Eddie's Olympic Awards and visiting Mama Cochita

When I picked Eddie up from school, he had this award next to him.

The past two days have been dedicated to playing "Olympic" games at school. Eddie won first place for the Egg relay race! I had no idea what that was, but the teacher told me: It's when you hold an egg on a spoon and balance it as you walk around the race "track."

Here is Eddie with his awards. The other award is for outstanding achievement in the Olympic games!

OMG my hands look SO DARK LOL!

He wasn't proud at all, though I kept making a big deal about his awards :)

 


Then, we went to visit Mama Cochita, because since she has been staying at her other son's house, Eddie has been missing her. On Monday, he randomly said "Mama Cochita needs to come home now."

We got to spend a little while with her.

 


He is so spoiled by her and very loving. He immediately goes inside her walker like this, to walk with her. Then, when he got to the table, he went to sit on her lap. He missed her so much. 

Eddie hacks open a gate code (our weekend)

Here is Eddie on Friday afternoon, when I picked him up from school. He is holding a sunflower that he made with real sunflower seeds.

The school provided an inflatable jumper for the day.

Teacher said, that at first, Eddie didn't want to go in the jumper. But, once he saw his friends go in, he went in too and had a great time jumping!

This morning, he asked me where the jumper was :D

After school, I took Eddie to the bookstore to buy him a few new books.

He also got a new Caterpillar book (the 2nd copy he has owned is ripped.)
He picked out a Mickey Mouse Clubhouse book and I picked out a Star Wars alphabet book so that he and dad can read it together.

I have got to take him to the book store more often.

He LOVED it so much and DID NOT want to go home. We stayed in the store for about 45 minutes, looking at books.
I kid you not, we read about 10-15 books together, before we walked out with the ones we bought.  

As we were arriving at the store, Eddie says "Look mom! It's a blue double check! Looks like a fire hydrant!" So we walked over to it and as we got VERY close,  I saw something that made me cringe....

IT WAS A BEEHIVE! FILLED WITH HUNDREDS OF BEES!!!!!!!!!!!! Do you see it? It's at the bottom. Oh WOW! I quickly moved us out of there....SO SCARY! :(  They put a caution tape over it later.

Saturday morning, Eddie accompanied me to walk Zero.


We walked to this nearby park, which has a work station in the back of the park; It's closed on weekends.

Eddie ran ahead of me and started to play with the gate key pad.


Next thing I know, I hear the gate opening! I thought it was a car driving out, but then I realized it was EDDIE who had coincidentally figured out the gate code!!!!!!!!!

OMG at first I got very nervous because there are cameras all over that building, but then I realized we weren't doing anything wrong and if they see us on camera, they will see that it was just a little boy who did it and we didn't go inside.

That's when I started to laugh and took this picture of the gate closing up.

Last night, we were watching some Yo Gabba Gabba before bed. Eddie kept pointing out Mickey Mouse, but this isn't a Disney show??? Finally, we noticed who he kept calling "Mickey" I laughed so hard and I confused Eddie, but it was SO FUNNY to me.

Thanks for checking on us.

Eddie is much stronger than I was as a kid

During our drive to school, this morning,  Eddie and I were doing our regular thing in the car:
Pointing out different types of cars or trucks, going under bridges and pretending it's a scary roller coaster etc.

Suddenly, Eddie surprised me by saying "Mama, I am going to room 3 today." I looked at him through the rear view mirror, smiled big and said "You are?! I am so happy! That makes me very happy!" Then, he calmly replied with "Yeah, I'm going with Miss Waffa and Miss Toni." I said "That is great! I am very happy!"

As you know, he had been saying he wasn't going to go to room 3 anymore, for the past 2 days. I estimated it would take about 3 days for him to adjust, but the teacher said that yesterday he didn't cry and did very well. This means it took him about a day and one morning to adjust.


When we arrived, he wasn't as worried, he just walked in to class. I told him to say good morning to both of his teachers and he did.


