It's been awhile randomness

It's been awhile since I've posted between working and a busy day Sunday and me just simply not feeling well. The boys are getting anxious for summer vacation and no school. I can't believe school is almost out for the summer!

GQ learned how to ride his cow a new way.

The ducks have been around a lot lately looking for food. They are afraid of the water now with the alligator coming and going and all. GQ fed them a little bit with Dad's help.

They come up to the door often.

GQ has been so rough on some of the outdoor toys...well him and the neighbor kids....that his plasma car broke off a wheel or two. He can't pedal the trike and won't try to, and he can't go fast enough in his Little Tikes car so he gets frustrated. Today I decided to pull out Doc's motorcycle for him to ride on outside with the promise to the older boys that I would wash it so it can come back inside.

He has to really work at his balance with it because he likes to pick up his feet and ride down the incline of the driveway.

He is working hard to go back up the driveway.

Doc is growing up so fast and acting like such a big kid. Today he went over to ask a friend to play, all by himself! I was outside watching him but still. He loves playing with other kids. Not only that, he's such a sweetheart and loves to share. Not all the time but a good portion of the time.

Bringing his water out to share.

Waiting for his brother to finish with his water.

I'm glad he's happy to share. 

The neighbor girl brought out chalk for everyone to play with.

I love it when they can do things together without fighting. :)

Mr. X's dragon.

Doc's 3 pets.

The neighbor girl also traced Doc. He giggled the whole time.

The kids are really into trains. That's a good indoor activity for them because they all enjoy it.

Doc also got to pick out his birthday gifts from his grandparents using the gift cards they sent. He picked out a Green Lantern robot and a space shuttle (he calls it a rocket) right away. Now, Doc has a whole list of other toys he wants too. This kid wants just about everything he sees. It was good for him to have to pick it out and live with it because that's what he chose. He seems perfectly happy to play with his new robot and rocket ALL day long...he just keeps asking for other things he saw too. We just keep reminding him that we won't be getting those for him right now but he can always ask us for them for Christmas. Mr. X didn't go through this wanting everything stage so we're muddling through. Thankfully, no tantrums because he was told no....yet. I'm working on ideas for future posts...

Surprise!

Yesterday, we told Mr. X that he needed to get his homework done quickly so we leave for their surprise. We hopped in the car and drove almost 2 hours. We parked and got out of the car...

...and met Tada (my dad)!

Doc was so excited!

Tada and GQ. I love this picture!

Heading in for dinner. 

GQ ate raw onions from the salad. I was impressed!

I didn't get a ton of pictures and Mr. X spotted my dad before I could get on the other side of him to get the true reactions. They loved every minute of dinner with their Tada. It was great to see him again and have a nice meal with him. We only got a few hours but it was worth it. The kids kept hugging on his legs and were just truly happy to see him. The excitement was so high that they didn't fall asleep on the ride home and were almost too wound up to go to bed. It made our week!

GQ's School

Today I got pictures of GQ going to school. My youngest has officially started school and I'm totally OK with it. I guess that's a good sign that we are ready to move on into the next stages of our lives. He loves school but cries at drop off. I think it will get better over time. We are deciding what to do school-wise for the kiddos next year. GQ can stay where he is at no cost and we can pay a bit extra to have him there all day. Doc can stay where he is at no cost and get an extended stay through VPK. The issue is that they are at different schools and I don't feel Doc is actually learning anything where he is. I don't see them ever working on anything with the kids and Doc doesn't seem to be progressing on anything like counting, letter recognition, etc. Being gone every day from 8 until 5 doesn't leave me much time to work with him and he has a year to get ready for kindergarten. I'm a bit nervous that he won't be ready. At least we have the summer to think it over!

He fell asleep in the car so Daddy carried him most of the way to the door.

Quick picture on the benches outside.

Heading into school.

Showing Daddy the fish tank.

Walking to his class at the end of the hallway.

Hugs before Mom and Dad leave.

I let him show me some things and tried to get him involved in some toys before I left because he didn't want us to go. I always hate leaving when the kids are crying. The teacher reports that he stops crying after a few minutes and is happy the rest of the time there. He'll get better, I'm sure. They work on name recognition, shapes, colors, etc in his class. I'm so happy that he gets to go. He has wanted to stay at Doc's school every day that we've dropped Doc off since before we moved here. Our kids are growing up!

