Keeping Up With Taylor!

Joshua told me today that he needed to drink a juice box to "Get some energy to keep up with Taylor"...cracks me up!! Joshua, at 6 years old, feels like he needs extra help to keep up with his sister. Normally, it's the other way around!! Kids say the darnest things!

2nd Tooth Lost!

Joshua lost his second tooth yesterday! I was thinking that I could work on his tooth fairy pillow after I got home from the PTF Middle School Orientation, but then it hit me that he would be asleep and that I needed to get it done before I left for his school...so I kicked in to high gear and found a child size pillow that I had bought a few years ago, and was going to sew a felt tooth pocket on the pillow case, but my "tooth" did not really look like a tooth according to Doug. So, I turned the tooth into a heart and sewed it onto the pillow. Joshua was happy with the heart and placed his tiny lower tooth in the pocket. He was so excited to get a visit from the tooth fairy! He got $3 from the tooth fairy and had to spend it at the Dollar Tree!

Hives vs eczema

Taylor's chest and back are looking bad again. We're not sure if it's hives or eczema, but she has had her allergy testing and so we know that none of the typical allergens came up as high on the allergy triggers for her. We are pretty sure that she has a strong reaction to chlorine because it seems to really flare up after she has been to the pool. Daddy took them to Spraygrounds yesterday, which is a playground up in Roswell that has water fountains for the kids to play in. The park also has a playground for the kids and they had a great time with Daddy on both. I wonder if the water had chlorine in it because her skin looked so irritated tonight...one day later. I took them to the Glenleigh pool to play and swim with the Hynes kids and Taylor did play in the baby pool for awhile which is chlorinated as well. The bigger pool is a saline pool which doesn't seem to irritate her skin. We will have to continue to experiment and see if her skin totally clears up when she is not in pool water anymore as Fall is around the corner!

Paper airplanes and newly painted room

Joshua's new pass time this Summer has been making paper airplanes. He makes at least one new one a day and I find them in various places around the house. He's getting better at making them, too, and they are flying better and better. He wants to put a picture of a fighter jet plane up in his newly painted room. We painted his room blue...he picked out the color and shade "Gentle Sky" and Daddy painted it in a day. Then we got him a new "older boy" fan which should last him through his school career...we hope!! His room looks really nice and it's decked out with a bright blue clock on the wall. Now I've just got to get some prints for his bare walls and we will be in business!

Week one of 1st grade!

Well, we made it through week one of first grade. It was a bit rocky as Joshua wanted to have a "break" from school after day two of school. The routine was a struggle for him to get used to again, but he made it through the first week and seems to be better this week as long as he gets adequate play time in at home after school. We worked on his math homework tonight, and then he got all of his spelling words right...other than turning a few letters backwards. We'll keep plugging away until he gets 100% before Friday. He was very excited that he figured out how to spell them all, and I was a bit surprised as well. For day one of learning the words, he was awesome! Way to go, Joshua!! You are doing great:) His reading has really blossomed over the Summer as well. He's reading much faster and getting the majority of the words on his own without help. Doing great! Keep it up:)

Shortest Preschool Experience in History!

Well, Taylor made it to day three at preschool and then had an accident in her pants. The school knew that she was not potty trained and said that they would work with me, but when this happened, I received a call to come pick her up. The administrator told me that I could keep her home for a couple of weeks and then made a decision by Labor Day and that they would hold her spot. I was shocked that I got a call to come pick her up considering how wonderful Golden Start was with Joshua not being potty trained and working with him. I am so grateful to them for the grace that they showed me. The main reason we did not send Taylor there was that the cost was higher there this year than at this one. So, I will likely not be sending Taylor back there for two reasons: I don't think that she will be 100% trained in the next two weeks, and I wasn't happy with the way the situation was handled. Now I just need to decide if I should put her in a Mother's Morning Out program, or just keep her at home this year. Decisions!!

Joshua's 6 year check up

Joshua had his 6 year check up today. He is 48 inches tall and 59.2 lbs (90th percentile for height and weight). He's right on track staying between the 90th and 95th percentile for height and weight. No shots today!! Joshua's vision is good, too. He has 20/20 vision when using both eyes and 20/25 vision when using one eye at a time. I was relieved that I could read the letters Joshua could read and a few that he couldn't. I'm glad that my eyes are still in good shape! Taylor wanted to be checked by the doctor as well and wanted her weight taken , too, which is funny because when it is an appointment for her, she wants nothing to do with the doctor. I guess that she wanted the attention her brother was getting!!

Silly Bandz!

Bubbles!

Cracker Butter

This is Taylor's name for Peanut Butter and Crackers. She used to just ask for crackers and we knew that she meant peanut butter and crackers. When we took the peanut butter away for a week while we thought that she was allergic to it, and she realized that asking for crackers literally only got her "crackers"....she learned that she needed to come up with a new phrase for what she wanted. We are so thankful that she is not allergic to peanut butter as she loves it so much. I'm hoping that one day we will be able to get a broader spectrum of proteins in her as well!

