After spending a week with Oma and Opa, Todd was understandably reluctant to return to SB and have to go to his "new school" again on Monday morning.
So last night, he declared: "I don't want to go to Santa Barbara. I want to stay here for a long time!"
I queried: "Who's going to take care of you?"
"Oma!"
Referring to the fact that she goes in for her 3rd round of chemo this upcoming week, I pointed out: "But she's not going to feel well next week."
"Opa can take care of me!"
"But Opa has to work!"
Not to be deterred, Todd replied: "I can take care of Oma!"
I asked him how they were going to eat, and he asserted: "I can cook!" and when I asked him what he could cook: "I can cook lots of things!"
After a pause, he relented on one thing he knew he wouldn't be able to do while taking care of Oma: "But I can't drive. I don't know how!"
Kid-less week
It's been nearly a week since Mommy returned to LA with Todd in tow. We originally intended to spend the entire long weekend there, but I ended up leaving Todd behind when I returned to SB on Monday night, for a number of reasons. Oma was doing much better and could take care of him. Todd still had a runny nose and cough, one he developed since he started school, and we wanted to give him time to fully recover. And after 3 weeks away, his Chinese had become rusty, and this was a good opportunity to refresh him in it. Plus Oma and Opa missed little man :-)
For the first time all month, I've actually felt worry-free during the day. Sure, we miss Todd, but it's different. No picking up Todd at 5pm, dreading the sight: different pants (because he had an accident during the day), cold hands because the kids aren't wearing their jackets, and face, hands and sleeves dirty and smeared with dried snot from his constantly running nose. No worrying that he hasn't had enough to eat/drink because he didn't finish his lunch. Etc...
The peace of mind that comes with knowing that Todd is in good hands, being well-cared for, simply cannot be described! It's been such a relief not having to worry about his well-being all day. Not having to practically force-feed him liquids at night because I know he's not hydrated enough during the day. Not having to scrub his hands and then carefully apply thick A&D cream onto them because they are so dry, chapped and red from continuously wiping snot from his nose. I tried giving him a pack of tissues to keep in his pocket and use, but he ended up "sharing" them with the smaller kids-- well hey, at least he's sharing, right? ;-P
Well, next week it's back to the grind. Back to restless worrying. It's been nice while it lasted!
This week Oma asked him if he missed school. His answer?
"No. I miss playtime!"
Ah yes, our future scholar...!
For the first time all month, I've actually felt worry-free during the day. Sure, we miss Todd, but it's different. No picking up Todd at 5pm, dreading the sight: different pants (because he had an accident during the day), cold hands because the kids aren't wearing their jackets, and face, hands and sleeves dirty and smeared with dried snot from his constantly running nose. No worrying that he hasn't had enough to eat/drink because he didn't finish his lunch. Etc...
The peace of mind that comes with knowing that Todd is in good hands, being well-cared for, simply cannot be described! It's been such a relief not having to worry about his well-being all day. Not having to practically force-feed him liquids at night because I know he's not hydrated enough during the day. Not having to scrub his hands and then carefully apply thick A&D cream onto them because they are so dry, chapped and red from continuously wiping snot from his nose. I tried giving him a pack of tissues to keep in his pocket and use, but he ended up "sharing" them with the smaller kids-- well hey, at least he's sharing, right? ;-P
Well, next week it's back to the grind. Back to restless worrying. It's been nice while it lasted!
This week Oma asked him if he missed school. His answer?
"No. I miss playtime!"
Ah yes, our future scholar...!
Valentine's Day
Was all but forgotten today as Mommy hurriedly rushed Todd off to school in the morning. It was only when we arrived and saw the other parents hauling in cards that I realized we'd forgotten not only the "holiday" but to get cards for Todd to give to the other kids! Oops :-/
Here's his haul of Valentine cards, all kept nicely in a little paper bag with his name on it:
Mommy and Daddy got to pick up Todd together tonight, since Mommy got out of class early and Daddy had arrived at work early that morning and so could leave early. After grabbing him from school, we all headed to IHOP for a nice little family dinner. Mommy and Todd enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes, yum! :-9
Oh, and here's another random shot of Todd, taken last week. Here he is, freshly showered, modeling the Ugg-like booties from Grandma:
Here's his haul of Valentine cards, all kept nicely in a little paper bag with his name on it:
Mommy and Daddy got to pick up Todd together tonight, since Mommy got out of class early and Daddy had arrived at work early that morning and so could leave early. After grabbing him from school, we all headed to IHOP for a nice little family dinner. Mommy and Todd enjoyed chocolate chip pancakes, yum! :-9
Oh, and here's another random shot of Todd, taken last week. Here he is, freshly showered, modeling the Ugg-like booties from Grandma:
I don't like girls
At what age do boys and girls start declaring their disdain for the opposite sex? You know, cooties and all that icky stuff. I thought it was in elementary school. Apparently, like many other things, kids are starting younger these days :-P
We'd recently switched around the routine. Whereas during the first week Mommy dropped Todd off and Daddy picked him up, we switched it the second week so Mommy could get in early and get some work done (as her main source of assistance was in a timezone 3 hours ahead). Todd didn't take kindly to the change, and kept insisting he wanted it back the other way. Finally, he offered Daddy a reason:
"I don't like Mommy!"
Taken aback, Daddy asked him to elaborate. So Todd did:
"Mommy is a girl. I don't like girls!"
Awwww... :'(
We'd recently switched around the routine. Whereas during the first week Mommy dropped Todd off and Daddy picked him up, we switched it the second week so Mommy could get in early and get some work done (as her main source of assistance was in a timezone 3 hours ahead). Todd didn't take kindly to the change, and kept insisting he wanted it back the other way. Finally, he offered Daddy a reason:
"I don't like Mommy!"
