test, Andrew got bored with it and started making his own game out of it. She'd ask a question and he'd say a wrong answer and then make an "eennnhh" sound like a wrong answer buzzard. Then he'd say the right answer and say, "Ding!" like a bell. Although she found it amusing, she did tell him that they'd be done faster if he just gives her the answer, and then he complied.
The two things he missed were that he saw a photo of a hinge and he knew it belonged on a door and allowed it to open and close, but he didn't know what to call it. And he said the compass was a clock. She said he was unique though in that other kids get the answer wrong and don't care - Andrew wanted to know what was the right answer so he could learn it. And he asks a lot of questions and listens trying to understand everything fully. She said he's truly an exceptional child, and so well rounded. She likes that you can carry on an adult conversation with him, and he's so personable and kind. He scored above the 99.9 percentile again on this test.
At bedtime, in his prayer, he thanked Jehovah for "endurance in the tummy" which I can only guess was on his mind because his tummy hurt after dinner. I massaged his stomach in a clockwise motion and then he went running to the bathroom a minute later which helped.
Friday daddy worked from home due to expected inclement weather in Nashville. I came home from school to them playing Yahtzee! He said Andrew was doing pretty well at it too!
Andrew was slightly upset that I wouldn't let him have a popsicle. He picked up some of the trio blocks that he'd built into some interesting form but he was making what sounded like machine gun sounds. I asked him if he was shooting something and he said no. He then proceeded to tell me some story about how it was a spaceship and it made that sound to pick up people in space.
Andrew saw a noisy fire truck toy once that he has his heart set on. I think it was at Kohls. Anyway, we'd been giving him quarters anytime he practiced his violin, but he has since decided it's not worth it. However, this morning he asked me "if I put my socks on all by myself, can I have a quarter?" I look at him, "you want a quarter for putting your socks on all by yourself? How about a nickel?" He starts bargaining, "how much is a nickel?" I tell him it's worth 5. He decides that is acceptable and tells me excitedly he'll get five and asked me if I'll be buying him anything at Kohls. I told him no and he said something about that noisy firetruck. I told him I don't want him to have that noisy firetruck because it's loud and I don't want to listen to it. He said, "you don't have to listen to it! I can play with it in my room!" By that time he was done putting his socks on. So I lay out five pennies and one nickel and tell him the nickel is the same as five pennies. He opted for the pennies.
We also finally told him that once he has 24 stickers on the calendar for practicing violin - we'd let him have a Lego set. It was hard for him to understand that he'd probably still have to wait to get the prize. He only had three practice sessions left to earn a lego set (of 5 minutes each) and wanted to do them all in one day. Yeah... he barely made it through five minutes. He doesn't want to practice the same song over and over again - he wants to play it well enough one time and move on.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Smarty Pants
Andrew boggles my mind. Tuesday morning he had his third special education assessment, the last one before the IQ testing. The educator was sitting on a bench in the elementary school hallway showing me the results of the first two assessments. She was drawing a graph describing the scores and that curve that everything measurable for children seems to fall under - age, height, weight, assessments. The middle is 100, the 'average' where most children fall near that high part of the curve. Then there is the start of the curve where educators are concerned about the children who score there - they are educationally behind and usually have difficulty learning. Then on the opposite side of average are those kids who are a bit more advanced in their education. For the special education, they are looking for the students who typically fall between 119-130 I think. The scoring only goes up to 145 on the chart so very few people are on that end.
Then she shows me on the graph where Andrew is. I look across the hallway at this very small, still child, bundled up in his brand new winter coat that he doesn't want to take off, hood still buttoned around his face covering his mouth. His feet are together, his hands in his lap, as he's just leaning on the edge of the bench and gazing down the hallway of the school quietly. I feel that warmth behind my eyes... you know, the warmth you feel as you are overcome by emotion but it doesn't quite break through into tears. Who is he?? I know I have raised this child and spent a lot of time with him, and yet for a moment, he feels so distant and like a stranger to me. I cannot even comprehend his intelligence and how frustrating it must be for him to understand so much and not be able to do all that he wants to with it. To have so many questions he is eager to learn the answers to, and be stuck with parents whose mind and ears are exhausted by the constant barrage of curiosity that we actually ask him to stop talking.. a lot.We used to joke about how he seemed to understand what we were talking about even before he had words formed with his own tongue, but only half believing it ourselves and thinking it must just be coincidence - and yet here we are, it really is reality.
