My Big Boy....

Nathan's been released from Occupational Therapy. He has to go back in 3 months for a follow-up.

It's bittersweet. We love his OT, and he's made TREMENDOUS progress. He's learned to ride a bike, button his shirts, put on his shoes and socks....all things that seem small, especially when Becca can do them already...but they're big things for us. We've worked through his sensory processing disorder and found new ways to cope with it. He's shown progress in following multi-step directions.

On the other hand...now we're on our own. The OT has given us tools to help him along and he's finally caught up to kids his age.

Preschool has not gone well at all. In fact, he hates it and is begging not to go anymore. We told him he had to stick it out till Christmas, and then we'll talk about it some more. Socially....he doesn't play with the other kids at all. I like that he's ok to play by himself, but it's sad to me that he doesn't have friends like all the other kids do. His teacher is concerned that he may have Aspergers (which is sort of a high functioning form of autism). His teacher isn't the only person that has brought it up to me. I don't know if that's completely true.....it's hard for me to diagnose. From the research I've done, he has some of the markers for it, but he doesn't have ALL the major issues that most children with Aspergers have.

Right now, we're praying about how to continue....we could have him evaluated by a developmental pediatrician and a psychologist, or we could keep going as we are for awhile. I think that we'll probably wait until his 5 year check-up and discuss it with his pediatrician and then maybe again with his OT, we'll see.

Quiet Time Part 2

Now that Becca has graduated to quiet time, she seems to think she's done with naps altogether....though she still needs them, ok, I need her to take one for ME, she probably does ok without one.

I keep walking into Nathan's room during quiet time and finding Becca there too. They can't stay away from each other!! Today, she was looking at books in his bed with him. It's cute, but I do really want them to spend the time separately. I feel bad about separating them, when they're getting along, but they need the time apart too.

Please pray for my friend Kim and her family as she is losing her battle with cancer...she's only 40 and has 3 young boys. Also keep this little boy and his family in your prayers....I can't stop crying for them. These stories both make me want to give my babies some extra love.

Quiet Time

Every day the kids either nap or have quiet time. Most of the time, they nap, usually 2.5-3 hours. Otherwise they go to their rooms and play. I think that quiet time is wonderful for them....they usually play their toys and make up stories. Sometimes they'll look through books and talk through the story. They usually mess up their rooms terribly, so lately, when it's time to get up, I pick out one thing that they can pick up (like all the blocks) in an effort to keep their rooms a little more tidy. Nathan's room right now is a disaster wreck, but I cleaned Becca's room over the weekend, so her's is perfectly clean. Today she's having quiet time, and she's upset because I won't let her out yet, and her room's clean. I think that she thought that if she kept it clean, she wouldn't have to have quiet time!!

I gotta go pick something Nathan can clean up so that he can get out!

Happy Halloween!

This week has been crazy with all the Halloween activities.....

First was gymnastics....

(some of Becca's class and her teacher)

(at the end of Nathan's class, Ms. Angie lets Becca come in to play too!! We love Angie a LOT)

Then was a Fall Carnival for my mommy's group.....

(they got to decorate their own cookies.....very very yummy)

And of course there's preschool......

The theme was Woodland animals, Nathan was a bear....I found a mask in the dollar bin at Target, and he wore a brown sweat suit....he wanted to be a Cubby Bear, but I convinced him otherwise, though one kid had a Bears jersey on to be a "Bear."

We also went trick or treating with my mommy group (I didn't take any pictures of that, but we had fun)

And finally....Halloween itself. All of our neighbors with kids go Trick-or-treating together, which is soooooo much fun for the adults as well as the kiddos. Our neighborhood is mostly older people, and they see us all summer when we ride our bikes and go on walks around, so they always love to see us all dressed up for Halloween. Mark grew up in the country, and so it's neat for him to get to experience trick-or-treating with our children, because he didn't do a lot of it when he was younger.

TRICK OR TREAT!!!!

Pictures, finally.

I haven't posted pics in awhile, so here's a ton of them......

#1. Grandparents' day at preschool. Last year, Mark's mom came up, this year my mom did. I think that the other boy's name is Aiden, I guess he jumped in the picture last minute.

