A Good Friend

I am learning to be a "good friend" to my peers. It is hard to remember to take turns, be gentle, listen well and not yell sometimes, but I do my very best. Today while we were at Kids Club I demonstrated my "good friend" skills when I didn't even know Mom was listening. First, I accidentally ran into another little boy and I said "sorry!". Then while I was playing in the bounce house I found a friend who was older than me (I always gravitate towards older kids) but was nice enough to play with me and we ran around bouncing yelling "Watch this!" to each other while doing silly tricks. When he got out of the bounce house and started running away I called "wait for me!" and he stopped so I could catch up. It is so cool to use my words, other kids seem to like it too!


Meanwhile, I am at the beach house with Mom and Grandma while Dad is at home dealing with this..... 

A failing computer. If anyone can diagnose this problem or has any ideas, please post!!

Transitions

I just can't keep up with my New Year's Resolution and post more often. I mostly blame Mom because I have been pretty cool lately and doing a lot of new things. That is probably why I haven't been able to post, since Mom has been too busy hanging out with Mr. Cool- ME!!! It has been all around crazy here. Mom was gone last weekend for two whole nights, the longest she has ever been away from me. It was all good for me, I had Dad, Grandma and Grandpa Jim to spend extra time with but I know that Mom really missed me. She was at a special training for the Hands and Voices Guide by Your Side program. Mom is a Parent Guide for families in Salem who have children with hearing loss- just like me!

We also got to spend a little time with Grammy Steph's daughter, Rachel (yes, she has the same name as my mom:). She lives in LA right now but came for a visit to see her family and friends in Oregon. She is super fun and cute. I got to dance with her and sit on her lap!

Anyway, on to transitions. First off, after over a month of being frustrated at bedtime and me feeling really agitated, my parents finally decided I needed to transition to a big boy bed. In their defense, I never actually told them with words what I wanted (I probably didn't even really know) but I let them know how annoyed I was at being caged up by making ridiculous demands and whining for over an hour each night. Anyway, we did a kind of modified big boy bed since I am a little resistant to change. I still have one side of my crib up where I can hang my blankets but now I can get out and explore if I want. 

I insisted that Mom take a photo of my little friend, The Ant (I do love my bugs!!!).

It has been soooooooo cool! I am no longer agitated and most of the time I just sing songs, read some books, maybe sit in my rocking chair and chat with my animals and then go to sleep. What a big boy I have become! I am even napping without trouble, wow:) My parents are super proud of me.

The second transition is that I am starting preschool on my third birthday, April 4th! My parents went to the transition meeting last week and I am going to go to the same school where my toddler group has been. I will even have the same teacher's helper as I did in toddler group, hooray! This is a special preschool for other kids with implants like me, the teachers are specially trained to help us learn to communicate and speak well. It is only two mornings a week for now but I am super excited! Mom is a little nervous, of course, but I know it will be an awesome experience.

The Only Child

My mom and I are both only children. In fact, my grandma and grandpa (Mom's parents) are also only children. My fate as an only child has not been completely decided or permanently set, but I think it is safe to say that we are all pretty comfortable with our tiny family (plus three cats:). That is why we are extra lucky that Daddy has a Crystal to contribute to our family. She is the best auntie to me, the best sister-in-law to Mom, and she loves her brother (Dad) unconditionally.

This past weekend Auntie Crystal came to visit and we had so much fun!!!!! She brought her friend, Ty, and he was very nice about putting up with all of our antics (and Steinbeck) and my need for extra Auntie attention. She even brought me a new remote control truck and dino books, I am such a lucky boy. Auntie Crystal always introduces me to a new treat, this time it was Nerds candy- um, how could my parents be hiding these crunchy little fruit nuggets from me for so long?!?

I said "Nerds" with each of these poses. We are so cute together. I love you Auntie Crystal, please visit again soon!!!!!!!

A New Smile

For pretty much my whole life, my dad has had braces on his teeth. I think that they are pretty cool, especially after noticing that not many people have braces (well besides preteens and teenagers:).

Before Daddy had braces, when I was a teeny tiny baby.

After Daddy had braces, he was in so much pain and so angry that he turned green- just like The Hulk!!!!

Sometimes, Daddy's braces made him act crazy.

But this morning, they just made him happy......

Because three hours later, they were off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

It is not the best photo as Dad is squinting and still hiding his teeth (I am sure it will take him awhile to get over that) but he is officially braces free! The best part is that the orthodontist gave him three balloons and guess who got them?!? Me:)