More pictures

Livvy says...

"look at me!" allll the time! I don't know where she got that phrase from, but it's cute nonetheless. She also says, "Come on, guys" and "What's going on?" :)

Interview with Drew

Favorite color: purple

Favorite animal: zebra

Favorite food: apples

Favorite sound: street sweeper

Favorite song: nursery rhyme songs on CD

Favorite thing to do outside: play with the sprinklers

Favorite park: Jack Fischer park

Favorite movie: Conjunction Junction - Grammar Rock

Favorite treat: chocolate cake

Summer activities

Drew: starts swimming lessons at the community center in 2 weeks and is in tumbling once a week for the month of July...also on a waiting list for a day camp. Gotta keep this guy busy - anyone have a car engine to donate that he can take apart?!

Livvy: tumbling once a week for July and will find swimming lessons for her.

Alex: 3rd wheel, baby! he goes where we go...he'll go to a mommy and me class once the kids are in school this fall!

Randomness

Our 13 month old Alex

Still isn't walking yet..he wants to SO badly and loooooves it when we hold his hands and walk with him and gets mad when our backs are breaking! He is such a lovebug and loves to lay his head on you several times a day for some lovins. He is doing well and sleeps better in Drew's room in the crib. He also enjoys his eats and is a good eater. He has around 16 oz of milk a day and is very easy-going. Love this boy!

Summer school ~ Livvy

So Miss Liv started her special summer school on June 27th...she goes Tuesday-Friday from 9-11am. The first day, even when we talked it up that she's going, she didn't make the connection and was fine until I said goodbye and left. They make you bring them to the teacher out front and they bring them to the classroom to avoid the tug-of-war episodes that can linger on and on. She still cries every morning and the teacher, Nancy, says she cries on and off throughout the class. She has a hard time transitioning from activity to activity yet has bonded enough with Nancy to use her as "home base" for comfort during stressful situations. She has improved already with parallel play ( a 2yr old or under skill ) which is great! At least she's tolerant of other kids at times now. ;) She goes for 1 month then starts her fall school session in September with the same teacher, thank goodness. This is good practice and exposure for her and even though it's tough to watch her cry every morning, we know she's in the best place.

Random pictures

Alex's big boy appointment

Don't let his size fool you!
Height: 29.5" (45%)
Weight: 21.13 lbs (25%)

Doctor said he looks great...has a big noggin (brains...it's all brains! - 70%) and had 4 shots. Poor baby! He should be walking within a month I'm guessing...he looooves for you to hold his hands and help him walk while he giggles. He is THE BIGGEST LOVE BUG! He'll crawl around then come up to one of us and lay his head down on us. awwwww! He enjoys being held and gives kisses, claps, and a few times said "dog" and "Mommy"!! He loves his food and we just finished the formula so now it's big boy milk. He so badly wants to keep up with Drew and Livvy.

Tonight, we moved the crib to Drew's room and Alex did very well- no crying, etc. and Drew felt so proud to have his little brother in his room to take care of.

He and Livvy will have a combo party on Saturday, June 16th and I'll update with pics then.

Dustin = 16!?

HUH?
I remember when I met him when he was 7 yrs old and now he's close to 16? Unbelievable! He has his permit now and drove with Kenny this weekend for a bit. He is still getting A's and B's in school and has enjoyed his freshman year. He also is a fantastic drummer without lessons and reminds me of Kenny's innate ability to play an instrument. This weekend, he recorded his first song playing drums, guitar, and bass! He was very proud and so are we. He is a very pleasant young man to be around.

Alex will be 1 soooon!

This Thursday is Alex's 1st birthday...where did the time go???
He is such a good boy; very easygoing, a good eater, and pretty good sleeper. He has 2 top teeth, 2 bottom, and I can see the beginnings of the canine teeth on top. He's crawling everywhere quickly and pulls to stand but hasn't tried letting go just yet. He loves music and enjoys hearing his brother and sister singing. His 1 yr well-baby check up is next Friday and I'll update with stats then.

Livvy's summer and fall school schedule

I had a meeting with the school district who takes over Livvy's services once she turns 3 and they determined she qualifies for summer school (from June-July) 4 days a week for 3 hrs a day. The class is language-based which means she will learn new words in everything she does. The class size is 8-10 kids and she'll blossom there. They also have 1 hr of OT incorporated in the day to work on tactile issues, self-help, and motor skills. Currently, she assessed at a 2.5 yr old level in all areas - cognitively, she's right on with no delays so on paper she looks good...it's applying it that is the area that needs improvement. She doesn't have very good social skills with peers but with adults she flourishes - they'll be working on that in school as well. No doubt the first week or two will be hard for her to get used to all of the kids there, but she'll pick it up quickly. We'll also have her in a gymnastics class since she's a little monkey!
In the Fall, she'll still go to the same schoool 4 days a week for 3 hrs - hopefully the summer class will prepare her for her new class with less anxiety. GOOOO LIVVY!!

Exciting milestone for Drewbie!!!

Big brother Dustin took off Drew's training wheels on his bike for the first time this weekend. We got him a helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads to help with the falls but he did REALLY well! It only took him a few hours to get it down and is working on negotiating turns and braking. We're so proud of him!!

Missing Mom

Since her passing on March 11, 2007, I've been doing pretty well under the circumstances. Of course I think about her several times a day and Drew brings her up in conversation every few days which is a good thing. We're working on putting a scrapbook together of memories that are of her and the kiddos. WE MISS YOU, MOM!!!

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.