the new lady

We started Brecken at a new daycare this year. The change between last year and this year has been total night and day. He has beat us out the door to get to Kacey's house in the mornings... I'm not going to lie, I totally love that! I'm so glad he feels comfortable at this house and has a good day. In fact, one day last week he got mad at me for picking him up too early! That hasn't happened since our beloved Amy lived here!

Kacey is an EMT with Josh and I secretly (or no so secretly) LOVE that. Not that anything would happen to my B-man while he was there, but gosh, you never know!!!

There aren't many kids at Kacey's... one little guy that B plays with that won't be there now because of kindergarten. He has a little sister, so hopefully the little sister will continue to go.

the day i cried in the middle of walmart

Today was the big day... we had to go to Riverton to pick up the half a beef we ordered, so we went to Walmart, too. We went back to the little boy's section, felt all the jeans, picked a few pairs B deemed "soft enough", and found the dressing room. Josh took him in and I waited outside, but I couldn't stand it anymore, so I knocked on the door to go in, too. And there he was... my baby... in jeans. I haven't seen him in jeans since he was 2 years old. I was so proud of him for even trying them on, and I figured he'd say they didn't feel good and we'd leave without any. Which would have been FINE. My amazement was fulfilled with him even trying them on. But, he liked a pair. I asked if he would wear them to school, and he said no. He said he would only wear them for his 5-year-old pictures. GREAT! I'm ecstatic with that; it's such a huge start! He did say the waist kinda bugged him (which, coming from elastic waist sweats and basketball shorts, it's gotta feel funny!) but he felt better when I assured him that if he wanted to, he could wear his shorts underneath the jeans. He nodded, said he liked them, and we bought two pairs of the kind he liked best.

That's when I cried.

This is such a big deal! I can't even tell you how proud of him I am. Like I said, I was excited that he just wanted to try them on, but for him to buy a pair.... it's like I was in a dream.

Whether or not he will actually wear them, I'm not sure. We're not going to make a big deal out of it, as he hates that kind of attention and he will backpedal. If he ends up freaking out and not wearing them, I'm ok with that. Like I said. He tried. And my heart is so full from that.

jeans

Brecken asked tonight if he could try on some jeans. I had to ask him to repeat the question, just so I could see if I heard correctly. And then I about fell out of my chair.

Of course, we don't own any jeans bigger than a 2T. So he'll have to wait until we go to a store. (which just happens to be tomorrow, we lucked out there!) I hope he still feels like it tomorrow! Even if they still hurt him, I'm TOTALLY stoked that he asked!!!

the last week

This is our last week of summer. It's always a really sad time. Once I get thrown into work, I'm fine... it's just that jump that I totally hate. I wish Josh and I both could be on permanent summer... I love the freedom of jumping in the car and going somewhere when we want to, sleeping in, staying up late, just hanging out all the time. I love the time with my family. But, since I don't want to live in a cardboard box down by the river.... we must work.

We've been working hard this week on last minute summer projects. We are rebuilding our deck; taking out the wood and putting in composite. Brecken has willingly been helping, and it's pretty fun to watch. :)

hair

B is about 6 weeks away from turning 5 years old, and last Thursday, we had a new breakthrough. He finally, finally decided it was OK to have his hair washed.

He's never liked it. Ever. It's always the most miserable part of the bath. Yes, we've tried a hundred different ways: Laying back on his own, laying back on our hand, tipping his head back while sitting up, using only a wash cloth, the special bucket that sits on your forehead while pouring back on your head... you get the picture. It's always a huge scream fest and it's the very last thing we do because he immediately stands up, while crying so hard I'm always sure he's going to fall down, and the bath is over.

However, this past Thursday, for some reason, he decided he would try once again, laying back on my hand. He didn't get any water on his face or in his eyes, and washing his hair was a success. It was so much of a success that we had to call Daddy back to witness it for a second time. And since then, he has asked for his hair to be washed every single day (and I am most happy to oblige!).

SPD is a funny thing. Most people reading this are probably thinking, "Why is washing hair such a big deal? My kid hasn't cried about water in his eyes since he was 10 months old. Just dump the water and be done with it." With an SPD kid, that's not always possible. And imagine our frustration before we knew WHY we couldn't do that!

Now, let's hope this new thing lasts :)

hot, hot, hot

It's been super hot here for the past week or so. I know, it's been nothing like what the midwest and back East have had, but our house does not have air conditioning. So when it gets to 94 degrees outside, it gets to 94 degrees inside. So we've been laying low the past few days, not doing anything too exciting, trying not to sweat to death.

Brecken and Josh have gotten their golfing in, though... B would never let that pass by without happening!

It was a lot cooler today which was a nice change. We woke up to overcast skies and 67 degrees... it felt wonderful! I shot some senior pictures for B's favorite high school babysitter, then we played at the park. I even turned on the oven for dinner tonight since I knew it wouldn't raise the inside temp to 100. :)

July is almost over, which means August is coming up... back to school stuff will be starting. :(

and some more

Last ones, I think... Some stick horse racing in the Whispering Canyon Cafe (where B got all his ketchup!) and B's favorite act in the Festival of the Lion King show... he LOVED the acrobats!

more videos

Here are a couple more... one from Typhoon Lagoon, where he rode this ride about 75 times (and I'm not exaggerating...). The other is from England in Epcot, where they had just made this hopscotch and beings how my B-man LOVES hopscotch, he had to be the first to try it out!

disney videos

I think I might have been successful in uploading a couple videos... If they work, I'll upload more! One of them is from the race track ride at Disney World, where Brecken was driving. I'm glad it was on a rail and we couldn't get too far off, because as you will see, he's a bit distracted in his driving. :) The other is when he wanted some ketchup, and he got plenty!

disney!

I've been absent again! This time with good reason though. We just got back from a WONDERFUL vacation to Disney World. We had a fantastic time and wish it wasn't going to be 3 years before we got to go again!

The first two nights were a bit rough. We stayed at All Star Sports for two nights before my parents came, when we could move to the Beach Club Resort. All Star Sports just happened to be hosting a whole slew of baseball players for a baseball tournament at the Disney sports complex, and they were QUITE loud. The resort was very busy, very loud (in both noise and colors!) and my B-man could not settle down. His SPD kicked in full force, and combine that with the normal kid-excitement, it was not much fun. The first night was full of head banging, rocking back and forth, hitting himself, and me just about in tears and thinking it was mean of us to bring him there. Second night, he had spent 6 hours that day swimming, so he was exhausted, so it was a little bit better.

After we moved to the Beach Club, he settled into a routine and we had a great time! He used his headphones when things got crazy, we used his Guest Assistance Card as needed, we took breaks in the cool restaurants, and we had a TON of fun!

