4th Birthday Photo Session

4th Birthday Photo Session

Monday, August 4, 2014

Practice, Practice, Practice...

As we approach the beginning of a new school year, I find myself hoping this year will really help Andi make friends.  Earlier today, I took her over to 'Catch Air' to play and get a good workout in, mainly practicing walking.  She was so desperate to make contact with other kids, that at times, she didn't even want to go play.  She just wanted to try to engage others who weren't really into it.  She was very excited, and very sweet, but some kids just aren't.  One boy almost got a taste of my version of Madea (the Tyler Perry character).  Andi was trying to follow these kids up the stairs to this raised box landing.  It is surrounded in protective netting, but looks out over half the building.  This lil' sh*t was trying to push those big rubber bouncing exercise balls down the stairs... the same stairs Andi was trying to get up.  Thank goodness I'm one of those overbearing parents that is right there in the action, because this kid could have chucked one of those big balls down, and taken Andi out, causing her to fall down the stairs.  I told him to wait and let her get up there.  Andi got up there, stood up at the opening, and the lil' sh*t was blocking her entrance.  She thought it was funny, and was tapping him in the belly and laughing.  I wasn't amused, but I told myself to let her play this out and see how she handles it.  Next thing I see her on the ground and he's holding a ball over her... then he's laying on the ball pushing it on her.  I went up to retrieve her and told this lil' sh*t not to lay on people, that it's not nice.  No parent to be found.  WTF?!  I know I'm hover-Mom (with reason), but what you're going to let you lil' ill-behaved child practice their WWE moves on my child?  Oh HELL No!  So, I took her downstairs and tried to explain that not all kids are nice, and we immediately went to climb up the other play-structure so we could fly down the slide.   I took Andi here to play for about an hour, because it's really good therapy (and only $8.55), it's socially engaging -- which she absolutely craves, and because I've had her cooped up in the house for nearly two weeks due to her nasty case of impetigo.  The scabs are gone, but the dark purple marks where the scabs were remain.  Pretty nasty thing she had. 

In any case, she burned some serious energy and has now resumed position on the couch with her iPad.  I'm so excited for her to start school next week so she can play with her peers, and those kids will be supervised and likely to have better manners than wrestlemania's evil grandson.  Asshat. 
Andi's just such a good kid, and so eager to socialize, I'm excited for her to get regular doses of it.  We all need to take some lessons from her on being outgoing and friendly.  As the older we get, the more we seem to forget how we're supposed to behave (especially the rude-drivers here in Atlanta! Yes, you, the eager beaver who felt the need to cut me off so you could beat me to the red light!)   So, six more days of summer break, and then Andi is back in school.  She will have a new bus driver, whom according to Andi's babysitter, used to play with Gladys Knight & The Pips... how cool is that?!  So, I'm anxiously awaiting word of what time pick-up will be this year. Every day this week, I'm working on waking her up a little earlier than usual to prep for bus-time.  This Thursday evening, she has open-house at school, which we will attend.  Hopefully, they did relocate her classroom, because that last one I lobbied to have reevaluated was simply way too small for 8 kids and three adults.  It was also the furthest away from the bus drop-off area. She's excited to go back to school and is looking forward to seeing Miss Joan, her teacher!  I keep telling her to never lose her passion for school, because as of now, she's never getting out!  (HA!)