More adultness from David: Saturday evening, after my playing softball, and his having made a friend who was his age there, he says, "Whew! It's been a long day." Saturday morning, though, David was extremely clingy. I don't know what makes that happen...he and I went to breakfast, then to a garage sale, and all he wanted to do was have me hold him!
Back to me playing softball: David would heckle me when I was out on field! He would see someone hit the ball (we were doing batting practice), and watching behind the fence he says, "Whoa!! He hit the ball far!" Or, "You better catch the ball, daddy!" He really made an impression on the other adults that were there (mostly people from work). They thought he was a riot.
When David runs, he says he went "Super duper duper duper duperduper DUPER fast!!" (this has variable amounts of "duper", depending on exactly how super duper fast he went. Other athletic activities he enjoys: swinging himself between two objects like they're parallel bars, and running in the house back and forth with his car, and saying how super fast he went.
David is going to do the dance thing at Gabrielle's Glen. I asked him if he like dancing and he said he got to jump around like a bunny. I told him, "That's dancing!" He got a very thoughtful look on his face. We have to buy him tap shoes. He gets 30 min/week of instruction, and it lasts the school year.
David's ice-breaker lately: how many fingers do you have? I have 7! I discovered this as we were playing softball, and I overhear his conversation. "Do you have 10 fingers like da--y?" (David misses the middle sounds in some words.)
Friday night...David held a contest with me over who could our respective Dora book fastest.
Lastly, David likes to ask "why?" for fundamental things like, "Why am I growing?" or, "Why is this paper pink?" Things that I can't easily answer, which leaves me with this response: "Just because it is..."
And so it goes...see you next week!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
David Weekly, #67
David's babysitter Jesse (who used to watch him every Saturday for me while I worked) has given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Angelina Mackenzie. I'm unsure of the spelling...but today we went for a visit. David wasn't overly interested in the sleeping baby. Maybe when she's a bit older and can move around a bit...
After a little bit of prompting from Amanda, I figured out why David didn't want to go to school. It's because he was being a bully, and kids were fighting back, hitting him in retaliation for him hitting them. I told him to stop doing that, and he said ok, he would...and he's better now. No problems with going to school at all. As part of going to school, David wants to bring his Diego bag, his "pack-pack," but at first I said no, since there's nothing to bring to school in it! So we talked to Ms. Naomi about it, and she said it just helps them feel like they're going to school. We put David's "buddy" in the pack-pack now, and he puts the Diego bag on his shoulders every day to go to school. He's getting to be a big boy!
David can read. He just doesn't know it yet. The other day in the car, he found a birthday card, and I asked him spell the words so I could tell him what they said, and instead he was sounding them out. So he knows the sounds, basic ones at least, but isn't quite able to put them together. It's just a matter of confidence now, and speeding up the sounds together to make words. I figure he'll get there in another month or two.
But he can read.
We practice reading in the books we read each night. I have David pick out a word or two in each bit of text. Sometimes he will, and other times he is unwilling. Since I don't want to make it a chore, I do what I can to make it fun for him.
Recently overheard: "I smell pizza!"
David had another wonderful night with his cousins on Tuesday night. They were taking turns riding his "car" down the driveway into the street (with me standing guard in the street, of course, to keep them from getting "squished" by cars, as David says). When it was Avery or Jared's turn, David would run down the driveway in front of them screaming at the top of his lungs. He had the best time just being as loud as possible. And he did a great job sharing, and taking turns. I was very proud of him. On Thursday night he went over to his cousins' house. He really loves to spend time with them. I do have to remind him, though, that he cannot just take whatever he sees Jared playing with. Some days that message gets through better than other days. This was a better day.
Rachel is impressed by the "grown up" language David uses, like, "You're killing me!" when he thinks something is funny. There's other things he says that are like that, very grown up sounding, very figurative language. David's sense of things is wonderful. He's very funny but doesn't realize it. He says things, and I laugh, and he wonders why I'm laughing. It's hard to think to write down those things when he says them...
And about the video games: he talks to himself (or someone) when he's playing them, or thinking about them out loud. He has begun to sing a little bit with Blue's Clues, and I may have said this before, but I watch him clap along or do whatever it is Steve says...like rest, clap - clap, rest, clap, rest...
