On to First Grade...

It is such a big step once you are past the Kindergarten year with kids. All of the sudden they seem to grow over night. Meli seems a little younger than Colin was at the same age, but that could be due to first child. Also, Colin was a little more advanced with communication skills.

I am hoping that Meli will have a great year and will blossom after a few months of her eye therapy. We had a meeting at her school to set up a 504 plan. I think it will help out tremendously. It is just for basic classroom things that will help her out. Her learning has not been affected enough to warrant out of class assistance.

I love watching her transform into this (little) big girl. When she asks me about makeup (poor her for being stuck with a mom who does not wear a lot and knows nothing), or to help me cook, or for some art time. That is my favorite. I find myself trying a little more to wear nail polish or to put on make up. I can tell how much she likes to sit in the bathroom and watch the process.



                                                       ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                The B Family

The 4th Grade Change

My little goobers started school earlier this month. (I started this post the day after school started but have been slammed at work)...

 I am now a mother of a 4th grader, which sounds very different from a mother of a 3rd grader. At least in my mind. He is now at an age where I can remember what I was thinking at that age...just oh boy! Time really moves so fast as a parent. My son is talking to me about "date jackets", girls, and the horror of Trump. When did we get to girls?!? And when did he get such formed opinions?!? 

Definitely mine and Will's son. We are two very opinionated people (although I think we balance well when to share and not to). Our parenting strategy has been to express our opinions to the kids when asked but we try to discuss both sides. We will say what we believe or think, but emphasize the importance of knowing for your self and what your thoughts and beliefs are. We will also touch on the fact that some people would not agree with what we think. We do this with God and the Bible too. I explain that I choose to believe what I do, but not everyone does.  His recent discussion about Trump was prompted by a title he saw of an article about DACA. 

Gone are the days where Will and I can spell out words to each other. We are now adjusting to a child that is a great reader and has a better understanding of right and wrong. He has been reading for a few years now, but he can read the big words and understand what they mean.  Like the other day, I had him text Will while I was driving. Totally forgetting what name I have for Will in my phone.  Colin read to me what Will had texted then says, "My Lover...huh?!" Oh my. 

I was thrown off by the "date jacket" reference. In the picture he is wearing my old OSU jacket from when I was a 3rd/4th grader. I asked him to explain what a "date jacket" was. He said, "you know those jackets guys who play sports wear on dates"...A lettermen's jacket! 

I imagine that we will have some interesting times coming up. Navigating what is age appropriate and different level of understanding. Plus, all that he picks up from his schoolmates. 

Charlie Helps Out

Originally, we had planned to go away for the last weekend of summer (Memorial weekend)- but with all of the smoke from the surrounding fires, we decided to stay in the house for most of the time. The air quality was getting so bad that we were trying to minimize the outdoor excursions for Charlie and the kids.  

I loved having a weekend of no plans. We took our time on breakfast. The whole family got involved. Colin and Meli (Charlie & Will) all helped with the buttermilk biscuits. Poor Charlie was covered in flour by the end of it. 

I love these moments. It can be easy to forget how much fun it can be to do simple things. Kneading dough, is a blast for kids and a wonderful sensory activity. For Colin's age, (and even Meli's) to start looking at measurements and fractions. I loved as a kid learning the basics of cooking. 

Let their Imaginations run wild...

My sweet uncle is getting ready to move to a retired veteran complex on the East Coast and has to purge a lot. My mom's family are extreme garage sale fanatics. With the exception of my mom. My uncle is more of the estate sale type and has come across some very cool and expensive furniture pieces. Being the sweetheart that he is, he offered to let us browse through his house and take (minus the limited items he is taking with him) whatever our hearts desired. David and I both love antiques and history, so it was very neat to see all that he had collected over his time overseas and in California. 

I am very excited to try and fit the different pieces into our home. We do not typically have a lot of furniture, so it will not be that difficult. Meli is thrilled to have a new desk. Well, antique desk...but to her it is new. It perfectly has two sides that open, so they both have their own area. I am in love with the china hutch and entry tables. Some of them will provide me with new refurnishing projects!