I tune back into the teacher showing me her graph drawn on the back of a paper .... remember the assessment score graph only goes up to 145. He scored 156 on his reading. He's not even ON the graph. No one scores that. She said she's never even seen someone score that high on it before. There isn't even a percentile for him to fit into on that. All they can put is 'above 99th percentile.' "Well, I know he is good at reading, but he's not likely to be that smart in all the different areas, right?" She replied, "Well I told you he did really well on Math too." She showed me his score. I don't remember it exactly, but I want to say it was somewhere around 136. Still very high and above the 99th percentile. That's when I felt so overwhelmed by my duty to this child and feeling like I'm really not the best person responsible for him. Not sure I know anyone who is, but still. I feel unworthy of such a gift in a little human, and so inadequate.
Soon he was walking down the empty hallway with her, disappearing to a warm cozy room to do the next assessment. I sat on the cold bench learning anatomy. I only got through eight flash cards twice and they were back again. This time it was general knowledge and she said the test is a bit outdated (what little kid these days knows what a typewriter is?) but that he still did really well on it. She said there are other assessments in this category that she'd like to give him, but this one was required first because of his age, but she thinks he'd do even better on others. Anyway, she had gone ahead and scored this one and I dont remember the number, but it fell in the 91st percentile I think.
We are already scheduled early December to meet with the school and start the process of having his IQ assessment done, and there will be a few more steps after that. The end goal is that we sit down with several educators and school board members and come up with what courses he needs and can take, and possibly that he can start Kindergarten next fall. She said he could already pass the Kindergarten curriculum as he is right now, but apparently it's required. Anyway... I knew he was smart - but I really haven't comprehended just how smart he is and I'm intimidated.
One day recently Andrew was walking away from us and we overheard him say, "I just love you guys" or "I just love them" - I can't remember now which it was, but it was sweet.
Thursday morning Andrew yelled, "Mom!! I found a paper dollar! It has a face on it!" He found a $5 bill sitting on the table.
Friday Andrew was an absolute angel all day - cooperative and polite! Nana and I both had appointments with Adam Roberts. Andrew cozied up to Papa on a couch and had him read books while we waited. Then we were off to Red Lobster to get free lobster tails. Andrew made sure he could sit next to Papa and he tried to carry on conversation with everyone at the table. Papa finished some crab legs and played with the claw which got Andrew very interested and excited. Once he learned how to make the pinchers move, he went around the table pretending to pinch each of us.
On our way out, someone pulled out a lobster and offered to let Andrew touch it. He was too nervous, but he liked seeing it. Then we were off to Costco. Andrew was a big helper - even carrying heavy items to put under the cart. He got to taste a smoothie and he drank a sample of regular V-8 Juice and claimed to like it (wow!) but he didn't like a cracker with cheese and sweet/spicy sauce on it. Nor did he like the dried coconut; he very politely waited until he found a trash can to spit it out. He tried to help unload the cart onto the conveyor too. He had a bag of gluten-free penne pasta and it fell, split open, and scattered dried pasta all over the floor. He was mortified and wanted to know why and how it happened. I assured him it was totally okay - that it happens. The rest of the evening he was still being kind and polite. I gave daddy my first attempt of a hot stone massage, and Andrew came in at the end (knocked on the door and waited first) and wanted to help. He enjoyed rubbing daddy's face, hands, and feet with hot stones.
Friday night he was giving me his wonderful goodnight hug.. I told him how wonderful he is and thanked him. He gave me a kiss on my cheek and then looked at me with a great smile. Then kissed my other cheek and smiled at me. He threw his head back and laughed and then said, "arrrggh" with a smile on his face when I told him no lips. He's always trying to sneak that one in.
