The boys started preschool (at the same school where Mairead first started) at the beginning of January and it is going really well! I still can't believe they are old enough for this. Nor can I believe that we have three children in preschool. I was filling out forms for the dentist recently and one question is 'Grade in school?' It just sort of struck me as I wrote, "Grade: PreK. Grade: PreK. Grade: PreK" three times. Sometimes they seem so far apart in age, probably because Mairead is so tall, but times like that it really just jumps out at me how close together they really are! We just hope that means that they will be BFFs as they grow up.
I am really glad that we enrolled the boys. We went back and forth on it because they are so young (2.10) and because of the expense, but I am SO glad that we did it. Jack, in particular, LOVES it. He does not shut up from the time he walks out the door until he gets up to his bed to take a rest. He talks about the teacher, the snack, the other boys (all boy class), the toys, whatever he can think of.
Ben is still a little unsure of the whole thing- he gets a sad puppy look when it is time for me to leave, but he doesn't usually cry or anything. There was one day that he was pretty much hysterical and I had to just walk out and let the teachers take over. I HATE those moments. Walking away from your crying chidl is awful, even when you know it is the right thing to do. At pick up, I can see through the windows as they get ready, line up, etc, and one day, Jack was at the front of the line and Ben ended up near the back. He started to get upset and one of the other moms said, "Oh, does he not want to leave?" I told her I was guessing that it was because he was separated from his brother. When they came out, Ben said, "I a little sad. I want to hold hands with Jackie." So stinkin cute.
We hope that preschool will help with sharing and with letters. When I hold up a letter and ask, "what's this?' They just yell out random letters. "J! P!" No, it's a T. T is for? "Jackie!" No. They just do not care-- so different from their sister!
I went to the school's Open House one night for conferences. They have only been there two weeks but their teacher said that they are doing really great! Ben does have a hard time at drop off but he calms down a few minutes after I leave. She said that their verbal skills are exemplary and that she can't believe how well they communicate, and that they are just so cute. She said, "Oh, I could just cry thinking about how incredibly cute they are." It was so nice to go to one of these and hear how great my kids are doing. With Mairead, teacher meetings are always so stressful and emotional. This was just so positive, it was such a relief- to the point that I almost cried. Guess I am destined to tear up at parent/teacher night whether my kids are struggling or doing great!
One thing she did already notice is that Ben tends to follow Jack around and want to be near Jack a lot. I'm ok with this for now, I mean, they are so young. I just need to keep an eye on it and make sure Ben's dependance on Jack doesn't limit either of them. I'll cross that 'separate or not' bridge when I come to it!
This is not a great picture since the boys pretty much never stop moving, but this is the first day of school. Ben said he was 'a little sad right now' and I asked Jack if he could make Ben feel better, so big brother went over to give Ben a big hug. How sweet are these kids?
They love to be together and to 'snuggle wit my brudda.' The other morning, Ben woke up early so when Jack awoke to find that Ben was gone, he started yelling, "Where'd my brudda go? Where's my brudda, Benjamin?"
They are still small enough to take baths together and they have a great time in there. They just never want to get out!
They just come up with the funniest thing to say. At playgroup the other day, Jack ran to me and said, "Mommy, I can make Thomas go on the table and it's like a Sodor Suspension Bridge to play trains." Another mom asked, "Um, what did he say? Something about a suspension bridge?" I tried to explain the Thomas obsession, but I did agree that most almost three year olds probably don't discuss suspension bridges that often.
Right now, Ben is furiously pressing buttons on a large calculator and mumbling that he has to check his email. Mairead and Jack are dancing around the kitchen to The Monkees. We may have created a monster with this. We had to get them to stop listening to the Glee Christmas album that we have been listening to every day since November. Now they are serious Monkees fans, so we have heard their greatest hits about 25 times in the past four days!
They are so much fun right now. We still have some sharing issues and subsequent whining issues, but I hope that they tone down those habits. I hope they keep being so cute, though!
1 comment:
I can't believe the boys are in preschool! How nice to get 90 minutes of quite, even if you are working. I know it can be difficult to get your work done with a little one who wants your attention. I love how much Jack and Ben just love each other! The story of Ben being sad because Jack was at the front of the line was so cute, but I was sad for him too. You have some cute and loving boys on your hands! and, one day when they're fighting like crazy, you'll remember these days! :-)
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