Constantly Changing…

by Amy | Aug 31, 2012 | mama confessions, Uncategorized

Gosh, everything seems to be the same one minute and then, the next minute, it feels like things are rapidly changing.  One minute you have a brand new baby who needs you every second of the day, and the next minute, you have a toddler who plays on his own and walks from room to room.  One minute, you have a little boy who is struggling to grasp the concept of going potty and poo poo on the toilet, and the next minute, he’s going into the bathroom and doing everything all by himself.

Today I was a little saddened by all the changes happening with us, but happy at the same time.  Tate starts preschool for the first time on Tuesday.  Today, we went to meet his teachers and other classmates and get familiarized with the room he’ll be in.  He was very clingy and panicky when we first got there, and then he eventually opened up and started playing on his own without needing me right beside him.  When we got in the car, I could tell he was SO proud of himself and so excited about the prospect of starting preschool.  I know he’ll be a little apprehensive for the first few days, but I really think he’s going to nail this and enjoy it!  For this, I’m so overjoyed and happy for him.  He’s such a sweet, smart, funny, social little guy, and he will thrive in an environment like this.  I’m so thrilled we found this preschool at OLC!

The sad part about all of this is that Tate has never been without me during the day.  I have always been there with him, and if I did hire a sitter or leave him with someone, it has always been for just a couple hours.  I know it probably seems dramatic and silly, but it occurred to me this evening that as of Tuesday, we will no longer be his only teachers.  He will learn from the preschool teachers and of course, the other kids he gets to know.  Truthfully, I’ve dreaded this day for some time.  In my mind, I’ve always romanticized the concept of homeschooling and dreamed that maybe, quite possibly, I could do this.  But, I don’t know that I’m cut out for it, honestly.  I wish Tate could learn all of his information through me and the tools I introduce to him, but right now, I barely have enough patience to sit down with him and read.  I feel terrible for admitting this, but it’s true.  I love reading to my children, don’t get me wrong.  But sometimes it just feels like an uphill battle.  We’re either out running errands, meeting people for playdates or I’m home trying to get things done.  I tell you, I think sometimes days and weeks go by before I realize that we haven’t spent that special time just sitting down and reading or learning how to do something new.  Part of it is me and the other part of it is him.  I don’t know how to change that and turn the cycle around.  I don’t know how to make him more responsive to me and not always wanting to “do something else.”  I don’t know how I get him to sit still long enough to read to him and focus on something like writing his letters or numbers.  So when he is able to grasp a concept, I feel happy that he did it in spite of my ADD instruction which typically involves me trying to get something else done and keeping his younger brother out of things we’re doing simultaneously.

Anyway…that was all said to say that I have mixed feelings about next week.  I want this so badly for him.  I want him to grow and learn and thrive, but I also just want to keep him here ALL to myself.  I don’t want to share him with anyone, because deep down, I feel like, if I do, I will never be able to have him just to myself again.  It means that he will forever be changed.  We will forever be changed.  His horizons will continue to broaden and he will naturally move in a direction away from the safe, little haven we have here at home with our routines, our outings and our rituals.  He will naturally gravitate toward new friends, new activities and new ideas.

Today, he said to us:  “You’re the best Daddy in the whole world.”  “And you’re the best Mommy in the whole world.”  “I love you guys so much!”

What a great kid!!  What 3 year old says that to his parents?

Mine does : )

And then there’s Tate

by Amy | Aug 14, 2012 | mama confessions, Uncategorized

My Tate, what a big boy you’ve suddenly become!  I can hardly believe it’s happening this quickly before my very eyes.  One minute, you were still drinking from a bottle that we couldn’t get you to give up and wearing a diaper I thought you’d never be trained out of, and then, here we are, just a few months later, making HUGE milestones!

For starters, we are COMPLETELY potty trained.  When I say that, I mean that Tate goes potty by himself and can wipe himself after pottying, put the lid back down, flush the toilet and wash his hands with soap and water and dry them.  When he goes poop, it’s a little different.  He still needs our help with wiping, but we’re almost there.  He still wears a diaper at night to make sure he doesn’t wet the bed.  Sometimes, he still pees while he’s sleeping during the day, but not so often anymore.  I’m so proud of you for figuring all this out!  It’s a huge step!!