Have a good week.
After a little bit of prompting from Amanda, I figured out why David didn't want to go to school. It's because he was being a bully, and kids were fighting back, hitting him in retaliation for him hitting them. I told him to stop doing that, and he said ok, he would...and he's better now. No problems with going to school at all. As part of going to school, David wants to bring his Diego bag, his "pack-pack," but at first I said no, since there's nothing to bring to school in it! So we talked to Ms. Naomi about it, and she said it just helps them feel like they're going to school. We put David's "buddy" in the pack-pack now, and he puts the Diego bag on his shoulders every day to go to school. He's getting to be a big boy!
David can read. He just doesn't know it yet. The other day in the car, he found a birthday card, and I asked him spell the words so I could tell him what they said, and instead he was sounding them out. So he knows the sounds, basic ones at least, but isn't quite able to put them together. It's just a matter of confidence now, and speeding up the sounds together to make words. I figure he'll get there in another month or two.
But he can read.
We practice reading in the books we read each night. I have David pick out a word or two in each bit of text. Sometimes he will, and other times he is unwilling. Since I don't want to make it a chore, I do what I can to make it fun for him.
Recently overheard: "I smell pizza!"
David had another wonderful night with his cousins on Tuesday night. They were taking turns riding his "car" down the driveway into the street (with me standing guard in the street, of course, to keep them from getting "squished" by cars, as David says). When it was Avery or Jared's turn, David would run down the driveway in front of them screaming at the top of his lungs. He had the best time just being as loud as possible. And he did a great job sharing, and taking turns. I was very proud of him. On Thursday night he went over to his cousins' house. He really loves to spend time with them. I do have to remind him, though, that he cannot just take whatever he sees Jared playing with. Some days that message gets through better than other days. This was a better day.
Rachel is impressed by the "grown up" language David uses, like, "You're killing me!" when he thinks something is funny. There's other things he says that are like that, very grown up sounding, very figurative language. David's sense of things is wonderful. He's very funny but doesn't realize it. He says things, and I laugh, and he wonders why I'm laughing. It's hard to think to write down those things when he says them...
And about the video games: he talks to himself (or someone) when he's playing them, or thinking about them out loud. He has begun to sing a little bit with Blue's Clues, and I may have said this before, but I watch him clap along or do whatever it is Steve says...like rest, clap - clap, rest, clap, rest...
Have a good week.
Friday, September 11, 2009
David Weekly, #66
So I'm going to meet my sister somewhere. I'm on the phone with her in the car, and David overhears this conversation, and says, "Step on it, so we can beat her there!"
David has reached the age where there is now the question of Authority. David was telling me something about farts (also the age of potty humor, oh boy!). I asked him where he heard that, and he said, "Tyler." I'm like, "but that's not right!" David's reply? "But Tyler said it!" So daddy is not right, but David's 4 year old school companion is...
This week has been better for David when it comes to going to school. He is less clingy, but at the same time, he hates going. He says, "Do I have to go today?" And of course I answer, "Yes." And he gets upset. He tries to make a deal with me not to go, but there's just no deal good enough. I tell him he can't stay home by himself. He says ok. He came home from school with some papers, and when asked how he feels, he says, "Happy, because I play with my cousins and with my toys."
David's also discovered another dinosaur video game, but it's a bit more age appropriate, and is specifically educational, and it features the "Land Before Time" dinosaurs. And he would play it all night if I let him.
The other day we were at the park, and there's platform that has 4 different slides. On one side of the platform, it has 3 steps up, and the other side has 2. I never noticed this before, but David says for me to go on the 3 step side and he'll go on the two step side. It's amazing how he can just "know" that kind of detail. But he does. David loves the swings, too. But I'm not allowed to push him too high. He especially likes it if I spin him in it.
