Visiting the Cat Room

Last week I got to spend time in Gavin's classroom - again! I have been lucky to be able to volunteer fairly often this year. The Cat room kids are really sweet and their teacher is amazing!

Gavin started out with finger painting, a project to be continued later in the morning:



Then after painting and putting his things away, he said, "Mommy, I have to sign in!" He walked over to the writing table, where all the kids "sign in" each morning. Depending on their ability, some kids write their first and last names free-hand, some write just their first name, and some trace the letters of their name, like Gavin is doing here:




During "choice time," Gavin chose to play in the house center:

His favorite center of all is the block center, where he and his best friend built a "super tower:" He was so involved with it that I ended up playing cars with another Cat friend (who later told me that I was her "best friend" and she liked playing with me. Told you these kids are sweet!)

Next it was time to work with the occupational therapist again. She had the kids use the finger painting they created earlier, and the idea was to make a "circle of friends:"

Each thumb print was supposed to be a friend's head, but Gavin preferred to draw his friends free-hand. The last time I was there, he protested that he needed my help to draw the stick figures; this time, he dove right in and drew them pretty quickly all by himself!

Next was practicing with scissors:

Art and cutting are not Gavin's favorite activities, but he did everything the teachers asked him to do. We had a great time as usual!

Gavin and Mommy

Gavin has always been rather "mommy-centered." By that I mean that he wants me to do everything with him and for him, like meals or putting him to bed or giving him a bath. When he's really upset, he only wants me.

In the last few months, he has wanted me to play with him all day long. He will say, "Mommy, I want to play with you. Let's play ... (fill in the blank here: racetrack, cars, superheroes, Tron cycles, puzzles, folders, monsters, painting, house, etc.)." He doesn't want to occupy himself, he wants me to pay attention to him constantly. Using the computer while he's around is simply not possible. Someimes I try to read a magazine but can rarely finish a paragraph.

It has gotten to the point where when other family members come over (to help out and give me a break), I end up having to leave the house, because he keeps saying that he only wants to play with me. He even pouted to Grandma Cordes that he doesn't like to play with anyone but Mommy.

On the other hand, he is capable of doing more things than ever. He is doing really well in school. His class has been talking a lot about giving compliments and how to talk to your friends. He recently started telling me, "Mommy, I like you." He had told me in the past that he loves me, but had never said that he likes me - then I found out that the kids in his class have been working on telling their friends that they like them. Now Gavin tells me, "Mommy, I like you," pause, "and I love you, too, at the same time." It's very sweet!

He always wants to do things himself, like getting undressed. But then he will ask me to carry or hold him "like a baby." Another example is in ice skating class, where he gets more confident and sure-footed each week, but he still has to be strongly encouraged to let go of my hand. It's an odd push-and-pull, where he wants to be independent but still wants me to be right there.

I know it won't last forever. Before I know it, he will most definitely not want me around all the time. He'll be asking me to drop him off a block away from school! In the picture below, he had just gotten a new haircut. I think he looks like he's 4 going on 14!




And in this picture, he wrapped up in a blanket from his bed (the blanket was actually supposed to be Evie's. Now it's Gavin's.) and looks like, well, a baby:




I try to keep the behavior in perspective and savor it while it lasts (while also getting out of the house once in a while to keep myself sane)!

Monday Cuteness

Besides ice skating, soccer, and school, not a whole lot is going on at our house. We love watching the snow fall, although Gavin has decided that he doesn't like driving in it, because then we can't go fast.


Here are a few random pictures from the last few weeks:


Doing flashcards with Gavin:





Climbing on Dad before bedtime:




Playing "racetrack":





Gavin spelled his name on the iPad. The letters are all there, just not necesarily in order.

One day he and I made a spontaneous trip to Brookfield Zoo after lunch. He wanted to sit all the way up in the last row for the Dolphin Show and then make silly faces:

Ice Skating

In December, Gavin told me that he wanted to go ice skating. (I think he got the idea from watching the Charlie brown Christmas special, where the kids ice skate on their pond. They make it look so easy!) Then right after that, I received the Naperville Park District class schedule and saw that they offer parent-tot ice skating at local ice rinks.

I told him we would do it together in January and he was very excited. He told me he would hold my hand in case I fell down! Our class is at All Seasons Ice Rink, which is pretty close to our house. He stayed excited right up until the minute he had to actually stand up in his skates...then he clung to me for dear life. And we weren't even on the ice yet! We were just on the rubber mats.

We slowly made our way to the actual ice, but before we got there, the instructor wanted us to practice the proper way to get up when we fall down. To do this, Gavin had to let go of me, and he was not pleased. Again, we weren't even on the ice yet.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, we made it to the ice. It turns out that ice is a lot more slippery than it looks! Gavin cling to me like Velcro again, and we only had five minutes left of class time.

The next week, Gavin was a lot more confident. He let go of me and skated about ten feet by himself several times. It also helped that the staff gave us an instructor to have all to ourselves for the entire class! We were on the ice almost the whole time. Gavin still didn't want to learn how to get up, but I figure we have to take baby steps.