Some things I was surprised about:

*He LOVES characters! He had absolutely NO reservations about running right up to them and giving them huge hugs!



*He is a thrill ride lover! One of his favorite rides was Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, a roller coaster, and by the 3rd time he rode it, he was putting his hands up in the air! :)



Some things that didn't surprise me:
*He didn't eat very well - it was new food, and new atmosphere with lots going on. He didn't starve, but he surely didn't pig out, either. :)

*He doesn't like scary things. Haunted Mansion was not a favorite ride of his. :)

minnesota

B and I went to Minnesota for a super quick trip. I got to take pictures of my brother-in-law's family, which was fun! B and I also got to attend my nephew's 5th birthday party. B was so excited to get to go to that. :)

B was such an amazing traveler for me. He walked right next to me through the airport, and never batted an eye about the no car seat thing I was worried about. He giggled the whole flight to MN and slept the whole way back. :)

I was amazed at the growth I saw in B while we were there. He volunteered to go with Uncle David to a video game store, rather than with me to Kohl's. Didn't even bat an eye while getting out of the car. At the party, he sat at the kid's table with excitement, and didn't even need to make sure he knew where I was. And all evening long, played with the kids without needing me to be in sight. ALL of these things are new developments. And I loved it! He was a KID, not a terrified little being. Love it.

travelers

My B-man and I are headed out on a very quick vacation tomorrow. We're flying to Minnesota to see my sister and go to my nephew's birthday part. I am also going to be taking family photos for my brother-in-law's whole family - they're going to be together for the first time in three years, I think I heard. We'll only be there for two full days but it will be fun! I'm sad Josh can't come. He has class this weekend so he won't be able to make it. :(

I'm a little nervous about the plane ride. I am not going to be bringing B's car seat, which we always have before. He feels safer in it, but as I'm traveling by myself and will be bringing our new stroller home with me, I just can't manage a kid, a stroller, our carry-ons, a suitcase, AND the car seat. He doesn't need a car seat for the plane, we've just always brought it to help him adjust to the plane better. (we'll be borrowing one of my sister's while we are in MN.) Remember, change of routine is very hard for B, and he likes feeling safe, so this might be an interesting flight. It'll get us practiced up for when we go to Disney World (two weeks from today!!!! yay!) though, as we aren't bring the car seat on that trip, either.

Cross your fingers and if you're the praying type, some prayers for safe travels would always be nice. :)

Ciao!

there was a baby in my belly

Last night we were watching House Hunters and the couple had six children. Three boys, and then three Chinese girls. I said, "look, they adopted a lot of kids!" Brecken then said, "You're going to adopt two!" I told him probably not, one was enough. He said, "No, I was one, and then we're getting another baby!"

We asked him if he thought he was adopted too, and he looked at me like it was obvious, and said, "Yes, mom!" I always wondered if B thought that's the way all babies came about. I love that it's so natural to him. But we corrected him and said that he grew inside my belly. And that my belly can't grow any more babies, so that's why some wonderful woman is going to grow one in her belly but let us adopt it for our own.

I then was telling him where his head liked to hang out while he was growing inside my belly. I showed him where it was (under my right ribs!) and how it would stick out and I'd have to push it back in, and how he liked to head-butt my ribs and how much that hurt, and he giggled and giggled and giggled.

And then while I was laying in bed last night, recalling the conversation, I remembered something I haven't thought about for a long time. As a mother growing a baby, you become incredibly intimate with their movements. Brecken used to do a stretch all the time and I can still feel what that felt like. And when I saw him do it for the first time OUTSIDE my belly, I got goosebumps because it was the EXACT same stretch he did inside. And now, I was able to see what it actually looked like. He would do it in his sleep, and his eyebrows would raise so high that I thought for sure his eyes had to open because his eyelids wouldn't stretch any more. They never did open though! And with his eyebrows raised, he'd pick up his chin and stretch his head up and back as much as he could, then he'd settle back down. It was amazing to see that happen, because I knew that stretch by feel so well. He would do it multiple times a day in my belly (which is odd since he never seemed to sleep! haha!) and he would do it multiple times a day when he was born. He still does it every once in a while, even at four years old.

It makes me incredibly sad to know that I probably won't know my next baby's movements so intimately. I will probably be missing out on that nine months of bonding time. B will probably be missing out on getting to feel a baby move in my belly. These parts still brings me to tears sometimes.

But. That new baby is going to bring us so much joy, even if I do miss out on those 40 incredible weeks. I hope it happens soon, because I have one excited little boy ready to be a big brother. :)

golf on the brain

Our child has golf on the brain. Big time. Every day he asks if we can go golfing! He got to play in his first golf tournament last week; we had our annual school district golf scramble and he got to play with us. He even sunk a putt for us to save par on one of the holes! His grin was a mile wide when we all started cheering loudly. :)

seven years

Josh and I celebrated our 7th anniversary yesterday. What a wonderful 7 years it has been! We've been on many adventures, many of which I'd never have been able to dream up on my wedding day 7 years ago, and I am so glad it was Josh that was by my side during them all.

B is getting to the age now where he understands more of what "anniversary" means. He told me on Saturday, "I think I know when you and Daddy got married." I said, "Oh yeah?" to which he replied, "Yep. It was when you left me at Grandma and Grandpa's." haha!

B got to spend yesterday evening with his favorite high school girl, eating pizza and playing Wii. He had been asking since yesterday morning how many more minutes until she came. Such a change from a couple years ago, when she'd have to distract him and we'd make a run for it! Josh and I enjoyed dinner and a dip in the hot pools - the actual hot ones and not the warm huge pool - since we were by ourselves for a change! :)

summertime, summertime, sum- sum- summertime

School officially ended for B-man and myself on Wednesday!! Josh has another week and it's kind of nice being in bed still while he gets up for work. :)

B had his preschool picnic yesterday. He had asked Josh if he could "please sneak out of work for a little bit" to come. And he did! B had fun playing with everyone, but then we had to eat lunch in the truck so the 40 mph wind wouldn't blow the chicken off our plates!

B then went back to school with Josh so I could go back to my school for meetings all afternoon. Literally, ALL AFTERNOON. First day of summer and my meetings lasted until 5:00! I made it home just in time to go to Josh's awards banquet, then brought B home before it ended and we both went to bed!

