Birthday Party

Today Seb has his birthday party with his friends.  There were 10 kids in total and we found the perfect venue in which the kids are all secluded in one room, there are no other families/kids present, and the craft, cake and pizza and clean up are all included in the very reasonable price - the local YMCA!

Anyways I think I'm, like every year, in a bit of shock that Sebastian is turning one year older on the 19th.  I miss my little baby.  The little baby that would stand at the front door and make noise so that the store keeper across the street would start waving to him from across the way, or the baby that would stand at the front door and say "bus" as it would stop across the street.  The little one who would run around the house saying "cheese" because mommy always had her camera out or the little giggles I would get whenever I would begin to sing, "Ain't it great to be crazy". 

Now I have a little boy that can sit at the table and do art work for hours, drawing picture after picture of superheroes, spaceships, animals, dragons and anything that suits his fancy at that very moment. Now I have a little boy that sits down and reads and who can sit so contently and play on his own, be it building amazing lego structures or interacting with his toys. Now I have a little boy who finds the subtle humour in things, who gets such a great gutteral laugh at physical humour and who enjoys just being in the moment and appreciating the little things.


It's been an amazing six years..........

Making "goo"

The "gang"

The Wheels on the Bus....

Well the S-man survived his first week of school.  Can't quite say we survived the bus, but well, that's the story I'm about to tell....

The bus arrives at 8:14 a.m. very close to our home. The first day of school we made it out to the bus in plenty of time and Sebastian was the only student at the stop.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, we waved good-bye as they drove away and then hopped in our car and met Sebastian at the school.

The first day the bus arrived prior to any of the teacher's being out on yard duty.  He was walked to the area that the children congregate by a teacher who had just been arriving to school and then we met up with him.  I didn't think too much about it at the time, seeing that it was the first day of school, but I was worried that Sebastian arrived to the school 25 minutes before the bell and that there were hardly any kids there.  As such, he stuck by our side, which was fine as it was the first day.

That night he took the bus home, which was over 10 minutes late (talk about a worried mama!), and complained when he got off the bus that he didn't know anyone on the bus.  We reassured Sebastian that as time went on he would know the kids on the bus but he wasn't convinced.

On Wednesday we caught the bus again and this time there were a couple of more children at our stop.  By the time we arrived at the school to meet up with him he was standing by the bus with two of the bus helpers that take his bus on the verge of tears.  Again, no teachers were out on duty.

When I arrived home I called the bus company and voiced my concern about the lack of supervision and the safety concerns I had with this situation.  As it was only the second day of the new school day I understood that there were kinks to work out but I wasn't exactly happy with the situation.

Sebastian didn't take the bus home as he went to the sitter's.  Jamie went to the school to ensure Sebastian could find her after school and by the time Jamie arrived Sebastian was already standing with Amanda (it helps that one of the girls from his class goes to Amanda's too after school!) so any concerns we had about Sebastian meeting up with his babysitter were alleviated.

On Thursday we missed the bus as it came early.  Sebastian let out a big "yippee" when he realized we missed it.  As such we drove him to school and I noted that his bus was there before 8:20 a.m. (teachers come out at 8:25 to supervise) but the bus just sat there with the students on the bus waiting and the children did not exit until a teacher came out to greet them.

That evening the bus was 5 minutes late and Sebastian got off the bus stating that his day was "Awesome!"  One of the neighbourhood kids was on the bus and Sebastian said he was so happy as he sat with this other child.  Sebastian and this other child played at our house until dinner time.

On Friday we got out to the bus stop before 8:10 a.m. but then nature called so we missed the bus, that again, came early.  We arrived at the school a little later that morning but I did notice that the kids from his bus were already there in the play area and the teacher's were just beginning to trickle out of the school.

When I got home I called the bus company again, suggesting the bus pick the kids up 10 minutes later to alleviate the concerns of the lack of supervision but was advised that the bus driver had children he had to get to another school so this was not feasible and the other bus that runs on our street (that comes 10 minutes later in the mornings and 10 minutes earlier in the afternoon) was full.

So with that said, it looks like we'll be putting Seb on the bus in the mornings and driving to school to ensure he is supervised.  As well, as Sebastian does not know a lot of the children on the playground he often just stands there until his friends arrive approx. 5 minutes before the bell, leaving Seb standing around doing nothing for 20 minutes.

*Sigh*

Anyways, we will see how long this will keep up.  We have already discussed that I will continue to put Seb on the bus and meet him at the school for at least the next two weeks.  If we are continually seeing that there is no supervision and he is not comfortable waiting the 20 minutes by himself doing nothing then I will drive him to school, which isn't an issue seeing that I'm up already and our mornings will then not be too rushed as we'll have an extra 15 minutes and come winter, he won't be having to spend so much time outside in the cold (And no, we're not coddling him.  We know our son and the tough love approach does not work.  Instead it creates an insecure child who feels he can't trust his parents to be there for him, so please don't even go there/judge).  There are no concerns with taking the bus home, so we will continue with that and we are hoping that with the first week of school done then perhaps more kids will be starting to take the bus which will slow down the bus getting to the school.

So if it wasn't for this bus dilemma the first week would have been excellent!  Sebastian is slowly adjusting to having to attend 5 days/week but he's doing well and he just loves the art time that they've been having.  I'm sure we'll hit more resistance as time goes on, but we'll deal with it then.  In the meantime we hope that those wheels on the bus will keep on turning and everything will work out. 

Grade One

Well we did it.  We started Grade One today!

This morning's routine worked like a breeze.  Seb was ready to meet the bus 10 minutes early and was the only kid getting on the bus at the stop (I'm sure there will be a lot more tomorrow).  He had drawn the bus driver a picture and presented it to him and then sat beside another little boy at the very front of the bus, which was pretty empty.  We waved as he drove away and he did look apprehensive but he did it!

