Now that Colin is attending a new school, we have a new routine that we are getting used to. Colin's bus arrives at 7:45 am, so we need to get him up (which he usually is up early enough anyway), dressed, and having eaten (which is typically easy since all he eats is yogurt for breakfast these days) before the bus pulls up (which is Daddy's job since I am already gone). His program runs from 8:20 until 11:20 in a self-contained preschool classroom. I didn't spend a whole lot talking about the IEP process on here, but that's partially because I am still learning and it is really new to me (and pretty overwhelming). I am anxious in terms of whether or not we have everything we need for him, but since it is an "open document", as I talk with his teacher and others, I am sure that things will change with time.
In addition to his new routine, we have several college girls (all seniors) who will be getting him off of the bus every day. They are all education majors in some way (2 special education and one guidance!) so we feel pretty happy with his caregivers. They are all very nice girls and Colin has seemed to warm up so far (we weren't too concerned about that aspect anyway). They are very thorough in their preparations for caring for him so that has been reassuring as well.
...I especially wasn't worried when I received this picture today.
.JPG)
I am sure a lot of this has to do with the changes that are taking place, but Colin no longer looks like a baby to me, but rather, such a big boy! Although he seems tiny in respect to a bus and school, his face is changing so much! In addition he is growing some freckles that are dotting his nose and cheeks so it's all changing so much!
However, with all of these changes and "aging", we are also facing some new challenges that have crept up on us in the whole transition period that were slightly pushed to the side while we were dealing with the emotions of the change. Colin is becoming very independent and strong-willed and wants things done his way. In the picture above, Colin is working on a new game he received for his birthday which he loved. It's a "bug catching" game using magnets to catch the different bugs in the puzzle. He picked up very quickly on how to get the bugs, however, when it came to putting the puzzle pieces back in, he would become very frustrated and decide he didn't want to do it anymore. He would storm away and have a little fit, so Kailey and I would put the pieces back in. However, he would be back when it came to what he wanted to do.
The other aspect of his personality that is very strong-willed is in the walking department. Now, in no way do I want you to think that I am complaining about this because that is not the case, but it is very challenging to walk with him because he wants to go where he wants. For example, in the picture below, he does not want to walk where I tell him to, but rather where he wants, right down the middle of the road, so now we are trying to teach safety (BIG challenge). It's tough because when I try and take his hand, his response is to sit down and use all 28 pounds of "low muscle tone" to his advantage.
Finally, the last really big challenge we are facing is the fact that he is not playing very nicely with Kailey right now. I know this is pretty typical of all siblings, but he is very rough with her and often ends up hurting her because of his aggressiveness. I mean, will literally run at her, ambush her, and knock her over and essentially "wrestle" her. However, she is NOT wrestling back and gets very upset (obviously). Now, she often instigates in some way, but most of the time, his attacks are unwarranted. I know in disciplining, repetition is key, but the roughness is concerning because I feel like I can't step out of the room without something happening lately. We will separate him, put him in "time-out" (although we don't really say those words) and tell him what he is doing that hurts Kailey. I know this will improve with time, but it's stressful to me because all I want is that great brother sister bond!
.JPG)
.JPG)