Now I'm wishing for some summer weather since it's summer vacation... it hasn't hit here yet and I'm wondering how long it will be until we can wear shorts outside and not freeze to death. :)

high as the sky

I had another proud SPD mommy moment last night:

We took a bike ride to the park last night before bedtime came. Brecken wanted to swing, which is a new thing recently. Josh put him in the baby-type swing because the other swings at the park are really big. Josh pushed Brecken higher and higher and was doing underdogs even. Brecken was swinging so high! And he was laughing so hard he was having a hard time breathing. (thank goodness he was in the baby-type swing!)

This time last year, the thought of just getting on the swing was enough to just about put Brecken in tears.

And instead of crying last night, he was laughing his sweet, beautiful laugh.

More heart swelling. :)

miracles

Brecken was so proud of his Mother's Day present he made me at school. When he brought them home last week, he even "hid" them so I had to go on a scavenger hunt of sorts to find them. (The card was laying on the side table and the flowers were on my chair!) He planted these flowers by himself. He told me they were Miracles (otherwise known as Marigolds). I thought that was especially fitting, since Brecken really is my own little miracle baby.

mother's day

I posted this on facebook this morning:

I am a sister and a daughter and a friend, but the title I am most proud of is MOMMY. It's even more sweet because of the struggle it took to get there. My little boy is the most perfect one in the world and I still get teary while thinking of my fight for him. Remembering all those moms-to-be who are still fighting that fight today.

I am beyond grateful to be able to celebrate Mother's Day. I know all too well the utter sadness that happens when someone wants to be a mother so bad but it just isn't happening. I'm keeping all my friends who are still fighting the fight in my prayers today, so that this might be their last Mother's Day with an empty lap.

On to something happier - my own Mother's Day today. What a great day we've had so far! I got breakfast in bed this morning, made by Brecken all by himself: a bowl of Cheerios and Fruity Pebbles mixed together by hand! I love that boy!

Then we all got dressed and went out back to take some pictures. Brecken refused to wear his plain white t-shirt because it's not one of his "regulars". So what did he do? He took a shirt that he's OK wearing, and wore it backwards so that it was only white on the front. That was his very own idea. And who am I to tell him no?

Then, we went on our first bike ride as a family. I realized that this summer I wasn't going to be able to push a stroller and walk fast for excercise, since strollers are no longer cool when you have a big boy bike. Going for walks was going to change - mainly in the pace we were going to be able to go! So for Mother's Day and Father's Day (yes, a little early), we bought Josh and I bikes. Now we are able to go on bike rides together! I haven't been on a bike in YEARS. I was quite proud of myself for remembering how. :)

For lunch, I got steaks from the BBQ and a salad.

Then Brecken and I made cookies.

Then we all went on another bike ride.

Then we came home and I ate cookies with cream poured over them. Because I can. :)

In a little bit, we are going to see the musical that our high school kids are putting on. I have 7 kids in it and Josh has a lot, too. So we're going to go see the matinee of it this afternoon.

Then come home and watch the finale of "The Amazing Race".

BESIDES all this.... it is so nice outside and I heard the first lawnmower of the season.

What could get better than this?!

it's totally ok for a grownup to go to bed at 7:30, right?

I can't remember the last time I didn't post for two whole weeks. Wow. I can't even really remember those two weeks happening, as I have been so dang busy! And it doesn't seem to be ending anytime soon. I have at least one thing (and sometimes two things or three things) happening every day until the end of school. I've had my district music festival, giving the ACT test at school, meetings upon meetings, two concerts coming up, more meetings, Josh being gone for classes, and today I got asked to be on the hiring committee for a new elementary teacher for next year. This is among other things that I can't remember right now, I'm sure. Thank goodness for my planner, that's all I've got to say!

Because of all this, I'm totally exhausted. Hence the two weeks between now and my last post. :( Josh and I were both asleep by 9:30 on a Friday night last week, and tonight I'm totally contemplating going to bed at the same time as Brecken does tonight. How funny is that- a 31 year old going to bed at 7:30!?

On a good note, I ran into one of Brecken's teachers tonight and she told me how nice Brecken is. Not just to a few people, to EVERYONE. She said she has never heard him say a mean word to ANYONE. I love that. I told him that makes me so proud of him. And it does. Could my heart swell any more?!

who are you and what did you do with my son??

Tonight, Brecken ASKED for a hair cut.

And instead of crying and being scared, he chatted with his daddy while it was happening.

And then I heard an explosion of GIGGLES because it tickled.

It TICKLED, it didn't "hurt".

My heart swelled. A hair cut has never happened like this before.

No wonder his OT is so proud of him. :)

play date

I went to pick up Brecken today and our babysitter, Val, had quite a story to tell me! I guess B's friend D asked if he and another friend, A, could go to D's house for a play date. (His very first "can Brecken come over and play"!!!!) Val asked B if he wanted to and he jumped at the chance. I think he hurt Val's feelings a little bit, that he didn't want to go home with her! Ha, ha!! She said she kept calling to check on him (she is friends with D's mom) and he had a great time. B told me all about how they played Mario and golf on the Wii (his most favorite games EVER!) and he even ate a whole grilled cheese sandwich! I'm amazed. TOTALLY amazed. This is quite a change in his routine that he craves, not to mention going out of his comfort zone which is soooo strong for him, and he did it. Willingly, and did great. I'm so proud. :)

going bananas

My sister got Brecken a "Grow Your Own Banana Tree" kit for Christmas this past year. It grows in a little plastic greenhouse indoors and then you can transplant it outside. Beings how we get snow a good 8-9 months out of the year, if this tree grows, we will be keeping the plant inside. :) We finally planted it yesterday. I've been putting it off because I was so afraid the draft from our big kitchen window, where it sits on the sill, would kill it this winter.

Brecken is beyond excited to see it grow. I sure hope it will sprout something so he's not disappointed! (hmm... I have an almost identical post HERE... complete with the same looking greenhouse!)

headphones

He must like them - we went to dinner last night with my parents. We went to a new restaurant, one we haven't been to before. He wanted carried in once we got to the door. (That's an SPD thing.) Then we got seated and he pulled the headphones out of my purse and put them on. It wasn't that noisy inside, but I quickly figured out that helped him focus for a few minutes so that he could feel safe. After about 5 minutes of wearing them, he took them off and was fine for the rest of the meal. (ate like a horse, even!)

