Thursday, April 28, 2011

Behavior issues...

For some time now, I've wondered if (when) we'd be faced with behavior issues with John Michael. 
It's been one of those "fears of the unknown"... a potential side effect of him having Down syndrome. 

In general, John Michael is as typical a boy as they come, and when he does get in trouble, I put him in time out.  When he's sat still for a few minutes, usually on the floor away from us, I explain what he did, tell him it was wrong, and then he has to apologize to the person he hurt, which is usually Greta or Luke.  Nothing extraordinary there, but that's how we handle it. 

 
Having a baby brother (Luke is almost 11 months old now), has had both a positive and, at times, a negative effect on John Michael. 

Here, John Michael was teaching Luke how to clap.  Luke could already do it, but it was more about following the leader that made it so sweet.  I could tell John Michael felt really big and proud that Luke was listening and following him.
But, I wouldn't be painting a true picture if I said life was always rosy with these two.  "Double Trouble" is what I call them when they're getting into stuff.  This next year will require extra doses of patience for sure!

There are plenty of times that John Michael shows his true stinker self and pokes, pushes, hits, or grabs a toy from Luke.  Oh, yes, my sweet angel of a boy can be a real stinker!  Here, I caught him red-handed as he poked Luke in the head!  And, no, that's not a smile... he's clenching his jaw tight...  Poor Luke!
 

And then there's the extra-rough LOVE he likes to show Luke.  Luke was actually kissing John Michael's cheek here with his sloppy, wet open mouth kisses.  So funny!  That baby is going to grow up to be tough, that's for sure! 



Makes me wonder if Luke is thinking...
"Where'd he go?  One minute he's poking me, the next he loves me!  Now he's gone..."

 

They even love to climb on BIG brother, Nic... a hulking nearly 6 ft tall, 13 year old who loves the "abuse."

 

Ultimately, John Michael is sweeter than he's not.  His preschool teacher told me today that he doesn't have a mean bone in his body (I laughed...) and that he's a perfect child in class.  Made me so happy, really.  I'm thrilled that he's so good at school.  I really think having a little brother is causing some jealousy and he's acting out since he can't properly express his feelings about it.  Then, after a moment, his teacher added that the only issue she sees with John Michael is that he is super fast with markers and can mark up things faster than she can catch him.  Other than that... he's a perfect angel.  

She's right... a perfect angel... most of the time.  :-)

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Thursday, April 21, 2011

Best. Thing. Ever.

My Sad. post from January 6, 2011, seems like a distant memory.  In just a few short months, John Michael has grown by leaps and bounds. It's so exciting how much he's changed!

And I know... I am seriously overdue for a post on all the words and phrases he's saying, how preschool is going, his behavior, his manners (he's very polite!), shapes and color identification, counting, singing, and gross and fine motor stuff. There's so much to write, I don't know where to begin!




But stay tuned... it's coming... and, here's why I'm seriously behind...

In the past 2 weeks, Luke (10 1/2 months old) has started crawling all over the house, waving hi and bye, pulling to stand, cruising, drinking from a sippy cup and straw, giving sloppy wet kisses and generally getting into all kinds of trouble.  I often find myself wishing he'd slow down and enjoy the ride a bit, cuz my head is spinning from trying to keep up.  Seriously.  I rather prefer John Michael's pace at this point in my life...

I'm finding very little time to sit at the computer, so for tonight, I will leave you with this photo of John Michael (17 months) at Easter 2009, signing LOVE. Today, at age 3, he freely tells me he loves me, gives me hugs and kisses, and it's the best. thing. ever...
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Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Wordless Wednesday -- Monkey Boy

John Michael has turned into a serious monkey... climbing up ladders, running across bridges and flying down slides to start all over again...


There's no stopping him now!


Greta and John Michael enjoyed playing in the sun, but someone didn't like the sun in his eyes.  ;-o