2. Look at the tile in the bathroom!!!!!! Most of it was done by my step-sister Jennifer, but Mark has done a ton on it. The kids were so excited to have their first bath in 3 months (yes they had showers), they played in there for an hour and a half, and threw fits when they had to get out.

3. My little Illini cheerleader. Too bad they stink too much to wear this in public. Oh well, there's always basketball season!

4. The best picture of Becca in the leaves today. She didn't enjoy them as much as Nathan did.

5. Nathan loved throwing the leaves....

6. ...and swinging.....

7. .....and falling in the leaves....

8. ....and generally being outside. It's been so cold and dreary, plus we've been sick, so it was nice to get out today and play.

9. Today was so nice that we decided to go out to Wildlife "Scary" Park tonight. We didn't get there in time to see the animals, but we got to ride the train and trick-or-treat. Nathan's a pilot again this year and Becca is Cinderella. There will be much more Halloween pics this week, we've got quite a few events to attend.

One step forward...Two steps back

So remember how I said that Nathan was doing well in preschool?? His Occupational Therapist is talking about releasing him from therapy, because he's made so much progress....so today I discussed it with his preschool teachers and one (who was his teacher last year) said that he had made progress, but she still sees him zoning out and not focussing well. She said he is doing better, but still not on par with the other kids as far as abilities go. The other teacher doesn't really believe that he has a sensory issue...she said that he's just slow. (which I'm hoping that she doesn't mean unintelligent).

Slow.

The word keeps coming back to me. I know he's been behind and we've worked really hard with him, but his teacher doesn't show any signs of working with me to help the problems. It breaks my heart. I keep telling myself that she's a 22-year old girl who has no experience at all with 4 year olds (or parents) and that she doesn't know what she's talking about.

Nathan's OT happened to call after we got home, and I talked to her about these things and basically she agreed that the teacher doesn't know anything about SPD and that Nathan is extremely intelligent. She said we could set new goals at our next meeting.

I guess this is just another case for why we need to homeschool him. I'm not ready to lump him in with the other kids and hope he finds a place in the herd. I think it's ridiculous at age 4 to label him as slow....we can't settle for that. I think we need to work as hard as we can to help him be the best Nathan that he can be. At least by working with him at home, we can go at his pace, and know that he can have the best opportunity to not fall through the cracks.

Christmas Lists...

OK...It's cold and that makes me think of Christmas so...

All of the family always asks me what to get for Christmas and Birthdays, so this year, I'm putting our list down here, so you can all see it (and watch for sales =) ) I hate telling people what to get us, so you don't have to stick to the list, but here are some ideas.....

Nathan: still plays with his Geotrax every day. He could use more track (not more trains or buildings, mainly track). Anything Toy Story is good too. His big present from us is going to be a Leapster 2. It would be wonderful if some of you could get some games for it. (Carz, WALL-E, Toy Story, etc.....we're not into Sponge Bob or Spiderman). He's also really into building stuff and creating stuff, so LEGOs or K'nex are great!

Becca: Her big present is going to be the Loving Family Dollhouse. Furniture comes separately, I thought if we got her the dollhouse, then between Christmas and her birthday, you could all help us get it furnished (this week the accessories are buy1 get1 at Toys R Us!!). A couple of other ideas....she's really into the disney princesses, especially Ariel (the little mermaid). Maybe one of those giant doll "styling" heads for doing hair....like a Barbie (or a princess one would be better).

I'll work on my and Mark's lists soon. I know you all have trouble finding gifts for us.

Reading and such....

Nathan's been really working on learning to read. So far, he's really into learning it, and he is so proud of himself!! I'm trying to only push him a little bit at a time so he doesn't get frustrated with it.....he can read most of the 2 letter words.....he, be, go, do, so, to, am, the...etc. I'm hoping to have him fully reading before he officially enters kindergarten....I figure homeschooling will be soooooooo much easier once we have that major hurdle crossed.

Nathan's known his letters since he was about 20 months old....but Becca hasn't really shown any interest in learning them until now, and she has most of them down! YAY!

We're working on counting too...Nathan can almost count to 100 by himself. Becca's working counting to 20 and it's funny to hear her, especially through all the "teens."

I know it's shameless bragging, but all of this gives me confidence that homeschooling can work for my kiddos.

