Almost time

for school that is.  10 days and counting.  Jonathon is ready.  He has been ready all vacation.

Today we went up to the school to show Jonathon his new playground.  I let him check it out and play for 20 minutes like he will at school and then had him line up at the door like he will be doing all this year.

I was pretty amazed how well he did.  The new playground is huge compared to the playground he was on for the last 3 years.  He enjoyed playing on the playground.  He worried Kenny alot, but I explained to Kenny that we have to back off and let him go.  And that he is ready!  Yes, I do believe he is ready.  Is mom ready?  No, not really.  Jonathon is my baby.  It will be hard to have him gone all day.  We are together all the time.  He is my little shadow.  But we will adjust and change is good.

We will continue to travel to school all this week so that Jonathon can get more familiar with his new surroundings.

I am trying to prepare him for the changes that are taking place.


Here are some pictures to share of Jonathon exploring and getting ready for a fun filled year.

walking the bridge

Checking out the teeter totter

Ok  I'll just go under

Time to line up!

Almost there!

"Made it"  

Jonathon has been home from school all week!  He is finally on the mend and its looking like he may be able to return to school next week. ((HOORAY)) for me and for Jonathon.  He is ready!  He really misses school along with his friends and teachers.

We took Kenny to his consult for surgery this afternoon.  Looks like mom will be staying overnight with Kenny after all.  Our good friend Nik and best friend Rylee will be coming over to help out with Jonathon while I am gone.  March 19th is coming up quick.

We went and seen Miss Barb today(Children's EyeWear) and picked up Jonathon's new lenses.  His prescription changed a little bit, but nothing to worry about.

Then we headed off to Walmart and picked up some snack foods and a few extra items to pack away while Kenny is home after his surgery.

Then off to Kroger to pick up some bread and brown sugar.  Juice for Jonathon and a few other items.

Jonathon specifically asked me for pizza afterwards.  I was so proud that he asked me that I turned around and went back to the pizza store and grabbed a pizza and some cheese bread.  Forgot to take pictures but he ate his pizza like a big boy!  I didn't have to cut it up tonight.  I have noticed a lot lately that he is finally taking off on eating by himself.  I pretty much don't have to do anything anymore!  He is really doing great.  Now the rest of the crew need to get on board....they still have their moments where they worry and tell him to slow down and I just remind them that he is almost 5 and he is doing just fine!  5.....I can't believe my baby is going to be 5 soon.

Then there is this attitude problem still going on!  Not listening.....ignoring me....telling me no....saying FINE!!!!  I have resorted to the whistle!!  If you do not listen to me after the second time I blow the whistle....and let me tell you I BLOW the whistle and Jonathon comes a running!!!!!  I hope we get over this quickly!!!

Jonathon.....could you please just listen to mommy!!!!!

Tonight he took one of his special little stuffed animals and gave it to his Tiny dog.  Now she has a baby to cuddle...and it's so cute!  She is actually sleeping with it.

Movie Watching

Tonight Jonathon, Kenny and I sat down to watch Kung Fu Panda 1 before bed.  And let me tell you Jonathon loves this movie.  He was laughing so hard that I had to laugh too.  I really did not think it was  "that" funny, but Jonathon loves Panda getting beat up I guess.

I have waited so long to hear my son laugh at the funny parts and know that he "gets it"  What an amazing feeling to have as a parent!  I am so happy for him.  I am so proud of him!

Next time I will try to video better and get picture too.  Today I hid the phone so he wouldn't stop.

Hope you enjoy,  I sure did.

Dental Appointment

Today we went and seen Dr. Dentist!

Last year when I took Jonathon to meet a pediatric dentist in the same office where my older boys go it was a complete disaster.  She did not take her time with Jonathon and he ended up screaming so bad that he had broken blood vessels in his face.  And I knew we did not want her.  And she said" I can't help you"  Really.......

We found a great dentist about 1 hour from our home.  We went and met with him and he set up a procedure at Childrens Hospital of Michigan to get xrays, teeth cleaning and anything else that needed to be done.

Jonathon went in April and had his xrays, teeth cleaned and a space added in between his two front teeth.  He had cavities in there because his teeth were too close together.  It was out patient and when he was finished we took him home.

When we went for our follow up visit Dr. Dentist gave me some ideas on what to do to get Jonathon to brush.

Over the past 6 months I have made sure that Jonathon has brushed his teeth in the morning and at night.  There have been times when I have said "Why bother"  He just doesn't like it and he is probably going to have a ton of cavities and have to be put under again!!  Plus it's very frustrating that I have to do this on my own. (sorry to say, but hubby is not much help)  But then I say to myself that would not be fair to Jonathon so we brush anyway.  Some days are good and some days are bad.  The good days are around more and more.

