Alex now-a-days

Alex is growing strong.  He’s lean and desperately ready to be 6 years old.  He is completely obsessed with his upcoming birthday later this month and party.  We are going to have a bunch of kids over for a Slip N Slide party!  Cake, pizza, and fun!  We invited several kids from his class at SEA and are hoping they will be able to make it.  Alex refers to his age and/or birthday party practically daily.

He finished kindergarten the beginning of this month and jumped into First Grade!  Mrs. Pitkin was a good fit for Alex and helped us get Alex back on track this past Spring.  He was letting his silliness take over and it was impacting his learning.  He was struggling with confidence and was easily frustrated.  She said he displayed some signs of ADHD.  We made some changes right away.  I sent him to school with berries, a sandwich, and cheese every day.  We told him no more chocolate milk (previously he was drinking it for both breakfast and lunch) and got the adults at the school to support us.  Brent developed a homework plan for us at home.  If Alex had focused homework time, he would earn 5 minutes of video game time to be used on the upcoming weekend.  If he didn’t put the work in, he didn’t play video games.  He was also given video game time for his daily behavior at school.  Mrs. Pitkin was willing to fill out a daily sheet for us!  Since Alex is very much like his father, video game time became a huge motivator.  The gym teacher, Mr. Lui, asked Mrs. Pitkin if we had put Alex on ADHD medication since he saw such a change in him!  I personally thought that was a poor way to express that his behavior was so drastically improved.  Putting a kid on medication is not a light decision.  Over the months we realized Alex just required some more attention from us at home and we had to stay on top of things constantly.  If our focus slacked so did his behavior/attention.

A big focus of Kindergarten is learning Sight Words.  Works like: Him, School, we, were, when, you, I, was, for, with… you get the idea.  The kids are tested on the same 50 sight words through-out the year.  In December, Alex scored 2/50 and tears came to my ears because he could only read “I” and “a” at that time in one minute.  It was then that Mrs. Pitkin told us he was struggling.  In March, Alex scored 34/50!  What a drastic improvement!  Previously to the March test, I was practicing with Alex and he noticed I was keeping track of ones he missed.  His concentration faltered and he visibly was shaken.  I then started verbally praising correct answers and he picked right back up!  When our little quiz was done, I was so proud of him I teared up.  Alex has such a tender heart and I worry for him in this regard. 

Alex will be attending Targeted Services AKA Summer School in July.  4 hours every week day with a much smaller class (only about 14 kids).  We are looking for Alex to catch up to the other kids in his grade and maybe even leave them in the dust in First Grade!  His interest in learning greatly increased toward the end of the school year.  Mrs. Pitkin chalked a lot of it up to his age.  Alex is one of the youngest kids in his grade.  But I know the truth – he just needs to figure out when to curb his inherited silliness!  The boy is just full of the wiggles and giggles!

Speaking of silliness, Alex had 3 girlfriends during kindergarten… all at the same time!  Grace, Jovie, and Jasmine were his girlfriends.  At the end of the year, Jovie moved on to be Beck’s girlfriend.  Another little girl named Toti would chase Alex around trying to kiss him.  He openly disliked her as a result. 

Alex is still horrible with names.  He started with Adventure Club in the beginning of June and noticed a boy from the previous summer at the YMCA.  I said, “Did you remember his name?”  His simple reply was, “No!  But Marty remembered mine!”  He also came home last week saying he had a new girlfriend but failed to remember her name when prompted.  A few days later he said her name was Emily.  Geez.

Alex is awesome at mazes and recognizing patterns.  He has a love of nature and weather.  He made the connection why I planted specific plants where I did in the backyard because of sunlight requirements.  I was super impressed with that!  He recognizes birds by their song/coloring.  He knows how to read the clouds.  My kid might end up being a botanist or something!

