Milestones and Updates....

Recently Nicholas was eating a pear....Lisa had cut it up into small pieces and placed them into a bowl. They were sitting on the couch while he was eating his pear....when all the pieces of pear were gone, Nicholas, without being asked, got off the couch...walked to the sink...placed the empty bowl into the sink and then sat back down on the couch.....
Something else he began doing recently is taking himself to the bathroom. He is now able to pull down his pants and sit on the BIG toilet ALL BY HIMSELF....woo hoo...YOU GO BOY....
Speaking of growing up......
Nicholas will begin pre-school January 5, 2010....going 5 days a week, 3 hours a day! He will be in a PPCD class....Pre-School Program for Children with Disabilities, at a school located in Denton, Texas. Lisa and I recently met with his teacher, speech therapist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, diagnostician and school administrator...They were all very anxious to get Nicholas started in school. They feel he will really begin to blossom once he begins attending school. Not only will he be in a class of 7 students, he will also be around a lot of other kids, so his social skills will get some work too!

I hope they are ready for him..more updates to come.
And now for a Daddy update...
A little while ago I wrote about my experience with some kids who were not too nice towards Nicholas at our local playground.....well....last week I took Nicholas to the playground around the corner from our house. When we arrived there were just two girls, about 7 or 8 years old, playing there...I immediately recognized one of the girls....she was the one who said Nicholas was 'weird' a while ago. When Nicholas saw the two girls at the playground he starting saying....."Girls....play with....both...play with." As he was saying this he was walking towards them. I stopped him before he was able to get too close. While we were standing about two feet away from them, the "not so nice" girl started whispering something into the ear of her friend. I was watching the expression on the other girl's face....her eyes got really wide and she covered her open mouth with her right hand. Since I pretty much knew what was being said I slowly turned Nicholas around and headed to the otherside of the playground. As soon as we turned around, the 'other' girl said, "I can't believe you said that right in front of them..." That was all I needed to hear....I immediately turned around and said to the other girl..."I can! That's what she does. She likes to say mean things about other people. I am sure her mother is very proud of her!" Both girls just stood there, staring at me with disbelief. I finished my mini-tirade with, "You know, you really shouldn't say mean things about people, especially in front of them...you just learned a valuable life lesson."
I know I may have over-reacted, but I have decided to try and be THAT parent. The parent who speaks up when other kids are not acting properly around MY child...I know this will be a constant uphill battle, because kids can be mean.....believe me I know...
In hindsight, the way I spoke to these girls was not appropriate....I could have made more of a positive impact had I spoke to them at their level. I plan to apologize to the little mean girl the next time I see her and explain our situation to her...even though Nicholas will not understand all of this...it's the right thing to do! I can still be THAT parent, I just need to tailor my comments to the appropriate level.....


Thanks for listening!