Andrew Clark Demboski Graduates

Well he has proved a lot of doctors wrong. This little dude, this little awesome dude has graduated from preschool. He came into this world not breathing and silent. We were told he would be in a vegetative state and have little to no cognitive function.  Now this kid is full of life, intelligent, thoughtful and such a sweet young boy. He has brought so much laughter and love into everyone's lives. He lights up a room when he walks in, he melts your heart when he squeezes you and he breaks your heart when we cries. Andrew Clark Demboski is an old soul. He is much more receptive of others and their feelings than most adults I know. He listens, truly listens and provides awesome feedback and engages in such great conversation.
But not only is he wise beyond his years, he is also a goofy, free-spirited 4  1/2 year old who knows how to play hard and get dirty. His imagination is limitelss. Most afternoons he is found transforming himself into Optimus Prime and fighting the decepticons, and then he quickly transforms into a pirate and is making a treasure map, then he is a baby crying obnoxiously so that his mommy AKA Allison can take care of him. He will go on to pretent that Liberty is a monster and builds a fort in the living room to hide from her. He loves to help me cook in the kitchen and ride his scooter (and fall on purpose, just so his knee pads and elbow pads can protect him),  but this little boy never wants to take a bath and let me tell you,  he can get pretty stinky!
I am so proud of how Andrew has done in prechool. He has made some great friends that I am hoping will be life long friendships. He has learned so much and has come so far from the little boy that I dropped off that week in September  2010. He is able to say his ABCs, and all the letter sounds, count to 60 (except he always skips 7, 17, 27, 37, 47, and 57... I have to idea why), spell his name, print about 50% of his letters from memory, utilize and create patterns, give presentations (ok I am going overboard here, but he can get up in front of the class and share when it is his turn). I can go on and on with all of the skills he has learned, but then this post would never end.
Next year he is off to start Transitional Kindergarten, it will be a big change for all of us, but I am confident that he will continue to grow, learn and shine as he always does.