Labor Day

We went to my parent's house in Cascade, ID over Labor Day...all of us except Ray because he had to work all weekend :(  So I packed up the kids and took the 5 hour drive myself.  Cascade is one of our favorite places in the world.  The kids had so much fun, they got to go swimming in the lake, went to see "Aliens in the Attic" with grandma at the quaint little one screen theatre in Cascase, and roasted marshmallows!!  Grandpa played hide and seek outside with them for about an hour and a half on Sunday afternoon.  It was so cute, I was inside reading and kept hearing Maggie scream every time grandpa found her :)  We had so much fun that these are the only pictures I thought to take!!

End of Summer Fun

If you aren't a member of my family you may want to stop now.  This post contains about a million pictures!!  We went to Pocatello for a week in August to visit my mom and dad. I drove all the way down there by myself, with the kids of course.  I know, I'm seriously brave....the only thing I forgot was MY DOG!!!  Grace reminded me that we were supposed to bring Max after we had been on the road for about 45 minutes.  Luckily our sweet neighbors took care of him at the last minute!!  Ray flew down at the end of the week, so I didn't forget to bring one of the children on the way home.  

ALL of my siblings, their spouses, "boyfriends" (aka: unofficial fiance) and their children were there.  There were 26 people total.  It was INSANE but so amazing to be able to have my whole entire family together at once.  The purpose of the trip was to throw a surprise 60th birthday party for my dad.  It was REALLY a surprise because his birthday isn't until November.  We invited all his friends, the grandkids put on a performance of "Yellow Submarine" complete with a big huge submarine cutout!  He was COMPLETELY surprised, he didn't have a clue.  It was great :)  We had such a great time and can't wait to get together with everyone again!!

Alex and Naomi

Baby Lilia

Cousins :)

Grandma and Grandpa

Gracie

Baby blue eyes

"Touch the temple and the temple will touch you"  -Pres. Thomas S. Monson

Abby and David (the "boyfriend")

Cousins painting their picture frames (grandma had tons of activities planned, of course!)

Matt and Asher baby

Alex and the kids :)

Grandpa on cotton candy duty

Grandma also threw a party for all of us with August birthdays.  It was complete with a bouncy house, cotton candy machine and birthday cake!!  Happy Birthday to Colin, Lori, Crystal,  (and me).  Am I forgetting anyone??  I'm so sorry if I am!

Maggie found grandma's clown wig (and wayyy too much cotton candy!!)

Naomi snuggling grandma

Bouncy house fun

Grandpa being silly

...and Elliot

...and Grace

"Do as I'm doing, follow follow me..."

Maggie found grandma's dress up skirts and put them all on at once!!

awwww...

September 11, 2001

I Will Never Forget

8 Months Old (almost)

Naomi is almost 8 months old.  I seriously CANNOT believe it.  It seems like yesterday that she was born!!  She is such a sweet girl.  We are so blessed to have her in our family.  She is sitting up on her own, and rolling all over the place.  I'm just waiting for her to take off crawling!  She is eating lots of solids and sleeps all night (most of the time).   Her first tooth just popped through yesterday (earlier than any of my other kids).   She is so fun, she just loves watching her brother and sisters play and gets so excited whenever they include her.  She's a keeper :)

This was her first time sitting directly on the grass, she loved it!  I wish her eyes had been open in the top picture...

She's an angel, an angel sent straight from heaven!

(that's for you dad, and anyone else who is a Raising Arizona lover :))

(keep scrolling for more updates, I'm playing catch-up)

Preschool Boy

Elliot started preschool on Monday.  He was so excited.  These pics are actually from the second day.  I forgot to take my camera to his class on the first day, it was enough to just get out the door on time, well 5 minutes late but who's counting?  He was so excited to see his teacher Ms. Lisa and a few of his classmates from last year.  He absolutely loves his preschool, which makes me really happy.

So, last year I registered him at a regular community preschool, which met 2 days a week.  He wasn't potty trained at the time, which they were aware of, and let's just say it didn't go well.  I pulled him out after 2 months.  He didn't like it, they weren't really able or willing to deal with a child who is a little more difficult so why keep paying to send him to a place he didn't want to go?  

