yikes!

I'm sad it's been two months since I posted, but I'll try to make up for it.  The kids all started school and have done well.  Despite Rhys's new campus location he has barely made a peep.  There has been one or two days of very mild whining, but no gagging fits like last year.  He has the same bus driver (thank you for small miracles) and same teachers so I think that made things easier on him.  He looks forward to the bus and acts so grown up.  He is a happy little guy when he gets home and tells me "I so happy... home, mama".  Of course he's happy because he now gets his iPad, which he lives on as much as we allow.

 

 

Zoe was not at all crazy about her new classroom situation, but the transition has been much smoother than last year for her as well.  She has two teachers and my feeling is that one is not a personality match with her.  The lady is missing the TLC factor that gives you the warm fuzzies and make the young kids comfortable.  Well, that's my impression anyway.  My first experience with that, but probably not my last.  Beckett on the other hand has been smooth sailing.  One of his two teachers is the same as last year, and they're actually both wonderful.  He has no tears when I hand him over, and other than his typical fussiness when hungry or tired he has done so well!  All the kids in school has given me my first opportunity to have time to myself, dare I said it... alone!!

 

 

Rhys continues with his weekly therapy and is doing SO well is swimming.  He can flip from face down to his back to "rescue" himself and float.  He is floating unassisted for a little more than two minutes.  He needs to do this for five minutes to pass his float test.  When we started this swimming two years ago we never anticipated he'd be able to do this so we are amazed.  Think about it... he has CP, poor overall muscle control, yet he is capable of managing to do this.  Yea!  In addition to his other therapy, we've added equine therapy.  I am SO excited about it.  SO excited.  I've honestly been dreaming of this day for two whole years.  I have called numerous places trying to find something suitable for him, but none of the stables around us were equipped for kids less than four years of age.  As soon as he turned four I was on the phone again.  I have heard so many wonderful things about equine therapy and I'm really hoping this will push him over the edge on his trunk control.  He loved the horses and surprise of all surprises, he did not fight the helmet.  This is a big deal because Rhys does not like much messing with his head/face, and he does not wear hats without a fight!

 

July update

B-man is still a toothless wonder.  He is this close to have a tooth though, the bottom ones are about to poke through.  Finally!  He has been giving us fits with his teething.  He's still mostly army crawling because he is ninja-fast that way, but he'll occasionally make it up on all fours.  We're trying to make him understand he can balance on his own, and he will usually stand for a few seconds until he realizes he IS standing without the benefit of holding onto anything.  He then plops down on his bottom and starts crawling again.  I have seen him get a little crazy and remove his support hand when cruising from one edge to another so I'm hoping we have a walker sooner rather than later.  I'm so excited he will starting school this fall, but I can't believe he's even old enough for it.

Little Miss Sass is full of energy.  Her vocabulary has exploded and she amazes us every day with the words coming out of her mouth.  Swimming is something she very much enjoys and she'll be moving from the "baby" class to the "big" pool in September.  She's noticed swimming on TV and points out water and swimming pools when she sees them.  2024 Olympics anyone?  I'm kidding.  Or, am I?  Her and B will be in neighboring classes at school so I'm anxious to see how she handles it.  She is such a mother hen and is constantly going to check on one of the boys, promptly returning to report on what they're doing.  I hope she can focus on her class, knowing B is going to be next door.

We received a letter that Rhys will change campuses this coming school year.  The letter was poorly written and contained no information other than that.  I received it on a Thursday, after 5 p.m., and wouldn't you know that ISD offices are closed Fridays through the summer.  Despite leaving a message for the "program coordinator", she never called back.  When I called and got on her on the phone she was rude and completely unresponsive to any of my questions.  All I wanted were details of the move.... teacher, class time, why he was being moved, etc.  I sadly had to contact her boss and Rhys's current school principle to get the whole story.  A couple conversations and a huge complaint later I had all my info.  Rhys's whole class, including his fantastic teachers, are moving to the new campus.  The campus is not in our neighborhood, which could pose a problem for length of transportation and potential conflict of outside therapy, but it is a new campus and has a regular pre-k class that Rhys's program will be integrated with.  I am so excited about this to be honest.  I am worried for the disruption it will cause Rhys, but I think the new program is going to be a great benefit to him.  His vocabulary is exploding also.  He picks up words and phrases that Zoe uses, so I can only imagine what school with average kids with do for him.

