The outpouring of love that has been shown our family this Christmas (and YEAR) has been undoubtedly overwhelming. Starting with what's been done for us this holiday season, has been
*a giant load of food a few days before Thanksgiving, including a turkey and just a ton of canned goods and fresh produce too.
*a $50 gift card for gas
*a gallon of candy cane ice cream
*a huge "secret santa" drop off with presents for each of the kids (was dropped off on my b-day). Each child got a Christmas book about love and a stuffed animal to match the story that they received. We got a LDS movie called 17 miracles, and a $50 gift card to Target- all from the same family.
*We were given another big load of gifts too. One or two for each one of us.
*a giant plate of amazing homemade cupcakes
*someone came by with a free Christmas tree (after we had already purchased one)
*Christmas carolers from the young men and women in the ward (minutes after Caleb threw up).
*last night someone rang the door bell and ran. What was left was an envelope full of cash. $120.
*Tonight, it was a porch full of presents for everyone. There was a huge bag of Christmas goodies from Trader Joes and included with all this was a rocking chair. This rocking chair really hit me emotionally. It was from a woman in the ward who is probably about 70 years old. She comes to church alone because her husband suffers from dementia. Sister Spindler. When Ian was sick earlier in the year, she made a cake for him. She sent me home with some extra cupcakes she had. She was the one who brought over the ice cream too. She sent me a letter after I had born my testimony in church a few months ago. This chair means more to me because of who gave it to us. It was from a woman who is essentially alone. She saw her husband's abilities slip away from him. He doesn't recognize much. I can't imagine how lonely, sad, and hard her life must be. When I heard her bare her testimony a few months ago and I learned about her situation, my heart went out to her. Now, that she has shown my family and me such love, it goes even more out to her. She gave us her mother's rocking chair, who just passed away. I feel like she identifies with me/us which makes the gift more significant and meaningful. I was so moved and still am at the slightest thought of it all. I am very humbled by all this. I'm very grateful for all the love that has been shown us. I feel Heavenly Father's love through these acts of kindness and sacrifice too.
A huge thank you goes to those who have helped this season-
Sister Hall
Linda Willits
Christina Williams
Sister Spindler
The Ribera family
The Driggs family (twice!)
someone unknown
and a group of unknowns
the ward in general
The Hoovers
The ward's youth
The thing is is that this is only what has been done for us since the end of November. It doesn't include all that has been done for us throughout the year. That is another long list, which I intend to write too.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
catching up! and "I nun noo"
Abby-
Abby just finished up her soccer season (U9) and had a lot of fun. She learned a lot this year and met some great girls too.
She just started her very first season of basketball on Saturday. Her practices are 2 hours on Saturdays. I took her to her first practice last week and she did so great! She had a smile on her face all the time and she was learning quickly. After the practice was over, I went to speak with the coach and he immediately says to me, "Abby's going to be really good! Has she played before?" I replied, no. Then he said, "Wow, she's picking it up really quickly." That was really nice to hear, especially since Abby looked happy playing too.
Abby's had a reoccurring challenge with a friend at school, and Abby has been great at talking to us about it. I love that she trusts us enough to keep telling us what's going on in her life, even though she often doesn't like the suggestions we give her to resolve her conflicts. I'm very proud of Abby and the kind hearted person she is. We hope, however, that she won't let her need to please over ride the need to protect herself too though. This has been an opportunity to teach Abby what the promptings of the Holy Ghost feel like and how we need to heed those promptings.
Abby performed her first ensemble recital a couple weeks ago and did excellent. Again, I was a very proud mother! I'm so happy for her- to see her excel at something too. My dad (poppy) was able to come visit a few weeks ago and he brought with him, his french horn. The two of them played a duet at home and it was so fun to see and listen to. This ensemble piano stuff has sparked an interest in the extended family to start working on duets. I'm excited about it. My mom has been performing a lot at Temple Hill (playing the violin) and I've been able to take the kids to see her. It's been fun to see her as a family and the kids have really enjoyed it too.
Eli-
When we went to the last performance that my mom was in at Temple Hill, Eli was so excited by it. It was an LDS lady who played the violin with the orchestra behind her. The theme was Disney songs and Eli especially loved it. He was moving to the music, leaning over to me to say things like, "I know this one. It's from ... , or did you hear the drums on that one? " He was very interested. Although it was a long performance and right before the end, he climbed up on my lap and fell asleep. It was heaven! Eli never falls asleep on me.
Eli finished his first season of flag football. He and his friend, Colton, were the youngest on the team; the only kindergartners too. They won 2nd place in the championship game. They didn't get much play time, but had a lot of fun. I've gotten to know Colton's mom really well and it's been great getting to know her. They came with us to the Primary Trunk-or-treat and then they took Eli with them to the school's Halloween carnival. Anyway, Eli did great and I love what a great sport Eli always is!
People have been reporting about what a great sport Eli is too. For example, he lets Hudson win at board games so he won't be sad. He does that with Caleb at home too. I think that's a very mature thing to do for a kid is age and he's been like this for as long as I can remember.
We had a first parent/teacher conference in October and Eli's teacher had great things to say about Eli (of course). She kept commenting on how smart he is. I volunteer in Eli's class on Monday mornings and I get to see the teacher pull kids aside in groups to see how they are reading, etc. I also get to have the kids read to me and Eli and 3 other kids in his "morning cubs" group are the best readers. I LOVE going into his class each week. The first month of me volunteering, Eli would cry when I left, even though he wouldn't cry when I would drop him off at school in the morning. I think he just really likes having me in the class with him. He started asking me to tell him 5 minutes before I left, that I was going to leave, so he could say goodbye when no one was looking, so he wouldn't be seen seen crying. And it wasn't CRYING so much as it was getting teary eyed with maybe a tiny cry sometimes. Anyway... it's a very sweet and endearing thing about him.
Eli has been very clingy lately. He doesn't want me to leave. Even if we spent the whole day doing stuff together, it isn't enough if I say I'm not going to snuggle him before bed. Hudson came over and Eli didn't want to go play with him, he wanted to be with me. Eli is totally my little man. I love that he wants to be with me. Yes, it gets in the way sometimes of his own happiness during the day, and is sometimes frustrating too (because I can't reason with him when he's in his mood), but I love that he loves me. I LOVE him too!
Caleb -
He's being a little pill with Ayla. Now that he's not the youngest, I guess that means it's his turn to pick on someone younger than him. He teases her and just annoys her a lot. When he gets caught, he will try to hide this slightly evil grin on his face. A minute later, he'll come back to me and with a very sincere face and attitude, he'll say to me that he won't do that to Ayla anymore- that he'll be a good big brother and take care of her. This lasts a day and then we start over again. Luckily, Ayla still loves him- just not while she's being picked on. One story- we were at Michael's (the store) and Ayla and Caleb were sitting in the cart. Caleb kept picking on Ayla and I had to KEEP getting after him about it. In a moment when Caleb was NOT attacking Ayla, she turned around and bit his arm hard. You'd think that would've taught Caleb a lesson and maybe it did for the rest of the trip to the store, but it quickly is forgotten once he gets his impulses to tease again.
Caleb has quite the imagination and really, always has. He is just full of stories. He makes things up all the time. Sometimes I don't challenge them, but when I do, I'll ask- do you think that really happened? Or, do you think that was in a dream? He'll then own up to it. He'll keep going as if it's real though, unless you call him on it.
He made up the game of "MOTORCYCLE". It's like slug-bug, with VW bugs, but with motorcycles. Anytime you see one, you call out motorcycle. He decides the additional the rules to the game too.
He makes up games all the time or at least rules for things all the time.
He makes up hand signals for things and says things like, "mom, when I do this (and he makes some hand signal), that means, I'm hungry, or I'm angry, or I want milk, or I want to color", or etc. etc. And the list of things he comes up with is really long. It's very cute and very much unique to Caleb.
Caleb didn't like preschool at first, but now when I pick him up, he tells me "I had fun today at preschool!". It makes me happy to hear it.
Caleb loves to color and he's really good at it too. He will spend a LOT of time coloring these days. I've almost run out of coloring pages in all our coloring books.
Ayla can't quite say Caleb's name yet, but calls him Cadid.
Ayla-
"I nun noo!" In other words, I love you! "I nun noo too!" Can she never stop saying this please? When she wants me to hold her, she doesn't say, "up". She says, "hug!!, hug!" She does say up, if I'm sitting at the computer and she wants up on my lap, or in other similar situations, but for a general hold, she calls it a hug. I love it.