Update...

So I haven't updated here in a long time...but much has happened in the last month....

1. We went back to Disney World for a gigantic Disney vacation with Mark's parents. It was amazing!!!! The pics are on facebook, so become my facebook friend and you can see them. I loved watching Becca with the characters, especially the princesses, and Nathan on the rides. We all enjoyed the shows. I can't wait until we can go back again!!

2. Nathan's back at preschool...it's going much better this year. Last year, we were told that he didn't really participate, but this year, he's made some giant progress. His occupational therapy is really paying off. He loves bike riding now, and he's learning to write all his letters. We still have issues with following directions, but he's doing so much better.

3. Becca is POTTY TRAINED. In one day. She hasn't had an accident since the first day of it. Amazing! She went once on the potty and that was enough for her to get it.

I'm sure there's more, I'll try to post again soon!!

Love

Last night we went to a wedding. My kids love weddings, especially dancing at the reception. We sat with another family for the dinner. One of the little girls (Jordyn) is only 2 days older than Nathan (Mark actually visited her in the hospital when he was kicked out of my room for the epidural) and she and Nathan were best buds throughout the reception. At one point, someone pointed out to me that Nathan was running around trying to kiss one of the girls, and sure enough it was Jordyn. So this morning, I asked him about it, and the conversation went something like this....

Me: Nathan, were you trying to kiss Jordyn last night?

Nathan: Yes, but she wouldn't stop dancing.

Then, after I picked him up from Sunday School, I asked him if he kissed her today...

Nathan: Not yet.

Me: Why do you want to kiss Jordyn?

Nathan: Because I love her.

Me: What does it mean to love her?

Nathan: hugs and kisses

I Scream, You Scream, We all Scream

For ICE CREAM! Tonight was National Night Out. We blocked off the street, and had a neighborhood ice cream party. It was a blast! The kids ran up and down the street and played with all the neighborhood children. A fire truck came and the firefighters gave the kids a "tour" of the engine. They were going to let them try on their hats and coats as well, but they got a call and had to leave. An ambulance came as well, and the AMTs handed out frisbees. A police officer came with the K-9 unit, and Becca and I got to pet the dog. And of course, there was ice cream.

The kids loved being able to cross the street freely. Now, I have to figure out how to explain it to Becca that she can't do that regularly. I LOVE my neighborhood!

Boating!

Grandma and Grandpa (my mom and step-dad) got a new boat a few weeks ago, and they invited us out for the day! Mark and I skied (though I couldn't get up on 1, maybe next time) and we were sooooooooo sore the next day. Becca tubed a little with Mark (we went as slow as possible, I don't even think she got wet), but Nathan chickened out. The kids loved riding in the boat, especially in the bow. After a while, we found the most perfect little beach and we had it all to ourselves.

I can't wait to go boating in August and Sept, maybe even Oct....gotta love the nuclear-warmed lake!

(did I mention how much I love my camera's zoom??? I took these from the boat, while the boat was pulling them!!!!)

Swimming Lessons

Nathan's taking swimming lessons. It's Monday-Thursday this week and next week. He does ok...the first day, he loved it, but ever since then he hasn't loved it so much. He hates to float on his back, so today I told him he didn't have to. He does love jumping in though, and the kick board.

In other news, I have a new camera!! As you might remember (or probably not) Becca broke my camera, and I replaced it with a crappy cheap camera. I finally spent some savings bond money and bought myself a wonderful Nikon P90. I LOVE it, the zoom is amazing, I took 200 pics yesterday. I wasn't even close to the pool when I took this shot!

Look!

Look at what my little girl can do!!!! After working for sooooooooooo long with Nathan, I wasn't ready to start working with her yet...but she decided that she could do it herself. The bike is our neighbor's, she has a tricycle, but is just a bit too short to do it by herself. At least we know she can!

too much fun.

Mark and I bought a new coffee table, and consequently, we have a big box and a bunch of styrofoam. What better toys exist for kids??

Nathan and Jordan (our next door neighbor) broke up the styrofoam in to little pieces, and then they put it in the box and decided to go "swimming" in it.

K...updating every day doesn't work for me.

Mark's parents came up for the weekend, and we kept them busy. On Friday, Mark took Doug to a Chief's game, Saturday was the airshow and the observatory, and Sunday was church and the Spirit of Peoria paddleboat. Nathan loved the airshow, especially the fighter jets. It was hot, but a nice time.

Some funny things....

Nathan told me he couldn't find his shoes (he wasn't looking, just wanted me to find them for him) so I found 1 and tossed it towards him, and he said, "mom, I have 2 feet!"

We go for walks around a cul-de-sac, and Becca will tell me that she wants to go on the sack. It took me forever to figure out that she wanted to go for a walk.

Playing

We did go to the fireworks and they were amazing! I grew up in a small po-dunk town with really really bad fireworks, so I'm completely mesmerized when there's a huge display set to music. It was Becca's first fireworks show (last year we were on the way home from Sesame Street) and it was neat to watch her. She shouted out the colors and would keep looking at all of us making sure that we could see it too. She took turns sitting on everyone's lap (including Uncle Rob). Nathan started out with Daddy but ended up cuddling with me under the blanket. It was only 64 degrees, and very breezy. There was supposed to be an airshow preview before the fireworks, but that got cancelled due to the clouds and rain earlier in the day.

Last night, while Mark helped a neighbor roof, the kids and I along with another neighbor went to hear an Irish Marching Band. The event was poorly organized, but the band was spectacular. Their intonation was perfect. First was their field show, which was ok, but it was set to music from Les Miserables, which isn't exactly marching band material. Then an ensemble played some Irish jigs, and some girls danced. One little girl was only 8 years old, but she was great. Becca loved watching the dancers and tried to dance like them. Nathan liked listening for different instruments. Later, they had their concert band perform. The show started at 8pm, and at 10 pm, the kids had had it, so we went home.

Today we stayed home and played outside. The weather was perfect. Unfortunately, the kids were not....they kept picking on each other and getting into trouble. Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Happy 4th!

I didn't get a chance to update yesterday....I spent the day cleaning. Mark took the kids out for the morning, and I worked on decluttering our bedroom. It tends to be the spot that everything that doesn't have a home gets dumped, so I finally took some time to clean it out.

Uncle Robbie is here visiting. It was his birthday yesterday.

Here's some pics from last week's church picnic. The kids had a blast. We stood in line forever for some face painting (only to have it come off when they went down for naps!).

A butterfly matching her butterfly dress: (I can't figure out how to turn the picture around).

And an airplane for guess who:

Becca was so cute during hers. She sat very very still. On the ride home, she tried to put some of it on her doll...she told her to sit very still, and did the same things.

Hopefully we'll get to go to the fireworks tonight. There's supposed to be a bit of an airshow before. It's kinda raining right now, though.

A Day in the Life of....

Me!!!!!

Woke up. Fixed breakfast. Worked out. Showered. Got kids ready. Went shopping. Came home. Made Lunch. Ate. Went shopping again. Cleaned out fridge (again--2nd time this week). Unloaded dishwasher. Reloaded Dishwasher. Made dinner for friend with new baby. Talked to brother on phone. Did mazes with Nathan. Got Becca up from nap. Let kids help make cookies for friend with new baby. Made dinner for kids. Ate. Frosted cookies. Loaded kids and food in van and went to see friend with new baby. Came home. Took more cookies to new neighbor (YAY!!). Came home. Talked to mom on phone. Watched kids (mine and neighbor's) play outside til dark. Bathed kids. Folded and put away 2 loads of laundry. Read stories. Dressed kids. Brushed 2 sets of teeth. Read just one more story. Put kids to bed. Got milk for Nathan. Sat down to blog.

Still left to do: clean kitchen from cookie/dinner mess. Decide if I'm going to freeze extra dinner or make it for tomorrow. Run 1 more load of laundry. Brush teeth/wash face/read/sleep.

Then repeat tomorrow.

Here goes...

I'm going to try to blog every day that I can in July. The kids are growing up so fast and I'm forgetting the funny things they say and do.

Wednesdays are my house cleaning days....which I dread, but I love having the clean house afterwards. I host a life group (bible study) on Wednesdays which the kids love because we get a sitter and have a blast with the other kids. Usually the kids seem to be more needy on days that I have to clean, but today they were off playing together. They're getting better at playing together, and I'm becoming less stressed out with them. I even steam cleaned the carpets!