And he likes to spell words with his hands, but only when he decides to do it. I can't prompt him or ask him to do it. No idea why...Speaking of spelling, as I read books to David at night, I'm getting him to recognize words based on their sounds, or where they are in the sentence, or from a list of the 100 sight words that I have in my head, except I don't know all 100, but easy ones like "the" or "I" or "a" ... and other words that are repeated over and over, like in the Gingerbread man book, it says the word "rest" at the end. So David is learning how to read. We went to the grocery store, and he wanted the chocolate chip cookie dough. Then he pointed it out very specifically. I asked him how he knew, and he points to the word "chocolate," saying, "That's how I know."
So David is becoming a reader, and growing (he asks why he's growing, and I just tell him because it's what he's supposed to do). His week got better, so I hope yours did, too.
Have a great next week.
David has reached the age where there is now the question of Authority. David was telling me something about farts (also the age of potty humor, oh boy!). I asked him where he heard that, and he said, "Tyler." I'm like, "but that's not right!" David's reply? "But Tyler said it!" So daddy is not right, but David's 4 year old school companion is...
This week has been better for David when it comes to going to school. He is less clingy, but at the same time, he hates going. He says, "Do I have to go today?" And of course I answer, "Yes." And he gets upset. He tries to make a deal with me not to go, but there's just no deal good enough. I tell him he can't stay home by himself. He says ok. He came home from school with some papers, and when asked how he feels, he says, "Happy, because I play with my cousins and with my toys."
David's also discovered another dinosaur video game, but it's a bit more age appropriate, and is specifically educational, and it features the "Land Before Time" dinosaurs. And he would play it all night if I let him.
The other day we were at the park, and there's platform that has 4 different slides. On one side of the platform, it has 3 steps up, and the other side has 2. I never noticed this before, but David says for me to go on the 3 step side and he'll go on the two step side. It's amazing how he can just "know" that kind of detail. But he does. David loves the swings, too. But I'm not allowed to push him too high. He especially likes it if I spin him in it.
And he likes to spell words with his hands, but only when he decides to do it. I can't prompt him or ask him to do it. No idea why...Speaking of spelling, as I read books to David at night, I'm getting him to recognize words based on their sounds, or where they are in the sentence, or from a list of the 100 sight words that I have in my head, except I don't know all 100, but easy ones like "the" or "I" or "a" ... and other words that are repeated over and over, like in the Gingerbread man book, it says the word "rest" at the end. So David is learning how to read. We went to the grocery store, and he wanted the chocolate chip cookie dough. Then he pointed it out very specifically. I asked him how he knew, and he points to the word "chocolate," saying, "That's how I know."
So David is becoming a reader, and growing (he asks why he's growing, and I just tell him because it's what he's supposed to do). His week got better, so I hope yours did, too.
Have a great next week.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
David Weekly, #65
Another week has gone by...
Now that I'm on my regular schedule, this is a typical day: Wake up at 7 AM or so, take a shower. Some days, David will come in the bathroom and lay on the floor, waking up; other days he won't wake up until I get him, or I'll find him playing quietly. Lately he's almost completely figured out how to use the VCR, pushing the "triangle" (for play) or the "square" (for stop/eject), and even the rewind button. The rewind button doesn't have a name. Once in a while, he forgets to stop the tape first, and rewinds it first. This causes great upset on his part. So I have to remind him to stop it first, then rewind it. That usually makes him happy. He watches the same Blue's Clues shows over and over, but now at least he has a greater variety since Cinnamon gave us 3 more tapes. He also knows how to tell if the tape needs to be rewound or not.
So anyway, I get dressed and then he gets dressed and he always wants cereal for breakfast: Lucky Charms. He watches Blue's Clues, and forgets to take bites, but I remind him (a lot! "Take a bite, David!") He asks me every day if he's going to school, and I tell him that he is, and he gets upset. Not totally sure why he gets upset, when he didn't used to before...maybe it's the every day nature of it? He wears read every day. He has 5 or 6 red shirts, and they make the rotation for the week. It's hard to get him to wear anything else. This morning (Saturday) he got himself completely dressed before I even got out of bed! It's very important that he wear the Cars underwear (to him, at least), but this morning he put them on backwards. After he dressed himself this morning he asked me if we're going to school and I told him no, which made him happy. He got a big smile and gave me a big hug. Every morning he gets his 2.5 ml of his Xyzal (allergy medication). Every night he gets his aderax (not sure of the spelling here) before bed. He does not like it, because it's sour. 6 ml of that each night.