Hooray!

so much noise

I've noticed an increasing irritation to noise in Brecken lately. Shortly after his concert night was Prom night. We went up to see the Grand March, where everyone shows off their fancy clothes. We had to leave before it even started because 100 different people, 100 different conversations at the same time made Brecken tell me it was way to noisy and he needed to leave. And yesterday at Wal-mart. Two different times his hands flew up to his ears and he started wimpering about the noise level. One time was from a populated area of the store where there were a lot of people talking. The other time was when a squeaky cart came behind us. We had to stop and let it pass so Brecken's eyes could not be so wide and his hands could come off his ears. I feel bad for my boy. And I'm not sure why the increase in noise-related irritations all of a sudden. I'll have to talk to his OT about it after Spring Break. I'm on the lookout for some cord-free headphones for him to wear in instances like this. And especially for when we go to Disney World, where there is a LOT of noise to overrun his senses. Hopefully we can find some that will work for him. I'm in the process of doing some research on different SPD sites! If anyone here has some suggestions, I'll be glad to entertain them! edited to add: I have no idea why this won't put proper paragraphs in when I hit "publish". Sorry it's so annoying to read.

SPD at it's finest

Brecken had his very first school concert tonight. He has been so excited about it for weeks. He's been practicing his songs at home. We have been talking about what to wear for a long time now (since clothes are a big deal to him) and had an outfit all picked out. They practiced on the stage with the lights today during school so they all knew what to expect and he was glad for that.

Tonight we get ready. We brushed him first. Then he puts on the pants and that's OK. (they're "dressy" pants lined with cotton like sweat pants.) He gets on his new shoes. Has a freak out. The tongue was touching his ankle and wouldn't stay away. So he ended up wearing Crocs.

We get out his polo shirt he was going to wear. Couldn't even get it near him. Nope, not going to happen. We finally get him in a long sleeved T-shirt even though he doesn't want to wear it.

We get there and he freaks. Clung to me hard. Wouldn't let me put him down. I had to hand him off to his teacher bawling. Broke my heart, but sometimes after I'm out of sight, he calms down.

Nope. Teacher came to get me to come get him. He refused to go out on stage. So he sat with Josh and I and watched his classmates. After every song, I asked if he wanted to go up there and I'd stay right in front so he could see me at all times. Nope, he couldn't do it.

So we just got home and he changed clothes immediately and then crawled up on my lap. He said, "Mommy, I really wanted to sing, I just couldn't do it. It made my brain hurt." Totally breaks my heart and I'm trying not to let him see me cry. I feel soooo bad that he was so excited and then his little brain just couldn't get over all the sensory stuff surrounding him. He was the only kid that couldn't do it.


At least he wore the pants, right?

:(

wonderfully lazy

What a wonderfully lazy day we've had today. We slept in (well, Josh and I did... Brecken woke up at his normal weekday time but was content snuggling in with us and watching cartoons...), ate a late breakfast, got to play outside for a while before we got too cold (but heck- we had to take advantage of the fact that there was no snow today!), watched more cartoons, wrestled downstairs, watched more cartoons, decided to finally get dressed mid-afternoon, made a cherry pie, and that's about it. I'm sure there will be more cartoons to finish out the day.

Ahhh... I love lazy days. Especially when we are all together as a family. Love that!

trip to australia

I found this today, and it totally hit home.


Deciding to have a baby is like planning a trip to Australia. You’ve heard it’s a wonderful place; you’ve read many guidebooks and feel certain that you’re ready to go. Everyone you know has traveled there by plane. They say it can be a turbulent flight with occasional rough landings, but you can look forward to being pampered on the trip. So you go to the airport and ask the ticket agent for a ticket to Australia. All around you, excited people are boarding planes for Australia. It seems there’s no seat for you; you’ll have to wait for the next flight. Impatient, but anticipating a wonderful trip, you wait---and wait---and wait. Flights to Australia continue to come and go. People say silly things like, “Relax. You’ll get on a flight soon.” Other people actually get on the plane and then cancel their trip, to which you cry, “It’s not fair!” After a long time, the ticket agent tells you, “I’m sorry, we’re not going to be able to get you on a plane to Australia. Perhaps you should think about going by boat.” “By BOAT!” you say. “Going by boat will take a very long time and it costs a great deal of money. I really had my heart set on going by plane.” So you go home and think about not going to Australia at all. You wonder if Australia will be as beautiful if you approach it by sea rather than by air. But you have long dreamed of this wonderful place, and finally you decide to travel by boat. It is a long trip, many months over many rough seas. No one pampers you. You wonder if you will ever see Australia. Meanwhile, your friends have flown back and forth to Australia two or three more times, marveling about each trip. Then one glorious day, the boat docks in Australia. It is more exquisite than you ever imagined, and the beauty is magnified by your long days at sea. You have made many wonderful friends during your voyage, and you find yourself comparing stories with others who also traveled by sea rather than by air. People continue to fly to Australia as often as they like, but you are able to travel once, perhaps twice. Some say things like, “Oh, be glad you didn’t fly. My flight was horrible; traveling by sea is so easy.” You will always wonder what it would have been like to fly to Australia. Still, you know God blessed you with a special appreciation of Australia, and the beauty of Australia is not the way you get there, but in the place itself.

Author Unknown

he's gonna be awesome

I talked to B's speech teacher while she was at my school today. She said, "I hear congratulations are in order!" I asked why, and she said that Brecken had told her we were getting a new baby. She asked him (knowing my history of infertility) if his mommy was pregnant or if we were adopting, and he proudly told her we were adopting. And that he hoped he got a little brother.

I love that boy.

I didn't even know he was telling people - ha! I don't mind at all - I just didn't realize just HOW excited he was, that he was telling his teachers! I'm now wondering how many people around town are hearing a rumor about me having a baby... :)

She said he's going to be an awesome big brother because he's so gentle and kind. Josh and I knew that already, but it's always nice to hear it from someone else. :) She thanked me for having such a wonderful child.

My heart burst with pride. :)

the imagination

My son has the best imagination. He came up with the best stories this afternoon.

It all started with him telling me that the girls' game was done, (the girls lost, apparently... 21-7) so he had to go now because it was his turn. He got his basketball and went all over the house dribbling it and playing a game. They were playing "mommy's school's team". B's team (the Pan.thers, of course) kicked the snot out of them, 91-10. :)

Then he had to play another team. They played a team we watched this weekend at State Basketball. A very, very good team. This team has one particular player that may or may not have scored 51 points by himself when they played Josh's team this year. Brecken found a medal that Josh had, and awarded it to himself after the "game" was over because he did so well at blocking this player's 3-point shots. He even named him by name (but I'm not going to post it here so it can't be found in a google search!).

He did this all afternoon. I love the imagination he has!

the check's in the mail

Finally, finally, after a very long time and a few emails to our social worker who is helping to nudge things along since they seem to be taking so long at the office, we got our invoice for our home study in the mail today. This is big, because apparently (and they failed to tell us this before hand so it could be a "surprise") they will not show your profile to anyone (and that includes online) until you pay for your home study. Which is fine, but they wouldn't send us the bill!!

