It's been fun hearing James' language skills continue to improve. He still talks A Lot! He will tell stories for quite a long time if you just ask him about his day and then be quiet and let him talk. At first we wouldn't have a clue what he was saying. Then we'd start catching a word here or there. Then we'd catch a few words here and there. Now we're catching whole phrases in the middle of his ramblings. It's so fun to listen to. And he speaks quite clearly, I think!
A few fun things...
When anyone says the word "super," it automatically turns into "Superman!" when he repeats back what you said. For example, the other day, I asked Josephine, "Are you sure you want to go outside? It's super hot out there!" James' response was a very excited, "Superman hot!" Also, when I tell someone we need to go super fast, James pipes in, "Superman fast!" I'm not even sure where he learned about superman, but he also calls Spiderman "Superman." Too cute! Could be that he has a friend at daycare that's obsessed with Superman, I don't know.
James is VERY quick on his feet to answer questions. I asked him if he was ready to go potty tonight. Usually if he doesn't have to go, he whines and just says no. Tonight he said, "Not yet." In the car he was being goofy and giggling about something he saw or said. I said, "Silly boy!" Without wasting a breath, he responded immediately with, "Silly Mommy!" This kid is going to keep my on my toes - more-so than the older three combined - already at age 2! :)
James is learning lots of songs at daycare, and knows the rhythm and enough of the words so that we can understand what he's singing. Tonight he was singing the Bumblebee song (I'm bringing home my baby bumblebee...) - although he was singing the smash part. However, I think he might have been getting it mixed with the "Snap! that monkey out of the tree..." song. He kept saying "Bumblebee," then "Snap!" Too cute!
His favorite song right now is this one - see if you recognize it. (p.s. - This was after a he had been singing it for a while during a potty break - but I spared you the potty video. He was getting a little antsy by the time I recorded it, so I had to help with a few cues, but you get the gist.)
Love it!
Friday, July 19, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Oh Boys!
Elijah's family planning exercise in the backseat on the way to daycare this morning, with a little help from Josephine...
I'm not sure how this subject got started, but Elijah decided that the 3:3 ratio of boys to girls in our family (including Mom and Dad) is no good. He thinks it should be 4 boys to 3 girls, so that there are more boys.
Josephine joined in and decided that idea would work well, since there are 3 beds in the boys' room (bunk beds + toddler bed), and only 2 beds in the girls' room.
Elijah then forgot that he had included Dad in the total of 4 boys, and told me he wants to have 4 boys to share the room instead of just two like there are now.
So I asked him where everyone would sleep, and he said he could move up to the top bunk and then there'd still one bed available.
I then questioned where the 4th boy would sleep -- wondering if maybe he hadn't forgotten that Daddy was the 4th one. Nope! Josephine volunteered that one could sleep on the floor, to which Elijah agreed.
Oh, boys!
I'm not sure how this subject got started, but Elijah decided that the 3:3 ratio of boys to girls in our family (including Mom and Dad) is no good. He thinks it should be 4 boys to 3 girls, so that there are more boys.
Josephine joined in and decided that idea would work well, since there are 3 beds in the boys' room (bunk beds + toddler bed), and only 2 beds in the girls' room.
Elijah then forgot that he had included Dad in the total of 4 boys, and told me he wants to have 4 boys to share the room instead of just two like there are now.
So I asked him where everyone would sleep, and he said he could move up to the top bunk and then there'd still one bed available.
I then questioned where the 4th boy would sleep -- wondering if maybe he hadn't forgotten that Daddy was the 4th one. Nope! Josephine volunteered that one could sleep on the floor, to which Elijah agreed.
Oh, boys!
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Fishing Trip
Jock decided at some point this week that he was going to take the kids fishing. He's been talking about it for a while, but he went and got a couple kids' fishing poles, another full-size pole, and a fishing license this week, and he was ready!
There was no way he could have taken James while helping the other three learn how to fish, and I knew that James wouldn't have been happy being left at home with me. Fishing isn't really my thing, but I went to help with James and take photos - no baiting the hooks! It ended up being more fun than I thought. If the venti chai is involved again, I could easily be persuaded to go again! ;)
There was no way he could have taken James while helping the other three learn how to fish, and I knew that James wouldn't have been happy being left at home with me. Fishing isn't really my thing, but I went to help with James and take photos - no baiting the hooks! It ended up being more fun than I thought. If the venti chai is involved again, I could easily be persuaded to go again! ;)
It also happened to be a beautiful morning to take photos. Bright and sunny, but we were in a nicely shaded location along the riverbank.