I was worried about our appointment today.  I have been telling Jonathon for 1 week now, getting him ready.  Hoping that he understood.  I was very very nervous on the way there today.  I couldn't even drink my coffee.  Then we were late, because I made a wrong turn.....OOPS.

We signed in at 8:33a.m.  We had a few minutes to wait so I got out Jonathon's IPAD.  He sat quietly and put some puzzles together on his Ipad.  Other kids looked from a distance.  I thought it was pretty cool.  Then we were called.  Okay here we go......Put the Ipad away and followed the nurse back.....got a few feet and then Jonathon noticed everyone in dr. gear and stopped.....and said "NO"  and turned around to leave.

I grabbed his hand and told him it was okay. That they were not doctors, that they were dentist helpers.  And the nurse helped confirm that with him.  I practically had to drag him back to the room and then he seen the "chair"  Oh my!!  He didn't want any part of that.

As I was putting him in the chair and getting out blue puppy.....Dr. Dentist was explaining what he was going to do and the staff was getting ready and as I am getting out blankie, headphones, they are starting and Jonathon begins to cry and scream......I quickly tell him "ok, let me get your music"  I grab my cell phone and quickly scroll through to find Elmo Lets go Tubbin.....This calms Jonathon down some where he at least is not screaming.  One Dr. Dentist.....3 staff members and mommy .....I just kept talking to Jonathon and telling him how proud I was and that he was doing great and that he had blue puppy and that he was almost done.  And before we knew it......we were done.

I spoke with Dr. Dentist quickly.  He told me that he was so proud of me..."me".....I even said "me"?  He reminded me how I came to him upset and looking for help.  And that he told me what I needed to do and I did it.  And that Jonathon would not be getting a good clean teeth report if I had not listened. WOW was all I could think!  And it made me proud.  Jonathon has no cavities! He was put into a drawing to win a $25.00 gift card.  And we will go back in 6 months.  And hopefully in 6 months it will be a little better for him.  We signed in at 8:33a.m. and we were back in the van at 9:03a.m.

So I took him to Walmart to pick out a new toy for being such a big boy and letting Dr. Dentist clean his teeth.  He picked 2 monster trucks....He is big into Monster Jam right now.  He now has Hot wheels and Grave Digger!!

I am so proud of Jonathon.  I know how much certain things scare him.  Like the noise of the dental tool to clean his teeth.  To sit there and let the dentist clean his teeth and not wear his headphones.  Phenomenal!  Amazing!  I will always do my best to make sure he is happy, safe, and protected!

I love you Jonathon Joseph!  Rest well, you did great today!!!!!!

Swimming cancelled

because someone used the pool as a toilet......I know TMI, but it is what it is......

So we came home and raked leaves into a big pile.  It was beautiful outside for October.  Around 80 degrees.  Ok, maybe little much. Jonathon was sweating so bad that we eventually gave up and came in. But he did enjoy himself.

I can remember a little boy who wouldn't go near the leaves let alone touch them and PLAY in them.  Now I have a brave big boy who love loves the leaves!!! Hooray!!!!

I am really liking fall this year!

Imagination

Imagination........is wonderful!

Wordless Wednesday

Movie Day

We had a movie store open back up in our neighboring town about 1 month ago.  It is called Family Video.  For the first month you recieve 1/2 off of everything so we have been visiting once per week. We are able to rent 5 movies for about 3.50.  Pretty cool if you ask me.


This has become a weekly ritual for Jonathon and I.  Sometimes we take the big brothers along, but mostly its just us.  This has been a good time for some practice.  Jonathon has been practicing listening to mom and walking up and down the aisles with mom.  He has been learning not to touch all the movies and take them off of the shelf.  He has been learning that he may take a movie if he wants to rent it.


This video store has alot of older kid movies that you are able to rent for free.  It is so overwhelming to see so many movies.  But every week he is doing better and better.


When we first started there was a lot of yelling(on Jonathon's part) and tugging(holding hands) and running(Jonathon running away from me).  I stuck it out though even when we made a few scenes.  And it was well worth it because today we went after school and we had a very nice time looking at all the movies and deciding which ones to rent.


We rented Berenstein Bears, Franklin goes to school and Dumbo.  And Lynx.  not sure what that is, but it looks like it might be interesting.  Mommy got some movies for the big kids too.


Jonathon tried to escape one time, but I just explained that we would leave the store with nothing and he came back to me.  And then when we were leaving he told the lady good bye and thank you!  I am soo sooo proud of him.  And I made sure I told him just how proud I was and how polite that was to say Thank you and good bye.


I can honestly say that I have not touched the stroller since........ummm......since.....August.  Wow .....since August?  That's wonderful!


