One of "those" days

I had my camera.  We were on time, maybe even a little early.  We were excited and had talked about today since signing up.  I was planning on having fun pictures of smiling kids, new experiences and new beginnings.

But, there will be no pictures.  Alas, dreams don't always lead to reality, and boy was today a bummer of reality!

Kindergarten Orientation.

Yep.  Let's all get our laughs out now.  Hmmm, I even just laughed a bit.  Maybe that means that the frustration of today is lessening with the passing of a few hours.  Let me fill in the spaces to our adventure.


Kindergarten Orientation!  Yahoo!!  D was so excited!!  We stopped by the school, picked up papers to fill and return, talked about G being at the school at that very moment (!), and shared how great it would be to go to a "big" school (D's words).

A day later the papers were filled out and we again went to the school and returned papers, signed up for August assessment, shared excitement at being able to ride the bus around the parking lot during the Kindergarten Orientation and noticed fun things about the school office.

While I have had some concerns about D starting Kindergarten this year as his birthday is just two weeks before the cut-off and he would be one of the "young ones" in his grade, I had rectified that he was doing well in preschool, learning numbers, letters and even beginning to read words himself when we read from The Book of Mormon before bed.  He is physically big, and he plays well with other kids.  We were moving ahead with Kindergarten!

We really were excited about going to the orientation today.  We got ready to go without any hint of what was to come...until we approached the front doors to the school.  D gets pretty nervous in front of people.  He can be easily embarrassed.  Our friends at church have seen this as he has been asked to share scriptures or short talks in primary only to refuse at the last minute, crumbling into his chair as he would begin to cry.  That started to happen as he saw people inside the building.  He stopped walking and held onto a decorative fence right outside the door.  He said he didn't want to go inside with his glasses.  It's been less than a week since he's been wearing glasses, but this was the first time that he really showed that he was embarassed since the very first time he wore them.  After trying to talk with him and realizing that he was not going to budge, I decided it was more important to get him into the school at that moment than having him wear his glasses.  We decided he could let me hold his glasses until he was feeling a bit more comfortable, then he would put them on.  We walked inside.  Did I mention that I had J with me too?  Hmmm, just checking.

After getting inside, we followed the other parents and kids into the library where chairs were set up.  After a short introduction, all the new kindergarteners were invited to go line up with the two Kindergarten teachers so they could go to the rooms and play, explore, draw and have a snack.  My smile quickly became forced as D instantly started his little crying.  This progressed as I tried to encourage him to go stand in line with other boys that he already knew.  Didn't work.  He began to meltdown as he was now laying on his chair refusing to go with the other kids.  I suggested that I walk with him to the classroom which just brought on louder protests.  Sensing something amiss, J decided to become a bit belligerent--with more volume.  All of a sudden our wonderful trip to the school turned into a nightmare--for both D and me! 

It was obvious that D wasn't going to change his mind.  I have seen this before.  There wasn't much I could do.  While on the inside I wanted to give him a bit of a smack and tell him to get it together, I realized I was only left with calmly trying to follow the information that was being presented to the parents.  It's not fun having kids struggle with life.  I wanted D to be brave and see the fruit of pressing forward.  I wanted him to have fun exploring the classroom that would be his in a few months.  Truly, I wanted to feel like a "good parent" that had well-adjusted kids instead of the parent that the other moms and dads were sneaking  glances at while feeling grateful they weren't in that position. 

Oh well, I've never had "perfect kids" or been the parent that would ever be set up as a model example of perfect parenting.  I don't think it exists in the real world--other than Mary Poppins.  Realizing that there was not much I could do but try to make the best of what was left of our adventure, we headed down to the Kindergarten rooms once the parents were excused from our meeting.  For some reason, it wasn't a big deal now and D enjoyed exploring the two different rooms.  Once we returned home, D appologized and said "I just got a little scared".  What could I do?  I haven't yet figured out how I can help him overcome this type of fear, but we'll work on it.  I did call my mom and relayed our experience with her because I knew she would see the humor in it and I needed someone to lighten my mood a bit.  She did just that.  Thanks mom.

I guess we'll see what comes next.  D does a great job in preschool and I believe he will overcome this hiccup too.  Always something to keep us guessing.  Nothing like being a parent to keep you humble and on your toes.  Can't help but love these little ones though.

D's seeing things as they are!!

We got the call a few days ago, but because D had a stomach bug again (!) we weren't able to go until today.  The call?  His glasses were in and ready to be picked up!

Yahoo!  We were so excited!

D was so good at listening to directions as his glasses were being fit to him.  Then he got to try them on...