We then go to school (5 days a week). He puts his "buddy" in his cubbie, and some days he clings to me, and other days he goes off and plays. I'm doing my best to keep a steady routine for him, which I know makes it easier because that way there's no surprises. I pick him up between 5:15 and 5:30, and we go home, have dinner, and play outside. I give him a bath, brush his teeth, put lotion on him, read to him a few stories, and sing to him, say our little prayer (now I lay me down to sleep -- and then go through the list of people that love him, his mommy and sissy are always first on that list), and he then lays in bed for a while, not sleeping. Usually he'll get out of bed, ask to go potty, then he goes to sleep. This is by 8:30 - 9:00.
The other day when I went to pick him up, he was all hot and sweaty. He sees me, and the first thing he says is, "Let's go home so I can take a bath!"
He loves playing Nanosaur. Any kind of drumming sound, or sound of movement (such as the sound of a little bit of gatorade in the bottle) is "music" to him. He'll make the sound, then tell me he's "making music."
On Tuesday, David and I went to the store to buy his school supplies: glue, colored pencils, crayons, construction paper, and a bunch of other stuff. I stopped to get some shampoo for myself, and David saw the bubble bath. In the form of Lighting McQueen. The wheels even roll, so it'll actually be a great toy even when it's empty. So I hope that the marketing guy/woman got a great pay raise for that, because I was absolutely bowled over by David making the case for me to get that for him. In the checkout line, David saw a lollipop that he wanted, and reached out of the cart to get one even after I had told him no. He was very upset! "But I want it!!!" he cried. Poor kid.
Wednesday night Cinnamon came over to have dinner with us, which was nice. David likes having her around, but because of the school year being in full swing, we don't see her as much.
Thursday night Jared and Avery spent the night with us, which was great! David had a lot of fun trying to wrestle with Jared, and I told David (much to his distress) that he's not allowed to try to take or play with everything that Jared has or plays with. They played hide and seek, and when they weren't doing that, Jared showed a lot of restraint with David trying to ... whatever it is David was doing (climbing all over Jared?) ... and Jared would just gently remove David from his body. Jared was often just sitting watching TV, and David was causing him a problem. Sometimes I'd let Jared handle it, and other times I'd put David in time out. At bed time, Avery and Jared both read books to David, which was great, and really sweet. David loved it as much as they did. Jared slept in Colleen's old room, and Avery slept on the top bunk. It was, overall, a wonderful evening. In the morning I took everyone to school. Friday night David was asking to get them from their school again...
On Friday, David got his flu shot. I level with him about that kind of thing. I told him we're going to the doctor's for the shot. He says, "I don't want to go, because they'll hurt me!" I tell him that yes, it will hurt, but it keeps him from getting really super sick. He was very unhappy, of course, but interestingly, he says, "Only one shot." I said, "Yes, only one." This made him feel better somehow, maybe because he had some kind of control. We then went to the zoo. David recovers from his shot remarkably quickly, usually within minutes. He gets a Cars sticker, and after the shot we went to the zoo, which we haven't been to in a while. We saw the koalas, which is a new exhibit they have. We did all the normal things at the zoo, like see the elephants, and the manatees.
Finally, David sounds out words now. He says, "P - P - P play" or today, he said, "Sh - sh - that's the "h" sound." I corrected this, and said, "Sh - sh is the s-h sound..." He interrupts me, "Like sh-sh-shark?" He's so smart.
Hope you've had a good week.
Now that I'm on my regular schedule, this is a typical day: Wake up at 7 AM or so, take a shower. Some days, David will come in the bathroom and lay on the floor, waking up; other days he won't wake up until I get him, or I'll find him playing quietly. Lately he's almost completely figured out how to use the VCR, pushing the "triangle" (for play) or the "square" (for stop/eject), and even the rewind button. The rewind button doesn't have a name. Once in a while, he forgets to stop the tape first, and rewinds it first. This causes great upset on his part. So I have to remind him to stop it first, then rewind it. That usually makes him happy. He watches the same Blue's Clues shows over and over, but now at least he has a greater variety since Cinnamon gave us 3 more tapes. He also knows how to tell if the tape needs to be rewound or not.
