Petru's first kindergarten performance at Dallin

Petru's school is having a monthly celebration where each grade picks a theme and does a show. Then, at the end of the semester/year (?) they get to present the entire show.

We found out about this over the weekend. We saw Petru looking for youtube videos of "Imagine" sang in sign language, but thought that was another quirky Petru thing. It was not. It was part of the "home-fun". Then, on Monday Petru came home with a note from the teacher that he was chosen to write and read something about "being kind to ourselves". I worked with Petru that evening, and between threats of losing the screen time we got it done. Phew! Then yesterday we got a note to practice for today's performance. Petru read it pretty well as I pointed to each word, but had a hard time keeping his eyes on the words without my help. Lots of rewards and eventually (5 practices later) he got it done. Phew! More practice with Chris in the evening, and we were all happy.

This morning I was a nervous wreck. It is comical in retrospect. Few things make me nervous these days. Petru is a shy kid, and at the Thanksgiving parade he kept hiding and not wanting to participate. I had visions of him getting anxious and concerned. I was literally pacing, holding Chris's hand tight and making sure he saw that we were there. He enjoyed the show and sang and danced with the kids. Really beautiful celebration. At some point they had the song "True Colors" and each kids with a note stating "I am...". Petru said "brilliant", When his turn came Petru of course did a super job. Not anxiety, lots of comfort. He had a ball! Ahhh, is there any habituation to parenting related anxiety?

More pictures

Chess class

After haircut, smiling for mommy during his favorite activity: computer time

Apple picking with Buni and grandma
Popsicles at the Froggy playground with Buni and Mommy
McDonalds playground and shake


Birthday party at Jump On It. Another success


My cake for the 6th bday - per request
Cupcakes for school celebration - per request
Petru's art from 2011
Self portrait

Update

It has been a long time since the last post so will do a bullet point update and a photo dump thereafter.

Summer 2011:

Petru finished ACC including ACC camp. He really loved his time there and flourished in spite of my often dislike of the lack of structure and "do whatever you want philosophy". We got him evaluated and found out that he is super smart (95-98th percentile, in the superior average for all tests except some visual motors and spatial tests). We also found out that he has some anxiety and quirky behaviors which can get in the way to achieving to the level of his ability.

Petru had a very happy summer. His favorite activity was going to Watercountry in NH. He got more comfortable in the water, mostly because he wanted to be better than his friend Elliot. Yes, competitiveness and stubbornness are traits he inherited from his mom:)

We spent most of our evenings at the town Reservoir having nice dinners and swims.

We also took a trip camping at the Cape and had a blast. Petru was wonderful. We tried mini golfing which became a favorite of Petru's (he beat me, not a surprise).

Buni visited at the end of the summer. We took a trip together to Storyland which ended up being Petru's favorite summer activity. Buni had a blast, too.

Early fall:

Petru started kindergarten. He showed no anxiety beforehand except when we walked to school as a family and he abruptly turned around saying"I think I am going home now". It took a lot of sharing of my own first day of school experience where I cried and demanded that I get put in second grade with my brother. His first 2 weeks were smooth. However, the following 2 weeks he had a lot of trouble going to school; he has a great teacher who kept the communication open. He did a lot of arguing with the teacher, boundary testing, etc. He adjusted after that; the teacher has him on a behavioral checklist which has him get rewards for being polite (aka not arguing), being flexible (instead of doing what he wants) and being safe body (no pushing, etc). This system has helped Petru make huge strides social-emotionally. Academically he is doing very well, reading at 3.8 grade level, and being at 1.2-1.5 grade level for all activities except spelling, where he is at kindergarten level.

He grew up a lot. He is still blond, tall and skinny (Chris's body). He can be the nicest little boy but also can have mean behaviors at time. The nice moments are becoming more and more then norm.

Winter:

We had very little snow this winter, so very little sledding. Petru did chess at the library but graduated and we have not been able to continue that. He is doing swimming once/week and then we swim as a family once or twice a week. He uses a bubble but is much more comfortable in the water. I see myself often in his need for control. We are also in the process of signing him up for art classes (still loves drawing) and piano classes.

