Happy 3rd Birthday to my sweet 3rd-born! :) I love you, Ruby!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Ahhhhh.... I love Fall!
This photo was taken a little over a week ago at a local park. It has a small zoo which my kids think is great. The girls have already been asking to go back. I wish I knew if there was a way to send more than one photo in an email from my iPhone (anyone know?) because I have more photos I'd like to share, but it seems silly to publish a new post for each one.
That said, this photo was my attempt at a picture of all four kids I the Fall leaves. Let me tell you it was WORK to get this one, even! I had to get an updated photo of the kids on here, though, and the park seemed like a good setting.
I love Fall. The colors, the coolness, the smell of wood stoves, bonfires, and crispy leaves... Pumpkins and apples and baking... Mmm. Good stuff.
Until next time,
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Mobile blogging test!
For now, here's a peek at our youngest little mango! (This picture was taken in late August!)
:)
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Soon?
Maybe I should have mentioned in my last post that "coming soon" was a relative term. :) Where oh where did the past month GO?
Even now as I sit down to type, the baby (8 months old now!) is starting to fuss. Figures.
Ok, 20 minute break to feed baby and put him down for a nap. Now where was I?
Right. Catching up... Will I ever be caught up? Maybe when my kids are all in school full-time? That will be in about 5 years.
********************
The above was written a couple of weeks ago already. Seriously, the Summer is flying by so fast I can't believe it. Between a bored 8-year-old, a tantruming 4-year-old, a strong-willed, potty-training 2 & 1/2 year old, and a newly-crawling 8-month-old, life is chaotic to say the least.
What have we been up to? Here it is in a nutshell. Yes, the condensed version is all I seem to find time for lately. Sorry.
Seth has been job-hunting. He was a contractor at a company that no longer renews contracts beyond 2 years, so as of June 30th, he has joined the Unemployed. No fun there. He spends hours searching for jobs, tweaking his resume and writing cover letters. He has had several phone interviews, but so far no face-to-face interviews. So he is busy searching and doing all that. It takes a lot of computer time! (Therefore, since that takes priority, most of my computer time lately has been from my phone, and I don't do well with typing on that little iPhone keyboard, so this is a treat to use the laptop uninterrupted for a bit!)
Ethan is bored. He is always asking if I will play a game with him, or if he can play on my iPod, or if we can go to the beach / park / library / restaurant , etc. We have been going to the beach quite a bit. I need to get him in swimming lessons. He loves the water and wants to learn to swim. He also loves science and wants to do science projects around the house. He is always asking if we have vinegar so he can make a volcano, or blow up a balloon, or make crystals, etc. He is reading about space and wants to look at the moon through his telescope. He is interested in cooking and wants to help me bake (which I haven't done much of due to all the warm, humid days!) Yesterday he told me he thinks he'd like to be a chef when he grows up. Although this may come from watching Ratatoullie a lot lately!
Kibby misses school. She always asks to "go to school and see Ms. Julie" (her teacher this past year). She also wants to go to church several times a week. She was evaluated at the Clinic again, this time by a psychologist. (She was referred back in January but it just took this long to get her in! 6 months!) Anyway, the Clinic did some testing and decided not to redo the ADOS test for Autism that the school district had already done over the Winter because after reviewing the report saw no reason to re-test. That meant only 2 hours at the appointment instead of four! Yay! The recommendation was that Kibby stay in Special Ed preschool with the speech therapy included, but to consider adding Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy as well. From what I understand this is a pretty intense one-on-one therapy, recommended for 20-25 hours (or sometimes up to 40 hours) a week with a qualified therapist. They work on developing adaptive behaviors while decreasing target behaviors by breaking goals and tasks down into smaller tasks for the child, and rewarding each small success, thereby increasing the likelihood of the child repeating the desired behavior. (Does that make sense?)
So we are looking into that for her. There are waiting lists and insurance hurdles, so it's been a process already. We are also looking into getting her a caseworker to help us navigate all of this, and to get the most help for her right now when she is young.
Ruby is 2 and a half, and is our drama queen, silly entertainer, and definitely a strong-willed child! She loves to watch movies, play outside, go to the park, to church, and to go swimming at the beach. She always asks for her "swimming soup". I love that so much I don't want to correct her! Is that bad? :) She is currently learning to use the potty, and isn't too thrilled so far. She will hold it in and beg for a diaper. Um, yeah. It's a work in progress, but I thought it might be easier to train her now before Ean starts walking!
Which brings me to Ean! He started crawling a couple weeks ago, and is getting to be speedy already! My gut is telling me he will not walk at 9 months like all of his siblings, and I have to say that makes me happy a little. :) I am NOT ready for that yet! Even though it's exciting to see them reach new milestones and it might have been cool to say "all my kids walked at 9 months" - I now know that they already are growing too fast and won't mind my baby slowing down a bit! He is starting to try to pull himself up on furniture already, though, and we have found him pushed up onto his hands and feet (instead of hands and knees) when crawling, which I find amusing. I should point out that he doesn't actually move then. He stays that way until he remembers how to get back down on his knees or topples over. :)
He likes to "dance" when he hears music, too. When he is crawling and hears music, he kind of bops up and down a little. It's hard to describe exactly, but so cute.
