SICK....

We have all been a little under the weather this week. It is such a bummer! Elle woke up last Wednesday and threw up right before it was time to leave for school--so everything that day shut down. Then Thursday she was still quite tired and ran a little fever, so Jason stayed home with her that day. Friday-she went back to school, but was tired when she got home, so we took it easy all weekend. Easton was fine until last night when he woke up in the middle of the night screaming. Then this afternoon, the lady that keeps him called and said that he was running 103!! I left work and went to get him, but by the time I got there, he had been up from his nap for a little bit and seemed to be doing better. We will be staying home tomorrow and taking it easy--I am feeling pretty lousy now, too. I think Jason is the only healthy one of the bunch at this point...Elle is finally better--so maybe Easton and I should be put on one side of the house away from Elle and Daddy. We all know that will never happen! But, since Elle was sick for those few days--she is bouncing off the walls right now!!! The weather is getting bad here, so being cooped up in the house with one hyperactive kid and one sick kid sounds like lots of fun!! ;) I am sure we will find something fantastic about it!!

Easton's new trick

We were not ready for the boy thing! I mean, he is constantly taking it to the next level when it comes to being a dare devil. He had taken all of these pillows and laid them out--then he was throwing himself into the air...like a crazy person. He had done it a handful of times and Jason had hollered at me to get the camera--I had no idea what I was in for when I made it into the living room. But...he was loving every minute of it!

GUNS!!

Okay, so Easton's new thing is holding his hand like a gun and shooting you...then you shoot him and he falls to the floor and pretends he is dead. Jason and I have no idea where he has learned this, but it is so funny. I mean, grossly disturbing, but funny. So, now it has become this real issue because I am so against Easton having any guns until he is old enough to talk about the rules of guns or go with Jason to hunt with them. I have a real problem with "toy guns" because I feel like it confuses children. But, let me tell you, Easton goes into the bathroom and gets the J from the bathtub and uses it as a gun. It is an innate thing with boys. So...Jason and I are at a crossroads right now trying to decide what to do about this whole thing. Jason says that this phase will pass and we just shouldn't worry about it--and maybe he is right. I just know that I do not want to add to his obvious love of shooting! Not until he can handle it--I mean, I really do want him to be able to go out with his Daddy and appreciate the killing of animals... :( but he is only 2! I will keep you updated!

Elle's so smart!

Elle's teacher approached me yesterday at school and wanted to nominate her for the gifted program. I had thought about it this year, but then Jason and I had decided to wait until first grade to give her time to get adjusted in school. But, her teacher was pretty sure we needed to go ahead and do it--so we are going to. I told her that I already know her IQ--because I have tested her--but that I also know that she can pretend to be a nit wit a lot!! So, we will see how it turns out. Jason and I filled out all of the paperwork last night and I was even more sure that she was a gifted child after filling it all out...but again, we will see what their opinion is. I explained it all to Elle about the testing and what she would do--and of course, she wanted to do it right then. I am hoping it will encourage her to show off a little--because she is one that will just do what everyone else is doing if she can get away with it. When we all know she is capable of so much more. BUT..then she will come out with something like this picture (Easton's halloween costume on) and we are less sure of her intellect! tee hee

Jason was so proud of her--he said, "well, she is going to e taking care of us one day--so she needs to make a lot of money!" :) He is always so "to the point".

New adventure

Well, I have finally added the 2nd blog now for the parenting questions and "things that have worked for us" answers. God has been really putting this on my heart for a while now, and I finally went for it. I am just trying to be open to whatever he wants for this ministry...and I will try to continue to be obedient in following Him wherever he leads.

Elle is doing so great! She is really working hard at school and is reading really well. Jason and I are really proud of her. One night, a few weeks ago, I was a little concerned, because we were reading and she was honestly just acting like a nit wit--well, I confronted her about it and she said, "Mommy, I don't want to be smart." Wow...I was shocked! We talked through it and I think she is over that now, at least she appears to be trying harder now.

Easton started speech therapy this last week and he is doign so great! He is really talking a lot and I think hopefully we can work on the sounds he is missing or changing so that he is more intelligible. He is so funny, though because he will come in and just rattle off a little story and I know that he is really saying something, but I can only make out 3 or 4 words--so I spend a few minutes putting context clues with the words to come up with what he must be saying. Then I will restate it to him and he will cheer--"yeah, Mommy!" The speech pathologist said that maybe he would be a team leader for a Fortune 500 Company... :)

Jason has been sick the past few days, so that is no fun! We are hoping he is over it soon! In years past, when he was sick, the children and I were living on Mac N Cheese for a week--but now I am doing the cooking during the week! Yes, I know--I said it would never happen and Jason was a little shocked, too--but it has happened! I made a calendar for the month and wrote out all of the recipes--and now I do the cooking! It is great because I can think ahead of time how I can modify the meal for Easton and what I will need for that...and his dinner can look like ours instead of him having hotdogs every night! I have actually enjoyed it! Elle, the first night came in while I was getting dinner ready and said, "Do you even know how to cook, Mommy?" It was a little hit to my ego, but we got over it and when she cleaned her plate that night from the lasagna--my ego was restored!

