Still lovin' school

Drew seems to enjoy school which is a GREAT feeling for all of us. He has several projects (mostly art) that they do every day which is he reallly good at - he's quite creative with art projects in general so this is right up his alley. Last week they had some firefighters visit to tell them about safety and how important it is to know your address and phone number in case of emergency and we're working on that now.

They also had a visit from the Tooth Fairy! hee hee He doesn't understand the concept of how the actual tooth falls out but he'll soon learn! He especially enjoys painting pictures and draws a mean "person" face!

Llllllliiivvvvyyy

is talking sooo much more recently!! Her therapist is AWESOME and Liv responds so well. We are now working on getting her to try new foods without the screaming, head-turning, and all out "NO" which sometimes includes gagging if the food even touches her lips! Her therapist will address this on Friday for the first time with a system she has had success with. I'll update later on how that all goes down.

Launching our new business!!

Kenny and I are starting a business now that he has close to 20 students now- offering drum, guitar, and piano lessons (those are given by me) out of our studio. We just got the license and are working on a website/business cards now....there is a lot of thought and time that goes into this! ;) It's fun and exciting and we'll branch out into recording services in the future as well. I'll post the web link when it's completed!

Livvy's eating us out of the house!

Like a teenage boy would!! These last two days, she's done nothing but stand at the pantry and beg for food- I remind her this isn't the Carter Buffet even though we're thrilled she's wanting to eat now! She's funny.

Andrew's new shoes

his new love! :) We bought him shoes online and when they came he fell in love. There isn't anything special about the shoes but he apparently thinks they're the best thing in the world! When it was nap time, he asked if he could wear them to bed!! When it was bathtime, I got him a towel and he was getting dressed in his room...or so I thought. He parades out in a towel around his body and just his shoes (not even socks) and I was laughing so hard.

Alex ~ self entertained!

When we put him on the floor in the playroom and it's sunny out, he lifts one arm and "waves" with his hand...at first I didn't know what in the world he was doing but quickly found out he's watching his shadow! He'll do that for a good 20 minutes or so daily! Cracks us up!!

Joanna and Neal's new baby!!!!

I understand, per my Dad tonight, they had a baby girl tonight - on Joanna's mom's birthday - via c-section. Her name is Lauren - PRECIOUS! She is a DOLL and so petite!

"dada"

Was that what we heard today? No, couldn't be! I swore at least one of our kids would say mama first but nooooooope! Dada it is....*sigh* What a sweetie he is - he is so happy and proud of himself. He now gets fruit puffs and doesn't gag and he's practicing how to pick them up off of his tray much better in the last week or so. His 9 month appt is the beginning of March...can't WAIT!

Drew's first day of his new school!

Last Friday was his last day at My School - when I dropped him off and told his teacher today was it, she said "ok, thanks for letting me know." ??? Um, no "oh, I'm sorry to see him leave, but he'll do great at the new school" or give Drew a hug since he was standing right there?? Makes our decision to move him that much more clear!

New school is called Clement and it's only a few miles away which is helpful for when Livvy starts her school down the street in the Fall. They have a circular driveway for drop-off and pick-up and you hold up a name tag with his name and they bring him out to the car after school and sign in/out in a binder. WOOHOO!! Now I can drop him off in my pj's and slippers!! His teacher is AWESOME - young, expecting her first baby at the end of June when school is out, and very soft-spoken and warm. There are 10 kids total in her class which is just what Drew needs. Each day, the kids take turns with certain "jobs" of the day: calendar, weather, watering her plants, setting out snacks, line leader, and flag holder for the Pledge of Allegiance. Today, he was the flag holder!

He said goodbye and they made firefighter hats before 4 firemen came to the school to talk about safety and 9-1-1. Each month, Mrs. West (teacher) has a science project and a cooking lesson. He still goes M, W, F from 9am-12pm like at the other school and this one has a program called Lunch Bunch where you can bring your lunch and stay until 2pm doing extra challenges and fun activities for a little extra a month. We'll get him settled in before we pick a few days of the month to incorporate those longer days.

We're so proud of our big boy - this school seems to offer exactly what Drew is looking for. :)