Labor Day Fun

We took the boys bowling since we had Monday off for Labor Day. We all had a lot of fun eating and bowling. Jonathan was a little difficult to manage but it all worked out. All we had to do was put food in front of him so we could all finish bowling. Daniel let Stephen pretty much bowl as much as he wanted so his score is not 100% accurate. Stephen ended up having 4 strikes by the end of our game. I happen to help Stephen granny roll the bowling ball down the center lane just right to get a strike 4 times. Jonathan wanted down to run the entire time.




He ate a slider and many fries.



After passing our Jonathan eating I heard a man go "that was a cute little girl."
I guess this really means he needs a haircut. It's hard to cut off his cute curls in the back.

JD taking it all in as the lights went off and everything glowed.

The first two weeks down

The boys have been going to daycare for 2 weeks. I am happy to say it is going well for Stephen and NOW good for Jonathan. Jonathan's first 6 days didn't go so well but it has worked itself out. He is still biting and head-butting us. He has 3 bruises on his forehead to show for it. He bit 4 times at daycare the first week. He even bit a kid twice in one day. I decided to call my pediatrician for some advice. She reassured me we are doing everything we can do since he is 14 months old. She reminded me to make sure daycare knows what we are doing at home. Which is complete separation from us or the activity when he bites. We say "No biting." I guess they started watching him better so the biting has stopped. I called up to have a parent conference with his teacher but we ended up talking one day after I picked him up. Thankfully they love my little brute and are working with him. I took him in on Tuesday of this week to get checked out since he has had a running nose for 2 weeks. I thought he would work through it but it turns out he needed an antibiotic to help him kick it. He stayed home with me for one day and then went back on Wednesday. It has helped with his sleep!

As for school it has been a rough 2nd week for me as far as grade level deadlines due. My class is great. I had 18 kids but a new student enrolled in my room on Tuesday the day I was absent so it bumped me up to 19. I have had so much to do but not enough time in the day! Imagine that?! I feel horrible if I leave the boys no later than 4 pm at daycare. Daniel has been a trooper and has picked up the boys twice a week for the last two weeks. I also received 8 boxes of curriculum and teaching supplies on Friday. I was able to look through some of the stuff and bring home a binder to skim read and get familiar with since I haven't had a chance to. My room is split by a huge accordion curtain. On the other side is another teacher I will often refer to as "my partner" because we may be splitting up teaching responsibilities in January. We are the only 2 self contained 1st grade classrooms (teach all subjects) the others split by teaching either Math/Science/Social Studies or Reading/Language/Writing.

It's Saturday morning and we are up and running around watching Disney and Nick Jr. Stephen just requested the Cars movie. Jon woke up at 4am hungry so I fed him his breakfast and put him down again. Jamie and Jonathan share a room. He and Stephen woke up at 7:15. I wish WE could call a Saturday morning sitter to watch the boys so WE can sleep? HA HA! Joke.

Post Op Appointment & Starting School

Jonathan did great on both of this hearing tests Thursday. His tubes are in place and doing great. We are happy there are no signs of hearing loss. He can get his ears wet including tub and swimming. This kind of ear tube is different from big brother Stephen's. His ears should not drain. If they drain we have to take him to the doctor. His pediatrician will recheck his ears again at his 15 month appointment and 18 month appointment.

The boys start big boy school (daycare) on Monday and I start at my new school. Please pray for me to have a good morning routine this week as we transition into leaving the house on time so I can get to work on time. I know I can do it but it will be an adjustment for me. Getting myself fed, dressed and both boys dressed and at least a snack before they leave the house. They eat breakfast, morning snack, lunch and a afternoon snack at daycare. Jonathan is used to eating by 7am so I will have to feed him right away when he wakes up. This means waking up by 5am to get out of the house by 6:50am. I like to get to work early (7:25) and leave early (3:20) so I can pick the boys up by 4pm. Thankfully, this week is mainly meetings, working with my team planning, district Convocation and one day of working in my room. The first week of school with kids is not until Aug 23-27. It will be different since I will probably stay until 4pm everyday getting things organized. The good thing is it will be the boys second week in daycare so they will be somewhat used to daycare.

