It's finally Christmas Eve!

Dec. 24th
Christmas Eve!
Day 359

* Today is Christmas Eve. Nixon and I were in full Santa-prep force! We cleaned the kitchen together, so we could make the cookies for him. We made peanut butter cookies with Hershey kisses on top and cake pops. The cake pops ended up looking more like elf vomit on a stick....not pretty! But at least they're tasty!

* After dinner, Nixon got into his jammies and he got into his skunk costume from Halloween. Why? Because it's warm and we were going for car ride to look at christmas lights on houses! I made hot chocolate in travel mugs and we got into the car. We drove around for about an hour and it was beautiful! Almost no one else was on the roads, so we could drive slower and not annoy any other drivers.

* Then we came home, made Santa his coffee and plate of goodies and left it under the small tree. We also got C3PO and R2D2 and put them with the coffee and cookies too, because Santa's bringing them back to the North Pole with him tonight.
   We'll see them again next year!

Days like today make me so proud of Nixon!

December 20th
Complimented on his good behavior...yes, MY kid's good behavior!
Day 354

* I picked Nixon up from school today and was given a lovely paperbag gift from him. It's under the tree because it's a gift and gifts aren't opened until Christmas. But Nixon was so happy to give it to me!
   When we left, he asked if he could go look at toys at the place with the tunnel. The Target store closest to us has a parking garage and you drive into it and then up, so Nixon always asks if we can go to the "tunnel store". As I had some things to look at, I agreed laying out ground rules on the drive: no asking for anything, staying with me the whole time and absolutely NO whining/crying/fits. He was awesome and we left without buying anything, even after we walked through the whole toy department...twice.

* After Target, we went to 5 & Below because I had decided to get a last minute stocking stuffer for Mac from there. Parking was insane, but Nixon was awesome! We walked around, grabbed the one item I knew I was going to buy, and just wondered around. Mac was sleeping at home, so the longer we were out the better sleep he got.
   I found an Angry Birds Star Wars launcher toy, something I had looked for last week for Nixon. With only 3 left on the shelf I picked one and showed it to Nixon. His face lit up and he was shocked when I told him I was getting it for him. He asked to carry it and I said yes.
   That toy turned out to be a life (and sanity) saver! The line to check out was long! Nixon was so distracted by looking at his Angry Bird box that he hardly made a peep. Occasionally, he'd ask how much longer we had to wait, but he stayed right next to me the whole time. He was so well-behaved that 2 women standing behind me took a moment to compliment Nixon's patience! One lady was so kind, she said she's seen adults with less patience that my son was showing. When it was finally our turn to go to the register, the two ladies wished Nixon a "Merry Christmas" and thanked me for raising such a well-behaved child.
   I did admit to them that it was the Angry Birds box in his hands keeping him so calm. I know I'm no miracle child-whisperer! But it sure felt nice to hear kind and praising words about Nixon's behavior especially when we'd stood in line for almost 20 minutes and on any other day Nixon may have been making those same women cringe and glare at me for my less-than-patient child.
   But that didn't happen today!

Playing with his much earned Angry Birds launcher!

"It's snow! It's raining snow from the sky!"- a winter weather gem from Nixon today.

Dec 8th: Nixon and his first ever snowman
Day 342

* Our county had a winter storm advisory in effect from this morning until 10am Monday morning. Having grown-up outside of Buffalo, NY myself, the conditions that were being predicted were laughable (1-3" of snow!! some icy rain) but as this is only the second winter Nixon has been in a place where snow happens, I got a little bit of that old familiar joy when I saw big, fluffy flakes coming down from the sky around 11am.

* Nixon stood by the back door and just watched the fluffy flakes fall. Just awed as they started sticking to the garbage can and the table we have outside. He looked at me and said "Mommy, look! It's snow! It's raining snow from the sky! It's a lot of snow!" He was so happy!

* I got Nixon bundled up: thermal shirt, tee shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, beanie, gloves, pj bottoms (because he doesn't have long johns) and jeans plus boots. Then I got myself all winter ready and we headed outside! My baby boy was so excited! We tossed snow at each other, took a short walk to the backyard and played back there, made a mini-snowman (Nixon's first snowman of any kind!).
   After we came inside, I made us hot chocolate with marshmallows, because any other kind is a waste!

watching the snow fall...just awed by it.

Nixon threw a snowball at me! He was so happy to be playing in the snow.

