Student of the Month x2 with a lil' ADHD

Last month, I was very proud to hear that Aiden was January's Student of the Month for his Pre-K class. Each month (in nine months of school) they pick one student from each class to be the Student of the Month. It was a proud mommy moment for me. My first child to get recognized for something like this at a school. Cullen was saddened by this news, and really gave himself a hard time, saying to us "Well at least you have one smart/good kid". Cullen has had a hard time in school since he started preschool with keeping his mouth closed and staying seated during class. It has been a long journey trying to control his mild case of ADHD, with many years sitting in doctor's offices talking it all out, trying to come up with a plan not involving medication. When a child has ADHD, they can show symptoms very early on. As they grow, and get older, you start to expect more out of them (in the behaviour department with listening, etc) that they just can't provide. I am fine with a child who doesn't "listen" to mommy and daddy, as honestly, none of my children really do. lol It's when it starts affecting his quality of life that I really started to consider giving him medication, around the middle of third grade. He was constantly in trouble, being fussed, and not a favorite among the teachers when it came to conduct. Don't get me wrong, he is polite, respectful, and sweet as can be. It's the listening and following directions that he struggles with. His conduct has kept him off the honor roll, not his good grades. It's sad to see him struggle in school and I have had more parent/teacher conferences concerning his talkativeness then I would like to admit. So we started him on medication last year and there were a few instant minor improvements, but nothing miraculous. We were still trying to figure out the right dosage recently, as I am always very hesitant to increase it. This last dosage adjustment last month seems to be the magical number. It has taken a year of trying to find the right formula, but I think we've got it. I can see big improvements in him, like a little miracle, yet he is still my same Cullen.
Well, a few days ago, Cullen came home and stated he was Student of the Month this month for his fourth grade class. I couldn't believe it. I was so excited, and yet a tad hesitant to get worked up without the paperwork in front of me. That sounds terrible, I know, but I was in disbelief. Like, it was too good to be true. Today, the school had an award ceremony for the January/February students (thank you God for combining them) and Cullen sure enough got the certificate as PROOF. He has really shaped up this past month and has even improved some of his grades (not that they weren't perfect to mommy already). I am so super duper proud of my little man! Both of them!
Maybe I'm not that bad of a parent after all...
Aiden receiving his award


Cullen receiving his award


Roman learning from his two big bro's