And speaking of progress, Rhys's neurologist was visibly excited to see how he's doing.  At our checkup last week you could actually see how pleased he was with all Rhys could do.  That does my heart good.  Cody and I know Rhys is doing great things, but it is so fun, yes fun!, to see doctors also get excited about it.  He told us again that Rhys's MRI from last year showed no signs of anything to be concerned with, and with his recent progress there is no "ceiling" that he would currently put on Rhys's development.

Rhys is very attached to his iPad (it goes everywhere, including the doctor).  He tells us he wants to eat so we'll put him in his chair and give him the iPad.  It was originally intended for all the kids, but Rhys has taken it over so we "had" to buy a second one for the other kids.  Yes, I understand that is ridiculous.  But fair is fair.  Zoe doesn't play it nearly as much as Rhys does, but Rhys also can't run and play like the other two so he doesn't have strict time limits for iPad usage.  Zoe has puzzles and educational games she loves to play and to be honest I love to watch her.  I'm amazed to see what she knows.  B is currently content to carry around the old cell phones and play with those, but he does like to watch Rhys play.  I'm sure that wont last long... they always seem to want what the other has.

And finally, we're getting Rhys's new stroller.  I am completely jazzed about it because it's been a long time coming.  Delay after delay getting paper work submitted, and then a 6+ week delay after the wrong color was sent, has made this order take at least 5 months.  I should be picking it up this week and I can't wait to get it.  It is sure to make our lives much easier, and I'm hoping it allows us to get out and about more, knowing Rhys is comfortable.  There is a canopy like a regular stroller, an attachable tray (that will be super helpful), you can make it rear-racing, support for proper sitting, raised height and I can't remember all the other bells and whistles.  Much more age appropriate for a poor 4-year-old that is reaching the max length limits of our other strollers.

happy birthday, Rhys!

Happy 4th birthday to our super preemie, Rhys!

We can't imagine life without you, buddy.

And to sweet baby Bentley, not a day goes by that we don't think of you.

We miss you tons.  <3

happy birthday, Beckett!

One year ago today I held this cutie for the first

time and fell madly in love.

Happy first birthday, Beckett!

my little sugar

Sweet Beckett is almost one! I can not believe it. When Zoe was this age I was about 16 weeks pregnant with this guy. Yikes! Beckett has finally started crawling on all fours, though he only does it half way to his destination then switches back to army crawling. He is cruising on all the furniture but isn't nearly as sure-footed as Zoe was so he loses his balance and trips himself up a lot. The boy is fearless. He loves to play with Zoe and Rhys and is still a mama's boy. He is drinking from a sippy and still gets his bottle three times a day. I quit BFing him around 9.5 months so he's all formula now, with occasional cow's milk. He's about 60% for height and weight as of his last checkup, which surprises me because he seems so huge. We are still waiting on teeth because he has none at this point. Rhys and Zoe both had teeth by 8 months if I remember correctly. It looks like B's getting the top/bottom front two all at once, they're right at the surface.

father's day

We spent father's day weekend at the lake with Cody's dad this year.  I'm sad to say that was the first time back to the lake since I was pregnant with R&B four years ago!  Circumstances have prevented us from going for one reason or another so we were very happy to be back on the water.  The kids loved it!

B didn't even make it out of the cove before he was sound asleep.

Rhys was loving driving the boat.  He kept saying "boat" and "water" when we were in the house.  I honestly didn't know those words were in his vocabulary.

Zoe loves her snacks! 

R&Z both love the water.  Zoe kept kick, kick, kicking and doing her "bubbles" like she does in swim class. 