So anyway, I get dressed and then he gets dressed and he always wants cereal for breakfast: Lucky Charms. He watches Blue's Clues, and forgets to take bites, but I remind him (a lot! "Take a bite, David!") He asks me every day if he's going to school, and I tell him that he is, and he gets upset. Not totally sure why he gets upset, when he didn't used to before...maybe it's the every day nature of it? He wears read every day. He has 5 or 6 red shirts, and they make the rotation for the week. It's hard to get him to wear anything else. This morning (Saturday) he got himself completely dressed before I even got out of bed! It's very important that he wear the Cars underwear (to him, at least), but this morning he put them on backwards. After he dressed himself this morning he asked me if we're going to school and I told him no, which made him happy. He got a big smile and gave me a big hug. Every morning he gets his 2.5 ml of his Xyzal (allergy medication). Every night he gets his aderax (not sure of the spelling here) before bed. He does not like it, because it's sour. 6 ml of that each night.
We then go to school (5 days a week). He puts his "buddy" in his cubbie, and some days he clings to me, and other days he goes off and plays. I'm doing my best to keep a steady routine for him, which I know makes it easier because that way there's no surprises. I pick him up between 5:15 and 5:30, and we go home, have dinner, and play outside. I give him a bath, brush his teeth, put lotion on him, read to him a few stories, and sing to him, say our little prayer (now I lay me down to sleep -- and then go through the list of people that love him, his mommy and sissy are always first on that list), and he then lays in bed for a while, not sleeping. Usually he'll get out of bed, ask to go potty, then he goes to sleep. This is by 8:30 - 9:00.
The other day when I went to pick him up, he was all hot and sweaty. He sees me, and the first thing he says is, "Let's go home so I can take a bath!"
He loves playing Nanosaur. Any kind of drumming sound, or sound of movement (such as the sound of a little bit of gatorade in the bottle) is "music" to him. He'll make the sound, then tell me he's "making music."
On Tuesday, David and I went to the store to buy his school supplies: glue, colored pencils, crayons, construction paper, and a bunch of other stuff. I stopped to get some shampoo for myself, and David saw the bubble bath. In the form of Lighting McQueen. The wheels even roll, so it'll actually be a great toy even when it's empty. So I hope that the marketing guy/woman got a great pay raise for that, because I was absolutely bowled over by David making the case for me to get that for him. In the checkout line, David saw a lollipop that he wanted, and reached out of the cart to get one even after I had told him no. He was very upset! "But I want it!!!" he cried. Poor kid.
Wednesday night Cinnamon came over to have dinner with us, which was nice. David likes having her around, but because of the school year being in full swing, we don't see her as much.
Thursday night Jared and Avery spent the night with us, which was great! David had a lot of fun trying to wrestle with Jared, and I told David (much to his distress) that he's not allowed to try to take or play with everything that Jared has or plays with. They played hide and seek, and when they weren't doing that, Jared showed a lot of restraint with David trying to ... whatever it is David was doing (climbing all over Jared?) ... and Jared would just gently remove David from his body. Jared was often just sitting watching TV, and David was causing him a problem. Sometimes I'd let Jared handle it, and other times I'd put David in time out. At bed time, Avery and Jared both read books to David, which was great, and really sweet. David loved it as much as they did. Jared slept in Colleen's old room, and Avery slept on the top bunk. It was, overall, a wonderful evening. In the morning I took everyone to school. Friday night David was asking to get them from their school again...
On Friday, David got his flu shot. I level with him about that kind of thing. I told him we're going to the doctor's for the shot. He says, "I don't want to go, because they'll hurt me!" I tell him that yes, it will hurt, but it keeps him from getting really super sick. He was very unhappy, of course, but interestingly, he says, "Only one shot." I said, "Yes, only one." This made him feel better somehow, maybe because he had some kind of control. We then went to the zoo. David recovers from his shot remarkably quickly, usually within minutes. He gets a Cars sticker, and after the shot we went to the zoo, which we haven't been to in a while. We saw the koalas, which is a new exhibit they have. We did all the normal things at the zoo, like see the elephants, and the manatees.
