Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss!

Who doesn't love "The Cat in the Hat"?  The boys reluctantly modeled the hats they made at school to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday last week.  I loved those books as a kid and it is so fun to see them enjoying the same stories.  

Silly pic!

Our Carter

Carter has this thing where after stories at bedtime, he likes to have a "talking" time.  We turn off the lights, I lay down in bed with him and he asks me questions or I quiz him on opposites (his choice).  We don't do it every night because, let's face it, by bedtime Mommy is really ready for some peace & quiet and sometimes a nice beer.  But, on the nights when we do have talking time together it never fails to be memorable.   My Facebook friends will recognize some of these...some of the highlights from recent conversations with Carter:

~Tonight Carter had some things he wanted to discuss before bedtime. It went something like this:
"Why do strawberries get their seeds on the outside?" I was honest and told him I had no idea. "How did the doctor cut you open to get me and Davis out of you?"  Just as I had finished explaining the anesthesia and how it allowed me to not feel the surgery he moved on to: "How do batteries make things work?" I told him that would be a better question for Daddy.  :-) And then, "How does apple juice get into the bottle?"  Gotta love how his little mind works.  I have to admit, he makes me think!

~I was explaining to Carter that today is election day and that there will be extra people at his school because it is a polling place. When I told him that we are voting for who will be President, he got a big smile on his face and said "I hope I win!".

~Out of nowhere, Carter asked me: "Where did the Earth come from?"  I told him that God made the Earth and all of us and all the animals and plants.  He replied "Mom, I don't think that one person could make all of this."  So, I took a deep breath and went on to explain how amazing God is and that he is responsible for all of the good things that happen to us and helps us when bad things happen and that's why he is special enough to have made the Earth.  LONG PAUSE from Carter.  Then I went on to say: "Some people, called Scientists, believe that our Earth was created by stars in outer space colliding."  Carter immediately said "Yeah Mom, that sounds more like how it really happened."

~Today in the car (another favorite talking spot) Carter asked me when & why Sean and I got married.  I told him that we got married because we loved each other and we still love each other a lot, even though we've been married for almost seven years.  Carter thought about that for a minute and then said "That's weird."  He's asked me before if he could marry me when he gets older (So sweet, right?) but I've explained to him that since I'm already married to Daddy, he has to find someone else to marry.  Today, he told me that when he gets older he will find a best friend to marry and love forever.  Wow--I couldn't be more proud!  I am doing my best to prepare these boys to be awesome husbands one day.  Not an easy job, people!

Carter's 2012-13 Preschool Picture

Another update: Carter had his five year well check last week and everything went...well.  :-)  He is small, 25% weight and 30% height, but following his own little growth curve just fine.  He meets and exceeds developmental milestones which makes us so very proud.  We are still working on some Sensory Processing issues with him (I like to call them "quirks") but for the most part they are mild.  For example, simple things like haircuts are a big deal for him because he actually feels the itchiness of the cut hairs as painful.  Luckily we don't go for haircuts every day and I can usually coach and/or bribe him through it.

We also had parent/teacher conferences last week with his Preschool teachers.  They had nothing but good things to say about Carter in school and again suggested we look into testing him for the "Early Access" program in our school district.  This was something that was mentioned by his teachers and the school social worker last year, but we opted to just move on with the plan to keep him in Preschool another year and send him to Kindergarten when the district age guidelines dictate.  Well, it is becoming more obvious that he may be ready to move up.  His reading level is making it difficult for his teachers to find activities that keep Carter engaged while still keeping the rest of the classroom occupied with a teacher-led story time.  

Our main concern, and one the school recognizes as well, is that Carter is socially and emotionally very much a Preschooler.  With that being said, we are planning to have him tested this Spring to see if he meets criteria for Early Access.  That does not obligate us to put him into a different school, or skip Kindergarten as one educator mentioned, but it will help Sean & I  to better know what Carter's strengths are and pursue our options.  I have been pretty stressed out by all of this and just want to do what is best for Carter.  So far, he has no idea that he is different from other kids his age & I want to keep it that way.  I know, I am worrying way too much about all of this and should just be happy that people think our kid is gifted.  But, as his mom, I just want him to feel normal and have friends and be happy.  Hopefully, we can figure out a plan that gives Carter all of the above and challenges his mind as well.  He is such a neat kid and we love him so much.  

Goodnight Moo

Last night we read the book Goodnight Moon.  Carter had fun noticing that the words in the book rhyme and pointed out to me that if you take the "n" off of the word "Moon", the title becomes "Goodnight Moo", which he thought was hilarious.  So, there you have it!

Now What?

First of all, let me just apologize for how long this post is.  I want to be able to remember milestones as the boys get older...and especially to document the BIG things for them.

For the past month or so, we've been pursuing getting Carter tested for some sensory processing concerns that his Preschool teachers had.  Some examples of things they've seen:  Carter choosing to push friends instead of using his words to get what he wants (even though he has a good vocabulary), then having a disconnect between his actions and why friends are upset; Carter having difficulty sustaining eye contact with adults; getting really agitated by certain sounds & covering his ears (even if it's as simple as a vent/fan in a bathroom);  being so bothered by tags in shirts that he asks us to cut them out.

