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| Baking pumpkin pie with Daniel... |
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| Kendall's sweet smile... |
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| Pre-school pinecone turkeys... |
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| Family... |
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| New additions to the Thanksgiving feast... |
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| More family... |
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| Delicious food... |
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| Good wine... |
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| And did I mention, family? |
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Thanksgiving
I'm thankful for...
Monday, November 21, 2011
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Saturday, November 12, 2011
3 1/2 years
Daniel is 3 1/2 years old and he has changed so much since his third birthday. He became potty-trained over the summer which has been a great bonus for me. He finally got interested in his skuut (balance bike) and rides it so fast that he has to stop and wait for me and Kendall to catch up to him. He attends pre-school three days a week and loves his school and his teachers. His favorite things to do at school are ride the bikes and play in the sandbox. Last month for the first time he said he didn't want a hug or kiss when I said goodbye to him at school-so sad!
At home he loves coloring and using his imagination to build all sorts of things. He was boycotting naps for awhile but has thankfully returned to napping in the afternoon. Daniel has been growing so fast that he wakes up in the middle of the night with leg cramps. The novelty of having a baby sister wore off for him around September and he gets irritated with Kendall and complains that she is "Too loud!"
But by far the biggest change has been with Daniel's speech. After phasing out of the County's speech services program on his third birthday, Daniel obtained an IEP with the local school district. The new program left him without speech therapy for the entire summer until school started back up in the fall. Towards the end of the summer, he began to see a highly recommended private speech therapist named Wendy who is amazing. She confirmed that Daniel has apraxia of speech, which is what I had suspected for over a year. Since working with Wendy, Daniel has made leaps and bounds in his talking. He has been working so hard at his therapy sessions with Wendy and with his homework she assigns him every week. Since school has started back up, Daniel has also been getting speech therapy from the school district. I don't think I can fully express how incredible it is to finally have Daniel able to communicate the majority of his needs, ideas, and feelings with us. He has gone from being unable to say his own name, to being able to say advanced vocabulary. Imagine our surprise when he started telling us about the antibodies you get from vaccinations! We are so grateful to Wendy and his other therapists and especially to my parents who have generously paid for his speech sessions. There is still a lot of hard work for him to do but I am feeling so much more optimistic about the situation. Most of all, Brian and I are loving being able to get to know parts of Daniel's personality we never knew existed thanks to his blossoming speech.
At home he loves coloring and using his imagination to build all sorts of things. He was boycotting naps for awhile but has thankfully returned to napping in the afternoon. Daniel has been growing so fast that he wakes up in the middle of the night with leg cramps. The novelty of having a baby sister wore off for him around September and he gets irritated with Kendall and complains that she is "Too loud!"
But by far the biggest change has been with Daniel's speech. After phasing out of the County's speech services program on his third birthday, Daniel obtained an IEP with the local school district. The new program left him without speech therapy for the entire summer until school started back up in the fall. Towards the end of the summer, he began to see a highly recommended private speech therapist named Wendy who is amazing. She confirmed that Daniel has apraxia of speech, which is what I had suspected for over a year. Since working with Wendy, Daniel has made leaps and bounds in his talking. He has been working so hard at his therapy sessions with Wendy and with his homework she assigns him every week. Since school has started back up, Daniel has also been getting speech therapy from the school district. I don't think I can fully express how incredible it is to finally have Daniel able to communicate the majority of his needs, ideas, and feelings with us. He has gone from being unable to say his own name, to being able to say advanced vocabulary. Imagine our surprise when he started telling us about the antibodies you get from vaccinations! We are so grateful to Wendy and his other therapists and especially to my parents who have generously paid for his speech sessions. There is still a lot of hard work for him to do but I am feeling so much more optimistic about the situation. Most of all, Brian and I are loving being able to get to know parts of Daniel's personality we never knew existed thanks to his blossoming speech.
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| This morning Daniel asked for me to get Kendall and put her in his bed and then he instructed me to get my camera. |
Monday, November 7, 2011
Six months
Our sweet baby girl is already six months old today. The past six months have been quite the roller coaster for our family. First, we were battling my bout of post-partum depression for a few weeks. After I was back on my feet again, we found ourselves trying to cope with a colicky baby. Our mid-afternoons to late evenings were spent dealing with a baby that couldn't be soothed amidst trying to get dinner on the table and keep a bedtime routine for Daniel.
We have learned that it really does take a village when it comes to caring for our little ones and we are so thankful for family and friends that supported us with meals, prayers and encouragement. It is so refreshing to have exited the "survival" mode and be able to enjoy our new family.
Kendall is a sweet and spunky little baby. She is still not a cuddler and prefers to stand on your lap and jump. When she is super excited, she frog kicks her legs. She sits up unassisted but is not a fan of tummy time. She is really vocal, which is a nice way of saying she is a screamer. She screams when she is excited, bored, tired, or not having her food spooned fast enough. And man, what an ear-plug inducing scream! She is already a daddy's girl and she saves her best smiles for Brian. Kendall simply adores big brother Daniel and craves his attention. Daniel knows just what noises make Kendall laugh loudly and squeal with delight. Kendall always gets a lot of attention from strangers due to her abundance of dark hair and pretty blue eyes. The girl knows she's cute and she loves looking at herself in the mirror and smiling at her reflection.
We have learned that it really does take a village when it comes to caring for our little ones and we are so thankful for family and friends that supported us with meals, prayers and encouragement. It is so refreshing to have exited the "survival" mode and be able to enjoy our new family.
Kendall is a sweet and spunky little baby. She is still not a cuddler and prefers to stand on your lap and jump. When she is super excited, she frog kicks her legs. She sits up unassisted but is not a fan of tummy time. She is really vocal, which is a nice way of saying she is a screamer. She screams when she is excited, bored, tired, or not having her food spooned fast enough. And man, what an ear-plug inducing scream! She is already a daddy's girl and she saves her best smiles for Brian. Kendall simply adores big brother Daniel and craves his attention. Daniel knows just what noises make Kendall laugh loudly and squeal with delight. Kendall always gets a lot of attention from strangers due to her abundance of dark hair and pretty blue eyes. The girl knows she's cute and she loves looking at herself in the mirror and smiling at her reflection.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Poi baby
Bring on the solids! Kendall followed in her brother's and mommy's footsteps with her first meal- poi! Her first meal was a success. Daniel kept chanting "Poi baby, poi baby!" while she devoured her meal.
Toe Sucker
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| I knew Kendall enjoyed sucking on her own toes, but we just learned she loves sucking on her cousin's toes too. |
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| Jack was a good sport about letting Kendall taste his toes. The poor guy didn't really have a choice with his mommy and Auntie egging Kendall on so they could snap photos. |
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