Preschool Spring Program 2012

AJ had his Spring Program last week and it was awesome! He seemed much more focused and into it this time around. He loved that Jason and I were in the crowd and at times seemed to show off a bit :) Soooo proud of him! Here's basically the whole thing broken into a few videos. Keep in mind when watching that I found myself watching him, rather than the video and therefore some of this is kinda messy.

The Entrance
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Spring Program



Take Me Home, Country Road

 

Pete The Cat

AJ,  Grandma and Papa! May 2012

Recognizing Letters

AJ is getting REALLY good at recognizing his letters! Last night, he wanted to read a book titled, How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night. He recognized every single letter! I was sooooo impressed! Just a few weeks ago- maybe a month ago- he could only recognize a few letters, so this is huge! I love seeing him learn :)

We're going to work a lot more on reading and spelling. He knows how to spell Hot, Max, Dax so far.

Kinda off topic, but here's a picture of AJ this morning just as he woke up and came into my bed. He know's he is allowed to come in after the sun comes up. It's fun to snuggle and watch TV together for a bit before we have to get ready for the day :)

He has everything he  needs. Milk, kitty and his dragon pillow :) Happy Boy!

Books Galore!

Last week I decided it was time to revamp AJ’s books. I buy him a new book once in a while, but I realized he still has books that are 3 years old in his bookcase. Some he likes to read- but they are way too young for him- and some he doesn’t even know are still there. A few times a year I try to get rid of books, but it’s so emotional for me. I can’t bear to get rid of books given to us from special friends and I often think someday he will want to read a certain book again. So, that means I never end up getting rid of any books!
I found a little space in his closet where I can store some older books and make room in his bookcase for new ones, so I headed to Barnes and Noble. I went there with a few ideas of what I wanted to look for. I wanted to look at Froggy books (he LOVES Froggy), books about family, Veggie Tales and while I was there I realized there were some other great topics for him too.

I’m a little embarrassed to say I got AJ 9 books! On top of that, I went to the library and checked out about 8 more! I got him Froggy Learns to Swim, Froggy goes to Hawaii, Froggy Rides a Bike, The Family Book, The Earth Book, The I Love You Book, Veggie Tales, I Can Be Your Friend, Star Wars Clone Wars, Underpants Thunderpants, SpongeBob (side note- we don’t watch this show and this was from the library because he begged me for it), a book about space and planets and a few others I can’t remember.

Here are my thoughts on some of these books:

Froggy books- AJ is in swim lessons and is mentally struggling with them (he can totally DO it, but really doesn’t want to) so I thought this would help. He also is almost 4 and not at all interested in learning to ride a bike. I figured this may encourage him? And, we’re going to Hawaii in October, so maybe this would give him some info on it. We haven’t read that one yet.

The Family Book- This is an awesome book for AJ. Actually, for any kid. It talks about how every family is different, but we all love some of the same things. Some families live in big houses, some in small. Some have 2 mommies or 2 daddies, and some only have 1. Some families are the same color and some are different. But ALL families love to celebrate! ALL families love to give hugs! It’s a wonderful book  In fact, come to think of it, it may be a great book to give as gifts to his friends.

The Earth Book- To be honest, I only checked this out at the library because it was from the same author as The Family Book and The I Love You Book. I didn’t even open it when I checked it out, but I’m so happy we got it! It’s a book that teaches about how to be good to the Earth by recycling, turning off water when brushing our teeth, turn lights off, and not to waste food (this is a problem we have). It was a great way to bring up to AJ that paper is made of trees (he didn’t believe me!) and then we talked about how some people don’t have food. I asked him how he would feel if he didn’t have food each day. I explained to him that he and I are going to go through our cupboards and pick some food to bring to people in need. In the past, we have discussed “donating” when I’ve taken things to the Goodwill. This time he will be more involved in the whole experience. I’d like to do it this weekend, if we can. I think it’s SO important that he start to realize that he has everything he wants- and there are people out there who don’t. I think he’s finally old enough to get that to some degree.

Underpants Thunderpants- This is just a really funny book about a dog who puts his underpants on the line outside to dry and a storm comes through and blows them away. All kinds of other animals see underpants flying through the air (or ocean) and use them for many things. The octopus uses them as pants. The pirate uses them as a sail. It’s cute :)

I must say, I was getting really sick of his books- as cute as they are how many times can we read the SAME book every single night! This makes it better for us both :)

Day at the Zoo

AJ and I went to the Denver Zoo today for a few hours. Here's a few pics:

He always loves the carousel

Measuring himself to a penguin :) (39")

Check out the HUGE lion!? Couldn't get him to turn around

Joe Cool :)

So Cal April 2012

The first day we arrived, we went straight to the beach with Uncle Matt. We were so lucky to one again go on his rescue boat! It's always one of the highlights of our trip. Uncle Matt shows us all the beautiful boats in the harbor and we look for seals.

AJ was on the search for dolphins and whales too!

Then when we get out of the harbor, he goes SUPER FAST!

AJ LOVES it! "Uncle Matt, let's go FASTER!"

The weather wasn't so great, but it didn't matter.

After the ride, AJ helped Matt get the boat back in the slip :)

Then we went to Matt & Kristins spool (a great big, warm spa- we call the spool)

It even has a waterfall!

And one side is totally kid friendly. It was only maybe a foot deep? Perfect for AJ to play in.

He loved it SO much, the next morning he got in wearing his PJ's!

On Saturday Pop, Grammy Cory, Uncle Matt, AJ and I went to LEGOLAND!

He rode on the helicopter with Matt

We went to Starwars MiniLand and got to see so many amazing Starwars guys- Here we are with Master Yoda.

