Friday, August 31, 2007
The First Day of School
(Continued from below. I know this is long, but the blog is my version of a "baby book" so I've included lots of detail.)
So, what nearly got my baby sent home early on the first day of school?
Two weeks ago, Zeke and I went to the Open House for his preschool and it was as expected. We saw lots of families that we know and Zeke played with anything that had buttons or wheels. He also enjoyed the teeny school chairs they have. We spent at least an hour just hanging out and then an undetermined period of time with me trying to get him from the playground to the car.
I didn't really know how he would take to school. I was keeping my fingers crossed that he would be the kind of kid who cries for a few minutes and then just gets into the swing of things. This didn't seem too unreasonable given that he is a friendly kid who loves playing with toys. This hope blinded me to the reality, though, that he is very attached to both Sprout Mama and Sprout Daddy and gets upset when either of us leaves the house. Actually, if he is upstairs he actually will not start downstairs unless he can get both of us to take his hand and walk on either side of him.
Probably our mistake when the first day of school rolled around is that we both took him and both had to make a quick exit for work, probaby too much. Zeke started crying and grabbing for me, but I left when his teacher said, "Okay, Zeke, say goodbye to Mommy!" Half an hour later, I got a call on my cell phone. I can't tell you how relieved I was that it wasn't the school, but I did get a message from the director an hour after that. Zeke was fine, but was still periodically upset and that I should feel free to make it an early day for him! I called his teacher and we agreed we would talk after lunch and outside playtime. I asked, so she told me that Zeke was the only one year old that was this upset. Poor baby!
I ended up not calling, but returning a little early. Zeke scarfed down his lunch and was so happy on the playground, that they let him stay out there with another class even after the one year olds went inside, so he had been relatively calm. Poor baby! He was so sweaty and exhausted looking when I got there. I start planning about what would happen if he didn't adjust. I guessed I could give up my little jobs and just wait for a year or so. I gave us three weeks to see how it would go. I thought back to some of my acquaintances who never say anything about my parenting choices, but say things like "Ohhhhhh, I would never think of letting Little Snoopsie go to school because he waaay too young and gets everything he needs from me."
Thursday, I take him back. I am armed with everything that I think will maybe comfort him. He is not attached to a "lovey" like a teddy bear or blankie, despite my best efforts. Instead, I bring a sippy cup of soy milk and a juice box -- I guess just in case it turns out that he is just thristy and not traumatized by my abandoning him at school. I also take his toy laptop. I start to leave, he starts screaming. I wait for the phone call.
I get none. At the end of the day, Miss Cindy says that it was like night and day or like I had brought another child in, because Zeke had such a great day. After I left, they let him play with the laptop, all the other children surrounded him and then he let others play with it. I like picturing this in my head. I can hear him saying "Ah-dah!" and then graciously stepping back to let the others try it. After that, she said, everything was great. So far, he has colored, had music classes, made handprints, and of course played outside a lot.
Yesterday (day 4), as we were leaving, he blew a kiss to his teacher. Or so I thought. The class spent the day learning to sign "thank you" so the teacher thought he was signing. I shrug. Blowing a kiss or saying "thank you" -- both are great spontaneous responses to his teacher. I think this will all work out!
Extra stuff:
* There are 8 one year olds in Zeke's class. There is only one little girl.
* Most of his classmates have unique names like Che, Kai and Bea, so Zeke can fit in easily. One of the children on the waitlist for Zeke's class is named Maverick. Like that old Western or the main character from Top Gun. I won't say much on this other than to say that I think this may limit his future career choices. For example, I don't think Maverick would ever make it as an actuary.
* On a related note, I've got to start learning more of the names of the parents of these children. I ran into Kai's mother in the grocery store yesterday and addressed her as such. This also happened when we took Maggie to dog training: I could only ever remember the dog's name and never the owner.
* It turns out that a high school classmate of mine also has a one year old at the same school, just in another class. What a crazy small world. I haven't seen this guy since 1991, but it turns out that he lives a mile away from us and now our children will know each other.
* After two days of preschool, Zeke got a case of the sniffles. That didn't take long! (However, Zeke's cousin Zack did one better by getting croup after one week of prekindergarten.)
