Ready for Kindergarten, Saying Goodbye...

Last week Sam had to endure the ever so dreaded Kindergarten shots.  He took them like a champ.  Not even a single tear shed.  Such a tough little man he is!

First, a little about his appointment.  

We, after much discussion and consideration, decided it was time to switch primary physicians for our kids.  They have been with the same doctor since birth, but in the last 4-5 years we have noticed a slight carelessness in our original provider.  He is old, has been a pediatrician for a VERY long time, and I think he is just ready to be done.  Retirement is near for him, and that is a good thing.  

I feel everyone gets burnt out at some point or another in their career, but getting burnt out as a doctor, someone who is responsible for the health and wellness of other lives really isn't acceptable in my eyes.  

We found a new doctor, referred to us by someone I trust very much.  My Girly Doctor.  He takes his kids to this same doc, so that is confirmation enough for me that SHE is good.  

In all the 7 years I have been with our old doctor I have NEVER been given a print out of their growth or given a percentile that my children are ranked in that growth.  I always heard others providing this same information, but I just assumed that every doctor was different and accepted that.  

Our new doctor just so happens to be part of the same group of clinics as our old doctor so all the past information on my kids was available to her immediately.  

I was informed that every child has to have some test done at age 1,5, and 12 to check for anemia.  Something I was  unaware of all this time.  Something that Brenna didn't have done at her 5 year old check up, nor did either of my children have it done at 1 year.  

Another confirmation that switching doctors was a good choice.  

Sam's test came back A-O-K!  She said that we will check Brenna at her 7 year check up.  

She discussed many topics with Sam (I liked that she involved him in the discussion).  They talked about stranger safety.  They discussed private parts and how no one is to see or touch private parts unless for medical purposes.  Even still she explained that even a doctor should not look or touch private parts without their parent present.  She discussed with Sam what to do if he ever gets lost, told him to first find someone who works at the place he is lost and how to determine a worker from just a regular person.  If he was not lost at a public place with workers, she then told him it was important to find either a police man OR a mommy with lots of kids to help him.  She talked to him about school, tested his knowledge, and informed him that he was right on track for Kindergarten.  She praised him,

Encouraged him,

and filled him full of very useful knowledge.  

She even told him it was time to take on more responsibilities at home,

Yes, he is old enough to take on some household chores.  

I got more information in this one appointment with her than I ever had in the 7 years spent with our last doctor.  I even got a print out of Sam's growth,

WITH PERCENTAGES!

I was happy about that.  Not only did it have his current percentages, but it also had the percentages at previous major milestones in his growth that were previously recorded.  

AWESOME!

At age 5 this is where Sam sits:

Weight: 35lbs 3oz (10th percentile of kids his age)

Height: 42in. Even (26th percentile of kids his age)

BMI: 14 (7th percentile of kids his age)

(At age 3.5 Sam was in the 11th percentile for BMI, 32nd percentile for weight, and 38th percentile for height... I guess he has just decided to slow down quite a bit in his growth, but she said it was nothing to be concerned about.  He is just a tiny little guy, but she is certain he will have a MAJOR growth spurt in the next year, WE SHALL SEE!)

Along with the routine doctor/eye exam required for moving on to Kindergarten, Sam had a preschool graduation as well.  

The program was cute, a bit long, but cute.  

They played a little slide show with pictures from the whole year... it was 28 minutes long.  

I think that was the hardest part to sit through only because there was a lot of repetition in the pictures.  

My poor friend Shelley made an appearance in the slide show several times, and though I know I was in plenty of pictures myself throughout the year I manged to not have any appearances.  I'm TOTALLY okay with that.

She is just clearly the more photogenic of the two of us. 

As a parent, anytime you are given the opportunity to watch your little ones perform it really provides one of those "SO PROUD TO BE YOUR MOM" feelings.  This day was one of those days. I recorded some of their little performance.  Please forgive the bounciness of the video.  The room was WAY overly crowded and HOT!  I was not sitting in the best place and was trying to record over a bunch of little heads.
(For some reason Blogger won't upload my video's so I will have to try to find a way to post them later)

Sam got stuck dancing the Chicken Dance with another little boy while someone else danced with his Aubrielle.  

He wasn't very happy about that.  

Each of the kids got a little gift from their teachers and a hand shake.  Then they were free to leave.

Sam was eager to leave preschool.

According to him, he is now in Kindergarten.  Forget waiting out the summer,

He has moved on to bigger and better things in life. 

Though the anticipation of "graduating" preschool was so exciting, there was still some sadness in poor little Sam.  Saying goodbye isn't always easy, especially when you are saying goodbye to the love of your life. 

I know that both he and Aubrielle think that being in different classes next year is just unbearable, we (Shelley and I) will make certain that they get some good play time in this summer.  

Sam insisted that he needed to take Aubrielle some flowers so she knew that he was still her boyfriend even if they weren't in school together any more.  Aubrielle had this same idea in mind.  

The day before their little program I helped Sam pick some roses from our yard for Aubrielle and took them to school for her.  Aubrielle showed up with a special bag of gifts for Sam too.  I love that they are so thoughtful and considerate of one another...

It's True Love.... 

LOL.

I think it is safe to say that Sam made Aubrielle's day with those flowers.  She was just beaming and so was he.  

Picture courtesy of Shelley at www.thehouseofsmiths.com/
If you haven't yet, check out her DIY blog.  She is Amazing!

Bill and I are VERY proud of the little man our Sam I am is becoming.  He is thoughtful, smart, kind-hearted, and SILLY! 

He is going to do amazing in Kindergarten and I am just as eager as he is to see him off to school in the fall. 

Photo Courtesy of Shelley Again
http://www.thehouseofsmiths.com