Summer time. I always have mixed feelings when this time of
the year approaches. I look back over a successful year of directing and
teaching and feel accomplished. There is no doubt though that I’m ready for the
school year to wrap up and enjoy the time off but it also leaves me feeling melancholy.
Saying goodbye to seniors and other students not returning, knowing that I will
not have some students in class again, figuring out how to be a stay-at-home
mom, instead of a working mom can be tough. Here are a few pictures from our first week of summer.
Not feeling good so he spent the morning watching cartoons and carrying his blanket around.
We went up to my room at school for a few minutes. I brought lots of toys to entertain him but he occupied himself with our class flag instead.
Playing with Charlie on the bed while I was getting ready.
Trying out the new slide!
So now the first week of summer has
past, adjustments have been made and now the fun can really start. Carter is
almost 17 months old and is so much fun to be around. He is making connections
between things and is curious about everything. He has started feeding himself
with utensils and is adamant about doing it himself. He is very patient when he’s
feeding himself and he doesn’t seem to get overly frustrated when it takes him
a long time or is difficult. He LOVES to be outside. We spend a lot of time
playing with the water table or his Cozy Coupe or the pool. Yesterday, I bought
him a slide just to add a little variety. Plus, it’s something he can play on
that builds some independence. His vocabulary seems to be growing but it does
require some deciphering. Here’s a list of his words/phrases and their translations (we think):
Oh ma= Oh, man!
Mo= Food and/or drink
Mall= ball
Dog=dog
Ninnie= Winnie and/or Charlie
Mom/Mommy/Mama= Me
Dada/ Da= Shelby
Me= Carter
Nee= Tree/Outside
Ernie= Ernie (as in Bert and Ernie)
Yeah= yes
No= No
He points A LOT to everything and to himself when he wants
something. He claps any time we say “Good Job!” or when an audience applauds on
TV. He likes to play peekaboo and patty cake. He likes to dance to music and he
likes to make us laugh. He’s been teething, which is no fun for anyone.
Yesterday, we took our first trip to the urgent care center because he was
running a high fever. But thanks to medicine, our sweet, funny boy was back in
no time. He is a serious player. I don’t mean with the ladies, I mean he plays
seriously. There are times we hear him get quiet and find him amidst a pile of
books, flipping through the pages. When he gets a new toy he studies it closely
and intently trying to figure it out. Shelby and I have commented more than
once how he really does seem to have qualities of both of us. When he has a new
audience of people he likes to be at the center of it, he likes to entertain
for sure. But he also observes new situations carefully and can entertain
himself for long periods of time. This quiet time is great for me. It leaves me
time to prepare for next year! Time to write new lesson plans and tweak others
and hopefully have more time to update a blog!!