Please pray for the adjustment we will all have to make getting back into the routine of me working again. I am usually exhausted for the first 3 weeks of school. I will still need to have energy to devote to the boys in the evenings. It will be hard now with 2 BUT I can do it.

13 months

Jonathan is walking everywhere now. He started walking about 3 steps at at time at 11 months and graduated to walking around 12 months. He just recently started getting really fast. We go in this upcoming week for his hearing screening. I think he is a little delayed in speech because he still just says sounds. We are praying the hearing screening will be fine and that he will hopefully start babbling more than Mama and Dada in the next few months.

Daniel and I took the boys to visit their new school (daycare). It's actually not new because Stephen attended the same daycare from 12-18 months. I wanted to meet their teachers and I wanted them to meet their teachers, see their room and mainly let Stephen see where he will be going while I am at my school. I also wanted the teachers to see Daniel and I both together. Daniel may be picking the boys up more now that I am going back to work. Stephen and I have talked about me going to my school so I took him to where I will work. I thought since we start in a week I should take them to their school now so their teachers can meet them too. It was good to talk to Jonathan's teacher so she has a heads up for my little brute. He is a handful lately. We are doing what the pediatrician says and are not disciplining him until 15 months for biting. I hope it's just a thing he does to us but at the rate he is going he might bite a daycare. As a Mom we all do not want our own kids to get bitten so I really don't want my kid to be the biter. Ugh! He doesn't bite at church nursery but it's only a few hours long. Please pray for me to give this to the Lord because it's really out of my control. He has to outgrow the behavior.

1st Grade

I have my classroom about 90% finished. All I really need to do is finish my level reader library. Mom had the boys while I finished up some last minute things in my room this week. I also met my first grade team for the first time. We met on Thursday and ate lunch together. I am excited to start fresh in a new grade level. When I find my camera cord I will upload pictures.

Please say a prayer for my sister. She has been on a mission trip in Kenya from July 30th- August 9th.

surgery

Surgery went great today. Jonathan could not eat or drink after 12 midnight. I gave him a 6 ounce bottle at 12am. He woke up like clock work at 6am ready to eat/drink/play. We had to be at the surgery center (2 minutes from our house) by 7am for surgery at 8am. Poor kids he kept trying to steel his big brother's sippy cup because he wanted milk. We kept him in his PJ's for comfort like they suggested. Surgery finished around 8:15. The doctor said his ears weren't bad today so he didn't have to drain them as much. He also said that he will be allowed to swim, get wet in the tub in a few weeks. I am waiting until his hearing screening test in two weeks (August 12th) before we get ears wet. The tub is hard enough right now. I have to do a quick bath because he is a splasher. We left the surgery center around 8:40. He downed an 8 ounce bottle while coming out of anesthesia. He cried for about an hour after we got home. Pacifier and blanket were great to have on hand. Thanks for your prayers and text messages.

Jonathan's surgery

After visiting with our ENT last Thursday we have decided Jonathan will have ear tube surgery. July 28th at 8AM Jonathan will no longer have ear pain and problems. My poor boys have ears just like their Mommy. I had ear infections at a young age but didn't have to get tubes. We are happy to schedule surgery this month before Mommy goes back to work and the boys start daycare on August 16th. I worked in my room a few days last week while the boys were in Gonzales. Mom is actually keeping the boys again Sunday, August 1st after my Meme's big birthday bash. She will keep them Sunday through Wednesday. I am working in my room on Monday and have a Writing Workshop on Tuesday. I plan to meet my new team members for lunch on Wednesday before I go pick up the boys. My goal is to get finished setting up my room so I can spend my last week with the boys at home August 9-13th. It is all going by so fast.

By the way it's super hot in TEXAS! I am looking forward to the Fall weather and cooler weather. I have not taken the boys to a real pool all summer. We have enjoyed a small pool in the backyard given to the boys by my great friend Krista. It has been nice to let the boys get a little wet when it has been so hot. Jonathan is my child who loves water and Stephen is my child who HATES water. He loves the water hose but hates to get wet by the hose. So for now we are waiting until the summer of 2011 for swimming lessons. Hopefully, next summer will be much better for Jonathan ears.