Finally, David sounds out words now. He says, "P - P - P play" or today, he said, "Sh - sh - that's the "h" sound." I corrected this, and said, "Sh - sh is the s-h sound..." He interrupts me, "Like sh-sh-shark?" He's so smart.
Hope you've had a good week.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
David Weekly, #64
So David had his birthday party on Saturday, at Dinosaur World. He absolutely loved it. The weather, though, was a different story: it rained, and at times, it rained hard! But David did not care. He enjoyed the rain, it kept the day cooler than it would have otherwise been, and it made for an adventure. David's kid sized guests were Shawn and Sebastian (Jesse's nephews), and Avery and Jared, and Cinnamon's daughter Cayenne. He really liked all the dinosaurs that we were able to see, but got scared at one point or another, of the dinosaurs themselves or the areas that they were they were in.
So he got for his birthday Bakugon toys, which is a big deal. Rachel noticed that he was saying "I got one just like you, Jared!" He was so excited about getting this toy, but we're not sure if he's happy about the toy itself, or if he's happy because it's one like Jared has. He also got a remote control race car, and some more Hot Wheels, tracks for the cars to race on, a magna-doodle, some Moon Sand, a DVD, a book, and a cute outfit. He was more excited about the clothes than I expected.
---
I wrote the above the week that David went off with his mother, which was the Sunday before his actual birthday, as we celebrated it early. I haven't written anything since. Not totally sure why not. But we'll try to continue with the weeklies.
--
David misses his mommy. He asks when he's going to see her next, and I tell him about 12 weeks. He says, the next day, "is it 11 weeks yet?" The transitions for him are hard.
I notice lately that he seems to "forget" that he has two hands. He seems less willing to do things that require both hands, such as get himself dressed. He can do it by himself, but he doesn't really want to. Another example of him not wanting to use his left hand for things is when I ask to hold his hand as we cross the street, or we're going to the store, and I need to physically keep track of him. He will more often offer me his right hand, even if it's otherwise very inconvenient, such as he's on my right side, and his right hand is already being used to hold things, and his left hand is free. He just tries to switch everything over to the other side so I can hold his right hand.
I've also discovered that he has a barrier to getting started on something, but once you get him over that, he is willing to continue, such as eating foods I know he likes.
I have started a new schedule at my job, where I work 9 - 5. David is now at Gabrielle's Glen, where Colleen went, full time. He's doing VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten) from 8:30 - 11:30, then just regular day care after that. The other day he asks me in the car if he's nasty. I asked him what he meant by that, and he told me that Ms Naomi (his VPK teacher) told him that he was nasty. I asked her about it the next day, and she told me that he had been spitting on other children, and that that was nasty. So, it turned out that he misinterpreted what she said. In fact, it turned into me telling him not to spit on people at school, or anywhere else. He later told me, "I didn't spit on anybody today, daddy!"
Since David's been home, we've gone to the allergy doctor, who gave me more tips on handling his allergies, and which I have been following more faithfully this time. He gets Xyzal in the morning every day, and at night, he gets something called "Adorax." He also had his well-child visit at Dr. Sams, his pediatrician. He had 4 shots (after which he said of the woman who gave him the shot, "She hurt me!") He's 42 pounds, or inches, or both. His numbers are still very close to each other, so I get confused about which is which. He's in the 75th percentile for either height or weight. Dr. Sams asked him his full name (which he knows), his colors (which he knows - even in French), his letters for his eye test (although he couldn't see all of the numbers on the 20/20 line with his left eye, but he did at least see enough of them to pass the test), asked him to write his name (which he can, just badly), did a hearing test (he passed, but the machine wasn't working very well). David's going to get a regular flu shot on September 4, and the H1N1 shot as soon as it's available. The only problem is that it takes at least two different shots, over the space of 3 weeks, to gain full immunity to this variety of the flu. So more shots for the boy. He recovered amazingly well to the shots he got at the well care visit.