In addition to that, Tate is starting to recognize all of his letters and numbers and drawing them on paper.  This needs a little more practicing on my end, but he gets it.  He is doing SO well and learning so quickly.  I wish I had more time to just sit with him and help him understand everything I want him to know.

This past Sunday, Tate went to Sunday school all by himself.  Of course, Daddy helped prod him a little and coerced him into going in and at least “saying hello” to the kids.  Once he got in there, he played with the kids on the playscape and ended up staying.  I can’t tell you how proud I was of him for doing that.  This has been such an uphill battle with Tate.  He is so social, and yet, he really resists being left alone without us there.  I guess that’s normal, but he’s starting to come out of it.

Today, we started our very first swimming lessons.  Tate went to one side of the pool with some lifeguards and learned basic swimming techniques while I went to the other side with Julian and worked with him.  They both did extremely well, and Tate was paddling and going under!

After swimming lessons, I dropped Tate off at JW Tumbles for gymnastics camp.  He has been talking about it all week.  He was hesitant when I was starting to leave, but when the girl asked him if he could be her helper, he quickly forgot that he was even upset.  Such a sweet boy!  He was there for 3 hours without me and did so well!  He wants to go back again tmw!

In just a few short weeks, Tate begins preschool at O’Chester Learning Center at Great Hills Baptist Church.  I am so happy that he’ll be doing this and so much at peace with our decision to send him there (despite the drive it will be for us).  I just want to stop for a moment and pray.  Dear Lord, please make this a smooth transition for all of us.  Help this to be a positive experience where Tate loves school and learns as much as he possibly can.  I pray for the perfect teachers to be placed in Tate’s life and the best of friends for him to get to know and be with during the day.  I pray for wonderful experiences that help shape him and help teach him and build a strong foundation for learning God’s word.  I pray for an amazing experience for him and for the kids to be sweet and the parents to become great friends as well.  I pray for a really strong, healthy community both at O’Chester and at Great Hills.  I love this place, and I keep having to pinch myself everytime we go there on Sunday.  It is just the most awesome place!  I didn’t really even want to give it a chance at first, but I’m so glad we’re there.

Well, there ya have it.  Tate is an amazing little boy.  Actually, I couldn’t ask for a sweeter, kinder, more loving and affectionate kid.  He is so good natured and kind.  He is also very vivacious and smart!  He is constantly asking questions and constantly observing things that I don’t even notice.

He is currently very fixated on Monster Trucks and skate boards as well.  He loves his shows about Monster Trucks.  He is very maliable right now and learns things very quickly.  This week, he has been obsessed with trains again and we checked out some train dvds at the library.  He goes around the house saying, “CHOOO CHOOOOO!!!!” and pretends to be a train.  He also sings “Get on board, Little Children…Get on board…Little Children” as well as “I love the mountains…I love the rolling hills, I love the flowers, I love the daffodils, I love the fireflies, I love the lights are low…boom diada boom diada boom diada boom di-e.”

LOVE. THIS. KID!!

He says things like:

“Mommy, you’re like a stinker bug.”

“I just love you, Daddy.”

“Julian, you’re a sweet little baby.”

“Julian’s Tate’s baby.”

“Is the orange one Home Depot or Lowes?”

“I went to Home Depot with Daddy and we had popcorn from outside and I fed him while we were walking through the store.”

On top of being incredibly smart and thoughtful and funny, he is just precious in so many other ways as well.  His eyes are such a beautiful shade of blue and such a beautiful shape.  He has this gorgeous baby face that I hope he never loses.  He is just fun loving and full of life.  I can only hope and pray that he finds friends in his life who can appreciate him as much as I do.  I pray that he would find other godly, kind-hearted children who are sweet natured and help him and encourage him to continue along a good path.  I want so much for him!