This may have been the highlight for Rhys.  I'm not sure if he was completely scared or terrified.  Just kidding, he loved this too!  He really enjoys the racing games on his iPad and this was some real life action!

last day of school

Rhys is officially a ummm pre-Kindergartner instead of a pre-pre-Kindergartner.  I can not believe the year went by so quickly.  He is doing great things lately.  He knows so much that is just coming to the surface.  I guess he's been watching and paying close attention these last months because the boy is pretty sharp.  I am constantly amazed at what pops out of his mouth, thing that I had no idea he understood.  Last week he started saying "Nick", as in NickJr.  That is usually the channel on in the kids' play room.  There is a commercial in between shows that plays the little jingle and every single time Rhys says Nick in the appropriate spot.  Today while he was eating he pointed the the living room tv and said Nick, then later told Cody he wanted the tv remote.  Yes, he said remote.  He is doing great at producing new sounds on command.  Just a few short weeks ago this was very difficult for him.  We are so excited to see this progress. 



Rhys had an awards presentation at school the other day.  As you can see, Zoe made herself right at home with the rest of the class.

All the kids received an award for a character trait.  Rhys's award was for determination.

And just for fun...  big boy Beckett loves to play with Rhys and Zoe.  He's almost always right in the middle of the action.  He is still army crawling but is now pulling up to stand on everything.  He wants to be cruising so badly!

end of the school year

All my babies love each other.  They just do.  That isn't to say they don't have their moments, but overall the all three play so well together.  For which I am so grateful.  You may say that they're young, and you would be right.  But I have several friends with kids similar in age to ours and they do not get along like this.  So I recognize I am lucky and will take it for as long as I can!

This month marks the end of school for Zoe and Rhys.  For Rhys I am excited.  He has learned SO much this year.  More on that later.  For Zoe, I am sad.  I am not normally the one who gets emotional about this type of stuff, but picking her up on her last day today was really sad for me.  I thumbed through the album of photos and art projects the teachers put together and I actually got teary eyed.  It  means she's growing up.  Where is my baby?

Rhys isn't finished until the end of the month, but I am already dreading looking forward to having all three kids in the house all week long.  I have developed a new appreciation for all the parents who I've heard bemoan Christmas/spring break/summer when their kids are at home.  Luckily, Cody's job has an every-other-Friday-off schedule so hopefully we'll be able to pack in some trips to the zoo, children's museum and neighborhood water park.

So what's happened since our last update (that was a very long time ago)?  I'm gald you asked!

Beckett:

• my little sugar pie is crawling all over the place, he started right after Zoe's birthday and has perfected the army crawl/snake slither technique
• he gets up on all fours and rocks, but hasn't put it into motion yet
• he is pulling up on shorter height surfaces (ie. window, kid chairs, etc), but hasn't quite made it to pulling up on the couch
• his balance is still wonky and instead of falling on his butt he falls all the way backwards on his back and knocks his head
• we're really having to watch this little guy because he's sneaky and loves to explore
• se is such a happy baby, and only really cries when he wants to be picked up/held/is tired or hungry
• he loves to snuggle and he loves his momma!

Zoe:

• has quadrupled her vocabulary in the last month, no joke
• she knows more than I ever thought a barely-two-year-old could know
• is too smart for her own good
• has really started to slim down and I am finally (yea!) able to find cute shoes for her - a really big deal for me after suffering from only being able to literally find TWO pair that would fit until a couple months ago
• is very into her dolls
• is very impatient
• gives a lot of kisses and has started to say "I love you", "excuse you" (she means 'excuse me'), "thank you" and "you're welcome"
• is SO funny, but gets put in to timeout almost on a daily basis for unnecessary screaming
• is doing great in swim and is really enjoying it - her and Rhys are in the same pool together during their lesson, but have different teachers
• enjoys dancing and art, and recognizes the theme songs from her favorite shows
• knows most of her colors and is great at puzzles

Rhys:

• is almost FOUR!
• had a fantastic ARD report
• is (according to his teacher) the only of her students to ever meet all their goals within the school year, and she's been at this for a while
• is speaking a lot lately, including:
• momma
• dada
• Nonna (my mother)
• night night
• up - for picking him up or getting him down from his chair
• nono
• more
• bye bye
• hi
• bath
• speaks letter sounds and numbers
• what's that
• is doing a great job at repeating on command, which is hard for him to process
• knows numbers, letters, letter sounds and colors - I can't say he knows all of them but he definitely knows most of them - AMAZING!
• is getting a new super duper stroller, which will make our lives so much easier
• still loves to crawl
• loves to torment Zoe
• wrestles with his toys
• loves to play cars, to be outside and loves to swing
• thoroughly enjoys anything action - sports, games, car racing, etc