We’ve become friends with some neighbors up the road and Alex has particularly bonded with the son, Erick.  They are very close in age, Alex is only 2 months older but Erick won’t be starting school until this fall.  The boys laugh and challenge one another to climb higher and faster.  They also both love the skate park.  They will most certainly become skate boarders at some point.  It’s fun to see them join forces and just disappear, completely uninvolved in everyone else.  It’s easy to spend time with the Mazon family and they are literally right up the road.  Sure makes life a bit more fun just to drop in on someone for company to the park!

I was able to join Alex for various events and lunch times through-out the school year.  I helped with a Valentine’s Party, chaperoned a field trip to Oliver Kelly Farm, and helped over lunch the first few weeks of school a few times.  I would just pop in to join him for lunch weeks or so!  It was awesome to be able to see how well loved he is first-hand.  The kids are so welcoming!  The staff at SEA is pretty amazing so they were always pleased to see me.  Then the last week of school I brought Anna with to lunch at SEA school.  She was so excited!  Alex was so proud to have her there and was introducing her as “my baby sister Anna.”  He was also whispering to her that it would be her school too one day. 

Alex is an amazing protector of his sister and potentially her biggest fan.  They have sleepovers on the weekends about once a month.  The only hang up is when Alex is ready to go to sleep and Anna isn’t!  That boy needs sleep!!  He also needs milk.  Lots and lots of milk.  He is starting to make supper requests too like Cheese Soup, Orange Chicken, egg sandwiches, and fish.  He really couldn’t be any more adorable or any more unique.

 

This kid is a natural at bowling!

Grandma Penny snuggles

Alex and Grace at lunch time

Valentine's Day party

Atop new bunk beds!

Twin Cities Heart walk with Dad

Walk for Animals

Oliver Kelly Farm with Jacob and Cole

Spring Fling!

Stillwater

Skate rats

Sky Zone 

Color Vibe!

"This is refreshing!" with Grandpa Larry

Franconia

Summer Recap 2014 and first day of kindergarten!

Alex has had a big, fun summer!  We've been camping, lots of birthdays (including his fifth!), to a Twins game, State Fair, Nickelodeon Universe, and lots of parks.  We got a season pass to the local swimming pool and Alex went from being hesitant last summer to a full blown swimmer this summer.  He puts on his goggles and just dives under the water.  He loves to go after water toys that sink to the bottom of the pool.  He's pretty bummed that swimming season is over already!

Alex has also gotten a ton better at riding his bike.  He still has training wheels, but he is no longer afraid of going down hills and keeps up with Mom and Dad for the most part.  He's even playing around on the ramps at the Skate Park.  I promised him we'd get him some elbow pads and knee pads so he could really try some stunts.

He's become a big fan of American Ninja Warrior - we all have truth be told!!  I fear this may lead to some bumps and bruises down the road but I don't mind anything that will keep him active.  Alex has tons of energy and just doesn't sleep if he hasn't played hard enough that day.

Alex really loved K Power over the summer at the YMCA.  They went on 2 field trips a week to local parks, museums, pools, zoos - you name it!  The part he always talked about was "We got to eat LUNCH there!"  They ran the kids hard with lots of time outside on the playground, Kid's Gym, and Splash Deck.  It's safe to say the kid had a fabulous summer.

Alex started kindergarten today at The School of Engineering and Arts in Golden Valley.  His teacher is Mrs. Pitkin.  Her favorite book is Owl Moon.  Brent read the book to Alex tonight since we happen to own and love it... and he was more captivated than ever so my guess is that he really likes Mrs. Pitkin!!  She is 54 years old and has a very gentle, loving way about her.  I was immediately impressed with her patience and way of talking to the kids.  She doesn't baby talk them.  She just talks to them in a way that grabs their attention - a gift of good teachers.  Like Emo!!  A natural way with children.  

Alex wasn't nervous about starting school, he's been itching to go for months now!  He seemed to really enjoy the day.  We are looking forward to being part of the SEA family for both our kids.  

