Mama Bear is in the Hooouuuussseee!

Seth is officially three and a half this Saturday.  Yowza where does the time go???  I didn't put him in preschool this year, in order to give him a break from the myriad of therapies he got for almost two years before turning three.  I don't regret that decision.

Now I'm in the process of trying to find the right preschool for Seth.  I got him into one in Oak Park.  One that's highly rated and not *crazy* expensive.  But then after we visited, I got "the call."  Yes, the dreaded one where they tell me that they need access to Seth's medical and therapeutic records to decide if the school is appropriate.  Around the time I heard "IEP" my mind went blank and the very kind woman started to sound like "wah wah wah wah wah" from Charlie Brown. 

I politely told her to send me the forms, which I would send right back, and then hung up and started looking for different schools.  Mama bear.....

She's not wrong.  I know she isn't.  But there's just this part of me (a BIG part) that wants to see if in the two and a half years before kindergarten we can get Seth straightened out.  I don't want my boy labeled.  I don't want him to have an IEP that stays with him until college unless it is absolutely necessary!  With all of the growth we've seen in just the last two months, I'm holding out hope that he won't need extra services.  Optimistic?  Maybe, but I'm not giving up!  Mama bear.....

Here is some of what we've seen lately:

Seth and I were sitting on "the red couch" (as he calls it) when he looked up at a painting that has been there his entire life.  He said, "Mommy, what's that?"  I said, "A picture Mommy got in Spain."  I could tell he was mulling over the whole "Spain" thing, but then continued:  "Oh, what's happening in that picture, Mama?" 

Let's press pause right there for a minute.  That picture has been there FOREVER.  He has never mentioned it, noticed it, or even glanced at it.  Not once.  Now he's asking me what is in the picture!  Well, I decided to turn the tables..... "What do you see, Seth?"  He said, "Well, I see a tunnel.  For a train.  [of course]  And there are people.  What are the people doing?"  I was so tickled by this little conversation over this painting:

Then there was the Bible time.  We (try) to have Bible time every night.  It's supposed to be at least 5 minutes of reading your Bible -- on your own -- but Seth most often insists upon ME reading.  (And also insists on it lasting about 30-45 minutes!!!)  After reviewing all of his usual favorites (Creation, Noah, Daniel and the lions), I decided to shift him to a brand new story:  Joseph.  As I read through and added extra narration, we looked at the brothers who threw Joseph in the pit.  Seth studied the page, but I didn't think much of it.

We read on.  We got to the brother's bowing down to Joseph, and Seth pointed to one brother and said, "That boy was bad.  He needs a time out!"  I giggled and didn't think much of it, but we talked more about the picture. Seth was adamant.  He kept talking about the boy who needed a time out.  Then he said, "The red one."  I noticed he was pointing at the boy with the red head band, but didn't give it any real thought.  Until Seth persisted.  Then it hit me.  I flipped back to the above picture, and sure enough, RED head band.  The boy who sent Joseph falling was the one wearing the RED headband.  Four pages later, he bowed down, HERE:

Maybe that's not a big deal, but to me, it's HUGE.  Seth is learning and comprehending and seeing more everyday.  And I want to find the right school for him and I don't want him unnecessarily labeled. 

So, off I go to find a preschool where (1) they will take Seth, (2) Seth will be able to handle the schedule, and (3) they won't slap a label where one isn't needed.  Praise God for Seth's progress and let's keep it up!  And, don't mess with Mama Bear!  ;)