Happenings Around Here

It has been busy as usual around here lately. We had an amazing time with some new friends Friday night and I have to say that I'm so thankful we found them. The kids really enjoyed themselves too. In fact, Doc told me tonight that he wanted to go to their house for dinner instead of eating here. We are truly blessed to have them in our lives. Before I go any further, I must say that I am so proud of how my kids are developing in relation to their faith. Mr. X prayed the other night and thanked Jesus for healing him after his bike accident. Doc prayed for the first time his own prayer instead of just reciting a prayer. He folded his hands up right under his chin, scrunched his eyes closed and said "Jesus, .........(something something).....motorcycle. Amen." And when he was done he had the biggest grin. He was so proud of himself. I'm happy that he is starting to pray his own prayers. Then today, we had pandora radio playing. Mr. X was so excited that "Awesome God" came on. He says he really likes that song. :) It is so cool to watch the kids develop in their faith. I love it.

I mentioned that Mr. X had a bike accident. It's his first true injury from bike riding and it was mostly because he wasn't paying attention to what he was doing. Anyways, he scuffed up his arm and cheek and took a small chunk out of his lip. He wailed like a siren but was OK. He got back on his bike a few days later without any issues. That was important to me because I was worried that he wouldn't want to ride again because he got hurt. He's like that. He will refuse to do something if he thinks that he will get hurt.

Do you see that?

We had a 3.5 foot alligator in the pond behind our house the other day. It was there for a day and we haven't seen it since. Nobody came to remove it so we are assuming that it went back to where it came from but that we will likely see it again. The ducks are definitely cautious of the water. The kids have been warned to stay away from it and we are keeping GQ inside or in the front yard for now.

GQ started preschool this week! I'm so proud of my big boy. My youngest is now in school. He's only 2 but it'll be so good for him. He loves school! I was at work when he was dropped off and WB forgot pictures so we'll have to try to get some tomorrow.

GQ is also working on getting himself dressed... 

Too bad he puts his shirts on backwards....

And his shorts on with both legs in one hole.

He is so proud of himself though when he thinks he's got it. I think he'll get it soon. Once he's really got it down, maybe we'll think about potty training again.

The kids have really played together well the past few days. And they are finding different things to do than the same stuff they always do.

We pulled the chairs out of the kitchen to mop and the kids lined them up to crawl through.

Even Mr. X joined in to crawl through them.

Then Doc decided he needed to go over not under. None of the chairs tipped over but we didn't let him keep doing that because it looked like an accident waiting to happen.

Today, Mr. X and Doc had been fighting so I stuck them on opposite ends of the couch to cool down. A little while later this is what I found. At least they were happy and playing well together at that point.

We have a surprise planned for the kids this week. I can't wait to tell you all about it later!

Who would've thought?

I must say that Mr. X has grown by leaps and bounds since we moved here. He is making friends and initiating social interaction. These are things that have been very difficult for him in the past. He's also writing letters to family which helps him practice writing even though he doesn't realize it. I'm working with him on learning to answer questions in the letters and do more of a back-and-forth communication through the letters. I feel that this will help him with social conversations face-to-face as well. I'm so proud of all that he's accomplished.

That said, I didn't expect to hear that he was showing interest in girls. He's not even 8 and he has social difficulties! During Doc's birthday party, Mr. X's friend decided to inform me that Mr. X says he loves the girl that lives next door. Apparently, Mr. X says this at school and claims to like the neighbor girl. Who would have thought that my quiet child who lives in his own world would express something like that at the same age as his peers?! I thought I had awhile yet! On one hand, I'm proud to see him developing socially like this; on the other hand, I'm not ready yet! I had fallen into a sense of security that these types of things would be further down the road for us. Ready or not here it comes!

Happy Birthday Doc!

Today we celebrated the fourth birthday of our middle son. We had a wonderful day and the weather was perfect for his outdoor party. We started out the day opening gifts. 

He's so excited about his new red motorcycle!

This puzzle is double sided. One side is a fire truck and the other is a rescue scene. He seems to love it. I like that it also has the alphabet and numbers 0-9 hidden in the rescue scene.

A new bike helmet that is necessary for his kid. We went with this one because it has a harder shell than the other helmets.

He put his puzzle together many times today. His batman shirt had to be worn today for his batman birthday party that ended up having some spiderman and red thrown in.

His completed puzzle. The box in the background was for his new bike. His other one was a 12" and just too little for him. This one is a 16" and is just a bit too big. He needs help getting on and then he can ride. He's pretty fast now. I'm not sure what's up with the goofy grin. I kept telling him to smile and this is what he gave me. It reminds me of Chandler from Friends.

The food spread minus the cake.

The goody bags for his friends. We had stickers, tattoos, and paint-your-own trains.

We had a few tables set up for the kids to sit at to eat.

