Carter Update

Wow, our little man is now only 3 months away from his 3rd birthday. In a way 3 seems so old but in a way it's still my sweet little babe. We've been discussing more what we would like to do for Carter's schooling, what school district we would like to be in and what our thoughts are on preschool. I feel very strongly that preschool is increasingly more important. As more and more curriculum is pushed down to ages where it isn't quite developmentally appropriate, kindergarten is becoming less play and more learning. To the point where children entering kindergarten need to be familiar with routines and procedures of a classroom so they are not left behind. I want Carter to have that year before kindergarten to become acclimated to school and the expectations that come with it. I feel a half day or every other day situation would be ideal so it's an easier adjustment for us both and I've been surprised to find that half-day pre-k is quickly becoming a thing of the past. So far I've only found one school district in our area that offers pre-k for half a day. Coincidentally it is the school district I previously taught in and love, but is extremely expensive to live in.

I do feel comfort in knowing that children must be 4 on or before September 1st to enter prek so I have this school year plus the entire next one to have my boy home with me! I know he'll do well in school as he is happy to run off and sit by himself with the other kids at storytime and other presentations. He is also quick to make friends and will tell me the whole way home from the playground about his friend with the brown shirt or his friend with the blue shorts. I watch him run over to other kids exclaiming, "Hi friend!" After some coaching he's learned to walk to up kids and say, "Can I play with you?" Rather than slap them for attention. He'll also say, "My name is Carter. What's your name?" Usually I have to remind him, otherwise we leave the playground and he asks me what his friend's name was and I have no idea. He is so social. We'll get somewhere and if he sees a kid close to his age he'll yell, "Look, a friend," and take of running. 

He's so outspoken and outgoing. At restaurants he loves to order for himself and is quick to say please and thank you. He will talk to anyone as long as he initiates the conversations. If an adult talks to him first he's sometimes a bit hesitant. I figure that's a good thing. Even with how social he is he still sometimes prefers to play alone. At the playground or on a play date there are times when he just does his own thing. If he's off somewhere in the house and is quiet chances are he's reading a book. He loves to pick up books we've already read and retell them sometimes even word for word. His memory is quite impressive!

His new thing is "give me some privacy". If he's on the potty he'll ask for privacy and wants me to leave the room. Sissy is fine to sit and watch, just not mommy. On occasion, usually for poops, he wants complete privacy. Harper included. Just today he was on the potty and yelled in to me, "Carter want Harper give him privacy!" I had to call Harper into the other room. He also likes to go into a stall by himself in public restrooms. He can pull his pants up and down on his own so I let him. It's funny to stand outside the stall and watch his legs as he struggles to push his pants and undies down.

People ask me if he's potty trained and I say kind of. He is in undies full time now and has days with no accidents. But he typically doesn't tell me he has to go or ask to go when we are out and about. I just take him quite frequently. At home he rarely has accidents. At the beginning of the month any time we were home I pulled his undies and shorts off because if he was wearing them he'd potty or poop in them but if not he'd go on the potty chair. Now he can wear bottoms at home and will still go in to use the potty chair the majority of the time. I've noticed most of his accidents are when he's really busy and not paying as much attention like eating or playing at the playground. He's finally getting to where we can leave the playground without an accident but there for a while even if I took him to the bathroom every 30 minutes, he'd still have an accident. Today he woke up from his nap dry for the first time and bedtime he still soaks his diaper so he's in diapers for both naps and bedtime. Truth be told he still doesn't mind poop or potty in his pants. It's rare for him to have an accident and come tell me because he wants a clothing change.

The boy is super honest. If I ask him if he had an accident he'll tell me. If sissy's crying and I ask him what happened he'll tell me he hit her or bit her finger or whatever he did. He's also a master negotiator and trickster. He'll say stuff like, "If I potty in the potty chair can I stay up a little extra?" When his Gma was visiting she laid down with him to help him fall asleep. She told him she needed to go to the bathroom and he told her, "That's okay, I'll wait for you." That way she'd feel obligated to come back.

This month has been the month of questions. Why followed by why followed by more whys. Sometimes I feel like we do a full circle until I'm back answering that initial question again. He'll even say, "I have a question for you." And he has questions about everything. I love his curiosity. The only time it drives me nuts is when I tell him something. Then he says what and I repeat myself and he does that 3-5 times. Those usually come with the "Why can't I do that?" Finally I'll say I already said that 4 times, I'm not saying it again. The authentic questions, though, I love them! It's fun when he gets to a question I don't know the answer to so we can research it together. It's also fun to hear him ask Ty questions and listen to Ty's responses to see how we answer differently.

His sense of humor still cracks me up. I think he's so funny. He's always doing goofy stuff like saying, "I wearing different sock." When I look up I see he has a sock on one foot and a puppet on the other. Or putting both legs in one leg of Ty's shorts and telling me he's swimming. He likes to make up his own Silly Opa stories which usually involve Opa getting hurt and Oma saving the day. Some things he likes are the shade and getting dizzy. When we're outside he's always taking off to get in he shade and will ask me to move if we're not in the shade. He also likes to spin around poles and tell me he's dizzy. He'll ask me to do it too or to pick him up and spin him but I can't handle that anymore! I guess that comes with age! Some randoms, when I tell him good job he replies with you're welcome. And I've noticed his pencil grip has really improved this month. He now holds a pen or marker like a beginning writer which is so exciting for me! It was always so hard when a student came to me in first grade with an incorrect grip. All those years of practicing it incorrectly are extremely difficult to reverse so I'm glad to see he's already getting there on his own!

Carter loves his sister so much. He has his sour patch moments like I mentioned earlier but for the most part can't get enough of her. If she's sleeping he wants her awake and if she's awake he's talking to her or playing with her. She gives him huge smiles that I swear she doesn't give anyone else. If I'm trying to get a picture of the two of them together you can be guaranteed one of them won't be looking at the camera. Most of the time it's because Carter is saying "cheese" and Elise is staring at him because she hears his voice. She loves him just as much as he loves her. Elise has tried a few bites of food here and there and Carter always wants to help feed her. Carter loves to talk to Elise and have me respond, pretending I'm her. We'll have an entire conversation but he's looking right at her and interacting with her the entire time, knowing that it's really me talking. If we're out somewhere and another kid comes over to look at Elise, Carter comes running from wherever he was and I have no idea how he even saw. He wedges himself in front of the other child making it known that she is "his sissy" and keeps an eye on him/her. He may hit and bite his sister, but no one else better do it! Some kids he refuses to even let close enough to touch her and they are usually the ones who were being rough on the playground. I see him being a bit overprotective when they are older, like his Uncie Taco was, but we'll see. He sure is sweet!

When I saw the sweetness in this picture after we got home, I almost cried. My sweeties!