Whew! The laundry is calling once again, as Ean just overflowed his diaper in the baby swing. (Yeah, he still likes the swing! Unreal, but the weight limit is 25 lbs, and he doesn't try to climb out of it, so we've let him enjoy it as long as he wants to so far.)
Until next time! Forgive me for not proofreading - if there are typos I hope you'll all understand! I still have photos to post, so the next one will probably be mostly cuteness and less words. :) Hope you're all enjoying your Summer!
Even now as I sit down to type, the baby (8 months old now!) is starting to fuss. Figures.
Ok, 20 minute break to feed baby and put him down for a nap. Now where was I?
Right. Catching up... Will I ever be caught up? Maybe when my kids are all in school full-time? That will be in about 5 years.
********************
The above was written a couple of weeks ago already. Seriously, the Summer is flying by so fast I can't believe it. Between a bored 8-year-old, a tantruming 4-year-old, a strong-willed, potty-training 2 & 1/2 year old, and a newly-crawling 8-month-old, life is chaotic to say the least.
What have we been up to? Here it is in a nutshell. Yes, the condensed version is all I seem to find time for lately. Sorry.
Seth has been job-hunting. He was a contractor at a company that no longer renews contracts beyond 2 years, so as of June 30th, he has joined the Unemployed. No fun there. He spends hours searching for jobs, tweaking his resume and writing cover letters. He has had several phone interviews, but so far no face-to-face interviews. So he is busy searching and doing all that. It takes a lot of computer time! (Therefore, since that takes priority, most of my computer time lately has been from my phone, and I don't do well with typing on that little iPhone keyboard, so this is a treat to use the laptop uninterrupted for a bit!)
Ethan is bored. He is always asking if I will play a game with him, or if he can play on my iPod, or if we can go to the beach / park / library / restaurant , etc. We have been going to the beach quite a bit. I need to get him in swimming lessons. He loves the water and wants to learn to swim. He also loves science and wants to do science projects around the house. He is always asking if we have vinegar so he can make a volcano, or blow up a balloon, or make crystals, etc. He is reading about space and wants to look at the moon through his telescope. He is interested in cooking and wants to help me bake (which I haven't done much of due to all the warm, humid days!) Yesterday he told me he thinks he'd like to be a chef when he grows up. Although this may come from watching Ratatoullie a lot lately!
Kibby misses school. She always asks to "go to school and see Ms. Julie" (her teacher this past year). She also wants to go to church several times a week. She was evaluated at the Clinic again, this time by a psychologist. (She was referred back in January but it just took this long to get her in! 6 months!) Anyway, the Clinic did some testing and decided not to redo the ADOS test for Autism that the school district had already done over the Winter because after reviewing the report saw no reason to re-test. That meant only 2 hours at the appointment instead of four! Yay! The recommendation was that Kibby stay in Special Ed preschool with the speech therapy included, but to consider adding Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy as well. From what I understand this is a pretty intense one-on-one therapy, recommended for 20-25 hours (or sometimes up to 40 hours) a week with a qualified therapist. They work on developing adaptive behaviors while decreasing target behaviors by breaking goals and tasks down into smaller tasks for the child, and rewarding each small success, thereby increasing the likelihood of the child repeating the desired behavior. (Does that make sense?)
So we are looking into that for her. There are waiting lists and insurance hurdles, so it's been a process already. We are also looking into getting her a caseworker to help us navigate all of this, and to get the most help for her right now when she is young.
Ruby is 2 and a half, and is our drama queen, silly entertainer, and definitely a strong-willed child! She loves to watch movies, play outside, go to the park, to church, and to go swimming at the beach. She always asks for her "swimming soup". I love that so much I don't want to correct her! Is that bad? :) She is currently learning to use the potty, and isn't too thrilled so far. She will hold it in and beg for a diaper. Um, yeah. It's a work in progress, but I thought it might be easier to train her now before Ean starts walking!
Which brings me to Ean! He started crawling a couple weeks ago, and is getting to be speedy already! My gut is telling me he will not walk at 9 months like all of his siblings, and I have to say that makes me happy a little. :) I am NOT ready for that yet! Even though it's exciting to see them reach new milestones and it might have been cool to say "all my kids walked at 9 months" - I now know that they already are growing too fast and won't mind my baby slowing down a bit! He is starting to try to pull himself up on furniture already, though, and we have found him pushed up onto his hands and feet (instead of hands and knees) when crawling, which I find amusing. I should point out that he doesn't actually move then. He stays that way until he remembers how to get back down on his knees or topples over. :)
He likes to "dance" when he hears music, too. When he is crawling and hears music, he kind of bops up and down a little. It's hard to describe exactly, but so cute.
