First Days of School

Can you believe Joshua has started kindergarten? It might be more unbelievable that I am finally posting about it (or anything for that matter)! I was so nervous about him starting school & being at a new place with new people & not knowing anyone. However, he has done fantastic. He seems to love his teacher & everyone who works with him, as well as his new friends in his class. He tells me most days that he did good at kindergarten & that he wants to go back. John & I really like his teacher. She seems to be exactly what he needs. She & the aide that works with her are super organized. I have no idea how they do it! They really must love their jobs. I can't imagine how much time it takes to prepare for all of the different needs in their class & how much patience it takes to do what they do each & every day...without any kind of a break! Seriously, I think they are amazing! So, the first day was rough. We found out the Wednesday before school started that Joshua would have to go to a different school than we are zoned for to get all of the services he needed. Yes, you read that right. We had 5 days notice that he would be starting school at a different school than we had registered him at & taken him to visit. It worked out for the best, but still...it was short notice. We didn't get the registration paperwork in advance, so on the first day, I had to do all of that. I also didn't anticipate the chaos of "first day of school" traffic & parking! So, we were technically a couple of minutes late. I had to park at the bottom of a hill (blocking the lower parking lot, no less, as that was the only place left to park) & walk Joshua up the hill, carrying Timothy. After getting Joshua to his teacher, I had to wait with the tons of other parents to get the registration paperwork. Timothy was unhappy that I wouldn't let him run wild in the cafeteria while I filled out all of the papers (which I had filled out at a different school in April - but that is beside the point :)). Then it was back to line to wait more. Luckily, I had gone down & moved my car into the parking lot when it cleared out a bit so that other people could get in. I also carried 2 bags of school supplies & Timothy up that hill again! By the time we finished everything, I had missed breakfast with some girls I had done a study with this summer on the book, "Going Public". Needless to say, we didn't get the cute first day of school picture in front of the school. But, I did finally remember to take a picture of him with his backpack as we were heading out on the 14th day of school (or something like that).

 This really was the best picture I could get. The one where he was smiling, he was just a blur because he was walking towards me. Oh well! I promise he loves school!

Last week, Timothy started 2 year old Mother's Day Out. He wasn't so sure about it, but he didn't cry. He seemed to have a good time. I think it will be fun for him again this year. There is no chaotic story about his first day. And, I managed to get a picture of him at home as we were leaving...wearing his backpack. How is he big enough for a backpack??

How precious is that smile! If you have seen my FB page, you know he got a big boy haircut since this picture was taken. He looks so much older now! Also on FB, you will find a video of him "reading" part of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" - I know I'm completely biased, but it is precious!

I make no promises about when I will find time to post again! My little Etsy business is keeping me busy most days. If you haven't already, check out my shop @ www.peachfuzzgifts.etsy.com & like it on Facebook @ www.facebook.com/peachfuzzgifts.

Timothy's 2nd Birthday!!

Didn't we just bring him home from the hospital?? These two years have gone by so fast! Timothy has been such a blessing to our family! He is such a happy, funny, smart little boy. He is a great little brother to Joshua - who he happens to adore, most of the time :) We had a fun time celebrating his birthday. My brother & sister-in-law were in town for my parents' 35th anniversary, so we were excited they could celebrate with us this year! It was a super busy weekend but here are a few pictures from his little party:

Wearing an outfit made by mommy! I love this face!

He loved his birthday cake! Joshua loved running around & seeing everyone!

Aunt Haley designed these nesting owls at her job. Such a fun gift!

He went back & forth on whether or not he liked the hat.

It was time for a Tonka truck! He loves filling it up & dumping it out.

I asked him what kind of cake he wanted & he said Mickey Mouse. Since we had such a busy weekend I didn't think I could make one. Due to licensing issues, I couldn't find exactly what I was looking for. It was either surfer Mickey, motorcycle Mickey or cowboy Mickey. I tried to get him to choose Thomas instead but he chose motorcycle Mickey. Our little guy knows what he wants!

Super Why Live!

Where did the summer go?? I can't believe Joshua will start kindergarten tomorrow! And, we are celebrating Timothy's second birthday this weekend. So, I figured I better get started with my posts! We really had a fairly boring summer - boring isn't always bad :) Our summer just ended up being fairly full with Joshua's therapy schedule, Timothy & I doing a music class, and me doing a study at church. 

One of the most fun things we did this summer was go to Super Why Live back in July. Our boys both LOVE Super Why. I don't think a day goes by that we don't watch it. Some days we watch a LOT of it! We have many, many, many episodes on DVR & Joshua knows them all by title! Anyway, the boys were pretty excited about seeing Super Why. Seeing him & the other characters as "real" people & not just animated characters was a bit of a shock for them, but after Joshua got used to that, he absolutely loved the show. Timothy was a bit more hesitant but would get into it during some parts. They both said they wanted to go back. We weren't supposed to take pictures during the show, but here are two of them at home as we were leaving. Timothy's face in this first one is hilarious! Its probably the look I see from him the most often :) Joshua didn't want to sit still because we had already said we were going to see Super Why.