Daddy put some new educational games on Andrew's ipad. He brought it to me and said, "Mom, can you punch in the code, it's ####." I looked at the screen and it was for parents to access but it gave the code in written words - so any child that can read, could tell you the code too. "Why don't you put in the numbers?" I ask. He replies, "I can't! It's for parents." He's such a good boy. He's done that more than once now.
Saturday night we sent him to pick out jammies to wear to bed. He came back a minute later with 13 hangers of pajamas asking which one he should pick. I took them from him and held them out and told him that it's not about which ones we pick - it's about which ones he likes to wear and finds comfortable. He's so silly.
Then she shows me on the graph where Andrew is. I look across the hallway at this very small, still child, bundled up in his brand new winter coat that he doesn't want to take off, hood still buttoned around his face covering his mouth. His feet are together, his hands in his lap, as he's just leaning on the edge of the bench and gazing down the hallway of the school quietly. I feel that warmth behind my eyes... you know, the warmth you feel as you are overcome by emotion but it doesn't quite break through into tears. Who is he?? I know I have raised this child and spent a lot of time with him, and yet for a moment, he feels so distant and like a stranger to me. I cannot even comprehend his intelligence and how frustrating it must be for him to understand so much and not be able to do all that he wants to with it. To have so many questions he is eager to learn the answers to, and be stuck with parents whose mind and ears are exhausted by the constant barrage of curiosity that we actually ask him to stop talking.. a lot.We used to joke about how he seemed to understand what we were talking about even before he had words formed with his own tongue, but only half believing it ourselves and thinking it must just be coincidence - and yet here we are, it really is reality.
I tune back into the teacher showing me her graph drawn on the back of a paper .... remember the assessment score graph only goes up to 145. He scored 156 on his reading. He's not even ON the graph. No one scores that. She said she's never even seen someone score that high on it before. There isn't even a percentile for him to fit into on that. All they can put is 'above 99th percentile.' "Well, I know he is good at reading, but he's not likely to be that smart in all the different areas, right?" She replied, "Well I told you he did really well on Math too." She showed me his score. I don't remember it exactly, but I want to say it was somewhere around 136. Still very high and above the 99th percentile. That's when I felt so overwhelmed by my duty to this child and feeling like I'm really not the best person responsible for him. Not sure I know anyone who is, but still. I feel unworthy of such a gift in a little human, and so inadequate.
Soon he was walking down the empty hallway with her, disappearing to a warm cozy room to do the next assessment. I sat on the cold bench learning anatomy. I only got through eight flash cards twice and they were back again. This time it was general knowledge and she said the test is a bit outdated (what little kid these days knows what a typewriter is?) but that he still did really well on it. She said there are other assessments in this category that she'd like to give him, but this one was required first because of his age, but she thinks he'd do even better on others. Anyway, she had gone ahead and scored this one and I dont remember the number, but it fell in the 91st percentile I think.
We are already scheduled early December to meet with the school and start the process of having his IQ assessment done, and there will be a few more steps after that. The end goal is that we sit down with several educators and school board members and come up with what courses he needs and can take, and possibly that he can start Kindergarten next fall. She said he could already pass the Kindergarten curriculum as he is right now, but apparently it's required. Anyway... I knew he was smart - but I really haven't comprehended just how smart he is and I'm intimidated.
One day recently Andrew was walking away from us and we overheard him say, "I just love you guys" or "I just love them" - I can't remember now which it was, but it was sweet.
Thursday morning Andrew yelled, "Mom!! I found a paper dollar! It has a face on it!" He found a $5 bill sitting on the table.
Friday Andrew was an absolute angel all day - cooperative and polite! Nana and I both had appointments with Adam Roberts. Andrew cozied up to Papa on a couch and had him read books while we waited. Then we were off to Red Lobster to get free lobster tails. Andrew made sure he could sit next to Papa and he tried to carry on conversation with everyone at the table. Papa finished some crab legs and played with the claw which got Andrew very interested and excited. Once he learned how to make the pinchers move, he went around the table pretending to pinch each of us.
