Wednesday, November 2, 2011

So behind...

I am so far behind... I have some old FRA pictures to share, and Halloween.  On Facebook, I posted a video of J & Miss Skye singing and rocking it out during the day.  What a fun day that was for us!  J was on Fall Break, and I took a much needed vacation day.  Miss Wendy let us watch Skye while she ran to the grocery store, and we delighted in having another little one around.  J surprised me in how much he has grown, even delighted in sharing his toys.  He is pretty protective of Woody & Buzz, but was great at sharing the rest of his toys.

We, and by we, I mean his wonderful teachers at FRA, are working on breaking the thumb... He has made it to 4 days, but then I think my work schedule got the best of him, as he had a first ever epic meltdown at school.  Mrs. Bach said she was able to experience the side I discussed in Love & Logic classes, that she could just not imagine.  We have a reward system in place for meeting 5 days, then a month.  Once we hit a month at school, we'll start working on home.

That said, J is responding very well to Love & Logic at home, and he is learning to put himself to sleep all on his own.  He does better, if I'm there, but even then I can set a timer & he will wait till the last fifteen minutes, but man - last night I gave him a fifteen minute warning.  Matt came in nine, repeat nine minutes later to talk to me & J was knocked out.  Reminding me, he can put himself to sleep when necessary.  And time-outs are becoming very routine.  J knows what they mean, he has clear understanding of our expectations, and he is learning the consistency of routine to help him manage his own behavior.

He still very much needs his naps, and pays the following day when he doesn't get one.  I think this may be tied to his recent growth spurt.  I realized his uniform size 4 dress pants are a tad short and I need to adjust the head guard on his five-point booster seat.  But this did make for a fun conversation when discussing the Holidays with Mr. M...  Yes, I am making the choice to make time for J to have time to nap, and that is what it is - a choice.  I can either push him to his limits, then pay for it with meltdowns when he is over taxed OR I can be proactive & loving (Love & Logic moment here) using my power as his parent to provide him the downtime to have the nap I know he needs, which will prolong his/our fun and enjoyment overall.

Oh yeah, one last point...

If you hear Mommy gave away his sleeping bag & monkey game, please know I did not.


I made a point & unfortunately these things were caught up in his items of “Things left on the floor” after being warned. So I had him get a trash bag for me & we bagged everything together. When he realized I was serious he flipped out, but has been very good at picking up his stuff since. I’ve told him it went to a little boy who doesn’t have as many toys as J does & when asked “would pick up his toys off the floor”.

He keeps asking for it, and my response is “You’ll have to ask Santa to bring the little boy using your toys new versions of your toys, so then you can have your old stuff back.”

My plan is for him to be really good between now & the week of Thanksgiving. Then we will, with ‘him’ taking the lead, go buy food donations for the food bank. Then on the day after Thanksgiving, when our tree is out, and our Elf reappears Friday overnight, we will leave him a letter so that Santa can send them back early… via the Elf.

He is getting into a show offy stage (Matt & I’m thinking this is the downside of school), so we want to teach him how not everyone has what he has, or is getting to go to Disney World, so it isn’t nice to tell everyone. And I’m hoping by our doing community service stuff (like the food drive) that it will help him grasp the concept. I want him to help me pick out toys for a toy drive at Christmas as well.

He did awesome helping me buy supplies for the Shoebox for Soldiers campaign and the Humane Society.  He doesn't quite grasp the concept of Soldiers, but he does know Grandpa P is a retired one, and that he'd think it was awesome to receive a box of goodies & soap, so J had the best time picking out the green Dove soap for the soldiers and Gatorade drink mixes.  Watching his wheels turn on how we were buying things, but he couldn't have them because they were going to the Soldiers was just awesome.  The Humane Society is the Young Scholars class service project this year.  J was able to better understand we are feeding cats and dogs that do not have a home like Payton, so we are helping to feed those animals.  He did promptly tell Grandma P that she needed to adopt a dog.

Speaking of Grandma P - last thing.  J is loving him some Facetime on the iPhone.  Best.thing.ever!  As long as both Grandma & I are home when we call each other, J gets to see Grandma while talking.  He LOVES this!  He is looking forward to Grandpa joining Grandma in Florida so he can see them both!

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