Then, Miss Toni called him over right away, to look at what they were working on. They do these exercises to train their little hands for dexterity and writing endurance. I started to film this after I said goodbye to Eddie, so he thought I was already gone. It's a quick clip, but I wanted to record how attentive he was and how he wasn't crying.


As soon as he turned around and saw me, I waved goodbye again and walked out. I didn't want to interrupt his learning.



Gosh I am so proud of him!

Day two Classroom #3

Today was a little better because he didn't look worried on the way to class. But as soon as we opened the classroom door, he said "No I don't want room 3 anymore!" and started to cry a little.

We walked to a table together and I served him his snacks, which I packed for him. The teacher came up to me right away and said that in this class, they didn't eat snacks like they do in room 2.
She said that Eddie will have to serve himself his own snacks from the classroom snacks they have available.
Also, the children eat, sitting 2-3 at a time at the designated snack table. The rest, play with what I was calling "toys " but they call "work" or "work station activities."  Well, I didn't know that and I am a little impressed :)

After that, I got up, said good bye to my little boy and started to walk away.

Eddie looked at me and said that he didn't want to be in this class room. To distract him, I told him to tell his teacher about the train set that grandpa and he were playing with yesterday. He started to tell her about it as I walked away and said good bye. He wasn't crying anymore.

He did good

I went to the school to see how Eddie was doing.  I saw him eating his lunch, quietly and not crying. Then they took him to wash his hands and that's when he saw me. I was standing in the next classrooom, peeking through a window, talking to another teacher there.

I was able to walk him out, but before that, his new teacher talked to him about having a good day today. She told me that he was very polite and was a very good boy. She said that on and off he did worry and ask to call me.

In the photo, she is telling him to come back tomorrow, have a great day and she is asking him not to cry tomorrow. Of course, Eddie starts to pull away a little and not respond.

 

Then, we went outside and grandma arrived. He went home with her a little bothered and emotional. His nose was runny because I think he caught a cold-he's been sniffling and sneezing all weekend. I can see that he didn't feel good heading out. I know things will get better for him at Grandma's.

I miss him and hope that tomorrow will be a little better.

Eddie's first day in his new classroom

We've been preparing for this day since late last week.

Yesterday morning, we role-played going to his new class room, room #3. I "went to work" and then "came back to pick him up." We played this pretend routine game about 5 times. Eddie enjoyed playing this game. 
It was a fun pretending, but Eddie added his own twist to it; He announced that room #3 was actually room #2 (his old class room).

So, I designated a corner of the house, room #2  and we "waved at his previous teachers on our way home."

We told his "previous teachers" that we were going to room #3 because Eddie was a big boy now :)

This morning, Eddie kept saying that he wasn't going to go to room #3 and actually he said that he decided he was not going to this school anymore.

When we got to the parking lot, Eddie pointed out one of his friends, McKenzie (girl) who I recognized as one of the names of the children transferring to Eddie's new class room. I asked McKenzie's grandma who was walking with her, if McKenzie was going to Room #3, she said she was and they walked with us to class. McKenzie was also worried, scared and teary-eyed. Her grandma and I tried to make the experience fun and said things like "Oh you get to walk together to the big kid class!"

We walked in and put Eddie's lunch bag away. He no longer hangs up his jacket on a hook; he will have to learn to hang it up on a hanger.

(It's funny how such a simple task like hanging up a jacket on a hanger is something that Eddie has never had to do. It didn't really occur to me until this morning. )

Another two of his friends (from room #2) were sitting at the table, drawing. One of his friends yelled out "HI EDDIE!" and waved at him. The other kids at the table repeated the greeting and Eddie just looked at them. I told him to say hello and he did.

We walked over there and I sat him down with the group. McKenzie's grandma had already left. McKenzie was in the corner whimpering. So, I told Eddie to look at McKenzie and how she was crying.

I told him to tell her to come sit with him so that she wouldn't feel scared. He did that.

A few moments later, I got up to talk to the teachers. I told him that I didn't want him to move back and forth between this class and the previous one, as the director suggested. I told them that I wanted him to stay in his new classroom because I want him to go "Cold Turkey." They agreed this was the best way to go, to avoid confusion.