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have some pics to put up....the computer hasn't been responding to my SD card.

Riding Bikes

Nathan's finally riding a tricycle!!!!! I'm so proud of my little man. He now prefers it to everything, including the tractor. So now, we're trying to motivate him to ride a big boy bike (w/training wheels). He practices on one of the neighbor's bikes, but he has had trouble getting the idea of the brakes. He can pedal backward on his trike, but he can't do that on a bike, but yesterday he finally moved a bit on it!!! Usually once he gets the idea of something, he takes off, so I think that the bike we were planning for Christmas might come a little earlier ;-)

He's also asleep in his own bed right now. His idea. He probably hasn't done that in a year and a half. We'll see if he can make it through the night.

Becca has got a "best friend." It's so cute....one of the neighbor girls is only 3 months or so younger than her...and they started the summer off by fighting. They both always wanted the same toy at the same time, and they both have very stubborn personalities. We thought for sure that we'd spend the whole summer teaching the girls how to share....but they seamed to figure it out on their own. Now they're inseparable. We go on little walks around the cul-de-sac, and they hold hands the whole time. They're always side by side...and of course they must hug before they leave each other, even though they see each other every single day.

I got most of the wallpaper off of his walls last night, so the next step is picking out paint. Unfortunately, the painting job is for Mark, and he has enough to do with the kitchen.

A Day in the Life...

of Becca. I've been posting a ton of things about Nathan lately, so I thought I'd profile Becca today. Here's how her day typically goes:

She wakes up around 9 or so, always crying, and the first thing she always says is: "I Want Oatmeal!" So she has her oatmeal and watches whatever is on the TV (usually Sesame Street or Dora). She must carry her "wanket" (blanket) with her and cover her up in the proper way. Sometimes Daddy shares his breakfast with her too...she's a big breakfast eater. Next we attempt to get her dressed. She usually has to be persuaded to put on a certain outfit, unless it's pink, or has Elmo on it.

At this point we usually go outside to play or go to whatever we have planned for the day. She loves to push her babies in her little stroller, or go for rides on her tricycle (that I push). She loves the sand table too. Lately, she and Nathan have been playing together really nicely, so I can actually get stuff done.

When I need to make lunch, she likes to be in my way as much as possible. Sometimes I let her help, sometimes Mark tries to get her out of the room so that I can cook in peace. I need to let her help more often. She knows how to set the table, and sometimes she does this for me. She usually whines and begs for her lunch, but once it's in front of her, she doesn't usually eat it. Unless it's tacos or pizza, and then she eats more than a grown man. Or at least it seems that way. She also loves her eggrolls, but we are already out of them this year.

She takes a good nap, usually 2-3 hours. Always wakes up cranky. Nice weather helps though, so we usually go outside right after naps. We play outside with all of her friends. It's amazing to hear these kids interact....there's 9 kids 5 and under, and they all love each other so much. They share usually and are really compassionate for each other.

For dinner, lately, all she wants is a PB & J quesadilla (my invention for when I ran out of bread) She'll eat the entire thing, except for the last bite, which she hands me and tells me she doesn't like it.

Her best friend is her brother, they giggle and giggle and are almost inseparable. He's also her biggest competition for attention, so they fight a lot. It's getting easier everyday though. She's a very smart little girl, very very verbal, and very precise. She has to have everything JUST SO. It can drive us nuts sometimes, but we're getting used to it.

School's Out for Summer

Nathan's done with pre-school for this year. I can't believe he's already finished one year!! He loved school. Here's some pics of the school program. No movies (long story) but I was taking pics with one hand and filming with the other, and trying to keep Becca out of trouble. At one point, she grabbed my camera and began taking pictures. I was too afraid she would break my camera again (even though I hate this camera).

Here's Nathan with his teachers: Miss Carla was his main teacher, Miss Sally was his music teacher, and Miss Robin was the teacher's aide (at the bottom).

WHY????

That's Nathan's new favorite word. Everything we say is followed with a Why? There are also a TON of new questions......Why is the sky white (when it's overcast)? Where do the moon and stars go during the day? Why is your belly so big?