Ladder Ball

Doc riding his new bike. He's pretty good at it. It's not red like he originally wanted but it's the best we could find for that size. There just wasn't a good selection.

His batman cake with 4 candles on it. I haven't ever done the pull-apart cupcake cakes before and this worked out great. No trying to cut pieces and it had some chocolate cupcakes and some white cupcakes. He got to keep the launch tunnel, motorcycle, and batman figurine. He could hardly wait to get those off the cake so he could play with them.

We had about 10 kids total. They played ladder ball, rode bikes, and played with water balloons. I was so proud of Doc because he let quite a few of the other kids ride his new bike. He even let them ride first. I didn't have to prompt him to share or anything. He was so good about it and I couldn't be more proud of how well he shared today. Somewhere, somehow all of what I'm trying to teach him in his interactions with his brothers is sinking in because he played so good with his friends. It truly was a wonderful day and I'm so glad it turned out the way it did. Doc had a blast and loved passing out the goody bags. People would say happy birthday to him and he'd say "Happy birthday to you too!" So sweet.

The kids needed baths after all the playing outside. I was so impressed that Mr. X asked Doc if he wanted to hop in the shower with him. Mr. X usually likes to go alone and first. Doc usually hates the shower and wants a bath. They did so good together. At one point, I heard Mr. X telling Doc to put his head back farther and close his eyes. I went to check on them and found this....

Mr. X was helping Doc wash his hair. He even made sure Doc scrubbed up with the loofa. Doc is independent with the body washing but needs help with his hair. Tonight Mr. X helped him with his hair and I didn't have to do much of anything for shower time for them. It was a great end to a great day.

You have kept me on my toes since before you were born. You are my spit-fire, high energy, daredevil, no fear child. You are sweet, loving, caring, helpful, silly, and full of expressions. You are stubborn with a mind of your own. Today you are 4. Happy birthday Doc! I love you to the moon and back buddy.

Family Time Part 3 and DISNEY

I really enjoyed having my family in town and the kids were so excited. Mr. X wanted them to stay the night every single night they were here and they couldn't stay. Well, Friday night after the kids were in bed, I arrived home from work with my mom in tow and she stayed the night. My parents hung out with the kids all day on Saturday so we could meet up with some friends at Disney. I was too young to remember it the only time I'd gone to Disney before this. It was fun but way too expensive. Disney is too over stimulating for little kids but doesn't have enough thrill rides for older kids. It's crazy. I still had fun though!

We went to Animal Kingdom first and rode a newer ride. This is Expedition Everest. It goes fast in the dark, fowards and backwards. It was pretty fun but I kept expecting this huge drop that never came.

I loved the scenery of Animal Kingdom.

This is WB and I in front of the Tree of Life. The tree is real and the trunk is all carved. It's pretty neat.

I loved all the waterfalls and trees. This park is shady with a lot of misters and it keeps things much cooler.

We also saw the Festival of The Lion King. I loved the musical with the acrobatics and dancing. I would love to see one of the Cirque de Solei (sp?) shows sometime.

These are some of the carvings in other areas of the park.

The Tree of Life again.

After Animal Kingdom, we went to Magic Kingdom for the true Disney experience.

They have frequent shows at the castle and frequent parades. The parades stop the flow of traffic through the park so can be a bit of a nuisance at times.

The front of the castle. We weren't able to walk through it this time but that's OK.

My favorite ride by far was Space Mountain. It was a blast! I also like Splash Mountain at Magic Kingdom. We had a good time with some great friends from MI so it was worth it. Unfortunately, while we were at Disney, Doc got sick...very sick. My mom was amazing though and kept him cleaned up and the house cleaned up. We put him to bed when we came home and then in the morning he seemed to be feeling better. I took Mr. X and GQ with me for Mother's Day breakfast with my parents and siblings before their flight back to MI. It was so nice to visit with them. WB brought Doc over at the end of breakfast so he could say bye to them. Mr. X was pretty teary about the whole thing but did great when it came time to say "see you later". We were hoping to catch the shuttle launch while my parents were in town but it kept getting postponed. WB and I hope to make it to one of the shuttle launches though because it's our last chance and we live close enough that we really should be able to make it.

This week has been busy and full of sickness. I haven't gotten many pictures but I'll tell you, Doc was hilarious yesterday. We had a huge grasshopper/locust thing on our sliding door and Doc kept trying to kill it with his shoe.....but he was inside and the bug was outside. Silly boy. I'm just glad everyone is feeling well today and I hope it stays that way because Doc turns 4 this weekend! Batman birthday coming up!