Funny stuff Adin said today

I have had a cold this week, and am quite congested. We were driving in the car and I said I wished I could breathe. He said to me, very seriously, "Breathing is when you open your mouth and you don't do any talking or eating. Like this, Mama."

Tonight he told me he was hungry and brought me a giant can of soup. I did not actually believe he was hungry, so I didn't want to open it, plus we have a vat of gazpacho in the fridge. So I dished up some gazpacho and told him he would like it because it was full of yummy fruits and veggies. I warned him that this type of soup we eat cold. He said he wanted to eat it cold. When I gave it to him, he ate a bite and said how good it was (but then didn't eat any more)(I knew he wasn't hungry.) He said Erik wouldn't like it because it has tomatoes in it. I agreed and wondered why Erik doesn't like tomatoes. Adin said, "He growed up different, and a different time." I laughed, it sounded so much like someone talking about how social mores change and how people of different generations see the world differently.

First day of preschool!

Adin was so excited! He woke up and every five minutes was asking, "Is it my first day of preschool?" Then he wanted to go out and have his pictures taken like Erik did on his first day. There are quite a few kids in his class that he was in two year old parent and child class with last year, and he just went over to the table and started playing with play doh.

When I came to pick him up he was super excited. He finally got to play on the 'big kid playground'. They even had a (modified) fire drill. Because it was the first day for so many kids, they went outside before the alarm went off. His teacher, who had Erik for the last two years, said when I picked him up, "He's so different from Erik! I don't think Erik talked for the first three months!"

Adin's only disappointment about preschool? He wished it lasted all day. This is in stark contrast to Erik, who begged this morning to go back to preschool instead of going to kindergarten. Erik pulled out lots of tricks today. He asked to skip. Said he was sick. Blamed me for signing him up for full day (this one was a valid point). I think the actual school day is continuing to go ok, just the getting ready at home is tough.

Last Thursday, after the first day he told us he learned the Spanish word for 'yes'. Friday he said he learned a counting song with numbers 1-10. Today he got off the bus and told us he learned the word for 'circle'. Later he said he knew the words for 'up' and 'down'. He says he doesn't play with anyone on the playground, but I he actually is, just not the involved imaginative play schemes he does with the neighbor kids. His teacher has told me that he chats and laughs with the other kids.

I think my favorite part about the kids going to school is picking them up afterward. I get so excited to see them and hear about their day.

First day of Kindergarten!

It went well. He slept well last night, and seemed nervously excited this morning. Lots of extra energy, but no tears. We took pictures by our new apple trees, on the step and on the bus. After he was safely on the bus, I drove to work and watched the clock until his bus arrived. Then I joined the other parents out front to watch the Kindergarteners and first graders arrive and parade into school. He waved and smiled when he saw me, and was chatting with another boy about the noise level of the cafeteria.

Later I walked through the cafeteria and said hi. I asked how the day was going. "Fine. It's sort of complicated, because everything is in Spanish." I reminded him that all the kids found that part complicated. He agreed, and asked if it was almost time to go home. He seemed overwhelmed, so I didn't linger. After lunch I know he had recess and then they have a quiet time for the kids to rest if they want.

I did go back after school and watched him get on the bus. His teacher was super organized and he got right on the correct bus. I had written his bus number on his palm, and I saw him check his palm as he climbed the steps. He told Joe and me that he learned how to say "yes" in Spanish! He's very excited to go back tomorrow, because they are having (grass fed all-beef) hot dogs for lunch.

Ha! I just previewed the pictures and instead of the picture of Erik and Adin on the steps, there's one of the neighbor girl playing peek-a-boo with Adin. Also, I thought I had rotated Erik's picture already. So I guess you'll have to tilt your head to see how he looked on his first day!

'Tis the week before preschool

Ah, Adin. He's been a bit of a stinker lately, and it's hard to tease out what behavior is because of being three and independent and what's for other reasons. He's been so impulsive and disobeys us so much, that I firmly believe he's reacting to all the kindergarten talk. I think he's picking up on Joe and my anxiety, Erik's anxiety and aggressive behavior and it's making him feel unsettled. I also think he's a little jealous. We talk and talk about Kindergarten, and just a little bit about preschool. Today we all went shopping because Erik really needed bigger clothes. We have vast quantities of clothes Adin's size, so it never crossed my mind to buy him anything new. Tonight at dinner, Adin talked about Erik getting new pjs. Adin said he wished he could have new pjs too. The lightbulb finally went off for me and I told him that just like we bought Erik pjs the day before school, we could buy Adin pjs the day before his school starts.

Adin insists he's starting kindergarten, too. This may or may not help, but I sort of went along with it. I agreed that he's starting school, and talked about his teachers, Kari and Shelli, and some boys he knows in his class. I tried to strike a balance with not bursting his kindergarten dreams, but also grounding him in the reality of his actual class. I'll have to try to do some special things with him on the days that I don't work.

I can't believe how big my little pumpkins are getting.

'Twas the Night Before Kindergarten

Well, this is it. We've gone to Open House. Lots of kids came in and hugged Srta. Joyner, so they must sincerely like her. It's a nice big, open classroom, with an attached bathroom. Erik hung on us a lot, looked around and brought me books to read to him. This was difficult, since I don't know Spanish, but sometimes it was a familiar book, and that helped. The highlight may have been learning that we already know the Spanish word for turtle: tortuga. It was fun to see there were a couple kids Erik knew from preschool, and a couple I knew from other preschool classes.

Open House was Friday, and this weekend was tough. Erik was pretty aggressive and yelled a lot at other kids. I think the Open House ramped up his anxiety level. Today we had a fifteen minute meeting, just our family with Srta. Joyner. She asked him what he wanted to learn in school this year (how to invent things), asked Joe and me what we wanted him to learn (social skills, sharing, school routines). She made sure Erik knew how he was getting home (bus). She checked if he would be eating school lunch or bringing lunch from home. He said bringing his lunch. [Later we looked up what lunch is tomorrow (beef ravioli) and Friday (hot dogs). He's not familiar with ravioli but he loves hot dogs, so he's going to get school lunch on Friday.]

I've tried to be calm and upbeat in front of Erik, but when he's not around I'm a wreck. Yesterday I walked to the library and let myself feel sad. I thought about all his baby and toddler milestones. I cried a little. When I got to the library I started looking through the children's books for stories to read to Erik. I started to feel excited about the years ahead and all the wonderful books I could share with him. That helped. Joe has been feeling sentimental, too. I went through Adin's clothes and bagged the small ones to send to Goodwill. Joe said just looking at the bags made him tear up thinking about how time passes.

I don't know if I'll get pictures and stories posted tomorrow night, but I'll try to do it by this weekend.