Preschooling It and Our 6 Month Old

Life just seems to be flying by these days.  It's hard to believe my baby is already 6 months old and my little Park man is now in preschool.  I feel so fortunate as life continues to be falling into place for my family and things just keep getting better and better.  I am so proud of how far we have all come, how we continue to move forward and pinch myself often to make sure I'm not dreaming.  Life is grand!

It is coming to end, our summer that is, and fall is approaching.  I can tell by the way the wind blows in the late evening and early mornings, and by the ten degree drop in average daily temperature.  Although it is still warm and sunny, mostly in the 80's during the days, it is still a huge relief from the high 90's we experience in Utah for most of the summer.  I love the fall, school begins for so many of our youngsters and days for me feel more relaxed.  I always joke that we wait all year for summer to come but end up so busy in the summer with house projects, gardening, weeding and taking trips that it's not the least bit relaxing.  I suppose someday when I feel we've done everything to our house we want to do and when someone comes up with an earth friendly anti-weed product that actually works, I will finally feel relaxed:)

Our little Jude is growing up so fast.  He is now 6 1/2 months old and doing so much.  I can't even begin to tell you how fast that went!  Jude reminds me so much of his big brother in so many ways while at the same time is so much the opposite.  (Isn't it great how unique our kiddos are?!)  He is now sitting up with some support, he talks SO much that I swear he says "mama" already (Mom, no teasin'.  He is a genius;)  But really, when he is crying for me in another room he often times makes the sounds "mamama" and so I think...

Jude began teething a while ago.  He isn't drooling quite as much but we've had a few nights of discomfort that only lasted for a few minutes.  Let's just hope he teethes as well as Park did.  That was a breeze!  He loves to stand, with assistance of course, and thoroughly enjoys any toy, bouncer or even his car seat.  He even gets super mad when his brother takes a toy away from him.  I figure that's a good thing since he is going to need a strong will with an older brother like Park.  He is quite friendly and engaging with others as long as mommy or daddy are holding him but does NOT like being in anyone else's arms. Park was the exact same way.

Park, on the other hand, is Mr. Social these days.  He loves loves LOVES to go places, see new things and play with his "fwends".  He lets me leave him at friend's or cousin's houses without hesitancy and gives hugs and kisses often to each and every one.  I can't tell you how many times a day he asks to go in the car to go play with his buddies.  It's cute...it really is...and I am so proud to have such an outgoing little man.  BUT, it isn't easy.  He is definitely continuing to keep me on my toes!

Park is still delayed at speaking but continues to get better and better.  We figure it will take a few years for his language to be at an average level.  He is doing well with it, and we are proud of him.

Park also began Montessori preschool in August.  After finishing up with his services from Early Intervention it was recommended that we put him through the school system's preschool program.  After careful consideration, we declined thinking a few things:

(1) He is on the right track already
(2) He is only 3
(3) He would have a difficult time being forced to learn something he doesn't want to learn/sitting at desks, etc
(4) We want him to be in a normal setting classroom, not one that pulls kids aside for an hour a day away from his classmates to work with his language skills.  

Which is why we chose Montessori.  Montessori is learning through play and just what we felt he needed.  And so far, we were right.  He absolutely loves it!  For the energetic and charismatic little man Park is, Montessori a few mornings a week have been nothing but positive for him.  He came home with a compass that he made with a paper plate, construction paper and a screw and told me all about how it works.  Yes, I could have made it at home with him and done the same.  But, the proud look on his face when he was showing me his craft was priceless.  We do art projects here and there at home but he isn't half as excited about them with me and Marshall as he is about the ones he does at school.  Park's school has t.v. screens that you can watch each classroom on.  I always watch it after I drop him off or before I pick him up for a few minutes to see what he is up to and it really is the sweetest.  Never in a million years would we have thought our little Park would be sitting in a circle reading books, passing along a teddy bear for others to hug or dancing along with his friends and teachers.  And to top it off, one of his teachers is a speech therapist:)  Score!!!

We are so thankful for the opportunity to have Park in such a great environment twice a week, feeding his heart, mind and soul as an addition to what he has at home.  Montessori is so great for him, despite the cost out of our pockets.  Oh, did I mention that I drive 2 hours a days to take him for a 3 hour class?  Yup, that's LOVE:)  My husband and I are trying to work it out so he drops him off and I pick him up to reduce gas, drive time and emissions.  We actually did that today and it was really nice.  I'm just thinking that I hope we can put him in something else for next year as I would much rather have him in preschool closer to home.  I wonder if Jude will be the opposite of his brother???  He may be a homebody who would rather be at home with his mommy, helping bake banana bread and coloring in books.  Hey, it would be a lot cheaper if he were!

Wow, life goes really fast when you have children.  And what a reminder to take it slow and enjoy yourself, even the difficult stuff.  I am told all the time that it gets harder as they get older.  Well, I'm sure they are right but right now I find sleep deprivation and the scare of autism to be pretty high on the difficulty charts.  Other than that, I feel life as a Mom now to pretty amazing.  I love being a mom, and I love being Park and Jude's Mom.

I hope you are all enjoying the rest of your summer and look forward to the fall of the leaves and change of colors.  May you all be well!

Mommy Bridget