On our way out, someone pulled out a lobster and offered to let Andrew touch it. He was too nervous, but he liked seeing it. Then we were off to Costco. Andrew was a big helper - even carrying heavy items to put under the cart. He got to taste a smoothie and he drank a sample of regular V-8 Juice and claimed to like it (wow!) but he didn't like a cracker with cheese and sweet/spicy sauce on it. Nor did he like the dried coconut; he very politely waited until he found a trash can to spit it out. He tried to help unload the cart onto the conveyor too. He had a bag of gluten-free penne pasta and it fell, split open, and scattered dried pasta all over the floor. He was mortified and wanted to know why and how it happened. I assured him it was totally okay - that it happens. The rest of the evening he was still being kind and polite. I gave daddy my first attempt of a hot stone massage, and Andrew came in at the end (knocked on the door and waited first) and wanted to help. He enjoyed rubbing daddy's face, hands, and feet with hot stones.
Friday night he was giving me his wonderful goodnight hug.. I told him how wonderful he is and thanked him. He gave me a kiss on my cheek and then looked at me with a great smile. Then kissed my other cheek and smiled at me. He threw his head back and laughed and then said, "arrrggh" with a smile on his face when I told him no lips. He's always trying to sneak that one in.
Daddy put some new educational games on Andrew's ipad. He brought it to me and said, "Mom, can you punch in the code, it's ####." I looked at the screen and it was for parents to access but it gave the code in written words - so any child that can read, could tell you the code too. "Why don't you put in the numbers?" I ask. He replies, "I can't! It's for parents." He's such a good boy. He's done that more than once now.
Saturday night we sent him to pick out jammies to wear to bed. He came back a minute later with 13 hangers of pajamas asking which one he should pick. I took them from him and held them out and told him that it's not about which ones we pick - it's about which ones he likes to wear and finds comfortable. He's so silly.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
"I haven't had enough massage yet"
Andrew rubbed his chest and said, "My pects hurt." I love that he is learning some of the muscles in the body.
Recently Andrew pulled out one of his paint brushes and told me that he thought it was too thick and had cut half the hairs off. I have no idea when he actually cut the brush, but he did a good job since his goal was to make the brush thinner. He was used to a different brush and I guess assumed that this one was supposed to be the same size.
Jenn and Houston were here for the last maternity photos and of course Houston and Andrew have quite the antics. Andrew told Houston that the spanish word for chicken is chickalente.
And whenever Andrew would speak to Jenn's belly, Houston would mumble words replying back to Andrew. Andrew of course knew it was Houston and was laughing hysterically. Even more so when he rubbed Oliver's bottom that was sticking up and Houston made tooting sounds. Later Andrew walked by asking himself if Oliver would toot again and he put his hand on Jenn's belly but no one made any sounds. He called everyone's attention and when Jenn made the sound he said, 'that wasn't it" So he did it again and Houston made the sound and Andrew yelled excitedly, "That's the one!"
They were still calling each other FredDrew and Houston Fred - and tonight left calling each other Andrew-chickalente and Houston-chickalente. They are so silly.
I had a big bag of clothes ready for Jenn and Houston to take with them, and a couple of toys. I told Andrew if there were any toys that he'd like to give to baby Oliver - to go dig them out now. He said, "I want to give Houston my firetruck!" and he got his beloved ride on toy, and got a fireman hat to put with it. And when they were leaving, he carried/pushed the firetruck all the way to their car and helped load it up. I was so proud of him for giving away a toy that has meant so much to him and that he has loved so much. I am also very glad to not always be moving it out of the way!
Monday Andrew got in the car after school and pulled a few legos out of his pocket and told daddy that he got them from school. They had a little discussion about taking things that aren't for us to take and Andrew suddenly understood what he'd done and how wrong it was. So as soon as they got home, they put those legos in a baggie and back into his backpack. First thing Tuesday morning, he took the baggie to his teacher and apologized for stealing them. He was very upset and trying not to cry. Then daddy took him aside and told him how proud he was of Andrew for having the courage to admit what he'd done and to apologize himself while returning them, and his honesty is appreciated, and he is still very loved. Andrew perked up.
