Fun Run

One of the school's fundraisers is a Fun Run. The boys run laps and people can donate money for each lap or they can just give any amount. Livi and I went to cheer on the boys while they were running around. Carter was first and when we got there he was sitting on the bench. He told me he was taking a break. Once he saw Livi and I he ran the entire 20 minutes (they run for 20 minutes 3 different times throughout the day). I don't think he had a clue how many laps he was doing.  Tyler came out running and never stopped except to give Livi hugs each time he ran around. He, of course, was keeping track to his laps and let me know each time what number he was on. I love how different they are, but they both tried hard to raise money for their school.

Running Races

The boys school has a club called Landsharks, where they practice and then race three times. In the fall it is cross country and in the spring it is more sprint races. Both boys decided they wanted to join for the fall. Like usual Carter didnt love running, but he didnt give up and ran the entire race each time. Tyler had a blast, even though he wasn't always the fastest. I am pretty sure he improved every time. I unfortunately missed all the races because of school, but Justin, Livi and Nolan cheered them on every time.

Donating Gifts

Before Tyler's party we sat down with him and talked about how boring it was in the hospital when he had his surgery. We then talked about kids who have to stay there for weeks or months at a time and how hard that should be. We then talked about how when he gets gifts he usually only plays with the legos or whatever once or twice and that's it. We asked him what he thought about donating all his gifts that he got from his party to the Children's Hospital. He thought that was a pretty good idea so in his invitations he told his guests we would be donating the gifts and gave them so ideas if they wanted to help out. Tyler got a lot of great things and after the party we went to the hospital and dropped them off. I know it was hard for him, but we are so proud of him and his heart. 

Tyler's Birthday Party

Since we just moved up here, we decided both boys should have a real birthday party this year. We invited all the boys in Tyler's class, hoping we could get to know some of them and their parents. Tyler decided he wanted a sports party.  We had the party at our recreation center and they boys played football, dodge ball, soccer, etc for an hour and a half. It was great as one of the workers did all the games with the boys and we just got to watch and Justin got to play. Then we went upstairs for cake and juice. After that all the boys got token for the batting cages so we went out there and hit balls for a while til all the boys were picked up. It was a great time and the boys all seemed to have fun. It was also fun seeing Tyler play with his new friends. I also got to meet some of the parents. So fun!

8 Years Old

8 years old! Tyler you have grown into such a wonderful, sweet, smart young man. We couldn't be more proud to be your parents. You love all things sports. You are constantly playing baseball, football, riding your bike, or doing something active. You love to read and have become such a great reader. If you need a break you will happily go to your room and read for a while. You have made the transition up to our new home so well. You went right up to our neighbors and introduced yourself and made new friends right away. I must say your dad and I were so proud and a little shocked. But you shock us a lot, by how caring you are to your younger siblings. You love to play with Livi and Nolan, always wanting to give them hugs and watching out for them outside. You and Carter are still buddies. While you do fight, we also hear you laughing in the back of the car more often than not. you also are always looking out for him, making sure he is doing ok in your new school.  We love your Tyler Bug. Happy Birthday!

Nolan's Sayings

Nolan has a few favorite sayings that I just love. If I ask him to do something like to get on his bed he says "I think so". If I ask him to do something he doesn't want to do, like go potty he says "I don't think so". His other favorite phrase is saying "what" to everything. Like when we are telling a story and we say "Tyler got an A on his spelling test" He will say "what?" with the perfect tone. He is always making us laugh!

Preschool!

Well we found a preschool for Nolan and the nest day was his open house! Its much smaller than the preschool the boys went to, but I think it will be good for Nolan. There are only 8 kids in his class and his teacher seems really nice. Nolan had a fun time playing and making a picture of himself. Olivia really didn't understand why she couldn't do everything as well. The nest day was Nolan's first day, He was so excited!! He did great during drop off, not really even caring that I was leaving. When I picked him up he said he had fun and fell asleep within 2 minutes from leaving the school. I can't believe how big my little bug is getting!

3 year Evaluation

We had Nolan's 3 year evaluation for his speech. If he was still behind it would mean he would start preschool. I went in not really knowing how well he was doing. In some ways he has improved so much, but in other ways he still seems behind. He still can't count past 3, its still hard to understand him sometimes, and he has been having more tantrums than usual. He did great during his evaluation. There was a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, and a counselor there. None of them had any signs that Nolan was behind. In fact in a few areas he is ahead of where he should be for a 3 year old. We are SO proud of him! To think that 18 months ago he didn't have any words at all, and now he is right where he should be or even ahead! They also all thought that he should start preschool now. He is ready to learn and start interacting more with other kids. Plus Olivia seems to be a little ahead and they don't think they should be in the same grade. As of right now they think he will be fine being one of the younger ones in school so we are going to start looking for preschools. Very exciting!

Family Weekend

We had a wonderful family weekend. With me back at school and also working a few nights its been hard to get some quality family time. It started off on Friday night where the boys school had a movie night. We played on the playground some and Livi danced around and then we all watched a movie outside. It was very fun. On Saturday morning we headed down tot the Springs to watch an Air Force football game. It was a pretty boring game so we only stayed til halftime, but the kids still had fun. On Sunday we ended up our weekend with a family bike ride. The boys did great and we had a great time. The weekend was just what I needed!