Water fun

My favorite part of summer and nice weather is letting the kids play in water. The Lil 'Uns just love it and it keeps them cool and happy. What's not to like about that right?

Today was a warm sunny humid day, perfect for some water play. They had a great time. Kit did that completely "manic happy" laugh that she does. She splashed and got soaking wet and just had a fabulous time. Ben had fun too but he's not quite as water-crazy as Kit tends to be. He likes to play and get wet... he just prefers that OTHER people get splashed... not so much him getting splashed.

So just an excuse really to share a great pic I got of the children today. After water playtime was over and it was time to go in for lunch Gregory found a great way to get rid of the water left over in the tubby.... they kids were all laughing and having a great time... Patch wasn't all that sure about water on his face but he did okay. Gregory is just way to skinny huh? Yeah I think so too... still he's so handsome :) Yeah I know I'm biased... so what?

baby love... oh baby love... & the baba club

The inspiration for this post is a crappy picture I took with Ed's phone camera. It was one of those moments I wished I had my real camera on me but no such luck. Here's the photo I refer too...
It was taken this past week. Ben had yet another specialist appointment to go to, fortunately this one was what we consider "local" and only 30 minutes away. This meant that Kit got a very short nap and Ben no nap at all. Ben does okay without nap to be honest, he can power through the rest of the day but it inevitably does mean an early bedtime. We saw the specialist and the children were little monkeys getting into things faster than we could stop them. All in all though it was a good appointment with mostly good news (to read more about that go HERE). The children got pops from Mami (thank heavens I keep some in the diaper bags at all times) and off we were.

The drive home was nice... warm and sunny day the sun shining through the new leaves on the trees. Ed and I talked about the appointment and just life in general when I looked back and saw... well... what's in that picture. Ben nodding off to sleep and hand in hand with Kit. We hadn't told them to hold hands... they just did. I cursed the fact that I didn't have my camera and Ed handed me his phone and told me to use that... so I did. Crap picture but it does capture the moment.

It just struck a deep chord in me. They love each other. They really do. They may fight over toys and occasionally knock each other over... but they ADORE each other. Deeply. It's at the point now where Ben and Kit are really at the same level more or less. Ben with his delays and Kit with her precociousness -- they're neck and neck these days. They are, as we so often refer to them lately, Frick & Frack.... as thick as thieves. It's such an intense bond they share, it moves me.

As for "The Baba Club" that's another facet to this relationship they. They are our two "baba" (pacifier) babies. They love and adore their baba's and they both find great comfort in them when they are sad or hurt. They treasure their baba's and cling mightily to them. One will steal a baba from the others mouth and pop it in their own if they are feeling the urge. However one thing that surprises me is the "brotherhood" (for lack of a more gender neutral term) of the Baba club. If Kit sees Ben hurt and crying she will go over to him and take the baba out of her own mouth and give it to Ben to comfort him. He does the same for her. If there is none around to be had they will scream for a baba for the other so that they can give it to them. It's this bond and this shared understanding of the comfort and peace of the baba. It makes me laugh while at the same time amazing me. They WANT to give each other comfort. It's just so sweet.

I love the relationship between my two babies. Sometimes I worry how that relationship will change as Kit passes Ben up developmentally... but mostly I just have this inner sense that they will always be okay those two. They will always carry some of this bond and closeness with them for the rest of their lives. Thank you God for that. Thank you.

More stuff on Patch

This week we went in for a special P/T conference with Patch's teacher. We like her a lot and we know that she really likes Patch, he's had a really good first grade year and he's happy. In the past we have discussed Patch's issues with concentration and organization and it was something we were all aware of. So we went in and we talked some more, and Patch's issues with focus are only getting worse and not better . The entire conversation was like a weird deja-vu of when Gregory was in the 2nd grade and we heard all the same things from his teacher.... extremely intelligent, very good child, never a disruption or problem in class... and a complete inability to stay on task, focus on his work and a serious penchant toward daydreaming. We'd heard it all before and we know what it means. Still it kind of left me with a slightly heavier heart. It wasn't like I was surprised... just a little bit sad I guess.

