Growing Up

The little ones in my life finished their school year a few days ago.   They started the school year thinking they would be in the South for who-knows-how-long...and finished the year in the Midwest. 

They grew and changed and embraced change and made me one proud momma.

T-Man took the changes in stride.  He smoothly transitioned from one climate and culture into the next.  He is a helper, a leader, a reader, and radiates positivity.  Ironically, his name means "long-winded talker" and "cheerful".  Both of those meanings fit our little T-Man perfectly.  And I love him to pieces for both of those qualities.

Fearless had the hardest time with the changes--he is one that loves the routine and anticipating what is coming next.  Moving and starting over with new school rules, new friends, new climate...it took awhile for him to adjust.  But being the little rock star he is, he realized he was having a hard time and every night he would pray that he would be happy.  And each day he tried hard to choose to be happy. 

That attitude is pretty grown-up for a five year old.  I'm so proud of him for pushing himself to grow and embrace the change. 

And this little lovey?  She's still my doll-baby; but she's grown-up too.  She loves her independence and is communicating what she needs and wants like a champ.  And although we lovingly refer to her as our little F5 Tornado (or just F5 for short) I love her curiosity and her sense of adventure.  I love hearing about what is going on in her mind. I love learning what is important to her, so it can be important to me too. 

Having them all home everyday means that our home is full of ruckus & chaos at any given moment--and surprisingly, it doesn't bother me.  Just having them close and deepening our relationship is worth all the noise and Lego messes.

Yay for 3 months of uninterrupted time for me to spend with my little ones!!

Bring on summer!!

Adventures in Educationland: Miss B's Evaluation and First Day of Preschool

Welcome to a new series here on Life As We Know It.  Now that Miss B is getting older, her education is moving to a more formal setting.  Because I am absolutely positive we will have Adventures in Educationland with her, this will be a continuing series involving our experiences.  And, because sometimes T-Man and Fearless have crazy education stories as well, we will not limit the stories to just Miss B.  Enjoy!

When we first told people that we were moving to The Village here in our little corner of The South, the majority of people expressed their concern over my children's educational opportunities.  And while some of those fears have been substantiated, I am always pleasantly surprised when they are not. 

Miss B's new preschool is one of those pleasant surprises. 

I had some misgivings about sending Miss B to preschool because she is not quite two and a half...but I felt that the Special Instructor (a lady that I love to pieces and would adopt into my own family) just wasn't as effective as a more structured educational program would be.  After having visited her Preschool and talking with the teachers and the director..I am confidant that I made the right decision.
Her school is located on the University campus, and is run by people with Master's or PhD's in special education or a related field.  University students studying pertinent subjects (educational psychology, special education, early childhood education, etc) spend a semester helping in the classrooms.  The class sizes are small (only 6 kids in Miss B's class), the classrooms are well supplied, and it's free.

I swear it's like someone read my preschool-wish-list, waved their magic wand, and *poof* Miss B gets everything she needs.  The founder of The Center has surely earned his spot in heaven.

Last week, Miss B went in for her first Educational Evaluation.  And it was frustrating and satisfying at the same time.  Knowing that this was the first of many pieces of paper that would be placed in her file, the pressure was on.  I was a bit panicked during the test because there were somethings that I knew she could do, that she just wasn't interested in that day. 

Come on Miss B, show them you can kick the ball! 
I know you can kick the ball. 
No, don't run down the hallway...Come out of the bathroom--let go of the toilet paper! 
The ball, remember the ball? 

Zero points for that one.

But then there were also times when she shined and let her personality show.  Like when the speech therapist placed a few toys in front of her and asked her to put the toy dog on top of the yellow paper.  Miss B was more interested in playing with the baby doll...until  the lady asked the 3rd time...and Miss B gave her a dirty look, picked up the dog, slammed it down on the yellow paper, and then went back to the baby.  There, I did it.  Will you leave me alone now?!

In the end, I shouldn't have worried at all...because my girl rocked that test.  As in: only-significantly-delayed-in-one-area.  As in: average-or-higher-than-average in all other areas.

Have I ever mentioned that my daughter is a Rockstar? 

Just sayin'.

And it was the simple fact that she has an extra chromosome in every cell of her body that got her into Preschool.  If they went just by the test results, she'd be too "high functioning" to qualify. 

Thank you, little extra chromosome!!

Her first day was yesterday, and she did fabulously.  To quote her teacher, Ms. E, "Miss Banana had a GREAT first day!!  She is going to LOVE this!!"

And now comes the moment we've all been waiting for--pictures of Miss B on her first day of school yesterday.

(Please note that when we went shopping for her 1st Day of School outfit, Miss B picked this dress out herself and wouldn't let go.  The checkout lady wasn't even allowed to put it in the bag--just scan and back in Miss B's arms.  She is totally going to be a fashionista.)

Umm, Mommy?  I'm not sure about this backpack thing.



Whoops!  Down I go!



Pictures Galore--Part 1: Fearless Turns 3 and First Days of School

Lately my blogging time has been taken up by another new hobby: couponing. Did you know that you can find coupons for pretty much everything?? In a few short weeks I have learned that you should never pay full price for anything and that it feels great to walk out of the grocery store with everything you need and have saved $70. Anyway, it does take some time, so my blogging time has suffered. We have done a ton of stuff lately though, so this post will be long with a ton of pictures. Here you go!

These ones are of Fearless's 3rd Birthday. Happy Birthday, Fearless!

A new tool set--a three-year-old-boy-must-have!



These are from his "Green-Nature Party". Green is his favorite color so he wanted a whole green party. Since this was his first "friend" party, I let him call all the shots--including requesting that everyone wear green.



Fearless had his first day of preschool a few weeks later--he was so excited! And I was excited for him, but sentimental about it too...isn't that the way moms are supposed to be?

The next day, T-Man started Kindergarten...which was even more exciting/sentimental since he is my first child. He loves it though and has even slipped and called me "Mrs. S" and slipped and called Mrs. S "mom". I think this would hurt my feelings a little if I weren't so grateful that he has a good teacher that he really likes.

A Milestone!

Today we finally hit the 10lbs mark! Yes!! Now we just have to keep gaining weight--hopefully another pound before surgery. Our cardiologist appointment is on Tuesday--I'm getting really antsy to know when Miss Banana's surgery will be.

My friend Megan came over to take some pictures of Miss Banana on Sunday--and they turned out super cute. You can check them out here: http://meganophotography.blogspot.com/
Thanks Megan!

In other news, T-Man will be finishing his second year of preschool next week--when did he get so old?? I am really going to miss Dimensions Preschool--they are such a great program with great teachers and T-Man has learned and grown so much since going there. If anyone is looking into a preschool--I highly recommend them!