Whew! The laundry is calling once again, as Ean just overflowed his diaper in the baby swing. (Yeah, he still likes the swing! Unreal, but the weight limit is 25 lbs, and he doesn't try to climb out of it, so we've let him enjoy it as long as he wants to so far.)
Until next time! Forgive me for not proofreading - if there are typos I hope you'll all understand! I still have photos to post, so the next one will probably be mostly cuteness and less words. :) Hope you're all enjoying your Summer!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Coming Soon...
Yesterday I had to go to a mandatory training for work. Seth took the morning off, and my parents were visiting, so it worked out perfectly for childcare so I could go. The topic was Autism. Some of the people my company supports have some type of ASD so it was meant to educate the employees on the subject.
To be honest, I didn't learn much that I could use at work. What I did take away from it was a lot more personal, since Kibby was diagnosed with Autism in February by the school district. (She goes in later this month for more extensive developmental testing through the clinic here, so we will soon have their input as well.)
I will post more about what I learned in a future post. (Soon!)
Also coming up, look for a birthday post! Yes, Ethan turned 8 over the weekend! :)
Until then,
To be honest, I didn't learn much that I could use at work. What I did take away from it was a lot more personal, since Kibby was diagnosed with Autism in February by the school district. (She goes in later this month for more extensive developmental testing through the clinic here, so we will soon have their input as well.)
I will post more about what I learned in a future post. (Soon!)
Also coming up, look for a birthday post! Yes, Ethan turned 8 over the weekend! :)
Until then,
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Out of the Mouths of Moms
So, today I see that MckMama posted another "Out of the Mouths of Moms" post on her blog. I LOVE this. Honestly, I should really start keeping better track of the things I hear myself saying to my kids. I was just thinking the other day: "Oh, that would be a GOOD one for a Out of the Mouths of Moms post!!"
And so here's my chance to write about it.
Except I can't remember most of them! Ugh! I'm going to designate a notebook for just this!
Here are some that I do remember...
"Because it's not okay to play outside without clothes on! Yes, even in the pool. That is what your swimming suit is for. Yes, I know I have to wash it, but that doesn't mean you can go without one! Here's a towel. Let's cover up and go inside and put some dry clothes on. Yes, because the neighbors do not need to see your bare bottom." (Repeat a few days later. Sigh.)
"No, Baby Ean doesn't like it when you poke his eyes. Yes, that is why he is crying. You wouldn't like to have your eyes poked at either, would you? No, you wouldn't. No, really, you wouldn't. It would hurt. Hey, stop poking your eyes! WHAT DID I JUST TELL YOU?!?!"
"Sorry, we can't have your birthday party at Sea World. Yes, you're right, it would be a little pricey." (We live nowhere near Florida!)
"Because that what Kleenex is for. Yes, I know I can just vacuum again, but I don't want to. Please get a Kleenex."
"No, Ruby, that isn't Yoda. It's a picture of your cousin!"
"No, we don't eat Play-Doh. Because it's not food. I know it's purple and you like purple, but it is still not okay to eat it!"
"Please put your clothes back on." (repeat several times daily).
"Kibby, we don't talk like that. No, I don't think princesses talk like that, either. Why is that funny?"
"No, Daddy did not puke. Please stop saying that. I don't think Daddy has ever puked. What in the world brought that up?"
"Why did you yell at Ethan to 'go to China'? Are you mad at him? Do you even know where China is? Where do you learn this stuff?!"
"Yes, I know you tooted. Because I heard it. What should you say? No, not that. Do you remember what to say? No, not that! (sigh) Please say excuse me!"
"Yes, Baby Ean is cute when he sneezes, and I know the sudden bright light makes him sneeze, but you can't keep turning on the light when he is trying to sleep just so he will have a sneeze-attack. Because it's not nice, that's why!"
Okay, so maybe I remembered more than I thought I would!
What have you heard yourself saying lately that you never thought you'd hear leave your mouth? Please share! :)
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Sisters
Proof that they don't always fight:
Kibby is learning to tolerate her sister, and even play with her. It's what I've been hoping for, that they would become best friends. It's heading that way... Of course they still fight and squabble over things on a daily (even hourly) basis, but I am starting to see more love and caring between them, too.
If Kibby gets an owie, Ruby wants to kiss it all better. If Kibby accidentally hurts Ruby, she is now saying, "sorry, Ruby." without prompting. Heartwarming.
This may not seem like much, but even a few months ago, Kibby mostly wanted nothing to do with Ruby. She would ignore her or fight with her, but very rarely show her any love, interest, or compassion. To see this starting to change does my heart good! :) There is hope!
Sisterly love. :)
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