Lots of other things have been happening. While he was away, I got him new bunk beds...my neighbor was getting rid of the one she had, and asked if I wanted it. So I got it. It's perfect for David. He sleeps in the lower bunk, which is a full sized mattress, and has red sheets. The metal that makes up the frame is all red, too. David loves red. It's almost to the point where he won't wear anything but a red shirt, and whatever shorts are available. He also insists on the "Cars" underwear.
Miscellaneous facts:
David asks to go to the library. He loves that place. And so we go.
Cinnamon gave me an old computer that she no longer has a use for, and it has a game on it called "Nanosaur," which is a game where you have to collect dinosaur eggs and not get killed by the T-Rexes which are everywhere. David loves this game! He's figured out how to move around, and how to get the powerups that are found throughout the game. He asks for my help sometimes, but otherwise, he loves it!
I ask him about school, "David, how was school today?" His reply: "I don't know!" I think I'm going to find out another way to ask him. Any suggestions you have would be great! But he is in VPK now, which started on August 24. From one perspective, it doesn't seem that much more of a big deal than it ever was. Gabrielle's Glen teaches the kids in VPK fashion anyway, even from the time they can walk! So he's going to do well there, I think.
Last Wednesday night, Jared and Avery spent the night with us. That was some night full of activity! David basically wants everything that Jared has, which is hard to deal with. Avery slept on the top bunk, David on the lower one (his normal sleeping spot), and Jared on the couch. It was a pretty good night. David and Avery ate at the big table with me. We had chicken and stuffing and green beans. Jared refused the green beans, so David made a bit of show out of eating them, because David likes most kinds of food.
I've purchased a book called "1 - 2 - 3 Magic" to try to get a handle on David's behavior, because of his whining, which I do not want to continue. I decided on this book over others because I had discovered that David responded when I would count him before. I didn't know (and still don't, really) who is the person that counts him. But I thought I'd use it to my/his advantange, so that he and I could have a more peaceful relationship. And it is helping. He doesn't whine soooo much, and it's easier to get him to do things, like eat his dinner with much less fuss.
David asked me to close his door when I was watching TV the other day. I was surprised he wanted to go to sleep, not stay awake!
Lastly, he's got a chocolate fixation, much like his sissy. He asks for chocolate milk all the time now. He wants to get the stool so he can get the chocolate syrup out of the fridge, and I get the milk (it's too heavy for him). Then I stir the chocolate into the milk, and he drinks it right up!
So that's the highlights of the last month.
Hope it's been a good one for you. I'll try to go back to the weekly format going forward. Wish me luck!
So he got for his birthday Bakugon toys, which is a big deal. Rachel noticed that he was saying "I got one just like you, Jared!" He was so excited about getting this toy, but we're not sure if he's happy about the toy itself, or if he's happy because it's one like Jared has. He also got a remote control race car, and some more Hot Wheels, tracks for the cars to race on, a magna-doodle, some Moon Sand, a DVD, a book, and a cute outfit. He was more excited about the clothes than I expected.
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I wrote the above the week that David went off with his mother, which was the Sunday before his actual birthday, as we celebrated it early. I haven't written anything since. Not totally sure why not. But we'll try to continue with the weeklies.
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David misses his mommy. He asks when he's going to see her next, and I tell him about 12 weeks. He says, the next day, "is it 11 weeks yet?" The transitions for him are hard.
I notice lately that he seems to "forget" that he has two hands. He seems less willing to do things that require both hands, such as get himself dressed. He can do it by himself, but he doesn't really want to. Another example of him not wanting to use his left hand for things is when I ask to hold his hand as we cross the street, or we're going to the store, and I need to physically keep track of him. He will more often offer me his right hand, even if it's otherwise very inconvenient, such as he's on my right side, and his right hand is already being used to hold things, and his left hand is free. He just tries to switch everything over to the other side so I can hold his right hand.
I've also discovered that he has a barrier to getting started on something, but once you get him over that, he is willing to continue, such as eating foods I know he likes.