Now we have it, Josh can call on Monday and (hopefully) pay over the phone, and we'll expect our profile book to be on the coffee table (or whatever they do with it) that afternoon. :)

bilingual

Brecken: I know what "dinner" is in Spanish.
Josh: Oh yeah? What?
Brecken: SUPPER!

Brecken: My knees are shivering.
Kara: They are?
Brecken: Yeah, that's Spanish for "they are cold".

my valentine

a smell

Brecken: Do you smell something funny in here?
Me: No... what does it smell like?
Brecken: Something in the microwave, maybe. Like deer poop or something.

(Don't ask me why he thinks we've ever had deer poop in our microwave!!!)

officially waiting

Our home study process is DONE! So excited. And it's a bit surreal!

We went to our SW's house in Laramie last night after Josh's game. We were supposed to meet with her at 7:00, but it took an hour longer to get there than we had thought, because of weather. Even though we left at 5:00, the 90 minute trip took so long we didn't get there until almost 7:30!

Last night's interviews were the one-on-one interviews where Donna asked us about our family growing up, what we liked to do, all those "personal" things. While one of us with her, the other one was in her downstairs living room with B playing with the toys she keeps on hand for her grandkids- Brecken thought that was great fun and wanted to stay the night there. :)

We stayed overnight at a hotel, then this morning got up and went to Kinkos to get our profile book printed and bound (holy expensive!!!) so we could drop them off with Donna. We signed our names on our "Dear Birthparents" letter, and we had Brecken sign his name on them all, too. Who can't resist a 4-year old's signature? ;)

This morning's interview was together as a family, about our parenting style, religion, stuff like that. It was only an hour long.

Brecken loves Donna- he keeps caling her "that grandma". I'm totally impressed with her too- love her. She gave us hugs before we left today and I thanked her so much for letting us invade her house on a weekend to get this done.

So. Now we wait. Hopefully not too long, but I'll try to get my head prepared for the long haul so I'm not disappointed.

too cold for comfort

Woke up to a temperature of 22 degrees below zero, with a 36 below zero wind chill. It was still 18 below zero when I came home from work. My poor car didn't like being outside all day- it sounded terrible when I started it to come home! I'm glad it started! It's supposed to be even colder tonight- it's going to make getting up tomorrow morning super hard!

I did the math, and at 5:00 tonight Honolulu was 20 degrees warmer outside in Honolulu than it is inside my house currently. And if you compare actual air temps, Honolulu was 98 degrees warmer. Where do I sign up for my plane tickets? (It has gotten colder- 25 degrees below zero right now!)

mission: accomplished

I love our social worker! She's fantastic. She's about my mom's age, she said she's a grandma, so when Brecken was being a total show off, she just laughed at him. He was the one to give her the grand tour of the house. He was quite proud. :)

She asked us all the standard questions, said she loved the story of how we met, asked what we did around town, what we liked about where we lived, stuff like that. She asked about the fire extinguisher and the locks and the outlet plugs.

We talked about race and gender and all that sort of stuff. Brecken said he wanted a baby brother. :) She was here for two hours and we had a lot of laughs. She's great. She asked if we'd be ready for a baby as soon as the home study was completed (the three interviews- not just today) and we said yes, and she said she has seen that happen. We're not getting our hopes up, but wouldn't that be wild if it happened like that?!?

AND... here is the best part. We still have to have two interviews. She said we are more than welcome to go to where she lives (1.5 hours away) on a night, have the one-on-one interviews, and then stay the night at a hotel and then the next morning get the 3rd interview done and we'd be certified! AND, she'd totally do a weekend. YES! So Saturday Feb. 5th, after Josh's game that afternoon, we'll head over, do the one-on-ones, and then the next morning be finished! Hooray!

She disclosed to us that she knows one of our references. I thought it was cool- one of Josh's good friends from growing up is a minister, and he actually was the one that married us. She goes to his church! She loves him and thinks he's great. One point for us. :)

I'm soooo glad it went well today. Huge lift off my shoulders. Not that I ever thought it would go badly, but you know how it goes.

eeek!!!

Tomorrow: BIG DAY!!! Social worker sounds nice, but you know how it is- someone important coming over to your house and your house will never seem clean enough. All the books say "they won't do a white glove test", and "they aren't expecting your house to be ready for a photoshoot for Better Homes and Gardens"... but let's face it. You don't want to look like a slob, either.

I had asked for a half day off tomorrow, since she is scheduled to arrive at 2:00 p.m. My secretary thought I said a WHOLE day. Turns out, it's a blessing in disguise. I can drop my boy off at preschool AND pick him up, which is something I never get to do. Plus, I get 3 uninterrupted hours to do all the last minute picking up, sweeping, vacuuming, hiding the crap (!), and all that grand old stuff, before she gets here. Maybe I won't feel so rushed. Or maybe I'll just have that extra time to get scared.

Either way. I'm nervous.

home study: scheduled

Wednesday is the big day.

I'm so nervous.

Must get my house cleaner than ever!

I've spent the past two days doing nothing but hanging out with my boy while Josh was away for basketball. Have to get it all in now, as tomorrow will be my turn to leave. It's time for our annual All-State Music Conference, and it's a long trip this time- all the way up to Cody! Then I ahve to stay because I have a meeting in Jackson on Thursday- so I won't get to see either of my boys until Thursday night. :(

So yesterday and today, B and I did laundry, vacuumed, (he helped with both!), went to the lake to see the ice fishing derby all set up, he had a couple baths, blew bubbles, we watched PLENTY of cartoons, and we pigged out on junk. It was a good two days. :)

scooters in the snow

It's tough to be a kid in Wyoming, where you have so much snow all the time. Especially when your birthday falls right when it's getting ready to start being winter, and anything you get for your birthday and Christmas that might be an outside toy can't be played with! The past two Christmases, Brecken has gotten some great riding toys- a big boy bike (last year) and a scooter (this year). The poor kid tried riding it in the snow the other day and realized how hard it is. :(

Enter: DADDY'S SCHOOL! We're very fortunate to be able to load up B's stuff and take him to Josh's school so he can ride around the hallways and the multi-purpose room. We did that today so that he could run around a big area and use his scooter too. It is a great option for the winter and it makes me very glad we have that building available to us. :)

amazing progress

Brecken showed amazing progress with his sensory disorder over Christmas vacation. I'm so dang proud of him.

*He tried 3 new foods, and loved 2 of them. (Potato Oles from Taco Johns and garlic bread were the fantastic discoveries- he SCARFED them down after trying both of them on two different days! Stuffing, on the other hand, he was not a fan of. But heck- he tried them!!!)

*He wore "dress" pants to Christmas Eve service. They were not sweat pants, but had sweat material inside. But they were new, different, and he wore them.