What a little talker!!! She has so much to say and can say so much! I want to remember every little cute thing she says, but I know I can't. It makes me sad that I will forget her sweet little voice and her amazing smile and hugs. The way she snuggles into me, the way she says ma ma lately.... Bye, bye daddy, see you soon! She still parrots everything the kids say. It doesn't annoy her at all. She speaks 3 & 4 word sentences a lot. A couple weeks ago, we were at grandma and grandpa Farr's house and she said to Susan, "I want chocolate milk." We were all shocked by that one. I'm really amazed at Ayla's language ability. She totally understands what I say. Sometimes, I will be doing something like cleaning up a pile of shoes and she'll walk up to me and say, "what you doing, mommy?" . I'll respond by saying, "cleaning up the shoes". And she'll say with a cute tone, "oh! cleaning the shoes".
We went to my mom's house last week and while we were there, she kept calling my mom, "Kay" instead of Grandma Kay, like my other kids do.
She loves her bottle....yikes. I really need to ween her of it. I'm just not ready to deal with the crying for it. It's almost like tackling potty training or bed training. They might be ready for it, but I'm not.
Ayla loves to color with Caleb. It's cute to see her coloring right along side him. She'll spend a good amount of time doing it too.
She loves taking baths. She would take one every day if I let her. She lays her head down in the water and doesn't fuss. When we went to my mom's last week, the kids got in the hot tub. Ayla did NOT want me to touch her while she was in there. She wanted to walk freely. She also was not afraid of the water. She would sink down into the water until the water was over her mouth and sometimes, over her nose before she decided to get her face out. I was really surprised to see this.
She loves Dora and gets soo excited at the idea of watching it. When the theme song starts, she'll be so giddy, kicks her legs, stands up and dances in her jumping type dance (in a circle), and sits back down in her little chair for the show with a huge grin on her face.
She is very polite! She remembers to say thank you and your welcome all the time. She says it appropriately too. What's even more fun to see is her saying excuse me to people when we go places or if she just wants to get past someone at home. She will say good mornin' to people as we pass them, even if it's evening time. People get a kick out of that.
She loves swings and swinging HIGH. You can trick her into not swinging so high, as long as you give her a good sized push and say, "under dog!".
MOM- ME!
I just have to say I am happier than I have ever been- at least the happiest I've been in a long time. I think I've always felt happy (aside from the hard times), but for some reason, I feel like my cup has been over flowing and over flowing these last few weeks. I can't describe how happy I am with my life. I love my husband and kids soo soo soo much. I look at them and just feel overwhelmingly blessed. Yes, I get frustrate with the fighting or the whining, etc., but it's nothing it the whole scheme of things. This is exactly the life I wanted. Sure I have goals for more things to come, but I am happy with today.
Abby just finished up her soccer season (U9) and had a lot of fun. She learned a lot this year and met some great girls too.
She just started her very first season of basketball on Saturday. Her practices are 2 hours on Saturdays. I took her to her first practice last week and she did so great! She had a smile on her face all the time and she was learning quickly. After the practice was over, I went to speak with the coach and he immediately says to me, "Abby's going to be really good! Has she played before?" I replied, no. Then he said, "Wow, she's picking it up really quickly." That was really nice to hear, especially since Abby looked happy playing too.
Abby's had a reoccurring challenge with a friend at school, and Abby has been great at talking to us about it. I love that she trusts us enough to keep telling us what's going on in her life, even though she often doesn't like the suggestions we give her to resolve her conflicts. I'm very proud of Abby and the kind hearted person she is. We hope, however, that she won't let her need to please over ride the need to protect herself too though. This has been an opportunity to teach Abby what the promptings of the Holy Ghost feel like and how we need to heed those promptings.
Abby performed her first ensemble recital a couple weeks ago and did excellent. Again, I was a very proud mother! I'm so happy for her- to see her excel at something too. My dad (poppy) was able to come visit a few weeks ago and he brought with him, his french horn. The two of them played a duet at home and it was so fun to see and listen to. This ensemble piano stuff has sparked an interest in the extended family to start working on duets. I'm excited about it. My mom has been performing a lot at Temple Hill (playing the violin) and I've been able to take the kids to see her. It's been fun to see her as a family and the kids have really enjoyed it too.
Eli-
When we went to the last performance that my mom was in at Temple Hill, Eli was so excited by it. It was an LDS lady who played the violin with the orchestra behind her. The theme was Disney songs and Eli especially loved it. He was moving to the music, leaning over to me to say things like, "I know this one. It's from ... , or did you hear the drums on that one? " He was very interested. Although it was a long performance and right before the end, he climbed up on my lap and fell asleep. It was heaven! Eli never falls asleep on me.
Eli finished his first season of flag football. He and his friend, Colton, were the youngest on the team; the only kindergartners too. They won 2nd place in the championship game. They didn't get much play time, but had a lot of fun. I've gotten to know Colton's mom really well and it's been great getting to know her. They came with us to the Primary Trunk-or-treat and then they took Eli with them to the school's Halloween carnival. Anyway, Eli did great and I love what a great sport Eli always is!
People have been reporting about what a great sport Eli is too. For example, he lets Hudson win at board games so he won't be sad. He does that with Caleb at home too. I think that's a very mature thing to do for a kid is age and he's been like this for as long as I can remember.
We had a first parent/teacher conference in October and Eli's teacher had great things to say about Eli (of course). She kept commenting on how smart he is. I volunteer in Eli's class on Monday mornings and I get to see the teacher pull kids aside in groups to see how they are reading, etc. I also get to have the kids read to me and Eli and 3 other kids in his "morning cubs" group are the best readers. I LOVE going into his class each week. The first month of me volunteering, Eli would cry when I left, even though he wouldn't cry when I would drop him off at school in the morning. I think he just really likes having me in the class with him. He started asking me to tell him 5 minutes before I left, that I was going to leave, so he could say goodbye when no one was looking, so he wouldn't be seen seen crying. And it wasn't CRYING so much as it was getting teary eyed with maybe a tiny cry sometimes. Anyway... it's a very sweet and endearing thing about him.
Eli has been very clingy lately. He doesn't want me to leave. Even if we spent the whole day doing stuff together, it isn't enough if I say I'm not going to snuggle him before bed. Hudson came over and Eli didn't want to go play with him, he wanted to be with me. Eli is totally my little man. I love that he wants to be with me. Yes, it gets in the way sometimes of his own happiness during the day, and is sometimes frustrating too (because I can't reason with him when he's in his mood), but I love that he loves me. I LOVE him too!
Caleb -
He's being a little pill with Ayla. Now that he's not the youngest, I guess that means it's his turn to pick on someone younger than him. He teases her and just annoys her a lot. When he gets caught, he will try to hide this slightly evil grin on his face. A minute later, he'll come back to me and with a very sincere face and attitude, he'll say to me that he won't do that to Ayla anymore- that he'll be a good big brother and take care of her. This lasts a day and then we start over again. Luckily, Ayla still loves him- just not while she's being picked on. One story- we were at Michael's (the store) and Ayla and Caleb were sitting in the cart. Caleb kept picking on Ayla and I had to KEEP getting after him about it. In a moment when Caleb was NOT attacking Ayla, she turned around and bit his arm hard. You'd think that would've taught Caleb a lesson and maybe it did for the rest of the trip to the store, but it quickly is forgotten once he gets his impulses to tease again.
Caleb has quite the imagination and really, always has. He is just full of stories. He makes things up all the time. Sometimes I don't challenge them, but when I do, I'll ask- do you think that really happened? Or, do you think that was in a dream? He'll then own up to it. He'll keep going as if it's real though, unless you call him on it.
He made up the game of "MOTORCYCLE". It's like slug-bug, with VW bugs, but with motorcycles. Anytime you see one, you call out motorcycle. He decides the additional the rules to the game too.
He makes up games all the time or at least rules for things all the time.
He makes up hand signals for things and says things like, "mom, when I do this (and he makes some hand signal), that means, I'm hungry, or I'm angry, or I want milk, or I want to color", or etc. etc. And the list of things he comes up with is really long. It's very cute and very much unique to Caleb.
Caleb didn't like preschool at first, but now when I pick him up, he tells me "I had fun today at preschool!". It makes me happy to hear it.
Caleb loves to color and he's really good at it too. He will spend a LOT of time coloring these days. I've almost run out of coloring pages in all our coloring books.
Ayla can't quite say Caleb's name yet, but calls him Cadid.