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| Donuts, OJ, and venti chai before we got started |
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| Just climbing down the rocks to the river's edge was quite the feat -- and it helped James stay put too - actually worked quite well, despite my anxiety at the beginning about the current being strong and the bank being too steep. |
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| Jock caught a fish right off-the-bat, while he was demonstrating fishing techniques for Elijah. |
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| Checking the reference to see what kind of fish it was - a large-mouth bass. |
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| Jock showed Elijah how to cast and reel it in first. Then he moved a little ways off to the side. He lost his bait several times trying to cast too hard, but was very quiet and patient, taking in all the instructions, and really just enjoying watching the water and trying hard, over and over, until he was doing VERY well! He never once complained about not catching any fish or it being boring! I tapped on Jock's shoulder, whispered to him, pointing to Elijah, "There's your new fishing partner!" :) |
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| Kaylen casting. She did very well towards the end, but she got quite impatient a couple times, and frustrated that we weren't catching anything while people around us were. :( |
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| Josephine didn't quite get how it was all supposed to work, but she did pretty well for her first time out. She was fairly patient, but could tell she was nervous and not quite understanding how to cast and reel in. |
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| None of the kids caught anything, but with a little practice, this one'll be a pro in no time! |
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| Such a ham this morning! Me taking photos of him kept him occupied this morning! I was afraid he'd be really bored and get cranky, but he did a great job. We didn't even make it down to the playground!  |
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| I wasn't even fishing, and I caught a good one! ;) |
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| And then he was done! Back up the rocks to take a walk! |
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| She'd hit a wall of boredom and frustration, but after this, she just sat down and kept at it, and apparently did better then. |
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| Elijah still going, Josephine still sitting by Dad for frequent help casting. |
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| James learned about blowing dandelion seeds today. He picked a yellow one, but I reached down and picked up a white one and showed him how. |
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| After he figured it out, he must have blown out at least 50 more. So cute! |
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| I always find the spillway to be terrifying to be up so close to it. He didn't really think anything of it. |
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| Waiting for the others to finish up. |
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| This was a white bass that Jock caught. Elijah was intrigued, but kind of disgusted as well. Jock grilled up a few pieces, and they all tried it for lunch. Unfortunately (maybe?), James and I had already eaten lunch so he could have a nap before the tee-ball games. They said it was good, but I also heard lots of uncertainty over us killing and eating such a poor helpless fish. Hmmmm... |
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
School Stuff
The big kids’ last day of school for this school year is May 29th. They’re looking forward to summer break – although Josephine keeps calling it spring break. She doesn’t understand the timing of it, or that she’ll be at daycare for 2 1/2 months, and will get to go on field trips to the pool and other fun spots throughout the summer.
Josephine and Elijah are also both confused about the fact that she’ll be in first grade after summer break is over. I told Josephine, “Yup, after summer break, you’ll be in a different class, in 1st grade, and Kaylen will be in 5th grade.” Then Kaylen piped up that when Josephine goes to 2nd grade, then Kaylen will be in a different school. Well that was REALLY information overload for her, because a couple days later, she told me that she heard that there were 5th graders at her school, so why does Kaylen have to go to a different school? Back up, that’s another step down the line yet! I think they’re starting to get it, though. But I still need to get a calendar out and go through the months of the year (which they know) with them. Maybe they’ll understand better if they can see it on a calendar, that the last day of school is May 29th, and then they have summer break, before they start 1st grade (and Kaylen starts 5th grade) on August 15th.
At any rate, the kids are all doing great in school. Elijah probably has had the biggest challenges, with his behavior issues. He’s improved greatly since the beginning of the school year, but still has his days. We saw great improvements in his reading since January. At his parent-teacher conference in February, his assessments at the end of the 2nd trimester, showed that he was progressing, but still behind grade level. About a month ago, after spring-break, they sent home another progress sheet, and his counting and number recognition, letter and sound recognition, and sight-words were as expected for the end of the year in kindergarten. He also is doing better with sounding out words and then thinking about the possibilities if the word doesn’t quite come out right the first time he pronounces it. He’s also starting to understand the flow of the sentences and how to stress words when there’s a question mark or an explanation point at the end of the sentence. His writing pages are starting to show some words that make sense or that relate to the topic assigned rather than just random words and letters. It’s so fun to start seeing these light bulbs click!
Josephine is doing well in school. We’re seeing her reading continually improve. She does a great job reading her books, so long as she’s not too tired - when she gives up easily when she sees a big word coming. She’s writing quite well – it’s fun to try to read her stories and how she’s sounded out her own words on the paper to tell the story of the picture she drew. She’s had her number recognition down for quite a while. We worked at home a few times on writing the numbers 0-120, and mostly had them all down. She’s even starting to do simple math problems, and can write out the number problem and draw a picture of it. She likes having us quiz her on addition problems as well. It’s so neat to see them starting to love learning!
