Happy Halloween

For us Halloween started yesterday. Tyler had a halloween party at his school so he got to wear his fireman costume. His class did normal activities in the morning an then had a costume parade for all the pastors and other office staff. After that, the parents got to come and enjoy the party as well. Carter and I went, so Carter got to wear his costume too. They decorated pumpkin cookies, played some games, and Tyler showed Carter his classroom. They both had a great time.

That night we went over to wear the boys had soccer last year for a fall festival. They got to play some games in their costumes and get some candy - always good things in the boys book. We met Kevin, Kisa, Westin, and Grace there so the eight of us went out to dinner before Justin had to head to work. The boys behaved pretty well considering they were high on sugar.

Today we ran some errands and then headed to Old Colorado City for some trick or treating. All the shops down there do a safe trick or treating during the day. We thought this was perfect as it would still be nice and warm and in the daylight. The boys got a ton of candy and did pretty well saying "trick or treat" and "thank you" to everyone. The highlight however was that someone got hurt so the fire truck came (the person ended up ok). After they were done helping the person, they let the boys sit in the fire truck. They were so cute in their costumes in the fire truck. Tonight we are heading over to Heather's for her birthday party. I am hoping the boys will be well behaved and fall asleep quickly over there. So far its been a great day.

Pumpkins

Yesterday Justin stayed home from work again because of the snow. We spent the day doing some grocery shopping, relaxing, playing games, and carving our pumpkins. Tyler decided we wanted a pumpkin with a sad face and Carter wanted one with a happy face and 5 teeth. Justin did a great job carving them and the boys love that they are still inside so they can "play" with them.

That night the boys did one of the cutest things. First Tyler went downstairs and brought a book up all on his own and just sat in a chair reading. This isn't that unusual, but it always warms my heart to see. The Carter brought Tyler a book and Tyler "read" it to Carter. They did this for about 4 books before Tyler was tired of reading. Precious.

Imaginary Friends

Tyler has always been a very imaginative child. He is always making up stories and telling them to himself. If you ask him who he is talking to he will tell me no one. Carter has just gotten into having a vast imagination himself, only he has "friends" he talks to.

The other morning he was home with Justin while Tyler and I were out. Carter was on the couch with his feet on the coffee table. He kept saying "that's my spot, no that's my spot, no its mine". When Justin asked him who was arguing he said it was his toes.

Carter and I were going potty when he started saying "no don't turn on the fan". I asked him who he was talking to. He told me it was "Soapy Sarah" and he didn't want him to turn on the fan. I asked him what Soapy Sarah looked like and he told him "Soapy Sarah is a boy." I left the bathroom only to hear him continue "no don't turn on the fan". Gotta love it.

Day of Evaluations

Today was a busy day for Tyler. In the morning we woke up to snow and headed out for his Physical Therapy evaluation. The therapist worked with him for about an hour and a half and then decided it would be best for him to get physical therapy once a week. She is guessing he will need it for about 6 months. The biggest concern is that he has some low muscle tone in his legs, pelvic areas, and lower back. He also has a lot of tightness in his legs muscles which makes him stiff and not as flexible, which then hurts his range of motion. We also got things to work with at home to help him along. They should be calling me soon to start scheduling his PT.

After that appointment we came home for a bit to hang with daddy and Carter and have some quiet time before heading out again for another hearing test. He did another test to check the movement in his ears, which once again showed that he cant hear high frequencies. He then went in the booth again to hear the audiologist talk at different tones. After that was done she put an instrument behind his ears which made the sounds vibrate. Once that was on he heard just fine. She is assuming their is something blocking sounds in his middle ear. She is referring us to an ENT to check it out better. Once that is fixed she is certain his hearing will be back to normal. She also thinks he is doing a well enough job on these tests that we don't need to do the sedation test. So that is a relief. Tyler once again did excellent during the tests. I was so proud of how well he did at both appointments throughout the day. Hopefully we won't have another full day of appointments for a while.

Fall Fun

Yesterday we had a wonderful fall day. The weather was beautiful and we took the chance to enjoy it. We started off heading to Happy Apple Farm to the pumpkin patch. We got there a little late this season so most of the pumpkins were ones they had delivered and not necessarily grown. The boys had fun running from pumpkin to pumpkin finding theirs. Their favorite part always has, and still is, riding on the tractor to and from the patch. After we weighed our pumpkins we had a nice picnic lunch before heading home.