Ayla-
"I nun noo!" In other words, I love you! "I nun noo too!" Can she never stop saying this please? When she wants me to hold her, she doesn't say, "up". She says, "hug!!, hug!" She does say up, if I'm sitting at the computer and she wants up on my lap, or in other similar situations, but for a general hold, she calls it a hug. I love it.
What a little talker!!! She has so much to say and can say so much! I want to remember every little cute thing she says, but I know I can't. It makes me sad that I will forget her sweet little voice and her amazing smile and hugs. The way she snuggles into me, the way she says ma ma lately.... Bye, bye daddy, see you soon! She still parrots everything the kids say. It doesn't annoy her at all. She speaks 3 & 4 word sentences a lot. A couple weeks ago, we were at grandma and grandpa Farr's house and she said to Susan, "I want chocolate milk." We were all shocked by that one. I'm really amazed at Ayla's language ability. She totally understands what I say. Sometimes, I will be doing something like cleaning up a pile of shoes and she'll walk up to me and say, "what you doing, mommy?" . I'll respond by saying, "cleaning up the shoes". And she'll say with a cute tone, "oh! cleaning the shoes".
We went to my mom's house last week and while we were there, she kept calling my mom, "Kay" instead of Grandma Kay, like my other kids do.
She loves her bottle....yikes. I really need to ween her of it. I'm just not ready to deal with the crying for it. It's almost like tackling potty training or bed training. They might be ready for it, but I'm not.
Ayla loves to color with Caleb. It's cute to see her coloring right along side him. She'll spend a good amount of time doing it too.
She loves taking baths. She would take one every day if I let her. She lays her head down in the water and doesn't fuss. When we went to my mom's last week, the kids got in the hot tub. Ayla did NOT want me to touch her while she was in there. She wanted to walk freely. She also was not afraid of the water. She would sink down into the water until the water was over her mouth and sometimes, over her nose before she decided to get her face out. I was really surprised to see this.
She loves Dora and gets soo excited at the idea of watching it. When the theme song starts, she'll be so giddy, kicks her legs, stands up and dances in her jumping type dance (in a circle), and sits back down in her little chair for the show with a huge grin on her face.
She is very polite! She remembers to say thank you and your welcome all the time. She says it appropriately too. What's even more fun to see is her saying excuse me to people when we go places or if she just wants to get past someone at home. She will say good mornin' to people as we pass them, even if it's evening time. People get a kick out of that.
She loves swings and swinging HIGH. You can trick her into not swinging so high, as long as you give her a good sized push and say, "under dog!".
MOM- ME!
I just have to say I am happier than I have ever been- at least the happiest I've been in a long time. I think I've always felt happy (aside from the hard times), but for some reason, I feel like my cup has been over flowing and over flowing these last few weeks. I can't describe how happy I am with my life. I love my husband and kids soo soo soo much. I look at them and just feel overwhelmingly blessed. Yes, I get frustrate with the fighting or the whining, etc., but it's nothing it the whole scheme of things. This is exactly the life I wanted. Sure I have goals for more things to come, but I am happy with today.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Georgene Deardorf -piano teacher
I got a voice mail message today from Abby's piano teacher who called just to say how proud she was of Abby. She said that she was so proud of the progress Abby's been making on her piano piece (she's doing a double duet- 4 people/2 pianos). She knows that Abby is new to this kind of playing and says she sees Abby really learning and progressing each week. She said she not only is proud of Abby but that she is happy for her too because she can see that Abby enjoys it and because Abby is "getting it" and learning the new stuff each week. I'm so proud of her!!! It wasn't the first time her teacher has talked about how impressed she is with Abby's consistency. Over the summer, the teacher said to me that most kids in the summer, slip off, but Abby has been consistant in her learning, practicing, and progression. Yay! This teacher is super expensive, but I really think this is making a difference in Abby's piano by having her.
As a side note, when people hear Abby play, many people will remark about what a good player she is and add that she is really talented. Keep up the hard/good work Abby! :)
As a side note, when people hear Abby play, many people will remark about what a good player she is and add that she is really talented. Keep up the hard/good work Abby! :)
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Dates with the kids
One thing I really wanted to do with the kids before the summer ended was do individual dates with the kids. Unfortunately, Ian went into the hospital with PCP (pneumonia) a few weeks before school started and was there for 2 weeks. That in and of itself was quiet the experience in many ways. For now, I'll address the kid dates that were delayed due to unexpected events. So I was getting sad about the fact that I wasn't able to do a lot of things with the kids this summer that I would've liked, including their one on one dates that I had promised them. Luckily, the weekend before school started, after Ian had been home a few days, my mom came on a Friday night to help put kids down while I took Abby on her date to the movies to see "Smurfs". The next day, after I put Ayla down for a nap, I took Caleb miniature golfing. It was a pretty quick date, but we had fun. It was a super hot day so we went and got slurpies before returning home. There was extra time and Ayla was still asleep, so I took Eli for a bike ride to the Yogofina place. He rode his 2 wheel bike the whole way there and back and didn't complain. I know he loved it and so did I! I was soo soo happy that I was able to have those dates with my kids before school started. It may seem like a small thing, but I really needed that time with the kids probably, just as much as they needed it too.
But now we've got some expectations to keep up with. Round 2 of dates with the kids. Caleb wanted to go get frozen yogurt so we went while Abby was at piano and Eli was at Hudsons. Ian met us there so I got to be in on it this time. Then Eli had his date with Ian to get ice cream cones at Baskin Robins. Ian mentioned that Eli really loved doing that with him. Eli asked if they could do this all the time. It meant a lot to Ian and from the sound of it, it really meant a lot for Eli to have that one on one time with Ian. Abby's turn is next.... what to do? I think it will be a date with Ian to get Jamba Juice.
Caleb is thinking that these dates will be happening every day, so it might be a challenge helping him to understand how this date sharing thing will work. All of the kids seem to be overly concerned with "what's fair". That is a frustrating part of this, but hopefully with time it will work itself out. I am definitely enjoying the evolution of these dates with the kids. I love them so much!
But now we've got some expectations to keep up with. Round 2 of dates with the kids. Caleb wanted to go get frozen yogurt so we went while Abby was at piano and Eli was at Hudsons. Ian met us there so I got to be in on it this time. Then Eli had his date with Ian to get ice cream cones at Baskin Robins. Ian mentioned that Eli really loved doing that with him. Eli asked if they could do this all the time. It meant a lot to Ian and from the sound of it, it really meant a lot for Eli to have that one on one time with Ian. Abby's turn is next.... what to do? I think it will be a date with Ian to get Jamba Juice.
Caleb is thinking that these dates will be happening every day, so it might be a challenge helping him to understand how this date sharing thing will work. All of the kids seem to be overly concerned with "what's fair". That is a frustrating part of this, but hopefully with time it will work itself out. I am definitely enjoying the evolution of these dates with the kids. I love them so much!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
1st day of Kindergarten
Ayla is now 19 months old. I ended up putting Ayla into nursery a couple weeks early because Ian wasn't able to take her and neither was I since I teach primary during the 2nd hour of church. She loved it. What made it easy for her to go was that she saw Charlotte Williams (Hudson's little sister). Ayla ran to Charlotte. It was so cute. No tears. BUT... 3 weeks ago, things changed. Ayla was fine at first but then just wouldn't stop crying. So the teachers brought her down to me. The next week, I walked Ayla into the nursery room and Ayla went crazy, crazy. She immediately started REALLY crying and pulling me towards the door. So I took her with me to teach my class. Ayla didn't stop crying though. She cried just about the entire time of my lesson. So this last Sunday, I put Ayla down for a nap RIGHT before we left for church. She only woke up 30 minutes before church got out. So it was a good thing!
Ayla is a little parrot. The kids all have her saying stuff all the time. Sometimes I worry Ayla will get worn out from all the requests, but I just let it go. Ayla doesn't seem to mind and it actually is teaching her how to say lots of new things. Today, Collin came over for dinner and it was the first time Ayla said his name. She wouldn't stop saying it though. Still, super cute.
Ayla is a little dare devil on slides. She will say ready, set, go and blast down a very fast slide- over and over and over again. Eli and Caleb like to race her going up the steps and then down the slide either next to her or chasing her down a twisty slide. They do this a lot while we wait for Abby during her soccer practices.
At night, when Ayla's having a hard time going to sleep, we'll hear her call Abby's name repeatedly (Abby will be in bed reading or trying to go to sleep). It's super cute. Ayla will change her intonations as she calls for Abby. It can last a long time (like right now it's been going on for about 25 minutes--so far).
