7 Quick Takes (Vol. 18)

- - - 1 - - -

Noah took his first steps on January 21st then promptly sat down and hasn't walked again since. He's been working on the walking thing since the beginning of the New Year, but had a huge growth spurt partway through the process. We think that growth spurt really threw him off balance - literally. As of today, he'll occasionally walk if you hold his hands while walking backwards while he walks forwards. But only if he's in the mood. And only if Mars is aligned with Saturn. Or is it when drops of Jupiter are in his hair? Oh well, he'll likely be walking by the time he goes off to college, right?

- - - 2 - - -

I'm all consumed with thoughts related to work - so much so I'm having trouble falling asleep. Most days I really love my job, but there are times when I wish fervently that upper/middle management would step into the trenches for a season, in order to remind themselves of how hard it is to do this job with less support, less money, increased expectations and fewer staff.

- - - 3 - - -

Jake's teacher wanted to give me a head's up about something she's recently noticed about him. While he no longer spends a fair bit of time worrying over his classmate's behaviour when it comes time to knuckle down to an activity, he still takes his time getting down to work. His teacher wasn't concerned about this per say, but wanted to flag it to our attention. As the months go by, the expectation with regard to workload increases and she is worried he might eventually fall behind.

I truly love his teacher this year. That said, I have to be honest and say that I find her classroom chaotic at the best of times and I know that Jake doesn't work particularly well in the midst of chaos. When the children are at their desks doing "seat work", there's no expectation that they be quiet and concentrate on the task at hand. Rather, kids are up and down from their seats multiple times, many voices are calling out for help - with the assignment or simply because they can't find a pencil or an eraser and they're constantly interrupting one another and the teacher.

I love that she recognizes and supports their need to move around, their shorter attention spans and their energy and enthusiasm. The Little Man, however, would do better, in my humble opinion, in a more structured environment - or at least one with some down time.

- - - 4 - - -

And speaking of structure, I've definitely noticed that on the days when classroom life is even more chaotic than usual, Jake's behaviour at home is drastically worse. He's antsier, more prone to misbehave and lose control and bouncing off the walls on the days when he hasn't had much quiet time at school.

- - - 5 - - -

We're about to get hit with a dumping of snow. This means the pressure is changing rapidly. This also means I have a horrible headache. And restless legs. Boo.

- - - 6 - - -

It's so wonderful to see Jake and Noah playing together. When I pick Noah up from daycare, Jake is usually already in the car. As soon as Noah sees him, he starts to laugh and giggle, squealing with glee. The other day, Noah brought Jake a board book to read and it was cool to see them curled up on the couch with big read to little.

- - - 7 - - - 

And . . . I'm out. Primarily because I'm just about asleep. So, let's see . . . our new couch is very static-y. No? Alright then. Head over to Jen's for more and better!