So Far Behind

I am so far behind in my blogging. I never even blogged about Andy and Alex graduating Kindergarten

and here they are getting ready to start back to school in a little over a week (July 20th). Here is what everyone has been up to lately...

Abby

We had our first little run away experience with Abby. I don't even remember all of the details but for some reason one Sunday she had gotten mad and had locked herself in her room (our locks are on the outside of the door so she couldn't get out). That's a no-no at our house for safety issues and so since she decided to put herself in there I figured she could stay for a while (30minutes). She missed a Living Scriptures movie which was a big deal for her as she LOVES movies. When I went in to get her she had her shoes on, these 2 bags packed and said, "I'm leaving!!" I said, "Ok, but could you please take your bath first." She stomped down the hall, threw her stuff down , and took her bath. When she came out of the bathroom Tyler was close by and she told him she was leaving. He said, "OK, but are you going to go to church with us first?" She said, "I guess I can wait and leave tomorrow." She's still around. Ü

Abby turned 8 on June 18th. I'd like to do a post about her birthday one of these days but to sum it up she had a great weekend including donuts for breakfast, a trip to the water park, beans and rice for dinner at grandma's, and a movie/pizza party with a few friends the next day. She will be getting baptized on August 14th.

Abby met with her rheumotologist, Dr. Shishov, in June. He said there is still no sign of Dermato which is super!! Some other exciting news he gave us was that if she is still doing as well when we come back in 3 months he will switch her Methotrexate from the weekly shot to a weekly pill. Yipee!!

We also had Abby's well check with her pediatrician, Dr. DeSilva. That was an interesting visit. Abby put on quite a show that day which included lots of baby talk, not answering questions when asked, completely freaking out when told she needed to get a booster shot (although she bravely got it and didn't hide under the table as she has done in the past), and tearing and eating the paper on the exam table. Lovely. Not exactly the way I would think an 8 year old would act. The doctor agreed. I also explained to her Abby's latest obsession - she will not take her shoes off!! This is a girl who I couldn't keep shoes on a few months ago. She's decided that if she keeps her shoes on that her feet don't feel as dry. She will take them off in the tub but she insists on wearing them to bed and everywhere else. If she does have to take them off her a few minutes she gets very nervous and jumpy until she gets them back on. Dr. DaSilva suggested that we next time we see our psychologist that we talk to him about OCD tendencies and possible anxiety medication.

Overall Abby's behavior has been pretty good this summer. She does better when she can take things at her own pace and doesn't have to be rushed through everything (up, ready, school, home, homework, dinner...). She has been pretty happy lately and at times seems so grown up and helpful. Here she is with Dr. DaSilva.

ANDY

Andy is my most easy going kid although he knows how to push everybody's buttons and so I've been after him a lot this summer for bugging everybody. Ü

Andy lost his first tooth on May 26th. It was on the same day as his Kindergarten graduation. It was a special day for him ~ he graduated, went to Burger King for lunch, got a toy at the dollar store, and lost his first tooth (which he pulled himself after Daddy got it good and wiggly). He told me he'd "been longing for this day."

This boy swears that he is going to dig a hole big enough in our backyard for our family to live in. Off of this hole he his going to dig a tunnel that is going to go all the way around the world. On our trip all the way around the world he is going to collect every bug and snake there is and put them each in their own box and then do a TV show where he is the Bug Man. He talks about this little adventure almost daily but has only spent about 10 minutes digging the actual hole. He claims the sun makes the ground to hard to dig.

Andy saw this idea on a Veggie Tale show and wanted to do it for an FHE activity. Strings are tied onto a rubber band and we each pull our own string and work together to lift up each cup and build this tower.

Andy also had gotten into games this summer. His favorites are Checkers, Sorry, and War.

Andy and I had a funny conversation one day. Instead of saying "Andy I love you" I accidently said, "Andy I'm in love with you." Andy got very serious and said, "Mommy we can't get married!" Playing along I said, "Why not?" He said, "Because you're 31 and I'm only 5!" I said, "Oh, but can I still love you." He said, "Yes, you can love me but we can't be in love with each other!" Here he is at a fun water day activity.
ALEXAlex has given me the most trouble this summer with his attitude. Gee Whiz - it can be bad. He gives up so easily when something doesn't go right and when he gets frustrated he smacks himself in the head over and over. I try not to give too much attention to it and instead praise his good behavior but boy does it bother me. He is also convinced that he never gets to play but instead has to do all the work around the house while I do nothing. One of these days I'm going to stop doing things for him so he can see how things really are. Ü

Here is his funny thing from the summer. He got 2 rocks and a stick from my friend's house and decided he was going to make a spear. Well, he did!! I was amazed.Alex pretends to not like reading but he actually loves it. He's probably read about 8 Magic Tree House books on his own this summer which are all over a 3rd grade reading level. Go Alex!!
BENBen has decided that he is scared of the light in his room. It started flashing and Tyler thinks there is something wrong with the celing fan. There hasn't been a lightbulb in there for weeks. The night it was happening we couldn't get Ben settled down from it. He was screaming and screaming. I took him out of his crib to try and calm his down. I sat down on the bottom bunk to rock him but he grabbed his blanket, put is over his head, slid off my lap, and ran - with the blanket totally over his head and arms stretched out - to his door. It was the funniest thing!! We finally got him back to bed but he now sleeps with a blanket over his head. And most mornings when you go to get him he is sitting there hiding under his blanket. When you take the blanket off he points to his head and grunts until you say, "Did you sleep with your blanket on your head?" He then points to the light and makes his scared face (worried expression with fists up by his mouth) until you say, "Because you're scared of the light." He then smiles and says, "Uh-Huh!"Ben is still behind in his speech. When we went in a few months ago to get his tubes checked Dr. Yin said his hearing was perfect. I guess now he is just catching up on learning how to talk. He is starting to repeat things we say just not very clearly. I took a video of him saying words he knows which I will upload another day so you can hear his cute voice even if you can't understand what he is saying. I'll be interested to hear what Dr. DaSilva has to say at his 2 year check up next month (yes, he'll be 2 next month!!). What's hard for me is that he is so big (we're breaking out the 4Ts) but talks like a 12-18 month old.

As for his teeth they are coming down although his top right tooth is coming in at an angle and is stuck on his middle tooth. The dentist said what will probably happen is the tooth will wear away at the root of th emiddle tooth until it gets loose and falls out before the other tooth will come down. Whatever!

And that's us! Ü

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Wow! That was a lot of information! I was talking to Rosanne the other day and she asked how Abby was doing. After I told her some of the things that were going on, she was wondering if she was ever tested for autism. One form of autism exhibits itself by a childs inability to deal well in their interactions with other children. She said they are usually very bright and do well in school, but they don't know how to deal with other people. This is information on the specific one that she asked about. You might want to look it up on the internet and then talk with the doctor about it.  = Just a thought. ~ Aldine Allen