Later in the afternoon we went outside to rake up all the leaves in our front yard. After 10 very large bags, all the leaves were raked up. The boys had fun jumping in the leaves, helping me sweep them off the walk ways and helping daddy rake them up. They then had fun playing in our cars while occasionally helping us put the leaves in the bags. We then went out to dinner and finally got the boys Halloween costumes. They have decided they both want to be fire fighters this year. They fell asleep on the way home and then even slept in this morning. What great day.

October 25, 2009

I wasn't even sure I was going to put up this post, but it an important day for our family so I want to document it. Sunday, October 25, 2009 would have been our third child's due date. Unfortunately instead it's just a day that will always be burned into my head. Over the past six months since we lost our angel we have been doing well, having more good days than bad, knowing it was all out of our hands. Tyler still talks about his baby sister (he always thought the baby was a girl) at least weekly. He tells us, teachers, friends, etc. that his sister is in Heaven with Jesus and Jesus will make him another sister one day. I am happy to see that it isn't necessarily a sad thing for them, but one more of fact and hope. While I do wish that I had a baby in my arms today, I know how blessed we are with the family we do have.

Parent Teacher Conferences and Fun with Cousins

Tyler had his first ever Parent/Teacher conferences today. Since I am used to doing this on the teacher side of things I was a little anxious of how it would go. Tyler is doing great in school however. I have some things we need to work on, such as cutting, but for the most part he is progressing in all the skills, just as he should be in the beginning of the year. Tyler is the youngest in his class, by 9 months to some of his classmates. It was a big decision for us if we should put him in the four year old class where his is and the youngest, or put him in a three year old class where he would have been the oldest. My biggest concern was that we put him in the wrong class. His teacher told me that the only area she can tell he is the youngest is sometimes socially. He doesn't engage the other kids and more parallel plays than interacts. However she is sure as he matures this will come to. She said she absolutely thinks he is in the right class, as the younger class probably would have not been challenging enough. Good to hear for sure.

Today after naps we headed up to Uncle Todd and Aunt Jessie's house. Now that they live so close to us its fun to get to see them so often. The kids played for a while and then decorated cookies that Aunt Jessie made. The boys then played some before before daddy got there and we ate some dinner. They didn't have the best table manners and wanted to eat the cookies more than anything else, but we still had fun. The best part for the boys was getting to wrestle with Josiah. Having another boy to play with is always a good time. It was a great day.

Best Friends

I know I say it time and time again, but my boys are best friends and there is nothing better than that.

First Snow and Updates

The boys got to play in the snow for the first time this year. They were so excited to put on all their gear and head outside. They were even more excited to come in for some hot cocoa. Carter was done before Tyler, as he got cold and refused to wear his mittens. But he did have fun making tracks first. Tyler had a blast throwing all the snow off our patio furniture and eating snow off of the ground. I have a feeling we are going to have plenty of other times to play out this year in the snow.

I also wanted to update on Tyler's hearing. Both of his ear look perfect. No sign of ear infection or any fluid in either of his ears. So on Wednesday we will go back for more testing with the audiologist. My pediatrician said mot likely after this round of tests if it is still showing hearing loss they will want him to have a procedure where he gets sedated to look closer in the ear for any problems. I am trying not to worry about that one before it gets here.

Let's Celebrate!

On Tuesday Justin took the day off so we could have a family day to celebrate Carter's birthday. Carter decided he wanted to go to the zoo. It was actually perfect weather and not very busy at all. The boys practically got to run ahead of us the entire time and had a blast. They off course got to feed the giraffes and see all the other animals. The carousel and train weren't open today, but the boys still had fun.

After some naps at home the boys had swimming lessons. They are in the same class this time, which they were very excited about. Carter, being the daredevil that he is, got over to the deeper ends a few times and would fall into the water where his teacher had to help him up. He didn't really like that but seemed to have fun otherwise. He already has putting his ears into the water like a pro. We were surprised that Tyler didn't correct every one of Carter's move, but I think that is because he was having to much fun himself.

After swimming we headed over to Red Robin where Heather, Leah, and Marj met up with us. Carter loved that the "bird" was there and that they sang to him. They both were a little wound up and tired but made it thru so they could have some ice cream. Carter very nicely shared it with Tyler. After dinner we came back home with everyone and opened presents and ate the cake, a monkey, that Justin made. The boys played with the new toys some before bed. It was a great day!

Happy Birthday Carter!

