Half-birthday brownies!
It's been quite the month, first with holiday preparations and then with adjustments as we adapt to our new routine now that Little Buddy is going to school five days a week and having four sessions of in-home therapy (speech and occupational) each week as well.
Christmas kicks in gear for us the day after Thanksgiving. We spent Black Friday weekend decorating and avoiding all shopping venues. And with the decorations came the return of our elf, Pat.
Turns out that elves were at the Nativity too!
We're not terribly creative with our elf. I'd like to say it's because we really want to concentrate on the real meaning of the season (which we do), but it's also because we're lazy and because Little Buddy gets enough excitement trying to find Pat each morning (and now Little Sister is all over finding him too!). If it's not broke, don't fix it. Although this year, in addition to hide and seek, Pat is bringing a present of a book each day. Right before bed, after bath, the kids find a wrapped Christmas book under the tree from Pat. It's been a great way to actually read all the Christmas books we have as a family and to add a little magic to the season. Little Sister practically stalks the tree waiting for the book so she can beat brother to opening it!
Christmas book time!
We've also had our fair share of Christmas parties all ready! One set our friends arranged for Santa to visit during their Christmas party, and then we saw the big man again at Daddy's work Christmas party that they throw for the kids each year. Little Buddy is a big fan of Santa this year, asking for a Jake the Pirate stuffed toy and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Little Sister, however, is not too sure about this bearded stranger.
A special story reading from Santa! Little Buddy was one of the bravest kids there and sat down first and close to the action.
Coloring at the Anadarko Party!
Excited about his reindeer balloon hat!
Perfect face of awe and wonderment from Little Buddy. Perfect face of annoyance and shade from Little Sister.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, right?
Momma and Daddy needed to have some Christmas fun too and we got to have a date night to go see the Radio City Rockettes. Uncle M, Aunt S, and Baby L graciously offered to babysit for us when our sitter fell through. I think Little Buddy was pretty happy with the arrangement!
Once upon a time, we were young and pretty and did things together. Every once and awhile, we try to recreate that history!
Some intense Lego Movie watching with Aunt S.
So proud to help Uncle M hold Baby L!
However, we soon found out Aunt S and Uncle M had an ulterior motive for babysitting! Little Buddy alerted us to the presence of "Tom," the nutcracker we had reappropriated with Aunt S and Uncle M a few years ago.
Besides all the holiday fun, we've also been coping with the new changes to our schedule. Little Buddy's days are very busy. Here's a sample of what we're doing each day:
Monday
7:30 AM Wake-up, breakfast, get ready for the day
8:30 AM Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (if he's earned it)
9:00 AM Occupational Therapy
10:00 AM Learning Time (our homeschool lesson and craft time)
11:00 AM Bus pick-up
3:15 PM Bus drop-off, he comes in and climbs up the stairs declaring how tired he is
3:20 PM Falling asleep in his bed
5:00 PM Waking him up to get ready for dinner
Spend the rest of the evening having dinner, playing with daddy, taking bath and getting ready for bed. He is so tired!
The rest of the week is very similar, with Speech in place of Occupational therapy on Thursdays, and having both of them on Wednesday mornings before school (that's a long day for him!). Little Sister and I normally take a walk right after he gets on the bus so she can take her morning nap and then spend the rest of the day playing or doing chores. She is usually napping when he gets home in the afternoon, so I do get about an hour of overlap nap to take care of some things by myself. About once or twice a week, Little Sister and I will drive up to have lunch with Aunt S or Daddy and take care of some errands. She'll actually start a gym class after the holidays, which will be lots of fun for her! I'm mentally trying to adjust to not getting as much exercise or adult interaction, but Aunt S has been coming to run which has been really nice. The other hard thing is that I feel like I never get time with my little guy anymore, but I know that this schedule, though grueling, is already starting to help him. And we get to have fun on the weekends!
Weekend fun at the Lego store and walking Chesney!
Height and Weight
He actually weighed in this month at 55.5 lbs., a bit of a drop for him. We'll have to see if this trend continues or if it was a fluke. Certainly, run club, therapy, and school are keeping him very busy. And part of his OT is focused on toning up his core, so maybe we are seeing the results of that. As for height, he came in at just under 45.5 inches. Compared to this time last year, he's gained over three inches!
Personality
By poor boy is so happy and loving, but so doggone tired now! School is really taking a toll on him. He seems to making it through the day ok, but he constantly complains about being tired. This tiredness in the evenings can either make him overly grumpy or overly wired, making bedtime difficult. Unfortunately, with Christmas break coming up next week, he will not be on his school schedule and will probably revert back to his old schedule (which is also his weekend schedule now). It should make him less tired in the evenings, but then he'll have to adjust all over again in January.
Developmental Milestones
Speech is really coming along. He's putting more and more words together to complete his thoughts and he's learning important speech cues (like how close or far to be from a person and correct eye contact). As for occupational therapy, still working on writing. He does a lot of "stimming" behaviors when he writes (these are often repetitive behaviors that stimulate him, such as uncontrollable scribbling) so our therapist is working on helping him gain control. We are very lucky to have great people working with him. He looks forward to seeing them each day!
As for school, he is working on staying with the group and following proper school behavior (sitting still, listening to directions, focusing for longer periods of time). School for him is mostly behavioral learning, catching up on understanding how to behave in a formal environment without his parents. That's why we are still continuing our learning time at home...most of the stuff they are covering in class are things he already knows, so I want to keep him engaged with new concepts at home.
As for school, he is working on staying with the group and following proper school behavior (sitting still, listening to directions, focusing for longer periods of time). School for him is mostly behavioral learning, catching up on understanding how to behave in a formal environment without his parents. That's why we are still continuing our learning time at home...most of the stuff they are covering in class are things he already knows, so I want to keep him engaged with new concepts at home.
Fun Tidbits
Sister and I have really missed our favorite little guy while he's been at school. It's been great to have one-on-one time with her, but she often looks for him throughout the day. He loves to make her laugh and, for some reason, they have decided him yelling, "cheese truck!" is the funniest joke she's ever heard. It's hysterical! If he sees her sad or upset, he immediately starts yelling "Cheese truck!" in order to try to make her smile. I love them so much!
Best buddies!
I think that is all for now. Looking forward to updating in the coming weeks with Christmas posts and pictures from our visits with Mimi and Pop-Pop as well as Mamaw and Papaw over the New Year!
Have a great night,
LBM
Little Buddy's Momma