So we already watched Dumbo, which Jonathon really liked and now we are watching the Berenstein Bears.  He seems to like this movie too.

Winter Blues

I believe that Jonathon is a lot like me.  I do not like winter.  I don't think Jonathon cares much for it either.  Last year he never went out.  Every time there was enough snow to go out and play he was sick.  This year we took him out once so far and he was not thrilled.  Maybe when he gets older he will enjoy the snow more.  Maybe if he would stop looking at the ground and his feet he would enjoy the snow more.  Maybe if we still had snowmobiles he would enjoy riding them and enjoy the snow more.  I remember growing up on snowmobiles and then we each had our own junky ones to ride when we were big enough.  Maybe because I am older I do not enjoy the snow anymore.


I am not sure!  I think this has been a long winter.  I am so over winter.  I read other blogs that are into the sunshine and parks and swimming and gardens etc. and I am jealous.


Jonathon and I are ready to get back outside.  Jonathon and I are ready to go for walks with the dog.  Jonathon and I are ready to swing on the swings in the back yard.  Jonathon and I are ready to go to the park.  Jonathon and I are ready to run around outside in our back yard.  Mommy is ready to sit and relax on her deck.  Jonathon is ready for some P.T. on the deck.  Mommy is ready to pull weeds and get her flowers ready to bloom.  Mommy is ready to feed the birds and squirrels and watch them return.


Please spring.....hurry up....we are ready and anxiously waiting for your return!!!


In the meantime we will remain in doors where it is warm and play.  This weekend I got out the wooden blocks again.  Every time I bring them out, I put them away pretty quickly because all Jonathon wants to do is throw them.  I know one day he will get it.  And guess what?  That one day finally came!!!

Wordless Wednesday

New "Gamer" on the Block

w e l l ......almost.....I bought Jonathon a game for the Wii a few months ago and finally tried it after Christmas.  It is Jumpstart Escape from Adventure Island, you have to use the wand and it is mainly rolling it back and forth to do what you need to do.  It was kinda a pain even for me, so of course Jonathon didn't concept it all.  I just told him that was o.k. and we would put it away for now and try when he got a little older.....

He loves to go in and get on the bed and watch Kenny play PS3.  He will sit for hours with Kenny if I let him.  Kenny is 14 and likes shooter games.....Jonathon has a new vocabulary and it consist of a toy gun and alot of "POW" "POW" "POW"....Ok, I don't think he needs to be in front of that for very long.  So when we were out the other day running errands I decided to look for a couple of different games for the PS3 for Kenny.  Mainly because his Uncle John likes to play, but not really shooter games so I found Motorstorm Greatest Hits- this has trucks, ATVs, semi etc that you can race - right up Uncle John's alley.  And while I was searching I ran across a game for Jonathon to try.....Maybe the PS3 would be a little easier....  Here is what Jonathon got!

So much excitement!!

 

 

So I hooked it all up and let him try.....he did much better than with the Wii..... he can push the gas pretty good, but steering is not so good......but for the few minutes that he played he was very very happy.....so a good buy I think.....he will grow into it just like Andrew and Kenny did years ago....(their learning game was Spyro)

I do want to purchase the new Elmo game for the Wii when the price comes down.......

Wordless Wednesday

A very independent little boy!

PreSchool has Started

Jonathon had Open House on Sept 7th.  We went to his classroom to visit the teacher and teachers aide and he was able to explore around the classroom and see what was new.

The teacher has rearranged the entire classroom compared to last year ~ she changed some of the table seating ~ added some more recliners in the book corner ~  a few new toys ~ but overall not too different and Jonathon was comfortable.

Jonathon was able to play for about an hour while I spoke with his teacher and teachers aide about things that we have been working on.  During this time he also interacted with some of the other children that were also there.

Checking out toys

Playing

Watch the ball go round and round

Wednesday Sept 8th was his official first day of school.  We got up at 6:15a.m., went potty, got a drink, put on glasses and sat down to watch t.v. for a few minutes.  Mommy hurried out to kitchen to make coffee and get in shower.  Then at 6:50a.m. Jonathon had his breakfast and he chose pancakes with Chocolate milk.  Finished breakfast and got dressed and got shoes on.  We were not too rushed and we were out the door by 7:40a.m.  First had to go over to Junior High/High School to drop off Kenny(Andrew rode the bus).  Said our goodbyes to Kenny and then hurried over to the Elementary School.  We got there with just a few minutes to spare.  When we were walking in the Pledge of Alliance was being said and it was loud over the speakers and this Jonathon did not like.  I stayed for a few minutes after telling Jonathon good bye to make sure all was ok.  School starts at 7:55a.m. and I was gone by 8:10a.m.  Went back at 11:15a.m. to pick him up and he had a great first day.

getting ready to go

 

My baby is growing up....

