August 2009

Happy August everyone!

Happy except the daycare drama continues. We tried a temporary home daycare setting which fizzled out after 2 days. Berik did not like it and was showing out to prove it. The lady was very nice but not stern enough for him.
We had him evaluated though the local school system and they said that he was gifted and talented. Of course you know that he didn't act out once and entertained the two women the whole time he was there.
The had him draw a person on the dry erase board. Wait? Draw? Oh yeah, he drew for them. A big circle, with 2 dots for eyes, a nose, a big smile and ears! They then asked him to draw some hair, at which time he did, drawing it right on top of the person's head and a little on both sides. They said that usually children his age don't touch the hair to the head but since he did he showed advanced for that area. ?? Never heard of that one but ok. I however have never seen him or been able to get him to draw me anything so I was loving that part. They found him to be charming, claiming that they thought he was just bored, possibly needing some more structure in his school day.

His nosebleeds continue 2-3X a month and he still doesn't sleep soundly. We had the pediatrician take a looksy but still nothing conclusive. She says just give him time to mature and love him. Well we finally found a place for B but since it didn't start until mid August,we will continue the rounds of babysitters and odd work hours for us, in an effort not to have to hire someone full time.

Unlike the first daycare, we like the director, she assures us that they can handle him and that she has years of experience with the most difficult kids. So that is refreshing! The facility has lots of things for the kids to do, so now instead of being under=stimulated he will likely be over stimulated, only time shall tell. We are not so sure about the teacher, she seems nice enough but it is like she "knows it all" and that isn't going to fly with us. He has only been in for one week now and he is still adjusting. Somethings are new and exciting to him so he goes for it but he doesn't want to switch activities very well. With his marginally good behavior, we are probably just in the honeymoon phase.

Wearing regular undies is working well and he is very very good about telling us, and everybody around him, that he has "to go". He has always loved the echo in the public bathrooms and is now using that to his advantage to boast about is pottying skills. Each time we go potty, he says, in his huge blaring voice, "I AM GOING PEE PEE, MOMMY" and when it's my turn, (same huge voice), "THAT'S YOUR PEE PEE, MOMMY". Thanks B for sharing :). He is also doing a great job with teeth brushing which I am loving now, because you know that won't last forever. Same thing with the bathtub, he loves it now but probably not forever either. Water seems to be his thing as spraying the hose at, Duke the boxer is an all time favorite thing to do. He does have somethings that he is good at too but in a not so good way, which is getting stuck in things.
This time is was the stroller that we brought home from Kaz. We drug it out for a garage sale and he insisted that he get in. He buckled himself up but when he couldn't get back out he was freaking out! Too funny. He seems to have a knack for this, as I well remember when he got the potty seat ring, stuck over his head and we had to cut it off and the time he buckled himself into the spare car seat that was in the living room and then was screaming because he was stuck. What's next I don't even want to know.
He asked me one day, "Mommy is this the 'right' shoe? Thinking he was asking if it was the correct one for that foot, I said, "yes", as he is picking up the other shoe, " is this the left". Smart little bugger he is. He is also big into "belly button" something he made up. He straddles you belly to belly and lines himself up perfectly to make sure that his and your belly buttons meet and then he just relaxes on top of you. He only like to do this with daddy and I. He like to see others belly buttons but doesn't want to lay on them, thank goodness. I have found him asleep on top of daddy who has also snoozed off. I have a picture but it is on cell phone. As soon as I can get it transferred I will. As each min passes he gets smarter and smarter so we as his parents are sharpening up our skills too. We are becoming pretty good about not saying things around him that we don't want to be shared with the whole world, as he is in the 'parrot stage', good or bad, he is going to repeat it at the worst possible time.
All and all he is our pride and joy even with every bump in the road. I hope he is able to stay in school and flourish as we don't think it's a good thing to keep switching him back and forth. Take care. G

Oh My July!

We had a quiet 4th of July here at the house and watched the fireworks from the front yard, as the park is about 1 mile from here. Berik loves them which is great! I love to watch his face as he gets excited with each and every pop and boom :)
Berik has grown by leaps and bounds and has finally outgrown, literally outgrown, his toddler bed, so we bought him a BIG BOY bed. It is a twin captains bed with the bookshelf headboard and the drawers and storage underneath. We also bought the desk to match. He was very excited!!! We still are having to use the guard rail because if rolled out, which he would, he would have about 3 ft to fall. New bedding will be next as the zoo animal theme is getting a little babyish. One step at a time though as mommy had a hard time adjusting to giving up his first bed. :)

He continues to want to wear his cowboy boots with shorts which would normally bother me but oh well, he's just a little boy and it's just a phase. He was sporting that fashion the other day when he went with me to check on someones dogs and when we got there he had to pee. Well he couldn't hold it and he went alright, right down his leg into his boot! Yuck! We poured it out stripped him down, put him in some different shorts and let him go for a quick dip in the pool. A little pool water for the boot and for him and we were all better!
By the end of the month he was totally potty trained. He has had the hang of it now for a long time but just was being stubborn. Since he does not respond to rewards or bribes, we decided to just put him in regular undies and after a few times of being wet, he decided on his own he had to go, announcing, "I have to go tee tee" scampering off to the bathroom. He has had no accidents since. Bye bye pull ups, hello, pay raise.
Berik had a rockin' good time at Jacobs birthday party. As part of the party he got an inflatable guitar that he practically sleeps with. He got out of the bathtub the other day and went directly to it, picking it up, running and playing throughout the house, which of course prompted us to take many pictures. We took several of those and normally take tons during the month but looking back now for the month of July I wonder where the all went as I can only find a few.
Daycare continued to have it's ups and downs, mainly downs and the director was calling us nearly everyday for something. She says that he won't go with the flow and is upsetting the class. They refuse to let him be him. He is having trouble napping and instead of giving him some attention during this time, something soothing to do, they just leave him, ignore him, which is only more frustrating for him. I have witnessed it and have been there for him, laying down on the floor with him. Can't get my own job done that way. The 2 that work during the nap period work on projects, like it is their break time. I have been up there and witnessed Berik being picked on outside at the playground. Two new boys are causing quit a stir for Berik. He is still not sleeping well and still having nosebleeds so that may have been some of the factors involved in his misbehavior. Long story short on 7-21 just after lunch, she called me up and said you will need to come and get Berik. When I got there she told me, we will no longer be able to accommodate Berik. She had some harsh words to describe his behavior and with that one mad scorn mommy scooped up her beloved baby and left but not without tears and hugs from the teachers who didn't understand why. Well long story short she didn't like him and like wise.
Of course our mission is to find the right place that understands that,Berik, does throw fits, but it is usually because he is frustrated. If you work with him and take some time then he becomes flexible and happy. He tries to get his point across and you can tell the wheels are turning 90 miles an hour but he can't get it all together so it ends up in fit throwing. Right now most places we have looked at are all about the number of kids they can cram into a class and not so much how much attention the kids need, ugh! For now, B will stay home, with babysitters, however continuing the same type of classroom structure. May we be on to bigger and better things!