Christmas Fun at School

On Thursday, J had a Christmas lunch at school that the parents were invited to attend. Before the lunch, his class performed a couple of songs for us. One of them was "Twelve Days of Christmas". Here he is doing the motions:







"Jingle Bells"

Of course, sweet L came, too. He was very good the entire time. He really was an angel. The kids loved him, too.




J is having such a great year at school! His teacher and her assistant are amazing, AMAZING! They are an awesome team, and J really loves school. There are so many things that he is learning academically that it just blows my mind. His teacher incorporates a lot of music, so he is learning those simple preschool songs that I loved as a child and gets to play many fun preschool games, too. His teacher also has a very good handle on his communication. She has heard him be very verbal and expects that from him. There are many words that they have taught him at school. The first time he dropped something and said, "Oh no, fell down", I about fell down, because we didn't teach him that phrase, but it was four words!!! She knows what motivates Jackson and finds so many great things to tell me about my boy. She also knows how to help him in the areas that he struggles, but can even find the positive when he isn't so cooperative. I knew I was working with a fantastic teacher when she had great things about how Jackson "argued" with her! This teacher makes me feel like my child is the only one she is teaching and that is truly a gift.

I looked back at our speech folder from last year, and J had about 20 approximations/words under his belt. Many were approximations, and he was trying a few more after a model. This year, he will try any word you ask him, provide many words with a prompt, has many, many words that he can say spontaneously (too many to count, but I may try to count them one day in my free time), his approximations are very close to the target word, and some words are completely clear to the unfamiliar listener. He can also put together some short phrases. I remember crying when I heard him count to three in the spring, not because he knew the numbers, BUT he SAID them. Now, from a verbal standpoint, he can count to 20 with 1-11 being pretty clear, say every letter of the alphabet in random order, try to sing, use polite words to show his good manners :), and so much more. He is saying so much that I have to really listen to what he says at times to figure it all out. All of it isn't clear, but there was a time when I knew every word he could say because there were so few. This step in progress is HUGE for an apraxic child! Progress is steady at this point!

Daddy's School

The last time we were in Charleston, Dave and I took the boys to The Citadel. Dave likes to visit his alma mater, and J loves to run around the parade field there! This was Luke's first visit!

Jackson's FIRST Bike

One of J's birthday presents was a bicycle--his FIRST bike. We had let him ride one in Walmart awhile back to see how he did, and he LOVED it. We decided to go with the 12 in., because we didn't want to wait for him to grow into one. He had a harder time riding the bigger one in the store. This one is perfect for him right now, and maybe we can take the training wheels off before it is time to invest in a bigger bike. Here he is on his new bike.....








Oh, and we DO have a helmet! I just decided not to put it on him for the pics. :)

Jackson's FOURTH Birthday

I have not had a chance to post anything about J's birthday but have SOOOO wanted to. I can't believe my baby, I mean my BIG BOY, turned FOUR this year. Let me say this, he will proudly tell you he is "FAW" when you ask him how old he is. I really don't care how southern it sounds, it is another word in his repertiore and for that, we sing praises.

This November was very different, because we lost three family members in just two weeks. It put a sadness in our family that most people can't imagine. My grandfather passed away on Nov. 20th just a few days before J's birthday on the 23rd. Then, Thanksgiving was the day after his birthday.

We decided not to do a party this year but to give J two large items as gifts. I just couldn't seem to get it together with everything going on. My plan was to do a lunchdate with two of his good pals on the day of his birthday, but we were out of town.

He celebrated first with the Hiltons in Charleston. He had dinner at Carrabba's, a cake, presents, and balloons at his grandparent's. Then, he celebrated in Bennettsville with the Hustons. He got to eat Mexican, had a cupcake and presents at his grandparent's house. On his actual birthday, J got to go to Chuck E. Cheese with his cousins. J adores them, especially John! He wants to do whatever John is doing and wants him around all of the time!! John is very patient with J and is really a great cousin to him.


My boy blew out these candles--an oral motor movement that he couldn't do for a long time!















My sweet, sweet Jackson--you are four years old now! What an amazing blessing you are to Mommy and Daddy! You have accomplished so much in four short years, and we can't wait to see what you will continue to achieve. We are so very proud of you, Little Guy!

Luke's Stats

We just recently took L to his 6 month well check. He is really doing great! The pediatrician here does things a little differently, and we have to fill out a series of yes/no development questions at our well checks. I flew through the ones that I knew he was doing. These fell in the gross motor, social, and communication categories, yes COMMUNICATION! Dr. Riley was so happy to see this, but I wasn't sure about some of the fine motor. She tested him, and he passed all of her tests! Woohoo!

I thought that she MIGHT not like it that Luke still likes to be swaddled, and we still have to let him sleep in the bouncer to avoid him rolling over in the swaddler. He likes his crib but will roll swaddled--dangerous! She didn't fuss at me about it and said to keep trying. So hard to do when you want to sleep! To be honest, I am really not worried about it. We'll keep trying...

Weight: 16 lbs, 3.5 oz. (25th percentile)
Height: 27 in. (70th percentile)

L is a pretty good eater but doesn't eat as much as J did at his age. The doctor likes his growth, nonetheless.

Big Brothers are Cool

I LOVE to watch my brother play....

Luke's Dedication

In October, Dave and I participated in the baby dedication for Luke at our church. We did the same thing for Jackson at the very same age. In the baptist church, this special time simply means that the parents are committing to raise their child up in a Godly home. The church family commits to stand beside the parents as helpers in raising the child to one day become a follower of Jesus Christ. So, the day was special for us, the parents, because we got to present little Luke to our church family and make that vow to always seek Christ in making decisions for him. It is a celebration, in some ways, because God has entrusted us with this precious boy!



Thank you, Jackson, for being so well behaved in front of our church family! Mommy was a little nervous about it!

6 Months Old

Look who is halfway to his FIRST birthday! This guy is a wild man, and we are so in love with him!!!



Oh, Luke, you keep Mommy laughing! Here are a few things about you right now:

*You gurgle all of the time!
*When someone says "hey" to you, you reply with "eh"! In fact, you say "eh" a lot!
You are rolling all over the place!
*You find everything around you, so we are making sure big brother's small toys are UP!
*When you do something that you think is cool, you look up at me like, "Did you see what I did, Mommy?" So precious!
*You are drooling constantly and still a happy spitter! Some days you are just a mess!
*You love pears, apples, sweet potatoes, and squash. You even like prunes!
*You watch Jackson and smile. I can tell you think he is awesome!
*You love others, but you and I have a sweet bond already! I love, love, LOVE when you look up at me with your big, blue eyes and babble something to me or just when you look to see what I am doing.
*Your fine motor skills are great, too...Dr. Riley tested you. You transfer objects, put objects in your mouth, and can even get tiny objects!
*You like to put your foot in your mouth.
*You love to smile!
*You have turned into my go with the flow little guy just like your big brother. Some days you barely get a nap, but you still smile for Momma!
*You are loud!
*When you're really tired, you get wild...you try to crawl out of Mommy's arms, bite on her shoulder, take her shirt off, squeal, etc.

Birthday Fun

Last weekend, J was invited to one of his best pal's birthday party. It was at one of those places with lots of inflatables. The nice thing about this place is that it is brand new and wasn't open to the public, yet. Saying that J loved this place is an understatement...he had a BLAST! As a parent, it is such a great feeling to see your children having a great time and just loving life.