This weekend we did a lot of rearranging and purging. The kids really like the way the playroom/craft room is set up now. While I was purging, they found some old costumes that they had not see in a while. Out of nowhere I was being ambushed by two stealth ninjas! The ninja stars were thankfully plastic ninja turtle ones! They also came across their walkie-talkies...which did not seem appropriate for ninjas to have. Thankfully they were easier to track after that. 

It is amazing how much stuff can just collect. I think the kids had some good lessons in looking at what they have and realizing that others could use it more. Meli is still learning, but Colin is very concerned for those affected by hurricane Harvey and the refugees in sanctuary cities. 

A New School Year

School was able to start yesterday in spite of the smoke and poor air quality. They did keep everything in doors for the day and we did have the option to keep them home. I am sure the kids were not thrilled to have indoor recess, but the smoke is fairly bad here right now. 

They had a great first day! I am glad I was able to drop them off (poor planning on me and I had scheduled a meeting for 9:00) and pick them up. 

A first grader and a fourth grader...oh my! I am excited to see what they learn this year, how they grow, and what adventures they take us on in our parenthood journey. Possibly slightly scared, but mostly excited!

I love my babies. Colin looks so much older with his new haircut. Meli is so much more stylish then I ever was. I would have been wearing Colin's outfit at her age! Colin is actually wearing my old jacket. 

I will post some cute stories about the jacket and other recent conversations soon...

                                                     ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                The B Family

Working as a Team

We are working together to make sure that Meli is successful with her home therapy. Most of the time, we all do it together and try to make it fun.

When she has to do the duck feet and pigeon feet (in & out placement), we put on music and do some dancing as well.

Another thing she works on is trying to pop a bubble straight on with one of those old pick up sticks. We took a break (she has to wear an eye patch clasped over her glasses) by the kids and Charlie trying to eat the bubbles.

The Eye Therapist has done a great job at making the items fun. She gets to catch marbles, trace lines, pick up Cheerios with the same stick, etc.

There is only one she is not a huge fan of...well two. The duck feet/pigeon feet and the body movement on one on the floor. She lays flat down with her eyes focused on a spot on the ceiling. Then she moves both arms (touching the floor) up above her head. She also does this with her arms and leg. Then one arm and one leg. It is kind of like mimicking Leonardo's Vitruvian man sketch.








                                                           

Vision Processing Disorder

We may have some insight into why Meli seems to be extremely moody. She has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing happening. I thought it was possibly due to being an introvert, which probably has something to do with it...but we recently found out that she has several eye disorders that are causing her headaches and extreme eye tiredness.

She got her eye glasses a few months back, which seemed to help some. She is far-sighted, so being able to see up close at school was an amazing thing for her. Her eye doctor wanted to check back in a month to make sure some anomalies were fixed with the glasses. At that time, she recommended taking a test with their Eye Therapist to see if she has some disorders.

They tested her:

Eye Movement control
Focusing Ability
Eye Teaming Ability (working together)
Depth Perception
Laterality/Directionality
Fine Motor Eye-Hand coordination and more...This involves (visual closure, memory, sequential memory, Spatial relations)
Visual and auditory screening (she had less than 10 % for visual)
Neuro Development Reflexes (Moro, Asymmetrical neck, symmetrical, and Head righting reflex)

Her Diagnosis:
Convergence Insufficiency
Ocular Motor Dysfunction
Binocular Dysfunction
Accommodative Spasm
Exotropia

The Eye Therapist mentioned that a lot of times kids do not get the correct diagnosis. Kids (and adults) come in with diagnoses of ADHD or being on the Austim spectrum...but some times it is there eyes are not functioning correct, which has a lot of impact on some brain functions and physical. A family member had thought Meli was possibly slightly on the spectrum. These disorders could explain why they thought that.  It is amazing what is affected by having these disorders.

