Letter received from Goddard...

Dear Mr. and Mrs. B:

We have had an opportunity to observe George and the teachers believe that developmentally he is ready to move into the next classroom.

All change is stressful; so we approach classroom change as a process. First, we want to prepare your child by talking about the move into the next classroom. Next, your child will be introduced to the new teachers and the new classroom.

Communication is key to the success of any move. Please discuss the impending move with your child. A change during the move is that infants in the Cardinal room are beginning to drink out of a sippy cup rather than a bottle. Please provide a sippy cup daily so that the teachers can work with your child in learning to drink from a sippy cup. We would greatly appreciate your working on this at home as well.

In the Month of August George will be part of the Cardinal classroom.

Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to speak with me.

Sincerely,

Sharon..... Director


So...my question is....do you want to talk to George about all this, Taylor, or should I? Hee hee. :)

Trouble with a Capital T!!

Okay, this kid is insane. A far cry from his older brother who didn't crawl (well, scoot on his butt) until 10 months, pull to stand until 14 months, and walk until 20 months. Mr. I've had 8 teeth for a good month or two now has decided all of a sudden that he's done being an infant and wants to be 3, just like his big brother. He is crawling EVERYWHERE...he does the Army low crawl, like his Daddy, and usually carries something along with him in his mouth, so as to keep both hands free. Oh, and wires!! He LOVES wires!!



So, of course, Liam and I are constantly chasing him around trying to keep him out of everything. I mean, how do you discipline a child who still can't talk and truly understand you?! It's a lot of fun, but majorly exhausting. And he has none of the fear that Liam did. I mean, does this look like the face of a kid that is easily intimidated?!



He's pulling up (almost cruising) getting into everything and chasing the pets everywhere with intense speed. He wants to pretty much be Liam.

He wants to wear Liam's sunglasses....



Play with Liam's markers...



Sleep with Liam...



Get around like Liam...



but eat like Molly...



Next thing you know, he'll be pulling up to the bar to ask for a Guinness...



Anyway, he's fun and exhausting and I wish Taylor could be here to see it all. George would love for me to ship him off for a hug from Daddy, but I don't really think I have the right customs forms for that. Sorry, little G.

Summer Fun

So, it's been awhile and I figured I'd update on how Liam has been doing. The short story is...really well. He's loving school and doing well there, even though he couldn't understand why Miss Patricia (his teacher) had to go on vacation for a month....WITHOUT him. He LOVED the beach. Every year, we go to Nags Head for a week to where Taylor used to vacation growing up. I'm crazy enough to decide to take the boys on my own this year and so glad I did. While there were challenges and four days into being back, I'll admit the car is only half unpacked, it was all worth it. Some highlights of the trip were:

Playing Miniature Golf



Flying a kite at the Wright Brothers Memorial



Playing in the sand



and watching the boats come in at Oregon Inlet



One of my favorite parts of the week was going to "Daddy's Lighthouse" with Liam.



There is something so peaceful about that spot and it was so nice to just walk around with him and just take everything in. Both of us got a bit teary eyed talking about how we miss Daddy (he remembers being there with Taylor last year) and Liam finally just had to sit down on the steps of the lighthouse and "relax for a minute."



All in all, it was a good time.

Otherwise, Liam has been doing great. He is really helpful with George and rarely gives me trouble anymore unless others are around. He is finally doing better about dressing and undressing himself and did just that all on his own last night and this morning. He really missed Molly when we were gone and when she came home, he just kept saying, "I missed you, Molly. I missed you so much!" The other cute thing he said was the other day when we had some storm clouds. He asked me if it was going to thunder. When I told him that I didn't know, he said, "Okay, I'll ask God, then." God's answer (yes, I asked Liam what the answer was)..."Yes, of course."

Report Card Time!

Liam received his report card today. Thought I'd share:

Date: May 30, 2008 Age: 3 years, 7 months

Language Arts

Enjoys being read to....................Always
Recognizes the relationship between the written and spoken word....................Sometimes
Develops vocabulary of 2000 words....................Sometimes
Identifies action words....................Always
Uses plurals, pronouns, and basic punctuation....................Sometimes
Retells a simple story orally.....................Always
Understands that writing is a system of communication....................Always
Identifies and creates important elements of a writing system....................Sometimes
Develops process-writing skills....................Sometimes
Introduces imaginary content....................Always

Cognitive Skills and Math

Identifies items by color, shape, size, and weight....................Always
Develops classification skills....................Always
Completes logical patterns by 2 attributes....................Always
Sequences by size, 3 items....................Always
Matches one-to-one....................Always
Develops graphing skills....................Always
Understands basic elements of time....................Always

Creative Art

Freely chooses materials....................Always
Uses art as self-expression....................Always
Develops and uses the art processes of applying, forming, and interweaving to convey ideas....................Always

Music and Movement

Develops body awareness....................Always
Develops rhythm and tempo....................Always
Coordinates movements with words....................Always
Coordinates group support of individual....................Sometimes
Controls vigorous body movement....................Always

Motor Skills

Masters appropriate gross motor skills....................Always
Develops multi-tasking skills....................Always
Develops hand-eye coordination....................Always
Improves speech and finger movement....................Always

Social Science

Develops self-identity as a "learner"....................Always
Develops identity with social settings....................Always
Develops understanding of human similarity....................Always
Develops strategies for expression of ideas....................Always

Science and Nature Studies

Explores "cause and effect"....................Always
Understands the difference between living and non-living things....................Always
Plant study concepts....................Always
Develops skills in record-keeping, data collection, and classification....................Always
Understands concept of air....................Sometimes

Computer Lab

Uses computer to reinforce curricular goal attainment....................Always
Becomes facile in computer use....................Always
Explores possibilities of computer use....................Always

Report Card Time!