Elle is hoping to start cheerleading soon...keep Jason in your prayers about that...he is not excited. He is just getting over the Jonas Brothers posters that went up in her room after Christmas! She loves them!

Back to Reality

Well, we started back to our lives with work for me and school for Easton and Elle on Monday. I was really impressed because Elle woke up with her alarm right on time, got her clothes on, and was ready to eat breakfast and all with a smile on her face. Easton was another story! (Which is usually the TOTAL opposite--Easton is our morning person and Elle is our night owl!) Easton had to be taken out of bed sleeping because all attempts to wake him did not work (mind you, they have both been sleeping until 9 or 9:30 everyday) and then he began screaming "Momma, Momma, Momma" at the top of his lungs--all the way until Jason dropped him off at Ms. Leota's. It was awful to strap him in to his seatbelt with him screaming like crazy! So, sad! But, this morning he was better--so hopefully he will get back into the swing of things soon--the problem with that theory is that tomorrow I am off with him all day, so he will think it is more Mommy and Easton time and then the next day is back to work...
Tomorrow is also his speech evaluation. I am so excited to hear what they have to say about it. I have typed up all of the words he is saying now and how they are pronounced, the concerns Jason and I have about his speech, and what we are hoping to gain from the therapy. (Of course, we have already dealt with this case manager with the occupational therapy that he previously had, so she knows I am obsessive compulsive--she SAYS she loves it!) I can't wait to hear the suggestions they have for us regarding his language--the OT was always so wonderful and I learned so much about helping him eat...things I never did with Elle because she just picked it right up. So--this is another thing that she just picked right up and I need some help with him. He is talking--more and more everyday--just not yet like we want. It will get there!
I added a recording on this blog of some of his latest words and of something special Elle wanted to share...she is doing great in school right now! Hopefully that will continue!

So much love

Today I picked Elle up from a sleepover and I was so happy when she got into the car and said that she had missed me. I mean, I wanted her to have a great time with her best friend and I know that she did, but I love that she does still appreciate being at home with Jason and I. Easton was so happy to see her when she got home, they ran and gave each other the biggest hug. Jason and I had painted her bedroom while she was gone and she just beamed when she saw it. I think all the time how fast she is growing up. She talks about boys being cute--I mean, she is 5!!! That is so scary! I think we will begin locking her in her room at age 7 at this point... I need Easton to grow up quicker so that he can beat up all of the boys that she is going to bring home...but then again, I don't want to miss a second with Easton and the things he is going to learn between now and then.
His new thing is saying, "hey..." before just about everything. It is so precious! He says it in all different tones, but seriously he says it all the time. That is such a little thing, but you can tell that he loves it and knows that it expressed what he wants to communicate. He also says, "ah, man" and snaps his little finger--yes, just like Swiper on Dora. It is hilarious!
I was so impressed today with Jason because I had told him on Thursday morning that I had a list of things that I wanted to get done before Sunday...for those of you that know Jason, his motto is usually, "why do today what you could do tomorrow or next week?" where mine is "why wait another second???" So--we have had to learn to meet in the middle over the last 10 years...anyway, I told him that I had a list, and it was a long list. Well, we finished the very last thing at 6:30 tonight! ;) He has no idea how much that means to me! We joke about it, but honestly i am constantly making lists and wanting to do more, and it kills me when I need other people to mark things off my list...I need Jason A LOT!! So, all that to say--my husband is awesome! All in all, a great weekend...and now we get to go and worship the Lord with friends and family tomorrow...great ending to a great weekend!

New Year

As we start a new year today, I keep thinking about everything that we have been through this year. I think about Elle starting kindergarten and how much she has learned so far. She is reading and loving writing letters to everyone. She has so much fun with anything and everything and I just love that she has that kind of passion for so many things. She makes me laugh all day everyday with her hick Tyler accent and the way she talks to Easton and calls him "baby" all the time. She is so nurturing and we are still amazed that she continues to be so sweet to her baby brother despite turning 5 and him being into everything...She has begun asking lots of questions about Jesus and why she can't be baptized yet--I know that she truly believes everything that she is supposed to believe, but she doesn't really get the magnitude of all of it quite yet--that is so exciting to watch!!!
And then there is Easton, he has started to talk so much more--because of course we were worried about him as compared to his sister that was able to speak in sentences at such an early age--which now we are not so impressed with! tee hee But, it is so awesome to watch him learn new words and to put sentences together now in order to communicate his wants and needs. He is starting speech therapy soon, because he says a lot of sounds wrong, but they are at least there now. He is so coordinated motorwise though--he can run and jump and climb--it is amazing! And, he always has a smile on his face--well, I say always...he does know how to throw a fit--but seriously, most of the time, he is a happy little boy.
Then Jason and I have really figured out ways to work around my adding another day at work and we have enjoyed our new Bible study this year in our Sunday school class. We have enjoyed getting to spend time together in the evenings and the Wii actually ended up not to be "of the devil"...