She has difficulty tracking words horizontally (which can have a big impact on reading). This totally made sense to me. She loves to read the Piggie and Gerald books, but she will become very irritated when she tries to read other books to me. The ones are in very large print, which makes it easier for her to find the next word. The other ones were in smaller print and would cause her to get frustrated.

She also scores extremely low with visual instructions. This is used a lot at school. She was less than 10% accurate with the visual instructions. I am going to be meeting with her teacher to see what help she can provide.

She goes to eye therapy once a week (for about 7 months) and then we do home therapy everyday. It is scary to be told that your child has something that causes them to be developmentally behind and that can cause physical and mental tasks suited for her age to be difficult. We are very fortunate that this can be fixed and as most things that come at you...it could be worse. (Most of the time).

I am hopeful that this will work out and that she can learn to use her eyes correctly.






                                                                 ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                         The B Family

Mud Pies & Beyond

This little girl loves dirt! Whenever we are outside she goes straight for it and ends up with it all over her. I was very similar. I loved playing in the sand type dirt and making mud pies in the backyard.

It is a good look for her!

In a time when outdoor play seems a thing of the past and using just your imagination is almost unheard of, I am thankful for two kids with the ability to use theirs. I know that they would love to spend a lot of time on their tech devices, but they understand that we choose to limit that. There are days when they get way more than we would like (life happens), but for the most part they have a set amount. Sometimes they whine (especially Colin) but once they are on to the next task, they are really enjoying themselves. 

I love that they can both use their imaginations and like to see what they can explore outdoors. They love to hike and play in water. Meli is our little water baby and dirt connoisseur (for play not taste - well I am sure she has done that!).  Colin is our explorer and scientist. 

There are times when I just need to scream...but I am glad that these are the two that get me to that point. Will too! We all drive each other a little crazy at times, but we have fun together.

                                                         ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                   The B Family

The Joy of a Cardboard Box

Will and I ordered a new mattress the other day - One of those adaptive foam ones that come in a box and needs 24 hours to get back to its normal form. Tuft & Needle is one of the companies that sell them. I love their return policy! If you are not satisfied they send a replacement or refund your money, and then they work with you to have it sent to a homeless shelter or charity program. Awesome work ethic! I love companies like this. Ones that are aware that they can make a difference in communities.

Anyways...it came in a big (BIG) box that entertained my two kids and puppy (even my husband for part of the time) for several hours! Cheap, simple fun! Gotta love it!

Both kids were in the box for most of the time. Charlie loved running around it and trying to get in. I am fairly certain that he would not have actually gone in. Our little scaredy cat.

     

                                                  ~ Love, Hugs & Kisses ~
                                                                   The B Family

Char char: A Life of Shenanigans

This little cutie...his face and the way he cocks his head with one ear slightly bent totally gives me that feeling when you want to just squeeze a baby's cheeks. I adore our little guy! He has fit into the family somewhat seamlessly. Almost.  He can be a total pain. Total. Pain. He definitely acts out when he is upset over something. Still we just love him. If we are gone for more than a few hours, then he becomes a little terror. Doing things he knows he is not supposed to. Stinker. He is so obvious about it that it is hard not to laugh. He just stares at you ready for you to catch him. 

He is getting so long. This above picture was a few months ago. He is even longer now. I am not sure how much more he will grow though. I think he is roughly 7 months. I am thinking he is basically done. 

Of course his favorite place to lay. My poor cushions. At least he is so light. I think close to 14 lbs now. If that.

I was working on my weekend project (refurbishing an old bench) and Charlie (of course) got in the paint and left a trail of paw prints. Thankfully, we plan to redo the deck soon. He loves the weekends when we are all home. He is totally my shadow when I am at the house. The rest of the time he follows whomever suits his mood. Meli when he wants to play, Colin when he wants to run, and Will the rest of the time. Especially cuddles. He loves laying on Will's lap. I think he was in heaven this weekend, when Will and I took a nap on the sofa. He laid right between us. Our cuddle bug. Then he woke me up by biting my ear!