Ted told me he wanted to reward Andrew for being truthful about taking the legos and for willingly returning them so he could associate telling the truth with a reward rather than a punishment. So after dinner, we explained to him again how proud we were of him for telling us the truth, and we were going to take him to the store and let him pick out an entire set of Legos. He came home with a lego set that builds a semi and a bulldozer that can ride on the trailer of the semi. We came home and helped HIM build the bulldozer. He did a great job!
One evening, I got out of the shower and Andrew was in the bathroom trying to figure out how to properly put on my bra. Then he randomly asked, "mom, why do you have a hole in your vagina?" The look on his face when I told him it was where a baby comes out (figured it was safe since we'd been talking about growing baby's and getting to feel Jenn's) was priceless. I told him that when it gets time that hole gets big enough to fit a baby's head through. He asked if the baby just falls out and I told him there are doctors there to help and it doesn't usually come out that fast. He was so intrigued and I could tell he was visualizing all of this too. I told him how the baby's head comes out first, slowly, then the shoulders, and then the doctor is able to hold the baby and pull him out the rest of the way. But then we talked about the umbilical cord and how it fed the baby all it needed to grow and was attached to the inside of the mommy, and that the baby doesn't eat with it's mouth while inside. Then after it's born, the doctor clamps the cord closed, and cuts it off so the baby is no longer attached. That shrivels up and becomes what we see as the belly button. He thought that was really cool, but then asked more questions about the umbilical cord. I had to use the cord on the fan as an example - how the fan doesn't work unless it's plugged into the wall, and the electrical outlet 'feeds' the fan electricity through the cord. The same way, the baby gets fed what it needs to work through that cord. He seemed to understand. I think I did a better job explaining it in person, than I am repeating it typed. It will be interesting to see how he incorporates his new found information into his own stories or more questions to come soon.
Wednesday night during the meeting, he pulled out his big notebook and some pencils - and drew the most perfect flowers! We were proud of his new accomplishment.
Andrew wanted an answer written out in his notebook. When his answer only filled up half his little page - he requested more words for a longer answer. No one would give him more, so he started writing letters hoping they'd make words and then asked, "what words are these?" I told him they aren't real words and he looked disappointed and then covered them over with his hands. Then he gave his answer in a tone as if he were mad and being forced to say something.
Friday evening, Andrew was given the choice of soup or turkey sandwich. He opted for the soup. Took one look at it and said, "I'm not eating that. I dont like it." I told him he'll be hungry then, so he decided he wasn't hungry at all anyway. I asked him to please try it, and he made all sorts of faces (I feel like I live in a Calvin and Hobbes comic book sometimes) like it was killing him to try something new. I told him he didn't have to eat all the pieces in the soup, he could just drink the broth. So he was doing that fine until some dripped and daddy cleaned it up first. We were back to Andrew not wanting to cooperate because HE didn't get to clean up the mess. I finally gave in and said he had to eat 3 more big bites to get something else (I know this backfires plenty) He happily ate three more big bites and hopped down to get cereal. He complained about the choices in the cabinet and got all dramatic about it. I showed him a box of Honey O's and he got excited to try them.
After another dramatic episode over trying to interrupt and having to wait his turn - he said, "with each bite of my O's you all will get all my powers and I won't be able to speak." Ted got excited and started acting more silly and energetic with each bite Andrew took.
Ted bought Andrew that Simon game where it lights up in a pattern and you have to follow it. The second time he tried it, he got all the way up to level 7. I'm not good at it at all. Ted has gotten up to level 11. I think the highest I've seen Andrew get is 8.
Saturday morning I was feeling rough and stayed in bed. When I got up, Andrew came out of his room in his underwear (changing into play clothes) with a bouquet of roses and said, "I love you mom!" It brought tears to my eyes, as I so needed to hear that.
