Vacation - Day One

Our intentions were to have the car loaded Wednesday night so we could get up and leave super early Thursday morning. That didn't happen. We slept in. Well, until 7. We were out of the house by 8:30. I thought we were doing well. It was a 4 hour drive so i was excited. Then came the stops. Stop for gas and doughnuts. Stop for Jack to potty. Stop for Ella to potty. False alarm. Stop for lunch and everybody to potty. Finally we arrived at the house about 1. Mom and Dad were still on the way so we unloaded the car and claimed the whole second floor. The house is huge and beautiful. Wooden floors, open kitchen, upstairs and downstairs living rooms, first and second floor balconies, rocking chairs, and a golf cart. Everything that would make you want to move in and stay for a very long time. A couple of minutes to drive the golf cart to the beach and a rooftop deck that overlooks part of a golf course and the intercoastal waterway. Basically the marsh. Yes, the mosquitoes are the only downfall. Dad and Mom arrived and we headed to the beach. The kids LOVED it. Jack played in the sand. Ella played in the water. John dabbled in both. It was overcast with a breeze. Couldn't have asked for a better day. Now to the grocery store. Mom, Ben and I found the Piggly Wiggly and did the shopping. It was the nicest "pig" i have ever been. We got home and Dad, Mom, Ella, and Jack headed to the airport to pick up Wes and Bristol. After a missed flight and missing luggage Wes finally made it in. We enjoyed fabulous hamburgers that Eric grilled and then it was time to settle in. Took a nice bike ride with Mom and Wes while the kids watched a new movie. It was a lovely day and i can't wait for tomorrow. I am praying the rain holds off.

Jack's Sport Camp T-Ball

We arrived today just like we have many times before (okay, just a few times before) and there was the coach waiting! YES! This was already starting off better than last week. I made a joke about how fun basketball was last week but he didn't think it was that funny. It was rainy off and on today but the sun was out, a bit cooler, and a slight breeze. Perfect t-ball weather. We sat up our chairs under the shade of a large tree and we were set. Jack was so excited. They started off stretching and then took a lap around the bases for a warm-up and a lesson in bases. Wyatt wasn't really into it this week. He said he was tired so Jack got lots of extra practice. Good thing, he needs it. :) They moved on to throwing. Jack would get it way back and splat! Right on the ground about 5 feet in front of him. We have to work on letting it go a little sooner. Then it was time to bat. E.J. got him all set up and he looked awkward but he got the job done. Then it was working on hitting and running. Well, i guess i should say hitting, dropping the bat and then running to first base. Jack carried the bat with him the first time. Jack got a good hit (with some help) and ran around all the bases, he got a little slow and wobbly between third and home. E.J. asked if he was tired but Jack said no he was ready to go again. A couple of more trips around the bases and it was time to go home. Ella and John had played by the tree and flipped around but were there waiting for Jack as he came running over and gave him a big group hug and high five. Eric asked Jack if he like t-ball and wanted a set. Jack said yes. Eric asked him if he liked t-ball better than soccer. Jack said yeah. Eric is sure it is because less running is involved in t-ball. HA! We got home and i asked Jack if he had fun and he said yes he was just "getting busy" and it was time to go. Wednesday should be fun.

John's Evaluation

John's had his evaluation by the clinical therapist today. She came at his nap time so i was worried about how cooperative he would be. I put Ella and Jack upstairs and Ben was hanging out so there weren't any distractions. I sat in the other room. She sat and played blocks, showed him pictures, asked him questions and had him perform tasks. He would complete each step and she would pencil on her paper. It wasn't until the end she started asking me questions. She asked how he tells me he is hungry and if he can tell me what he wants to eat. I never give them a chance. Oops. We eat at the same time almost everyday and they only get two choices for lunch and they don't have a choice when it comes to dinner. I did explain how he goes about getting things he wants. After many more pencil marks she told me where he fell on the scale. Gross motor, 24 months, Fine motor, 27 months, self-help, 27 months, receptive language, 30 months, expressive language, 22 months (i think there was one more but it was like 27 or 28 months too.). So our only area of delay is expressive language, speech. On two different scales it came out to be an 8% and 12% delay. Neither were significant enough to qualify for any of their services. In the wrap-up she said she feels like her only concern is his articulation. Even with that she said that therapist might not see him until he was two and a half because at his age they are still learning sounds and how to articulate words. I asked if it is a problem that might correct itself and she said it quite possible could. She was going to talk to the speech therapist for advice regarding John's case and get back to me on what they recommend as a course of action. Right now she says that the best thing to do is to repeat words he says correctly so he can hear it the right way. Other than that we will wait for word from the speech therapist and go from there. So glad we got good news. Another blessing.

Ben's 4 Month Check-up

Today was Ben's well baby check-up. We had a few concerns we wanted to ask the Doctor about. Mainly his funky smelling ears but Eric wanted to know why Ben spits up so much. He weighted in at 14 lbs. and 12 ounces ( i thought it would be more) and was 26 inches long. That 75% for height and 40ish% for weight. 2 inches and 2 and a half pounds in a few months. I would say he is doing great. He checked his stinky ears and they are fine, just a little stinky. He says it could be the wax. The spit up is a product of an underdeveloped esophagus that all babies have. Plus he eats A LOT! The Dr. said that he can start solids at anytime now. Funny, how two of our pediatricians say start between 4 and 5 months and two have said to wait until after 6 months. At this point we are kinda doing it our way so we will start him eventually. It is such a hassle i don't mind waiting a while. He is working on rolling over. He can roll from side to side. He has found his toes and loves to hold onto them. He was very happy and talkative to Dr. Gessler. He double checked his hips because babies that are born breach can have problems with hip development. He seems to be fine. He got two shots and it was over before he noticed. He thought about crying but we were out the door before he could start. I love when there is no crying when they get shots. It was a good appointment and we go back in September for his 6 month check-up.