Gems from today....

* Today started with this:
Nixon: Mommy, it's dark outside, I have to go back to sleep so the sun will come out and it will be a sunny day.
me: Sorry baby boy, but it's time to wake up.
Nixon: No Mom, that's wrong. It's time for sleep...see, the sun is still sleeping.
And with that he got back under his blankets.

* When I picked him up at school. the little girl who adores Nixon greeted me with "Nixon had a bad day today. He made a lot of bad choices.". *sigh* I was totally prepared for a meltdown when I found him. It wasn't bad. He was in the play kitchen area, with one of his teachers, putting away the plates/bowls they had played with.
His teacher told me "He had a good day. He came over and asked if he could cook me dinner. He set the table, made me food and then told me he had to clear the table and wash the dishes. He was very polite about it all.", with a big smile on her face!

As we made our way to the door, his teacher stopped and asked if I knew about the "painting situation". Oh boy, here it comes, I thought when I heard her say that to the other teacher. It wasn't that bad. The class was doing a painting project, but Nixon was insistent that he couldn't do it "because my hands will get yucky with all that messy paint". His teacher came up with a very good solution: she gave him a pair of gloves to wear. He put them on and had no problem with the paint.
So my kid likes to be clean and not make a mess? Most moms would kill for a kid like that, right? It's less the mess and more he doesn't like the feel of paint on his hands. Either way, he had a great week at school and I couldn't be happier!

* Driving in the car today, Nixon suddenly says "Mommy, someone is talking to you. It's a little boy named Nixon!" I had to laugh, because he was the only other person in the car with me, but because it was raining and kind of crappy out, I was so focused on driving I wasn't exactly listening to him.

Back to school after a week off and a mom & me date in the afternoon.

Dec. 2nd...........  day 336

* The day started out not so good...My phone shut itself off during the night, so I woke up late. Which meant I woke Nixon up late. He wasn't really excited to wake up until I told him it was school day. Then he was almost too upset to get up because he was going to miss me. 

   Eventually, with the help of some fresh-from-the-dryer-clothes, Nixon was ready for school.  

* After school, which Nixon had a mostly good day at, he and I had a wonderful mom & me date at the local mall followed by lunch at Denny's. We rode the little train they've got set up at the mall, which Nixon was so happy I let him ride because the last time we were at the mall he didn't get to ride it. He also got to see the giant fish tank at the mall and see the pufferfish, his favorite fish in the tank. 

* Tonight, as Nixon got ready for bed, he asked about our tree and other holiday decorations. They're all in our storage unit at the moment, but I told him if he cleans up his whole room before I wake up in the morning we can go get everything tomorrow and start decorating.
    He was so excited he almost didn't go to sleep, he wanted to stay up and clean his room.

My awesome lunch date (and BeBe) and I, on the train at the mall. 

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Nixon and I spent the day in our jammies and never left the house. We watched the Macy's parade in the morning together and then had to turn off the cable because it was acting all wonky.
Since we had Thanksgiving dinner on Tuesday we didn't do much today but veg out, nap and watch Charlie Brown Thanksgiving specials!

Nixon's still sick and is starting to complain that he can't hear out of his ears. Yep....it might be doctor time, for real.

I'm going out tomorrow night with a few people Mac works with, who I met Tuesday. I haven't gone out with anyone in well over 6 months. As Nixon was getting ready to go to bed, I told that tomorrow night he and Daddy would be doing his bedtime because I was going out with some friends. He freaked out and started crying! He was convinced he was never going to see me again, and I was leaving him forever! I mean, this was a for real freak out! I've never seen him do this before! It took me over 45 minutes to get him to finally stop crying and calm down so I could read him a bedtime story!
Talk about some serious Mommy guilt!
He finally laid on my chest and listened to my heartbeat. I asked him what it was saying and he said "I love you, Nixon".

Oh the conversations I have with Nixon!

* I was lucky enough to be given the morning to sleep in. And sleep in I did. I didn't get out of bed until almost 11:15am. When Nixon saw me he said "Mommy, your hair is a mess!", child's honesty knows no bounds.