Easter

newest two-year-old in town

ZoZo celebrated her second birthday today at Gymboree. I have to say (other than feeling rushed to set up and get out) that was a fantastic idea for a two-year-old. She again celebrated with cousin Ian, who you may remember was born on the same day. They had a great time. Rhys and Beckett were unfortunately not feeling well enough to come to the party, and even though we missed having them there it was nice for Cody and me to be able to focus our undivided attention on Zoe.

At age two, Zoe...

• will randomly say "bye bye guys". No idea where she got that.
• loves shoes. And since her foot is slimming up Momma can indulge her with more pairs.
• prances around when wearing anything frilly and girly.
• loves her brothers.
• is still a drama queen.
• calls Courtney "CoCo".
• walks around the house asking for cookies, coke (even though we don't give her soda) and chips.
• has discovered "Melmo!" (Elmo).
• spouts out a string of vowel letters when trying to sing E-I-E-I-O in Old McDonald.
• also enjoys "Shue Shues" (Blue's Clues).
• still sucks her thumb, boo!, and is seriously attached to the lovie.
• sleeps in her big girl bed.
• laughed hysterically, in all the appropriate places, when watching Bubble Guppies the other day.
• is beginning to string multiple words into a phrase.
• is fairly good eating with utensils.
• gets easily frustrated and then throws whatever it is she is frustrated with.
• is trying to climb on everything when we're not looking.
• can (when she's in the mood) follow simple commands and instructions, which is oh so helpful.
• does not like bows or clips in her hair, I'm lucky to get a ponytail.
• is interested in the idea of the potty, but has zero interest in using it.
• loves her "baf" (bath).
• sometimes scares me in swim class when she intentionally sinks. But she always comes up smiling. What a daredevil!
• can be summed up in one word: sassy!

yikes!

We're currently on spring break, and just let me admit it is hard to go from having kids full time, to kids in school part-time, and then back to having kids in the house all day. I now understand all the Christmas/spring/summer break comments from parents with school age kids! Not only have I had all three kids all week, two are currently sick.

Zoe came down with an ear infection two weeks ago and it took three days on the wrong antibiotic for us to realize she needed something stronger. Miserable! We just gave her the last of a 10-day dose yesterday, when B woke up at 4 a.m. this morning with a 103 temp. Took him to the doctor and wouldn't you know he has an ear infection too. First ear infection ever in this house and then we get two within two weeks. So I get B home from the doctor and Rhys comes home from therapy and is burning up. He has a 102 temp so I head back to the doctor to get him checked and he has strep. Sheesh. Luckily Zoe should still be protected from her meds and B is starting his, so hopefully the strep wont spread. Yuck.

Other than that we're preparing for Z's 2nd birthday party. My baby girl is almost two and I can not believe it. I'll post pics from the big day!

big sister

Zoe is very nurturing, I love to see her interact with both her brothers. She really is a big help in bringing things to Rhys, and she frequently entertains both Rhys and Beckett. She is even great (for the most part) at following simple instructions. It only gets better from here... right? :)

the past few months, in cell phone pics

several captured moments over the last few months

in no particular order

waiting for our first teeth cleaning

shoulder ride on Grandpa!

pool time last summer

who doesn't love the ball pit?

waiting for his MRI

lounging in the bouncy seat

at the Market with mom and Nonna

waiting patiently for her turn at pics

newborn cutie

too early for smiles, Rhys before his adenoid removal

Zoe helping her Nonna sell some goodies

Rhys watching Shamu on our October trip to Sea World

Zoe's first day of MDO

Rhys's first day of school

baby Beckett on the way home from the hospital

Rhys playing with his Mack truck

baby girl making a run to grab lunch back in August

sweet baby B

Rhys after his adenoid removal, poor kid