He wasn't sure about it all at first. 

Then he thought they were cool.

Then, he refused to wear them and broke down crying.

The Big Guy Lowe picked him up and gave him big loves and they talked quietly together for a bit.

The next thing I knew, D was asking to wear his glasses.  I was curious to learn what had inspired the change.  The Big Guy Lowe had a slight grin on his face that let me know there would be an explanation, but the most important thing was D wearing his glasses and getting used to them.

When we got out to the car, I found out we would be going to another store so D could pick out a toy.  Today was a day to celebrate!!!  It's not every day that you get glasses!!  The other boys were pretty bummed that they weren't getting glasses today.  That might have helped D feel better too.

StarWars Legos have never **looked** so good!

 Grammy and Grandpa thought D looked "so cool" in his glasses.  We needed to stop by and show them because we were so close to their home and wanted to show them.  That was a good call.  All the boys were able to play outside.  All the time the boys were playing D was wearing his glasses.  Change isn't easy, but seeing clearly is worth it!!

Love you D!  Your glasses are great!

Sunshine, Soap and Suds

First carwash of the season!  Bring on Summer!!

(okay, so I know we will most likely have another few months of cold rain and clouds but I just couldn't help it!!)

"Eye" spy...

A few weeks ago I had the two younger boys into the doctor for well-checkups.  Other than the horrific experience had by all when immunizations were administered (oh grief!) the appointments went pretty well.  As a 4-year-old, D had his first eye exam.  I wasn't expecting anything out of the ordinary as D is able to see just fine...or so I thought.

When the exam began, D was able to see perfectly out of both eyes.  Then he covered his right eye, and again, he was able to see everything just fine.  Then he covered his left eye.  It was surprising to both the nurse and myself as D began to stumble on the first line.  It became pretty obvious that he was trying to guess at what he was seeing.  Later, when I asked what was happeneing, he said that he was embarrassed that he couldn't see, so he tried guessing.  I reassured him that he was just fine and that we would be able to go to an eye doctor to get his eyes checked.  When I called, the next available appointment was three weeks out.  D was a bit disappointed he would have to wait so long, but wait we did.

The day of the appointment finally came.  D was excited as we had talked about what the doctor would do to check his eyes.  We also did our best to share that he might even get glasses like his daddy.  He seemed pretty optimistic about it all.

D did great at his appointment!  He followed directions and listened carefully.  First they checked depth perception.  Cool glasses!

Then we waited a bit.  Look at that big 4-year old!! 

Next, they checked each of his eyes by putting a patch over one eye, then the other.  The doctor called it the pirate game. 

Even when D had to have his eyes dilated, something that I've never experienced, he followed directions.  The drops that cause the eyes to dilate sting for the first few minutes, but D was brave and blinked his eyes ten times as the doctor suggested.  By the time he said ten, the sting had gone away.

D did a great job at the eye doctor.  We will be getting glasses for D this next week as his right eye has a prominent astigmatism.  We're so glad we caught this early so it won't get in the way of his learning in school.  While we have been very positive about this, G was so concerned when he first found out D would need glasses.  He began to cry because he was afraid other kids would tease him.  I'm grateful for his tender heart.  We'll post pictures of the glasses once we have them.

Big D's preschool at the pumpkin patch

What a beautiful day! 

It's hard to believe that Big D is in preschool already!  I remember coming to the pumpkin patch when G was in preschool...

these boys really do grow up!

This year we had a beautiful day as well!  Because of the nice weather, J was able to come too, and that made things just that much more fun!! 

We started out in the hay bale maze. 

Then headed over to the turkeys and goats!

The boys loved feeding the goats.

Next was time for the hay pyramid and class pictures.

Such a cutie up there! 

 

Finally we headed out to the pumpkins!!  Yahoo!!

We could only choose pumpkins that the boys could carry themselves.  That rule was kind of a bummer, but the boys weren't deterred!

 

Success!!

We ended things up with a visit to the tractor and some yummy popcorn balls!

 

 Another good day to the pumpkin patch!

Big D: Born to Hike

The Big Guy Lowe and I were able to accompany our congregation's Young Women on a qualifying hike for this year's Girl's Camp.  Not only were we able to go, but we brought along Big D!  We hiked just over six miles that day and the only time we held D was for this picture!

We had just begun and were excited for the day's journey.  Little did we know that D would be such a natural hiker!  He was AWESOME!!!  He didn't complain once during the hike--that is more than we can say about many of the older girls that were with us.  We were so impressed.  We had a wonderful day and look forward to many more out on the trails!