This past weekend JB exploded with sounds. He at times does spontaneous imitation, trying to repeat every word I say. I just still am amazed at the therapy. I never thought much about how sounds were made. He does well with CVC (consonant, vowel, consonant) when the consonants are made in the same part of the mouth (T and D). However, when you give him a consonant that is made on the teeth and one that is made behind the teeth, he really struggled (h and t). He is starting a new therapy schedule next week. He will see a new therapist on Mondays and his current therapist on Tues and Wed. This new therapist works with a lot of apraxic kids. He has to be re-authorized every 6 months for more therapy. He is currently authorized for 3 times a week but that authorization ends April 30th. Not sure if he will get 2 or 3 times a week starting in May. Am curious to see the 'tests' the new therapist will put him through and her opinion on 'where' he is.

I registered Jbird for kindergarten today! He was so excited! He has now found a favorite pair of jeans that he wears most days and yep, there is a hole in each knee. Not sure what it is with him and jeans. At least it should be warm enough in a few weeks that we will start seeing lots of shorts.

B has 10 more weeks of school left. He still has perfect attendance. He is so motivated by rewards. Each child that has perfect attendance up until the last week of school gets recognized at a school assembly. They also get a school hooded sweatshirt with their last name on the back.

I have been overhauling parts of the house. In the process of redoing the front entryway...using pegboard and baskets. I think the pegboard is quickly growing on me. Getting ready to paint a small closet and turn it into a reading nook for B. We are looking at rearranging the whole garage and putting in a utility sink. I am cleaning up the back yard. We have decided to do away with our 'garden' space for now and plant more grass. I am hoping to fill the sand box with dirt. My goal is to have most of this done in two weeks, before JR leaves for a week in Honduras. Once he gets back it will be crazy at work and then camping season begins. At this point no road trips planned, so should get in lots of camping/outdoor time.

We are still alive....
Just have not been focused on computer stuff.
A week ago today we celebrated J's 5th birthday. He had a few friends that we invited to the local donut shop for donut sundaes. Then we headed across the street to burn off all the sugar. The weather got crazy about the time we got to the park. The wind really kicked up and it got cold. The kids were the only ones that did not seem to care.
My mom's week long visit flew by way too fast. I enjoyed lots of little chunks of time getting out of the house. I even stopped the 5am work outs and went during 'normal' hours. I do regret that mistake because it has taken me a few days to get back into the swing of rising early.
B started swim lessons today. One thing the PTC at the school pays for is swim lessons for the second graders. They go once a week for 4 weeks. Will be interesting to see what he thinks about it. They were bused to the local college. Spent part of this past week putting out all new playground sports equipment at the school. This was stuff that was finally bought from the money we raised at the Fun Run last September. Amazing how excited kids get about balls, jump ropes, etc. The playground aides were so appreciative. They kept telling me how much easier their job is now that the kids have things to do during recess.
Yesterday was JB's last day of physical therapy. The therapist told me how much he was chatting. At times I find him imitating me almost word for word. Yeah. I have to catch myself from telling him to be quiet. Let the words flow. Still one of our biggest immediate goals is for him to say 'no' instead of screaming for what he wants, particularly with his brothers. The end of April there is an apraxia workshop a couple of hours away. I am hoping to go as it sounds like lots of practical, hands on things will be taught.
My mom brought her Ipad with her on this trip. The boys really enjoyed playing with it. It was amazing how quickly JB picked it up. There was one application he enjoyed playing with that was geared towards learning words.
A rather quiet weekend and upcoming week. The weather should be nice and hopefully some bike rides and maybe I will remember to take my camera along. Just not a lot of picture taking lately.

I am thinking spring has sprung....at least for now! Been working on projects and time is just slipping away. We are gearing up for a 5 year old birthday party. We are having it at the local donut shop. What is better than a donut and a scoop of ice cream. The best part, there is a park right across the street so we can parade over there and let all the kids run and run and run.