So today we went and saw the pediatrician and filled out their questionnaire and talked about Patch's issues and decided to at least try him on medication... much like we did with Gregory was he was only slightly older. So here we start on this journey of ADD and medication with Patch. Like I said, not surprising... just very slightly disheartening.

On the upside we continue to hear what a wonderful and happy child is... how Patch has many close friends and is very popular and plays with a whole crew of kids out on the playground, very much UNlike Gregory at the same age. So it's not all bad.

So here we go!!! I'm ready for it because the fact is that Patch is a really great kid and I know we'll find our way. Just like we did with Gregory.

Patch-man

Patch lost another tooth!! YAY!! He's been complaining about it for 4 or 5 days, that it was so loose it was hard for him to eat and it was bothering him... you know the routine. So for days now we've been trying to pull it out for him and finally today I was able to pull it. He gave a little squeal when it came out but it was done and over. I think he's kind of proud to be honest. He ran to look in the mirror and see how he looks now.

I have to say he looks SO different now. Well, just lately he's looking different and now with the missing tooth only more so. He shot up several inches over the last few months and now his tooth is gone and his big teeth are coming in on the bottom. He's not my little fella anymore... he's definitely into big boy territory now. Still loves his jim-jams and his Spider-man... but he's not Mami's baby anymore.

Kitten

Oh our little baby is growing up so fast, it all seems to be happening in the blink of an eye. When did our tiny little Kit-Kat become this high energy, on the go, whirling dervish of physical prowess that she is today? When did she start talking so well and expressing herself to us so well? When did she stop being a baby and become a full blown toddler?

Today, dressed in a cute smocked short sleeve shirt and jeans, she looked like such a big girl. Maybe it was the jeans. Maybe it was those sweet little arms in that cute shirt. Maybe it's just that she's not a baby anymore and sometimes it hits you in the face like a brick. She's a walking talking little person with her own unique personality and likes and dislikes and definite opinions... and she wants to make sure YOU know what they are.

I am madly in love with that baby of mine... and lets be frank... she's ALWAYS going to be my baby. I admit there are times I feel torn and I find myself wishing for the easier days that her getting older will afford me. A little downtime. A little quiet time. The ability to shower EVERY day if I want to (oh and I will want to!). More freedom to spend time alone with Ed. So I look forward to it. I think of a time that our car will have no car seats or boosters and I think what an amazing time of life that will be for me.

Then other times, as she sleeps between me and Ed at night in our bed, I just stare at her little peaceful face and I stroke her soft cheek and I think that I want THIS to last forever. I want her to call me Mama and want to be close to me and have that cute baby giggle and those sweet little baby clothes and that round little face with those huge grey eyes FOREVER. I want to stay with her just the way she is right now always. I love scooping her up and holding her close and that she loves it too. I love that she believes that if I kiss the boo-boo it stops hurting immediately. I love that just being close to me is enough to calm her and quiet her.... even if her sleep. I love that when she has fever and feels icky ONLY Mami will do. I love her babyness and I'm never going to do this again so I want to enjoy each and every precious moment of it.

Kit is perfect... horns and all... I love every little bit of her with every little bit of me.

Long update on everyone....

Gregory - Figure I'll start with the oldest first. Not much new with G really. He picked his classes for next year and that was a bit of a fiasco. Trying to decide what to do and which classes were really important and how he could do the most while not becoming completely overwhelmed. I'm not sure we really accomplished that to be honest. He did decide to drop band next year because of his completely insane Nazi-like teacher. I can't blame him, the band director is a complete nut job and expects too much of the kids and pushes them too hard IMO... when you regularly have 4 or 5 kinds passing out at summer rehearsals that should tell you something. So that will be gone next year along with the pressure of practices, rehearsals, competitions, football games, and mid-term and final exam solo pieces. He will be taking two honors math classes which I'm really not sure is a good idea but we have been assured that it will look good on Gregory's college applications and help him get into a good school. I hope so. Mostly I hope that the boy doesn't have a nervous breakdown with almost all honors classes including two high level maths.

