When he’s good, he’s fantastic!
I get blown away a lot more often now that things at school are going so well! This last week we celebrated Valentines Day. Not that Mr. J understands what that is, but it was still a lot of fun.
I bought the Valentines to be passed out to the class. And yes, I was “that mom” who decided to bake cookies. It turned out I was the only mom who did. I had decided that I would come to the class and see if I could be a “fly on the wall” for a little bit while the Valentine’s Day party went on. So I got there and was greeted by Mr. J, who was overjoyed to see me. The class was watching some Sesame Street and going over the alphabet that Mr. J proudly showed off. Then after the show the kids were going over their sight words for the week. Mr. J left me to go and sit on his letter on the letter mat (his is W). So I got to watch from the back of the room as he did everything that was asked of him, following simple directions. Then we got to the party. The kids sat down at their tables in their designated spots and the snacks were passed out—cupcakes, cookies, pretzels, cheetos and juice. (That Mr. J ate none of—that’s where I came in) Then after snack the kids took their spots back up on the letter mat and each kid passed out their Valentines. I thought Mr. J would be a bit overwhelmed, but he did great. He gave each kid in his class a card and a cookie and seemed happy to do it. I was very surprised that the new little girl in the class was actually curled up on the rug off to one side sound asleep. She slept through the whole thing! A dump truck driving through a nitroglycerin plant wouldn’t wake this kid!
Of course I was something of a novelty in the class. Despite my low profile, the kids loved having me there. I was “Justin’s Mom”
“Hey Justin’s Mom! Guess what?” “Justin’s Mom! Could you get this for me?” “Justin’s Mom! We’re having a party!”
So I’m Justin’s Mom. I tried to get them to call me Miss Laurie, but it just wouldn’t stick. I found it to be very amusing, actually.
So after the party hub-bub I decided to just bring Justin home since there was only an hour to go and me leaving him there would have resulted in a melt down. So when it was time to go he proudly went to his cubby, pulled out his backpack, put his lunchbox in it, zipped it up and put it on himself and proclaimed “Ok! Let’s Go!” (although not quite as clear as that) But clear enough for the teacher to say “Did he just say ‘Let’s go’?” Big smile on my face. Why, yes. Yes he did.
So I get him home. We are relaxing on the couch, having a cuddle and I say “I love you” After we did our “I love you” forehead touch he says “Say it! I love you!” I had to bust up laughing because I’m always saying something followed with “Say it! Say it!”
I am hoping that he will be talking soon. He does very well with simply directions. I can tell him to close a door, get a spoon, have a seat, stop, give it and so much more. He’s so VERY smart! He repeats a lot of what he hears—so watch your mouth! He really does understand what you are saying to him, but he just can’t talk too well. I know he’s getting better and better all the time.
Another thing I FINALLY got out of him was “Mama”. He sometimes winds up on the wrong side of the gate at the bottom of the stairs. When he can’t get something to work right, he tends to start whining or throwing a fit and sounding very frustrated. I wouldn’t get him out of his fix until he calmed down and called for me to get him out. So after a small battle of the wills I finally hear a nice and calm “Mama!” That was pretty awesome. Score!
So there we have it!
Where'd My Hair Go?! 