Last Tuesday, January 18, Joshua turned 52-months old. These pictures were taken the day before at the pediatrician's office, when the doctor could hear "crackling and wheezing" in his lungs and increased his breathing treatments. It snowed the night before his birthday, but we didn't go out to play in it that Tuesday even though his preschool was canceled. Instead, we stayed in, hoping that he would soon feel better! Praise the Lord - he feels well now.
Joshua weighs 36 pounds now, fully clothed in jeans and a sweater. Within the next month or so, I need to go to the shoe store to get his feet measured again. Since I haven't bought shoes since the start of school, I'm guessing that he might be outgrowing his current size 10.5 sneakers. He can put his socks and shoes on himself, and he does pretty well with knowing his left from his right. He writes with his left hand, and he tends to read from right to left rather than vice versa. I'm not sure if this is normal in the development process or not. I'm hoping he outgrows it. In teaching him how to tell time, we tell him when things will happen, and he loves being able to tell us what comes next (since he's a routine-kind-of-guy). Last night he said to Caleb, "The 8 is on the left, so it's time for bed." He understands that certain things happen at certain times.
Joshua can fully dress himself (and has been able to for a little while) but we haven't worked on buttons yet. He does well with getting on his own coat and can even start and zip the entire thing himself (when he wants to). But, I don't know if he can snap or button yet, which we will work on next. I also need to teach him how to tie (so far it hasn't been an issue since I buy all velcro shoes). His preschool teacher sends letters home to the entire classroom, and in one she reminded us to work on these items so children can go to the potty independently, noting that little fingers need practice with things like their tights. We won't have to worry about those, thankfully! The most recent letter we received told me that they're working on writing responses to questions. I was surprised that they're getting this far in preschool, and I'll be anxious to hear his evaluation next month at parent-teacher conferences. Some kids in his class will move on to kindergarten next year, but we'll send him to preschool again since his birthday is in the middle of September. Please pray that we make a wise decision on how many days to send him to preschool.
Joshua continues to make us laugh everyday with his personality. He likes to call Daddy to tell him it's time to come home from work (when we notice it's dark out or the '5' is on the left). He also wants Caleb to follow his lead in playing whatever he is playing, so long as Caleb doesn't want to touch his toys. He likes the company, but he's still hoarding (we're trying to work on sharing, which I do see him getting better with at times). Joshua still loves stories and books, enjoys coloring and drawing, and he loves his cars and trucks. We stumbled across a TV show called "Dinosaur Train" one day when we turned it on for his breathing treatment (after all, it helps him sit still for the 15 minutes he needs to take in the medication from the nebulizer). Shawn said "dinosaurs and trains? No wonder it's a hit!" The Bean seemed to enjoy it for something different.
I'm praying Joshua's swim lessons go well when he starts them next week. I can't believe he's getting so big! This morning we played Chutes & Ladders, Memory and the "questions game." It amazes me at times how well he's comprehending things. The only questions he's getting wrong is the value of money. For example, the question on the card read "which coins would you need to buy this candy cane?" and the candy cane had a price tag of 11 cents written on it. He sometimes guesses correctly, but it's inconsistent so I know that it's guessing. Still, I don't know when the value of money is 'normally' taught. I think our next set of lessons will be on this subject, if he's interested. But, many other things that I don't expect him to get right he does. It amazes me how much little ones can learn in general! He knows certain directions from our house like that we turn left to go to the doctor's and right to get to preschool. He knows what we normally get at certain places (like how Daddy orders his frappuccino at Starbucks). He soaks in so much like a little sponge. I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to be home with him to watch him grow and hopefully teach him positive things. Happy 52-month birthday, my handsome little love! I hope I get to celebrate the next 52 years+ with you! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment