Peter & I went to register for Kindergarten Wednesday AM! He was soo friggin' excited to go!! It was pouring when we got to the school, of course, and had to make a mad dash across the parking lot.
Anyway, we got in and were seated in the office to wait for the school nurse. She walked in the office and introduced herself, putting her hand out for Peter to shake. Without missing a beat, Peter smacked her hand, like to give her a high 5...on the side. Her draw dropped, I stifled my laughter, and Peter had a look on his face like, oops, something tells me that was wrong. She said, "OK, nice to meet you", then shook my hand and said she'd be right back. While she was gone, Peter looked at me and cautiously said, "I think I thought she wanted a high 5, only sideways. I didn't know she wanted to shake my hand." I told him that was OK.
So she brought us into her office and sat us across a table from her. She gave him paper and crayons, pointed out that he was the first of the day and got to use the brand new crayons. Then she told him to draw a picture for her, but don't make one that you really, really love too much, because I have to keep it. He was amused, I was thinking to myself, what kind of masterpiece is he gonna come up with? So while we went over paperwork, he got to work. He drew a face, with the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and hair. We weren't done, so she told him to draw another pic. So on the other side, he drew a sailboat, water and sun. Then she told him to write his name and some numbers. He wrote his name, and 123, except the 2 was backwards. He can do it the right way, but sometimes he does it backwards.
At the end, he was sitting there smiling, swinging his feet back and forth, bouncing in his seat. He was soo excited, you could just see on his face he was practically bursting at he seams! She looked at him and said, "Do you have any questions?" He just shook his head. Then she said, "I get the feeling that you're not always this quiet, are you?" He said "No." That's it. All the while swinging his feet and bouncing. I was quite impressed.
We got back on 3/31 for a Kindergarten Interview, where he'll meet the teachers. Right now there are 3 teachers, but she said if they don't get more kids enrolling, there might only be 2 classes, of about 15-18 each. Then he has a "visitation" day on May 9th at 1:30. That's after hours, so he'll get to see his classroom. We have a parent's orientation on May 7th in the evening.
Lauren ~ I can just picture his feet swinging back and forth and positively bursting with excitement... Wow ~ those are great class sizes. Brigid will go half day and probably have at least 20-22 in her class. This new school that the kids go to is a better school, however, it is much bigger than the old school. I'd really prefer the smaller class size but can't have it all;-). We registered for Kindergarten in February and Brigid drew a picture of a moose. The school secretary has it taped to the side of her computer. She told us that she'd never had a kid draw a moose before:-). I'm excited about Kindergarten for Brigid just because she is *SO* ready. It's amazing how fast the time flies by. I can remember so clearly the day that DS started Kindergarten and here it is 5 years later and my "baby" will be going off. My sister and I had a great conversation about this and she said to look at this as another chapter in the book of life. I'm rambling... have a great day!
Hey girls...my SIL & I were just having the same conversation the other day. I wrote a check to the preschool and thought, "Only two more checks to write to preschool!!! ever...hmmm) My excitement quickly turned to wistfulness. I can't believe my "baby" is 3/4 done with 3rd grade, and my "little baby" is starting kindergarten...5 days...now she's only three days and she's one of the oldest kids. Next year, she'll be a baby in a school filled with "big kids", even 12 year olds!! A little sad, a little exciting. I think it will really hit me when I come in from the bus in the AM, and it's just me & the dog, no one else. It is a new chapter in life, which we are looking forward to, but it really will be sad to "close the door" on this part of my life.
Pam ~ your note really hit me. I just realized that next year I'll be walking home from school all by myself... I'm so used to my little one chattering non-stop on the walk home; we notice every leaf & bug along the way.... She's just so darn much fun. One thing though that I am looking forward to taking walks after dropping the kids off at school next year. Our neighborhood has walking/biking trails galore and it'll be fun to have that time to myself or with other moms. Unto the next chapter...
I have a feeling that next fall we'll all be consoling each other!
Lauren, how sweet. Is this your first going into kinder? I can't remember.
Geez, Pam and Joan, you girls almost brought a tear to my eye. Almost made me want another one....Just think my baby is 9. Thankfully though he does still like me, lol. Unlike his Sister...
Which reminds me. I told McKayla's friend the other night if she didn't straighten up she wouldn't be coming over again. She wanted to argue with me, I then had to set her straight. Well, she came over last night and was queit as a mouse, lol.
Today DD is off with a new friend, this one has blue hair, lol. Which I guess I don't mind so much, as long as she's respectful.
