As the title indicates, it's been awhile since I've logged on to blog. Why is it so much more enjoyable to sit and read other blogs than it is to come on and write down a few thoughts of my own? In a few years, I'll wish that I had recorded more, written more. This is likely to be a random post, moving all over the place....
What's going on with Avery:
She's almost 7, and can hardly wait. She hates that her birthday comes last in our family, and feels that it's an injustice she's had to wait so long.
She's doing well in 1st grade so far. Academically, she's doing great - she's a very strong reader and I'm grateful for that, because it is so useful and helpful in learning about all of the other subjects. She loves math and seems to be picking it up quickly, too. She reads nightly for her daily homework, and what I have to help her with when she's reading out loud is slowing down and being more clear.
With school, we've had anxieties pop up that had all but been forgotten over the summer. Fire drills, mainly, but also fears about things that come up at school - like lice, or pink eye. Her teacher is so precious and has already blessed us with her kindness and understanding, especially regarding fire drills. For the first fire drill, she gave Aves a little "secret signal" that it was about to come, and is allowing Aves to use her ear plugs during the drills. This is GREAT! It gives Avery a little bit of control over the situation and that helps a lot. Also, once she'd been through the first drill, she realized that it wasn't nearly as bad as she had been thinking it would be. It's a common theme when it comes to her anxieties, and I'm trying to show her that she worries and builds things up more than necessary, in hopes that she, too will see this pattern and learn from it.
The level of her fears has caused me some concern about her this school year. It seems to have escalated from last year, and while she does love school, her anxieties often keep her from wanting to go. Last night, she became extremely upset with Russ when he began to trim her fingernails. She didn't want him to trim her thumb nails, because then she feared she wouldn't be able to scratch her book pages. Scratching pages is something she's been doing for a few years now. It seems to provide her comfort, or maybe it's just a tic of some kind. But to see her as upset as she was about it last night registers in my brain that there may be more going on with her. I'm constantly on the fence about whether or not I should be worried about her behaviors and quirks. It's hard, knowing that something doesn't seem quite right, but not knowing exactly what it is. And from the outside, very few people (I think) would even recognize the subtle differences in her from other kiddos. I just want to know, and I want to be able to help her cope as much as I can with all of the anxieties and issues she has and may have as she continues to grow.
In other, less-worrisome news, she's taking dance again. She had been wanting to do this for a while. After her first class, she told me it was just "too much exercising!" But, she seems to be enjoying it now, so we're taking it a month at a time. I'm so glad she's taking dance...it's a sweet thing to see your little girl in her dancing clothes! However, it's quite expensive, so I won't be heartbroken if and when she decides she wants to try something else. (Update: She just isn't enjoying dance and complains about going every week, so we've chosen to quit for now. I'm hoping we can find something that's physical and fun and a good fit for her soon.)
Now, about Nate....
Little buddy is now 4. Oftentimes, he is truly the most precious child I've ever known. He is so outwardly affectionate - giving hugs and kisses, unprompted, always telling me he loves me, always including each of us in his prayers, sharing with Sissy and friends at school (he earned a sucker for good behavior and gave it to a little girl rather than keeping it for himself!). He's thoughtful and kind - he told me the other night that he would "take care of Sissy" when he gets to her school (so that she wouldn't be afraid of fire drills). Ohmigoodness, I see so much pouring of love from him, and I'm so thankful for that. I pray he always has this sensitive side, that he's always able to reach that part of himself and his heart...that it doesn't fade as he turns into a young man.
The other parts of Nate are what I would expect for most little boys to be like: he likes to play guns and hit, he's great at whining/fussing/throwing things when he's mad. He has a very hard time following directions. He just wants to do what HE wants to do. He still gets into everything...you leave scissors out, he'll find them and cut something. He sees a flashlight, and he wants to take it apart and find new batteries for it. He glances at my make-up bag and suddenly must pull everything out of it and open up all the bottles, and possibly play in the eyeshadow. His need to get into everything (and make a mess of everything) drives me insane. Avery just didn't do this, and I really thought by now, Nate would no longer be so interested in doing it, either. I'm glad for the interest; I can see that this is actually a great quality, to want to know how things work, what they do, etc. But it sure makes for a messy house!!
Nate's speech and vocabulary are growing by leaps and bounds! He's talking so much more, and more clearly than just 6 months ago. He still has difficulty with his "l's" and it often comes out more like a "y", but it's nothing I feel concern about. Some funny things he says still are: tornado sounds like tomato, volcano sounds like holcano, Mrs. Marilyn sounds like Mrs. Marian, airplane sounds like urplane, and I'm sure there are others.
He's doing well in his class, considering that he's the youngest in the group. He seems to be trying and doing his best, and I couldn't ask for more. He already knew his shapes, letters, letter sounds, and colors. He's very good at coloring and cutting because those are things he enjoys doing. We're working on making sure he listens and follows directions in class, because that was a concern early on. We've talked about it a LOT at home, and I always try to remind him to "listen and follow directions" before he walks into class. In the past 2 weeks, his teachers tell me that he's already showing improvement, so I feel great about that. I just want him to do his best academically, and to try his best to behave in the way that he knows is appropriate.
He loves space shuttles, cars, trains, urplanes :), and trucks. Not much has changed in that aspect. He also loves to build with blocks, and Legos, shoot his Nerf guns and fly paper planes. Anything that can be taken apart and finagled with is right up his alley. :)
Things with me:
Life is good. It's finally Fall and I am so, so thankful that cooler temps are on their way. It's been a very hot summer, and with those rising temperatures, my mood went steadily downhill. I've diagnosed myself with seasonal affective disorder, except it hits me in the summertime, rather than in the winter! Honestly, I really do feel like I'm coming a bit out of a funk - I just haven't been myself lately, and I haven't wanted to do some of the things that I normally do. I kept feeling like I needed a break from my obligations. But I can feel the hope that with Fall, things will start to feel right again. I'm working again at YCW, and while I'm in a new classroom, and with new teachers, and a new age group, I am glad to be there. I love the little ones and get a lot of joy out of working with them. I'm adjusting to all of the changes slowly. I miss working with Jen. But I believe it's going to be a great year, and that I'm there for a reason.