Kaylen has rarely had any problems in school. She’s a bright student, and has had few behavior issues. I think her teacher’s personality this year has helped things go really smoothly, but also helps challenge her without her feeling too burdened by the challenges. She’s been in the extended learning program for humanities (reading and social studies), and this winter she started in a monitoring program for the STEM extended learning program (science, technology, engineering and math). She was nervous to start that, but I think she has really enjoyed the challenge. Her math test scores on the annual assessments given to 3rd graders and up, were great, and allowed her the opportunity to take the two additional tests that will be used for math placement classes for next year. It made me a little nervous when she came home one day and told us they’d taken one of the placement tests. She said her friend was in there testing for 80 minutes and it only took her 45 minutes. She’s an excellent student, but her testing doesn’t always reflect her best work, because she rushes through things. I hope that her speed wasn’t detrimental to her scores. She assured me that she didn’t rush through it, and that she was faster because, "the tests were all different because they were on the computer." Somehow, I don’t think they were THAT different, but we shall see. I don’t know when we’ll find out the results of those tests and what her math placement will be next year. I imagine we'll be getting a letter in the mail this month.
The fourth graders recently did a famous-person project. They each had to choose a different famous person to research, and write about. They made a display board, to show photos and their writing. They could use props for their presentation, and then on presentation, all the 4th graders set up their display boards in the lunch room of their school, and dressed up as their famous person. They had to present themselves as that person to all the parents/visitors that attend the “Famous People Fair”. It was a pretty fun project for Kaylen. She was one of the last kids in her class to choose her famous person, so she didn’t her first or second choice, but she ended up with Judy Blume. I think she did a great job with her project!
Just a few days after the Famous People Fair, the fourth graders also had their music concert. They did a couple little dances, demonstrated tone and rhythm skills, sang, and played their recorders. It was a cute little concert. Kaylen had told us where to sit, because during the dancing part, her class would be in the back right corner of the gym. But then when they went up on stage, we couldn't even see her. I wasn't impressed with how the risers were set up. All kids were on the risers - I thought they could have omitted a section, and had a row of kids on the floor in front of the risers, but so be it. One of Kaylen's friend's moms had a good view of her and shared some photos with me. They all did a great job, and looked like they were having fun too!
I usually plan activities in the summer for the kids, but I think this summer it is going to be especially key for Elijah and Josephine, so they don’t lose ground on the progress they’ve made this winter/spring. I guess I have some home-school type planning to do to get ready in the next month! I think I’ll be printing lots of number/math worksheets. I’ll also have to come up with some ideas and/or worksheets for writing practice as well. I already have a few books ordered from Scholastic, but I have a feeling we’ll be making lots of trips to the library this summer as well. Kaylen can read so fast, and is way beyond her grade reading level, so I’ll have to get stacks of books for her every week or two – probably even some fun non-fictions. Elijah and Josephine just need new and different easy readers to keep them occupied. I’d like to continue having them each read a book to us each evening, to keep those skills up to speed.
Josephine and Elijah are also both confused about the fact that she’ll be in first grade after summer break is over. I told Josephine, “Yup, after summer break, you’ll be in a different class, in 1st grade, and Kaylen will be in 5th grade.” Then Kaylen piped up that when Josephine goes to 2nd grade, then Kaylen will be in a different school. Well that was REALLY information overload for her, because a couple days later, she told me that she heard that there were 5th graders at her school, so why does Kaylen have to go to a different school? Back up, that’s another step down the line yet! I think they’re starting to get it, though. But I still need to get a calendar out and go through the months of the year (which they know) with them. Maybe they’ll understand better if they can see it on a calendar, that the last day of school is May 29th, and then they have summer break, before they start 1st grade (and Kaylen starts 5th grade) on August 15th.
At any rate, the kids are all doing great in school. Elijah probably has had the biggest challenges, with his behavior issues. He’s improved greatly since the beginning of the school year, but still has his days. We saw great improvements in his reading since January. At his parent-teacher conference in February, his assessments at the end of the 2nd trimester, showed that he was progressing, but still behind grade level. About a month ago, after spring-break, they sent home another progress sheet, and his counting and number recognition, letter and sound recognition, and sight-words were as expected for the end of the year in kindergarten. He also is doing better with sounding out words and then thinking about the possibilities if the word doesn’t quite come out right the first time he pronounces it. He’s also starting to understand the flow of the sentences and how to stress words when there’s a question mark or an explanation point at the end of the sentence. His writing pages are starting to show some words that make sense or that relate to the topic assigned rather than just random words and letters. It’s so fun to start seeing these light bulbs click!
