2 years in recap

I recently headed back home for the first time in a long time.  I was informed that a few people still read this, so I will try to update once in a while here.  I'm not making any promises, but I'll try.  So the last 2 years...

 Shelby.  Our little sassy pants is almost 4.    She's got quite an attitude on her.  She makes us laugh and cry.  As another friend put it "One minute she's butterflies and rainbows, the next fireworks and hand grenades."  We are almost out of diapers.  We're just using up the last of our pullups and then I hope to never purchase diapers again for as long as I live :)

She started preschool, 2 mornings a week, this fall.  She loves school and all her friends.  Her favorite thing is coloring and after the photo on the left, we have banned all markers from her room.  She's only allowed to color in public places.  :)

Tate is now 7 1/2.  The other day I asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up and he told me either a "football player, or maybe a soldier, probably a farmer, but I kind of do that already."  He enjoys school, first grade this year.  He's had difficulty with reading.  He's grown a lot this year, but we will be testing him for dyslexia next month.  He's a smart kid and retains information (ask him about WWII), but he can't read very well.  It's frustrating for both of us.

Cole is 9 1/2.  He's getting close to double digits and I'm a little freaked out by it.  It's going too fast!  His ear problems have been good.  He can ride a bike like a pro and his rechecks have come back clean.  He's in 3rd grade now and things are getting a bit more challenging for him.  He reads everything in sight and was in the elementary math league this year.

Both boys are in piano lessons this year.  Neither of them are Beethoven, but they seem to enjoy it.

 We did some travelling this year.  This summer we headed west and hit up some national parks and monuments.  Teddy Roosevelt, Devils Tower, Mt. Rushmore, and Badlands.  It was a quick trip, but we saw a lot and added Montana and Wyoming to states the kids have been.  (Cole did a map in 2nd grade that was a bit depressing, so we needed to remedy that).  This winter we headed south for a few days, Fargo South, aka Frisco, TX, to watch the Bison win their 5th straight national championship.  We had a great time and the kids handled the car like champs (iPads and DVD players help).  We added Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas to their maps with stops in Witchita and OK City.  We visited Legoland and the Fort Worth Stockyards, but their favorite, except Shelby, was watching the Bison win.

I added California to my state map.  I'd only seen the inside of LAX prior to my visit to San Diego with some NDSU friends.  We had a girls only weekend and had a great time.  It was warm, but not swim-in-the-ocean warm.

Now we are back to muddling through another winter.  I look forward to sun and snow-melting temps.

Spring has Sprung!

Spring has finally arrived!  Pat has been busy digging and planting corn.  We haven't seen much of him in the last few days.

Spring also means baby chicks!  This year we decided to add a few ducks to the flock.  It's been a few years since we've had ducks.  We don't raise a lot of birds.  We tried to sell some last year but what we have to sell them for to break even is a bit higher than most people are willing to pay.  So we'll stick to raising them for ourselves.

 We moved them out of their tub into a plastic calf hutch.  We can't let them roam, or they will become really expensive dog treats, so we have an area penned off where they can roam and 2 hutches for shelter.  It works well.

 Shelby loves the chicks.  As soon as we set foot outside she asks "chicks?"  She tries to pick them up and then squeals at them.

Tate is our chicken whisperer.  He'll just quietly stick out his hand with some feed and they'll come up to him and start pecking away.

Mother's Day

Today is hard.

I think Pat knows that.  Yesterday he spoiled me.  We took the kids and went to the Terry Redlin Museum and then to the Children's Museum.  It was a fun day.  After that we went to a sporting goods store and he bought me some UnderArmour workout gear, which I would never spend that kind of money on myself.  He even looked at ellipticals and gave me the ok to get one.  I've been looking at them for years.

Today is still hard.  Not too long ago my mom would call once a week and tell the same story over and over again.  Not just the same story she told last week, but the same story she had already told you earlier in the conversation.  Then I would call my sister and we would compare the same story she told and vent about what was wrong with her (we didn't actually know then) and how annoying it was.  What I wouldn't give for the phone to ring and to hear my mom's voice on the line.  So today is hard.  I love my children and am grateful that I am their mom, but I miss the mom that helped me become the person I am.

Last Day of Preschool

Tate had his last day of preschool on May 1st.  Yep, he was still wearing his winter coat, hat, and gloves on the last day of school!  Have I mentioned we get out ridiculously early here?

 That afternoon, they had graduation.  It was a big deal for him, and probably a bigger deal for me.  This marks the end of a 4 year stretch of having a child in preschool with the same teachers.  They are obviously fabulous for putting up with me for 4 years :)

On the last day of school, each kid takes a turn sitting in the big rocking chair and their classmates can say something nice about them.  Tate's teacher teared up trying to tell us about what some of Tate's friends said.  He's made some great friends this year and I hope they become lasting friendships.  Here's to my brand new kindergartner!

Therapy

Cole has been going to PT for a few weeks now.  It's going well.  I can see a difference.  He still hasn't mastered the bike, or the swing, but last time we tried he didn't get frustrated like he has in the past.  We'll be going down to just once a week.  I am a big believer in PT.  It's bizarre, some of the things they do, but it works.  Cole does a lot of things that make him dizzy.  He nods his head up and down, sitting still and while walking.  He does a lot of balance activities and multi-tasks, like throwing and catching 2 balls, or catching while jumping on a trampoline.  Once the weather turns nicer, we will be putting more time in on the swings and on the bike.  I finally hooked up the trail-a-bike and am hoping that helps him.  Tate and I checked it out this morning and he had a blast.

Shelby Turns Two

My baby turned 2 at the end of March.  

We had butterfly cake,

she opened presents and got lots of activity books.

She even got her very own Strider and a new helmet.

I think holding her baby cousin was her favorite, though.

She's my snuggler, my troublemaker, and everything in between.  Life is never dull when Shelby is around!  We love you, Shelby Kay!

Therapy

I have never been so excited to find out something is wrong with Cole.

Cole will turn 8 in June.  He still won't ride a bike and can't swing himself on the swing.  I get frustrated and he gets frustrated and shuts down.  When Shelby was in for her checkup (she's 2! and I'll get to her birthday post before she turns 3), I asked our doctor about some of Cole's issues.  She suggested we take him in for a short assessment, aka free, by a physical therapist.  I checked with his PE teacher at school, but wasn't hopeful he would notice anything, he didn't, and I wasn't hopeful the PT would notice anything either.  Cole tends to be anything but text book and I figured he has learned to compensate with other things so well that the same would be true with this latest issue.

He had his PT assessment today.  I explained to the therapist about his ear and what's been going on.  He looked at me and says "he has a vestibular impairment.  That was my specialty."  I think my mouth hit the floor.  He ran the assessments and wouldn't you know it, my boy is a text book case.  The even better news: they can fix it!  We start after Easter.  Here's to a summer riding bikes on 2 wheels and swinging!