Sunday, February 28, 2010

Brayden's teeth

Brayden has lost three teeth now. He was excited to put the first one under his pillow. The tooth fairy gave him a silver dollar and a new, fun toothbrush. He thought that was great, but hasn't put either of his last two teeth under his pillow. As soon as his last one was loose he said he was going to ask his teacher to pull it out. When I picked him up after school he told me that she said it wasn't loose enough. A couple of days later we were in my car and he bit into an apple. He yelled out that it was really loose and wanted me to pull it out. It was a very busy day and we were in the parking lot after my niece, Heather's, basketball game. We had gone to Brayden's baseball practice, the end of my niece, Shannon's, softball practice, the end of Heather's basketball game, and were on our way to Heather's softball game when it happened. He came up to the front of the car and gave me a tissue and asked me to pull it out. I did it really quickly before he or I could think twice about it. He was very happy to have it out once it stopped bleeding. I think he was so happy being with his cousins that he just wanted to get it out of the way. He hasn't said anything about it again. I keep forgetting to remind him to put it under his pillow. It has been two weeks now, so I better remember to do it tomorrow night!

Brayden's 6th BIrthday!






We had a fun birthday party for Brayden last weekend. We went to a place that teaches kids gymnastics and held the party there. It was really, really fun. We basically walked in with the cake, drinks and paper goods and the staff did the rest. We had invited 24 kids altogether, including Brayden, Brookelyn and Sasha, so there were a lot of kids to keep busy. They broke the kids into three different groups and then did fun things with them. They would take turns bringing them on an obstacle course, have them play on trampolines, walk across balance beams...the kids all loved it! The parents all sat upstairs and watched the kids while we talked. Colton picked up the pizzas and brought them to the party, which was great so we didn't have to worry about it. After an hour or so the kids were brought upstairs and the staff served them the food and then the cake. It was so well-organized that we were able to just enjoy the afternoon. Brayden had a really fun time and so did the girls. Sasha really liked it. That night Brayden opened the presents from us and a few from his friends. We gave him a game for his DS, a couple of l#go kits, a few beginning chapter books, and a pair of Heel#ys. Luckily for us, he got several l#go kits from his friends which will keep him busy for a while.

Sasha is in preschool!

Sasha moved from her room with two year olds to a preschool room. She did great and really seems to like it now.

Brookelyn's 4th Birthday

We had a great birthday party for Brookelyn. She turned four November 26th. She loves everything pink and purple and princessy. We had a combined party at our house with her best friend, Savannah. Everyone wore princess outfits, we gave them each a tiara, they decorated wands and cupcakes, and just played with eachother. We had asked everyone to bring a donation for a local charity. It was a very fun and busy day.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Feb 12, 10

Obviously, now that I am working, I don't write as often as I should. On the days I am off I race around trying to get as many errands completed as I can. Here is what is going on with us:
Sasha-Moved to preschool in the beginning of January. They told me they wanted to move her from her two year old class to preschool and that her teacher said she was ready. Well, I wasn't ready. I wanted her to stay in there for many more months. No rational reason why, but I was reluctant to move her. I worried about it for several weeks. I knew she would be fine, but I worried anyway. One day I came back to my desk after a busy morning and found a note that read, "Sasha is IN Nancy's class today." I ran over to the preschool area and peeked at her from the bathroom." She was choosing work from a shelf and was fine. But she looked so tiny in the classroom! Her old teacher had brought her up to visit her new classroom in the morning and when she asked her if she wanted to stay in the new classroom or go back to her old classroom, Sasha said she wanted to stay.
She actually wasn't thrilled about school for a couple of weeks after that. Every day when she woke up she would say, "What are we going to do today, Mama?" When I would say school she would try to convince me there was no school and it was a park day. I would say how much I love her teacher and she would say, "I no love her, Mama. She's not my Mama." She even started asking to go back to her old classroom. Finally, about two weeks ago, she looked at me and out of the blue said, Mama, I like my teacher now!" I was really happy. She still wasn't thrilled to go to school, but she didn't talk about it as often. Then a few days ago she looked at me and said, "Mama, I like my teacher A LOT now!" She still asks me in the morning what we are doing that day, but she doesn't try to talk me out of going to school. I know she is doing well and fits in great. Her teachers both tell me that she is very confident and social and loves to do all of the work. Everyone is always surprised at how strong-willed such a tiny, sweet looking little girl could be. She is pretty easy going, luckily, and is happy most of the time. She gets herself dressed in the morning, can brush her own teeth, carries her lunchbox out to the car, gets in her carseat and puts on her own seatbelt, gets lost in watching whatever movie we have on it the car the entire way to school, carries her lunchbox into her classroom, and then demands I carry her the last few feet into the classroom. Luckily, she goes right to one of her teachers, though reluctantly. I know she will be fine because I talk to her teachers often enough throughout the day. Sasha knows that sometimes I am in the preschool office, so when she uses the bathroom next to the office, she often peeks into the office to see if I am there. So cute!
She and Brookelyn took turns waking up throughout the night. Five through 14 times a night. I still managed to function during the day, but clearly blogging suffered. I think it lasted about ten weeks after we moved them into the same room. Now, Sasha wakes up once a night and some nights she doesn't wake up at all. The first few days she slept through the night I was exhausted. I don't have any idea why, it doesn't make sense. I looked like hell, like I should have looked all of the other weeks. Anyway, now I have to get up once a night and I think I am functioning better than I was before. Sleep is good.
Brookelyn is so fun. She talks in this curly, sweet voice and it is fun to just listen to her sing or talk. She is learning her letters and sounds now at school. She is almost always happy, but she has been having a lot of crying times. No real reason, I think it is just four-year-old-girl-stuff. Sasha and Bradyen will have eaten, gotten dressed and be ready to get in the car and Brookelyn will be in her pajamas playing with a toy on the steps. Unless I am constantly following her around in the morning, directing her about what to do, she will forget. I think I have to remind her to put on her shoes about five to ten times. Finally, I have to sit down and put her shoes in front of her and ask her to put them on. Some mornings she cries because the clothes she picked out the night before are wrong, sometimes she cannot stand on her own and needs help, sometimes she needs me to dress her, sometimes one of the other kids is bothering her...What we have found is that she is perfectly capable of everything the others are capable of doing, but she is in no hurry and very much lives in the moment. Great quality, not helpful in getting to work and school on time.
Brayden will be turning six next Saturday! He had a hard time transitioning into kindergarten. We had to take him to some sport six days a week so he could burn his extra energy. He has matured a lot in the last couple of months. He is in a gymnastics class after school once a week, a hip hop class after school once a week, and just started Little League and has two practices a week. He is doing much better at listening and following rules in his class now. His teachers say that he is very smart and is good at math and language, but is more interested in history and religion. What!? They said he teaches the other children history lessons and about different religions. That would be his older sister, Dakota's, influence. She tells him stories about history at night before bed and he loves it. Bradyen is able to read, but really isn't very into it. We require him to read a book to us at night before we read to him. I can't wait until he is more excited about reading.