At Christmas time I started putting Jonathon in bed instead of rocking him......
I still rocked him for naps though..........until recently

On Friday we went out for a few hours and got home after nap time so I just put him to bed and he went to sleep pretty fast and took a really good nap..........

On Saturday we had swimming at the Y and then I had to run a few errands so we got home late for lunch and it was already past nap time, so we had lunch and then I just put him to bed and again he went to sleep pretty fast and slept for over 2 hours........

Today we went to church in the morning and then came home and played......we had lunch on time and then when it was nap time I just put him to bed...... within 19 minutes he was fast asleep......

I am very proud of Jonathon that he stayed in his bed and didn't give me a problem.....on the other hand I am kinda sad....he doesn't need mommy to rock him anymore.....

I guess he is growing up......

Potty Training is Complete

                                                      Step 1

W

                                                      Step 2

I

                              I AM A BIG BOY NOW!!!!

This will be my very last post on Potty Training ~ Potty Training has been completed ~ June 18th I let Jonathon wear his underwear to bed ~ Jonathon has been wearing underwear full time ever since ~ I am proud to say ~ NO ACCIDENTS

Jonathon is starting to let me know when he has to go potty ~ he holdS his tummy and yells at me ~ if I am not in the room he comes and finds me ~ holding his tummy ~ if I ask Jonathon if he has to go potty ~ he will answer me yes or no ~ and I believe his answer now ~ I ask him if he needs to pee or poop ~ he answers and answers truthfully/correctly

Our goal is to get rid of his urinal this summer and use a step stool to stand on to pee ~ so he will be comfortable when he goes back to school in Sept ~ another goal is to get rid of his potty seat and get him to always sit on the big toilet without one ~ so again he is comfortable and ready to go back to school ~ and most of all work on him telling other people besides mommy that he needs to go.

So there could be an update on those things in the future ~ but I am PROUD and HAPPY to say :HOORAY JONATHON!!!!!  I LOVE YOU SO VERY MUCH AND AM SO VERY PROUD OF YOU FOR BEING FINISHED WITH POTTY TRAINING!  YOU ARE AMAZING AND MY MIRACLE! 

Last Day of School

I am not sure what happen to my previous post about last day of school.

So I redid it.

Last day of school was Wednesday June 9, 2010.  We had a nice time and a great way to end the year.  

Jonathon received a few items also.

Pictures with teacher ~ 3 at end are teacher, teachers aide and social worker ~ last picture is gift from Miss Lori(social worker)

Wordless Wednesday

                                                           no more sitting on mommy's lap

Another Milestone Complete

I have finally decided that Jonathon is finished with his stairs and we will be donating them to Memphis Schools(Jonathon's school)next week.  He has been working on his stairs since December 09 and now they are pretty much just sitting in the corner unless I take them out for Jonathon to play on.  I say play on because he is really good at going up and down.  He now holds a ball in one hand and holds the rail with the other hand and walks up ~ sits down ~ rolls the ball ~ stands up ~ walks back down ~ and does this all over again.  He will climb the stairs and go down on his butt ~ he will stand on the landing and practice standing on one leg.

Our close friend "Mr Randy" made the stairs for Jonathon and agreed that we could donate them. (Thanks Randy).  We just want other children to be able to have the opportunity for this part of physical therapy if needed.

Stairs are only located at Woodlands in Marysville.  The only reason that we were able to access these stairs was because we were involved in summer school and summer school is located only at Woodlands.  And this is where I got my idea from.  And I am glad that I had these stairs made, what a difference in Jonathon's therapy for walking better.

I hope Memphis staff and the students enjoy the stairs and get as much from them as we did!

I wanted to post a video also, but I am having problems figuring it all out.  Soooo when I finally figure out how to do it  I will show everyone just what Jonathon can do!

Wordless Wednesday

F

                                              

On our way

So last summer I received some pec cards from summer school.  I have some medium size ones and some little ones.  I have a majority of different pictures.  Last summer Jonathon really did not seem interested so I put them away.

I have been cleaning and organizing lately and I came across the pec cards again.  I decided to bring them out to see what Jonathon would do with them.  Now the little cards have velcro on the back of them and they stick to a schedule sheet that sticks to the fridge.  He rips them off daily and sticks them back on.  Some pictures he is beginning to learn.

But what I am really proud of is the medium size cards.  We only have a few this size and I have been trying to decide to get some more made or purchase some other sort of flash card.

These are the words that Jonathon knows very well and you can really understand exactly what he is saying!  I am once again so so proud of my little boy and I cannot wait for him to learn even more.