Can you really be three already? There are many times I stop and remind myself that you are only three years old. You seem so much older than that in so many ways. You keep up with Tyler and all the other kids in your class at church even though you are the youngest. Your vocabulary and knowledge astounds me time and time again.

You have a personality that lights up a room. You are such a ham and you love to make everyone laugh. Your new favorite thing is your fake laugh. A hearty "ha ha ha" always puts your dad and me in giggles. You love to say hello, good morning, and good bye to everyone you meet.

You are such a loving boy. You always have and still are my cuddle bunny. I can always count on you for hugs and kisses. You love to kiss my checks, my eye balls, my eyebrows, etc. If it isn't hugs and kisses its head bumps, knuckles and fingertips. If we are watching a "show" (your all time favorite thing to do) you are most likely in either my or daddy's lap. But beyond the cuddles is the empathy you show to others. You will be the first to say "oh sorry" if you did something wrong, even on accident. If someone is crying you want to know why. If someone is hurt you will come up with ideas to help them, which usually consists of a band aid. You are so observant of the people around you and want to know everything you can about them. If you see a baby you want to be right by them and give them hugs and kisses.

You are a night owl. Night after night your daddy and I have to remind you to go back to room. While Tyler is sound asleep you are up there reading books, doing puzzles, or getting into other mischief. But when you do sleep you are out. We find you in the oddest places and positions. We love to jostle you when you are sleeping because you will take 3-4 minutes shifting around to get comfortable again without ever opening your eyes. It always makes your daddy and I smile.

You love to sing. You are usually the first to ask to put a certain cd on (usually veggie tales) or to sing a song. As soon as music does come on you start dancing away. You love to be outside and to go on walks. For a while you like to run with Tyler, but then you are just as content to walk with me while holding my hand and finding your treasures on our walks. You love to pick up the rocks and sticks you find along the way. In the backyard we will usually find you climbing on things you shouldn't or digging in the dirt. Your favorite thing to do however is play red light green light.

Games games games. You love to play games and do your puzzles. You can do all the puzzles we have on your own (even the ones for 5 and up) but you still request help. It goes back to how you love to be around people. You just want someone to sit next to you while you happily put your puzzles together over and over again. Your favorite person to help you and for you to be around is still your big brother. You guys love to play together, you love to sing together, you love to read together, you just love being together.

You have grown up into such a big boy the past three years. You have become such a sweet, caring, generous boy with a smile that can light up any room. I am so proud of you and who you are. Happy Birthday my Carter bug! We love you!!!

Carter's 3rd Birthday Video Montage

Hearing Test Take 1

Actually Tyler has had a lot of hearing test, so it would be more like take 6. Whenever he has taken a test he has never passed one. This wasn't because we didn't think he could hear, but it was because he would never complete the test. When he was younger as soon as they tried to put the instrument in his ear for him to either hear a beep or to test how well his ear drum moved, he would freak out and not let them perform the test. At his four year old check-up he let them put the instrument in his ear, but didn't say when he would hear a beep. I assumed, as did his pediatrician, that this was because he was either to shy to say, didn't understated the instructions, or was to occupied because something was in his ear than to notice the beeps. So on Friday we went to the audiologist to get another test done just to be on the safe side.

I must say the audiologist did a great job with Tyler. First we went into the booth where Tyler sat on my lap. She would say words into headphones and Tyler would have to repeat them. He did very well and didn't mind the headphones at all. When she came in she told him his right ear was perfect, but his left ear was borderline. Then came the part where he had to put the instrument to measure the ear drum activity into his ear. She let him pick put the ear piece and see that it was soft. She then made him hold the computer part of it so he could be distracted while she put it in his ear. He did awesome! Unfortunately that also showed that his right ear was fine, but there wasn't much movement of the ear drum in his left ear so he most likely has mild hearing loss in that ear. We are going back to the pediatrician this week to make sure he doesn't have an ear infection or anything and then back to the audiologist in two weeks where there will be two of them working with him and doing some more tests to determine the severity of the loss. I think this it the first time I am hoping its an ear infection.

The Gospel - Four Year Old Version

So lately Tyler has been talking a lot about Jesus dieing on the cross. We haven't discussed this in a while so I assume they are talking about it at church (even though according to the curriculum they are discussing the Old Testament right now). Anyway this was a conversation from Tyler to Carter in the car tonight:

"Carter do you know what the holes in Jesus' hands are from? The are from nails that the put Him on the cross. Do you know why He died on the cross? Because He said He wanted All his people to go to Heaven. Its pretty special that He did that. He said All my people will go to Heaven with me."