* I'm dying to visit the class during the day and see exactly how the teacher and aide manage the class. Really, how do you get 8 little ones to eat lunch or all go down the hall to look at the fishtank?
So, what nearly got my baby sent home early on the first day of school?
Two weeks ago, Zeke and I went to the Open House for his preschool and it was as expected. We saw lots of families that we know and Zeke played with anything that had buttons or wheels. He also enjoyed the teeny school chairs they have. We spent at least an hour just hanging out and then an undetermined period of time with me trying to get him from the playground to the car.
I didn't really know how he would take to school. I was keeping my fingers crossed that he would be the kind of kid who cries for a few minutes and then just gets into the swing of things. This didn't seem too unreasonable given that he is a friendly kid who loves playing with toys. This hope blinded me to the reality, though, that he is very attached to both Sprout Mama and Sprout Daddy and gets upset when either of us leaves the house. Actually, if he is upstairs he actually will not start downstairs unless he can get both of us to take his hand and walk on either side of him.
Probably our mistake when the first day of school rolled around is that we both took him and both had to make a quick exit for work, probaby too much. Zeke started crying and grabbing for me, but I left when his teacher said, "Okay, Zeke, say goodbye to Mommy!" Half an hour later, I got a call on my cell phone. I can't tell you how relieved I was that it wasn't the school, but I did get a message from the director an hour after that. Zeke was fine, but was still periodically upset and that I should feel free to make it an early day for him! I called his teacher and we agreed we would talk after lunch and outside playtime. I asked, so she told me that Zeke was the only one year old that was this upset. Poor baby!
I ended up not calling, but returning a little early. Zeke scarfed down his lunch and was so happy on the playground, that they let him stay out there with another class even after the one year olds went inside, so he had been relatively calm. Poor baby! He was so sweaty and exhausted looking when I got there. I start planning about what would happen if he didn't adjust. I guessed I could give up my little jobs and just wait for a year or so. I gave us three weeks to see how it would go. I thought back to some of my acquaintances who never say anything about my parenting choices, but say things like "Ohhhhhh, I would never think of letting Little Snoopsie go to school because he waaay too young and gets everything he needs from me."
Thursday, I take him back. I am armed with everything that I think will maybe comfort him. He is not attached to a "lovey" like a teddy bear or blankie, despite my best efforts. Instead, I bring a sippy cup of soy milk and a juice box -- I guess just in case it turns out that he is just thristy and not traumatized by my abandoning him at school. I also take his toy laptop. I start to leave, he starts screaming. I wait for the phone call.
I get none. At the end of the day, Miss Cindy says that it was like night and day or like I had brought another child in, because Zeke had such a great day. After I left, they let him play with the laptop, all the other children surrounded him and then he let others play with it. I like picturing this in my head. I can hear him saying "Ah-dah!" and then graciously stepping back to let the others try it. After that, she said, everything was great. So far, he has colored, had music classes, made handprints, and of course played outside a lot.
Yesterday (day 4), as we were leaving, he blew a kiss to his teacher. Or so I thought. The class spent the day learning to sign "thank you" so the teacher thought he was signing. I shrug. Blowing a kiss or saying "thank you" -- both are great spontaneous responses to his teacher. I think this will all work out!
Extra stuff:
* There are 8 one year olds in Zeke's class. There is only one little girl.
* Most of his classmates have unique names like Che, Kai and Bea, so Zeke can fit in easily. One of the children on the waitlist for Zeke's class is named Maverick. Like that old Western or the main character from Top Gun. I won't say much on this other than to say that I think this may limit his future career choices. For example, I don't think Maverick would ever make it as an actuary.
* On a related note, I've got to start learning more of the names of the parents of these children. I ran into Kai's mother in the grocery store yesterday and addressed her as such. This also happened when we took Maggie to dog training: I could only ever remember the dog's name and never the owner.
* It turns out that a high school classmate of mine also has a one year old at the same school, just in another class. What a crazy small world. I haven't seen this guy since 1991, but it turns out that he lives a mile away from us and now our children will know each other.
* After two days of preschool, Zeke got a case of the sniffles. That didn't take long! (However, Zeke's cousin Zack did one better by getting croup after one week of prekindergarten.)
* I'm dying to visit the class during the day and see exactly how the teacher and aide manage the class. Really, how do you get 8 little ones to eat lunch or all go down the hall to look at the fishtank?
