Anyway, I just read that post from Jan 2012 and feel compelled to update you, despite the fact that I did not plan to spend this much time on the computer and there are other things that I should be doing and I only have so much time before I need to load up 3 little boys AND 2 large cats and take everyone to the vet. FUN!! But this is more fun, so I'm going to do this because it's summer and that's how I get myself in trouble, by making decisions in this way.
Many things are still the same, but the children have grown considerably and that's where I feel I need to update you the most. Exhibit A:
Zachary is so ready for kindergarten. And not just because he can do everything he needs to be able to do before starting K. He's been asking when school will start? Will he have homework? (and excited when the answer is "Probably") Can he have a desk in his room for his homework? With a light on the desk? Repeat ad infinitum. A couple months ago I took him to the school for his kindergarten placement test. It took all of five minutes and it was child's play to him. I mean, really. The teacher was asking him about colors, shapes, numbers, etc. and he's known this stuff for two years. He's asking complicated questions about the universe at dinner and the teacher asks if he can point to the circle. He could have started K last August and be heading into 1st, but he was born 9 days after the cutoff and so he's one of THE oldest in his class. I just hope he isn't bored!
Daniel has made huge leaps and bounds in so many ways. For one, he's talking! He completed a year of therapy with Early Intervention and then transferred to the speech therapist at the elementary school. Leading up to the transition, the EI case worker explained that his case may not be accepted by the school since they have different requirements at that level (something like the child has to have a 30% delay, not 25%, and something else), but when we actually met the school therapist (after lots of paperwork and couple "useless" meetings to make sure I as the parent was aware of my rights - they have to jump through so many hoops so the parent doesn't feel like they're being forced to help their child!!) where was I? Oh, when we met the school therapist, she barely glanced at the paperwork, talked to Daniel for two seconds, and said she'd take his case. Again, it was weird to want your kid to perform poorly so he gets the help he needs, but I guess he was so far behind that it didn't take a professional long to determine that he qualified for services. So every week during the school year I trucked three boys to the elementary school for 30 mins (Z, E, and I hung out in the library) and then took Z to PreK just a little late. Oh I forgot to mention in Z's paragraph that he graduated from PreK last month! He went to "school" at our church for 4 hours 5 days a week. Daniel went to "MMO" (Mother's Morning Out) at the same place for the same 4 hours, twice a week. Next year Z will be at full day Kindergarten, Daniel will be at MMO 2x/wk and Eli still has one more year at home.
Speaking of Eli. No, wait, before I move on, one more thing about Daniel: As of this week, I can say that he has finally said goodbye to diapers! Yes, you're glancing back up the page to check his age: he's 3.5. Well past time for potty training, you say? Perhaps, but the speech delayed him and he simply wasn't ready each time we tried it before. Now he's got it. There are still plenty of accidents, but the part inside his head that had to mature is finally there, so we're going for it. We've got all summer to make it happen and then he'll be all ready to go upstairs for MMO. They don't change diapers upstairs.
Okay, on to Eli. But I need to get the cats to the vet on time, so I'll have to save this and come back. To post now and update later or save to drafts? That is the question...
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Well, it's about 4 hours later. The vet only took about 30 minutes, but then we went to Walmart and met Daddy for lunch. I mean Curtis. One of our cats (Beau) has a "rodent ulcer" on the roof of his mouth. We've been dealing with it since March, taking 1, then both cats in every 3 weeks. Cha-ching! The thing hasn't cleared up yet and today the vet recommended that we switch out all food and water dishes to stainless steel, to reduce possible allergens. (Cats are often allergic to plastic, and sometimes the paint in painted ceramic.) I didn't find exactly what I wanted at Walmart, but that didn't stop me from spending $80 there. Over lunch we found one on Amazon and I read the description out loud: "Simply sanitize the stainless steel bowl at high temperatures in your dishwasher to eliminate potential bacteria that can cause your pet harmful infections from micro-organisms, allergic reactions or skin and nose irritations." Huh. Well now. Maybe we should be cleaning their dry food dish a little more often...?
In Daniel's paragraph(s) above, I didn't mention Daniel's specific speech problem now, did I? He talks all the time, but he leaves off the initial consonants. It make him very difficult to understand and we have to use a lot of context clues. He still gets super frustrated, but he can eventually get his point across, so things have much improved. But that's why the school speech therapist accepted his case so quickly: leaving off the initial consonants is very worthy of professional help.
Okay, so finally on to Eli. Eli will be two in September and is starting to try on tantrums for size. But he's such a tender-hearted little cuddle-bug, that they only consist of him hiding his face. There's no screaming or yelling, foot-stomping, or head-banging. He just lies face-down on the floor for all of 3 seconds and it's over. It's a good thing his face is hidden and he can't see the expression on my face when he does this, because it is the cutest thing EVER and it makes me smile every time. He's got a mouth full of teeth, minus the two canines on the bottom, which are close to the surface and will probably break through this summer. He started army crawling at 5 months, "real" crawling at 8 months, and walked at 11 months. He nursed until about 9 months. He hated formula, loved baby food, except for the stage 3 stuff, and if I hadn't read in the previous post that he took a binky at naptime I would have said he never took one after we left the hospital. He also hated bottles and went straight to sippy cups. Currently he consistently out-eats Daniel. He can say Mama and make a few other sounds that sound like words, but every time we encourage more, Daniel reminds us that Eli can't talk! Actually it's more like "E-yi an't alk" Haha, here's a funny: try saying "castle" without the "c". Yeah, that was a fun one to figure out in public!
Well that's probably enough update for now. Maybe I'll try to be a little more consistent again. To tell the truth, I'm regretting that I haven't been on here much. Rereading that post I realize there are so many little things I've forgotten (like the binky) and there are probably so many more from the last 18 months, but they're lost because I didn't record them anywhere. Never too late to pick back up though, right? Actually many of them are probably recorded on Facebook. I'm a lot more active on there, mostly because it's so easy to do from my phone. But it's only good for short little pithy things. I've also got a tumblr, but I'm as sporadic there as I am here. Oh and Twitter too.
Riselle and Beau
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