*My sister gave him some brown cords that were too small for my nephew, and he wore them ALL DAY!!!

*Then, my mom got him two new t-shirts that she found, and he wore one of them! I was so proud of him.

*He went sledding! He was extremely timid at the beginning, but by the time we left my parents' house, he was going to the top of the "mountain" and taking a running start!

*AND, he let us finally give him a hair cut.

Small steps, but they are HUGE steps to us.

Interesting, however, that he won't wear the new clothes to school. He doesn't want anyone to see them. Baby steps.

He was still quite clingy to us when we got to each of our parents' houses- enough that our families noticed. He warmed up quickly though, which was a relief. He didn't have a ton of issues with the noise this time around, which was good since it was PLENTY noisy this Christmas. :)

So proud of my little guy!

See? New pants and a new sweatshirt, too!

rudolph

We had a visitor at our house this Christmas season. An elf was sent to us from the North Pole to watch over Brecken and report back to Santa each night how the day went. Then he'd come back before we woke up and hide in the house somewhere.

I didn't order him so much to help with behavior, as we have a pretty well behaved child to begin with. But I knew this elf would hold so much magic, and this year has been the most magical since Brecken has been with us. His eyes widen in wonder and he gets so dang excited about everything- so I knew this elf would be the perfect addition to our Christmas traditions. Brecken would get out of bed every morning so excited to go elf hunting. B would tell him when we left for school to have a good day, and would tell him "Good night! Have a safe trip!" every evening. Rudolph (what Brecken named his elf, though he mainly called him "my buddy") stayed through Christmas Day, even arriving at my mom and dad's house, and then flew back to the North Pole until next December. Brecken is so sad- he misses his little friend.

(you can get more information about the elves here)

bravery

If you know my son, you know this was a big thing for him. I almost cried, I was so proud of him.

letters

Brecken wrote a letter to Santa last week during school. The class then walked down to the post office and put them in the mail box that goes to the North Pole. He was soooo excited that Santa was going to get his letter in the mail! And today, Santa came to school to personally deliver letters back to them!

Dear Santa,

For Christmas I want a train with wheels that drive backwards by itself, a frisbee, and a Mater that you pull back and it moves by itself.

Love, Brecken

Dear Brecken,

Thank you for writing to me this year. I really enjoy getting letters from your school. Your teachers are very nice to help you write your letters to Santa. Did you know Santa has to answer thousands of letters each year? My typing is getting better but sometimes I still make mistakes.

The elves were really excited to read your letter and they have picked out something very special for you this year. I was excited to read your letter too because Mater is one of my favorite toys. I like Lightning McQueen but Mater is the best. I love his cool teeth and I love to hear him talk.

The reindeer are really busy practicing their flying. They will have to fly faster than Lightning McQueen can drive in order for us to make the trip around the world and to get all the presents delivered. We have a very long trip.

Be good and I will see you on Christmas Eve with a very special gift from everyone here at the North Pole.

Love,
Santa

you're never going to believe it!

BRECKEN SAT ON SANTA'S LAP TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I had my elementary program tonight. It went really well! Afterwards, Santa came. Brecken came running down the bleachers right to me so we could get in line. I was shocked. He told Josh and I in line that he was just going to say hi to him, not sit on his lap. Because Santa already knew what he wanted, since he wrote him a letter at school. We said that was fine. Well, he got up there, and Santa kind of just picked him up and put him on his lap, and B did NOT freak out!!!!! I was almost too shocked to get a picture!! I was so proud of him! What a change in my little guy from a few weeks ago!

They wrote letters to Santa at school the other day, and today they took a walking field trip to the post office to mail them in the special mailbox. Brecken is so excited that Santa will be getting his letter soon. I love the magic of Christmas. :)

brushing

I picked Brecken up this afternoon and we met his OT at the preschool so she could teach me how to use the Wilbarger Brushing Protocol she has been using on Brecken since his diagnosis. She's seen great results out of it with him, which I was very proud of! I now know how so I can do it at home with Brecken. I'll show Josh too, so that we can both do it. (He couldn't come with me today because of basketball practice.) I'm excited to try it before bedtime to see if bedtime goes better, and definitely before basketball games (which start tomorrow!!) because of all the noise, etc. She told me I could do it as often as every two hours, and I now have a couple of the brushes at home. Here is a little bit more info on it for those who want to read about it!

http://www.thetherapyplace.net/newsletter/3_2.htm

It's hard to explain. We have a brush, it's a surgical brush. (Which is easily replaced at low cost- hooray! Especially if Aunt Kristen can get us some! :)) After it's used for a while, you have to replace it because the bristles will wear down and won't be as effective because they aren't stiff enough.

There's a certain way to brush up and down his arm, using a certain amount of pressure and not letting the brush come up at all. After you get every inch of skin you can, then you go it real fast on his palm, about 3 or so swishes. Then you put the brush down and "hug" his fingers. It's like pushing (lightly, but with pressure) the knuckle toward the hand, on each finger. Then you brace the arm and push his wrist toward his elbow a couple times. Then the elbow toward the shoulder. Then you repeat on the other arm. And then the legs and feet. And "hug" his toes, ankles, knees, and hips. And then you brush his back. Then after his back, you brace his back and push (again lightly, but with pressure) on his head. And push his sternum toward his back.

It's very hard to explain and this is the abbreviated version.

So proud of my little man! We weren't sure he was going to let the teachers touch him- he's very guarded about that stuff- but he now searches for his teacher that does it in the mornings, when he gets there, so he can have his special time with her!!

While we were in the OT office, he was playing with some rubber spikey things and was putting them on his feet, which shocked me. The OT quietly told me that was a new development just this week. So he's growing in that sense! Hooray!!

forward movement

Things are finally moving forward again in the adoption process. The "week to 10 days" it was going to take to review our application turned into over 3 weeks. However, word has been trickling in from our fantastic references that they have been receiving the letters from the Society. And they have a deadline, apparently, to write a letter for us and have it back to the Society. In addition to that, we have received our second packet from them, with MORE questions to answer ("were you able to confide in your mom and dad?" "tell us specific amounts and frequency of how much alcohol you drink", etc) and instructions on how to get fingerprinted.

Wee-haw, here we go! :)

getting organized

We got to spend a weekend at home for once. It seems like we haven't been home for a weekend in a very, very long time. And because of that, our house is a disaster. A huge disaster. And sometime in the future, we are going to have a home study done, so we need to get organized. Fast.

So today was it.