AJ and Pop waited to get on this ride, but sadly AJ was about an inch too short! It was ok tho- he didn't mind too much.

Grammy Cory, Matt & AJ went on the Pirate ship ride. This thing goes back and forth and around at the same time! It's hard to see it in this picture, but he absolutely LOVED IT! He was cracking up the entire time. Pop & I sat this one out cause just watching it made us want to throw up.

You can see he was pretty tired at this point....

But he LOVED the plane ride!

Later that night we all hung at the spool by the fire. Here's AJ & Pop keeping warm :)

The last ride was the Coastersaurus. This was a serious rollercoaster! I think it took us all by surprise how fast it was and of course AJ thought it was the best! At the end he laughed "Let's do that AGAIN!"

Here's Matt & AJ on the Huntington Beach pier

Walking back from breakfast at Rubys on the pier

The next day we rode down to the beach again and AJ played in the sand and ran from the waves.

AJ and Matt checked out the waves...

On Tuesday, we went to the Corona Del Mar tide pools and saw all kinds of great things. Sea "enemies", Sea urchins, starfish and crabs to name a few.

Loving the beach!

It was a gorgeous morning!

AJ & Uncle Matt in the spool

AJ, Matt & Auntie Kristin!

Here's a bunch of great videos too!

Matt & AJ "pushing the pool"


Matt & AJ playing around


As the days went on, he got more and more brave!

Here he is getting his "drivers license" at Legoland- I was impressed!

His first rollercoaster! He had a blast!

More rollercoaster


Matt & AJ biking to the beach

Here he is playing at the Corona Del Mar beach

Teacher Conferences

This afternoon Jason, AJ and I met with AJ's teacher, Miss Tyann, to have a little conference and get caught up on how he's doing in school. I'm happy to report that he's on track, learning a lot, improving with time and just all around thriving :)

Last night AJ was with Jason and he's with him again tonight. I don't typically see AJ on nights he is with Jason - and vice versa. There's probably more reasons than this, but doing this can make things a little emotional, confusing and tough on AJ. It does seem to throw him off a bit. I certainly can't blame him. However, there are times- like tonight- when it has to happen.

AJ was already at school and Jason and I met there. I got there first and AJ was excited to see me, but I could tell he was already a bit confused. "Mom! Did you come to pick me up? Am I going to your house tonight?" Right then I knew this wasn't going to be easy. Over the next few minutes, I tried to explain to him what we were doing. That Mommy and Daddy were going to meet with his teacher to talk about his school and everything he is learning. He didn't want to listen to me. He whined, he cried, he wanted a lollipop, and when his buddies came up to talk to us, he put his head in my neck and was sad. It's a tough spot to be in as a parent. I want to hug him and hold him and make sure he knows everything is ok. I want him to know how much I love him (WE love him) and I wish I could tell him that I want to take him home with me. I want him to not be sad- to have me watch him play with his buddies and be the kid who he is when I pick him up on a normal day. But, I also don't want to baby him. It can be rough.

So, when Jason arrived, AJ was sad again- not to see Jason of course- but because he knew that the rules weren't changing. I certainly don't mean this against Jason, but typically when we are all three together, AJ is fixated on coming home with me. He doesn't have a bit melt down or throw a fit, but he asks if he can come home with me. It was the same tonight. Jason said, "Hi buddy!" and AJ put his head in my neck and told Jason he wants to come home with me. We just kinda change the subject and move on.

Once we got it together we went into his classroom and all sat down and talked with Miss Tyann. She pulled out some of his work that he did from a few months ago and some work he's done more recently to show us his improvements. She said he's doing great. She showed us some of the things they do to learn (for example, they don't call the letters by their names, they call them by their sounds) and went over the numbers he knows and how he counts. He has gotten much better at holding his pencil and improved greatly on writing or tracing his letters and numbers.

I asked her how he is doing emotionally and I was happy to hear that he seems to be doing well. I could tell that I made her uncomfortable with the question, but it was an important one. She asked if we have a parenting schedule- I told her about ours- and she said he typically knows who's going to pick him up. She said he's not whiny or overly emotional. He's super polite and always uses his manners. He gets along well with other kids too. Not surprising, but good to hear of course.

When it was over, we all walked out together and while AJ still wasn't cheery, he was better. Jason told him what they were going to do tonight and AJ was happy about it. He gave me a big kiss and hug goodbye and got into Jason's car without any problems. It breaks my heart that we can't give AJ a "normal" family- whatever that is.... I wish so badly that things didn't end up the way they did for his sake, but I have to remind myself that all things considered, this is for the best. He has two parents who love him more than anything in this world. Two parents who genuinely care for each other and have NEVER spoken a bad thing about each other in front of him. AJ and I talk about Daddy every day. We talk about what a great Daddy he has and how much his Daddy loves him. We talk about the fact that we're still a family, even if we don't live in the same house. I am confident that Jason says the same things.

Anyway, enough emotional stuff. I know this blog is usually not full of emotion unless it's about AJ and what he's doing. I find I tailor the blog to my audience and that bothers me sometimes because at the end of the day, I need to remember that this is my blog about my kid. I'm going to work on it being a bit more emotionally honest in the future.

So, here are some pictures of the work that AJ's teacher gave us (hard to read in the photos, sorry!):

Not totally sure the date this was done, but thinking it was late last year?

This was done April 2012- improvment in naming colors, shapes, writes his name and holds the pencil better.

Tracing numbers in January 2012

Tracing numbers April 2012

Tracing his name on the left and center. Writing it himself on the right. March 2012