Joshua goes to his 1st grade classroom!

After we picked up Taylor from her first day of preschool, we went to CCS to go to Joshua's new classroom to drop off his school supplies and meet his teacher. His teacher this year will be Mrs. Dubsky, who seems really sweet and soft spoken. She had goodie bags for all of the kids on their desks and Joshua was excited about that! He put his supplies at his desk which is in the front row and then he chatted with Mrs Dubsky and talked with his other classmates who were in the room. Jack and Patrick are in his class this year which he was excited about. There is one girl that has been in the other class in previous years that I have been warned about who is in his class this year. She can be critical of her peers and I will be praying that she is growing in her walk with Jesus and that her heart will soften for others this year and that the teacher will not have a difficult time with her either. Joshua seems excited to be back in the school environment and he stops in the office every time we have gone to school this past week and says "Hi" to Ms Garrett and has given her several hugs. She was such a great Kindergarten teacher. I hope that this year will be as successful as last year! You are growing up, Joshua!!! We are proud of our boy:)

Taylor's 1st Day of Preschool

First Day...a success for the most part. Taylor was excited to go to school on Friday. She wore a new outfit that we picked out at Costco the day before and she wanted to wear her new backpack to the car and into the school. She told me this morning that we were going to go to Joshua's school, and I told her that we were going to her new school. I think that she thought that she would be going to Covenant as well. We got her to school, and she walked up to the doors and then wanted to be picked up. I carried her into the school and she wanted to play on the playground right away. I told her that her class would probably play outside, although today was a 2 hour day to get the kids used to the new routine and class. When the three of us got into the room, Joshua immediately made himself at home playing with the toys and the kids. Taylor stood there and did not want her backpack to be taken off. She looked around the room and her nose began to get red as she was thinking about crying. Joshua and I stayed there for another 10 minutes trying to get her acclimated to the room. Joshua didn't want to leave! Once she seemed to start to settle in, I told Joshua that it was time to go. She tried to grab my hand to start walking out with us and I kissed her head and told her that we would come get her soon. She then started to get upset and the teacher grabbed her hand as Joshua and I headed out the door. I waited down the hall for a minute to see if she would stop crying, and thankfully, she did. I felt so sad for her because I didn't want her to think that I was leaving her in some strange place all by herself. When we came to get her, she was really excited to see us and her teacher said that she settled down quickly after we left and was fine the rest of the time. So, I would say that her first day was a success! And no accidents either! Taylor didn't use the potty while she was there, but she had a dry pull up when I came and got her.

Taylor gets a toddler bed

We ordered a Disney Princess bed for Taylor last week and it came in yesterday. Taylor was excited that she had a new bed and today, Daddy put it together. As he was opening the bed up, he said, "This is a VERY pink bed"...which it is. It is all girl! She loves it and was very possessive of her new bed when Daddy took it upstairs and put the crib mattress on it. I had really wanted to get a picture of her in her crib recently with her piles and piles of stuffed animals that she sleeps with. If she had her way, she would sleep with every stuffed animal she owns as well as every book as well. There is always barely enough room for Taylor to fit in her bed with all of the animals and books. I had to run to the grocery store tonight so Daddy put the kids to bed. He said that Taylor did not want Joshua on her new bed and she gave him a goodnight hug and laid down in her bed and did not get out of her room once he closed the door. We wondered what she would do with her new found freedom. I wonder what time she'll wake up in the morning, and whether or not she will get out of her bed on her own, or if she'll wait for me to come get her. I am so glad that she loves her new bed, but a little sad that the crib days are over. My baby girl is no longer a baby!

Taylor meets Ms. Wanda

Taylor got to meet her teacher today, Ms Wanda Nichols. She seems really sweet. We got to the school and Taylor wanted to be picked up as we were entering the school (which she does almost anytime that we are going to enter a building) and then we made our way to her classroom with the light blue door. Ms Wanda's daughter and granddaughters were in the room as well. Her daughter is a teacher's assistant at the school as well. Joshua made himself at home on the floor with the toys and Taylor did not want me to let go of her, but I sat down on the floor with her in my lap and she relaxed pretty quickly and started playing on the floor. She had an "accident" while we were there so we went to the bathroom and I flushed her poopy in the toilet, and then she decided that she would try out the Sesame Street potty seat and she proceeded to go peepee on the potty. I was so proud of her for going at the school on the very first day. She's really made progress with her potty training overall and constantly asks for her "Minnie cake" as she will get when she is totally potty trained and not having accidents when she wears underwear. I bet that she'll be done in another month (at least I hope so). Taylor and Joshua sat at the table and colored/drew for a bit and then we headed out to the playground for some playtime before meeting Zoe Drye for lunch (who is also going to be at First Baptist in the 5 day program). I have a feeling that she will really enjoy school once the initial fear is gone. She was very excited to go check out her new school this morning and when I put on her tennis shoes, she excitedly said, "School shoes!". It was really cute. She's got a new backpack with her name embroidered on it as well which she really likes. I can't believe that my baby is going to school!