Category Archives: Kids
Owen’s school will be changing…
But I’m not sure to exactly what quite yet. :~
First, I forgot to mention that we got Owen’s Pre-K waitlist letter earlier this week—so that was good news (definitely better than a flat out no).
So, today at pickup, all the parents were getting pulled into the office…to be told that the school JUST got assigned a Pre-K class so current class locations will be changing. The Pre-K class is going to be held in the current Tiger classroom (Owen’s room) so all the preschool kids will be moving to the building next door. HOWEVER, if your child is on the Pre-K waitlist and is approved, they will be staying in their current classroom—it will just be full-time Pre-K instead of part-time preschool. But we won’t know if we’re approved until Tuesday. But the preschool class moves Monday. Which means if he’s approved, Owen will be moving classrooms TWICE in the span of a week—once to the new preschool classroom for his M-W-F days, then back to his old classroom for Pre-K starting the following Monday.
There is also the option of moving to a different preschool where they will now have openings—but it’s farther away so we’re not interested in that (though there might be some that are, so his classmates would be changing anyway). There are still no openings at the Pre-K five minutes from our house. Of course. And we have no idea how far down we are on the waitlist to know if we even have a chance of being approved.
If Owen is accepted into Pre-K, he will lose one of his friends for sure—“his girl” Joselyne, as she’s only three and too young for Pre-K. And I know his other friend, Braxton, is also on the waitlist so maybe he will get moved to Pre-K without Owen.
Sigh.
The admin admitted that they hadn’t really wanted to add this class because of all the necessary changes (after all, they just got the kids all settled in their schedules with their teacher and the teacher knows them all) but they had already signed the contracts saying they’d take the class if it opened.
So, it shall be interesting.
Oh, the other sucky thing? I have to fill out ALL THE EXACT PAPERWORK again. All 10 pages of information, medical history, likes/dislikes, emergency information, etc. No, they can’t make copies—we asked. The only things they can copy are the shot records and school physicals, which I guess is at least something…
Katie’s first walk down the street!
Since it was a gorgeous fall morning (65° and no humidity!) I decided to take Katie for her first walk down the street…
It took a bit just to get her out of the driveway—she walked around the car about three times. 🙂
I love that you can see her pigtail in her shadow!
Stopping to take a break in a neighbor’s driveway:
She kept bringing me pinecones!
Playing in the dirt!
Katie’s at day care!
I turned in her paperwork last week, so took her this morning for a test run while Owen was at school…and they said she did great! Though, she looked a little lost when I first dropped her off:
She likes the playset, too!
But I don’t want wine!
Crap.
Katie’s been pretty good with naps since Owen started school…but sometimes this happens on the way to pick him up.
She slept for about 20 minutes…then thankfully still took her real nap around 12:45.
I can’t believe I got the shot!
Charlie laid there JUST long enough for me to get out my phone, start the camera app, and snap one pic…then she bolted!
Having a ball outside
Katie was having a ball outside.
They found the flower!
Owen found this in Katie’s room and had fun dancing around in it.
He wore it downstairs where he left it…then Katie found it.
Sibling Love
Water!
You can kind of see how she floats around…legs just trailing along behind her!
Game day!
Well, this morning was the first Special Needs Baseball game day! We drove around a bit until we found it (I’d never been to that complex before), picked up Owen’s shirt, and then it was a waiting game before all the registration stuff ended and volunteers got everything ready. And speaking of volunteers, there were a TON of them—a church group and a biker group along with friends and family—enough for a few on each base, ones to run with each batter, ones to have fun in the outfield, and many to just stand and cheer! (They told me later that there usually aren’t that many until later in the season.)