Josephine is doing well in school. We’re seeing her reading continually improve. She does a great job reading her books, so long as she’s not too tired - when she gives up easily when she sees a big word coming. She’s writing quite well – it’s fun to try to read her stories and how she’s sounded out her own words on the paper to tell the story of the picture she drew. She’s had her number recognition down for quite a while. We worked at home a few times on writing the numbers 0-120, and mostly had them all down. She’s even starting to do simple math problems, and can write out the number problem and draw a picture of it. She likes having us quiz her on addition problems as well. It’s so neat to see them starting to love learning!
Kaylen has rarely had any problems in school. She’s a bright student, and has had few behavior issues. I think her teacher’s personality this year has helped things go really smoothly, but also helps challenge her without her feeling too burdened by the challenges. She’s been in the extended learning program for humanities (reading and social studies), and this winter she started in a monitoring program for the STEM extended learning program (science, technology, engineering and math). She was nervous to start that, but I think she has really enjoyed the challenge. Her math test scores on the annual assessments given to 3rd graders and up, were great, and allowed her the opportunity to take the two additional tests that will be used for math placement classes for next year. It made me a little nervous when she came home one day and told us they’d taken one of the placement tests. She said her friend was in there testing for 80 minutes and it only took her 45 minutes. She’s an excellent student, but her testing doesn’t always reflect her best work, because she rushes through things. I hope that her speed wasn’t detrimental to her scores. She assured me that she didn’t rush through it, and that she was faster because, "the tests were all different because they were on the computer." Somehow, I don’t think they were THAT different, but we shall see. I don’t know when we’ll find out the results of those tests and what her math placement will be next year. I imagine we'll be getting a letter in the mail this month.
The fourth graders recently did a famous-person project. They each had to choose a different famous person to research, and write about. They made a display board, to show photos and their writing. They could use props for their presentation, and then on presentation, all the 4th graders set up their display boards in the lunch room of their school, and dressed up as their famous person. They had to present themselves as that person to all the parents/visitors that attend the “Famous People Fair”. It was a pretty fun project for Kaylen. She was one of the last kids in her class to choose her famous person, so she didn’t her first or second choice, but she ended up with Judy Blume. I think she did a great job with her project!
Just a few days after the Famous People Fair, the fourth graders also had their music concert. They did a couple little dances, demonstrated tone and rhythm skills, sang, and played their recorders. It was a cute little concert. Kaylen had told us where to sit, because during the dancing part, her class would be in the back right corner of the gym. But then when they went up on stage, we couldn't even see her. I wasn't impressed with how the risers were set up. All kids were on the risers - I thought they could have omitted a section, and had a row of kids on the floor in front of the risers, but so be it. One of Kaylen's friend's moms had a good view of her and shared some photos with me. They all did a great job, and looked like they were having fun too!
I usually plan activities in the summer for the kids, but I think this summer it is going to be especially key for Elijah and Josephine, so they don’t lose ground on the progress they’ve made this winter/spring. I guess I have some home-school type planning to do to get ready in the next month! I think I’ll be printing lots of number/math worksheets. I’ll also have to come up with some ideas and/or worksheets for writing practice as well. I already have a few books ordered from Scholastic, but I have a feeling we’ll be making lots of trips to the library this summer as well. Kaylen can read so fast, and is way beyond her grade reading level, so I’ll have to get stacks of books for her every week or two – probably even some fun non-fictions. Elijah and Josephine just need new and different easy readers to keep them occupied. I’d like to continue having them each read a book to us each evening, to keep those skills up to speed.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Awana
The kids just recently completed their Awana year. They end the year with a small program for the families. The Cubbies (preschoolers) usually sing a couple songs and get their awards and goodie bags. Then the Sparks (K-2) sing their song and get their awards. Elijah and Josephine both did a great job and finished their first year book with about a month to spare. Throughout the year, they get the patch, wings, and jewels to put in their wings, as they complete the sections in their book. At the end of the year they get a green ribbon for their accomplishment.
The T&T group (Truth & Training, grades 3-5) doesn’t do songs for the group, but they ask for volunteers to share a favorite Bible verse. Kaylen volunteered to participate, but couldn’t decide between two verses. Her leader told her to just do both, but at the ceremony they only had one up on the screen, so it was a little awkward for her. She had it memorized anyway and had practiced saying it really slowly, so she did a great job! Then she got her award for completing her year-2 book. For T&T this is quite an accomplishment, as they have to learn more and longer verses, as
So proud of my big kids! They used to do cookies and treats for the kids after the ceremony, but they didn’t this year, so we took the kids to Dairy Queen for treats. They all really enjoyed their ice cream – even James gobbled down his Dilly Bar – and his only accomplishment was sitting through (most of) the ceremony!
