Our Little Man

It has been a great couple weeks for our 5 year old son, Jack.  For almost 3 years now, Jack has been receiving speech therapy at the elementary school for help with articulation.  His first preschool teacher was the one who suggested having him tested when she & his friends would have to ask him to repeat himself over & over to find out what he was saying.  Me, being his mama, I was always able to follow his train of thought and know what he was talking about, but when the testing showed that yes, he could use some help, we did what it took to make sure he was getting all that he needed.  I thought to myself, "oh, here we go...middle child therapy is in the works one day FOR SURE!"  We were fortunate enough to be able to go right next door to our elementary school, where Annie attends now, so there were no excuses...how easy was it to go twice a week, & his speech therapy teacher was as sweet and helpful as she could be. We did our best to practice & do his "homework" as much as we could.  Jack would put up a fight at times as some weeks, of course, were better than others, but this year, he really seemed to just get it all down.  And much to ALL of our happiness, was DISMISSED from the Speech program 2 weeks ago!  We are so proud of him & he is very excited too!  Perfect timing with him starting Kindergarten next year...he is able to start his elementary school years on the same footing as everyone else.  Isn't that what we always want for our babies???

A Way Back Wednesday shot of Jack just a couple days old...

What do you do when you need to celebrate???  Go out for lunch of course!  I really wanted to make being done with Speech a big deal for him...trying to help with that middle child syndrome stuff as much as possible...so after preschool, the day of his Speech ARD, I surprised him by taking him to lunch at one of our family's favorite burger places Cheesy Jane's!  Wes had Sam, Annie was at school, so it was a perfect time for JUST US!!  Although, if Jack had his choice, he would have chosen Daddy to take him over me, because he is a Daddy's boy like no other!  It was fun to drive right by our house to head over to the restaurant & hear the questions start immediately.  We definitely did it up!!!  Burgers, fries, sodas & milkshakes!!  Yummy!  What a treat for me too, not to have lunch to fix and clean up.  It was a great time and he didn't gripe a word when I told him I needed to run into HEB for a couple things and EVEN offered to push the cart for me...on a regular day, he would be waaaay too tired!

The other exciting news for Jack was his graduation from preschool.  He has been a student there for 3 years now and Annie was there 2 years before that, so this place is our home away from home.  Being the one who cries at just about everything, I was building myself up for this occasion.  On top of his Speech dismissal, seeing my little man grow & change right before my very eyes over the years, was enough to send me over the edge with boohooing.  But I did very well until....the lights went out, and the music began playing as a DVD slideshow ran of pictures from the year.  The kids hadn't even come in yet, and here I was!  Good thing it was dark and the slideshow ended with a happy, cheerful song...I was able to pull myself together before the classes came in.  

Doesn't he look so handsome & grown up?

Not shy at all of the camera or of performing!  He did super & really got into all his songs.  Mamamia and I got there early so we could be front & center for pictures, and I think we got great shots.

Ready for the picnic outside...

And it's official!!!  He's a big Kindergartener now!  

Proud parents...me with no makeup left anymore!  

Ok, this made me tear up too!  So sweet...

Collecting his friend's signatures...so funny to see how much it takes for 5 year olds to sign their names and how different they all look!

Jack & Elle(Mamamia's oldest)...friends from birth, and even earlier actually!

And where was Sam???  Out getting soaking wet from the outside water faucet & having a ball!  He'll be there next year & the cycle will start all over again!

Making one last trip around the playground...it almost even looks like he's saying goodbye in his own way!  

And one last hug for Miss Margie...

Annie was very disappointed that she couldn't miss school to attend the day's festivities, but was very excited to sign his pillow & take pictures with him when she got home.

Proud sister THEN...

PROUD SISTER NOW!!!

We love you, Jack & can't wait to watch you grow even more in Kindergarten!

By the way...Jack chose the music for his post.  He is our resident rocker dude & has loved this song ever since he heard it last year at Fright Fest at Fiesta Texas...go figure!  So, I really have no idea to the words & such, but just enjoy jammin' out!