March 2010

Chase:
Chase has been BUSY! Unfortunately it hasn't been with anything fun, just work. They have a big project going on and so he has had early mornings, late nights and Saturdays at work.Last week he worked 72 hours!!So he hasn't been around quite as much lately, and I know he misses his kids . He is a very involved Daddy and had to miss a few things with the kids this month because of work and I know that bummed him out.We remain thankful that he HAS a job and the extra money will be nice too.
Jessica:
Because of Conference Week and Spring Break, the kids seemed to be out of school more than they were in school! My month was spent keeping the kids busy so they didn't kill each other. I am happy to report that it was a success and everyone made it!:)We had a Charlie Safari trip,Children's Museum,Pond exploring (where we brought home enough tadpoles to populate a small pond),Swimming, park trips and several afternoons at Burger King to eat and play on the climbing structure. My three and my extra two seemed to have a great time! Now we are on the countdown to summer vacation. I think I am happy about that. I am not sure yet, let me get back to you on that one... say Mid July.......:)

Here is pic of the kids and I at the Easter Egg Hunt. It was freezing!



Austin:
Austin started T-ball again this month and although he seems to enjoy practice and is looking forward to games, I can tell that Baseball is not his sport. He even told the coach on the first day that his favorite sport is Soccer. So this may be his last year, which to be honest would be great because I really think Baseball as a spectator is pretty dull.
I had Austins conference with his teacher and it went Great. He Exceeds Expectation in almost all areas, and she said he is reading second grade level books for his AR tests, and getting great scores on them. She said she would like to see more effort given in some areas. He only does exactly what is required and nothing more even though he is capable of much more. An example she gave was if she tells the kids to write at least two sentences, he will take a minute to write exactly two sentences and then sit there and do nothing for the rest of the time. He isn't disruptive so she doesn't know until they turn the work in that he did only two sentences. I am not sure if this really even is a problem.... I guess I need to teach him the definition of "Brown Noser!"


Ellie:
Ellie has had a tough Month. She has been an emotional wreck at times and I honestly don't know what to do. She has never had "separation anxiety" and I think its odd that she would start now.I can barley leave her side without an extreme tantrum, even when leaving her with her Dad. Thinking back it seems to have started about the time we got her ears pierced and that whole fiasco happened. Maybe its a preschool case of Post Traumatic Stress???? Who knows, but I can tell you that leaving your three year old screaming doesn't make ya feel very good. I know shes fine but I always feel bad for whoever else has to deal with it. We are working with a sticker chart now and that is helping sometimes. Although when she is upset and I threaten that she will loose a sticker she usually says, "I DON'T WANT A STICKER." Other things about Ell seem to have changed as well. She used to be so outgoing and would try anything and go anywhere. After begging to do a gymnastics class and being on a waiting list for three months she finally got in. Then she didn't want to do that anymore. We went and watched the class together one time and she seemed to feel more positive about it. Then when Thursday rolled around the next week, she again, didn't want to do it.That's ok, and I am not going to make her, but it bums me out because I know she would enjoy it and have so much fun, but she is all of a sudden too timid to try. That isn't like her at all. Little girls are strange creatures indeed.
This all may be normal behavior for the average three year old, but not for Ellie. She has always acted much older and more mature, so it is really odd. Hopefully by my next monthly update we will have good news on Miss Emotional.

Jaxon:
Jax has had a great month. He is still a happy little guy who is now very mobile. I always laugh because he already knows exactly what it is that he isn't supposed to do. And that is always the most fun!! He loves getting into the cats food, and also into a small wastebasket that I keep beside the computer desk. The kids tend to throw unwanted snacks in there, so there are always wonderful treasures for Jax to discover. Jax is cruising well along furniture now, and crawls very fast. He has no depth perception whatsoever. If he is siting on the couch with Mommy, and wants down, he literally dives off. I usually have a Split second to grab his foot and catch him with his nose inches from the carpet. The mean Mommy in me knows I should let him fall and maybe he will learn.... Silly Baby! "No" is really funny to baby Jax. I was in the shower the other morning and he was hanging out in the bathroom so I could keep an eye on him. He realized he can open the shower curtain. Mommy would say "no" and that was hysterical! So I spent the entire 5 minutes of my shower playing tug of war with Jax and the shower curtain. When I got out and looked at him I cracked up becasue he was soaked!!!Then we were both laughing!
Eating has been a bit of a challenge lately. I am beginning to try to wean Jax from the breast. I will continue to Nurse him till his birthday, but I would really like for him to be getting most of his nourishment from food at this point. He really just prefers the boob. I feel ready to be done nursing. I know it is the best thing for him, and it has gone so well and I am thankful for that. However, Sometimes I just want to snuggle him, and that sends him into a rooting frenzy. He thinks snuggles mean boob. For me, that's not always the case and I don't like being a drinking fountain. He will nurse for all of 30 seconds then is done and wants off my lap, leaving me still wanting to snuggle him and leaving him still hungry so that the next time I hold him he again thinks its chow time and the whole process starts over.I also hope he continues to fill his belly with more food, and less milk because I intend to go cold turkey at a year, and I know the transition will be much easier on him if he starts to wean himself now.

See how lucky I am? My three Gorgeous Kids on Easter