Likes: still trains with daddy, pizza and cupcakes with mommy, books, piano/music, playing with girls (bc they are more verbal and less rough). He is still partial to blondes.

When we played the game what you like about others/yourself and what you dislike he said: "I like my blond hair and I dislike that I lie sometimes".

He has imaginary friends "Hey guys" to which he tells stories including lots of lies about what he or we do.

He loves to make up songs.

"Girls whine, girls say,

Give me coffee every day"

(after an evening conversation when Sonia and I talked about how we had our husband make coffee for us for the past 10 years).

Funny things are: diapers, babies.

My favorite activities with him: snuggling (he is so affectionate), sleeping together, talking and playing get to know you games.

I am really happy with how he is developing including how he becomes more and more able to control his id, his impulses, and modulate his emotions.

New Year's celebration Boston Garden as a family, and fireworks below

Random pics - Petru and the gals next door got their hands on my phone and took lots of pics



Interesting conversation: me talking and Chris making really good eye contact and listening.

Kindergarten celebration videos!

Petru had his end of year celebration yesterday. He was very excited about it. The entire week he made sure both Chris and I are going to be there. I tried hard to get him to tell me what is going to happen during the celebration, and he did mention that him and his bff Sam are "the jokers". He said that they will say lots of jokes. That got me a bit worried and into the "lets rehearse" mode. Petru did not have any of that and kept telling me that "it is a surprise". OK, then!

I was a little nervous for him, but boy he did an amazing job. He spoke loudly and clearly, and he remembered all his lines. The celebration started with lots of songs, and then a group of 4 kids would get in front and each say 4 lines about a particular theme. After each group, Petru and Sam would get in front and say 2 jokes each. The more songs. I only took videos of the jokes. Here they are:

Pet jokes:




Wild jokes:



Circus jokes:

Haircut

Petru had his first professional haircut this past weekend. Chris and I have been talking about it for a while, but Petru kept postponing. Somehow Chris convinced him with a trip to Toys R Us as a reward. They called me and warned me of the drastic difference. I was surprised at how emotional I was. The boy looks so much older with short hair. We do think he looks cooler with longer hair and we will probably not go this short next time (unless Petru will choose differently, which he might because he said today "Everyone tells me I look so beautiful", Ha!).Yes, he probably drinks 4 apple juices/day, but who is counting. He is wearing his oversized T-ball Blue Claws t-shirt.




P.S. Yes, we still have not gotten the signs down, and I can't blame Petru for that (hmm, Chris!).

Spring is here

The weather has been gorgeous around here in the past few weeks. We celebrated Easter quietly, just the 3 of us. We colored 3 eggs (one each) with coloring left over from last year, and Petru and I messed up with Chris's color adding a few different shades when he was not looking. The giggles that little boy can give! Petru had the champion egg- we followed the Romanian tradition of cracking eggs. The easter bunny arived - he was late and had to pay extra for next day shipping, but it all worked out. Petru was happy with his candy and his traffic signal. For the next 2 weeks he asked us to wake him up with the traffic signal noise.

Petru started T-ball last week. We missed the Saturday session so Petru joined the party late on Sunday. I was concerned that he would be clingy, but he was not, he held his own, he listened and concentrated (aside from a brief moment when he and a little friend made sand castles in the infield). The coach is wonderful and Petru is excited to go back. I am excited to go back. I had a blast watching the little people play.


Other than that, we've been going to the playground a lot.


Petru has been riding the tandem bike with daddy.

Hello 2011

Trying to do a little catching up around here. Time flew by! Our little boy has grown and changed a lot. He is still fascinated with traffic signs, but now he also loves railroad crossings (you often see him watching you tube videos and pretending to be a railroad crossing; sometimes he "needs" more arms so he grabs mine for some extra gates). More recently he has become really interested in clocks, and has found a way to google youtube videos of clocks! Fascinating, at least to him!

