Fall Time Favorites

Our last baby is now THREE?!

There's nothing I can say that can accurately describe how crazy we are about this little guy! 

Just one little smile and tight hug from him could melt the coldest of hearts.  Eli adores his siblings and when they are around, he just takes it all in.  He shrieks with excitement when it's time to pick them up from school.  Eli is often too busy to cuddle, but when he does want to cuddle it's the best part of my day.  He loves throwing balls around the house and really enjoys it when they make loud noises.  He's still a fanatic about Family Feud and will ignore a crazy house full of noise just to clap for Steve Harvey.  He relies on his walker to get around, but I know as soon as he overcomes the fear of falling, he will be on his way without it.  His favorite song is "If you're happy and you know it".  I try to incorporate new speech sounds in the song seeing how he only knows a few words, but he seems to be catching on.  When the weather is nice, he loves jumping on the trampoline and watching the outside balls bounce.  Just like his brother and sisters, he could live outside and be perfectly content.  These last three years went by too fast for this emotional mommy.

To celebrate Eli's birthday, we went to McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama.

 It's a fantastic learning environment and we had a great day playing. 

After the busy day of fun, we returned home for cake and presents.  

Egg and Peanut Free cake for the birthday boy, of course!     

Gracie and I spent way too much time being entertained by this crazy eel. 

The birthday boy was very clear what stuffed animal he wanted to leave with. 

I think he loves it!! 

2015-2016 School Year

     This year Ethan is in 4th grade, Gracie is in 2nd grade, and little Lexie Rae has started Kindergarten.  Since I have the older three in school,  Eli and I are going to enjoy our time together because it won't be too long before he starts going to school too.   

     First day started pretty early, but the kids were so excited that I doubt they noticed.  Second day is when they don't look as chipper.   Anyway, Ethan handled the first day like any dude.  Barely a hug goodbye, and his mindset is pretty clear that the sooner he gets this done, the sooner he can get home to Minecraft.  He always cracks a smile when I tell him that he better give me at least a high five or I will throw him to the ground and kiss him like he's going to college.  He eventually does what he's told to spare him any embarrassment. 

     Gracie, my sweet little independent girl.  She followed us into the school, but by the time I turned around, she was gone.  After settling Ethan and Lexie in, I found here sitting at her desk already coloring on a worksheet. Apparently she was too excited to start her day that she didn't have time for any measly goodbyes. 

     Lexie's drop off was a little more complicated.  She is starting this school year in a inclusion classroom which means there are typical children as well as children who have more needs than the average child.  While I was in the process of finding her aide and getting her situated, she opened the door to the classroom and a classmate bolted in search for his mother.  As I was trying to coax the runner back into the room, who is now screaming on the floor, Lexie walks up to a random woman who was holding a baby in her arms while kneeling down and saying goodbye to her own child.  Lexie hugs both mother and baby and then proceeded to kiss the baby on the head.  Since I was trying to correct her first mistake I could only apologize and drag her away after the fact, but thankfully the other mom didn't even seem phased by it.  I later realized that she is a mother to a special needs child as well.   We.just.get.it.   Finally after finding her aide, I hand Lexie over and say, "Here's a quick pamphlet that I made to help you get to know her, please call me if you have any questions or concerns and good luck!"  I kissed her goodbye and in typical Lexie fashion, she kissed me back and ran away.  I stayed outside her classroom door for about 10 minutes just too be sure, but soon left to shed a few tears in the car.  It's hard leaving any child with people you barely know, but it is even more of a gut punch leaving a non-verbal child.  Lexie thrives on social interaction so I can always count on the fact that she's upbeat and enjoys meeting new people.  

    At the end of the school day, I was greeted with huge smiles and happy faces.  Pretty much the best way to find your littles after a heavy heart kind of day! 

Teachers' gifts one and two and our yearly chocolate pencil treats! 

Catrina and I enjoyed a celebratory back to school breakfast! 

Eli was our date.   

(Third time we're stationed with this fantastic friend and her family)

     My good friend, Jenna, sent me a pin about making an All About Me book for a non verbal child on the first day of school.  I naturally love anything from Pinterest (I know.. huge surprise), but this was right up my alley.  I was really starting to freak out about making sure they knew the real Lexie.  They have her IEP and her medical forms for any emergency type incidents, but there is so much more to Lexie than her delays and diagnoses.  I needed something that didn't go too much into those topics because 1) They already have their own forms & 2) I didn't want to lose the reader's attention due to length and too many details.   This was perfect.  It makes her approachable like any other child and it shows some insight of her personality.   Here's the pin if you're interested.  How to write your child's "owner's manual" for special education teachers. 

10,520 more bath pictures to go!

While looking through photo albums, I was shocked to see that Ethan and Gracie have 10,532 bath time pictures.  Yes, that is sort of an exaggeration, but I did realize I needed to up my game when it came to Lexie and Eli.   They're much harder to capture as water is being splashed constantly and they move super fast, but I was happy with the non blurry pics that I did get.