Time to listen

We are now in the fourth week of the school year.  It has gone by pretty fast.  I guess having somewhere to be every day of the week and only two days to recover really makes time fly.  I know Christmas will be here before we know it, then Spring Break, and soon after that we will be staring Summer in the face again.  Kaylee started Kindergarten this year.  WOW!  I am still in shock that I have a school aged kid.  I do not know exactly how to describe it at times, but I kind of feel like our family schedule is dictated for us now.  There are no last minute trips to visit family out of town (without absences and make up work that is).  Vacations have to be planned over breaks and holidays - when EVERYONE ELSE goes.  I guess you could say that gets me a little down.  I also remember how fast the school year flies by.  I know that before I know it, Kaylee will be done with her first year and we will be looking back at all that has been accomplished over these nine or ten months.  Right now, we are working on just getting her into the school building without a major meltdown.  For some reason, Kaylee feels major anxiety about being left at school and church.  Once she gets into her classroom and starts with the day's activities she is fine.  In fact, she is very social and adjusting fine academically.  She just does not like saying bye to her parents.  By the end of the second week of school it looked like a mini-WWF match in the hall outside of her classroom.  The participants were Kaylee and me, and spectators were Braden and her teacher.  I was trying to pry her off of my leg and push her into the classroom but the brakes were on and the death grip was in full force.  Finally, her teacher and I were able to coax her into the room and I was able to leave the school building.  Lets just say that Kaylee was not the only one crying that morning.  I think I made it to the car before shedding a tear, but I was extremely exhausted and defeated feeling.  The next week, Matt decided he would take her and see if he could break that cycle.  HA!  When they got to the school and he stopped at the front door, she lost it.  She told him she was not going to go to school and really thought she would be able to get her way.  Eventually, the Assistant Principal took Kaylee by the hand and they went on a little walk before heading to class.  Throughout that week, Kaylee became close buddies with the Assistant Principal, Office Attendants, Counselor, and I think even the head Principal.  I guess she does not want to be "just a number" at her large school.  The good news is that on Friday, for some unknown reason, she took off with a friend and was in the school building without even realizing what she had done.  I think Matt sprinted home that day.  He didn't want to give her a chance to think twice about what happened.  :)  This week, Matt has been out of town again, so I have to take her to school in the mornings.  After much prayer from our friends and family, Kaylee has actually done quite well.  There have been a few moments where she almost lost it and reverted back to the fits, but she has been able to get in the school without completely breaking down.  I am really proud of her and hope that she continues to get better at this. 
By the time I pick Kaylee up each day, she is having a great time, and is really not in too much of a hurry to leave her friends.  On our way home, I ask her about her day and what she did, but only get one or two things out of her.  She usually tells me about which "special" class (Art, Music, Library, PE) that they went to, if they got to use the computer, and maybe tells me about a letter that they practiced.  I have found that I have to just be patient and let her have some time to unwind before I find out about her day.  She never "spills all" at once.  Instead, I have to listen for little things that she says and does.  Sometimes, I hear her counting forwards and then backwards - something that I am pretty sure they practice each day.  Sometimes, she brings things up right before bedtime, or while we are eating dinner.  This evening, she was spelling different sight words and number words while we were driving home from dance.  This is the first time Kaylee has been away from me on a daily basis since she was 2 years old.  I am realizing that I have some influence on her, but she is also around other people for a great amount of her waking hours.  I have come to the conclusion that I now have to be extra careful to listen to the things she says and does, to understand what she is thinking and what she has learned. 
Now, Braden is a little different.  He is my independent and adventuresome child.  We decided to put him in preschool for two years before Kindergarten.  He has been dragged around from one activity to another for Kaylee over the past three years, and has really wanted to have something that is "his own."  When we got to his first day of school, Braden came into my room that morning and said, "Mommy, do I get to go to school and stay all day today???"  After being ready about an hour early, eating breakfast, and begging to leave every five minutes, it finally came time to take Braden to school.  On the way, he told me that I didn't need to cry.  He would be just fine and he wasn't planning on crying either.  We got to school, went inside and he took off into the room.  I had to beg for a hug as he tore away from me, and couldn't get him to even look up at me and say goodbye.  He had a blast!  When I picked him up, his teacher said, "Bye Sugar!"  He quickly informed her, "I am NOT a sugar! I am an alligator!"  She laughed and said, "Well, then see ya later alligator!"  He responded with, "Okay, Bye Sugar!"  She cracked up and went into the classroom for the next student.  Braden loves school.  He is growing up so fast and becoming so independent.  Of course, he loves to give hugs and kisses and tell me that he loves me, but he is able to do so much more on his own now.  I am really proud of him, too. 
We get a few minutes to talk on the way to pick up Kaylee and he tells me a little about what they did during the day.  I say a little not because the rest of the time is silent.  I say a little because he makes up A LOT about what they did.  He told me one day that he drove a fire truck to a fire, put out the fire, went down a fire man pole, and when he got done with that he drove a dump truck and let his friend sit in the back.  To say Braden has a creative imagination is an understatement.  His brain is firing so many thoughts and ideas each second that I don't know how he even gets a complete thought out.  This summer during vacation bible school he had me convinced that they provided his class with swim suits and they went swimming in little pools outside.  I say I was convinced because he was able to describe each child's suit in detail, and gave me a list of things that happened when they were outside.  I actually called his teacher and asked if I should have sent a suit.  They cracked up because they had done NOTHING of the sort.  Braden is quick-witted, and loves to tell stories.  Alot of the time, his stories turn into songs.  They are mostly rambling, but sometimes they are hilarious.  When I listen to him sing a song, or tell a story, that is usually how I tell what he has learned or heard.  For about two weeks, he kept repeating a song about "Herman the Worm."  From what I can tell, this is something they learned in music class.  Tonight I heard him retelling a story about "Five little Puppies sitting in a tree."  He told me today that, "I am a quick learner, Mom."  Uh, yes, is all I could say to that - he retold the story from this afternoon almost word for word.  He has also been walking through the house saying, "Septembiere" and sticking his tongue out as he says the last part.  I guess they are learning the months of the year in Spanish class.  It is cute to watch and listen to because although he IS a quick learner, sometimes things get a little butchered.  I'll close with a quick story about this week...
We have recently had a few geckos roaming the outside of our house.  Somehow, one apparently got in last week.  Matt and Braden were able to capture it and get it outside before I got up though.  Whew!  I really don't like those little things.  Anyways, I opened the door to let Gracie out another day and one darted off of the door and outside before I knew what it was.  Since then, I have reminded the kids to watch for the geckos when they open the door.  This morning, Braden looked outside and said, "I don't see any gettos, mom."  Yet another word butchered by my cute little preschooler.