July 4th

 We spent a few days around the Fourth of July with John's parents in Mentone. We decided to go to the Tennessee Aquarium since it was so close.

 It was a hit with both of them. Joshua cared more about the water than the fish but Timothy was completely in to seeing the fish, turtles, etc.

 There were people in the large tanks cleaning. Our kids were not the only ones excited to see people in with the fish!

Timothy watching the cleaning.

 Sporting a lobster shirt made by mommy! He looks grown up here. Joshua also had a shirt made by mommy but I never got a good picture of him that showed the shark.

 Daddy & Joshua at the touch tank. I don't think Joshua was able to reach anything but he liked putting his hands in the water.

 Timothy had been calling any fish that was slightly large a shark all day. When he finally saw this shark up close, he said "all done shark" & backed away from the glass!

 Both boys were up really early that morning so they were exhausted when we left. Joshua almost never sleeps in the car. It only lasted a few minutes....maybe because he had to be very uncomfortable in this position!

Sound asleep for most of the way back.

We did go to the fireworks in Fort Payne on the 3rd. We had never been to theirs. It was a really good show. Not as big as Birmingham, but still really good. Timothy wasn't sure at first, but he decided to like it. Joshua loved the beginning & end but had a bit of a fit during the middle because we wouldn't let him run wild. In the car on the way back, Joshua said, "I want go back fireworks."

Summer Update #2

This little guy isn't quite a fan of water yet, but we keep trying!

I really can't believe Timothy will be 2 next month! It has gone by way too fast! He also has changed tons over the past several months. We are continually amazed at how much he knows. He has been able to recognize & say his letters for a few months now but he has started saying the alphabet (leaving out N most of the time) & even singing the alphabet song. I have heard him singing the clean up song in the car. He sings other things but I usually can't quite figure them out :) He can count to 10. He finishes everything by clapping his hands & saying "yaaaayyyy". He knows his shapes & some colors most of the time. He sits down & "reads" books to himself. He has started some pretend play (something we never experienced with Joshua). Timothy has a pretty amazing vocabulary for his age. My favorite things that he says right now are dirty pronounced "door-yay" & wrinkles pronounced "minkles". He recently discovered wrinkles on his fingers after he was in the bath & cried because he couldn't wipe them off! He loves seeing animals at the zoo, or the cat at the end of our street. He is still a momma's boy but he has learned to show some love to other people. He still isn't thrilled about being left in the nursery at church but he hasn't cried for a few weeks. He still gives me a pained look when I hand him over though. I'm guessing he will be running in to play soon & I will miss the days when he didn't want to leave me! He seems to be enjoying having Joshua at home this summer. Joshua being in school every day this fall will probably be a bit tough on him, but I think he will enjoy having mommy all to himself some again.

Summer Update #1

Playing in the sprinkler at Grammy & Poppa's house. This kid really loves the water!

We haven't put alot on here regarding Joshua's progress in the past several months. He really has come quite a long way. Eight months ago he could only say a few words. Now, he talks in phrases most of the time....I would say sentences but he leaves out some of the smaller words still. We have even heard him singing (!) along with some songs recently (seriously, we NEVER thought that would happen)! His articulation isn't clear most of the time but John & I can usually figure out what he is saying. He really likes being understood :) He also really likes getting his way, which doesn't happen all of the time! Having a little brother has been quite the learning experience for him....he isn't used to having someone else have an opinion on which cartoon to watch or what we do. Joshua finished preschool in May & will be starting kindergarten this fall. I really can't believe it! Joshua has become slightly better at dealing with changes in his routine. We are working with him on self help skills. Doing things on his own is really hard for him, but once he has practiced a few times he seems to get things. He has difficulty in trying new things, like physical movements, but once he is shown how to move (for example, how to squat, tip toe, twist, kick a ball, etc) he can generally do it own his own & often really enjoys it. That is something he worked on this past year during school & we are now applying that to things like getting dressed, washing hands, etc. Joshua often amazes us with how smart he is. Of course, he has known his letters & numbers for quite a while now. We are pretty sure he can read at least some words, & that he knows how to spell some words. He seems to have an excellent memory. He remembers all the words to his signing time DVDs & all of his favorite books. He knows the Super Why episodes we have on DVR by episode title. Life isn't perfect by any means....he still has meltdowns on occassion, he yells & cries, he still has seizures every couple of months; but, overall things are so much better than they have been in the past. Summer has been quite an adventure since his routine is totally different! He is doing three different therapies this summer - all of which he seems to enjoy. And, he still loves going to church. He went to VBS for the first time this summer. This fall should be interesting for us....maybe I'll do a better job of posting about his kindergarten experience on here!

Horse Show

As you may remember from my last post, we drove from Disney World to Montgomery in one day in order to drive in for Joshua's horse show the next day. He does horseback riding therapy & has loved it again this year, as you can see from the smiles in the following pictures.

I think he rides the biggest horse they have. All of the horses are beautiful.

Check out those pink cheeks....it was quite warm! He was hanging out with Grammy while he watched big brother.

All of the riders got awards at the end of the show. We are looking forward to the next year of classes!