Another month goes by

Rylee (aka The Littles) turned 5 months yesterday! She's learning so many new things, I love it! Lately she's been trying to sit on her own (once I put her in the sitting position), and she's trying very hard to get up into the crawl position! And the girl loves her solid food! She's doing so well with Stage 1 foods! She loves her big brother so much- he's the only one that can make her laugh hard. I hope those 2 will continue to be good buddies. =)

We went swimming at a hot springs this past weekend and had a blast! Brandon was a little bit scared of the water, so we pretty much kept him in the shallow part of the water where he could stand up. Rylee played in her little floaty and liked splashing the water with her feet. This was the first time we have ever taken the kids swimming, and the first time Richard and I had been in 3 years. It was a fun day and we are hoping to go back soon!

Girl's night out!

I spent the evening with some friends at a card camp, where you get to learn new card making techniques. It was a ball! Girl's nights out have been few and far between lately due to busy schedules, so this one was much needed! And I got to do one of my favorite hobbies as an added bonus. It's nice to get away from the kids once in awhile.

On a side note, I just wanted to send hugs to Charlotte. She's had a very difficult week, and I just wanted her to know that she's in my prayers.

We finally have answers...

Brandon's developmental therapist came by today to work with him and ask some questions about his behaviors. I think she knew right away what was wrong, but it wasn't until the end of our session that she said that she is pretty sure that he has a sensory disorder. We can't "officially" dignose him until he undergoes more tests, but she's pretty certain that that's what he has to some degree. Now it completely makes sense why our ped. thought he had autism. I have a list of symptoms that he has, and even though I'm sure it's probably boring stuff to other people, it feels good to just get things typed out so that I can make sense of it all. Anywho, here they are: high pain tolerance, cleansing of hands and/or other body parts often, dislike of grooming (brushing teeth and/or hair, etc.), placing hands or fingers in mouth often, continuously in motion, walks heavily or on toes, avoids particular textures in food, Over or under reacts to loud noises, tantrums easily, repeated humming or singing to self, tearing and/or crumpling paper or other such items, and keen to sounds others disregard, positions objects in rows, repetitive opening and shutting of doors and/or drawers, continuously turning lights on and off, enthralled by shiny and/or reflective items (mirrors, glass, etc.), prefers to eat only a few select foods (finicky eater), trouble brushing teeth: gags, chokes, etc., repeatedly jumps and/or spins (may appear calmer after such activities),prefers rough play, often breaking toys and other items, positions body in strange stances, gets pleasure from falling down, dangling by arms, and/or jumping, has trouble using silverware correctly: prefers hands, and has a tendency to support self by clinging to other people, furniture, and other secure items.

Sorry that's so long. =)

A good helper!

Brandon's been so good lately about helping out around the house- he loves to help unload the dishwasher, he puts his pants and jammies away once I'm done folding them, and he even picks up any kind of trash or wrappers laying around and throws them away. He even loves to help out in the yard! Last night he helped his dad mow almost the entire front yard. I was such a proud mama when I saw that- if my camera battery wasn't dead I would have taken a million pictures of it. 2 has been such a hard age for us, but then there are parts of it that I just love. And I guess I better take whatever help I can get from him now, because I'm pretty sure that in a few years it won't be like this.

A Newborn's Conversation With God...

A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I
Going to live there being so small and helpless?'
God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.'The child further inquired, ‘But tells me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but
Sing and smile to be happy.'
God said, ‘Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel
Your angel's love and be very happy.'Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk
To me if I don't know the language?'
God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful
and sweet words you will ever hear,
And with much patience and care, your angel will teach you how to speak.'‘And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?'
God said, ‘Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.''Who will protect me?'
God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.''But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.'
God said, 'Your angel will always talk to you about Me
and will teach you the way to come back to Me,
Even though I will always be next to you.'At that moment there was much peace in Heaven,
but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked,
'God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.'God said, 'You will simply call her, ‘Mom.'

Brandon speaks!!!

My son pretty much doesn't say anything other then car, water, door, and Elmo. We've really been working hard on teaching him new words and phrases, but he didn't seem to understand them at all. Yesterday morning, however, I heard him waking up over the baby monitor and all of a sudden he said "Rylee, where are you?" as clear as day!!! I'm still in shock, I've never heard him say any of those words, let alone a full sentence, in my entire life! And then on top of that, he was playing with my cell phone last night and as soon as he put it to his ear, he said "hi, I'm Dandon"! We had no idea he even knew how to say his name (or attempt to anyway). It's crazy how all of a sudden he's picking these things up. Guess I better watch what I say now lol. I think his speech therapist will be quite impressed! =)

This is so fun!

This is pretty random, but you've got to check this site out: http://www.thisoldtoy.com/L_FP_Set/T_year-0childhood.html

It brings back so many memories from my childhood! I wish I had kept some of my old toys, I really miss them now.

Rylee's 4 month appt...

The poor Littles had her 4 month appt. today, and of course she got 3 shots! She was so brave though, she only cried for a couple of minutes and then everything was ok. She's growing pretty good, she weighs 13.8 lbs (50%) and is 25 1/2 inches long (90%). I was a little bit surprised that she didn't weigh more, but I also keep wanting to compare her to Brandon, who was and still is huge! I've got to remember that each kid is different! Our Dr. also informed us that we should probably start letting Rylee cry it out, because the little turd doesn't want to nap at all! So today is day 1 of crying it out, and so far so good, she cried for about half an hour and then fell right to sleep. Let's hope it get's better each day. =)

One more milestone...

Rylee slept in her crib for the first time last night!!! I'm sort of thrilled, but also a little sad not to have her sleeping next to me in her bassinet. She's growing up way too fast!

And in other news, the social worker from the Infants and Toddlers program called me today to tell me that Brandon will be starting speech therapy within a month from now. I'm beyond excited for him to be able to finally learn to talk!

To the future!

My little cousin graduated from high school on Saturday!!! I'm still in shock that he's old enough to be out of school ( I can remember changing his diaper for goodness sakes!). It's such a cliche' but seriously, time goes by way too fast! It wasn't that long ago that we were at Six Flags and he wasn't even tall enough to go on any of the rides yet! Gosh, that makes me feel old! Oh well, congrats Jarret!!!