I have started a new schedule at my job, where I work 9 - 5. David is now at Gabrielle's Glen, where Colleen went, full time. He's doing VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten) from 8:30 - 11:30, then just regular day care after that. The other day he asks me in the car if he's nasty. I asked him what he meant by that, and he told me that Ms Naomi (his VPK teacher) told him that he was nasty. I asked her about it the next day, and she told me that he had been spitting on other children, and that that was nasty. So, it turned out that he misinterpreted what she said. In fact, it turned into me telling him not to spit on people at school, or anywhere else. He later told me, "I didn't spit on anybody today, daddy!"
Since David's been home, we've gone to the allergy doctor, who gave me more tips on handling his allergies, and which I have been following more faithfully this time. He gets Xyzal in the morning every day, and at night, he gets something called "Adorax." He also had his well-child visit at Dr. Sams, his pediatrician. He had 4 shots (after which he said of the woman who gave him the shot, "She hurt me!") He's 42 pounds, or inches, or both. His numbers are still very close to each other, so I get confused about which is which. He's in the 75th percentile for either height or weight. Dr. Sams asked him his full name (which he knows), his colors (which he knows - even in French), his letters for his eye test (although he couldn't see all of the numbers on the 20/20 line with his left eye, but he did at least see enough of them to pass the test), asked him to write his name (which he can, just badly), did a hearing test (he passed, but the machine wasn't working very well). David's going to get a regular flu shot on September 4, and the H1N1 shot as soon as it's available. The only problem is that it takes at least two different shots, over the space of 3 weeks, to gain full immunity to this variety of the flu. So more shots for the boy. He recovered amazingly well to the shots he got at the well care visit.
Lots of other things have been happening. While he was away, I got him new bunk beds...my neighbor was getting rid of the one she had, and asked if I wanted it. So I got it. It's perfect for David. He sleeps in the lower bunk, which is a full sized mattress, and has red sheets. The metal that makes up the frame is all red, too. David loves red. It's almost to the point where he won't wear anything but a red shirt, and whatever shorts are available. He also insists on the "Cars" underwear.
Miscellaneous facts:
David asks to go to the library. He loves that place. And so we go.
Cinnamon gave me an old computer that she no longer has a use for, and it has a game on it called "Nanosaur," which is a game where you have to collect dinosaur eggs and not get killed by the T-Rexes which are everywhere. David loves this game! He's figured out how to move around, and how to get the powerups that are found throughout the game. He asks for my help sometimes, but otherwise, he loves it!
I ask him about school, "David, how was school today?" His reply: "I don't know!" I think I'm going to find out another way to ask him. Any suggestions you have would be great! But he is in VPK now, which started on August 24. From one perspective, it doesn't seem that much more of a big deal than it ever was. Gabrielle's Glen teaches the kids in VPK fashion anyway, even from the time they can walk! So he's going to do well there, I think.
Last Wednesday night, Jared and Avery spent the night with us. That was some night full of activity! David basically wants everything that Jared has, which is hard to deal with. Avery slept on the top bunk, David on the lower one (his normal sleeping spot), and Jared on the couch. It was a pretty good night. David and Avery ate at the big table with me. We had chicken and stuffing and green beans. Jared refused the green beans, so David made a bit of show out of eating them, because David likes most kinds of food.
I've purchased a book called "1 - 2 - 3 Magic" to try to get a handle on David's behavior, because of his whining, which I do not want to continue. I decided on this book over others because I had discovered that David responded when I would count him before. I didn't know (and still don't, really) who is the person that counts him. But I thought I'd use it to my/his advantange, so that he and I could have a more peaceful relationship. And it is helping. He doesn't whine soooo much, and it's easier to get him to do things, like eat his dinner with much less fuss.
David asked me to close his door when I was watching TV the other day. I was surprised he wanted to go to sleep, not stay awake!
Lastly, he's got a chocolate fixation, much like his sissy. He asks for chocolate milk all the time now. He wants to get the stool so he can get the chocolate syrup out of the fridge, and I get the milk (it's too heavy for him). Then I stir the chocolate into the milk, and he drinks it right up!
So that's the highlights of the last month.
Hope it's been a good one for you. I'll try to go back to the weekly format going forward. Wish me luck!
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