We managed to get a lot done!! We got into the middle bedroom, where we keep all the baby stuff and other things that kind of get thrown in there. It is now all set up. We even set up the crib, finding out that we are missing a couple of the bolts. Hopefully we can order new hardware for it! I'm glad we discovered that now, rather than later when we actually need the crib!

While we were at it, we rearranged the living room. That's the best way to clean because it forces us to move the furniture. Gross! And since we were moving around furniture, we decided to make more space upstairs and move the piano downstairs. Josh had a couple students and one of our friends come over and help him get it down there.

That's the exciting life we had today- but it was so nice to be able to stay home for once!

a fish funeral

I had my very first fish funeral tonight. We came home yesterday to find Fishio was no longer swimming. I didn't know what to tell Brecken, so we waited until this afternoon after school to tell him. My poor baby cried. Hard. He's so broken hearted, it made me cry right along with him. He wanted to bury Fishio in the back yard under the plants, so after Josh came home from practice, we did that. Brecken wondered if we could get Fishio back after he felt better and we wiped the dirt off him from being buried. :( The poor kid got teary-eyed every time he thought of Fishio tonight. Poor baby. :(

grandma peewee

Edna “Peewee” Sandlian
Modified: Friday, Nov 12th, 2010

Edna Sandlian

July 8, 1933 – November 9, 2010

Funeral services for Edna “Peewee” Sandlian, 77, will be held at 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 12, 2010, at the First Wyoming United Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Steven Seng officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery. Edna died Nov. 9, 2010, at Community Hospital in Torrington. Memorials may be made to the Special Touch Program at Community Hospital, the American Cancer Society, or the donor’s choice. Visitation will be Thursday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the funeral home and the casket will be open at the church prior to the service. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and friends may send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com.

Edna was born July 8, 1933, at the family home northwest of Yoder, the daughter of Henry and Ella (Prentice) Garrelts. She grew up and received her education in Yoder graduating in 1951. She married Dale Sandlian on July 20, 1952. They farmed near Yoder for a short time before moving to Torrington. She drove school bus and enjoyed driving the sports trips. She started delivering rural mail part and then went to full-time in the mid 1980s. She retired from there.

Edna enjoyed bowling, playing bridge, golfing, and traveling the world with friends. She was a member of the Torrington Country Club, the Wyoming Rural Carriers Association, and the South Goshen Presbyterian Church.

Edna will be dearly missed by Dwayne and Jacquie Sandlian of Torrington, and their family; children, Summer and Eric, Beki and Josh, Daniel and Tiffany, Jessica and Mike, John, Tessa, Steffie, and Beth; grandchildren, Natalie, Anna, Molli, Emma, Caylie, and Caleb; Craig and Lennie Sandlian of Lingle and their family; children Joshua and Kara, Joel and Annie, and Jeffrey and Beth; grandchildren Karlee, Trevor, Hailey, Brecken and Bryell; Bryan and Anne Sandlian of Cheyenne and their family; children Jessica and Mike, and Mark; grandchildren Brayden and Lyla; brother Alvin “Sonny” Garrelts of Yoder; sister Anna Mae McElheny of Torrington; niece, nephews, and many close friends.

She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband; two brothers; one sister; and one great-grandchild Kaylin Sandlian.

chicago

We made the fastest trip ever to Chicago this weekend for my grandma's funeral. It was a really great weekend, even though we were only there for one full day! EVERYONE from my family was able to make it, which I find amazing- we are spread out from FL to WA, to NY to CA, to WY, MN, and IL... and we haven't all been together in years. YEARS. It was so great to see all my family, even if the head lady wasn't there. :(

All of my grandma's great grandchildren together for the first time:
Myself with all my cousins- I think the last time we were together was when I turned 18:

Me and my family. :)

Josh, B, and I:

The whole family:

here we go!

Here it is- our GOOD news. The past month has been filled with nothing but horrible news, it seems, so I'm excited to say that today I have great news.

We're going to adopt!

We got the application packet a few weeks ago. We finally got all the information gathered and our autobiographies written and reference list put together, and pictures ordered and marriage license photocopied, and got it all ready to mail in today, and I did. And as I left the post office, I was a litte bit giddy- that must mean it's the right thing to be doing right now! And when I got back from the post office, I emailed an adoptive mother who has graciously opened her email inbox to us, to let her know it was done. And she wrote back,

"I know what you mean...the giddiness of "expecting" is pure Heaven!"



and I realized that's what it is- we're expecting.



Hip, Hip, Hooray!

trick-or-treat

He wore the costume! (most of it, anyway. and it had to be over his regular clothes, but I'll take it!!)

At my school's Halloween Carnival:
Carving pumpkins:

He drew the nose himself. :)

iep

Had a meeting at preschool on Tuesday afternoon to put Brecken on an IEP. He'll be on it for two things- speech (to fix his K's, hard C's, and G's- letters that use the back of the tongue) and for a sensory processing disorder. It was a super intereting meeting, an hour and a half long (and B did great playing the whole time!) and soooo many things are falling into place and making sense now! (like how he hates socks, hated footed pj's, the pickiness in clothing, etc.)

Basically, he has the texture sensory issue I had already suspected, but he also has an auditory processing disorder. We didn't see that at home because we don't have a lot of chaos and noise going on. But they are noticing at school that when things get crazy, as preschool tends to do, he shuts down and won't do anything. If anything new happens, he shuts down because it's not in his routine. The OT had a heck of a time getting him tested for motor skills because she had to pull him outside and he wouldn't do anything because that's not what was "supposed" to happen. They said he has a hard time getting his work done because he's always looking around at what's happening in the classroom. They were quick to assure us he wasn't doing it to be naughty (and it's NOT ADD), it's just him self-preserving and being extremely guarded- if he knows what's going on, he won't be surprised- that's why he is making sure everything is "ok" while he's supposed to be working. He is always observing to make sure things will be alright and he won't be surprised.

I asked him last night if he likes it when it's noisy in his class and he said, "No. I can't think!!"

They also said that if it gets too crazy at recess, he leaves the kids and plays with the teachers, because he knows the teachers are safe and there won't be noise and anything unexpected. He just gets very overwhelmed with noise and chaos because his body can't process it right. He also has trouble doing anything that might be uncomfortable to him- like new activities, etc. One day they did an experiment with the class on tastes- salty, sour, sweet, etc. He wouldn't let them put anything on his plate because he was afraid of what it was!

So the OT (who is incredible) is going to do some pull-out work with him on how to deal with new situations, how to deal with noise, things he might think are scary, teaching him how to judge if things are safe, ans working on textures. The speech pathologist is going to work with him on letters. Each of those things will happen twice a week.