Hope you like the pictures of our handsome boy!

Alex at his birthday party at Chuck E Cheese!

Park time

  

Twins game with dad!

Alex with his baby sister at the Twins Game.

Alex with a huge corn dog at the State Fair.

First day of kindergarten!

Alex in front of his school sign.

Alex getting off the bus this afternoon.

Spring Fever 2014

First things first, Alex will no longer be attending Spanish Immersion school in the fall.  We were lucky enough to be extended an invitation for SEA (School of Engineering and Arts).  This was our first choice all along and after attending a Kindergarten welcome night and Spring Fling celebration… we are more than thrilled for this chapter in his life to start!  Alex woke up the next morning after taking a tour of his new school and said, “Mom, you can drop me off at my new school today.  I want to go there today!”  He is very excited and keeps talking about “big boy” school.  We will be attending his pre-school graduation ceremony next Friday night.  They took pictures in a cap and gown and he is just so stinking handsome.  It’s all a little silly until it’s YOUR kid who is so proud to be graduating pre-school.  Then it’s just pure fun. 

When I sat down with his teacher Ms. Lori a few weeks back she told me he is definitely ready to start Kindergarten.  We were worried because several boys we know with July birthdays are not starting this Fall.  We felt confident in our decision but it helped to hear it from her as well!  Ms. Lori said he’s interested in learning and his writing has improved dramatically in the past few months.  He used to be the class clown and distract the other kids during learning time and now he is more focused, more willing to try and figure things out if he is confused instead of just giving up as he had previously done.  Ms. Lori said he is also quite popular.  He has a pack of friends and a best friend named Grady.  Or Shawn.  Or Henry.  They are all interchangeable at this age!  She said he is also popular with the girls.  They think he is cute and sweet.  Brent saw a little girl just yesterday asking Alex is pick something up for her.  He pointed to a ball and she said, “No, not that.  THAT!”  So he picked the flower she was pointing at and handed it to her.  She swayed, smelled it, and said, “Thanks Alex…”  I have seen this kind of behavior from little girls as well.  It is adorable and scary all at the same time!

Alex is completely obsessed with his dad.  “Daddy, will you play with me?” is heard very frequently.  He loves to watch shows.  The kid will watch just about anything but his favorites are Jake and the Neverland Pirates and Spiderman.  He likes Sesame Street which is something we push so Anna will watch as well.  He can sit and just turns into a little Zombie.  Annie watches for about 5 minutes and then is off to play again!  They are so fundamentally different.  He is all about getting snuggled in to “watch a show.”  He also loves to journal (practice writing), color, and play Superheroes!  Alex has lots of figurines to play with and Anna has Little People to play with.  Alex often steals a Disney Princess and turns her into Poison Ivy or Harley Quinn.  It is hilarious. 

We have been going to libraries lately and Alex has really enjoyed the steady stream of new books to read.  He sits with a book open on his lap just studying the pictures.  He has such a bright mind.  I love to see his interests broaden.

Playtime is becoming more and more rough for Alex.  He is getting bruised, scraped, chipped, or dented daily at this point.  He is a tall, thin, and a bit clumsy.  We might have to start calling him “Bump” like his dad was called in his childhood.  We all have a bit of Spring Fever and Alex is constantly wanting to go to parks and be outside.  He really enjoyed a recent trip to the park on Memorial Day.  There was a older group of kids playing an advanced version of tag.  The dad of the group asked Alex if he wanted to play with them.  His eyes just lit up and he nodded his head yes.  Alex listened very intently while the dad told him the directions and their names.  Then Alex said, “My name is Alex.”  My eyes are filling up with tears just remembering how confident he sounded and how excited he was to be included.  He ran and played with the big kids and slept easily that night.

That’s enough for now… enjoy the pictures!

Easter Sunday

Finger paint!!

Backyard Fun

Visit to see Great Grandma Drinkwine