Ayla was taking all my credit cards out of my wallet during Sacrament meeting today and then dropped them on the ground. She went to pick them all up and kept saying to herself, "Ayla Jane"...in a tone that Ian and I will use when she's done something wrong. It was hilarious to hear her sweetly scold herself.
Ayla is just really talking up a storm in general. I'm amazed lately at how many things I want to tell everyone that she's saying. Like "excuse me". She says it totally appropriately and all the time. If you're in her chair and she wants you to move, she says, "excuse me". She even said it to a stranger as she was helping me push the stroller. Ian was saying, over and over, the other day, "I love you!" and Ayla responded casually, "I know, I know." With all the new things she's saying, her new sentences, concepts she's getting, etc. we just want to eat her up! This stage is so fun and rewarding. It's also soo sad because we won't remember it like we know it now. And it's so cute and wonderful, we don't want to ever forget this age or this little person just the way she is right now! That's true for all of our kids from the time they were babies to where they are right now too.
Eli lost his 2nd tooth about a week before school started. It got really loose one afternoon while I was home for a few hours from visiting Ian in the hospital. He did loose it that night while Ian and I were gone and Susan was here. Eli lost his first tooth a few months prior while at the dentist. He asked them to pull it so they did. His permanent tooth was growing in back of the baby tooth making the tooth in front only slightly loose.
Eli has started his first year at 2 things! KINDERGARTEN and Flag Football. He's doing great at both. When we've played football together or as a family, Eli has always been super agressive and also had a good arm when throwing the ball. When it came to decide between soccer and football, he picked football. I thought he would do great at it too. I didn't realize there would be so much to learn and pay attention to with the flag football. It is a little over his head, but he is really enjoying it. It's fun to see him try to grab the flags and even run with the ball when it's been handed off to him. His very first game, he got the ball and ran the wrong way down the field. A classic thing to retell as he gets older. :)
So Kindergarten- Eli has adjusted sooooo easily. He just loves making new friends and is not afraid to make friends either. One of his first homework assignments was to write down the name of 5 friends from school. He listed 5 and 2 of them were John Henry and Roy. It turns out that both of those boys were on Hudson's soccer team. It seems like we are able to make friends because people know Christina and Hudson. The first day, Eli wanted to run to his line all by himself at first. Then he wanted me to stay, then he wanted me to go. He just wasn't sure, but confident each time he changed his mind. :) Then the first week or two of school he would shower me with blowing kisses. No other kids were doing this, but he would look and look for me to catch his kisses and for me to send them back to him too. He is adjusting so well to school. I'm just super amazed. I'm curious to talk to his teacher about how things are going. Eli was learning to read before he got to school. This summer he had started reading a few small books with help, but read one book all by himself. He is ripe for learning. He gets home from school and can't wait to do his homework (AND wants to play "Stack the States" or "Stack the Countries").
All the kids have been playing this new game that's on the Apple Computer, called "Stack the States". They all are learning their geography so so well. Ian did an inpromtu quiz with Eli the other night while we were at his parents house. What's the smallest state in the US? What states border California? What state is below New York? And below that state? Eli had ALL the answers. Pretty darn cool and amazing for his age. Caleb and Eli had started out the game learning the states by giving them names like "the Broccoli state"-Wisconsin, or the brush state- Oaklahoma, the glove state - Michigan, etc. The kids have seen movies that will mention a different state and they recognize it. It's pretty cool. We showed this game to Hudson and now the two of them can talk about states. It's cute. Eli has already amazed his primary teacher with his knowledge of the states too (and Hudson who is in the class too). We have the Wirig's to thank for turning us on to this game.
Abby finished the 6th Harry Potter book by the end of summer. I'm so proud of her. She is on the 7th, but I've put it on hold since she has to do a book report and she's not close to being done with it yet.
Abby turned 9 and it was on Monday- Labor Day this year. I took the kids to Lake Chabot. Abby and Eli rode their bikes while I pushed Caleb and Ayla in the double stroller. I had pulled my back just the Saturday before after a busy day and then lifted Ayla into her car seat. It wasn't totally healed when I took the kids to the lake but figured I would be all right if I was careful. Not smart. I TOTALLY pulled it worse than I have ever pulled it. I think the only way I was able to make it back was because of the great shocks in the stroller and the adrenaline that was pumping through me as I chased Abby down who had ridden to far off ahead of me. I barely got the bikes/strollers in the car. By the time I got home, I could not even stand without extreme pain. Susan came and helped make Abby's b-day dinner and even stayed most of the week to help out. My mom came one night too which was nice and super helpful. Abby wanted Orange Chicken the night of her actual b-day and I already had all the fixings, but Susan cooked it and put the whole dinner and dessert on. I don't know what I would've done without her. My back hurt so bad. Luckily, we had a family party at the Farr's house on Saturday too. Collin made his famous ribs and we had a great big meal. Vicki's family was there and so was Christian. Abby had quite the 9th b-day. On top of all that, Christian and Collin came and took Abby out to lunch on her birthday and then shopping for a new outfit. This was a huge help on her b-day too.
Abby even had a b-day party this year. We do friend b-day parties every other year and she was due to have her party last year. We didn't do it because we had just moved here and didn't know anyone. So I felt like I really needed to let Abby have a party. But with Ian on disability, this was going to be tricky financially. Ian stayed in his room to avoid possible germs and we did the party here. Abby had 6 girls come over for dinner, charades, music, pedicures, and a movie ("What a Girl Wants"). It was low key, but turned out pretty good.
Abby is in 4th grade with Mrs. Perras. She's a bit more strict, but it seems like it will be a good change for Abby to learn from.
Abby is preparing for her new recital. She is really growing and doing well with her piano. She says she really enjoys it too. Abby is doing a duet with my mom and a four-some with some girls from the ward. I'm excited to hear how she does.
Ayla is a little parrot. The kids all have her saying stuff all the time. Sometimes I worry Ayla will get worn out from all the requests, but I just let it go. Ayla doesn't seem to mind and it actually is teaching her how to say lots of new things. Today, Collin came over for dinner and it was the first time Ayla said his name. She wouldn't stop saying it though. Still, super cute.
Ayla is a little dare devil on slides. She will say ready, set, go and blast down a very fast slide- over and over and over again. Eli and Caleb like to race her going up the steps and then down the slide either next to her or chasing her down a twisty slide. They do this a lot while we wait for Abby during her soccer practices.
At night, when Ayla's having a hard time going to sleep, we'll hear her call Abby's name repeatedly (Abby will be in bed reading or trying to go to sleep). It's super cute. Ayla will change her intonations as she calls for Abby. It can last a long time (like right now it's been going on for about 25 minutes--so far).
Ayla was taking all my credit cards out of my wallet during Sacrament meeting today and then dropped them on the ground. She went to pick them all up and kept saying to herself, "Ayla Jane"...in a tone that Ian and I will use when she's done something wrong. It was hilarious to hear her sweetly scold herself.
Ayla is just really talking up a storm in general. I'm amazed lately at how many things I want to tell everyone that she's saying. Like "excuse me". She says it totally appropriately and all the time. If you're in her chair and she wants you to move, she says, "excuse me". She even said it to a stranger as she was helping me push the stroller. Ian was saying, over and over, the other day, "I love you!" and Ayla responded casually, "I know, I know." With all the new things she's saying, her new sentences, concepts she's getting, etc. we just want to eat her up! This stage is so fun and rewarding. It's also soo sad because we won't remember it like we know it now. And it's so cute and wonderful, we don't want to ever forget this age or this little person just the way she is right now! That's true for all of our kids from the time they were babies to where they are right now too.
Eli lost his 2nd tooth about a week before school started. It got really loose one afternoon while I was home for a few hours from visiting Ian in the hospital. He did loose it that night while Ian and I were gone and Susan was here. Eli lost his first tooth a few months prior while at the dentist. He asked them to pull it so they did. His permanent tooth was growing in back of the baby tooth making the tooth in front only slightly loose.