* I took Nixon to Third Eye Comics today, to catch up on my comic books, and Nixon was a gem. As I was cashing out he was playing with these fingertip tentacles. He likes to make an entire hand of them. I was done and ready to leave, Nixon was staying put continuing to add more tentacles to his hand. I said "Nixon, you need to come here now or I'm leaving without you". He suddenly runs up after me and says "MOM! You can't leave without me. I'm a little boy and you have to take me with you.", I tell him "But you're cute, I'm sure someone else would take you home and keep you safe, especially since you never want to listen to me.", his reply was simply awesome "But no one else is my mommy like you are. You have to take me home because I belong with you!"
   Yes, yes you do, my love.

* This final conversation was a doozy:
Nixon: Do you have a baby in your belly?
me: No! I'll never have another baby in my belly again. You were the baby I'll ever have in my belly.
Nixon: I was little when I was in your belly.
me: Thank gods yes you were.
Nixon: I was in your belly and I was little, then you pushed out of your belly.
me: Yep, you were ready to come out and I pushed you out of my vagina. And you've been in my arms ever since.
Nixon: Awww
me: Nixon, do you think I need a baby in my belly?
Nixon: No, lots of people have babies in the bellies. You don't need one.
me: Really? So you're okay with us having a small family and never having a baby in the house?
Nixon: Yes. Because babies are noisy and hurt my ears. And...they poop in their diapers. That's gross!
me: Oh, kiddo, I love you so much right now!
Nixon: I love you too, Mommy!

excuse the runny nose....snot faucet remember?!?

* Nixon got his library card today! He was so proud, so happy and so excited! He picked out 3 books and a dvd to check out. He even chose a book for me! He was wonderful and loves the library.

He gets a crazy cowlick every night as his hair gets longer. 

It's Sunday....football time!

* Nixon woke me up a little before 930am asking if we could go downstairs now. I got up and we went downstairs, leaving Mac to sleep in peace. I decided to make Nixon eggs and toast for breakfast, and Nixon asked if he could help. He broke one egg, and it sort of cracked in his hand and he freaked out! He was really upset that there was "slimy, messy egg stuff" on his hand. I cleaned it off and he was soon back to wanting to beat the eggs in the bowl for me.

* After breakfast, Nixon started digging into his dress-up box. He decided that today he was going to be Optimus Prime. He put the mask on, and then his rain boots. His rain boots were his "robot feet". He found his Optimus Prime costume and asked for a little help putting it on. Soon enough, he was walking around making robot sounds and using his robot voice!

* Watching the Eagles vs Raiders game today. Nixon asked to sit next to me. After he got all comfy, I asked him who his favorite football team was. He says "The Eagles!" and then says "They're going to beat the Giants." I had to correct him, as the Eagles lost to the Giants last week, but they were SPANKING the Raiders today!
  I kissed Nixon and told him he was my favorite child and not just because he's the only one I have. He says to me "I know, it's because I'm so cute!" Damn straight, son!

It's a ghostly wake-up call for me today!

* I got a little glow-in-the-dark Hello Kitty toy yesterday. Nixon loves this thing and thinks its awesome that you can charge it with a light.
   This morning Nixon came to wake me up with that ghostly Hello Kitty. He even completed it with spooky, ghost sound effects! Super adorable and best wake-up ever!

* Picking Nixon up from school today, and he was in the middle of finishing an art project. (tissue paper turkey). He was ready to go, mostly, and on the way to the car starts telling us "I had a bad day. I sat in the chair and was kind of bad."
   We talked about it in the car. I thanked him for his honesty and told him I appreciate his honest about his bad behavior. Then we discussed his behavior, why he was misbehaving and his subsequent punishment. He was really good about it and I did treat his punishment with the honesty in mind.

* Tonight Nixon asked for "purple nails with some sparkles". I happily painted his nails....and he ruined the mani when he went to the bathroom. haha

* Nixon also asked me for a "hand chopping, circle thingy on my back", which is Nixonese for a massage.

Happy Halloween!!

* Nixon is way cooler than I ever gave him credit for. Today at school 2 boys were very cruel about his costume, calling him a girl and saying he was dressed as a lalaloopsie doll. Nixon ignored them, never saying more than "I'm a boy" when one said he was a girl.
   It wasn't all good, Nixon decided during the class parade to dart from the group towards the road. I've never ran so fast in my life! I was next to him when the teacher got there, which wasn't as dramatic as it sounds. Nixon was being Nixon and wanted to run and do a dance, he chose a really bad location. I nearly shat my pants when I saw him run off.

My Pinkie Pie and his teacher

* We went to the playground when we got home. Mac came with and Nixon had a ball! The three of us were happy to spend some time outside together for a bit.