First Day of School
Oops. Didn't realize that a few weeks had gone by since my last posting. No worries, though. I'll post photos and updates over the next few days. Check back later for more info on these pictures. (I feel like I am ignoring the child if I blog while he is awake.) In looking at these pictures from last week, you wouldn't guess that I was the only mommy to get a call on the first day saying that I could pick up the Baby early from school! What merited his early dismissal? More on this soon!
"No pictures, no pictures!"
"Ahhhh...buttons....."
"No pictures, no pictures!"
"Ahhhh...buttons....."
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Potpourri
Just some odds and ends I don't want to forget.
* Zeke can meow now. He also says "woof", but it sounds more like he is coughing.
* Zeke signs "chicken". It is hilarious to watch him flap his little arms. We use it to describe both the chicken pictured in his favorite word book, as well as the Morningstar veggie chicken nuggets that he loves. This may be confusing at some point in the future.
* Zeke has started an obsession with shoes: his, mine, Aaron's. The shoe store was a revelation to him.
* I'm hoping that we are at the start of potty training, though I have no idea how these things work. I would say that at least a third of the times that we put Zeke on his potty chair or that he asks to sit on it, he actually uses it as it was intended. (An example of an unintended use for the potty chair involves taking it apart and throwing the seat into the tub.) He also is very interested in the toilet. He likes to put toilet paper in the toilet, flush and then wave bye-bye. Please please let these be good signs.
* Zeke also has a heightened interest in nursing. It seems that the more independent he becomes and the further away he can get from me, the closer he wants to be.
* Zeke's favorite toy right now is a laptop. It is a toy laptop for much older toddlers and he doesn't know how to play the games on it, but he knows how to make it make different sounds and play music. Mighty annoying, but a good way for us to get a few minutes to check our email or the like.
* Zeke can meow now. He also says "woof", but it sounds more like he is coughing.
* Zeke signs "chicken". It is hilarious to watch him flap his little arms. We use it to describe both the chicken pictured in his favorite word book, as well as the Morningstar veggie chicken nuggets that he loves. This may be confusing at some point in the future.
* Zeke has started an obsession with shoes: his, mine, Aaron's. The shoe store was a revelation to him.
* I'm hoping that we are at the start of potty training, though I have no idea how these things work. I would say that at least a third of the times that we put Zeke on his potty chair or that he asks to sit on it, he actually uses it as it was intended. (An example of an unintended use for the potty chair involves taking it apart and throwing the seat into the tub.) He also is very interested in the toilet. He likes to put toilet paper in the toilet, flush and then wave bye-bye. Please please let these be good signs.
* Zeke also has a heightened interest in nursing. It seems that the more independent he becomes and the further away he can get from me, the closer he wants to be.
* Zeke's favorite toy right now is a laptop. It is a toy laptop for much older toddlers and he doesn't know how to play the games on it, but he knows how to make it make different sounds and play music. Mighty annoying, but a good way for us to get a few minutes to check our email or the like.
Summer's End
It's been a long summer. It is super hot and lots of bad reality shows are on television. While neither of those things look like they are going to change anytime soon, summer is indeed going to end soon. The first harbinger of fall was taxfree shopping last week. Zeke got some new clothes and we went school supply shopping.
Yes, school supply shopping. Oh, how it makes me wince.
Zeke starts preschool at a neighborhood church in two weeks. All summer long I have been looking forward to this, largely because it means I will have those hours free for my consulting work and won't have to find a babysitter or ask Aaron to rearrange his schedule. But once I got the school supply list, I started feeling hesitant! Handsoap, a nap mat, facial tissue, wet wipes, et cetera...they made me sigh like they never have before. I did buy a bento-style lunch box with lots of compartments for Zeke that I am very excited about. To recap: a lunch box makes me smile and handsoap makes me sigh. This is tricky new emotional territory.
Of course, it is only two days a week -- two half days a week at that really -- but I know it will still represent a transition. I also know that it will be really good for Zeke, because he could really benefit from all the resources that being in a classroom offers. Tomorrow we have orientation and get to meet his teachers. I already know a few of his classmates and their parents because they are in our playgroup.
I don't know if Zeke will be ready to go, but at least he is ready to style his hair for school.