Alicia!! Blue hair!! How old are these kids?? Yes, Peter's my first going to Kindy.
I agree we will be boo-hooing together! Karen's big guy will be going too, as well as RR's. Speaking of which, I need to shoot her a note. She was just busy with family stuff last I talked to her.
Wow...the apples don't fall far from the tree! I am new to the site, and have enjoyed hearing about every one's prides and joy! I am the mother of one son, who is 8 and amazes me every day! He races motocross and that is his discipline...second only to his education, which he takes seriously due to the fact that without excellent grades, moto will go away.
As he gets older, I watch his personality grow and guide him as best I can. When I am sad about him getting older, I relish in the thought that he is an amalgam of all the ages he has been, and will never truly loose that boyish wonder. Anyway, that is my hope for him. He inspires me in ways that take my breath away, and he is my muse.
Hi I'm somewhat new-
I have 2 boys Gavin-7 and Dylan-2
Thank heavens they are healthy. Gavin is in 2nd grade and your posts about kindergarten made me smile nostalgically, he was so little. He is the youngest in his class, Aug 31 baby.
I remember going back and forth about putting him in kindie but he is bright and I thought he would become a behavior problem if he wasn't stimulated more.
That being said- he couldn't read or write going into kindie. He has always had trouble with fine motor skills. His first teacher told me that his handwriting would keep him out of the gifted program. Until this year he wasn't interested in reading at all...He always loved math. I am a math teacher and so is his Grandma and Grandpa so it runs in the genes.
The baby will be 2 on May 25. He is a bit to handle at this point, he can be as sweet as can be Then mean as the dickens
He also isn't talking very much at all. Gavin started at 1 and never shut up
The only thing Dylan does is count from 1-10 and mama, dada and bubba. Is this wierd? I have been wondering about it but the pediatrician says not to worry. I thought the counting this is wierd too.
Sorry this is so long, I guess I got on a roll.
Switchwitch, welcome! I love your little ones names! I have a 9yr old who I refer to Jekell and Hyde. Kind of like your little one. The sweetest, kindess person I've ever known and then he has a complete polar personality. I will say this, as he's gotten older and better at expressing himself, it has evened out.
I have two girls, Emrie is going to be 12 in August and Jackie just turned 11. Emrie is my daughter from a previous marriage and Jackie is from my husband's first marriage. We have been together since they were 1. He has custody to we basically raised them together and feel that both are ours.
Emrie is the rocket scientist as my husband calls her. Very, Very intelligent. He goes to her when he has questions about certain things. She enjoys volleyball. She is part of the Science Club, Drama Club and a club called CLEAR. Very outgoing in school. Loves to sit and read. Emrie thinks of my husband as her dad. She goes to her real dad's every other weekend. But to her he is not the dad she sees in my husband.
Jackie is our tom boy. Loves to be outside and playing softball. She is not to into school. She has had alot of difficulties. We are always trying new things to get her where she needs to be. She loses alot of her knowledge in the summer time. So she gets behind in the beginning of school. She goes to after school tutoring 3 days a week. That really helps her out. We have had her tested and she falls on the low side of average. Not low enough to get special help from the school. They have to be failing before the school can give them extra help. So we do the tutoring and that helps alot. Jackie sees her mom every other weekend. Her mom has 3 other children.
I see the struggles both my girls have from there mom and dad. But all in all they are great children with great values. All we can do is be there for them and catch them when they fall. We have taught them right from wrong and how to treat other people. They know there are consequences for there actions. That is all we can do as parents. Teach them the right way and hope to god they do the right thing in life. As of now mine do. And I am so proud of the young women they are becoming.
I know someone said something about posting pets on a different thread but........
I also have a 2yr old basset hound. She is one of our children as well. Her name is Cuddles. She is a wild child. People say the bassets are lazy. She is far from it.
My husband and I opted to get a dog instead of having children together. It was hard enough financially raising our girls. So we did not want to deprive them of anything. We are finally where we want to be in life to provide them with things they want in life. I grew up very poor and did not have alot. So I wanted my kids to have what I did not. Besides that it is 200 dollars a week for daycare. Way to expensive.
So in came Cuddles. She is our child. And she is spoiled and loved. My husband would have to take off of work for a week if something happened to her.
My soon to be 3rd grader came to the school where I teach so he could get to know the kids he will be going to school with. He loved it and I am excited that we will get to spend more time together. Its been tough lately.