Any one of these things alone is not that unusual, and there are some more things that I just can't remember right now, but if you put them all together they could be indicative of a larger issue, so we decided to move forward with getting Carter tested to see what the experts think.  Incidentally, our pediatrician is not concerned.  He feels that a lot of people are jumping on the "Sensory Processing" bandwagon right now.  Dr B. encouraged us to go ahead with testing, but pointed out that a lot of successful adults have issues with loud noises or tags in clothing or not wanting to get their hands dirty and they are called "quirky".

As part of the process, his Preschool had the Social Worker and school Psychologist observe him in the classroom.  I had an opportunity to speak with the Social Worker this week and she had some interesting insight based on her observations of Carter.  After an hour of observing Carter, she noticed him:  loving story time, not really focusing on the teacher but being able to still follow her directions, looking "lost" when the noise volume increased in the classroom and being equally comfortably playing alone as he was playing with friends.

Then, she decided to get down "in his space" as she put it & try to engage him in one of the "centers" he was playing in.  Something prompted her to grab a MagnaDoodle and start writing words for Carter.  Of the 15-20 words she wrote, he could read all but one.  As she described it "Then I knew I was dealing with a completely different kid than I initially thought."  He had no trouble making eye contact with her as she talked to him about letters and words and he came right over to her & sat in her lap as she wrote words for him to read.  He even invited her to his birthday party next year & told her "You'll be the only girl there, but that's OK.  But, I just had my birthday this year, so you'll have to wait for my party NEXT year."

Ms. May feels that some of the "concerning" behaviors Carter displays in the classroom could be out of frustration or boredom because he already knows many of the concepts they are teaching.  (She did not witness any behaviors she would label "sensory processing" issues, but we may continue the testing for that, just in case.)  She thinks he may just be so focused on "bigger ideas" in his mind, that some of the social skills the rest of us take for granted just don't come naturally for Carter unless you really strike a chord with his interests.  She suggested further testing to see if Carter qualifies to enter Kindergarten next year, a year early.  Or, if he may do better to continue another year of Preschool but at a school that has a different curriculum so that he won't get bored.

At this point, I kind of started to freak out.  The only thing I know about "gifted" students is that I was never considered one growing up.  Whatever Carter's "above average" skills, I think he got many from Sean and some just are inherent in his personality.  However, rather than being thrilled to hear that the professionals think my kid is smart, I am now worried about making the right decisions for him academically and socially.  Of course, will have additional testing done before we decide how to move forward.  We found out that just early reading skills alone are not enough to consider a child to be gifted.  Whatever happens, we are already so proud of Carter and the person he is.  We think he is smart, but we also think he is funny and outgoing and creative...all are equally important in my book.

Here's our big boy in his first school photo:  (I can't believe how OLD he looks!)

Preschool Halloween Party

Carter got to have a Halloween party at school on Friday! He was Woody, from Toy Story, and I think he made such a cute cowboy. We ran into Woody's pal, Jessie, at the party--how cool is that?!

The kids were able to read us their plan for the day before the parade. Now, almost a week later, Carter was still able to read this to me as he watched me update the blog!

Getting ready for the parade with all of his classmates.

Davis making friends, waiting for the parade to start.

Here comes Carter! (This was taken shortly before Davis pulled off my necklace and 100 choking-hazard-sized pieces went flying off into the parade route with 40+ preschoolers stepping all over them. It was awesome.)

Next, time to decorate cookies (or just eat a ton of icing...whatever).

Davis was all over it when he noticed there were cookies involved!

Time to make a spider hat!

Carter and his friend, Bryson, making their hats.

Davis sharing the dollhouse with Bryson's little sister.

We don't have anything like this at home!

Carter and the ladies doing some coloring. What a great party!

First Day of School

Today was Carter's first day of Preschool at his new school! We had a "meet & greet" at the school last night and got to visit the classroom and meet his teachers so we would be prepared for today. Carter loved the classroom and all the stations they had set up to encourage creativity and discovery. We are excited for him to start this curriculum and expand his knowledge base, but also to have him grow his social skills as he makes new friends. We have felt kind of isolated this Summer with the move and getting used to a new neighborhood, so this will be a nice change and a welcome return to routine.

Waiting outside the classrooms--there are four preschool rooms. His school is Pre-K to 6th grade, so we will be here for a long time! In two years, Davis will start preschool here and Carter will be in Kindergarten. But, one thing at a time for this mommy.

Going into his classroom! What a big boy--he took Ms. LaDonna's hand and walked right in. Not a tear or even an ounce of clinging to mom. He was ready!

Ms. Glo(ria) and Ms. LaDonna with Carter when I picked him up today. He had a fun day & his teachers both said he did well--way to go, buddy! Ready to do it all again tomorrow?

Milestones

Today was Carter's last day of Preschool at his old school. He and I started taking "Mommy & Me" classes there when I was pregnant with Davis. He then did "Mom's Morning Out" there and started Preschool last Summer. We have loved the teachers at BP and the personalized attention he received in his small class.

It was sad to pick him up today, knowing it would probably be the last time he sees most of his "school friends" since we now live on the other side of town. I got a little teary just thinking that this is only the beginning of school milestones for Carter...a yearly reminder to mommies that little boys don't stay little for long and life is so quickly changing. I will try to slow down and take the time to enjoy every minute I have.

We love Miss Janessa!! Check out Carter's shirt--all the kids and Janessa put their hand prints on it with their names, so each child has a special shirt to remember their class. It is adorable.

Carter & Lily

Kadin and Carter (nice face, son)

Carter & Summer

They were dancing to the "Cars" soundtrack when I came in.

This boy has some moves!