Emi - Not much going on with Emi lately I think. Her grades are not what they should be and I need to talk to her teachers about that. Her history and english grades have dropped quite a bit so I need to find out what the story is with that. I'm mostly surprised about her english grade because Emi loves that class as well as her teacher for that class. I'm thinking that with her disorganization she misplaced some assignments or something, because I know she does the reading and the assignments. I'll have to investigate further. Other than that she's the same as always. She's volunteering a lot at the art studio and loving that. She even took Tessa in with her last week to "train her" as a volunteer, that was pretty cool. I thought Em wouldn't want T "invading her space" but she seemed happy and excited about it. So that's all good.

Tessa - Our Tessa turned 11 on this past Thursday. Gosh, eleven... ya know? It just seems a lot older than ten. She's always been my one and only child with her feet planted firmly on the ground. She's smart but she's also amazingly clever and so I think sometimes I treat her as if she's older than she is because she ACTS that way. So then when she turns around and enjoys something particularly "childish" but also in reality completely age appropriate it kind of surprises me. I swear that little girl is now 11 going on 30 sometimes. She's doing great in school and loving it. We had her P/T conference a week ago and got to sit and listen to her teacher rave about her for 20 minutes... that was actually a lot of fun! LOL! You know the irony is that I really appreciate Tessa and her level-headedness and concrete nature, but I also have to admit she can be the most trouble at times! LOL! I told Tessa after the P/T Conf. that her teacher says she has to stop fighting with Patch!! LOL! I'm so mean. So far it hasn't worked.

Patch - Our little Ricochet Rabbit is the same. He'll be turning 7 at the end of the month.... another WOW moment for me. In the past 2 months or so he has just shot up in height, I had to go buy new pants for him and then even the new ones I bought for him are getting short already! He's going through a major growth spurt, it's incredible. Suddenly he looks like a kid and not so much the very little boy I've always seen him as. We also had a P/T conference with his teacher. Much like his older sibs he's in all the highest levels in the different subjects at school and he learns easily and does well. Like Gregory he also works VERY slowly which is slightly problematic but not a major issue really. His one big problem is that he's completely unorganized. So Ed and I along with his teacher are working on checklists for him to help him remember exactly what he needs to do and when. We'll see how that works out. All in all though his teacher said he is a joy to have in class and he's very popular with the kids and has lots of friends :) I'm happy with that.

Ben - There's never a shortage of things to say about Ben. I guess that's why he has his own blog. Just to sum up, Ben is doing great really. We had his annual IEP meeting and he will be receiving services over the summer and will be in the 4 y/o program next year. He is WAY behind in his motor development and cognition but he's making great strides in his speech which we are all completely thrilled about. He met pretty much all of his ST goals and while he missed a lot of his PT and OT goals we were reminded that in part that's due to the fact that Ben is very very small for his age. So things like getting in and out of the bus are hard for him because he's tiny, and he can't reach the knobs to turn the water on himself to wash his hands and that sort of thing. His teachers and his therapists ALL simply adore him, it's obvious when you see them with him or hear them talk about him how loved he is. I am so happy we have him where we do and that he is getting the help he needs. It's such a huge relief to me. He is an extremely happy boy and he's moving forward, slowly but he always moves forward. I think the best thing to hear was how his teachers and all his therapists ALL said that one thing about Ben is that he is always game. He is ALWAYS willing to try. He is ALWAYS willing to give it his all. He NEVER says no and he does the very best he can. He's amazing. That is what makes Ben my hero.