Sometimes I come up with good answers...like on Sunday the preacher read the list of people who had died in the last year, and Nathan asks why is he saying all of those names....so I said that those are the people that got to go to Heaven and meet Jesus this year.

Other times I tell him to ask his dad =)

Beaches

We spent Memorial weekend with my mom. It was so incredibly hot that we hit the beach at the lake. It was absolutely perfect weather, and the water was not too cold at all (gotta love a nuclear power cooling lake). Nathan went out to where he could barely touch. He was so cute, he kept looking for "new friends." He couldn't find a little boy that wanted to play with him. Becca loved the water too. We're going to have to do that more this summer.

Star-gazing

Mark's mom is visiting for the weekend, so she offered to babysit for us so that we could go on a date. We decided to check out the observatory here in town. It was amazing (and free)!!! We could see Saturn and the rings and moons around it.

We felt kinda guilty for going to something that Nathan would LOVE, so we came back home, picked him up, and took him back there with us. We got to see Vega, a double star, the ring nebula, and Saturn again. Nathan loved looking in the telescope and the volunteer that was running it thought he was so smart, because he not only knew all the planets, but different characteristics of them as well.

We'll definitely be going there often this summer!

I don't think he was talking about the Hoover one....

We were playing wii tonight, and Mark screwed up his turn on bowling, and Nathan shocked us by saying, "DAMN" so I asked him where he learned that word, and he said....

"Damn Preschool"

I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself.

Mommy's Day

It's been a fabulous Mother's Day!! It started with breakfast in bed, which can be kinda crazy with a 4 year old and a 2 year old. Both kids wished me a Happy Mother's Day, and Becca told me that I had a "some pies" which I finally figured out that it was a "surprize." They gave me my gifts, but I can only write about 1, because Grandma got the same gift and she hasn't gotten it yet. I got a popcorn bowl that they put their fingerprints on to decorate as popcorn. Then they sponge painted the inside of it. I can't wait to use it.

Then, after church, we went to dinner at Alexander's and had some yummy steaks. We have TONS of leftovers, so I won't have to cook for a couple of days =) We stuffed ourselves silly...Becca pretty much only ate the garlic bread, and her breath has been atrocious all day, lol.

I love being a mom!!

So I guess if I have all these readers, I should occasionally update the blog huh? Here's some random stuff from this week....

• Nathan doesn't like it when we go downstairs after we put him to bed. He says it's because he can't hear us, so Mark started putting the radio on for him to sleep. It must take forever for him to get to sleep, because he's got a whole bunch of new songs from WCIC memorized....it's so great to hear your 4 year old belt out "Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be your glor-i-ous name"
• Becca has graduated from the nursery at church (well that happened awhile ago) but she LOVES her class! She runs in there and is so happy to show me all the stuff she's made. She's also started praying at dinner time, and she prays for her plate and her food and her water, and, of course, for Mommy and Daddy and Becca and Nay-Nate.
• Becca's also turned out to be Mommy's little helper....she has to be involved in whatever I do all the time. Sometimes it frustrates me, but I'm trying to give her jobs that she can handle.
• Nathan still talks about Spike every day. Easter totally confused him...we told him about Jesus dying and then waking up after 3 days. Nathan kept telling me that he was going to die in 3 days, and finally I asked him why he keeps saying that, and he told me like how Jesus died for 3 days. I eventually told him that he can't die until he's 100 and he's only 4. I just couldn't handle him telling me he was going to die!!!! So then the other day he told Mark that he wished Spike was 4. I miss Spike too!
• Mark and I are totally addicted to www.pandora.com Try it!!
• Mark and I got to go to the South Side Mission's annual banquet. It was amazing seeing all the people who are passionate about helping the poor in Peoria. It was also nice to have a kid-free night =)

Well...that's all I can come up with tonight. Hope all is well with everyone else!

My New Counter

I put a counter to see how many people read this blog....and the last time I looked at it, it said 10 (most of which was me playing with the new counter) and today it says 56. WOW.

So....if you're reading....leave a comment or two so I know who you are!!