Yesterday was the third class, and that's when I took the picture above. He told me he didn't want to go anymore, but I said we have to finish the session (it's only seven weeks). We played the "We're Going on a Bear Hunt" game, which he enjoyed. We tossed little stuffed animals and then skated toward them, which he also liked. He held my hand most of the time, and then bragged afterward that he didn't fall down like the other kids. I had to point out that the other kids weren't holding their parents' hands!

It's been interesting, that's for sure. We'll see what he can do in the next four weeks!

Cars

Gavin received quite a few toy cars for Christmas (no big surprise there). He loves to arrange them, or as he calls it, "make a pattern." It's cute, but we're working on reminding him that his "patterns" can't stay in the middle of the floor, or lined across the couch all day long.

A pattern on the kitchen table. This one even includes the spy jet from "Cars 2:"

While he is arranging his toys, he narrates who is driving and where they are going. For example, "Auntie Di is driving this purple car and she is going to get lunch for all of us" and then the car goes to the pretend restaurant. And the restaurant might be my slipper. It's pretty cute!


Below is a new racetrack from "Cars 2." Gavin loves to make his cars crash on it just like the scenes in the movie. He adds his own crash situations, as well.

What Month Is This?

I actually cannot remember ever having a 50 degree day in January in Chicagoland. I am sure it has happened at some point, but I sure don't remember it. The weather has been so unusually balmy...I feel like the other shoe is going to drop soon.

But yesterday was so nice that Gavin and I rode scooters to our local park. I took pictures to memorialize the event:

He didn't even need a hoodie! Now, let's see what will happen later in the week. Snow is predicted!

Trains!

Gavin got to see two different model train shows recently. The first one was at Cantigny, and all the trains were made out of Legos. We have visited this show before, and it is always cool to see the elaborate displays (and think about how many hours it took to put all those little pieces together).

The Lawrence of Arabia display, complete with video monitor:

Gavin's favorite was this Indiana Jones set-up:

We also got to see the Enchanted Railroad at Morton Arboretum:

Before it was time to go in, Gavin, Grandpa, and Francis explored the outdoor sections:

The warm weather has been nice, but when are we going to get snow?

New Year's Eve

For New Year's Eve this year, we decided to go see the lights at Brookfield Zoo. We got there in the middle of the afternoon and only stayed for two hours - just until it got completely dark. There were lights everywhere and Gavin loved it!

He also loves the "Swamp" exhibit. He wanted to go through it twice. Gavin made sure we all looked at the two crocodiles and he loved watching the river otter play, below:




He loved pushing the buttons on this display. There are different color patterns that light up to show the path of certain migrating birds. The buttons were more interesting than the migrations, of course:




Next we saw what Gavin referred to as the "scarlet macaws." The zoo calls them "green-winged macaws." (There is more red color on their bodies than green, but who am I?) Gavin got his terminology from a "Diego" episode in which Diego has to rescue and help a mother scarlet macaw. We didn't bother trying to explain the difference to him!

We must have been in that room for half an hour. Gavin LOVED it!

By this time, some of the building were closing. We went to the "Feathers and Scales" building, which has road runners and other small desert birds, lizards and frogs. Gavin loved the tiny, poisonous blue, green and yellow frogs.

He also loved sending coins into the big yellow funnel, below:

We had fun and got out of there before it got too cold (and before the huge crowds arrived). It was a good amount of time to be at the zoo in winter!

The Day After Christmas

The day after Christmas we drove up to Kenosha to have lunch with the extended Cordes family. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures there, because Gavin was particularly clingey with me, but we had a great time.

Before we left, Gavin and I read one of his new books:

After lunch, we stopped off at Mark and Robin Flory's house. Gavin loved playing with Annie and Sam. Here are the boys playing the piano:

Then they moved into the basement to try the drum set. Uncle Mark helped Gavin get situated:

Gavin loved it and played for awhile! Doesn't he look like a pro?

Then we headed back home to catch up on some down time before the next flurry of activity started up. More pictures to follow!

Christmas Day 2011

Christmas Day started out at iHop with Nana & Grandpa Cermak. Gavin drove his cars on the table and pretended Nana's eyeglass case was "jail" for the cars:




Gavin loves to add the cream and sugar to everyone's coffee:




Back at home, we started opening presents. Gavin only opened a few of his and then just wanted to play with them for awhile. He had several wrapped gifts left over at the end of the day, and he kept telling me, "Mommy, Christmas isn't over because I still have presents!"







Francis grilled sweet corn and cheeseburgers for dinner. Some might find this non-traditional, but he is an expert griller. We always grill year-round, and it was delicious! He's husking the cooked corn in the photo below.




Gavin and I relaxed on the couch as bedtime got closer:




It was a fun day, but this was our first Christmas without our precious little Evie and her presense was missed at every turn. The only thing we could do was to try and give Gavin the best holiday experience that we could.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, everyone! We hope 2012 brings better memories.