Saturday afternoon he asked me if I could massage him. He was laying on the floor in my studio next to daddy in front of a heater. So I started rubbing his back. He didn't like it and said "that's enough massage." As he was saying it I started giving him a scalp massage instead, "Oh that's good! I haven't had enough massage yet."
Andrew has been begging me since mid October to make pumpkin bread out of the pumpkin he brought home from a field trip. Sunday was finally the day - as I had to use up a bunch of apples and over-ripe bananas, might as well cook the pumpkin too! I told him he could help me make pumpkin bread after the meeting. He did have one request, "make it gluten free so that Annelise can be part of our family" So he helped me make some pumpkin cake essentially. A few bites into it he decided it wasn't his thing.
Sunday night after prayer, he tried telling me some story about how some stars fall and like the be kept in a "thing with a lid on it" All I could assume was he was remembering catching lightning bugs and putting them in a jar. But then he said some like to go back up with all the other stars. I told him that was a good place for them to be. He tells such crazy stories.. I wish I could video him talking all the time. They are quite strange and detailed and elaborate. It usually involves someone getting hurt though with is disturbing.
Recently Andrew pulled out one of his paint brushes and told me that he thought it was too thick and had cut half the hairs off. I have no idea when he actually cut the brush, but he did a good job since his goal was to make the brush thinner. He was used to a different brush and I guess assumed that this one was supposed to be the same size.
Jenn and Houston were here for the last maternity photos and of course Houston and Andrew have quite the antics. Andrew told Houston that the spanish word for chicken is chickalente.
And whenever Andrew would speak to Jenn's belly, Houston would mumble words replying back to Andrew. Andrew of course knew it was Houston and was laughing hysterically. Even more so when he rubbed Oliver's bottom that was sticking up and Houston made tooting sounds. Later Andrew walked by asking himself if Oliver would toot again and he put his hand on Jenn's belly but no one made any sounds. He called everyone's attention and when Jenn made the sound he said, 'that wasn't it" So he did it again and Houston made the sound and Andrew yelled excitedly, "That's the one!"
They were still calling each other FredDrew and Houston Fred - and tonight left calling each other Andrew-chickalente and Houston-chickalente. They are so silly.
I had a big bag of clothes ready for Jenn and Houston to take with them, and a couple of toys. I told Andrew if there were any toys that he'd like to give to baby Oliver - to go dig them out now. He said, "I want to give Houston my firetruck!" and he got his beloved ride on toy, and got a fireman hat to put with it. And when they were leaving, he carried/pushed the firetruck all the way to their car and helped load it up. I was so proud of him for giving away a toy that has meant so much to him and that he has loved so much. I am also very glad to not always be moving it out of the way!
Monday Andrew got in the car after school and pulled a few legos out of his pocket and told daddy that he got them from school. They had a little discussion about taking things that aren't for us to take and Andrew suddenly understood what he'd done and how wrong it was. So as soon as they got home, they put those legos in a baggie and back into his backpack. First thing Tuesday morning, he took the baggie to his teacher and apologized for stealing them. He was very upset and trying not to cry. Then daddy took him aside and told him how proud he was of Andrew for having the courage to admit what he'd done and to apologize himself while returning them, and his honesty is appreciated, and he is still very loved. Andrew perked up.
Ted told me he wanted to reward Andrew for being truthful about taking the legos and for willingly returning them so he could associate telling the truth with a reward rather than a punishment. So after dinner, we explained to him again how proud we were of him for telling us the truth, and we were going to take him to the store and let him pick out an entire set of Legos. He came home with a lego set that builds a semi and a bulldozer that can ride on the trailer of the semi. We came home and helped HIM build the bulldozer. He did a great job!
