The first day

At the beginning of the school year, Georgie stood at the enterence to the preschool wing and cried because he wanted to go in. As the time grew closer, he stopped wanting to go and started telling me "uh-uh!" No, I DONT want to go.

Tough cookies, kid.

Adam stayed home from work Wends to watch Cole while I took George to school and filled out paperwork. He made pancakes for breakfast, Georgie's fave food, and we all fussed over him. Finally, we left, with Georgie in his new dog shirt... and in my arms.

Yes, I had to carry the little stinker to school! He was NOT happy and kept cuddling with me, sniffling. The other kids were talking up preschool- You get fruit snacks and get to go on field trips! Preschool is awesome! I every statment he said, "Uh-uh!" The poor guys clearly felt betrayed. Joseph, Camille and their friend wete supposed to be on his side and there they were, agreeing with Mommy that preschool rocked. Noooo!

When we got to school, I dropped him off at his classroom. He cried but I gave him a hug and kiss and left. It was hard but I knew I couldn't dawdle. I knew that he wouldn't go in if I went in.

After a bit, the transition coordinator came in. We filled out some more paperwork and I gave more information on his home life. I didn't realize how abnormal some of his behaviors are until I listed them out for her. He doesn't like water, won't sit down int he bathtub, hates dirty hands. Obviously, there is his lack of talking, ablility to handle social situations and lack of friends. She asked me for some goals and I said by the end of the year, I'd love to hear him  try to talk, without prompting and without using the all purpose "uh duh duh" phrase, for nearly everything. I also want him to have some friends. I said that I can do nearly everything- arts, crafts, sensory- at home, but I don't have the skills to help him speak and I am too much of a safe person to help him with friends.

I did wait around while she checked on Georgie and she reported that he had stopped crying and was playing. The teachers said that he had trouble with transitions, wasn't to keen on circle time and kept close to an adult. They did alot of "hand over hand" signing at snack time because he would just smile at them when they asked him to sign more. None of that surprises me and alot of it is perfectly normal for a two year old in a new situation and one who has never been in a group setting before.

The second day he cried when I left but calmed down when he saw a teacher. They reported that he signed all the animals signs during circle time and made a new friend! A little girl took him under her wing and showed him around. That is EXACTLY what this program is supposed to do! Yay!

The second day he came home, he had a hysterical fit and finally fell asleep on the couch. The poor guy was exhausted. Normally if he falls asleep after 12, he'll be up to midnight but I let him sleep. I knew he wouldn't nap for long anyway, since Camille had dance that afternoon.

What did I do while he was gone? I did some more laundry and sat and watched TV with Cole. Every so often he would just turn to me and beam. He was happy to just chill with me and have me all to himself. We played in his room for awhile before he nursed and napped. I had an hour and a half to myself where I played on FB and cleaned a little. Monday I plan on working on Camille's Halloween costume and do some more sewing. I have been having too much fun on Pinterest and I found a pattern for some soft dollies. I am also going to go to the gym and take Cole to storytime at the book store of library. I'm looking forward to the me time and to the time with just my bear.

Do I feel guilty about this? No. I honestly feel like this is the right thing. While I am helping myself and helping my youngest, he is at school having a blast and getting the help he needs.

Do I think every day will be smooth? Heh. No. George has alot of changes coming up. Horse therapy ends, cranial work will be on and off and he is moving from a very child-led setting (Infant and Toddler Home visits, where they do what he wants and work with what he likes) to the very structured school setting. He also has therapy at the hospital, where they do work with that he likes and it is play based.... but not as play based as I/T.

Do I think this is helping? Oh heck yes! Since Aug, when we first visited the hippotherapy barn, he has begun having conversations with me. He has started saying some to word phrases, like "bad duh! [bad dog] Ah Stuc! [I stuck] meow *eating noise* [cat eating/I fed the cat]." He said, "Whoa! Nono!" this weekend, over something my dad did and he never calls him Nono. (His word is "dada" with a different tone and inflection than he uses for Adam. I don't know why he does this, except that he hears me call Nono Dad.) He now tell people off by jargoning at them and shaking his finger- which is hysterical and slight scary since he looks just like my grandmother when he does that.

Finally, finally, finally we are helping George to unlock himself. And it's gonna get awesome.