The T&T group (Truth & Training, grades 3-5) doesn’t do songs for the group, but they ask for volunteers to share a favorite Bible verse. Kaylen volunteered to participate, but couldn’t decide between two verses. Her leader told her to just do both, but at the ceremony they only had one up on the screen, so it was a little awkward for her. She had it memorized anyway and had practiced saying it really slowly, so she did a great job! Then she got her award for completing her year-2 book. For T&T this is quite an accomplishment, as they have to learn more and longer verses, as
So proud of my big kids! They used to do cookies and treats for the kids after the ceremony, but they didn’t this year, so we took the kids to Dairy Queen for treats. They all really enjoyed their ice cream – even James gobbled down his Dilly Bar – and his only accomplishment was sitting through (most of) the ceremony!
Monday, April 29, 2013
Easter
We decided to go out of town for Easter, even though it was the weekend, right before I went back to work April 1. We stayed at my Dad’s house, even though he wasn’t back from his winter travels yet. Luckily some other relatives that live nearby turned the water and the heat back on in the house for us! We missed them, but still had fun with my sisters and families. And the Easter bunny still found us at my Dad’s house.
We did the little Easter basket hunt in my hometown Saturday morning. They don’t do an egg hunt, per se, but they give you a number, and you walk around to look for your number on an egg on the storefront windows. If you find your number, you go inside and they give you a goodie bag filled with candy and a pencil. They also gave each child a Easter-themed book, which is really nice!
As we walked up and down main street, we found Elijah’s number first, then Kaylen’s and James’. My hometown has a main downtown, and then just a couple businesses that are a little bit down the street. Josephine was so upset that we didn’t find her number, and we tried our best to reassure her as we got back in the car. She was SOOOO happy when she finally found her number at the vet clinic on the other end of town. And they let her pick her goodie bag from a big box, so she got to pick what color of pencil she wanted.
We spent the rest of the day at my sister’s house, preparing food for Easter. We also helped color eggs. This was James’ first experience with coloring eggs, and he did a pretty good job with it, once he understood what he was supposed to be doing. I think this was also my nephew Bo's first time coloring eggs as well. He got a cup all to himself with one egg, which was thoroughly cracked and crushed by the time he was done - too funny! He sure had fun with it!
The kids played together a lot. I love this photo of James and Caden in the background playing catch with the football. This was the first time Caden met James , and it was so sweet of him to take time to play with just him when we first arrived! Elijah and Kaylen even enjoyed playing outside a little bit as well, despite the gloomy weather.
My sister Karen cut some hair, as seems to happen at family gatherings now that we have a hair stylist in the family. No rest for the weary! I was so glad to get my hair cut when we were there - it'd been too long!!!
I also helped chased a cow who’d escaped from her pen. Apparently there is one cow that regularly gets out, and they just let her wander around. I must have told them there was that same cow out 3-4 times, and kept getting the response, "Oh, that's the one that's always out and we just leave her alone." But later, we saw a different one that four of us helped corral back into her pen. This brought back memories of growing up there – too funny!
As usual, we had too much food, and enjoyed many of the family’s traditional recipes –meatballs/ham balls, cheesy beans, sweet corn, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese salad, deviled eggs, and Graham Cracker Dessert! Yummy!!!
We did the little Easter basket hunt in my hometown Saturday morning. They don’t do an egg hunt, per se, but they give you a number, and you walk around to look for your number on an egg on the storefront windows. If you find your number, you go inside and they give you a goodie bag filled with candy and a pencil. They also gave each child a Easter-themed book, which is really nice!
As we walked up and down main street, we found Elijah’s number first, then Kaylen’s and James’. My hometown has a main downtown, and then just a couple businesses that are a little bit down the street. Josephine was so upset that we didn’t find her number, and we tried our best to reassure her as we got back in the car. She was SOOOO happy when she finally found her number at the vet clinic on the other end of town. And they let her pick her goodie bag from a big box, so she got to pick what color of pencil she wanted.
We spent the rest of the day at my sister’s house, preparing food for Easter. We also helped color eggs. This was James’ first experience with coloring eggs, and he did a pretty good job with it, once he understood what he was supposed to be doing. I think this was also my nephew Bo's first time coloring eggs as well. He got a cup all to himself with one egg, which was thoroughly cracked and crushed by the time he was done - too funny! He sure had fun with it!
The kids played together a lot. I love this photo of James and Caden in the background playing catch with the football. This was the first time Caden met James , and it was so sweet of him to take time to play with just him when we first arrived! Elijah and Kaylen even enjoyed playing outside a little bit as well, despite the gloomy weather.My sister Karen cut some hair, as seems to happen at family gatherings now that we have a hair stylist in the family. No rest for the weary! I was so glad to get my hair cut when we were there - it'd been too long!!!