Taken aback, Daddy asked him to elaborate. So Todd did:
"Mommy is a girl. I don't like girls!"
Awwww... :'(
New TV show
Blue's Clues plays at 11am everyday on Nick Jr. Since we're at work and Todd's at school during that time, I typically record it and let Todd watch the day's episode that night during dinner.
Today the routine started as normal-- rewound the tape in the VCR, hit "play" and settled back, awaiting the familiar intro notes of the show with the belove blue doggie. To our surprise, something new entirely played: Nick's new show "Ni Hao Kai-Lan", making its debut on Chinese New Year.
I wondered how Todd would react to seeing something else besides the expected Blue, but he didn't seem to mind, and halfway through the episode, it became clear that Kai Lan was a big hit! Not just with Todd, but with Mommy and Daddy!
Among Todd's favorite shows, each one provides a unique educational element. Blue, Dora and Diego all provide academic-type learning: letters, numbers, shapes, colors, critical thinking, etc... and Dora and Diego provide a bit of a language element with some Spanish words. Caillou, on the other hand, portrays the everyday life of a 4-year-old-- stuff Todd can relate to and emulate.
Kai-Lan, we've found, teaches life/social skills-- manners, courtesy, and how to deal with everyday situations. And of course, it splashes in a bit of Chinese!
So, all in all, Todd's favorite programs provide a nice, well-rounded smorgasbord of learning activities, and most of them are interactive, too! And although I'm a bit miffed that they've replaced Blue's Clues with Kai-Lan in the daily programming array, I'm pleased that Kai-Lan is a worthwhile replacement. Let's hope they'll someday start broadcasting Blue again! :)
Today the routine started as normal-- rewound the tape in the VCR, hit "play" and settled back, awaiting the familiar intro notes of the show with the belove blue doggie. To our surprise, something new entirely played: Nick's new show "Ni Hao Kai-Lan", making its debut on Chinese New Year.
I wondered how Todd would react to seeing something else besides the expected Blue, but he didn't seem to mind, and halfway through the episode, it became clear that Kai Lan was a big hit! Not just with Todd, but with Mommy and Daddy!
Among Todd's favorite shows, each one provides a unique educational element. Blue, Dora and Diego all provide academic-type learning: letters, numbers, shapes, colors, critical thinking, etc... and Dora and Diego provide a bit of a language element with some Spanish words. Caillou, on the other hand, portrays the everyday life of a 4-year-old-- stuff Todd can relate to and emulate.
Kai-Lan, we've found, teaches life/social skills-- manners, courtesy, and how to deal with everyday situations. And of course, it splashes in a bit of Chinese!
So, all in all, Todd's favorite programs provide a nice, well-rounded smorgasbord of learning activities, and most of them are interactive, too! And although I'm a bit miffed that they've replaced Blue's Clues with Kai-Lan in the daily programming array, I'm pleased that Kai-Lan is a worthwhile replacement. Let's hope they'll someday start broadcasting Blue again! :)
Getting ready for another week
So, Todd survived his first week of school just fine. The school portion of it is only in the morning, from about 9am to 12:30pm. Then comes lunch, nap/quiet time, and by then most parents have come to pick up their kids, leaving a handful of them in what basically amounts to normal day care, till 5pm. I wasn't terribly concerned about how Todd would fare in the actual classroom portion, I was more worried about little things on the side: Todd not finishing his lunch (on account of how slow he eats), not getting enough to drink, being too shy to speak up and let someone know he has to use the bathroom, not staying warm enough (and being too shy to ask someone to help him with his jacket), not washing his hands thoroughly enough, etc...
He's had a couple accidents in school, and has had a few days when he came home with part (if not all) of his lunch still intact and uneaten. By week's end his nose was running like a waterfall. This weekend was spent remedying much of that: making sure he got plenty to drink and lots of fruits and veggies to eat, making sure he stayed warm, and re-teaching him proper hand-washing technique. He's hydrated better now and no longer sounds like a smurf when talking ;-P
As far as the classroom stuff itself goes, Todd's teacher says he's doing well, especially considering he's the youngest in her class, most of the other kids there are 4-5 already. She says he's very attentive (now there's a surprise), follows what she says, and even sings along with the songs they learn! Every day one kid is designated as the "Christian Soldier" of the day, giving them a chance to do a little "show and tell" with whatever the current month's theme is. This month the theme is "my favorite dance moves", and Todd's turn is on the 21st. Guess we've got a few weeks to teach him something. I'm thinking something from Blue's Clues, maybe. He can bring his stuffed Blue. Any other ideas? ;-)
Here's to another (and better!) week!
He's had a couple accidents in school, and has had a few days when he came home with part (if not all) of his lunch still intact and uneaten. By week's end his nose was running like a waterfall. This weekend was spent remedying much of that: making sure he got plenty to drink and lots of fruits and veggies to eat, making sure he stayed warm, and re-teaching him proper hand-washing technique. He's hydrated better now and no longer sounds like a smurf when talking ;-P
As far as the classroom stuff itself goes, Todd's teacher says he's doing well, especially considering he's the youngest in her class, most of the other kids there are 4-5 already. She says he's very attentive (now there's a surprise), follows what she says, and even sings along with the songs they learn! Every day one kid is designated as the "Christian Soldier" of the day, giving them a chance to do a little "show and tell" with whatever the current month's theme is. This month the theme is "my favorite dance moves", and Todd's turn is on the 21st. Guess we've got a few weeks to teach him something. I'm thinking something from Blue's Clues, maybe. He can bring his stuffed Blue. Any other ideas? ;-)
Here's to another (and better!) week!
