Never cease to be amazed....

Well, last night around 10pm Abe strolled into our room and told us his tummy hurt. We, of course, assumed this was another one of his attempts to stay up late (he has a rolodex of excuses that he cycles through each night and this is one of them). We told him to go back to bed, but within a couple of minutes he started vomiting all over our bed. Needless to say, he did get to stay up late.....all night in fact, because he threw up about every half hour ALL NIGHT! Matt slept down on the couch (he has a busy day at work today and got a pass) and I was on vomit patrol. The amazing thing is that today, Abe is running around the house like nothing ever happened. I, on the other hand, have to be heavily caffeinated to get from one room to the next. I will never cease to be amazed at the energy level of my children....even after vomiting for 12 hours straight they run around looking and feeling fabulous!

Gavin's progress report

This year Gavin is in both a "regular Kindergarten" class and what they call "Social Skills Kindergarten". He enjoys his regular kindergarten, but he REALLY likes his social skills kindergarten. He is learning a lot of great concepts in that class, like sharing, making conversation with others, problem solving, etc. He also comes home using a lot of interesting buzz words that always make us laugh. For example:
-One day Ella was in her crib crying after her nap. I went upstairs to find Gavin standing at her door saying to her "Ella, you really need to use your calming strategies!"

-Last week Gavin was in a BAD mood. I told him that if he could calm down he could go outside to ride his bike. A few seconds later he yells at me, "I'M IN A BETTER MOOD! I WANT TO RIDE MY BIKE RIGHT NOW!" I said, "Gavin screaming at me is a sign that you are still feeling angry." and he responded, "Mom, Mrs. Kovar says when someone is angry their eyebrows point down. I am lifting my eyebrows up right now so I am obviously not angry anymore!"

-A couple of Saturdays ago Gavin and Abe were fighting over what tv show to watch. Gavin says to Matt, "Dad, we have a problem. First we need to identify the problem. Next we need to brainstorm solutions. Then, we will make a choice. That's how we do a good job!" Sure enough, Gavin decided Abe could pick first and after Abe's show was over, Gavin could pick. He did a good job!

We had our first parent teacher conference yesterday and Gavin is doing great. He has accomplished all of the kindergarten academic goals for the year, so they are going to start pulling him out for a smaller reading group. They said he behaves well without any extra adult assistance. He is getting better at building relationships with the other kids, although he still needs to be pushed into it sometimes. He loves his friends from social skills because they all have similar quirks and mannerisms. We had a playgroup with some of his social skills friends last week and they all had a blast playing and laughing at jokes that nobody else understood. Most of the kids are even "gluten free" just like Gavin! It is great that he finally has a good group of friends. We are so proud of him!

The Bear Necessities

In honor of the release of 'The Jungle Book" DVD, we had a special Friday evening movie night with the boys complete with pizza, pajamas and lots of popcorn. They got to stay up way past their bedtime and pig out, we got to enjoy watching one of Karen's all-time favorite Disney flicks. I loved the groovy jazz music . . . scitelldy scat-dat-da-de-bop!

Mom knows best....

On Monday Gavin's teacher pulled me aside after school to tell me this story...
Gavin got a sticker for doing a good job on something and it had a picture of the Earth on it. Gavin decided he wanted to write a story about his sticker so he asked his teacher to help him spell the word Earth. She told him to sound out the word in his head and try to figure out which letters to use. His reply?
"Well, if you don't know I'll just go call my Mom!"

Pumpkin Patch

Every year we have a family tradition of going to Bengston's Pumpkin Patch in Homer Glen. There are pig races, a petting zoo, a haunted barn, popcorn and lots of pumpkins. The boys had a really great time and said their favorite thing was the hayride. Ella on the other hand just wasn't too happy (I guess pumpkins are hard to appreciate at that age!) Regardless, it was great fun and we got some excellent family pictures!

Pics Are For Kids

Hangin' With My Bros

"Who cares about TV, I'm just happy to be up here with the big kids!" -Ella

Block Party!

Yesterday we had our annual Windham Hill block party, and this year it was held right in our front yard!



The party committee rented a moon jump for the kids complete with a huge Batman, and Gavin and Abe got full access hours before the rest of the neighborhood came because it was on our lawn. (Needless to say, they were completely exhausted by the end of the day!) We all sat around and visited with the neighbors, meeting new people and chatting with our friends. There was a pinata, games for the little ones, and plenty of food. Everyone brought drinks, snacks and homemade goodies. Despite a few questionable mystery items ( . . . is it supposed to be sweet? Salty? Yikes!), everything was tasty. Karen contributed a West family favorite: little smokies in BBQ sauce on toothpicks with cheese and pickles. (They were the hottest item at the food table!)

The fire department brought a fire truck for the kiddies to check out, and Gavin and Abe loved it. They got free fire hats and learned a few lessons from the firefighters. It was all very cool and a fun afternoon! It's always fun to spend time with our great neighbors.

