Letter to my son

Dear Son,

This week, Mommy had to work longer hours than normal, trying to close out end of year reports.  You were very understanding.  But I wonder if this was part of the reason you were "off this week" according to your teachers.  Fortunately, Oma and Opa picked you up most of the days this week while Mommy and Daddy had to work.

Pictures shared from Oma and Opa this week:

You climbed on the picnic table at Oma and Opa's to throw the ball in the basket.  Oma said, "You love challenges."  So true!  You are a determined boy.

Playing the Cheerios book

You ate an entire hamburger at O'Henry's  - no bun, just hamburger and cheese and a few sweet potato fries.

In considering other reasons for your "off week" behavior... Your teachers also added that there are three new students in the classroom, all of them are boys.  You and Carson are good friends, having made that friendship from the start of school.  But with three new boys on the block, you are being more possessive of toys, to the point of putting toys in your mouth, not wanting to share and telling the teachers, "no."  When the teachers did correct you this week, you said sorry and got upset pretty quickly.  Mrs. Kristi said, "This just isn't Gregory."

Mrs. Kristi also asked about your speech evaluation.  She said, "I was just wondering, because Gregory gets frustrated when the other kids don't understand him."  I explained how the evaluation came back that you are not saying the middle and ends of the words.  I will be following up with the speech therapist next week, to find out when we can start your once a week therapy.  I would rather you have the therapy, while we continue to work with you, so that you aren't frustrated with words and communication skills.

Mommy talked to you this morning before leaving the classroom and reminded you to play nice with your friends and don't put toys in your mouth.  When Daddy picked you up from school, the teachers said you had a much better day.

You did have good days though, playing with play dough (though we have to remind you not to eat it, yucko)..

This week, Mommy made cookies for your classroom.  Each family has assigned time to bring treats.  This wasn't for a reason for bringing the cookies, this is "just because."  And Mommy is learning how to make homemade royal icing.  Your class is focusing art projects on the alphabet and numbers, I thought it would be cute to do the same thing with cookies.  I didn't think of the rhyming "ABC, 123, Fleur de Lis" until both Daddy and Granny pointed it out :)

When Mommy asked you which cookie you ate, you held up two fingers and said, "2"

A is for Alligator, B is for Bee and C is for Caterpillar.  You were very pleased with the caterpillar.  

The day of bringing the cookies to class, Mommy had the perfect shirt for you to go to school in!

You also did the letter D is for Dinosaur!

You insisted that you bring the cookies to class and hand them to your teacher.

When Oma picked you up from school one day, she said, "Do you want to pee in the potty at school or at home?"  You said, "At school!"  You pee'd in the potty and then said, "I make Mommy happy."  I cheer for you whenever you pee in the potty :)

The above picture reminds me of something that happened with work.  In review of the year-end accounts receivables, there was a client that overpaid by 29 cents.  The law office does not have a petty cash draw, so when asked how to handle this, I offered, "I can find 29 cents in my purse to send to the client."  It was suggested that I add this to reimbursement.  I replied, "Don't worry about it.  I give my son the same amount if he pees in the potty."  Trust me, son, I got a strange look from that comment.  I guess it's not something a person hears every day!  Daddy tells you, "Pee in the potty and you get to save for a toy truck!"  Every time you pee, money goes in a piggy bank.

When Mommy went to Oma and Opa's house to pick you up after school, you showed me how you play Opa's guitar and then started to "sing."  

Climb much?  You love to do so!

You almost gave Oma a heart attack when you did this!

You want to ride Daddy's exercise bike.

You're such a helpful boy!  You saw Mommy taking the Mardi Gras mask out and you said, "I help you Mommy!"  You carried the door hanger outside for Mommy.

It's wonderful when the weather isn't too hot or too cold.  You automatically go to the tree for a picture!

You have two new hiding places now. Beneath pillows and under your bed.

