On to the Busy Bees...

Three months ago Jack started 'school' at his new daycare. We were very nervous for him, after he had been in a home daycare for ten months. Our worst fears came true--Jack was hit by a barage of illnesses, had bad separation anxiety for a week in September, and even worse--has since enjoyed school so much that he tries to leap from the car when I get him out. So much for missing Mommy!

So today he started in his new toddler classroom. He's going from cribs and high chairs to cots and regular, although itty-bitty, chairs. I dropped him off this morning so that I could take a look around the new room. Jack went straight for the toys. All seemed well until I slipped out the door and was closing it behind me. He screeched and began crying. I know it's just that it's a different routine now, but I still have thought about him all day long. I know he'll like it. After all, one reason they 'promoted' him to the next class was because he would sneak down to that room to play with the toys after playing outside or in the gym. The teacher found him one day just playing alongside the other students!

I have been very pleased with his progress while at his new school. Not only has he physically advanced with walking, climbing and playing, but he's more socially with it than I think he would be if still at the home care, where the kids were stuck in the living room watching tv all day. The past week he's been 'dancing', walking backwards and turning around in circles until he gets dizzy. He's getting to the point now that he and Jamie can wrestle a bit. He understands the concept and the fun. He also met his first dog this past weekend and was able to transfer the concept of 'gentle' from his play with the cats to petting the large dog. My little guy!

The Paci Rears Its Ugly Head

Usually my Mommy-sense (it's kinda like Spidey-sense) is pretty accurate.

Jamie informed me th other day that when he went to pick up Jack that Jack was sucking on a paci! Now, for those of you who are new readers, an FYI--we left our paci days behind us
LAST JANUARY! We thought it so easy to get him off that baby-crack. According to one teacher he talked to, Jack "loves" pacis, so eventually they let him walk around with it. First of all, he's supposed to be off of it, and second of all we never sent a paci to school with him, so the germy object was obviously someone else's.

The next day I talked specifically to two of his teachers about not giving him pacis and that I was surprised that they would let him have one, since it's such a controversial habit that should be up to a parent. One teacher replied that Jack steals the pacis from other kids...takes them right away. Well, I just couldn't believe that. He doesn't EVER use on at home.

When leaving Jack's classroom the other morning, I turned to give him one last look....lo and behold, he had a paci in his mouth. My back was turned for about 10 seconds!! Furthermore I hadn't seen any of the kids there with a paci. Ugh....according to the teacher, this one must have been lying on the floor from the day before. Gross! Day-old germs! I asked them to more vigilant...we'll see what happens.

Second Halloween

Jack's second Halloween was an eventful one. The day started off with a quick visit to Mommy's work, where Jack struted his stuff in his monkey outfit for all of Mommy's friends. Next, we went to Jack's daycare for a Halloween costume parade, trick-or-treating and partying.

Back at our house at night, Jack and Jamie went up and down the street several times...just walking. We had about 10 trick-or-treaters before I turned out the lights, fed the troops and put Jack to bed.

We have lift-off

The biggest news from the last two months is that Jack is now walking fully, un-aided. Sometimes he gets excited and the top of his body moves a little ahead of himself and trips, but we've been practicing a lot. Everynight he loves to chase and play hide-and-seek, but he's always the chaser and always the seeker. He doesn't yet understand the reverse. We've taken walks outside, at first just in his wagon, but now on his feet. It takes a lot to keep him on the sidewalk or in our own lawn. The only way to get him to go where I want him to go is to run, so he'll chase me to our destination.

Rashy Jack

So, As I mentioned before, Jack is now in a new daycare. He has about 10 classmates and 2 teachers. With more exposure to people comes more sickness...so far in the last month he's had croup and a double-ear infection, along with a chronically snotty nose. After a crazy early-morning trip to the ER, we found out that he has an amoxicillan allergy. Poor, itchy, rashy fellow!

Chatty Jack

Since his last blog posting, Jack has started a new daycare. His teachers teach simple sign language, such as 'thank you', 'all done', etc. To reinforce this at home, we bought some flashcards and dvds. I had a few people tell me not to teach signs because it would be years before he talked.....like I have a problem with that! :o) Between oral and sign language, he gets his point across. He can verbalize: Mama, Da-dee, Ki-ee (Kitty), Boo-k (Book). In sign language, he can signal "all done" really well. "All done" is definitely preferrable to throwing food on the floor, although some of that still goes on, too.

Random Jack pic

Detective Jack

Jack's investigative skills are become more active. He's very into holding random objects (his own picture, greeting cards, tupperware) and examining them closely, turning them over and over again. He also loves: the kitties, the kitty door, "his" kitchen cabinets. He especially likes to take his toys from his cabinet and throw them down into the basement, via the kitty door. When Jamie goes down to feed the cats, he'll poke his face through the kitty door to watch him and the kitties race downstairs.

Below are pics from the 'other side'. This is what the cats see when they try to come back up stairs.