Eli has started his first year at 2 things! KINDERGARTEN and Flag Football. He's doing great at both. When we've played football together or as a family, Eli has always been super agressive and also had a good arm when throwing the ball. When it came to decide between soccer and football, he picked football. I thought he would do great at it too. I didn't realize there would be so much to learn and pay attention to with the flag football. It is a little over his head, but he is really enjoying it. It's fun to see him try to grab the flags and even run with the ball when it's been handed off to him. His very first game, he got the ball and ran the wrong way down the field. A classic thing to retell as he gets older. :)
So Kindergarten- Eli has adjusted sooooo easily. He just loves making new friends and is not afraid to make friends either. One of his first homework assignments was to write down the name of 5 friends from school. He listed 5 and 2 of them were John Henry and Roy. It turns out that both of those boys were on Hudson's soccer team. It seems like we are able to make friends because people know Christina and Hudson. The first day, Eli wanted to run to his line all by himself at first. Then he wanted me to stay, then he wanted me to go. He just wasn't sure, but confident each time he changed his mind. :) Then the first week or two of school he would shower me with blowing kisses. No other kids were doing this, but he would look and look for me to catch his kisses and for me to send them back to him too. He is adjusting so well to school. I'm just super amazed. I'm curious to talk to his teacher about how things are going. Eli was learning to read before he got to school. This summer he had started reading a few small books with help, but read one book all by himself. He is ripe for learning. He gets home from school and can't wait to do his homework (AND wants to play "Stack the States" or "Stack the Countries").
All the kids have been playing this new game that's on the Apple Computer, called "Stack the States". They all are learning their geography so so well. Ian did an inpromtu quiz with Eli the other night while we were at his parents house. What's the smallest state in the US? What states border California? What state is below New York? And below that state? Eli had ALL the answers. Pretty darn cool and amazing for his age. Caleb and Eli had started out the game learning the states by giving them names like "the Broccoli state"-Wisconsin, or the brush state- Oaklahoma, the glove state - Michigan, etc. The kids have seen movies that will mention a different state and they recognize it. It's pretty cool. We showed this game to Hudson and now the two of them can talk about states. It's cute. Eli has already amazed his primary teacher with his knowledge of the states too (and Hudson who is in the class too). We have the Wirig's to thank for turning us on to this game.
Abby finished the 6th Harry Potter book by the end of summer. I'm so proud of her. She is on the 7th, but I've put it on hold since she has to do a book report and she's not close to being done with it yet.
Abby turned 9 and it was on Monday- Labor Day this year. I took the kids to Lake Chabot. Abby and Eli rode their bikes while I pushed Caleb and Ayla in the double stroller. I had pulled my back just the Saturday before after a busy day and then lifted Ayla into her car seat. It wasn't totally healed when I took the kids to the lake but figured I would be all right if I was careful. Not smart. I TOTALLY pulled it worse than I have ever pulled it. I think the only way I was able to make it back was because of the great shocks in the stroller and the adrenaline that was pumping through me as I chased Abby down who had ridden to far off ahead of me. I barely got the bikes/strollers in the car. By the time I got home, I could not even stand without extreme pain. Susan came and helped make Abby's b-day dinner and even stayed most of the week to help out. My mom came one night too which was nice and super helpful. Abby wanted Orange Chicken the night of her actual b-day and I already had all the fixings, but Susan cooked it and put the whole dinner and dessert on. I don't know what I would've done without her. My back hurt so bad. Luckily, we had a family party at the Farr's house on Saturday too. Collin made his famous ribs and we had a great big meal. Vicki's family was there and so was Christian. Abby had quite the 9th b-day. On top of all that, Christian and Collin came and took Abby out to lunch on her birthday and then shopping for a new outfit. This was a huge help on her b-day too.
Abby even had a b-day party this year. We do friend b-day parties every other year and she was due to have her party last year. We didn't do it because we had just moved here and didn't know anyone. So I felt like I really needed to let Abby have a party. But with Ian on disability, this was going to be tricky financially. Ian stayed in his room to avoid possible germs and we did the party here. Abby had 6 girls come over for dinner, charades, music, pedicures, and a movie ("What a Girl Wants"). It was low key, but turned out pretty good.
Abby is in 4th grade with Mrs. Perras. She's a bit more strict, but it seems like it will be a good change for Abby to learn from.
Abby is preparing for her new recital. She is really growing and doing well with her piano. She says she really enjoys it too. Abby is doing a duet with my mom and a four-some with some girls from the ward. I'm excited to hear how she does.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Busy local summer
So we've had a busy local summer this year. No trips away except for the one night stay at the R Ranch up in Napa. It felt soo soo good to be out camping even if it wasn't in a tent. I loved seeing the kids playing in the creek, dirt, pool, riding horses etc. There is so much to do there, it was sad to leave without having done it all.
Abby got to go on her first trail ride with 3-4 other riders, one of them being Grandma Farr. Abby did great. Eli and Caleb both got to ride individually in the coral with Ian walking them. That was good for Ian to be walking them (because of his Wegener's). Just after arriving at the ranch, Caleb spotted a rattle snake. So Susan and Vicki contacted the workers and they came quickly with a shovel and took it's head off. Eli and Caleb were soo soo excited to go fishing but the pond was empty because of the sea otters. Eli was so disappointed. Now I have to figure out how to go somewhere local like Lake Chabot!
Eli+: Last Saturday, I woke up early to go for a run at Lake Chabot. Eli was already awake and lying at the foot of my door. He asked where I was going and when I told him, he said he wanted to come with me. I told him he would have to sit in the stroller (which he doesn't like to do anymore). He surprised me by saying, OK! So he hopped in the car with me and when we got to the lake, he changed his mind about sitting in the stroller. He wanted to run along with me. And he DID! He did so amazing. He ran for about 2.5 miles. I was so soo impressed. When he would start to seem tired, I'd say "you can sit in the stroller if you like". Or I'd say, "just sit down in the stroller". He would tell me no, speed up and then want to race me. It was super cute. He would say hello or good morning to everyone we passed. I told him was doing such a great job that maybe he should be a runner or be on a running team like track or cross country someday. He asked what that would be like and what it was. Then he asked if I was ever on a team. I said yes. He then asked- will you tell me about it? He loves hearing stories of what happened to me as a kid. Abby likes hearing those kinds of stories too. I just had SUCH a great time with my running buddy and hope we do it again soon. I was planning on going again with him today, but he, Abby, and Caleb had a sleep over at Aunt Vicki's house last night. That was fun. They've had a couple sleep overs at her house this summer and Rachel's slept over here a few times too. We will be (I will be) potty training her later next week. I hope it goes as well as I'm hoping. I will feel super bad if I mess anything up. It SHOULD be ok. It will just be letting her pee her pants until it doesn't feel good anymore and she WANTS to go to the potty instead.
We just had Reid's family here with their 6 great kids this week. It was so great to have them here. We stayed in most of the time. The kids played a lot of wii, we played Settlers of Catan with Reid, Heidi, Evelyn, and Abby. We went to the park one night and played a short game of football and the next night we played soccer.
Just before that, mom's sister, La Rae and her 5 of 6 kids came for dinner. That was great too. I love having people over.
Ian's brother, Randy and their great family came on either side of La Rae's visit. We got to meet the only boy cousin on the Farr's side for our family....Andrew. He is such a handsome, sweet little boy! We all so enjoyed holding him, making him laugh and smile. We got to walk across the Golden Gate bridge with them (well, we walked maybe 1/4 of the way across before we turned around). Abby had been wanting to do that for a couple years now. It was pretty windy and very crowded. Bikes and pedestrians fought for space on one side of the bridge since the other side was closed. Eli got knocked over when a bicyclist fell over on him. And it wasn't Eli's fault.
I took the kids to the park (Parson's Park) and played tackle football with them for about an hour. We had soo much fun! I loved it and so did the kids. Luckily we were able to go while Ayla napped at home with Ian. We rode bikes there for about half an hour too. Eli can ride a two wheeler all by himself, Abby had her new bike with gears (that we got for her on Craigslist this summer) and Caleb had his tricycle. I had to run along side Caleb and push him up the hills. It was a good workout. :)
We took the kids to the Solono drive-ins with the Wirig family. We saw "Cars 2". It was a late night full of sugary goodness.
We did a few puzzles and that was really fun to do together as a family. It got Ian involved too while he was home not going anyplace.
We've made a lot of fresh lemonade from the lemon tree in our backyard. The kids love making it and now we have a recipe for successful lemonade. 2 parts lemon juice, 1 part sugar (maybe add a little more) then the water to taste. So for a 2 quart pitcher you'd add 2 cups lemon juice, 1 cup of sugar, and then fill the pitcher the rest of the way with water. YUMMY.
