Bittersweet

Usually, when school first gets out, I wonder how in the world I'm going to entertain all 3 children daily.  After about a week, though, we all adjust and it all becomes natural.  About 3 weeks prior to school starting, we are all ready for school to begin again.  This summer, however, felt very short.  I'm not sure if it was because I was working some and therefore had fewer days with the kids, but this summer felt short.  Also, I will admit that I was dreading Noah beginning Pre-K.  He's my baby--I've had a child at home all day every day for the past 9 years.  It's scary territory knowing that I would not have a child around for part of my day. 

Katie is now in fourth grade.  That's so hard to believe and very tough to admit that I have a child who will be in middle school in two years.  Two years is not a long time...though I used to believe that it was!  So far, she seems to be enjoying school, as she has several of her friends in her class this year.  She is quite smart, but in third grade, she did not apply herself as much as she should have.  She's also a Mountain View Bears cheerleader!  I've never seen her so excited as she is cheering!

Aidan is now in first grade.  It's hard to believe that two years ago, he was just starting Pre-K, and now he's in first grade!  His teacher seems very nice, and I'm hopeful that his year in first grade will be just as wonderful as his kindergarten year.  He learned so much, and he loves school.  He's also in PeeWee baseball now--no more tees for him!

It was really tough for me to take Noah to Pre-K.  With Noah's speech delay, I wasn't sure how it would all work out for him.  He is very friendly (and social), but it was difficult for me to let him go.  Noah may not have the same amount of speech as a typical 4-year-old, but he's so endearing.  Not only that, but he does know his letters, his numbers, and his name.  What he lacks in speech he makes up for in knowledge.  I am excited to see how he progresses this year.  Also, he's in t-ball for the first time (he was in pre-t last season), and he's making some progress in his game.

It's really tough watching your children grow up--a lot more difficult than I ever could've imaged prior to having children!

Aidan's First Kiss

When I was growing up, I really looked up to my sisters.  After all, they are 7 and 8 years older than I, so I thought they were really cool, getting to do all the fun stuff while I was still a little kid.  I remember spying on my oldest sister one night.  She had been dating her husband for a long time, but a long-running joke was how they broke up once per year every April.  Well, when they broke up that April, she began dating someone else for once.  My other sisters and I heard when she got home, so we were able to sneak into the garage and spy on our oldest sister while she said goodnight to her date.  Naturally, they kissed, which is what we were counting on!  I began invisioning kissing a future boyfriend one day, and it made me really happy to think of that time. 

When I was 15, I was very active in my church's youth group.  I went to all of the activities, and it was quite common for people in the youth group to begin dating one another.  This one older guy (he was maybe 2 years older?) and became friends--we would talk during youth group, and hang out together.  Well, one evening, as we were about to go into youth group, he pulled me aside and kissed me!  It was my first true kiss!  I was filled with excitement, as I had been anticipating this event for as long as I could remember. 

Today, as we were driving home from VBS, Aidan informed me that he had been kissed by a girl at church yesterday.  Apparently, today, he kissed her!  Now, they had held hands before, but this time, they kissed each other on the cheek!  I know the little girl--she was in Aidan's Pre-K class, and we are friends with her parents.  According to Aidan, she told him that she wants to marry him when they grow up!  My goodness--I never thought my 6-year-old would be betrothed at such a young age in this day and age!  Kids grow up too fast!!!!

Spring is in the air!

We have had so much going on for the past few months!  Baseball season is over for now, but it was an interesting season.  Noah was in Pre-T this spring, and he really enjoyed himself!  I could really see the progression as the season progressed.  When he first began, when his team was playing on the field, Noah would run in circles around the ball, kicking up dirt and not even trying to retrieve the ball.  As the season went on, though, he learned to actually pick up the ball as it was hit towards him, and he would throw it *toward* first base.  He even earned his game by getting all coach-pitched hits!  My little Red Sox player loved his first taste of baseball! 


Aidan has also been enjoying baseball this season.  Unfortunately, he was on a team that did not get very many wins.  His team finished the season 1-12--very different from every other season he has had with baseball.  The good news is that he really has come a long way with his playing.  When the season began, his coach had him in the outfield.  At Chris' urging, his coach moved him to second base, and finally Aidan became our consistent third baseman.  While a lot of outs were not made at first base, Aidan consistently made outs at third, and earned himself two game balls!  He also got to try out for All Stars.  Out of 160 t-ball players, only 40 players were chosen to try out for All Stars, so it is a huge honor to be asked.  Although he didn't make the team, he was so excited that he had the opportunity to try out and to try his hand at being a catcher, his dream position!  We still have our end-of-season party with the Gwinnett Braves, but next fall, he gets to move up to Pee Wees.

Katie is finishing her last season of ballet.  She made pre-pointe for next fall, but she has decided that she is not interested in continuing with ballet.  Instead, she is now an official Mountain View cheerleader!  I hope that she will enjoy it--it's been difficult finding something that Katie is passionate about.  I can't believe that she will be through with third grade in 7 more days--where has the time gone?!  She has expressed interest in art, so we are debating signing her up for art camp this summer.

All three kids are signed up for VBS, and Aidan wants to go to baseball camp again.  Katie has cheer camp in late July.  I can't believe Katie will be in fourth grade, Aidan will be in first grade, and Noah will be in pre-k in the fall. 

Apraxia?

It's been awhile since I've written anything on this blog!!! We've stayed busy, and the kids are doing well. Today Aidan and Noah had their well child visits with their doctor. Aidan is in the 25% percentile for both height and weight. He's doing well--the doctor told him that if he can't learn to control his behavior, then he can speak with someone. Aidan is a model student in school and baseball--he NEVER, EVER gets into trouble, and his teachers wish all of their students were like him. At home, though, he's been melting down. He will wrestle with his brother, talk back, and generally being a pain to be around. We've tried punishments and rewards, but nothing has been working. The doctor said a lot of it is his age, and told him that if he feels himself melting down, then he needs to recognize it and calmly go do something quiet until he calms down. She doesn't think he has any behavioral problems--I don't, either, but it's get old very quickly having him get into trouble nightly at home! He really is a sweet, caring boy, but he's got to stop melting down at home!

Noah is in the 75% percentile for height and weight--what a big boy he has always been! He was very good for his appointment, as he did exactly what he was asked. However, he wouldn't tell the dr. when he heard a beep for his hearing test. The dr. and I discussed Noah's speech, and she did a few speech tests on him. It's obvious he knows his shapes and colors, so she tested him. She agrees that he is very social, and most certainly not on the austism spectrum, which is wonderful news. However, she did suggest that he may have apraxia. I actually think someone has finally hit the nail on the head! Chris and I have always said that Noah knows exactly what you are saying, but he can't seem to communicate back. Noah is getting a referral to an audiologist to retest his hearing, as he has to pass for his school forms. Also, we absolutely have to get Noah back into speech therapy. I've done a bit of research on apraxia, and some things sound right on target. It's as if Noah wants to answer, but he can't find the word he's searching for. I hope and pray we can get some real answers soon--I can't wait until the day that Noah can carry on a true conversation with me!