Easter and Rainbows

Easter was very hectic for us, as none of us are morning people....especially Becca. She doesn't like to be woken up, and she is never happy in the morning. (this outfit is what happens when your birthday is on Valentine's day)

After a minor tantrum (because the Easter bunny brought Ariel dress up shoes, but we wouldn't let her wear them outside), we proceeded outside for the Easter egg hunt. Nathan thought it was fun to go out in pajamas and he loved looking for eggs. The Easter Bunny was smart this year, and put initials on the eggs, but the kids didn't really fight over them. They had so much fun....and we did too, since the weather cooperated!!!

We had to go to 9:15 church, which is a stretch for us, on a normal Sunday, but somehow we made it there.......I made a big stink that Becca had to wear her white shoes with her pretty dress (she calls it her ballerina dress--but it sounds more like baweryeena dress when she says it). When we were about half-way there, I realized that though I had gotten everyone else ready, I completely neglected myself. No makeup, hair sopping wet, and big brown clog shoes....and I was wearing a black skirt. I felt so uncomfortable and stupid. I know God doesn't care what I look like, but the rest of the family looked so good in their new clothes. We had a good time the rest of the day, even taking a dip in the hot tub at Grandma's house. All's well that ends well. Becca skipped her nap, and did remarkably well; that night she went to bed at 9 pm and didn't get up until 11 am the next day and still took a 3 hour nap.

The weekend before we went to Mark's parents' and on the way home we saw this beautiful rainbow. I tried to get a few pics, though it was through the window of the van. It was absolutely huge, spanning the entire sky, and the colors were so vibrant....such an amazing reminder of God's promises to his people.



I wish the kids could have seen it, but they were conked out, from the fun at Uncle Patrick's house and they missed the whole thing.

The C-word

No, not that one....get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking about the "can't" word that I'm hearing around here so much lately. Nathan says it regularly, and now Becca's saying it too. I've now banned that word in my house. Everytime they say it, they also have to say Philippians 4:13 (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.)

Nathan's been doing some occupational therapy. He's been diagnosed (FINALLY) with sensory processing disorder, which means sometimes his senses are overloaded, and he can't process stuff like regular kids. This is why he isn't able to ride a bike, or how he freaks out with sounds, or he's really sensitive to tickling/wrestling. Since we started therapy, he quit stuttering. It's amazing. I'm so glad we finally got a diagnosis, and he's making progress!!!!!

Sick.

We've been really sick over the past 2 weeks. Becca got her very first ear infection about 9 days ago....and then on Monday Nathan came down with this horrible horrible virus that visited all of us. He had horrible fevers and a nasty cough. Wednesday night, Mark had to come home from work early, and on Thursday, we all were hit. Nathan napped from 2 pm til 9 pm, and then went back to bed by 11 and slept clear through until the next morning. Becca catnapped on me all day, and I laid on the couch holding her all day, and Mark stayed home from work. On Friday, I let Nathan go to school (I know, bad mommy) because they were having a special day and he looked great after all that sleep, but as soon as he got home, he went straight to bed. My mom was supposed to come and watch the kids so Mark and I could go to a homeschooling conference, so instead, I went by myself and Mark stayed home with the kids and slept. I was exhausted when I came home. This morning, we all slept in til 11:50 am. We awoke to massive amounts of snow outside. If we were feeling better, I'm sure this would've been fun snow to play in, as it wasn't horribly cold, but we all stayed inside and read books. I think that we've watched about every movie we've owned in the last week. I took Becca to the dr today, and she has roseola, which is a viral rash. I'm hoping that's it for awhile...it's supposed to be a nice week.

Hearts At Home

My wonderful husband took the kids for day on Saturday so I could attend Heart's at Home. It's such an amazing conference!!! I came home so energized and refreshed. It made me realize that I need to focus the hearts of my children and stop worrying about the little things that drive me insane. I need to turn off the TV and read to them more. I need to spend time and just enjoy them...I haven't been doing much of that lately. They're only little for so long. I urge EVERY MOM to go to this conference!!!!