We got to go swimming a couple times at Sandi Parker's pool in Martinez while she was visiting. That was fun for the kids to reunite and for us moms to get to talk again. Of course, Christina Ballin and her kids were there too. While we were there, I brought up a weight loss challenge that was well received by Sandi, and reluctantly accepted by Christina. We all got on board though. It's been 2 and a half weeks since we first started and I've lost (Sandi too) 5 lbs. Sandi has a new man in her life and we're excited to see where it goes. His name is Taylor and we are hoping for a fun party when she gets married. :)
We have a good rhythm for chores these days. The kids take turns cleaning the bathroom (with my help) while the other two do something else, like sort the washed laundry and pick up all the apples off the ground in the backyard. They each have to put away their own clothes. This has been great. The kids don't fight it as it's just an expected part of their week. Caleb just let me cut his hair the other day without a single fight! That was big progress. Right now though, I'm just clipping their hair with a number 3 for Eli and a number 5 for Caleb. Eli has thicker hair so I can go shorter for him, but Caleb's hair is much thinner so I don't cut his as short. But I do trim with scissors around their ears and at their neck/hair line.
Ian's buddy, David Hansen, and his family came to visit their family and stopped in for an evening for dinner. It was nice to visit with them. They've got such nice kids too.
I took the kids bowling, to park b-day parties, Abby to a rock climbing b-day party, which she did great at, and to a friend's place to swim. They've helped me clean the church a couple times this summer on Saturday mornings. Abby has had soccer practice/camp type things on Saturday mornings too.
Jack came and stayed with us for a few days all by himself. We loved it.
My friend Kim, came to town and we had a lot of fun. We met up with Sara and Tea at the Cheese Cake Factory for dinner one night. A few days later Kim and I met up in Rocklin and spent the afternoon with Sara at her place. She had her 6 week old little girl with her (plus her other 2 kids too). We bar-b-queued, talked, and the kids got to have water fights and jumped on their bounce house for hours. I met up with Kim at the park by the Farr's for some traditional crawdad fishing too. So fun!
I have to share a Caleb-ism. Lately when he wants to tell me something, he says to me, "can I tell you something in your ear?" So he grabs my head in this weird head lock kind of way and tells me that he wants a turn on the wii or something. I'm pretty sure it started when we had a lot of people over and he didn't want to tell me in front of everyone. Now it's happening all the time.
He also does NOT like it when anyone lays on his bed right before bed time because it makes his bed hot. It's hilarious. It's been going on for a few months now and I'm wondering if it will pass, but for now it's kind of funny, well, not for Abby or anyone who lies down. Caleb will get pretty upset if his bed gets hot!
Ayla has her molars almost all the way in now. It seems like it's been taking a long time for them to fully come in. Ayla talks so much. Abby will tell her, "Ayla, say ball....say Ayla, say potty, say......" So Ayla's getting a lot of practice at imitating.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Isms
Caleb-
He was running to the car after church and fell down. I called to him to see if he was OK. He got up and said after a few seconds, "I'm OK. Next time I won't run. I will walk". As simple as that sounds, nothing is simple when you hear Caleb's intonations accompanied with his sweet voice. There was a parent walking almost right next to Caleb when he fell and he laughed at Caleb's comments telling Caleb that he was a smart boy. Not too many kids think about what they'll do NEXT time.
Often when Caleb is trying to tell you a story or explain something, it takes a while for him to consentrate and spit it out. He'll start and then have to try and figure it out while he stands on his head. It's pretty entertaining.
After playing in the grass at Grandma & Gpa Farr's house, he opens the cabinet doors in the kitchen, kind of shuts them on his chest so he's sort of inside, and says, "I think Jesus should not make grass so sharp."
Ayla-
Says poo poo regularly now. Her list of words she can say now is
bye, bye, hi (first word), baby, eyes (I think her 2nd word), ma ma, pa pa (for grandpa), some sound that sounds like grandma-gma?, car, cracker, woah, go, a muffled- lets go,
She used to say da da, but won't say it now. Just like she was signing for milk when she was about 8 months (?) old and then stopped a month or so later when she learned to nod or smile in response to when I asked if she wanted milk.
She also can blow kisses as of last week.
Ayla does somersaults. She started by just getting ready on her head with her bum in the air. I would then peek at her through her legs. She loved that game. That's been going on for months now. I then flip her legs over her head and she loves it. Now she's just about got the whole motion all by herself.
She is just such a happy happy baby. Sooooooooo smiley all the time. She is not much of a fusser at all. She loves to go to people and lay her head on their shoulder for a second.
Abby-
Since Ian's been home sick, I've been able to walk Abby to school by ourselves (with me carrying Ayla in a sling) and leave the boys home. We've been able to spend some good one on one time together. I really enjoy it and Abby does too. It's been really good for us.
Abby read the 4th Harry Potter book all by herself!!! She finished it up last week. I read the first HP book to her during the summer before she went into the 1st grade. I read the 2nd one to her the following summer before 2nd grade. I started reading the 3rd to her but she wanted to read the rest so she read probably 2/3s of it herself. Then read the whole 4th book. Motivation to read the rest of the 3rd and the 4th by herself was that Ian started reading the HP series from the beginning for the first time. She wanted to beat him reading the 3rd before Ian got through the first 3. Ian finished the whole series now, but Abby kept plugging along on the 4th. Her friend at school, Caitlyn, was about where she was in book 4, so then it became a race to finish it before her. She read it and read it quickly (for a 3rd grader!) I'm so proud of her! She started the 5th book already and is doing great.
She was voted to be in Student Council this year- her first year at a new school. That says a lot. She was in Student Council in Martinez too. We might just have a leader on our hands.
Abby wants to constantly change her hair this school year. First she wanted it short - we did that. Then she wanted bangs - we did that. Now she wants to die it blonde. She doesn't think it's fair that Ayla has blonde hair and blue eyes or that she's the only one with brown hair of the kids. She also wants to perm her hair. It's interesting.
Eli-
Eli's last day of preschool was today. Ms. Lorrie was his teacher. Such a fabulous teacher. We signed him up through Hayward Area Recreation District (HARD).
His is such a good sport while playing games. He never ever throws a fit if he looses. He enjoys winning, but doesn't get discouraged if he looses. He just wants to play again.
He is an amazing sharer. He will have some valuable food items like Starburst candies or fruit snacks, etc. and eat them very slowly to make them last longer. Caleb or someone else will eat theirs very quickly then be sad that they can't have any more. Eli will often say that they can have his. I try to say sometimes that he doesn't have to share, but he feels badly for them and says, "no mom, I want to". How do you say no to that? He is so soft and kind when it comes to things like that. He doesn't want them to be sad.
Eli also is enjoying walking with me while Caleb and Ayla sit in the stroller. I tell him I want him to walk first because he's the fastest (and he is). Caleb gets too distracted and "tired" to walk quickly. But Eli loves having that honor, I guess. It makes him feel good. He'll say, I don't want to sit in the stroller. I want to exercise...chase me mom!
He was running to the car after church and fell down. I called to him to see if he was OK. He got up and said after a few seconds, "I'm OK. Next time I won't run. I will walk". As simple as that sounds, nothing is simple when you hear Caleb's intonations accompanied with his sweet voice. There was a parent walking almost right next to Caleb when he fell and he laughed at Caleb's comments telling Caleb that he was a smart boy. Not too many kids think about what they'll do NEXT time.
Often when Caleb is trying to tell you a story or explain something, it takes a while for him to consentrate and spit it out. He'll start and then have to try and figure it out while he stands on his head. It's pretty entertaining.
After playing in the grass at Grandma & Gpa Farr's house, he opens the cabinet doors in the kitchen, kind of shuts them on his chest so he's sort of inside, and says, "I think Jesus should not make grass so sharp."
Ayla-
Says poo poo regularly now. Her list of words she can say now is
bye, bye, hi (first word), baby, eyes (I think her 2nd word), ma ma, pa pa (for grandpa), some sound that sounds like grandma-gma?, car, cracker, woah, go, a muffled- lets go,
She used to say da da, but won't say it now. Just like she was signing for milk when she was about 8 months (?) old and then stopped a month or so later when she learned to nod or smile in response to when I asked if she wanted milk.
She also can blow kisses as of last week.
Ayla does somersaults. She started by just getting ready on her head with her bum in the air. I would then peek at her through her legs. She loved that game. That's been going on for months now. I then flip her legs over her head and she loves it. Now she's just about got the whole motion all by herself.
She is just such a happy happy baby. Sooooooooo smiley all the time. She is not much of a fusser at all. She loves to go to people and lay her head on their shoulder for a second.