George got his report card from school today, so I thought I would share:

Language Arts

Listens and responds to voices..........................Always
Repeats vowel sounds and first syllables...........Not Exhibiting
Babbles for attention........................................Sometimes
Responds to name............................................Always

Sensory Stimulation

Follows a toy with eyes.....................................Always
Responds to visual change...............................Always
Responds to auditory stimulation (music)........Sometimes
Responds to tactile stimulation........................Always

Cognitive Developmentt

Focuses eyes for increasing time span.............Always
Recognizes familiar voices...............................Always
Displays memory............................................Not Exhibiting
Observes own hands and feet.........................Always
Shows preference...........................................Always
Seeks a missing object...................................Sometimes
Recognizes familiar objects...........................Sometimes

Creative Art

Enjoys tactile experience...............................Always
Observes own product..................................Not Exhibiting
Recognizes own product...............................Not Exhibiting

Motor Skills

Holds object in one hand..............................Always
Controls body movement.............................Always
Sits supported for increasing time span.......Sometimes
Reaches for object with two hands...............Always
Begins to crawl............................................Not exhibiting
Rolls over (front to back)..............................Always
Kicks legs and waves arms...........................Always

Music/Movement

Responds to rhythm and tempo...................Not exhibiting
Enjoys listening to music.............................Sometimes
Responds to soothing tones........................Not exhibiting

Self-Help/Life Skills

Calms self with toy......................................Always
Moves to assist feeding or diaper changes....Sometimes
Tongue thrusts and withdraws for spoon....Always
Verbalizes needs.........................................Sometimes
Holds bottle or cup.....................................Not exhibiting
Reaches to be held......................................Always

Ho hum.....

This picture about sums up the month of May. Liam has been having more of a difficult time as he realizes that Daddy is not coming back soon. The social worker that I meet with says that he is doing some reemergence of the ego or something like that...basically, when he was two, life was safer and more comfortable, so he is regressing back to behaviors he had when he was two. Well, however you want to put it, the poor little guy just misses his Daddy and is showing it.

It hasn't been all bad, though. Some fun things we have been doing to pass the time are:

1. Eating an M&M each night from Daddy to count down the days until he gets back...when they are all gone, Daddy will be home.



2. Snuggling with special friends when we need a hug.



3. Going to the zoo to see an air compressor (yes, this is the one thing that made him smile at the zoo).



4. Getting a tattoo of a panda (his favorite zoo animal).



5. Celebrating Mother's Day.



6. Making treats for Daddy.



7. Reading. He now gets four books at bedtime for good behavior in school...three if he didn't make wise choices.



8. Playing dress-up.



9. School...which he LOVES. He is constantly suckering his teacher, Miss Patricia, into making pictures for him.



10. And playing with George.



All in all, Liam is okay....just struggling a bit with his emotions. While he deals, I try and get him on the computer with Taylor as often as possible (which isn't much for the boys) and spend extra one-on-one time with him each day. We do our best to keep things active and positive out here and I think it is helping. He is a resilient and smart little guy and we are both looking forward to having Daddy back home with us. So, farewell, May. We won't miss ya!

Goodbye, May....Hello, June

I know George would agree with me when I can say we are happy to see May gone. Even though it has been a month, there is not much to say since we have been just trucking on day to day. That has really been the theme of this month...just one day at a time...while we continue on through this deployment and some of its rougher patches.

Instead of dwelling on the negative, though, I thought I'd share some updates about George:

Weight: according to the very official of method of weigh myself, weigh both of us....21.6 lbs He is mostly in 12 month outfits!!

Eating: Not a lot. He does eat cereal mixed with fruit in the morning and a veggie in the afternoon. He is not taking his bottles well for a few weeks now. That being said, he obviously is not malnourished, so just hanging on with two meals for now until he starts drinking more. He has had a few finger foods...some waffles, teething biscuits, and wagon wheels and does okay with those. Not interested at all in the sippy cup.

Favorite Book: Big, Little by Leslie Patricelli

Sleep: Finally! George goes to bed around 6:30 p.m. and sleeps until I wake him up around 7:00 a.m. Sometimes he will wake up earlier, but is extremely content to just relax in his crib and talk to himself. He also LOVES to wrestle with his Taggie and/or Daddy Doll. He falls asleep to Rocabye Baby's Coldplay album.

Comfort: George is rarely upset. His two big comfort items are his Taggie (he MUST have this nearby at all times) and his thumb, which seems to have parked itself in his mouth.



Personality: George is happy 24/7. It is very, very rare that he is fussing or crying (unless hungry, but refer to eating to know why this is not as often); he has begun a little bit of separation anxiety, but not too bad now. He smiles and laughs a bunch and is generally content with his taggie and or thumb.

School: George LOVES school. He literally screams and starts bouncing up and down with excitement as soon as we enter the lobby. (I swear I don't beat him or anything). Activities enjoyed at school are: art projects (painting, drawing, etc.); music; buggy rides, and playing with his friend, Rivka. The two of them often enjoy screaming and/or growling contests.

Gross Motor: George sits very well on his own now, but cannot get into a sitting position on his own. He has just started to Army crawl....rather appropriate. You can see a video of this on our videos site (see link at top of page). He has a good grasp on things now and loves to jump.

Talking: George still babbles "Dada", "baba", and "Mama" (but the latter only when upset. He is trying to wave goodbye and hello (another thing they work on at school) and will mimic you very often (a favorite game).

Miscellaneous: G is just a happy little kiddo. He adores his brother and loves listening to his Daddy....we watch a video of him every night before bed. He is an extreme source of comfort to me and just a joy to have in our lives. He will be 8 months on Tuesday, and I can't wait to see what the next month will bring!