TEN MONTHS!

I absolutely can not believe it's been ten months since I have posted here! It's kind of hard to even imagine what all has happened for us in almost a year! Boo is now in his second and last year of preschool, and boy is the year flying! We are now preparing for his fifth birthday in a little over a month and I can't believe how much OLDER five seems than four. Boo is excited about starting kindergarten in the fall. He will be going to school all day for the first time, which makes me a bit antsy, but he is excited about it. His biggest complaint about preschool is that sometimes they run out of time to finish what they are working on and this REALLY bothers him. Sometimes to the point of a breakdown. So when I told him that at kindergarted he would get to stay all day, and even eat lunch there, he was THRILLED! He exclaimed, "You mean I get to stay ALL day, till it's DARK outside!?" No, Dear, not quite THAT long. LOL

He has a thirst for knowledge that seems unquenchable and an intelligence that astounds me. He knows so much about how the world works, the rules that govern both the natural world and society. Thanks to his acute powers of observation, and his intense study of tv shows such as Sid the Science Kid, Wild Kratts, How It's Made, and World's Toughest Fixes, he routinely blows us away with the stuff that comes out of his mouth. Also, he is an astute reader. I have to be careful about this. Sometimes I forget that he can read and it gets me into trouble. Other times even without forgetting it causes an issue.

We have been invited to a classmate's birthday party this weekend and Boo is so excited he can hardly stand it. Every day he asks me if it's party day yet, though he knows full well that it is not. A few days ago we made a trip to Walmart to select a gift, which was surprisingly easy, and a card, which was surprisingly tough. I took him to the section of birthday cards aimed for boys around his age and directed him to choose a card for his friend. He began picking up and reading cards that looked interesting to him. The problem came when he became attached to a few cards that I considered inappropriate but which he thought to be the height of hilarity. We came toe to toe over one with a picture of a dog dressed as a pirate with this text: "It's your birthday, Matey. I left you a present on the POOP deck." Boo was cracking up over this card, not even understanding the pun, but loving the idea of shouting the word POOP multiple times in public. I told him that he needed to choose another card. It almost got ugly, but he finally chose a card with penguins which had a sheet of stickers inside. Except, he wanted to put some of the stickers on his shirt. I told him that the stickers were for the birthday boy. He assured me that he would leave some of them for his friend. No, sweetheart, ALL of the stickers are for your friend. Who ever thought that choosing a card would be the tough part? SHEESH!

Our Grams (my grandmother) was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, which came as a huge shock to us all, considering she is in her 80's! It has been a long and stressful journey from mammogram to biopsy to lumpectomy. During the process I bought her a card to give her a much needed laugh. The front said something to the effect of: "Much later you will look back on this with the wisdom that time bestows and you will think," and inside it read: "Wow. That SUCKED!" Grams cracked up laughing and of course Boo had to find out what was so funny. He read the card too. Now once in a while he randomly announces in a loud voice, "Wow, that sucked!" and then laughs wildly.

Boo has made great strides in his social abilities, thanks to some very hard work this year from his speech therapist. He is learning more about the importance of reciprocity in his interactions. He is learning about turn-taking and how to be a good sport when he looses. He is still working on dealing with the disappointment when his friends don't do what he wants or expects. Most of his play is still based in scripting from his favorite tv shows, but I have seen more and more instances of truely creative imaginative play. It always warms my heart.

I am not going to bore you with ten months worth of catching up. We'll just pick up from this point and move forward. Besides, I'm so tired right now I can hardly think, let alone type.