Abby-
Since Ian's been home sick, I've been able to walk Abby to school by ourselves (with me carrying Ayla in a sling) and leave the boys home. We've been able to spend some good one on one time together. I really enjoy it and Abby does too. It's been really good for us.
Abby read the 4th Harry Potter book all by herself!!! She finished it up last week. I read the first HP book to her during the summer before she went into the 1st grade. I read the 2nd one to her the following summer before 2nd grade. I started reading the 3rd to her but she wanted to read the rest so she read probably 2/3s of it herself. Then read the whole 4th book. Motivation to read the rest of the 3rd and the 4th by herself was that Ian started reading the HP series from the beginning for the first time. She wanted to beat him reading the 3rd before Ian got through the first 3. Ian finished the whole series now, but Abby kept plugging along on the 4th. Her friend at school, Caitlyn, was about where she was in book 4, so then it became a race to finish it before her. She read it and read it quickly (for a 3rd grader!) I'm so proud of her! She started the 5th book already and is doing great.
She was voted to be in Student Council this year- her first year at a new school. That says a lot. She was in Student Council in Martinez too. We might just have a leader on our hands.
Abby wants to constantly change her hair this school year. First she wanted it short - we did that. Then she wanted bangs - we did that. Now she wants to die it blonde. She doesn't think it's fair that Ayla has blonde hair and blue eyes or that she's the only one with brown hair of the kids. She also wants to perm her hair. It's interesting.
Eli-
Eli's last day of preschool was today. Ms. Lorrie was his teacher. Such a fabulous teacher. We signed him up through Hayward Area Recreation District (HARD).
His is such a good sport while playing games. He never ever throws a fit if he looses. He enjoys winning, but doesn't get discouraged if he looses. He just wants to play again.
He is an amazing sharer. He will have some valuable food items like Starburst candies or fruit snacks, etc. and eat them very slowly to make them last longer. Caleb or someone else will eat theirs very quickly then be sad that they can't have any more. Eli will often say that they can have his. I try to say sometimes that he doesn't have to share, but he feels badly for them and says, "no mom, I want to". How do you say no to that? He is so soft and kind when it comes to things like that. He doesn't want them to be sad.
Eli also is enjoying walking with me while Caleb and Ayla sit in the stroller. I tell him I want him to walk first because he's the fastest (and he is). Caleb gets too distracted and "tired" to walk quickly. But Eli loves having that honor, I guess. It makes him feel good. He'll say, I don't want to sit in the stroller. I want to exercise...chase me mom!
Summer
For FHE we made a list of all the things we'd like to do this summer-staying local! Even though things are on the list, it doesn't mean we will do them (eg. Santa Barbara. Although we'd LOVE to go).
Summer Ideas:
Beach
Camping
Baseball Game
Ranch
Hikes
Swimming
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge
Bike rides
Play Dates
Drive-In movies
Sleep over at Grandma & Grandpa’s
4th of July celbration
Farm to visit animals
Wii
take turns cooking (Caleb's idea, but I'd like all of them to help)
BBQs
Teach Eli to read
Teach Eli piano
Guitar- Dad, Abby, Mom
Chore list
Library Events
Library books
Read Novels to family
Read ½ of Book of Mormon
School Shopping
Plan Abby’s b-day
Abby sewing
Learn Spanish
Games
Computer games (find new learning ones)
Look up free local events
Air Show
Kites- Kite Show in Berkeley
Fishing
Tildon
Big family Puzzles
Service Projects
Lemon Aid/Tomato stand
Plan Halloween costumes
Free Water Parks
Regular Parks
Tennis
Santa Barbara
IPAD?
Summer Ideas:
Beach
Camping
Baseball Game
Ranch
Hikes
Swimming
Walk the Golden Gate Bridge
Bike rides
Play Dates
Drive-In movies
Sleep over at Grandma & Grandpa’s
4th of July celbration
Farm to visit animals
Wii
take turns cooking (Caleb's idea, but I'd like all of them to help)
BBQs
Teach Eli to read
Teach Eli piano
Guitar- Dad, Abby, Mom
Chore list
Library Events
Library books
Read Novels to family
Read ½ of Book of Mormon
School Shopping
Plan Abby’s b-day
Abby sewing
Learn Spanish
Games
Computer games (find new learning ones)
Look up free local events
Air Show
Kites- Kite Show in Berkeley
Fishing
Tildon
Big family Puzzles
Service Projects
Lemon Aid/Tomato stand
Plan Halloween costumes
Free Water Parks
Regular Parks
Tennis
Santa Barbara
IPAD?
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Ian + Wegeners Granulomatosis
I wrote this to my family on May 4th, the day Ian was admitted to the hospital.
He has been battling some health issues lately. It first started with a really bad winter with viruses flying through our family over and over. Abby ultimately got pneumonia because her system had been hit too repeatedly for it to fight the last sickness. She got over that, then another 2 bugs hit our family, the last being a one day fever. It hit Caleb one day, Eli 2 days after that, then Abby and I. Ian got it last except his hasn't gone away and it's been 2 1/2 weeks since his first fever hit. He's in the hospital right now. I'm home collecting things (getting this email out) before I head back to be with him. He's had a fever every day since his first one, sweats profusely all day, he can't bend his joints (except after Ibuprofin), coughs like his lungs will come out with it, which keeps him up all night (and me), so then he sleeps off and on all day. He's lost weight, has very little appetite (if any at all), and feels constantly dehydrated despite the fluids he's trying to take in. A CAT scan a week ago showed 11 nodules in his lungs. Today they did an x-ray and they are 50% worse. This isn't good. They thought that he had/has "Valley Fever" which is a fungal infection in the lungs that has symptoms that are similar to Tuberculosis. They've been treating him with antifungal medications which take a lot longer to get rid of the problem than a bacterial infection would with antibiotics. They didn't expect his chest x-ray to look WORSE today, which means it probably isn't a fungal infection. SO- they are now treating him with both anti fungals AND antibiotics. But this doesn't answer all the doctors questions. They have him quarantined due to the fact that it could be an infectious disease. He has a few other symptoms, but that's the majority of it. So. They have him on meds and are getting him hydrated through an IV. They will be doing a biopsy on his lungs looking for bacteria, fungus, and cancerous cells (most likely not cancerous). They are also testing for possible infectious diseases. Ian hasn't ever had a broken bone or stitches (other than having his wisdom teeth out and some minor stitches on his finger as a kid) so going under is a bit scary. He is so worn out from his illness these last couple + weeks. I thought I'd let you all know what he's doing/going through and would like to ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
thanks so much.
Anne-Marie
June 8th, I wrote to my family:
So, I've been saying I would send our family update but just haven't been able to bring myself to sit down and write it. Here it goes.
Ian- First of all, thank you thank you for all your prayers, well wishes, and fasts. I really feel our prayers have been heard over and over and that we've been blessed in so many ways. The most recent one being this last week. Ian completed his chemo treatment of Rituxan on Tuesday May31st. At that time he did his usual blood tests to monitor a number of things, but one main one is his kidney function. Every week, his kidney results were getting worse and worse- the numbers doubling each week. The doctor told Ian that if a particular result goes above 1.0 then he will need to put him on a different chemo treatment called Cytoxin. It's a much harsher chemo and has several harmful side effects. Needless to say, we did NOT NOT NOT want Ian to have to take this medicine. So he did his labs that Tuesday and sure enough, all his tests, minus 1 test, came back. They all had doubled again. The one we were waiting for had to be above 1.0 based on his other results, but we didn't know FOR SURE since it wasn't back yet. These test results get emailed to us practically instantly, but the most important one still wasn't back. Anyway, we waited and waited. Because we didn't get the test result back, we figured the doctor was holding it from us. Friday came and Ian emailed the doctor about what was going on. The doctor looked into it and discovered that the test had NOT been run. So Ian had to go back to the clinic and run ALL the test over again. When I heard that the test had not been run, I just KNEW that was good news. We had been fasting, praying, putting Ian's name in the temple, going to the temple, etc. This was it. So Ian went to get his blood work done again. And sure enough, all his scores had gone down a TON except for the one we missed originally. That one HAD gone above 1.0, but because ALL the other scores had dropped so drastically, the doctor said no to Cytoxin. We are so so happy. I'm sorry that was such a long story. Cytoxin is still an option if things go poorly again, but most likely they won't. The Ritoxin that he has been taking usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to start working. The doctors didn't want to wait it out if Ian's kidneys were getting bad, but now they don't have to. I hope this all makes sense.