Can't get much better than that.

Conversation

I love the boys conversations these days. They are always telling each other stories, playing together and talking about their days. When one of them says something wrong (like in the morning and they say its night time) the other one will correct them by saying "you are just joking". We were driving home and drove past where Tyler's swimming classes took place. I told them that in a week they would both be taking swimming classes there. This was their conversation about it.

Tyler: "when you take you lessons you will have to do what the teacher tells you ok Carter?"

Carter: " Ok, and I will do it all by myself" (meaning without me in the pool with him)

Tyler: "Yep and I will show you how to do everything ok. The water will be cold."

Love it.

Carter James

Since the blogs of late have focused are on Tyler and all his new experiences I thought I would devote one to my favorite two year old (who will only be two for a few more weeks).

Carter is such a personable lovable little boy. The hands and face expressions he uses are priceless. He can still throw some of the biggest tantrums known to man and then turn it off like a switch. Within seconds he can go from frustrating you to making you laugh. He is one of the best pouters anywhere and he loves to cuddle and give kisses and hugs. He can be a little lazy and loves to watch "shows". He also loves to meet new people and say hi to anyone we come across. Here are some more of Carter's favorite things:

Coloring. Carter has always loved to color, and unfortunately that could mean on my couch, carpet and wall.s However lately he has gotten very good at coloring in pictures. He can sit for at least a half an hour coloring away.

Carter loves to sing and dance. In the car he tries to sing along to every song. Here he is doing the finger dance. He learned it from me, and I must say he has already mastered it.


Carter still loves to read....and sleep. Here he is trying to do two things at once.

How I love this little boy of mine.

Four Year Well Check

Tyler had his four year well check today. I must say it wasn't the best appointment. We had been talking all about it and about what they would do including his shots. He was already to go in and be big and strong and show the doctor that he was growing healthy and "growing right". We go there and he got his height and weight. He now weighs 32 lbs 8 oz, which is in the 20th percentile, and is 40 inches tall, which is the 50th percentile. He then got his blood pressure and a hearing test. However he wouldn't tell us when he heard a beep so we have to go get another hearing test that will be more behavioral. He then did the eye test. he is at 20/25 which the doctor said most 4 year olds are a little farsighted so he is doing just great.

We then went into the room where the boys just wanted to play. When the doctor came in we had to go over the developmental assessment that I filled out for him. First we went over my concerns that his sensory issues are showing up a lot more and if that in anyway could relate to his iron levels being low again. She at first wanted us to just get OT but then thought that he should get his iron levels tested once again just in case that was an issue. She noticed on the assessment that he can't stand on one leg or jump. She did a few more exercises with him and then made a referral for physical therapy as well as she think he may have a slight delay there as well. Besides that stuff he looks just great and thinks he is thriving.

Then came the shots. He hid under the table when the nurse came in because he did not want them. He had to take 5 of them and I held him down as he screamed through them. He was doing ok until I told him that we needed to go get his blood drawn. The crying, refusing, and screaming started outside the lab door and then didn't finish until we were back at the car. Once he was back in the car he was fine again. Carter was very concerned both during the shots and the blood draw and did not like that Tyler was upset at all. He even came over and tried to give him a hug while the blood was being drawn. Overall it was a pretty good appointment. I am very happy that Tyler is still at a good weight and thriving. I am hoping that the PT will help us out a little in the gross motor skills and he will come out of it with more confidence. As long as he is happy we are happy and luckily Tyler is a very happy healthy boy.

Blog Lapse

Sorry for the lack of posting. We have been busy with school, work, puzzles, tantrums, sweet hugs and kisses, and just life. I also had my 10 high school reunion this weekend which kept us busy. The boys had fun playing at the park with some of the other kids and I had fun seeing some old friends. The boys have been doing well. Tyler is loving school, but is already becoming comfortable there. He has some issues with getting a little out of control and not always listening. There are 7 boys in his class and sometimes they all just want to be boys and not sit and listen. But luckily his teacher is all about them liking school and figuring out what each child needs. Carter is also doing well. He really wants to go to school and get to chew gum like Tyler does. Potty training comes and goes, where sometimes he does great and other times he could care less. We told him he couldn't go to preschool until he was potty trained. However now he thinks he gets to go to preschool now. It will be a long wait. Life goes on here, busy as always, but we are loving it.