I also helped chased a cow who’d escaped from her pen. Apparently there is one cow that regularly gets out, and they just let her wander around. I must have told them there was that same cow out 3-4 times, and kept getting the response, "Oh, that's the one that's always out and we just leave her alone." But later, we saw a different one that four of us helped corral back into her pen. This brought back memories of growing up there – too funny!
As usual, we had too much food, and enjoyed many of the family’s traditional recipes –meatballs/ham balls, cheesy beans, sweet corn, mashed potatoes, cottage cheese salad, deviled eggs, and Graham Cracker Dessert! Yummy!!!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Spring Break
Over spring break, we decided to do a mini-vacation. We looked into going to Omaha, to the zoo and the Children’s museum. We wanted to make a long weekend of it, and stay in a hotel with a pool. But now that we’re a family of 6, we need a hotel with suites, and there weren’t any available in the area we were looking. So instead, we decided to head to the Mall of America. Some friends of ours joined us for part of the weekend as well. They hadn’t met James and we hadn’t seen them since last fall, so it was fun to re-connect.
We were planning to leave Friday morning, and return Sunday evening. That way, Jock would only need to take one day off work. Thursday evening, though, Kaylen threw up while we were at our Bible study group. Poor girl was so embarrassed! She got sick a couple more times in the night, so we contacted our friends to let them know that we probably wouldn’t be coming up. We just didn’t know what the weekend would entail knowing that the rest of us could catch it quickly as well. However, Friday morning already, Kaylen was able to keep food down and was feeling some better. By afternoon, she was mostly back to normal, so we decided to head up to Minneapolis anyway. She was pretty careful what she ate for supper that night (chicken soup and some mashed potatoes at Ikea), but by the time we met up with our friends Saturday morning, she was pretty much back to normal.
Saturday we met our friends and toured the aquarium inside the mall. We got our tickets and then waited in line to get into the aquarium. James had a little melt-down, not wanting to be in the stroller when it wasn’t moving, but once we got inside, we all enjoyed seeing the Sea Life.
We had lunch at one of the food courts, then wandered around the mall the remainder of the afternoon, doing a little shopping, eating ice cream, and then parted ways with our friends before dinner, as there was no way we’d have gotten seated with 11 of us! We had wanted to eat at the Rain Forest Café, but the lines were WAY too long, so we ended up at Bubba Gump’s, before crashing back at the hotel.
Sunday morning, Jock took the girls for an early swim (Elijah didn’t want to go), while I took the boys downstairs for breakfast at the hotel. Then Jock and the three bigger kids got wristbands and rode rides for several hours. James and I watched while they rode their first ride, but he was NOT happy not getting to go on rides with them, so we decided to get on with our shopping.
I’d thought about getting James a build-a-bear animal, since he couldn’t go on the rides. A friend and fellow adoptive mom, whose son is still at James’ orphanage, also came out and made one for her son. I was reluctant to set anything up to meet people there, not knowing what our schedule was going to be with a sick kid and meeting friends there, but I’m glad it worked out for us to meet and chat while we waited in line to make our monkeys for our boys!
Jock and I met up again for a late lunch. Then we went back downstairs so Jock could take Kaylen and Elijah on a couple rides that Josephine didn't want to try. After a few more rides, we headed over to Claire's to give Kaylen a surprise that we'd planned for her - getting her ears pierced. She was a little nervous, so I didn't get any photos of her having it done, so will have to take a couple photos of her earrings soon. We then picked out a couple little things for both girls at Claire's before we headed for home.
None of us were very hungry, but we had a big bag of Doritos in the car. We had brought a couple ice cream buckets just in case, and used those to share the big bag of Doritos to the 3 rows in the fan. Those buckets came in handy, when Elijah got sick on the way home. He’d said he had a headache about 20 minutes into our drive, and then fell asleep. But then all of a sudden, I heard a weird noise and turned around to see Elijah had thrown up. He must have woken up just in time to look around and find the bucket sitting between his and Josephine’s seat, and threw up right into there. We’re so lucky that he didn’t get it all over and we didn’t have to smell it all the way home. We stopped at a gas station, and Jock cleaned out the bucket in the snow.
We were pretty luck the entire weekend though, that we got to enjoy the weekend away without any illness while we were there. We didn’t know if Elijah was coming down with the Flu bug that Kaylen had a couple days earlier, or if he was just motion sick as he gets sometimes in the car – plus the rides he’d been on that day. It must’ve been the motion sickness though, because he was fine that night and the whole next week.