Bottom line- we're being watched over. We've had so much help from ward members, family, and friends. It's been so sweet to watch our kids' reactions to all the kindness too. I just had to share with you that little miracle for us. And Ian is getting better. His voice still is very hoarse (has sores on his vocal chords), but his cough is practically gone. If he doesn't slack on taking his steroids 4 times a day, he doesn't have much of any arthritic flare ups. His legs are still weak, but he's been able to do some easy yoga and light walking on the tread mill this week. His sinuses are still really bad including daily nose bleeds, but his mouth sores aren't as bad. He is able to do some work at the computer from home and is finding some comfort in some Wegener's boards on-line. When Ian got home from the hospital he had lost a total of 20 pounds. Unfortunately, his high dose of prednisone (steroid) has a very common side effect of severe hunger. The doctors say he needs to seriously avoid stress so not to worry about what he's eating. :) I tell him now he knows what it feels like to be pregnant or nursing!
One downfall lately is that Abby got a fever today (103) so Ian had to go to his parents house to escape the possibility of getting sick. Fun times! We are all hanging in there even though Abby feels so guilty that she's sick. Poor girl.
We are looking forward to a summer with dad at home, but will be planning lots of local activities that don't involve big crowds (unless I go alone with the kids). We'll also need to wait a while longer before taking dad (Ian) with us. Because his immune system is so low, he really shouldn't be around too many preventable germs.
I am excited to have Abby home for the summer. Then Eli starts kindergarten in the fall. Caleb will start preschool and life is moving so fast. Ayla is just a ray of sunshine. SUCH a happy happy baby. We want to eat her up- we love her babiness so much.
We know we aren't the only ones with "stuff" going on in our lives. We are praying for you all too. We would love to help in any way we can, IF we can! Let us know what's going on with you so we might be able to help in any way.
love to you all!
Anne-Marie
He has been battling some health issues lately. It first started with a really bad winter with viruses flying through our family over and over. Abby ultimately got pneumonia because her system had been hit too repeatedly for it to fight the last sickness. She got over that, then another 2 bugs hit our family, the last being a one day fever. It hit Caleb one day, Eli 2 days after that, then Abby and I. Ian got it last except his hasn't gone away and it's been 2 1/2 weeks since his first fever hit. He's in the hospital right now. I'm home collecting things (getting this email out) before I head back to be with him. He's had a fever every day since his first one, sweats profusely all day, he can't bend his joints (except after Ibuprofin), coughs like his lungs will come out with it, which keeps him up all night (and me), so then he sleeps off and on all day. He's lost weight, has very little appetite (if any at all), and feels constantly dehydrated despite the fluids he's trying to take in. A CAT scan a week ago showed 11 nodules in his lungs. Today they did an x-ray and they are 50% worse. This isn't good. They thought that he had/has "Valley Fever" which is a fungal infection in the lungs that has symptoms that are similar to Tuberculosis. They've been treating him with antifungal medications which take a lot longer to get rid of the problem than a bacterial infection would with antibiotics. They didn't expect his chest x-ray to look WORSE today, which means it probably isn't a fungal infection. SO- they are now treating him with both anti fungals AND antibiotics. But this doesn't answer all the doctors questions. They have him quarantined due to the fact that it could be an infectious disease. He has a few other symptoms, but that's the majority of it. So. They have him on meds and are getting him hydrated through an IV. They will be doing a biopsy on his lungs looking for bacteria, fungus, and cancerous cells (most likely not cancerous). They are also testing for possible infectious diseases. Ian hasn't ever had a broken bone or stitches (other than having his wisdom teeth out and some minor stitches on his finger as a kid) so going under is a bit scary. He is so worn out from his illness these last couple + weeks. I thought I'd let you all know what he's doing/going through and would like to ask that you keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
thanks so much.
Anne-Marie
June 8th, I wrote to my family:
So, I've been saying I would send our family update but just haven't been able to bring myself to sit down and write it. Here it goes.
Ian- First of all, thank you thank you for all your prayers, well wishes, and fasts. I really feel our prayers have been heard over and over and that we've been blessed in so many ways. The most recent one being this last week. Ian completed his chemo treatment of Rituxan on Tuesday May31st. At that time he did his usual blood tests to monitor a number of things, but one main one is his kidney function. Every week, his kidney results were getting worse and worse- the numbers doubling each week. The doctor told Ian that if a particular result goes above 1.0 then he will need to put him on a different chemo treatment called Cytoxin. It's a much harsher chemo and has several harmful side effects. Needless to say, we did NOT NOT NOT want Ian to have to take this medicine. So he did his labs that Tuesday and sure enough, all his tests, minus 1 test, came back. They all had doubled again. The one we were waiting for had to be above 1.0 based on his other results, but we didn't know FOR SURE since it wasn't back yet. These test results get emailed to us practically instantly, but the most important one still wasn't back. Anyway, we waited and waited. Because we didn't get the test result back, we figured the doctor was holding it from us. Friday came and Ian emailed the doctor about what was going on. The doctor looked into it and discovered that the test had NOT been run. So Ian had to go back to the clinic and run ALL the test over again. When I heard that the test had not been run, I just KNEW that was good news. We had been fasting, praying, putting Ian's name in the temple, going to the temple, etc. This was it. So Ian went to get his blood work done again. And sure enough, all his scores had gone down a TON except for the one we missed originally. That one HAD gone above 1.0, but because ALL the other scores had dropped so drastically, the doctor said no to Cytoxin. We are so so happy. I'm sorry that was such a long story. Cytoxin is still an option if things go poorly again, but most likely they won't. The Ritoxin that he has been taking usually takes 4 to 6 weeks to start working. The doctors didn't want to wait it out if Ian's kidneys were getting bad, but now they don't have to. I hope this all makes sense.
Bottom line- we're being watched over. We've had so much help from ward members, family, and friends. It's been so sweet to watch our kids' reactions to all the kindness too. I just had to share with you that little miracle for us. And Ian is getting better. His voice still is very hoarse (has sores on his vocal chords), but his cough is practically gone. If he doesn't slack on taking his steroids 4 times a day, he doesn't have much of any arthritic flare ups. His legs are still weak, but he's been able to do some easy yoga and light walking on the tread mill this week. His sinuses are still really bad including daily nose bleeds, but his mouth sores aren't as bad. He is able to do some work at the computer from home and is finding some comfort in some Wegener's boards on-line. When Ian got home from the hospital he had lost a total of 20 pounds. Unfortunately, his high dose of prednisone (steroid) has a very common side effect of severe hunger. The doctors say he needs to seriously avoid stress so not to worry about what he's eating. :) I tell him now he knows what it feels like to be pregnant or nursing!
One downfall lately is that Abby got a fever today (103) so Ian had to go to his parents house to escape the possibility of getting sick. Fun times! We are all hanging in there even though Abby feels so guilty that she's sick. Poor girl.
We are looking forward to a summer with dad at home, but will be planning lots of local activities that don't involve big crowds (unless I go alone with the kids). We'll also need to wait a while longer before taking dad (Ian) with us. Because his immune system is so low, he really shouldn't be around too many preventable germs.
I am excited to have Abby home for the summer. Then Eli starts kindergarten in the fall. Caleb will start preschool and life is moving so fast. Ayla is just a ray of sunshine. SUCH a happy happy baby. We want to eat her up- we love her babiness so much.
We know we aren't the only ones with "stuff" going on in our lives. We are praying for you all too. We would love to help in any way we can, IF we can! Let us know what's going on with you so we might be able to help in any way.
love to you all!
Anne-Marie
Just Starting
Ayla loves her stories before nap time. I read "But Not the Hippopotamus" last week and at the end when it says, "but not the armadillo", Ayla said, "uh oh". The next time I read it to her she said uh oh to when the hippopotamus got left out. Today she said it every time the hippopotamus got left out. She totally understands the context! It's so cute. Other cute Ayla-isms are when you ask her if she wants something, like water, milk, take a nap, a certain food, go outside, etc. etc. She nods yes or no totally appropriately. This started a couple months ago with nodding yes to every question I would ask her, but now she does it correctly to what she really feels. She's a smart cookie. She is very social. She goes to other people very easily. If you roll down the window she automatically starts saying hi or bye and waving. The same goes for when people leave our house. Ayla loves her grandparents but seems to be especially fond of grandpa Farr lately. She get super excited to see him and even says "Pa Pa!" and gives him hugs.
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