As I was saying good bye, Eddie lost his composure and started to cry. Miss Toni, one of his teachers, immediately intervened and told Eddie that he was going to be today's "special helper." Eddie stopped crying as soon as she gave him things to do. She told him that he would be helping her serve the snacks today.

Here are pictures of Eddie being the little helper, even with his worried face.

Seems like the task that comforted him the most, was unstacking the cups and placing them in a line.

After this, I walked out and tried not to cry.



Eddie's graduation ceremony

It was a wonderful idea to take him to the graduation ceremony. He recognized his friends right away and couldn't help but point them out and name them.

He also started to doing the dance routines he was familiar with. You can see all of that in this video. Hopefully next year, he will want to participate.

The auditorium was completely dark, so sorry about the terrible iPhone video footage.

Today's walk-through

Yesterday, Eddie kept saying - "I am not going to room 3!" at random times of the day and though we were not discussing this topic at the time.
This morning, he woke up and this was one of the first words out of his mouth.

I've been responding with: "Room 2 is for kids who don't know how to use the potty yet. Room 2 is for kids who wear diapers. You don't wear diapers anymore, and your are 3 years old, so you have to go to room 3 :) :) :D !!! Now, you are a big boy! Now, you will go to the BIG BOY classroom!"

Typically, he has no response to that and will quietly go into pensive mode.

We walked through his new classroom again this morning. They had vanilla wafers and milk available. His new teacher said an enthusiastic good morning to him and asked him for a hug. He gave her a hug. I also asked him to wave at his other teacher, who was a little busy with other students, and he did.
Then his teacher asked him if he wanted a snack. He said "No, thank you." I told him to go ahead and take a cookie. So, he did and ate it right up. This time, I walked him around the classroom and showed him some of the items he will be able to play with starting on Monday. He was willing to look around with me and seemed slightly interested.

Eddie's new teacher named 3 kids, from his current class, who will be transferring with him. We told him they would go to room 3 with  him too. He took the information in, but had no response. He was a little better today and didn't whimper or get teary-eyed like yesterday. He was still eager to get back to his regular classroom.





Today is his graduation ceremony. I am hoping he will be able to see his classmates, recognize them and remember for next year. Hopefully by then, he will feel more confident to participate.

Hanging out at Victoria Gardens

Our plans were to go to Victoria Gardens today, to play in the water play area.
But the weather was a little fresh and breezy.

We decided, instead, to let the kids play in the playground area at that same mall. After searching for quarters and paying for timed parking at 45 minutes, we discovered that the play area was closed! HAHAHA!

Never fear, there is so much fun to be had at Victoria Gardens, when you are this young :)
Here is the proof in photos:

Playing with the water

Making a wish..thanks for the pennies, Stephanie :)

Merry Go Round!

Ice cream time!

Time to run!

Getting on the train (guess this part wasn't as fun LOL)

Admiring the speeding machine

He had fun!

Where to next? We shall see....

Just a walk through

Tomorrow is Eddie's last day in his class room. On Monday, he starts in a whole new classroom, with new classmates and new teachers.

This morning, I walked him through the new class room and he was not happy at all. He started to get all nervous, just like on his first few days at school, and even started to cry a bit. I introduced him to his new teachers (one who he had already met.)
Then, he shook one of their hands and quickly moved in super close to me. I told him that this would be his classroom on Monday. He responded with a whimper and a "No no! I want to go to back to school! I don't want to go here!"

Shortly after, we began to walk back to his regular classroom. I told his current teacher, Miss June, about what had just happened. She said she would talk to him more about it today. She also assured me that 5 of his classmates would be transferring with him, so perhaps that would add a bit of comfort for him.

As I was walking out, the school director was walking in to the building. She asked me if I had walked-through with Eddie yet. I told her we did and I also told her how he reacted. She said he would be ok, though it would be a tough transition for him. She also suggested maybe moving him over, starting at an hour per day and increasing slowly. I liked that idea, but I am not sure if I am just "pulling the baindaid off slowly" if I go ahead with that suggestion. Any experienced opinions on that would be helpful.