The rest of spring break, we didn’t have much planned, which was good, because I came down with the stomach flu on Tuesday night. I was up most of the night, felt pretty crappy most of the day Wednesday. Jock stayed home from work on Wednesday, to keep the kids occupied. This helped break up the week, but otherwise, we pretty much bummed around home. We did get a day or two to play outside in the (relatively) warm 40-degree temps.
We were planning to leave Friday morning, and return Sunday evening. That way, Jock would only need to take one day off work. Thursday evening, though, Kaylen threw up while we were at our Bible study group. Poor girl was so embarrassed! She got sick a couple more times in the night, so we contacted our friends to let them know that we probably wouldn’t be coming up. We just didn’t know what the weekend would entail knowing that the rest of us could catch it quickly as well. However, Friday morning already, Kaylen was able to keep food down and was feeling some better. By afternoon, she was mostly back to normal, so we decided to head up to Minneapolis anyway. She was pretty careful what she ate for supper that night (chicken soup and some mashed potatoes at Ikea), but by the time we met up with our friends Saturday morning, she was pretty much back to normal.
Saturday we met our friends and toured the aquarium inside the mall. We got our tickets and then waited in line to get into the aquarium. James had a little melt-down, not wanting to be in the stroller when it wasn’t moving, but once we got inside, we all enjoyed seeing the Sea Life.
We had lunch at one of the food courts, then wandered around the mall the remainder of the afternoon, doing a little shopping, eating ice cream, and then parted ways with our friends before dinner, as there was no way we’d have gotten seated with 11 of us! We had wanted to eat at the Rain Forest Café, but the lines were WAY too long, so we ended up at Bubba Gump’s, before crashing back at the hotel.
Sunday morning, Jock took the girls for an early swim (Elijah didn’t want to go), while I took the boys downstairs for breakfast at the hotel. Then Jock and the three bigger kids got wristbands and rode rides for several hours. James and I watched while they rode their first ride, but he was NOT happy not getting to go on rides with them, so we decided to get on with our shopping.
I’d thought about getting James a build-a-bear animal, since he couldn’t go on the rides. A friend and fellow adoptive mom, whose son is still at James’ orphanage, also came out and made one for her son. I was reluctant to set anything up to meet people there, not knowing what our schedule was going to be with a sick kid and meeting friends there, but I’m glad it worked out for us to meet and chat while we waited in line to make our monkeys for our boys!
Jock and I met up again for a late lunch. Then we went back downstairs so Jock could take Kaylen and Elijah on a couple rides that Josephine didn't want to try. After a few more rides, we headed over to Claire's to give Kaylen a surprise that we'd planned for her - getting her ears pierced. She was a little nervous, so I didn't get any photos of her having it done, so will have to take a couple photos of her earrings soon. We then picked out a couple little things for both girls at Claire's before we headed for home.
None of us were very hungry, but we had a big bag of Doritos in the car. We had brought a couple ice cream buckets just in case, and used those to share the big bag of Doritos to the 3 rows in the fan. Those buckets came in handy, when Elijah got sick on the way home. He’d said he had a headache about 20 minutes into our drive, and then fell asleep. But then all of a sudden, I heard a weird noise and turned around to see Elijah had thrown up. He must have woken up just in time to look around and find the bucket sitting between his and Josephine’s seat, and threw up right into there. We’re so lucky that he didn’t get it all over and we didn’t have to smell it all the way home. We stopped at a gas station, and Jock cleaned out the bucket in the snow.
We were pretty luck the entire weekend though, that we got to enjoy the weekend away without any illness while we were there. We didn’t know if Elijah was coming down with the Flu bug that Kaylen had a couple days earlier, or if he was just motion sick as he gets sometimes in the car – plus the rides he’d been on that day. It must’ve been the motion sickness though, because he was fine that night and the whole next week.
The rest of spring break, we didn’t have much planned, which was good, because I came down with the stomach flu on Tuesday night. I was up most of the night, felt pretty crappy most of the day Wednesday. Jock stayed home from work on Wednesday, to keep the kids occupied. This helped break up the week, but otherwise, we pretty much bummed around home. We did get a day or two to play outside in the (relatively) warm 40-degree temps.
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Potty Training
James is just starting to figure out the whole potty concept. There were a couple times in early March, when he’d ask to sit on the potty while I was going (yes, mom can’t even go to the bathroom by herself!) , but didn’t seem to have the slightest clue what to do on the potty, except to fart. I suppose that’s a good start, though! Then a couple times later in March, where we’d be changing his diaper at an opportune time, realize what he was doing, and sit him on the toilet just in time. Big rewards ensued after those times. However, James then stopped asking to go potty when I was going. I started asking him if he’d sit on it before his bath or randomly, and he seemed to start being afraid of the potty. He would either only sit there for a few seconds and want to be done, or cry when I even asked him if he wanted to go.
