looking good at alta view.....

We had our first parent-teacher conference for Charlie at his new school on Thursday. His teacher (Ms. Gretchen) really didn't plan on meeting with us since he just started but I said I would love to hear how he is adjusting so far. We had set-up a few goals before he started so they would really know what to concentrate on during class. One was for his fine motor skills and sticking with a particular task that he doesn't want to do. These two go hand in hand for him because he easily gives up on the tasks that are hard for him. The other goal was to encourage more socializing with his peers. After he gets comfortable in a situation he usually withdraws a bit. We are still trying to figure this out. Does he start to realize that he is different and doesn't know how to fit in? Or would he just rather play alone? Or is it because he just isn't interested in most things that other kids his age are in to? We really don't know.

He is doing pretty well with his goals. He still needs a verbal reminder sometimes and sometimes he refuses to do it, but she said he is already making good progress. He is doing all the things that they expect kids to do prior to kindergarten and of course she was very impressed with his reading and math skills. She said that all the teachers have fallen in love with him and he has been quite popular with the other kids. He loves to do his daily assigned job and snack time is always the highlight of the day.

A few months ago I found that I was experiencing quite a bit of anxiety over Charlie's educational path. I just kept remembering the child psychologist's comment "Putting Charlie in kindergarten would be a disaster. He will be bored and he will begin to hate school." Because of the motor and social issues, I was finding myself so conflicted on what to do. I don't want him to be bored in kindergarten, but I really don't feel like he is ready for 1st grade either. Combine that with him being on the smaller side and the homeschool vs public school debate and I was feeling overwhelmed. Honestly, I am still feeling overwhelmed, but I don't feel the panic I did before. We have decided to take a wait and see approach. Start him in kindergarten and see how it goes. We have no idea what is going to happen and how he is going to adapt. I feel a peace with this decision. I feel like it is the right thing to do right now. It may change later, but we will deal with it then. Right now he is happy at school, he loves it and he is doing great. Yay for that!

baby steps...

I think it is all starting to click with Mr. Cannon. About a week or so ago he started standing by himself. He would just let go of the furniture or whatever he was holding on to and stand there. Usually he would clap a few times and then fall down. Then on Tuesday (the 2nd) he took one baby step! Then he did it again on Wednesday. Just one step and then he falls to his knees, but he is trying...Yay! We have been doing tons of practicing around the house. He has great balance when you just hold one hand and walk with him. He just needs to get over the fear and then he will take off. He has always been pretty sensitive in this area. Anytime he loses his balance just a little bit while cruising the furniture, he will cry even if he doesn't fall. I would never have thought it was going to take him this long to walk. Afterall, he has been pulling up and walking around furniture for over 6 months now! Oh well, it is all in his timing and that is just fine with me. I look back at when Charlie was at this stage and all the stress and worry I had about it and now that he is five it really doesn't even matter. It is definitely a little easier the second time around.

wishing for spring....

The weather has been a bit warmer the past few days so I packed up the boys and headed to a little park that is right around the corner. It was a little chillier than I thought it would be but the boys were just happy to be outside.
Charlie has made so much progress on the bigger playground equipment. At first he acted bummed and said he didn't want to play on it, but after a few minutes he was running, jumping and climbing like a pro.
His pants aren't really as short as they look in this picture. :)
I can't believe how grown-up he looks. So handsome!


Shortly after we arrived a little boy showed up to play. He was five and his name was McKay. Am I just crazy or is that a little young to let your little boy walk over to the park to play by himself? He was very sweet. He liked to jump to the ground from the very top of the play structure. Charlie just watched him in disbelief and then he said to me "Don't worry mom, I am not going to do THAT. That is VERY dangerous!" After they played for a while McKay said he was going to get a drink and would be right back. A few minutes later he came back with 2 bottles of water, one for him and one for Charlie. (don't worry, I opened it and it was brand new) Here they are sitting down having a "water picnic".
Then they went on a ghost hunt. This was their ghost-hunting ship. They didn't spot any ghosts so they switched to hunting for treasure. They found lots of crystal filled rocks and are now very rich little boys.
Um, hello. Please tell me that you think this boy is as cute as I do!
I think he could have watched his brother play all day.
He was pretty excited to get up on the equipment even though mama was very stressed out and kept a hand on him at all times!
He stood up holding on to this bar for most of the time. He did not dig the wood chips. He tried to crawl on them but just couldn't do it. Then he just sat with his hands up in the air trying to scoot around on his butt. It was hilarious.


Keeping an eye on Charlie.



His little hands were starting to get pretty cold so it was time to go. I definitely think we will be back to this park again and again in the months to come.

pure joy, part two.....

Another one of Cannon's very favorite things to do is play in the dishwasher. The second he sees me open the door, he books it for the kitchen. Eric thinks it is disgusting and will not allow it when he is around. I say if there are no sharp objects in his reach then I will take the 15 minutes that it keeps him busy.


As you can see, he is pretty pleased with himself.

pure joy....

One of Cannon's very favorite things to do is to play on our bed. He crawls as fast as he can to the pillows and smashes his face in to them over and over again. Pure joy! Seeing him so thrilled makes it one of my favorite things to do too.

If he is fussy or having a rough day I will take him to our bed and it will change his mood immediately (at least for a little while!)

march gallery...

Today is the big reveal at Freehand Scraps. The gallery is amazing this month, especially Jill's work. She is the guest designer for March.

This kit is full of lots of pinks, greens, blues, vintage patterns and fun embellishments. Of course I was excited to get to make some girlie pages. I spend 99% of my scrapping time making boy pages since I am always trying to keep up on the boys' albums. These photos of sweet little Nancy were so cute!

By far, my favorite paper is that Jenni Bowlin pink plaid paper. I love it!
I also love that handmade flower that is included in the kit. Made this page so easy to put together.
I didn't know what to do with the canvas pennants at first. I decided to keep it simple. I did stitch them on to the page, but it is hard to see in the picture. It looks much better in person. I love the banner trend right now. So versatile!

Check out the rest of the gallery here!

march freehand scraps sneeks....

It is already that time again....Is February really almost over? The March Freehand Scraps kit is lovely. I will admit I was intimidated at first by all the girly colors and vintage touches. I borrowed some photos of my cutie little niece and decided to just go for it! Here are a few peeks at my pages, check out the rest of the kit and gallery on the 1st!