I have always thought that Elliot has a speech/language delay.  I also have always had a feeling that he had a delay in the social skills area.  I have always felt that both of these things are a result of a really, really bad ear infection he had when he was 14 months, mastoiditis, which was corrected through an emergency surgery once we figured out what was going on.  I have always felt that all the ear issues he had as a baby contributed to his delays.  Anyway, long story short, I had him tested last January through the school district and he does, in fact, have a language delay and social skills delay.  He was really borderline on both, but it qualified him for a special needs preschool through the school district.  It has been JUST what Elliot needed. He became completely potty trained shortly after he started school last winter.  His language has improved leaps and bounds.  He still struggles with some social skills issues but that has also gotten better.  Best of all, he is SO excited about going to school.  He LOVES it.  He knows all the names of the kids in his class, loves the schedule and structure it provides and LOVES his teachers who are so kind and understanding.  They really know what they are doing.  It has been awesome.  Because it is a special needs preschool through the school district, a bus comes to our door to pick him up and drop him off every day.  He loves the bus, too.  

So, I haven't talked about this to very many people because, honestly, I still don't know how I feel about it.  I feel like if I tell people that Elliot is in a "special needs" preschool he is instantly put in a box with a label.  This may be my own prior ignorance of what a "special need" actually is, coming through.  But I think a lot of people have that same ignorance and I just want people to see Elliot as the normal kid that he is.  

When Elliot was really young I had someone tell me that I should get him tested for autism.  This person was well meaning but uninformed.  She thought that Elliot was probably autistic because her neighbor had autism (like full blown autism-he didn't even speak) and wouldn't look her in the eye when she talked to him, like Elliot apparently did. Ever since then I have felt very protective of Elliot.  I have my own views about the big push for Autism (1 in every 100 kids, really?!).  I did my research and I worked around the mental health community for a long time, but that is a blog for another day.   Anyway, this is something that I have spent a lot of time pondering and praying about, and I have really been left with a feeling that I need to protect Elliot and be skeptical of any label he may be given that could affect the rest of his life.  (no one has ever diagnosed him with anything, by the way).  Anyway, I don't know why I am willing to put this out there now, maybe I am just more ready.   The jury is still out on whether or not there is something "wrong" with Elliot.  But what does that even mean?  Why does everyone have to fit into the same mold?  You can see that I am still conflicted.  But what I am SURE about is that Elliot is soooo special, smart, and wonderful.  I feel really lucky to be his mom.

Maggie and her Boo

So, Maggie has a little obsession with her binky, or her Boo as she calls it.  I'm dreading the day that I decide it is time to say goodbye to Boo.  I have tried to limit Boo's use to nap/bed time, but she just steals Naomi's.  So that didn't work out so well.  I walked into the kitchen the other day to find this:

She had collected 4 Boos and was so happy and proud of herself.  I know that some people are totally against using binkys, but then you could get a thumb sucker like Grace is (like I was), and she is still sucking her thumb at 6 (she comes by it honestly, I sucked my thumb until I was 10-let's just say that I get it!).  Sometimes I feel like a bad mom that I let my kids have binkys so much and for so long, but then sometimes I don't.  It's not like they will enter grade school still sucking a binky.  Parenting is all about picking your battles, and this is just a battle that I'm not picking right now!!

First Grade

I officially have a 1st grader...weird. I have been feeling a little nervous about Grace being in school all day. All week I have been giving her little bits of advice, "Go potty at recess and lunch, because you will be at school AAAALLLL day and you can't just hold it until you get home.", "Try to eat your lunch kind of fast because you don't have much time and you won't be able to have a snack and hour later, like at home.", "Get a drink at recess so you don't get too thirsty in class.", "What's our phone number?!".  In kindergarten they take care of the kids, they shelter them and make sure they are okay.  They have a special playground and everything.  It's a whole new ball game once 1st grade rolls around.   But, she will be fine, mostly because she knows she will be fine-she's cool like that!

Of course she picked out her own outfit for the first day.  She insisted on wearing the scarf that came with the shirt...which I'm sure her teacher will make her put away because she won't stop taking it off and putting it back on!

I love this picture because you can see her two missing teeth :)

I can't believe how old she looks, *sigh*

Elliot starts preschool on Monday.  I will have two hours of "me" time in the afternoons when Maggie and Naomi are napping.  I don't know what I will do with myself...except I can't leave the house :)