The past week or so, we started having more success with getting him to at least try, so we’re trying to be more happy/excited about it when we ask. We’re also trying to make it more of a routine to go potty after meals and before naptime/bedtime. We’re having some more success of him being able to go when we take him. And if we catch him after a meal, sometimes he’ll go both! We’re rewarding him with a couple skittles each time he actually goes on the potty, and he really enjoys the “tanny” (candy)!
Somewhere between 7 and 9 AM, is when James usually poops, and sometimes after supper a little bit as well. So we’re making more of an effort to have him go potty right after breakfast and supper. One morning, I told him, let’s go potty. He started whimpering a little bit about not wanting to go. So I waited a few seconds, and then mentioned it again a couple times trying to make it sound fun/happy. Then he finally said, “Potty?”, as if it was his idea and he was happy about it and eager to go. So funny! I’m not sure if he thinks he doesn’t have to go but then after he thinks about it for a second he realizes he does have to go, or what, but at any rate, that seems to be our new routine with getting him to! He usually will go pee at those times, and sometimes will do #2 as well, which we’re really happy about – less clean-up!
He’s not to the point of asking us to go, so we’ll probably wait until that comes before we break into pull-ups instead of a diaper, and having them start taking him potty at daycare. Plus, he’s so busy at daycare, I don’t think he even notices when some of the children further along in their potty-training ask the teacher to go potty, so I’m not ready to push it there.
The past week or so, we started having more success with getting him to at least try, so we’re trying to be more happy/excited about it when we ask. We’re also trying to make it more of a routine to go potty after meals and before naptime/bedtime. We’re having some more success of him being able to go when we take him. And if we catch him after a meal, sometimes he’ll go both! We’re rewarding him with a couple skittles each time he actually goes on the potty, and he really enjoys the “tanny” (candy)!
Somewhere between 7 and 9 AM, is when James usually poops, and sometimes after supper a little bit as well. So we’re making more of an effort to have him go potty right after breakfast and supper. One morning, I told him, let’s go potty. He started whimpering a little bit about not wanting to go. So I waited a few seconds, and then mentioned it again a couple times trying to make it sound fun/happy. Then he finally said, “Potty?”, as if it was his idea and he was happy about it and eager to go. So funny! I’m not sure if he thinks he doesn’t have to go but then after he thinks about it for a second he realizes he does have to go, or what, but at any rate, that seems to be our new routine with getting him to! He usually will go pee at those times, and sometimes will do #2 as well, which we’re really happy about – less clean-up!
He’s not to the point of asking us to go, so we’ll probably wait until that comes before we break into pull-ups instead of a diaper, and having them start taking him potty at daycare. Plus, he’s so busy at daycare, I don’t think he even notices when some of the children further along in their potty-training ask the teacher to go potty, so I’m not ready to push it there.
Friday, April 26, 2013
Missing Teeth
Before spring break, Elijah had a few teeth that were loose – his two front teeth on the top, and one on the bottom next to the middle teeth he lost last August. Josephine also had one of her bottom ones loose. They sat on the steps one day wiggling their teeth, and James decided to join in. No, luckily no loose teeth for James yet, but he thought it was fun to be a part of the group!
One of Elijah’s top permanent teeth had already come in behind his baby teeth, and was pushing one of his baby teeth forward. He looked pretty funny for a while, and we kept reminding him to wiggle them and get them out! The Monday of spring break, Elijah and James were wrestling around in their room, right when they woke up (I wasn’t even out of bed yet!). Suddenly Elijah ran into my room, hand over his mouth, whimpering. I could see the blood and was afraid of what had happened… until I saw tooth in his hand and realized that’s what he’d been trying to tell me. Yay!
I got him all cleaned up, and then saw that the other loose tooth was now hanging by a thread, so I asked his permission before yanking it out as well. It was nice to have both of them gone. Both permanent teeth were already there, they just moved forward to their correct spots after the baby teeth were out. So he never really could have sung the “All I want for Christmas” song, as he didn’t really have the “two front teeth” missing space.
The week I went back to work, we all came down with colds and/or strep throat. We ended up staying home and watching our church service live on the internet (love that option when we need it!). During that service, while sitting still and (probably not) listening, Elijah took the time to wiggle out his next tooth. So he has lost 5 teeth so far.
Since Josephine and Elijah both had the same tooth wiggly, she was pretty upset that she lost the “race” to get that tooth out. But hers was out within a few more days as well. This is the third tooth she’s lost so far. She lost her 2 front bottom teeth last fall. I think her top two middle teeth are just starting to get wiggly.
The tooth fairy has been busy with trips to our house the last month!
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