I had only brought my telephoto lens so I had to make Owen stand about 10 feet away to get a shot. Yes, he’s wearing it over his regular shirt—that was his choice. And I could kick myself for not taking more to have one with better lighting. Oh well. And yes, he had to go potty at that moment—that’s where we headed next. 🙂
Katie wasn’t really enjoying being strapped into the stroller, but since I wanted to take pics, I didn’t really have any other options. (In the future I likely won’t be taking as many pics so I can let her wander.) But she wasn’t really that bad (it could have been much worse) and she enjoyed everyone stopping to talk to her or wave at her. And I tried to keep her placated with milk, snacks, and toys.
He found a ball right away!
Lining up to be divided into teams. He was on the Crushers and they were in the outfield first. They even had a parent sing the national anthem!
Owen’s buddy in the outfield.
There was a lot of this in the outfield.
Bowling?
I think he was going for the fumble recovery. 🙂
Waiting for his turn at bat.
Picking a bat!
On second base!
Third base!
Running for home!
Back in the outfield.
I’m not sure why, but there was spinning.
Back up to bat!
He started running the wrong way, so the volunteers helped direct him! This is one of my favorite pics—even though it’s definitely not the best pic—because it shows how awesome and supportive the volunteers are!
Running to second base!
Coming in to a high-five!
Game over! High-fiving everyone!
You can’t really get a good feeling for how crazy it was. There were so many people around, the game being announced play-by-play on loudspeakers, lots of not-playing going on, no scoring, kids running to whatever bases they want, two or more kids running at the same time, some older kids actually hitting the ball and adults in the outfield taking care of those balls, some kids refusing to bat/run, etc. But it was fun and Owen had a good time…so yes, there will be more weeks of this.
Then they announced that lunch would be served at the pavilion, and Owen was hungry…so we went. Thankfully there was just a prayer before eating—which is just fine with me. They had hot dogs and popcorn—and if you can believe it, Owen ate an entire hot dog, bun and all! For the first time ever! WOOHOO! Then he wanted to play on the playground which was very close…so we went. And I finally got to let Katie out of the stroller and she had A BALL!
As we were leaving, Owen said “That was awesome”…and I’m guessing he meant the baseball, though I guess he could have also been referring to the playground as well. But it was a good day that gave me 428 photos to edit down to 58. 🙂 Next time I won’t take nearly as many!
I’m having second thoughts about Special Needs Baseball
Okay, so I’m REALLY having second thoughts about this Special Needs Baseball thing. It starts tomorrow.
Every one I’ve told about it is like “…Uh…why??? Owen isn’t special needs…” Which, well, technically he is (the autism diagnosis) but realistically, he’s probably not in regards to this baseball thing.
I still think it has the potential of being good for him—there are supposed to be three different levels of play (from needs LOTS of help to needs little help) and it’s good for him to be around other kids—but part of me thinks he may do just as well with “normal” baseball as this might just confuse him since there really are no rules and it’s all just for fun. And, if I’m being honest, part of me just doesn’t want to do it because I’m lazy and it’s a lot of prep work and energy to take two kids places. Of course, I also learned from the website that it’s religious-based, with “fellowship and food” after. Uh, thanks, but that’s not really my scene. So we’ll see about that.
Owen is somewhat excited—which is good—but he honestly doesn’t even really know what baseball is. He’s never watched it or played any version of it (I’m not even sure how he knows what it is—it must have been via osmosis or it’s just a boy thing). I’ve told him if we really don’t like it, we don’t have to do it (which is completely against my usual mantra of you wanted to do this, you’re going to do this)…but if he likes it, we can definitely go again.
It shall be interesting.
Post-nap play time
FedEx delivery rang the doorbell and woke Katie up early which was annoying since I was desperately trying to grab a 10-minute catnap…but they were so cute I couldn’t be mad. Some of the pics are a little blurry, but I think they show the action well. 🙂
Also, I tried her hair up today…it’s super cute but hard to do since she obviously doesn’t sit still and therefore it’s hard to wrap the teeny bands multiple times.
I’m failing at preschool.