My heart is telling me to just go cold turkey and that he will adapt in about 3 days.

My baby boy; Breaks my heart to see him cling to me with his worried face. I act like it's not a big deal, I smile and I talk in a fun voice, but I want to cry with him. I am so in tune with that feeling of fear. I remember it from my school days too. But I know my boy is stronger than I was at his age, and I know he will be ok.

Tomorrow is his graduation ceremony, which he is not participating in, through the suggestion of the school director, his teachers and us. Though, part of me is thinking I should have pushed him more to be involved. I keep thinking, I don't want him to be sheltered from experiencing new things. But I will let the experts direct this one. They suggested not to make him to do this because it is a bit overwhelming.

We will be attending as viewing guests :)

"Mama, will you hold my hand?"

This morning, Eddie woke up and was ready for the day.

It was very early in the morning, but he wanted to join me as I walked Zero.

On our way back, Eddie asked "Mama, will you hold my hand?" with his tiny, deep voice.

I reached over to hold his hand and he interlaced his fingers with mine like this.

I had to snap a picture.

I love him so much.

Eddie and dad had a good afternoon together too. They played with a huge water balloon in the back yard, as I cleaned up the house a bit.
All I could hear was Eddie laughing at what dad was doing with the water balloon; dad was rolling the it down the stairs of Eddie's roller coaster. I am glad they got to spend time together.

Later, we went to the Victoria Gardens mall to go to the Apple store, to continue working on some maintenance issues for my laptop.

At the mall, Eddie and I had ice cream, while we waited for dad who was at the Apple store.

Eddie started to play with his spoon. I told him not to because it would get dirty and he couldn't eat any more ice cream.
He ended up dropping it on the floor, on purpose-He's been testing his limits with us a lot lately.
I quietly put his ice cream away and told him with a soft tone, that because he dropped his spoon, he couldn't have anymore ice cream.
He started to cry, scream and yell out "I don't like you! I want dad!"

HAHA! Well, I guess all the time spent with dad today has paid off :)


Tonight as Eddie was in his bed, he told me that he loved me.  Once again I say, I love him so much.
By the way, recently I have been walking him to bed, tucking him in, kissing him good night and then leaving him in the room while he is still awake. He is fine with that, he says "good night" and goes to sleep.  We no longer have to stay by his side to make sure he doesn't get out of bed or is playing in the room.

It's funny how right after he falls asleep, I want to wake him up because I miss him.

Thanks for checking on us.
 

School Update

I write these blogs as listed reminders to myself/dad and also to update grandma and grandpa, who are helping us raise Eddie.

I had a talk with Eddie's teacher today about the things Eddie excels in and the things he needs to improve.

She said that his writing is getting better, but still needs some work. She showed me some of his work and I am impressed that he is even writing as much as he is at all. I mean, he is only 3 years old and not even in kindergarten! I guess I shouldn't think that way because that will diminish the importance of helping him get an early start. 

She said that some of the subjects in class are beneath Eddie, such as counting to 10,  (he always counts to 30-BTW he knows how to count further than that sometimes) shapes beyond the basics-since he even knows trapezoid, rhombus etc. She is impressed at how quickly he learned about the planets, continents and other such topics. He is great at building. He obeys and follows instruction well. Overall, she said that what impresses her the most about Eddie is his amazing memory. Though this class was not thrilling to Eddie, she is sure that in the next classroom, which he transfers to starting June 18th, will be more challenging for him, in a positive way.

There are some minor concerns that she has about Eddie that I am hoping we can all help him with:

1) He doesn't really understand how to be quiet. He understands to whisper (somewhat) but when she asks the class to be completely quiet, Eddie keeps talking and talking loud. She goes to him and explains to him that he has to close his lips and then demonstrates to him by closing hers-This is the only way he will get it. 

2) He is not fully independent yet. She said that he will rarely finish his work on his own. If she is not sitting next to him, he will not do his work completely. She has to go and sit next to him in order to get him to finish what he already knows how to do.