ABC's

Becca's learning to sing...here's her ABC's. About halfway through, I think she's tryting to get up to watch herself on the camera. (and notice her made up letter, double Y)

Becca's learning her colors, and she has most of them down, but I don't think that she's ever noticed brown until today. Becca doesn't have very many brown clothes, but for her birthday she got a very adorable brown sweatshirt from her Uncle Patrick and Kate that she wore for the first time today and she said, "Look Mommy, it's CHOCOLATE" and decided to wear it to bed instead of pjs (makes getting dressed for tomorrow easier, right???). I only wish that brown sweats would fix my need for chocolate =)

4 10s

Mark is now working 4 ten hour shifts instead of 5 eights. We're excited to get Fridays free!! On the other hand, it means less sleep for Mark and more work for me. Mark's usually in charge of breakfast around here, and now I have to, which is fine except that Becca woke up 2 HOURS early today. I'm so exhausted!!!! I'm hoping I can get rested up so that we can enjoy our Fridays!!

OCD???

Becca has to have everything "just right." Sometimes it's cute, for instance, right now, her little table is set and every place setting matches perfectly. (The blue plate has a blue cup on it with a blue spoon in the cup, etc.) Sometimes, for fun, Mark and I switch it all around, and she will fix it on her own.

Most of the time it drives me and Mark insane trying to figure out exactly what she wants, because she can't always explain it.She also has her bedtime routine set in stone. It took us FOREVER to find what makes her happy with it. She has to have the pink "Baby Kara," her red blanket (which must be draped over her in a certain direction), and her Sesame Street pillow. The pillow has Elmo, Big Bird, and Oscar....and she will only lay on Elmo to go to sleep. Every morning, her crib must be completely emptied when she gets up. I wonder if she'll make her bed every morning....at least she sleeps in her bed, which is more than I can say for her brother.

No more Nursery.

Nathan has taken it upon himself to redecorate his room. He has been ripping his border off the wall during "quiet time." I asked him why, and he said, because I don't like horses and bears, I like airplanes. Unfortunately, this is kind of an odd shaped border, so I doubt I'll be able to find something to go over it, I'm going to have to totally redecorate his room. At our pace, it'll probably take us a year to redo his room, but there's already 1 wall taken care of.

Goodbye Old Friend

Our beloved dog Spike died on Feb 13. He was 1 week shy of 15 years old. He was an amazing dog...he knew the boundary of our yard and didn't need to be watched, he was wonderful with our children, he didn't need to be leashed on walks. He liked to cuddle and sleep on blankets, though sometimes, he chewed them up. He got a little grumpy as he got older, as he was replaced by our children, but he was still sweet until the end. I'm grateful that he went quietly, and that he died during naptime, and that I didn't have to make the decision to put him down. He only had 1 really bad day at the end.

I've had Spike since I was 14 and it's still weird to not have him around. The only time I didn't live with him was when I went to college...he would be so excited when I came home...and he wouldn't leave my side until I left again. Sometimes I thought that he was more excited to see me than my family was. I still look for him when I come in the door, I still look for him before I go to bed to let him out. When I check the locks, they're locked most of the time, because I'm not letting him out anymore. My floor has so many crumbs on it...I used to sweep it once a week, and now I have to do it daily. Whenever I give Becca a snack, I start to tell her not to let Spike have any of it, but I don't have to do that anymore. I miss my dog.

Birthdays

It's Birthday time for us! As you know, Mark turned 29 and Nathan turned 4 at Disney World. Becca's our Valentine, and she's now 2 (I can't believe she's 2!!). We had a fun party with a lot of family and friends. She loves The Little Mermaid so here's her with her cake:

Here's a Birthday Message for Grandpa John. I tried emailing this to him, but I couldn't get it to work, so I thought I'd blog it =)

Though it wasn't on our way, we went to Cape Canaveral before heading back to IL. Nathan watched his first ever IMAX movie, and it was hilarious watching him try to grab things as they popped out of the screen. Nathan loved watching the space shuttle movies, and he loved looking at all the displays. It was probably the coldest day that we spent on vacation, only 60 degrees, still much warmer than home.

Here's a space shuttle on the launch pad, this is as close as we could get.

Becca's New Do!!

Becca's first haircut was at Disney World. The hairdresser did a fabulous job of keeping her distracted with stickers so that she could give her a new haircut. Her minnie mouse ears say "first haircut" on the back.

The hairdresser sprinkled her with "pixie" dust before she left. Later in the day, as we were getting ready to get on a ride, a "cast member" (a disney world worker) said, "Oh look, she can fly!"