Wednesday I brought granola bars for Owen to keep in his cubby in case he doesn’t like their provided breakfast (since he’s SO picky)…and was told that’s against the rules since they provide breakfast. Government-paid-for yada yada.
This morning I absentmindedly sent Owen in a pull-up since he still had it on from yesterday (ex-lax fallout day) and it was still clean. I got pulled aside and told that’s a big no-no since this is a potty-trained class and they could get in BIG trouble if the health inspector happened to come in. I did explain why and said it wouldn’t happen again. :/
I logically understand both of these, but both were a big shock to me nonetheless.
Too close to the table
This is what Katie does with her food if you put her too close to the table.
Recliner Siblings
I got the old recliner out of the garage (that Owen rarely used) and of course, he wanted to sit in it right away…and then as soon as she saw it…watch out. She LOVES sitting in it.
Owen’s deployment bear
This was a bear Tom got from the USO’s Comfort Crew for Military Kids deployment package. It had two matching dog tags included, so we’re sending one to Tom…
We tried to give it to him before but he wasn’t interested. Until today when he saw the box sitting there and said “Oooh, what’s in the box?” 🙂
Peeking in!
Mama! Daddy left his hat here!
Introducing Boppy the Bear
Owen has been through two dollar store punching bags, so this time I went premium with the Eco-Bonk Grizzly Bear. Since it cost 10x as much, I expect it to last 10x as long…and seeing as how the other ones lasted about a month, I think we’ll be good. 🙂
Technically the bear’s name is Jackson (he’s wearing a name tag) but Owen has named him Boppy, like the similar inflatable punching bag on Doc McStuffins.
And introducing him to Katie…
Happy birthday, Papa!
Katie’s new sounds
She’s started doing this throaty guffaw lately and it just cracks me up.
What the…?? How did she…??
Katie got a hold of my laptop and I have NO idea how she did this.
She also managed to turn the wifi off and screw up my N key so that every time I typed an N it opened a new Evernote window. Thankfully rebooting fixed that.
The scary thing is how FAST she did it. Normally I turn on a program I have called “Toddler Keys” which renders the keyboard useless…but I was just stepping away for two seconds. And I turned around and she was SITTING ON MY LAPTOP KEYBOARD. Oh, HELL NO, little girl. So now I have to physically put it away if she’s in the same room. Stinker!
Pre-K phone call and thoughts…
First, some background.
Preschool is what Owen is enrolled in now—generic preschool (that we pay for).
NC Pre-K is the North Carolina government-sponsored (free) pre-kindergarten—and is what he’s being considered for depending on what they decide about his poop issues. (This is the place I turned in the application late so at best we’re on a wait list.)
Preschool can be any ages up to and including 4—but generally at age 4 they go to Pre-K. I think Pre-K is more regimented—as they’re getting them ready for full-time school. Preschool is (as far as I can tell) glorified day care. (That’s not as bad as it sounds—they do have a curriculum so it’s not like the kids are running wild. But I think it’s closer to day care than kindergarten, if that makes sense.)
He doesn’t have to change any schools if I don’t want him to…but if I change him to Pre-K and he has issues, his original preschool spot might not be open (unless I continue paying for it—which seems crazy)…though I could get on their waitlist if there are no openings.
The plan is for Kindergarten next fall if all goes well as he’ll be almost 6. I just can’t see starting him and having him turn 7 in Kindergarten…especially since he’s already big for his age.
So, I just got a call from NC Pre-K to “ask me more about” Owen’s condition.
Yeah…I’m guessing they’re not going to even put him on a waiting list. Basically they have NO provisions (legally, etc.) to help clean up any accidents he may have or even to help with basic bathroom protocol. She said if he had any type of accident, he’d have to clean himself up, change his clothes, etc.
Which…wow. I can’t believe they expect a 4yo to do all that BY HIMSELF? I mean, I don’t think most 4yos could clean up a poop accident…but they get to go to preschool anyway. (Though I guess if there were too many accidents they’d get kicked out.)