One evening, I got out of the shower and Andrew was in the bathroom trying to figure out how to properly put on my bra. Then he randomly asked, "mom, why do you have a hole in your vagina?" The look on his face when I told him it was where a baby comes out (figured it was safe since we'd been talking about growing baby's and getting to feel Jenn's) was priceless. I told him that when it gets time that hole gets big enough to fit a baby's head through. He asked if the baby just falls out and I told him there are doctors there to help and it doesn't usually come out that fast. He was so intrigued and I could tell he was visualizing all of this too. I told him how the baby's head comes out first, slowly, then the shoulders, and then the doctor is able to hold the baby and pull him out the rest of the way. But then we talked about the umbilical cord and how it fed the baby all it needed to grow and was attached to the inside of the mommy, and that the baby doesn't eat with it's mouth while inside. Then after it's born, the doctor clamps the cord closed, and cuts it off so the baby is no longer attached. That shrivels up and becomes what we see as the belly button. He thought that was really cool, but then asked more questions about the umbilical cord. I had to use the cord on the fan as an example - how the fan doesn't work unless it's plugged into the wall, and the electrical outlet 'feeds' the fan electricity through the cord. The same way, the baby gets fed what it needs to work through that cord. He seemed to understand. I think I did a better job explaining it in person, than I am repeating it typed. It will be interesting to see how he incorporates his new found information into his own stories or more questions to come soon.
Wednesday night during the meeting, he pulled out his big notebook and some pencils - and drew the most perfect flowers! We were proud of his new accomplishment.
Andrew wanted an answer written out in his notebook. When his answer only filled up half his little page - he requested more words for a longer answer. No one would give him more, so he started writing letters hoping they'd make words and then asked, "what words are these?" I told him they aren't real words and he looked disappointed and then covered them over with his hands. Then he gave his answer in a tone as if he were mad and being forced to say something.
Friday evening, Andrew was given the choice of soup or turkey sandwich. He opted for the soup. Took one look at it and said, "I'm not eating that. I dont like it." I told him he'll be hungry then, so he decided he wasn't hungry at all anyway. I asked him to please try it, and he made all sorts of faces (I feel like I live in a Calvin and Hobbes comic book sometimes) like it was killing him to try something new. I told him he didn't have to eat all the pieces in the soup, he could just drink the broth. So he was doing that fine until some dripped and daddy cleaned it up first. We were back to Andrew not wanting to cooperate because HE didn't get to clean up the mess. I finally gave in and said he had to eat 3 more big bites to get something else (I know this backfires plenty) He happily ate three more big bites and hopped down to get cereal. He complained about the choices in the cabinet and got all dramatic about it. I showed him a box of Honey O's and he got excited to try them.
After another dramatic episode over trying to interrupt and having to wait his turn - he said, "with each bite of my O's you all will get all my powers and I won't be able to speak." Ted got excited and started acting more silly and energetic with each bite Andrew took.
Ted bought Andrew that Simon game where it lights up in a pattern and you have to follow it. The second time he tried it, he got all the way up to level 7. I'm not good at it at all. Ted has gotten up to level 11. I think the highest I've seen Andrew get is 8.
Saturday morning I was feeling rough and stayed in bed. When I got up, Andrew came out of his room in his underwear (changing into play clothes) with a bouquet of roses and said, "I love you mom!" It brought tears to my eyes, as I so needed to hear that.
Saturday afternoon he asked me if I could massage him. He was laying on the floor in my studio next to daddy in front of a heater. So I started rubbing his back. He didn't like it and said "that's enough massage." As he was saying it I started giving him a scalp massage instead, "Oh that's good! I haven't had enough massage yet."
Andrew has been begging me since mid October to make pumpkin bread out of the pumpkin he brought home from a field trip. Sunday was finally the day - as I had to use up a bunch of apples and over-ripe bananas, might as well cook the pumpkin too! I told him he could help me make pumpkin bread after the meeting. He did have one request, "make it gluten free so that Annelise can be part of our family" So he helped me make some pumpkin cake essentially. A few bites into it he decided it wasn't his thing.
Sunday night after prayer, he tried telling me some story about how some stars fall and like the be kept in a "thing with a lid on it" All I could assume was he was remembering catching lightning bugs and putting them in a jar. But then he said some like to go back up with all the other stars. I told him that was a good place for them to be. He tells such crazy stories.. I wish I could video him talking all the time. They are quite strange and detailed and elaborate. It usually involves someone getting hurt though with is disturbing.
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