I actually have so many pictures and at least 2 videos I'd love to get on here eventually....but it's coming along. I have too many "irons in the fire" I think.
Let's see, where should I start?
I'll start with Kaeli since she's the oldest. She joined the 3rd and 4th grade chorus this year. She came home today and told me that the teacher chose her as the announcer for the chorus recitals. I find this completely shocking and I can't help but wonder what the teacher was thinking--especially when Kaeli described how it happened. Kaeli signed up to audition for a particular part. When it came time for her audition she was just too shy to do it in front of all the other kids. So, she auditioned for the teacher in private. Kaeli did not get the part she auditioned for, but the teacher told her she has a wonderful voice and assigned her to be the announcer. Now, I'm wondering....if Kaeli couldn't get up and audition in front of a bunch of kids she KNOWS, how is she going to get up in front of an audience of unfamiliar faces and announce anything? This should be interesting and I can't wait to see how it plays out. Kaeli definitely is feeling quite proud of her teacher's comment about her "wonderful voice". WE are in trouble! She already walks around singing constantly. Unfortunately, I think her teacher meant that she's good at projecting her voice--not that she has a good singing voice. But, what do I know? Maybe she'll surprise me. Other than the star in training, she's handling 3rd grade superbly. She was very concerned because she had heard how much harder 3rd grade is...but she's rising to the challenge. She's so self-motivated that I'm finally beginning to relax a little and realize that she will always do well because of a drive from within. I actually felt apprehensive at the beginning of this year for a variety of reasons-it's nice to realize that apprehension was completely unfounded. WHEW...one down, 3 to go (and something tells me they won't be so easy).
Paige learned to ride her bicycle without training wheels last week! We tried early in the summer, but she just wasn't ready. This time we decided to try on a whim and she took off without a problem. She was off riding like a pro with the first push. I've been working on editing that video to share it so hopefully it'll be up soon. She was so proud of herself! At school she's really excelling as well. We do still struggle with the motivation and daydreaming issues, but it's obviously not affecting her grades. She got her mid-term progress report on Friday and so far her averages are 100, 100, 100, and 98. The 98 was in math. She was sitting at the table when I was looking over her progress report. I went through each one and called out the grade. When I got to the 98 she very incredulously, with a definite questioning tone, asked "98?!" We all got a good laugh out of that for a moment. Ok, but this is only 1st grade, so I won't be letting my guard down anytime soon. Still have to keep an eye on this one. One more thing about Paige-I'm beginning to wonder if she has allergies. She's been coughing like crazy every night. It's been pretty terrible and she wakes up looking exhausted. This happens EVERY single year and the Dr has never been able to give any explanations. I called and talked to the nurse today. She asked about allergies and suggested that maybe I could give some OTC allergy meds a try to see if that helps. So, tonight I gave her Claritin (non-drowsy allergy meds) about an hour before bedtime. I could not believe it when Kaeli came down to tell us that Paige had fallen asleep while they were reading. Not a single cough! I went up to actually get her in bed and she was completely out and never once coughed. A couple of hours later and I still haven't heard a cough! This would be sooooooo awesome if a dose of allergy meds every night fixes this coughing problem!
Ryan-quite honestly, there's not a whole heck of a lot going on with him. He's loving school now. Last year he would ask if he had to go to school and start crying if I said yes. This year he says "I not mind". Then when we get to the school his teacher is usually waiting at the door. He will literally run all the way up the sidewalk until he gets to her. We have to keep reminding him not to run. The first day he did that I actually teared-up a little. There was just something very sentimental about watching my BIG boy run off to greet his teacher without so much as a glance back at me. Natalie, his speech therapist, is just amazed by him. She can't believe how well he's doing now! It's pretty amazing to see how far we've come in only 6-8 months. These days he's just working on adding more words to his sentences and how to say multisyllable words more fluently. But, there's probably not a day that goes by when he doesn't surprise in some way or another. In fact, his memory has been shocking me lately. He's been workng on memorizing bible verses for AWANA. I cannot believe how quickly he learns the verses!! And, he actually LOVES to practicing them! He's one sweet, adorable little boy!
AJ--what do I say about him? AJ is just about the most lovable 2 yr old in the whole entire world.....and just about the most frustrating 2 yr old in the whole entire world. There are some moments that I want him to freeze at this stage and never grow older. Then there are, of course, days that I keep wishing he'd grow up faster. He's so affectionate and loves to give hugs and kisses. Sometimes he'll give me a tight hug completely unprompted. His signing vocabulary grows daily! He has really caught on to signing so much more quickly that the other kids ever did. Of course, I have been using it more regularly with him. But, it's still amazing how quickly he picks up new signs and starts using them for real communication. I can't even describe how thrilled I am that we can use signing for communicating. He does try to use words, but they are so off most of the time that I'd have no idea what he was saying without the accompanying signs. He's taking a huge interest in the potty and will often ask to sit on the potty. He knows exactly what he's doing and will usually produce a little bit of peepee when he does sit on the potty. We just might start considering real potty training within the next few months!! Could it be?.......might I actually get to a point where I won't have to buy diapers????? Of course, I will continue having to buy pull-ups for a while, but no diapers would be amazing!
Other than the kids, I just got a call from my mom today!! She's coming to visit for a long weekend Oct 16-19!! My mom lives too far for it to be considered driving distance so we rarely get to see each other. I'm very excited to see her again! It has been so long! I told the girls about it today and they were very excited as well.
I'm sure I could write tons more since it's been so long, but I will stop there. I really have to get myself in bed! I will make it a priority to get at least one of the videos on here within the next week.
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