When we got to the school the bus had already arrived and Seb was being lead to the Grade One meeting area.  Luckily he saw us when he did because the tears were just about to start brimming.  We stood around for quite some time waiting for the teachers to have the kids line up so that they could read out their names, but they never did.  Instead we had to go up to each individual teacher to find out whether or not Sebastian was in their class and even when we did find out who his teacher was going to be, we had no idea where to go.  So instead, we just stood there and spoke with some of our friends and waited for the teacher to form a line, at which point Sebastian joined in and away he went.

And luckily his teacher also has a foot injury and is fine with Sebastian wearing his sandals inside and out.

Whew!  The getting there is done!  Now I'm just crossing my fingers and toes that when I go out to meet the bus this afternoon my little pumpkin is on it!!

The Winds of Change

Tomorrow my little baby is starting grade one.

I am reminded what it felt like the first time I had to drop him off at daycare when I returned to work part-time shortly after his 1st birthday.  I am reminded of how nervous I was the first day I brought him to kindergarten and I worried if he ate his lunch, did he make some friends, did he cry, did he go pee, did he have fun....

I am nervous because he is taking the bus for the first time.  Is he going to know where to go?  Is he going to get on the right bus at the end of the school day?  Is he going to be okay?

Sebastian is super excited to start Grade One and I am so happy that he is happy but this marks such a milestone for us.  For the past 6 years I have managed to remain at home with him over 90% of the time.  I've been able to be here for every little milestone.  I have played countless games, I have danced many dances and I have played many roles.   I have watched Sebastian drawings change from lines scribbled on a page, to stick figures, to people with heads, necks, torso's, arms and legs.  I have watched Sebastian learn to throw a ball, kick and catch.   I have watched him develop a sense of humour and have watched him grow from the tiniest little soul to a little boy with the most wonderful soul.

Words cannot even express the gratitude I have for being able to have had this time with him.  I know Sebastian is going to absolutely love Grade One and I know that he'll love the bus and he won't get lost.  And I know come tomorrow those 'little apron strings' are going to be loosened just a tad bit more.

I hope come tomorrow when he sees my tears he will recognize them as tears of how proud I am of him.  I'm really going to miss my little sidekick but there are new adventures ahead and I can't wait to be that mommy waiting for their child at the bus stop.  Tomorrow we are starting a new chapter in our lives and as hard as it is going to be for me to accept this change I know that Sebastian is up for the challenge. 

Happy first day of Grade One Sebastian!

End of Summer

As the school year is fast approaching and Sebastian will be entering into grade 1 I am sad to see our summer coming to an end.  We have had a wonderful time making new memories and enjoying the beautiful weather and I wish it wouldn't have to  come to an end but I know it also means new adventures are ahead.

This has been a busy but wonderful summer.  We managed three camping trips, one even out of province, a wedding in Montreal and a couple of art camps.  When we weren't camping or going to art classes we could be found hiking in the backyard (well not quite the backyard, but close enough), biking, drawing pictures on the driveway with chalk, creating with Lego, baking, swimming, painting, attending programs at the library, lazying our days away with friends and playing Super Heroes (of course, this is just some of the stuff off the top of my head - I'm sure there were more!).

And of course no summer is complete without at least one little accident.  This past Monday Sebastian, while running through a splash fountain with his Nonee, had his one toe nail (squeamish people stop reading!) ripped clear out. I didn't know until then just how much toe nails bleed.  If you didn't know this, they bleed. A lot.  As such, our last week of summer has been a little slower as planned but I'm pleased to say that with careful cleanings and lots of cuddles his toe is doing much better.  It breaks my heart seeing him in pain but he's being a pretty good trooper about it and yesterday we even caught him doing a little dance so I think he's on the mend!  I'm a little worried that having the toe in a shoe all day long at school might be problematic but I guess we will cross that bridge if and/or when we get there.  For now we're just happy to see that the pain has subsided and he's returning to some of his normal activities.

And I have to admit that I am actually struggling more with the idea of Sebastian entering grade 1 than I did with kindergarten.  I wasn't expecting this but it's hit me hard.  At lleast with kindergarten he was home with me every other day.  This year he is gone the entire week.  And as much as I will be busy with my own projects I'm really going to miss having my little sidekick around.  It's definitely going to be a big adjustment after having had the opportunity and experience of being able to spend the last 6 years with Sebastian at home.  I have absolutely loved being able to spend so much time together and I am so grateful for having had the opportunity to do so and count my blessings every day that I am able to be here for him.  And chances are come next Tuesday while he's at school I'll probably still watch the Octonauts at 9 a.m. while I have my tea and wonder what he is doing and how his day is going.  The dance parties are definitely not going to be the same without him.

Anyways, enough of the lamenting... There will be time for that on Tuesday!  I have tonnes of pictures from the summer to share so I'm going to probably break this up into a few posts of just pictures.  I love having these memories of all the fun we have had and I'll deal with grade 1 when it happens - next week!

Enjoy the last long weekend of summer!  I know we will!
Kim

Some nights while I'm lying in bed with Seb as he's drifting off to sleep I am overcome with the knowledge that I will never experience this exact moment as it is again.

Loose Tooth!!!

Yesterday while visiting with Grandad, Nonee and Papa we discovered that Sebastian had his very first loose tooth!  I held my composure pretty well but I was very close to crying!  Not that I was sad per se, but I was overwhelmed with how poignant this little milestone is for him and it was a gentle reminder to me of what a big boy my little boy is becoming....

A wonderful article explaining this can be found here.