Aaron updates

I dropped Aaron off late for daycare this morning and had a chance to talk to his teacher, Kara. She'd sent a note home yesterday that he did lots of hitting and pushing. This morning I was relieved when she told me that he was one of many naughty ones yesterday, and that he didn't hurt anyone, just was part of the general annoyance of the day.

Aaron issues

I'm really frustrated with Aaron. He's destructive - today when I came home he systematically threw several things. Not in a tantrum, not at anyone, just picking up shoes and toys and throwing them. When Rich or I correct him, he sometimes seems so defiant and unconcerned that we're unhappy with him. It's hard for me to separate normal toddler behavior from what really should worry me.

Today at daycare he hurt another child. The incident report said, "Aaron hit another child with a very large, heavy block. It left a bump and broke the skin. We spoke to Aaron about hitting and he sat in the office." When I asked Aaron why he hit the other little boy he just said, "I don't know."

On a lighter note, when we went into the bathroom, Aaron pointed at the potty and said, "Ms. BJ (his swim teacher) says don't swim in there." He was so busy talking about swimming and potties that he peed on his feet.

Derby for the boys

is fortunately being celebrated at school since Rich and I are happily clueless. Luke and I made his Derby float - shoe box creation, modeled after some machine on Star Wars, of course. The kindergarteners do a parade for the older kids. Aaron has to wear orange this week for some reason.

When I look at the picture of Luke making his crazy face for the camera, I can see what he'll look like as a teenager.

Legos and Jesus

Luke told me "I'm just not into dinosaurs anymore." Legos, especially Lego Star Wars ships, have taken their place. In many ways this is cool because he'll spend hours constructing the elaborate ships, and he takes great pride in doing them without our help. However, I figured out that the Lego kits cost about $12 per hour because he finishes them so quickly. Fortunately he's started to re-use the pieces to invent his own ships.

This morning he came out of Sunday School and proudly showed me the drawing on red paper above. I looked at the person with the x's on his eyes, thought about his Star Wars drawings, and asked, "Is your bad guy dead?" Not quite. "Mom, that's Jesus going to heaven from his tomb." Rick, his Sunday School teacer, confirmed that they were talking about the ascension and making drawings about their understanding of Easter.

Crestwood Spring Festival

The kindergarteners and 1st graders performed a circus musical - Luke volunteered for a speaking part, then backed out a couple of days before the performance. Rich and I were surprised that he volunteered in the first place. What we didn't know is that he's learned to hula hoop!

Aaron was dreadful all evening - no bribery, punishment, or distraction lasted more than a few minutes.

When I picked Aaron up from daycare yesterday he told me, "Aaron not go in trees. That's for birds, and penguins."

Super Reader

This series of books is now my favorite! They're written so the text is divided for two readers to take turns, then some sections are written to read out loud together. The language is challenging for Luke but he can sight read enough of it for it to be fun reading it through even the first time. I also like that the way the stories are written in a way that really encourage dramatic reading. Rich and I have been so amazed with Luke's reading - he's confident and he can decode so many words, and he likes trying to figure out signs, words that flash on the TV screen, and things like the church bulletin. So cool!

more bugs

Aaron ran a fever and had a day off school on Friday, and it looks like Luke is taking his turn with the same bug. He has a fever and a headache. Unfortunately his timing is bad. Jefferson County is doing state accountability testing this week and Rich and I can't take off work. Time to start juggling.....

Aaron is standing on Luke's desk with Rexy, his T-Rex skeleton, "eating" a stegasaurus model he made with Momma. He's young enough that he admitted what he's doing when I called down to him, but it was pretty obvious anyway because of the sound effects he's making and the rattle from Luke's medals on the desk each time Aaron shifts his weight.

I told Luke what Aaron is doing, and Luke did a perfect imitation of me, with eye rolling and shaking his head.

Aaron has had a dramatic week. When I snuggled with him at bedtime last night, he told me:
"I fell off the bridge" (true, but just the little one over the stream behind our house)
"I fell off the wall" (also true, riding a bike at the end of our driveway over a 3 foot drop into the weeds)
"The bike fell on top of me" (true)
"Daddy got it off" (thank heavens)

He can also give a good catalogue of his boo-boos, but at this point they are healed because they were little to start with.

Indianapolis Children's Museum

This always seems like a fun trip, but maybe there is a full moon?? Aaron screamed for 3 out of 4 hours in the car, plus threw two tantrurms in the museum. We went with the Weis family, and fortunately (?)one of their kids was throwing a tantrum too, so we all decided that it was better to cut our losses and head home early.

Spring break misc

We decided to stay close to home for spring break this year, and I'm so relieved to get a chance to relax and goof off. I spent the first several days reading "The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo" and "The Girl Who Played with Fire," and I can't wait for the third book in the series to be published in May. I've made it to yoga most days and started to do some light running & walking, and it's felt good to do more exercise. Luke did one gymnastics clinic, front and back handsprings, but he's also really wanted time to just lay around the house. Grandma Barbara came for four days to visit, and seemed to thoroughly enjoy the boys. The big news really is for Aaron. He had his assessment at Green Hill for continuing occuational therapy. The therapist let us know that he'll qualify and we set up his appointments. We talked about motor planning as a possible additional area of concern, and definitely a source of frustration.The cool thing at Green Hill is that they do therapy for half of the time on horseback, which is supposed to be wonderful for core strength and for increasing proprioceptive awareness. Aaron was so excited by the horses, and really wanted to ride that day. We talked about motor planning as a possible area of concern, and definitely a source of frustration. Grandma Barabara distracted him for a bit with ice cream, but he asked about the horses several times through the day.

This site gives good basic info on therapy with horses:
http://www.americanhippotherapyassociation.org/aha_hpot_tool.htm

Easter 2010

I delayed hiding our eggs and giving Easter gifts because of the enormous sugar rush already in progress. Maybe they'll be over it by Tuesday? Mom and I decorated eggs with the boys yesterday. My laugh during egg decorating was that both boys were more eager to eat the eggs than dye and paint them. Grandma Barbara arrived safely for a visit, and the kiddos (big & little) are delighted that she's here!

Oops?

Just realized that Rich sent Aaron to school without any underwear.