Slacker

I am such a slacker when it comes to this blog. I think since I post so many pictures on facebook I just feel like everyone knows what's going on because of that and then writing on the blog just seems like another chore I don't want to take time to do...BUT..the 2 older kids are at school and Kayla is sleeping, so instead of cleaning the house( which I REALLY should be doing) I am on the computer once again..
Kayla recently turned 9 months old and had her well visit on Wednesday. She weighed in at 19.5lbs and was 27 3/4 inches tall which put her in the 75% for both. Just to compare, Aubrey was 22lbs and 28.25 inches..thank goodness for baby books, otherwise I would never remember what the other kids were like.
Kayla pulls herself up on EVERYTHING! Yesterday I caught her after she had climbed up one of the stairs and was going for the next one. Time for the stair baby gates! She is very curious, puts anything and everything in her mouth, and is VERY independent. Development wise her doctor said she's doing everything she's supposed to be doing, which is a relief! For a long time she wasn't saying mama, so I got a little concerned but then last week as she was crawling towards me she said " mom". So I then knew she was fine.:)
The other 2 still adore her and we all have a fun time watching what she will do next.

This year Braden is in 1st grade and overall loves school. One thing he's not too fond of is the homework everyday, but he's getting more cooperative with that as long as we do it soon after school ( before he gets too tired). He loves it when they have their "specials", loves getting hot lunch and of course loves having 2 recesses ( typical boy).

Somedays I feel like Aubrey and Braden have switched roles. Typically Aubrey was the more difficult child, but lately I feel like she's been easier then him. She LOVES school this year and asks if she can go everyday. She only goes monday, wednesday, and friday, which I think is good because those days she doesn't get a nap and is usually pretty tired at night so tuesday and thursday are catch up on sleep days. She takes ballet on tuesdays (which I totally forgot about this week, whoops!) which she loves, but I did not sign her up for the nutcracker this year. It's right on Kayla's birthday and just too close to all of the Christmas chaos..so we are skipping it. Aubrey was disappointed,but she will get over it.

As for Jason and I, we are glad that the madness of the spring/summer is over. Fall really slows down for us, which we LOVE. I am taking a cookie decorating class on saturday from my good friend who makes the kids birthday cakes every year and I am organizing a neighborhood garage sale..Jason thinks I'm crazy, but it's really not that much work and I am dying to get rid of all of our JUNK!!! Other then that I am looking forward to apple picking, picking out pumpkins, Halloween, and all things fall! It is my favorite time of year and I just love the coolness outside (at least for today anyway:))

Typical Aubrey..

Our bathing beauty

                                                            Alex and Emily's wedding

 

Dad and Aubrey playing Barbies

 

                                        Our visit to the Detroit Zoo..the kids love this zoo!

Crawling through furniture at Grandma's

                                                                 One of 3 beach days!

I decided to include some pictures that people haven't seen on facebook from the summer.:)

I feel like celebrating!

Maybe it's because it's 67 degrees out and sunny and I'm in a good mood..
or maybe it's because I was able to wear non-maternity jeans today for the 1st time ( not in the size I want, but I'm working on it..)..
but really it's because of this guy....

Today I had my last IEP meeting for Braden..
 Since before Braden was 3 he had been receiving private speech therapy at home as well as speech therapy at school (in preschool) as well as had a resource teacher to help him with whatever he needed at the time. He then started OT when he was 4 ( at home) to address fine motor concerns, coordination, sensory integration..etc..As his OT said, he was a "funky" kid. Braden worked HARD with both therapists and when something was hard he got REALLY frustrated and it was often a struggle for all of us. Dealing with overstimulating environments ( ie. disneyworld) has been a CHALLENGE for all of us..Braden just couldn't process it all and would melt down. But..after all the hard work( and a lot of money), his speech therapist discharged him last summer and his occupational therapist discharged him in january. The last component was school...
 I was nervous about this meeting because I had no clue what they were going to say.. At school he has speech therapy, a resource teacher that goes over academics and social work. At the meeting today, not only did Braden score above average on most of his tests for speech and social work ( his social worker said he's the star of their group)...but on the academic scale he is WELL above average on every test. These tests are given to all of the kids and they showed me where they expect the kids to be at the end of the year and where Braden was..his skills exceed their end of the year targets...I was shocked. I knew Braden was smart, but I didn't realize he was that smart. I am so proud of the boy he has become. He tries so hard, he is so kind, smart, a good friend and such a nice big brother. I just can't put into words how much I love him and how proud I am of him. It's a huge accomplishment.

I had to include this picture because Braden LOVES taking pictures with Kayla :)

It's been a while..

So I've been pretty lazy about the blog lately..I like reading other's posts, but was just too lazy to write my own..
Too many things have happened in the past few months, so I'll just write about our little Kayla.
Yesterday was her 2 month well visit.

She weighed in at 11 lbs, 2oz. ( just to compare, Aubrey was 13lbs, 1oz)
and was 22 inches long ( aubrey was also 22 inches long)

Her pediatrician said that she looked fantastic and you would never know she came out early!
We go back at 4 months and will start talking solids. Hard to believe she will start eating cereal in 2 months!
Kayla is such a sweet baby! She smiles, coo's and laughs all day long. She only gets a little fussy at night, but otherwise is just so happy. I could sit on the couch and snuggle with her all day long.
She only gets up once a night and the time varies depending on what time she goes to bed. She is a tummy sleeper and has a hard time if we are in and out of the car all day because she doesn't get a good nap in the car seat. If all babies turned out like her, I would love to have another..unfortunately there are no guarantees and there is NO WAY Jason would ever want another one.

The older 2 and I have been struggling with colds the past month..it seems like we all get one cold after another..this one has a tremendous amount of dry coughing and then gets mucousy later..fun, fun..I guess it could be worse:)
Otherwise nothing too exciting...we are just happy to be a family of 5!! :)