I explained that he hasn’t had any major accidents since the hospitalization but if he did, he’s four and wouldn’t have the first clue how to clean himself up (well, he’d have a clue but it wouldn’t go well). I said he would be able to change his clothes but there’s no way he’d remotely be able to wipe himself but he does know how to wash his hands well.
It just felt like no matter what I said there was just no way to come back from “he doesn’t want to poop” and “he might have an accident” and “he has had issues pooping.”
So she’s talking to her supervisor and getting back with me to let me know if we’re placed, on a waitlist, or if it’s a complete no-go.
I asked where we’d likely be placed IF we were placed and she said Missy’s Private School or Shine 12 (next door to where he is now at Shine 14). She said they sometimes have a pre-k program at Shine 14 (where he is now) when they have funding…which they don’t right now. But Shine 12 and Shine 14 are right next door to each other (I actually just noticed today that what I thought was one big building is actually two buildings—so I googled and yes, it’s two Shine buildings.)
On the one hand, I like where he is (with two friends and moms I know and people that can pick him up if necessary) and the 3x a week is a hard adjustment as it is so I still can’t imagine going full-time 5x a week. (Both him handling it and me with the dropping off and picking up—though if it was full-time, it wouldn’t coincide with Katie’s naps at all.)
But on the other hand, he loves going to school and I imagine he would do okay in FT…plus Pre-K would be free and hopefully right down the street at Missy’s Private School (though of course I could get assigned the other one which would suck, but it’s at least the same drive I have now….just 5x a week vs. 3x a week).
So now I’m trying to think what I would do if offered which location… If I’m offered the close location, I think I’d be much more tempted to do it. If I’m offered the further location, I don’t think I would. Would it be better to stay on the waitlist for the location I want? If it’s available now, is it better to rip him away from his friends NOW or stay on the waitlist and rip him away at the half-way mark?
I didn’t consider any of this before because I didn’t know he’d have two friends in his class. I know kids are resilient, but I know he LOVES having his two friends in the same class…and it kills me to think I’d be taking him away from that. I’m leaning towards putting him in the Pre-K if he’s accepted…but the best case scenario would actually be to be put on the waitlist and magically have it come due about 2-4 months in so he’s used to the 3x a week schedule and can move up to the FT schedule.
But still. Ugh.
Owen’s Preschool Q&A
I’ve seen friends do this with their kids (from five questions to 20) so I thought I’d give it a whirl. I asked each question and wrote down exactly what he said.
- Favorite color: blue
- Favorite pet: Charlie—He licks me every time.
- Favorite food: Sandwiches (What kind? Peanut butter and jelly.)
- Favorite ice cream: chocolate
- Favorite fruit: apple
- Best friend: Joselyne—she’s my girl!
- Favorite toy: cars
- Favorite Cars car: Doc Hudson
- Favorite Super Hero: Superman and Batman
- Favorite TV show: Octonauts—no, Doc McStuffins.
- Favorite book: Olivia
- Favorite movie: Planes
- What I want to be when I grow up: race car man…race car guy…racing guy
What’s funny is that if I asked him the same questions on another day I’d get mostly different answers. For example, he has three friends that he regularly talks about, but whatever he saw (or played with) most recently is going to be the one he mentions (I was SURE he was going to answer that Braxton was his best friend so was surprised when he said Joselyn—until I remembered she was here at the house yesterday for swimming). And when I asked his favorite food the other day for his actual preschool questionnaire, he said pizza. And I know he says he loves strawberries, but today he answered apple. The mind of a four-year-old!
Owen “coloring” for daddy…
Which is really more like playing with the crayons and talking to them and…doing everything you see here. He did eventually get something done we can send, but it was almost like pulling teeth. It kills me that he really has zero interest in drawing—he can’t be my kid!
Katie is 14 months old today!
This is mostly how it went today:
Luckily I got one decent shot…
Before she ripped off the sticker.
In the curtains