Happy 4th of July

Our weekend has been fabulous. Friday, Eric was home early to start the holiday weekend. He showed up with a golf cart. Paul sent it home with him so we could ride the kids around. After a few trips around the neighborhood we headed down to Mooresville to pick up a few things and then home to prepare for our trip to Raleigh. Saturday, we were up bright and early and finally made it out the door about 9:30. The trip took about two hours and we stopped for lunch so we got to our old neighborhood about 12. Ella's friend, Madelyn, was waiting on her porch for us. All of the kids were so excited. It was non-stop from then on. We visited with all our old neighbors and their families and then grilled for dinner. It was such a wonderful day to sit and catch up with people i was accustomed to seeing daily. Two of them are expecting at the end of the summer so Ben got lots of lovin'. Ella gave gymnastic lessons and Elijah was giving basketball lessons. We also got a chance to meet the new neighbor that moved into our old home. I hoped they would be like Eric and I. No luck. She is a single mom and Lynette says she is my polar opposite. Very bad children. So sad. As the sun began to set we went to watch the fireworks at the Raleigh fairgrounds.. John fell asleep standing up and when he saw the fireworks decided he wasn't in the mood so he sat in Lynette's lap and covered his eyes for the entire show. We waited for about an hour before we got into the traffic so we started our trip home around 11. The kids slept. Eric couldn't wake them to put their p.j.s on so they woke up this morning still looking patriotic. :) Everyone slept in this morning and then took long naps. It was a dreary day so it was good for napping. We are getting everything ready for the busy day tomorrow. Ben has a doctor appointment, John has his evaluation, and Jack has sports camp (let's hope).



We were so busy visiting that we failed to take any family pictures. Sorry.

American Idol

This is the conversation with Ella about July 4th.

ME: Ella, when we get home i will paint your nails red.
ELLA: (ugly face) Why?
ME: Because tomorrow is Independence day, July 4th is the day we celebrate America....
ELLA: American Idol.....I know!

What a sad day. My child thinks we have a whole day to celebrate American Idol. We don't even watch that show. :)

________________________________________

A "that's not my child" moment:

We were waiting at the front of Old Navy as Eric checked on some jeans. The kids were wired and it was passed their dinnertime so in an effort to occupy them while Eric finished up i took them up to look at the mannequins at the front of the store. They all took note of the dog when they walked in so i thought it would keep them entertained. I watched the kids as they looked at the "people" Jack rubbed a boys arm and then stood in front of him to see if they were the same size. Ella found a "brown" girl and stood next to her. She then just stood there holding the brown mannequin's hand as if she had made a new friend. John tried to ride the dog and after i deterred him from that he went on to inspect the other mannequins. He found one a little larger than himself, a little brown girl. He begins to rub her face and then stands on his tip toes to kiss her. On one hand i am thinking that he is being so sweet and on the other i am thinking he is a little strange but then he starts pulling up her shirt so i decide we have had enough playtime with the mannequins. I gathered them up and took them to Eric. They could be his strange kids. :) Wish i had my camera.

We are headed to Raleigh for the 4th of July. I hope you all have a safe and happy holiday.

John's evaluation

I met with our case worker, Susan, this morning. We covered a lot of material. I felt like i was signing my life away. I answered the same questions twice maybe even three times. I think the questionnaires were for older children because answering the question "what is your child's favorite thing to do" is a little difficult. My only response was, well it depends on the day and John's mood. He is two. He is still working all that out. Through all the questioning and her observing John, she said she is almost positive that he is average or above average in all areas with the exception of his communication. Not anything we didn't already know and since she is just a case worker she didn't venture to guess where he would fall in the communication category. We have an appointment for the actual therapist to come and do a hands-on evaluation with John on Monday, July 6th at 1:30. Right at nap time but i don't think he will mind getting to stay up and "play" while the others have quiet time. This will be an overall evaluation and she will be able to tell us if we need to follow-up with a speech therapist for a more comprehensive evaluation of his speech. The earliest we could have an appointment with her would be August 12th. We have tentative long term plans if needed but will take it a step at a time.




Ella is enrolled in school at Troutman Elementary. She will begin on August 25th. She is really excited. I have started talking to Jack about her leaving. He says that big girls have to go to big school so we have to take her and leave her there. Obviously Ella has already been telling him about it too. :) We feel like this is the best decision for her and the boys. Eric and I still don't like it but it is for the best.




Jack is very interested in doing "school work" these days. I am having to find him worksheets to do while Ella is working in her workbook. I know it is awful, i don't give my kids the summer off. He is still the sweetest thing ever and the biggest baby when he is tired. :) I look forward to him becoming my right hand man when Ella is gone.

John is wild. Always pushing the limits just to see how far he can go. Loves to be the center of attention. Eric says that John is going to cause him to lose his sanity. He is a handful. We are going to have to bring the smack down. :)

Ben is 4-months now. He is working on rolling over. Loves to smile and eat. We go on Monday for his check-up. Starting to talk more and sleeping from about 8:30 to 4:30. Probably because Eric's alarm clock goes off at 4:30. If he continues to sleep like this we will move him up to his room in the next few weeks. Currently he is in his portable crib in our room. I am afraid if i had to get up and walk upstairs in the middle of the night i might hurt myself.


The kids are amazing beyond belief.