Gavin's little accident

This last week has been an exciting one for us! On Monday, as I was walking in the door from dropping Gavin off at school for the day, my phone rang and it was the school nurse. She said "Gavin got hurt and you need to come pick him up". I panicked a little, but figured it couldn't be anything too serious since he had only been there five minutes. I walked in the doors of the school and immediately heard his screaming. He was UPSET and his mouth was severely swollen. The school nurse told me he wasn't watching where he was going as he went into the classroom for the day and he fell face first into the corner of his desk. I got him home quickly and looked to see that his 2 front teeth had gone completely through his lip and were fairly loose in his mouth. I called the dentist and brought him right in to have his teeth checked. The dentist said his mouth should heal on its own and we would just have to wait and see what happened with the teeth. He was in a lot of pain that first day and spent most of it laying on the couch and complaining. Our biggest concern was that he was refusing to eat or drink for the first 3 days. I had to sit with him and force him to sip nutrition shakes from a straw as he screamed and cried in pain. Finally last night he gave in and ate some refried beans and ice cream for dinner. Today he has been more willing to eat and he is much happier because of it. He actually bit into a chocolate chip cookie this afternoon! We are still waiting to see if his teeth fall out or turn black, but if they do it will be a temporary problem because his adult teeth should be coming in a year and a half to two years.
On top of all Gavin's problems, Abe has been having asthma attacks all week and Ella is still battling her diarrhea and severe diaper rash. I can't compain about being bored! Everyone seems to be on the mend today, so I feel optimistic that we will have a great weekend! I hope you all do too!

Karen

Ella's Blown Away

Some great photos of Ella.

Our Kindergartener!

Gavin has officially completed two full days of kindergarten. He goes to school everyday 8:15-2:30pm. In the morning he is in a regular kindergarten without any assistance. His morning teacher's name is Mrs. Hatfield. In the afternoon he goes to a social skills class just for kindergarten age children who need a little extra help with their social skills. In that class they focus on communication skills, attention skills and behavior instead of academics. His afternoon teacher is named Mrs. Kovar. As far as I can tell, it is going well. One of Gavin's challenges is being able to communicate about past events, so he has not told us much about school. I know he goes everday because I drop him off and pick him up, but that is about all the info I have. Hopefully I will get some good communication going with his teachers as the year goes on. I know they would definitely talk to me if there was a problem, so I guess no news is good news!

Bad Blogger

I have been a bad little blogger lately. Summer schedules have been crazy, but school is starting soon and then the blog will be back in full swing. Gavin starts kindergarten next week and he will be gone at school ALL DAY EVERYDAY! Sad for me, Abe and Ella, but exciting for Gavin. Tonight we go over to the school to find out who his teacher will be. Hopefully she is someone full of patience and understanding...she's gonna need it. More blogging to come. I promise!

Walmart Line

Picture this scene....
Me, Gavin, Abe and Ella in the busy Walmart line, within earshot of 20 other people.
Abe: "Mom look I found a great booger in my nose"
Me: "Ok, hold on while I find a tissue" (digging furiously in my bag for a tissue or wipe)
Abe: "Mom what should I do with it?"
Me: "Hold on" (still digging furiously in my bag for a tissue or wipe)
Abe: "Maybe I can eat it"
Me: "NO! Hold on" (still digging furiously in my bag for a tissue or wipe)
Abe: "Nevermind Mom, I just put it back in my nose!"

"I have a problem"

Gavin: "Mom, want to play a game?"
Mom: "Sure Gavin, what kind of game?"
Gavin: "The game is called 'I have a problem'"
Mom: "How do we play?"
Gavin: "The problem is I have an empty bowl."
Mom: "Okay, so what should I do about it?"
Gavin: "Maybe you should fill it up!"
Mom: "Hmmm...what should I fill it with?"
Gavin: "Maybe cookies would work!"
Gavin: munch, munch, munch (eating his cookies)
Gavin: "Mom, you are good at that game....want to play again?"

Abe and Ella

Abe is such a people person! He always wants someone watching him, talking to him, playing with him. And he LOVES his siblings. He has an especially sweet affection for his baby sister Ella. He is so excited to see her every morning and is always trying to get her attention. If she cries he goes into a panic, giving her toys and binkies and hunting me down to help her. Sometimes I will catch him caressing her face and talking so gently to her that it makes me tear up a little.
Last night, the boys and Matt and I were sitting trying to have dinner together while Ella played on the family room floor. Even though Abe had a plate full of his favorite meal (mac and cheese) he could not sit still. He kept popping up every few minutes and running off. I finally got frustrated and said "Abe why can't you just sit still?" and he said "Ella is being so silly and so happy...I HAVE TO SEE HER!" I can't blame him for that!