Yes, school supply shopping. Oh, how it makes me wince.
Zeke starts preschool at a neighborhood church in two weeks. All summer long I have been looking forward to this, largely because it means I will have those hours free for my consulting work and won't have to find a babysitter or ask Aaron to rearrange his schedule. But once I got the school supply list, I started feeling hesitant! Handsoap, a nap mat, facial tissue, wet wipes, et cetera...they made me sigh like they never have before. I did buy a bento-style lunch box with lots of compartments for Zeke that I am very excited about. To recap: a lunch box makes me smile and handsoap makes me sigh. This is tricky new emotional territory.
Of course, it is only two days a week -- two half days a week at that really -- but I know it will still represent a transition. I also know that it will be really good for Zeke, because he could really benefit from all the resources that being in a classroom offers. Tomorrow we have orientation and get to meet his teachers. I already know a few of his classmates and their parents because they are in our playgroup.
I don't know if Zeke will be ready to go, but at least he is ready to style his hair for school.
Sunday, August 05, 2007
Now we are talking!
I am excited to announce that we have a new word. This is exciting in part because while Zeke now uses about 15 or so signs and has terrific receptive language, his only very clear and recognizable word is "Mama" and I am constantly on the look out for more. (And, where did "bye-bye" go? That one just completely disappeared from his vocabulary.) Okay, are you ready for this new word?"Cookie."
Yes, my boy's first two word sentence was "Mama, cookie". Yes, no mistaking he is my child.
Just as a few notes: "Cookie" is pronounced something like "coo-cook". "Cookie" also generally means anything that is from the cupboard by the refrigerator, so a cookie may be a cookie or a cookie may be a goldfish cracker or even a saltine.
It seems that he is having a burst of language development so I am looking to see if any other words come soon and we are introducing a bunch of new signs. He started using five new signs in the past two weeks that I barely reinforced with him, he nodded for the first time this week to say "yes" to a question, and I'm astounded by the things that he understands. For example, I can ask him if he wants to go to the potty and he walks into the bathroom. Also, you can tell him to get Maggie's leash and he will walk to the basket of dog toys and get it. He will also dance when you ask. I'm still working on getting him to understand "stop" and "no" (as in "No, no, no, stop jamming dog food into the water bowl"). I have a long way to go on that one.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Supermodel
Yes, it's baby's first fashion show! Zeke made his modeling debut this past Thursday for our favorite local kiddie couture design house Pretty Jane. Now I owe some blog space to Pretty Jane, as I am strong advocate for its philosophy, its quality product and its head Pretty Jane -- my neighbor, friend and avid About Sprout reader. (Hi, Deb!) Please make sure to visit the Pretty Jane website and its accompanying witty blog. Pretty Jane makes one of a kind boutique clothing for babies to tweens and sells through private shows and a local coop. When you see the options for children's clothing -- especially for tween girls -- it makes you yearn for innocent, yet fun and stylish clothing. We really live in a society where it is acceptable for little girls to wear midriff exposing halter tops, shirts with highly inappropriate sayings, and completely unmentionable undergarments. You have to appreciate one mom taking up the fight against all of that. The details for the why and what of Pretty Jane are on the website and the little girls' dresses are just so adorable you have to see them yourselves. I also go completely ape for the barrettes, bookbags and bibs. There is stuff for boys, too (though I am always pushing for more) and I have been loving the button down boys' shirts -- you will remember the matching trout shirts Zeke and Zach have. Pretty Jane also just whipped up the coolest vintage baseball print shirts for two of my favorite baseball fans.
Zeke is modeling a new fall product -- reversible overalls. (You can see the reverse pattern of flames on the cuffs.) He is totally making that outfit work with the new red Chuck Taylor lowtops Sprout Mama got him! Zeke loved it and loved showing it off. I was completely floored at how happy he was to walk in a room of strangers and show off. I didn't know what was going to happen. He walked in with me and then walked -- nay, strutted as seen in the photo -- through the room by himself. I did curtail his time on the "catwalk" though because he saw his dad and didn't know why he couldn't stay with Daddy! So, it was just one quick walk and we probably left before the emcee even had a chance to finish the description of the overalls. I don't know because I was just too focused on making sure he didn't have a diva-style meltdown in front of the fashion show mavens.
Sashay shante!
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