* Finally, trick or treating! Nixon made out like a bandit! We went to an on-base neighborhood, 30 minutes and he filled his bag about 3/4 full! And his skunk costume was even thought to be a honey badger, which totally fits. We had another lovely night and it was great!

It was a geek-out kind of day!

* Nixon was being wild and crazy...typical 4-year old stuff, this morning.
me: Nixon, can you tone it down a bit.
Nixon: Why?
me: What's mommy missing? Something I have every day that puts a smile on my face?
Nixon: I don't know.
Mac: Nixon, Mom needs her coffee before you go all crazy, okay?
Nixon: Yeah. Mommy, you need coffee right now!
me: Yes, I do.

* So check it, Nixon's getting good at his light saber skills:

* Nixon somehow cut his heel today. He was fine until he saw it was bleeding. Then he freaked out! "Mommy, I'm bleeding a million bloods!" as he was crying hysterically. Well, as my rule is "no blood no band-aid" it was time for a band-aid. I got him calmed and all cleaned up, he was still crying and missing Mac. A quick phone call to Mac, good nights said and he was in bed.
   Whew....

* Oh yeah and his Pinkie Pie hat is finally finished!! YAY!

I love his pouty face as he rolled over while I was taking this picture. Moments like this I see my baby boy instead of the grown-up boy he's becoming. 

Theme of the day seems to have ended up being: Music.

* While he was eating breakfast, I had some music playing. Nixon was getting up and dancing instead of eating and it was getting closer and closer to time to leave for school. Mac told Nixon he needed to sit down and finish eating. Nixon says "But I need to finish dancing first!", the only thing missing was jazz hands!

* Today Nixon had a great day at school! He got a hug from both his teachers, lots of praise and a special sticker before he left for the day! Mac and I were 2 happy parents when we picked him up, that's for sure.

* And then this happened:

* Finally, while helping me get the recycling together for pickup tomorrow morning, Nixon and I were listening to some music. First up? Matchbox Twenty "She's so Mean". I loved hearing him sing the chorus with me. It was awesome! Because he's liking music I like and because he's singing along to songs.
   The next song was Pink's "True Love". This song we sang and danced together!

Random hair color musing, brought to you by: a sappy mommy moment!

* I told Nixon I was going to take a shower, while he watched Phineas and Ferb's Marvel Mash-up. He loves the episode, and it's almost an hour long so I know I'll be able to take a nice relaxing shower, not a rushed one with him checking in on me every 2-3 minutes.
  Nixon comes over to me and says "Let me smell you mommy".
me: Eww..gross Nixon. No! Trust me, I know I need a shower.
Nixon: *walks over to me, stops about 3 feet away* Pee-yew, Mommy you stink.
me: Thanks Nixon.

* Nixon spent part of the day walking around as Bucket Head. When it came time to clean up, he was refusing. So, I grabbed his bucket, put it on my head and said "I am Mother Bucket Head, now pick up your toys!".
   Yeah, he laughed at me. Then I told him I was going to get the garbage can and he picked up all his toys.

* I asked Nixon about his birthday cake. He wants a pink cake with pink frosting. He says "Mom, did you hear me? Pink cake AND pink frosting! That's a lot of pink, okay?" Sure, that's fine with me kiddo!

I just realized as I looked at tonight's photos, how dark his hair has gotten. It's not possible to call it dark blond anymore, I don't think. He's truly hitting that brunette color. It was inevitable, but I never really noticed until tonight. 

Thanks for the compliment, Nixon.....

* Here's how you don't want to start the day:
Nixon: Mommy, I think you need more sleep.
me: I agree.
me: Wait...what time is it? Where's your dad? Nixon, can you hand me my phone?
Nixon: OKay, but you look horrible.
me: *roll over look at the cable box* Nixon, we have to hurry this morning. My phone shut off and my alarm never went off. It's way late!
Nixon: No it's not mommy, Dad's blue car isn't even home yet.
me: Nix, Dad's probably at the gym but it is late and we need to get you fed and dressed and fast.
Nixon: Alright....don't forget, today is "o" day. *he needs to bring something that begins with the letter o to school*

* Nixon had his first rainy day school day. Which meant no playground time. He wasn't happy about it, but he didn't throw a total fit. He was happy when we got home and he got a PB&J sandwich.

* Nixon chose his dinner again tonight: pasta, butter and parmesan cheese. And tonight, he ate all but a few noodles. It took him a while but he did it.