School is going really well. The decision to postpone public kindergarten was a good one, as Petru has made huge strides emotionally. He is more independent - dresses himself most morning while I cringe (but keep my mouth shut) seeing that his pants are backwards. He only wears fleece pants (soft pants) as he calls them, and apparently this is a trend in his class. We have been taking him for family swims once or twice a week and he has become more comfortable in the water. He continues to enjoy spending time drawing and makes intricate pictures, multidimensional now. His favorite thing is to "copy" him, and this often happens at school, when he makes a picture and other kids copy it.

School is wonderful. They lean things I have never learned in school. They learned about the impressionists, Van Gogh, Kandinsky, Michelangelo, and made their own paintings following each era/painter's trend. Petru has learned to play chess, and he is quite good. He is now able to play games without cheating, and can tolerate losing games. He can read a bit, and his math is quite impressive. We do not interfere or promote any of this. My view has always been that these things are eventually learned by all, and I am in no rush. Same with extracuricular activities - I am staying away from overscheduling, and love Petru's ability to free play, to make up stories with his Thomas trains (still a favorite - now his old bedroom is a train room), or traffic lights and railroad crossing.

Petru has learned a lot about friendships this year. It was interesting, and hard to watch sometimes. For a while, he kept getting possessive of a kid or another, and could not tolerate if that particular kid also played with other kids ("friends", how they call them at school). He and I can talk quite well, which I love, and I think our conversations helped him become more secure and tolerant. He is still quite bossy and somehow kids put up with that, as he is quite popular. I think he gets away with stuff because he is very funny, and has a certain way with words and phrases that brings laughter and joy. we've had a lot of playdates this year, mainly with 3 boys, 2 from school, S and E. When they are around, I have to stop myself from interfering bc I keep feeling that Petru is too bossy; however, I think it is important for kids to figure things our, and negotiate on their own (within reason, of course) without adult interference. I had several conversations with Petru about his bossiness, and he is getting better. I think part of it is impulsivity, and this will get better with time. It already is.

Petru made huge strides with his motor skills. He continues to be cautious, but much less than before. He has a great sense of direction, he is a backseat driver and he'll call you on it if you speed. I've worked hard to clean up my language as he started using some words that, hm, hm I was using. Not v nice, particularly when he used them at school.

Petru took drumming this winter, and enjoyed it a lot. We will likely start keyboard or guitar in the fall. In the summer he will do T-ball. Chris got a tandem bike and I hope this will help Petru become more confident on his 2 wheeler.

Petru continues to love book and stories. He is a very inquisitive kid, analytical and perceptive. The conversations I can have with him are quite intense and sophisticated. Of course, I love that.

So what have we been up to:

# Mom visited In January and it was lovely. I was spoiled getting picked up from work daily, and not having to rush around to go get Petru from school. We ate well, lots of amazing Romanian dishes. Mostly, it was nice to see Petru and mom together, and the joy that he brings to her life. Oh, and Petru got a ton of toys (per usual) when she was here. When I threaten I will take something away, he often responds "Buni will get me another one".

# We took a trip to North Carolina for Christmas, which was a lot of fun. Petru had a blast with the cousins, and everyone enjoyed a little time off.

# Chris continues his job at Bracket afterschool, which worked out nicely this year, giving us a tuition discount, and allowing Chris to take care of the household stuff. My work was busy, as I moved more seriously into grant writing. Oh, and I also became Assistant Professor at Harvard Med School, something I must be proud off given the intensity and length of the process. And yes, this does not mean more money:) I have been running a lot, doing really well with that, and also prepping for triathlon season. Petru has been joining me for races, and even went on the podium with me at a recent half marathon.

More later. For now, some pictures. I am realizing now how bad they are...

Here is Petru setting up the table...for 25 cents!
Here is me, all dressed up to go to a concert. And no, I do not typically wear dresses. On your right, you can see a few of the many traffic signs that are decorating our walls.



Petru using the foam roller, just like mom and dad.
More signs
During one of the few moments when he sits to watch TV. He likes Bali, Peep and Curious George. He has never seen any other channel but pbs, and I will keep it like this for as long as I can.
Yes, that is my triathlon bike on the R. A thing of beauty.