3) She is concerned that Eddie may have too much alone time. She asked me how often and for how long does he play in his room alone. I told her that it could be up to 2 hours a day on a busy day (for me.)
The reason she asked is that he tends to talk to himself, even when there are other kids sitting next to him, talking to him. She wants him to socialize more with other kids and even was so bold as to cautiously ask me if I was planning on having more kids for him to interact with. She also said that having another child would aid in making him more independent.
I told her that we weren't, and that I do take him to play with his cousins and I also take him to the park to play with other kids. She was glad to hear that. She just wants to make sure that Eddie has fun while he is in school.  I know dad's not gonna like this part of the conversation, but I have to say that I have open communication with her. I want her to feel comfortable telling me ANYTHING. I never want to show signs of feeling offended by any topic.

A couple of things she suggested is that we ask him to be quiet at home with us. To use the words "Let's be quiet" and then be quiet with him for a little bit.
As for the independence deal, she said giving him tasks to do on his own will be helpful. Tasks that involve some supervision, but overall that he must complete on his own.

She asked me if I carry him and baby him. I shyly admitted that I do. She told me that though I can still offer him a lot of love, I should allow him to do more things on his own-It's for HIS best interest. Blah! :(

So, today when we came home, we practiced writing our numbers and did some reading.   I have aimed not to leave him alone for long, but also not to hover over him. I have continued to do what I do to make him feel like he can do things on his own like: Making him throw away his trash, making him put away dishes where they belong (either paper in trash or cutlery in the sink), having him grab his own snack from the fridge, giving him clothes to dress himself with, having him put his clothes away in the hamper every time, have him pick from two items when he can have a choice, giving him my car keys and asking him to unlock the car, having him lock himself in his car seat,  letting him feed himself etc.

I reluctantly ask him to do things for me that I can easily do such as grab the remote that is inches from me. I also give him instructions on how to navigate with the remote etc. I plan to do this more often. 

I am hoping that grandma, grandpa, and dad can also pitch in with helping give Eddie things to do on his own and also, aim to be loving but not baby Eddie. We also need to help him learn the words "Be quiet."

Also, she wanted me to know that he has improved in so many other ways. She said he used to not be able to sit still for more than 10 minute doing his work and that now he focuses and can sit for that much time. She also said that he didn't communicate well at the beginning of this year and that sometimes she didn't understand what he wanted. Now, he speaks very clearly and asks for things politely. I remember he didn't even use the words 'yes' or 'no.' Until he started going to school.
For a while he was kissing girls and then pushing them. She said that now, he is very respectful and plays well outside with all genders. She is very proud of him as I am too. Sometimes she would give him instructions and he didn't know what she was saying, but that now he follows all directions-no problem (except for the be quiet thing.) He of course, is now potty trained and proud.


That's pretty much it. I am looking forward to helping Eddie.

Brown Bear (an afternoon for reading.)

Today, we took some time to practice writing the numbers at home. We didn't go out anywhere just to make sure we practice some. After we were done, I decided to read a few books to Eddie. There are some things going on at school and I will post another blog about that, coming up.

We read Green Eggs and Ham, a book about Courderoy and then Brown Bear was the last book we read today.

I love that Eddie loves this book, Brown Bear; Another one by Eric Carle that he likes. Dad reads it to him almost every night. Grandma reads it to him, at their house, too. Actually, I think she was the first one to buy him this book. After that, he would listen to it every time he went to mommy and me classes with grandma.



Thanks for checking on us. 

"No more bike!!"

Eddie told me he didn't want to ride his bike anymore. So what do I do? I set up a bike date with his cousins. I knew that would change his mind and IT DID!

My cousin's wife, Stephanie recommended a nearby bike trail.


They did pretty good!

About 20 minutes later, they were all bored and tired of riding their bikes LOL!

Time to go home and play with trains!

It was fun and funny to see the way they interacted with each other. Stephanie and I just kept trying to keep the peace. Boys are so rough & tough!



Speaking of rough and tough, on our way out, the boys wanted to hold Eddie's hand. Eddie was ok with it. They walked him almost all the way to the car like this.

 

Thanks for checking on us.