*  Tonight, Nixon helped me do dishes. He helped me load the dishwasher and he helped me put dishes in the drying rack. And he volunteered to help! I didn't ask, he wanted to help me!

...then Nixon met the neighbors and almost insulted them.

* We were heading out to the car, when this happened:
Nixon: Mommy, why'd that person spill coffee in the grass?
me: I'm not sure honey, maybe because the grass likes coffee like Mommy does?
Nixon: I wanna ask.
(he walks over to our neighbors and proceeds to look for where the coffee went)
Nixon: HI, I'm Nixon, where'd the coffee go?
neighbor: Hi Nixon, what a cool name *nods to me*. I'm S.
Nixon: HI S. Don't you like coffee?
S: *laughs* I do, but I pour some in the grass every day. I know it's kind of tacky.
Nixon: Oh, does the grass like the coffee?
me: *trying to help S get away from Nixon's sudden on-set of never ending questions* Honey, the grass LOVES the coffee, look hoe green and full it is!
Nixon: Oh yeah! Good job! *gives S a thumbs up* Bye S, nice meeting you.
And just like that, Nixon met one of our neighbors. Then got into my car and said "Mommy, the grass is pretty, but you're better when you drink your coffee."

* The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. Though Nixon did impress me, once again. Since I already wrote a blog about it, I'll just link it for you to read. Trust me, it's worth the read.

* Nixon asked me today to put one of his missiles back into his Star Wars speedracer. I did, because I've done it multiple times already and Nixon hasn't figured out the trick which only frustrates him and makes him *almost* throw his toy.
   When I handed it back to him, Nixon says "Thanks mom, you're my hero!" Best.Thanks.Ever!

Days like today make me realize without Nixon I might still have a shred of dignity and self-respect, but then again those things are overrated when I get to spend time playing on the floor with Nixon and some kick-ass Star Wars toys!

* Some days you've just gotta get down on the floor with your kid and play Star Wars battle games with him.
   Today was that day! Nixon had a couple awesome Star Wars vehicles and he was having a ball playing with them by himself, but he was having so much fun, I got down and joined him. Complete with sound effects and all, I might add! I do a mean pod racer sound effect.
   Nixon was laughing at me and then he hugs me and says "Mommy, you're the best mommy I ever want!", which is pretty much the best compliment ever because it'd suck if he said I was the best mom he never wanted.
   These are the days I'll love and cherish forever!

* For some reason even when I close the door, I still get invaded in the bathroom.
Nixon: *knocking on the door* Mommy, mom...are you in there?
me: Yes Nixon, I am. I'll be out in a bit.
Nixon: Mommy, you have to let me in! It's an emergency!
me: Holy crap Nixon, what's wrong? *opens the door*
Nixon: Mommy, I saw the stink coming out from under the door and you don't have the fan on. That is very dangerous.
me: Nixon, are you freaking kidding me right now? You saw the stink?
Nixon: Yes mommy. It's very dark and very stinky. I think something is rotting in here.
me just staring at my kid
Nixon: It's rotting from your BUTT!!! hahahahaaa
me: Nixon! Out! Now!
Nixon: But mommy, I saved you life, I turned on the fan to gt the stink gone!
me: Now you get to be gone too!
This funny conversation brought to you by the US Navy....for "allowing" Mac to work 7 days in a row and taking away 2 of his days off, including today. How I wish I was kidding and making the above conversation up....No, that really happened. 

he's adorable, even when he's sleeping facing the foot of his bed. 

Success! A week of school with all good reports, no tantrums and no refusing to participate! The routine is starting to click and gel with Nixon!

* Three has always been a superstitious number to me. This being Nixon's third week of school and first full three-day school week, it's no surprise that he had a great week!
    His teacher said he was wonderful this week! They're doing things to get him to participate at his comfort level and it's working!  These are the reports I've been hoping to hear. And it's not been unrewarded.

* Today when I picked Nixon up, I had to go to the mall to pick up something nearby. When I was done with that task, Nixon asked to see the fish at the mall's fish tank. I agreed and even sweetened the deal: we each got mall a cookie to eat while watching the fish! We spent about 30 minutes together, just wandering the mall together, talking and enjoying a really good moment.