Kit - OMG that little girl is a whirling dervish of activity and destruction. She is into everything. She is ON TOP of everything. She is just amazing. Really, she just blows me away with her physical prowess in addition to her incredible understanding. She's talking a blue streak lately and every day comes out with new words she's learning. She's starting to put words together to make two word phrases (like "go car" or "hi Mom/Dad/Ben/etc). She is just doing great and I adore her... at the same time that she drives me crazy because I can't take my eyes off of her for a single second. Still after everything with Ben I admit, I can't help but smile when I see the mischief she gets into and how great she's doing.

So there ya have it. I'll try to post more often... same old story though... so much to do and so little time.

Just a Quickie

I'm supposed to be taking a "computer vacation" this weekend BUT all the big kids are in bed and Ed is curled up in our bed with a very sick little Kitten. She had 103.5 last night and worried me pretty good and I slept with her in the recliner for half the night and with her pushed up against me as much as she could get the other half of the night.... it was like sleeping holding on to a space heater! She's better today but still with fever, about 101, and feeling noticeably better but still wanting that comfort of Mami or Daddy next to her.

Anyway, just wanted to give a quickie update since the house is quiet and I find myself with just a little bit of free time.... although admittedly I should be cleaning the kitchen but I don't want to.

Pretty much immediately following my last post Kit quickly learned another two signs and came out with 3 new words on Thursday! She's now regularly saying Mama again and saying car and shoe. She also learned how to sign "more cookie please".... Nope, NOT kidding!!! LOL! So I'm not as worried and I swear to you that she's learning it from Ben. On Friday Ben was walking around saying "Mama" over and over again and Kit was walking two steps behind him doing everything he was doing and repeating "Mama" every time after Ben said it! It was so cute. She's into this new thing of wanting to be just like him... it's so sweet. So I'm thinking that she's really going to start talking more at this point.

Ben is doing great, talking more himself and just doing wonderfully. He had croup this week and was home sick most of the week along with Patch who had strep. They were both feeling really awful for about 2 days but then started on the upswing and while they probably could have both gone to school on Friday we kept them home one extra day to rest up some extra (the rule here is that if you stay home sick from school you MUST nap). Patch is doing much better and is back to being Ricochet Rabbit like always but is STILL complaining of sore throat every day so I'm thinking I may take him back to the Peds on Monday to get checked out again.

Gregory is in a state lately. His very first mid-terms ever are really freaking him out completely. Although I think he's a little bit calmer now that his history and Spanish mid-terms are behind him. Hopefully on Wednesday when they're all over he'll be doing better with that huge stressor being relieved. I really hope so.

We got a call from the middle school on Thursday morning. It was the nurse at Emi's school calling to tell us that she had hurt her knee pretty badly in gym and was in her office and we should come get her. I stayed home with sick babies and Ed took her to the Peds and then over to the orthopedic for x-rays. Nothing broken or torn... YAY!! She had some swelling and some strained ligaments so she came home on crutches and a full leg brace. We've been giving her Advil for pain and icing her knee and she's doing okay. She was in a good amount of pain this afternoon but some Advil helped and she's resting comfortably now. The needs crutches for another two days, and then the leg brace for another 3 or 4 after that and she goes back in for a recheck and we'll decide what to do from there. She has a note for no gym (as a "knee sprain") and she has an elevator key (which she thinks is totally cool) and I'm sure she'll be fine in no time at all.

All is well with Tessa as far as I can tell. She had a party in school on Friday and was over the moon about that. She was seeming like she may be getting sick to me today, she was really lethargic and complaining of being tired a lot (and in fairness was acting VERY tired and worn out). She has no fever and no complaints of anything so I'm just going to keep a close eye on her and see what happens. Nothing going on with her outside of that. All is well in school, she's happy, likes her teacher (except for one) and no issues. Thank God for that huh?

So there you have it. The latest news here. I'm hoping that the sickies will pass quickly and all will be well again here. We've actually had a really good winter here as far as sickness goes. With 5 kids in 5 different schools we usually have major issues with kids being sick ALL the time but this winter it's actually been really great. Gregory and Emi both still have perfect attendance and they're hoping to maintain that through the end of the year! I guess we'll see, I have my fingers crossed for them.