Several months ago, I pulled out Jbird's 5 year old clothes. Being the particular 'clothes-wearer' that he is, there was one pair of jeans he gravitated to. He wore them just about every day except Sunday. They were flannel lined and even with 2 layers, it was not long before they became worn. Jbird refused to depart with them and knowing I could not just discard when he was not looking, I had a plan. I told him on his 5th birthday, we would either cut the jeans into shorts or throw them away. After all the weather would be warming up and he would not need them for the summer. He agreed. So, I washed the jeans one last time yesterday. Decided I needed to take a picture of them. They got totally torn up in the wash, but here he is, in his favorite jeans. (They were not this bad before the last wash...)

One article of clothing I will not hesitate to get rid of. Between needing a hair cut and a different pair of 'favorite jeans', we are half way there. Not sure how long he will let his hair grow before he wants it cut.

My mom is coming in tomorrow for a week. Looking forward to having her around.

Today we had our intake meeting for preschool for JB. Sounds like he will qualify for services. They will do a full assessment/evaluation mid April and then he will visit the classroom two more times later that week. So, we should know for sure by mid May.

Take Jbird tomorrow to get his cavities and his other tooth capped. The other day he had this really strange red and dry area below his lip. It was too perfect of a line for it to have just appeared. We put some dry skin stuff on it and it healed in a few days. Jbird could not remember what he had done to cause it. I was baffled too, until recently I saw him vacuuming. Yep, he had taken the nozzle and put it over his lips. My precious little boy. He will be 5 next week and we have an agreement that when he turns 5 the weather will warm up and we can throw away his favorite pair of jeans because it will be too warm for them. They are flannel lined and both knees are blown out. Not just blown out but the holes have ripped almost all the way down to his shoes. Having the layer of denim and red flannel make him look so pitiful. Not to mention that he has declared several times over the last couple of weeks that he is not going to cut his hair. Getting pretty scraggily, but hey, there are bigger battles to fight right now.

Recently had two different conversations with two of B's teachers. They both commented on how much he loves to read. He gets distracted with books. So glad he loves to read and can get lost in a good magazine or book. This past weekend he earned his geology, astronomy and cultural belt loop through a cub scout program at the local museum.

We got more of the house painted this past weekend. Always love seeing new colors on the walls. Now to figure out how to put it all back together. Need to figure out a new system for organizing.

Off to get kids ready for bed and to go to bible study.

Seems to be the time of year where I want change. Purged a lot of my clothes this past weekend. I finally got rid of a sweatshirt I bought in 1995 on a trip to Cape Cod along with a few other things that had seen better days. This weekend we are hoping to paint the front entryway and re-organize it yet again. I can't seem to find a system that works. It is the one part of the house we can't keep straight and tidy. (A bigger coat closet would be nice but houses up here in the north don't seem to have huge closets or entryways...not sure why with all the winter gear we have)

JB seems to be turning a corner. Getting closer approximations with words. The therapist is making him work hard. She is making him start to think through what he is going to say instead of just blurting out what is familiar. He is having to sort through his thoughts to dig up what word he wants. Monday we have our initial interview at the special need pre-school program at the elementary school. I am told that he will qualify at this point, just a formality to start the paper work. If all goes according to plan, he will start in the fall. They go 4 days a week for about 2 1/2 hours. I keep hearing wonderful things about the program and the way they work with kids.

Last night JB woke up wanting water, as he sometimes does in the middle of the night. I brought him two different cups but he did not want to drink out of either of them. So, being frustrated I told him if he wanted a different cup, to go find it. He quietly got out of bed and walked downstairs. He never turned on a light but I soon heard him going through the cup drawer. He managed to find a cup, lid and valve for the lid. He quietly carried them back upstairs, handed them to me and crawled in to bed. After I filled the cup he drank some then rolled back over to go to sleep. Just hearing him plod through the quiet house and not even being concerned a light was not on. Too precious.

After I recent dentist appointments, I decided to buy a Sonic care toothbrush set. The boys really enjoy it and seems to keep them more motivated to brush. We have tooth brushing parties in the bathroom now. We will see in 6 months the effect they have, been seems to clean my teeth better. I like that it has the 30 second timer that goes off 4 times to remind you to switch sides of your mouth. Good for the kids too.

Last weekend someone, somehow got my credit card number and was then able to 'create' a card. They used it at various gas stations across the midwest. Fortunately it was a credit card, so the company is covering 100% of the charges. I think in total it came up to over a thousand dollars.

Not much else has been going on...