* At bedtime, Nixon read his very first book entirely by himself. Sure it's a book he's heard me read every night for almost a month, but he read the book page-by-page as I pointed to the words.
He also knows how to spell "Pinkie Pie" now. I'm loving this reading phase!

took his Pinkie Pie book to sleep with him!

Oh no, son, that is not going to fly today...or any day.

* Today, Nixon woke up and crawled into bed with me, telling me "Mommy, I needs the blanket on me, my feet are cold!" he then puts his iceburg-like feet on my legs! So rude! I roll him away from me, get his feet wrapped up in a blanket and burrow back into my own blanket cocoon.

* Later in the day, Nixon was getting pissed playing his Angry Birds game. He started yelling and was told to calm down. He looked at me and said "NO! I won't calm down!", so I told him he needed to go to his room for talking back to me. We're not tolerating it anymore affective yesterday because of his behavior at school. He says "No" again. I got up, picked him up, carried him to his bedroom and told him why he was in there. I set the timer and told him he needed to stay in the room until I came up to get him.
   He stayed. He and I talked about why he was in his room, and he came downstairs and apologized for talking back.

* I heard Nixon singing and looked to see what he was singing. My little cutie was singing "Twinkle, twinkle little star" to Arwen. When I told him that was very sweet, he said "I walked by and scared her awake, so I was singing her back to sleep...but you moved and now I'll never get her back to sleep!" haha

* Finally, we've got new magnetic clips. Nixon was looking for BeBe and I asked where he might be. Nixon says "On the fridge, hanging in the dungeon.". Oooookay.
   Sure enough, Nixon had hung BeBe by the ears using the clips and put the clips on the fridge! That's so freaking awesome I can't even find the space to be slightly worried that my son is hanging his beloved bear by the ears in a dungeon.

I can only help him get over one fear at a time, today was his fear of thunder!

* Ah, rainy boring thunder-filled day! What a wonderful Thursday! Nixon and I spent the day laying around playing a matching game on his iTouch together and watching Phineas and Ferb together. Pure awesomeness!
   Did I mention thunder? Because there was plenty of that and Nixon is not a fan of thunder...at all. He was just starting to get freaked out when I came up with a most brilliant explanation to take his fear away. That explanation is far from conventional, but you know what? It worked, because after I told Nixon, he was laughing and totally unafraid of thunder.
   The magical explanation? It's not thunder, it's clouds farting! And Nixon found this hilarious! He'd start saying "Eww...the clouds just farted, Mommy! That's stinky!" and laugh! So much better than the crying and the screeching that he'd had previously.
    Just one more example of me being mom, less perfect more real and doing what I now will work for my son and helping him get over a fear.

* Nixon's telling me today he doesn't want to go back to school "because the kids are mean and hurt me." I know this is all over the block incident yesterday but I can't let him start developing a fear of school now over one bad day.
   I tell him there are bad days but we can't let them ruin our good days. I also told him that the other kid apologized so Nixon has to move past it and put it behind him, like it was an accident. I hope it works, because it's only the 2nd week of school and I don't want anything to dampen his enthusiasm.

Another major milestone reached today: Nixon's first "injury" at school at the hands of another child....holy crap is it really only the 2nd week of school?!!?

* Nixon gleefully returned to school today, after staying home Monday due to some pretty bad congestion issues he had going on. He bounced back from that very quickly and woke up excited for school today.
   When I dropped him off, he went skipping...literally skipping, towards the toys singing "It's time to play! It's time to play!" without a single glance back at me.

* When it was time to pick Nixon up, he rushed from the center of the group circle and came over to tell Mac and I about his day, which it turns out was not that great.
    It seems Nixon got hit in the head by another child. He was hit with a wooden block, and Nixon was given an ice pack while the other child was spoken to about why hitting others with blocks is not okay. The other child apologized and Nixon has no bump so all is well in his world.
    His teacher also said, other than this incident, Nixon was incredible today! He helped her, followed instructions, stayed in circle during circle time.

* When Mac and I got Nixon into the car we talked more abut what happened at school. I did what I do best, I focused on the good. Nixon didn't hit the other child back, he didn't retaliate and he accepted the apology. He focused in class today and was on good behavior. I was (and I am) so proud of him! This is really the first time he's been in a situation like this, without me around him, and he handled it like I've always tried to teach him to: without losing his temper or resorting to violence in response. No whether this was a conscious effort on his part or he didn't respond because he was shocked, I can't say for sure, but to me it really doesn't matter so long as he didn't hit back.