One day we were playing hiding and seek.  You ran off... Daddy and I both tried to find you.  We looked everywhere.  Both of us even looked under the bed.  We couldn't find you!  We started to open the doors and call your name.  Finally, Mommy looked hard under your bed and saw the tips of your tennis shoes.  You had gone all the way to the corner (and hidden behind some toys under your bed).  Oh my gosh, talk about scare us!  You are getting a little too good at hiding and being quiet about it now.

Rock climbing at Mike Miley playground.  You went all the way up without help.

I love you sweet boy!

You love going down the slides by yourself and have no problem going fast

You started to steer the wheel and said, "I drive like Daddy!"

You wanted Mommy to crawl through the mesh tunnel.  Mommy said, "I'm too big."  This was the look you gave me in disbelief....

In this next picture, you saw two girls playing on the loops that turn around and around.  Daddy put you on the loop and said, "Hold on tight!"  In the past, you screamed whenever Daddy would start to turn you.  This time, you held on for quiet some time and we had to ask if you wanted to get off.

After the park, we went for a walk.  One of the neighborhood boys had a cool bike and he was kind enough to let you try.  You barely reached the pedals.

When the boy returned to his bike, he said, "Watch how fast I can ride!"  And you showed him how fast you can run by keeping up!  You both were going very quickly.

Standing on a fire hydrant.

That brings me to potty talk.  If you want something, Mommy now says, "If you want to go to the park, you have to potty first."  And you do so.  If you want things, it's potty first and you aren't fighting me on it (not yet at least).  Today you have been in big boy pants since coming home from school and no accidents.  Yeah!  It's a work in progress.  

Your Uncle Rene sent Mommy and Daddy an interesting article and .... perfect timing.  Mommy was just starting to wonder, "Why is my son making stuff up?  Why is he being so sneaky?"  Like you taking Daddy's bowl of jello and then saying you didn't take it.  You are quick to say, "No, not me."  When you know that it was you.  It's other small incidents too... nothing that is glaring to cause us to think you have a problem.. but it was enough to bring a question into my mind of concern... Uncle Rene's shared article helped though:` 

"The ability to bend the truth is a developmental milestone, much like walking and talking. 

Lying requires two ingredients. Children need to understand what’s in someone else’s mind—to know what they know and what they don’t know. We call this ability theory of mind. The children who are better at theory of mind are also better at lying.  

The second requirement, according to Dr. Lee, is executive function—the power to plan ahead and curb unwanted actions. “The 30% of the under-3s who can lie have higher executive function abilities,” he said, “specifically the ability to inhibit the urge to tell the truth and to switch to lying.”

Such cognitive sophistication means that these early liars will be more successful in school and in their dealings with other kids on the playground, he added."

Like Mommy said, glad to have read this article - perfect timing.  You are creative... Recently, Daddy described you on Facebook as having ingenuity and being cunning.... this just after Mommy took this video:

Oma loved the video and said, "Cookie Monster."  You problem solved.  You didn't ask us for the cookie.  You couldn't reach it.  So, you took the stool from your bedroom and snuck it quietly into the kitchen.  Mommy knew you were being too quiet and looked into what you were doing.... that's when we took this video.

You are growing in leaps and bounds and you amaze me.  I'm in awe of your ability to learn and soak in what is being said and how things work.  You know how to turn the door handles... and the dead bolts too.  When you want to go outside, you are beating us to the door and that's a little scary.  Daddy ordered some door locks that go at the top of the door.  They can't arrive soon enough.  We have the regular dead bolts and the floor bolt security, but you know how to pick those up as well.  So, to the top we go with securing the doors.

I love you, sweetheart.  We want you to be creative, explore and find joy in the world.  In the meantime, we have to chase after you to keep you safe.  Your confidence is great and nerve-wrecking at the same time.   At the same time, you couldn't be sweeter and more loving.  You don't want us to go when dropping you off to school, until you give us "big hugs and big kisses."  You are the best hugger.

Love Always,

Mommy