OK, i just went back to reread Toni's post from yesterday. I guess I just scanned over it earlier. Let me say this, you have GOT to put your foot down with the waking up 3-4 times a night. For starters, when she wakes up, do NOT nurse her. When she's done having a hissy fit about it, give her a cup of water, sippy cup if you must. Don't give it to her and leave, stand there while she drinks it. Does she drink out of cups? If not, try a straw cup, it's better for them than a regular sippy cup. She doesn't need a bottle at this age anyway, so don't bother trying. Do you work outside the home during the day? If so, it's harder to do this, since you will lose sleep, trust me, I know! LOL! But if you stick with it for a week or so, she'll be fine!
As far as I'm concerned, if she wants/"needs" to nurse to sleep at nap and bedtime, that's fine, as long as you're fine with it, but she should not be waking up to nurse...or anything else...during the night. Does she like a blanket/taggie/animal? My oldest, Peter, didn't suck his thumb, didn't get attached to anything special, so it was hard to wean him off the pacifier. I know your DD doesn't use one, but I'm using this as an example of how to stop a bad habit. He had his paci for 18 months. We started losing them, of course, and eventually lost the last one (which I found 2 yrs. Later…yuck!) Anyway, he pitched a fit about it, but he got over it. We didn't do anything special, just listened to him scream and cry for his paci. But it really didn't take long after that last one got lost. Robby, my little guy, was attached to his paci and his bottle. The bottle finally went, I think around 18 months. They wouldn't give it to him at daycare after that time anyway. He was right around 2 when he gave up the paci…and that wasn't easy either. But he was very attached to his taggie and his "puppy". He slept with them til he was almost 3. Puppy's still in the corner of his bed, but he could care less. Taggie went everywhere with him…sometimes a couple of them! Being attached to his taggie probably helped a bit, because he would suck on the tags.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand, does she eat a normal toddler diet aside from the bf'ing? Cheerios, finger foods, cheese, yogurt? Does she eat a good dinner? Maybe try more protein at dinner, so she sleeps better? Keep us posted!!
Thanks Lauren for the advice, I am have been getting REAL fed up with getting up so many times a night (last night for example, she was up from about 4:30 to 7am off and on ), our plan is to night wean this summer, probably start in the next couple of weeks. I've done some reading up on it and it sounds like the first night is the worst, then it gets a lot better. I don't work in the summer, so I figured it wouldn't matter if I was more tired...it'll be a good time to try it. We started potty-training her a couple of weeks ago and I am trying not to introduce too many new things at once. I have also read that you can tell them that there isn't any nursing while it is dark (as a visual cue), so I may wait until it gets dark enough to say that. If she gives me a few more nights like last night, I may change my mind though!
DD isn't really attached to anything, other than me that is. When she gets tired, she just says "mama, mama, mama, nigh nigh, mama, nigh nigh" It is really very cute. I think the nursing to sleep will be a tough one to break her of and I hope she decides to on her own.
DS is turning 3 this month and still has his pacifier (only for naptime and bedtime) He also has a blanket, maybe I will try to cut him off (cold-turkey?) right after we night-wean DD, then I won't have to listen to them both scream at me at the same time.
I have to add that I haven't slept a full night since 2005. DS started sleeping through the night right around the time DD was born. A stretch of 6 or 7 hours sounds so MARVELOUS right now it makes me want to cry!
Will keep you posted, thanks again for your thoughts
forgot to add, she eats really well, everything we eat - she eats. Great little eater...she usually sleeps really well at the start, goes to bed around 9:30 or 10 and sleeps until 2, like clockwork, she wakes up at 2 every night....then again after a few more hours, from 4 to 8 is the worst, she is up LOTS.
It was pouring when we got to the school, of course, and had to make a mad dash across the parking lot. 
Her draw dropped, I stifled my laughter, and Peter had a look on his face like, oops, something tells me that was wrong. 
Blue hair!! How old are these kids?? Yes, Peter's my first going to Kindy. 
), our plan is to night wean this summer, probably start in the next couple of weeks. I've done some reading up on it and it sounds like the first night is the worst, then it gets a lot better. I don't work in the summer, so I figured it wouldn't matter if I was more tired...it'll be a good time to try it. We started potty-training her a couple of weeks ago and I am trying not to introduce too many new things at once. I have also read that you can tell them that there isn't any nursing while it is dark (as a visual cue), so I may wait until it gets dark enough to say that. 
If she gives me a few more nights like last night, I may change my mind though! 
I think the nursing to sleep will be a tough one to break her of and I hope she decides to on her own.
DS started sleeping through the night right around the time DD was born. A stretch of 6 or 7 hours sounds so MARVELOUS right now it makes me want to cry! 