February 11

Another month has flown by!  It's been a busy month with Little Buddy leaving school, Sesame Street Live, my having a conference in New Orleans, and, of course, staying sane and we continue to settle into this family of four routine.

We did have our consult with our pediatrician to have Little Buddy evaluated for any issues that could be contributing to his potty and attention problems.  Long story short, he's fine.  Technically, he's cognitively advanced (he knows his stuff!) but emotionally immature (young for his age).  She basically confirmed everything our instincts had told us.   His size, his summer birthday, his new big brother status, his burn, and his lack of older siblings are all factors contributing to his distraction and inability to focus while playing.  So, with her backing, we feel very confident in our decision to take him out of school right now.  That, and the already impressive results we've seen in his behavior and his potty success since leaving school, just confirm that it was the right choice for him and our family.  And we've had lots of fun!

     

So much play time!  Lots of fun with Momma, working in his "office", and playing barber with Daddy!

No cavities at the dentist!

He was also a very busy guy with Daddy while I was in New Orleans...

     

Bought a school bus kit and made his own school bus!

Learning about flags (one of his favorite topics right now)!

Height and Weight 

Still 50 lbs. and now 43 in.  He is just so big!

Personality

In love with his sister!  Truly, he always asks for her and was very concerned when she and I were in New Orleans for a conference.  I love watching him become such a loving big brother.  

     

Tummy time with Sister and Chesney!

Cutest thing ever.  First he picks out her outfit, then he begs, "Take my picture with sister, please."

So excited sister is back from New Orleans!

Developmental Milestones

More and more words coming together, potty continues to improve, and we're working on our writing.  Also, he has totally mastered drinking out of a regular cup, with no lid on it!  Yay for no spills!

Fun Tidbits

It was our third year in a row to attend Sesame Street Live, and it was still a big hit!  Little Buddy was especially thrilled that Grover was a featured character this year (normally, the performances are focused on Elmo or Abby).  I love watching how excited he gets while watching the show!

     

Super Grover!

It's been so much fun with our little guy and I already feel less stressed having him with me all week and not having anxiety about him having accidents at school.  And I'll take all the time I can with him...just growing up so fast!

Good night,

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma

A Tough Decision

Well, today was Little Buddy's last day at his school.  It was a difficult choice to make, to pull him from school, but I think it was the right one.  I've mentioned before our difficulty in becoming fully potty trained and how he has issues with telling other people he has to go.  Well, for some reason, since this semester began, he's begun having more issues with it at school.  At the end of last semester, he was doing pretty well, but since the start of January, he's had one accident each day of school.  His teachers, understandably, have concerns about this and asked he be sent in a pull-up.  Well, Little Buddy does not do well with pull-ups because he knows they are diapers and he can just do his business in them.  So Daddy and I have decided that we'll finish out the rest of the school year at home, hoping to make him comfortable enough with his potty-ing that he'll be able to tell other people and resume school with Pre-K in the fall.

It was a terribly difficult decision to make.  Little Buddy LOVES school and I've been pleased with the curriculum and activities offered.  Also, it's tough because it honestly gives you feelings of failure when you consider having to pull your child from school because he's the kid that can't "get it."  But then, after reflection, you realize that those are your own issues, not your child's.  He is a happy, sweet, smart, free-spirited kid and you're the overly anxious adult.  It's not failure, it's (as one of my dear friend's put it) the strength to realize that the school is no longer a good fit for your child's current needs.  And that is what a school should be, a place of learning that meets your child's needs.  Every flower blooms in its own time.  Obviously, Little Buddy needs a little more one-on-one attention to mature and get confident in his skill set.  I will miss the extra time I had to work on my own school stuff and the individual time I had with Little Sweetie, but I will also love having every day with my little guy.  It will be too soon that he will go off to "real" school and I won't have this precious time with him.  I intend to cherish it.  

But I know he'll still miss being part of the Alligator Class.  He's had such fun!

     

     

   

School Memories

I'm still very emotional over it and we are planning on talking to our pediatrician to rule out any other physical issues Little Buddy may be having that are contributing his challenges, but otherwise we're just hoping that a little extra time will help him mature to be fully school ready in the fall.  

Good night, 

LBM

Little Buddy's Momma