5.20.2013

Happy 3rd Birthday, Dylan!

Becoming your mommy is one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I love sitting back and watching the boy you are turning in to. Every smile I see and laugh that I hear just fills my heart with love and joy...words can not describe the love I have for you (and your sister too).

Physically: Dylan was potty trained a few months after turning 2. We decided to stop "cold turkey" with diapers and we never looked back. We had a few accidents at first, but he did great. Dylan loves to dance and jump and he's starting to jump off of higher elevations, which makes me nervous since he's already broken his leg once. He also likes climbing up the stairs by himself (with someone right behind him), but he's still unable to climb down unassisted. He's still unable to use his tricycle, but he tries.

Academically: Dylan has learned so much this school year...thanks, Ms. Chelsea! He is able to count up to 20 with a little help. He can now identify his shapes, colors, letters, letter sounds, and numbers. He does amazingly well with floor puzzles, as long as it's a Thomas puzzle. He can also match letters to spell words and can write an "O". He's not too interested in writing or coloring yet and even painting is hit-or-miss.

Language: Dylan is starting to use 3-5 word phrases. He's still only about 50% intelligible to an unknown speaker, but he's trying (spoken like a true SLP). I'm so happy he's starting to use prepositions (in, on, under, behind) and he's starting to understand/use more basic concepts. He seems to want clarification when he doesn't understand something and is starting to ask more and more questions...luckily we're not in the "why" stage yet. His speech is also getting clearer, but there are still a lot of instances where I still can't figure out what he's saying. But best of all, Dylan can now tell me when he doesn't feel well or when something hurts, and that has been so helpful. I've been so tempted to give him the PLS-5, but I may wait until his attention gets better. (Of course this would sound like a PLAAFP statement...should I write his IEP now?!)

Social/Emotional: Dylan became a big brother this year and he has adjusted to it so well. He LOVES his little sister and is always wanting to give her hugs and kisses. He loves helping us with Keira and is definitely taking his "big brother" duties seriously. I'm so happy and proud of him! Let's hope it lasts. I feel like he is having fewer tantrums and they are certainly more predictable, so I can usually avoid them. He's starting to use emotions to describe how he's feeling or how Keira appears ("mommy, baby's happy!"). He still loves music and pretending to play his trumpet or drums...he gets so excited when he gets to go to "Daddy's school". He likes going to school and playing with his friends and teachers. He's still obsessed with Thomas the Tank Engine, but he's starting to like pirates lately. He loves giving us hugs and kisses. He still never goes anywhere without his Gloworm and his best friend is still Jackson Hyde :-)

Park fun on his birthday...

...and flying kites with Daddy!




Dylan's birthday party at school...he had a blast!

Playing with his new fire truck...his birthday present from Ms. Chelsea :-)

5.15.2013

Dylan's 3rd Birthday Party

Dylan had so much fun at his indoor pool party...so much fun that he had a tantrum when we were done with the swimming. That boy loves him some pool time, so that's why I figured a pool party would be a hit...I'm so happy he had such a good time.


First, some of Dylan's birthday pictures :-)

The morning of Dylan's party I tried getting Keira to nap in her swing and Dylan gave her his Gloworm to help...such a good big brother!

Thomas invites from Etsy...


With all of Dylan's favorite foods...Chick-fil-A nuggets, pretzels, Goldfish, Bar-B-Que chips, Chips Ahoy cookies, and apple juice (only thing missing is some macaroni and cheese)

I love this cake! Elizabeth's Cakes in Plano never ceases to amaze me!

Keira was Grandma S while everyone was swimming...

Swimming with his best bud, Jackson



Keira and her PawPaw!



Keira with Grandma B...


In her Thomas dress...having a little girl is so much fun :-)



Birthday party tantrum!!!

Back home opening presents! More trains!

Yoshi from Uncle Joey :-)

His favorite present..thanks Cara!


New soccer goal...thanks Aunt Jackie!



Keira with Grandpa B...


Thanks for the sandbox, Grandma & Grandpa S!

Dylan had a great day and we're so happy that everyone was able to fly and drive in to help celebrate with him. He's such a "lucky dog" ;-)

5.12.2013

Happy Mother's Day

It was a good day! We celebrated Dylan's birthday yesterday (which I'll blog about later) so with everyone still in town and all met for breakfast at our house this morning. Luckily, Keith let Keira and I sleep in until 9am...glorious! Then we ended the day with some yummy Chinese...perfect!

Being a mom isn't always easy and sometimes it's pretty darn hard, but it is so worth it for my precious babies. I am so happy and proud to be their mommy :-)

"Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body" -Elizabeth Stone

My gift from my babies...good idea, daddy!

5.09.2013

Keira Addyson - 2 Months


Keira is 2 months! This month she started daycare and she has done so well (and so have I). She's still not sleeping very much at school and comes home extremely tired and cranky...its not my favorite part of the day, but once she has her bath and eats, she's out. Taking her outside usually helps to calm her down. The past few nights she's been sleeping 8 hours straight at night and we're loving it! She's still sleeping in our room, but we plan to move her upstairs once summer vacation is here (in 4 more weeks!!!).

She's currently in her 3 month clothes. The only "toys" she really enjoys right now is laying on her activity mat and the little toys that dangle from her carseat. After bath, she also likes to lay in her crib and look up at her mobile while listening to her Gloworm sing to her. At her 2 month appointment her measurements were 11 lbs, 4 oz for weight (50%), and 22 1/2 inches for height (25-50%). Dylan has always measured in the 75+% for everything, so it surprises me to see little sister measuring average for weight/height. Dr. Coco said she looked great and was surprised how well she could hold her head up already. Dylan's gross motor skills were always a little behind, so this was good to hear. Unfortunately, the next day she had her 1st fever because of her shots. She is still cooing and I always hear her talking on our way home from school...probably trying to tell Dylan all about her day (who is too busy singing and eating his Goldfish). Keira also had her 1st train ride when we went to go visit Thomas the Tank Engine in Grapevine. She is smiling more and more and it melts our hearts every time. On to Month 3... 

5.04.2013

Back to work, Bluebonnets, and everything else...

Well I've been back to work for 2 weeks now and it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Leaving Keira at daycare has been so easy, I feel guilty! I guess it is easier the second time around. I feel like I picked up right where I left off and I'm so ready to finish off the school year and begin our summer vacation. I've been so crazy busy these past 2 weeks, but I have 1 kid left to test, 3 reports left to write, and 5 ARDs left to hold...this has been, by far, my hardest year ever and I'm so excited to see a light at the end!

Keira has done so well at daycare, except that she likes to stay awake most of the day. Ms. Nancy says she's not a problem because she's very alert and doesn't fuss very much, but it almost guarantees a very fussy baby everyday from 5-7:30pm since she's so tired. But once she has her bath and eats, she's out pretty quickly. Dylan is still loving his little sister...he likes to give her hugs and kisses and is so excited to go pick her up from her class at school. And I'm trying to get better about having both kids by myself when Keith has to work late or on weekends (like today)...luckily Dylan is such a good helper! It's so nice to have a routine again :-)

Now here are a couple of pics from the past 2-3 weeks I haven't had a chance to share yet:
Visiting Dr. Garner with mommy!

Park day...

 Some "Mommy/Keira" pictures...

My loves :-)

1st Day of Daycare!!!

Saturday morning smiles :-)

"Mommy, this Gloworm is awesome!"

I stole this one from Keith's phone...my new fave...

And Keira's 1st bluebonnet pictures! Dylan still refuses to cooperate with me and my camera :-(

Silly girl!