It really is making sense though. Since the people that moved in across the street have been there, he refuses to be in his room by himself. That's around the time he said he heard something bad outside. They have loud trucks and loud parties, so we think he heard one of those and his brain then told him it's unsafe. He will literally poop in his pull-up at night, from crying so hard when we try to make him sleep in there. It breaks my heart, and he's not doing it on purpose since he doesn't have a clue it happened. So now we know why- he knows mom an dad's bedroom is safe since we are there, and he thinks his isn't.

And why he won't try new food- he's afraid to try new things.

And why when we go to someone else's house, it takes him a long time to warm up- they said it's him making sure it's safe first.

And why he won't wear socks, or anything that e hasn't tried on and has deemed comfortable first.

It's fascinating to me!! Maybe if the OT can get some good results, B will be willing to go into his room. And he'll branch out on food, even though I think he'll always be a small eater. And hopefully he can deal with noises better! (Poor kid, the teachers said sometimes he stops and covers his ears and cries for his mom. :( )

They ALSO said, which is even more fascinating to me, that there have been studies recently linking kids that have sensory disorders to being in the NICU when they were born! The special ed director for the preschool has a grandson that was born at 30 weeks and was in the NICU for a long time, and his auditory sensory disorder has been linked to his NICU stay. So interesting!

They did say he LOVES shaving cream day where they get to play with the shaving cream on the tables. He loves that at home, too. :) And his teacher from last year that still works with him this year said he is the most kind and caring kid she has had, and is one of her favorite kids she's taught. That made my heart swell a little bit. (OK, a lot. :) )

So there you go- I'll keep you updated as things happen!!

internet

I have a whole lot to say, but this weekend our internet went down and we just TODAY got it fixed! We had to get a new modem from the internet company. And with super hectic schedules all around this week, we were just finally able to meet up with him today. *sigh*. The good news is, our internet works again. The bad news is, my email won't work and emails are being bounced back to their senders. I sat on hold for 10 minutes tonight with the company (who knew they'd be so busy at 9 at night?!) and finally gave up. I'll try again tomorrow.

Anyway, lots of news to share regarding a meeting we had with Brecken's preschool last night, but since it's late at night and I 1)forget things at night and 2)type all sorts of typos at night, I'll leave that post for tomorrow. :)

Until then...

grandma

RITA LOUISE GLEASON


Rita Louise Gleason, 92, an active member of the Chicago Community. Member of the Peace Corps and a Red Cross Volunteer her entire adult life. Beloved wife of the late Walter R. Gleason; loving mother of Rita (Dwight) Stiehl, Ginger (Rich) White, Rich (Karen, nee Smith) and the late Walter (Roberta, nee Blackwell) and Patrick (Sandra, nee Hinzman); dear grandmother of 11; and great-grandmother of seven. Memorial Services at a later date. Info: Nelson Funeral Home, 773-561-5147 or http://www.nelsonfunerals.com/.

Published in Chicago Tribune on October 14, 2010

another angel

My grandma passed away today. I'll write more about it later, but wanted to share something a friend told me this evening that made me tear up again.

"I like to think of grandparents as guardian angels. Now you have one more person working to get Brecken a brother or sister."

I think she's right. Gram, pick us out a great one!

aunt dorothy

Dorothy Louise Yorges




January 5, 1942 – October 6, 2010

Funeral services for Dorothy Louise Yorges, 68, will be held at 10 a.m on Monday, Oct. 11, 2010 at the First Wyoming United Presbyterian Church with the Rev. Curtis Hill officiating. Burial will follow in the Valley View Cemetery. Dorothy died Oct. 6, 2010 surrounded by her loving family at home after a long and courageous battle with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Memorials may be directed to the South Goshen Presbyterian Church. Visitation will be Sunday from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the funeral home and the casket will be closed at the service. Arrangements are under the direction of the Colyer Funeral Home and friends may send condolences to the family at www.colyerfuneralhome.com.

Dorothy was born Jan. 5, 1942 in Torrington the daughter of Harley and Lydia (Jenkins) Babbitt. She was raised around the LaGrange and Yoder area. She lived a short time in Oregon while she was recovering from severe burns as a child. While she was in high school she met Earl Yorges at a Yoder dance where he danced her off her feet and into his heart. They were married on April 25, 1959 at the Presbyterian Church in Yoder. They lived for five years in the Veteran, Wyoming area and then moved to a farm ten miles west of Yoder where they farmed and ranched until they moved to Torrington in 1986. Dorothy helped run the farm with Earl and they raised four children. She enjoyed raising her family, gardening, sewing, and every aspect of farm and ranch life. She especially loved springtime when all the baby calves were being born, the birds were singing, and the refreshing sight of new life that springtime brings. She also loved late summer when the smell of wheat harvest was in the air and the golden wheat fields were abundant. She devoted her life to God and was active in every aspect of the church and also made it a mission in her life to volunteer at the nursing home until her health denied her that privilege. She filled many pulpits as a lay minister in Wyoming and was a long-time member of the South Goshen Presbyterian Church.

Dorothy is survived by her devoted and loving husband Earl; her children, Marty Yorges, Becky (Richard) Reyes, Lori (Rod) Weyrich, and Vicky (Ed) Stovall; seven grandchildren, Colin (Emily) Yorges and Haley Yorges, Alisa Reyes, Jenna and Shelby Weyrich, and Paige and Bailey Stovall; her brothers Kenneth, Raymond, Leonard, and Harold Babbitt; her sisters Myrtle Brewster and Rosie Dillman; and other family members that loved her very much. She was preceded in death by her parents Harley and Lydia Babbitt; brother Merle Babbitt; an infant brother; and a nephew Jiggs Babbitt.

so i don't forget this conversation...

Brecken to Daddy: Mommy is a princess, so treat her like one.
Daddy: Well tell Mommy that I am the king then.
Brecken: No, I am the king! And Mommy is a princess.
Daddy: So what am I then?
Brecken: The horse. You are the horse.

I had tears, I was laughing so hard!

my 4-year-old

I don't think I've been very good at actually documenting my child as he grows. In talking with my sister-in-law this weekend, I was wondering what size shoe my little guy was wearing when he was my niece's age, and I'm not sure I ever wrote that down! So I stole this from a friend (Thanks, Amy! LOL!) so I can document.


Wearing: 3T. Sometimes the waists are a bit big, but the length is about right. I thought we'd never get into 3T. :) He still wears some 2T shirts that he loves. He is very picky about what he wears- he will only wear sweatpants and basketball shorts (and he has to pick them out) and only has a few certain shirts he will wear. Picky, picky! He wears size 10 shoes, we think- hard to tell when he loves his Crocs so much. :) He's in size 10-11 for those. We are going to need new tennis shoes for this winter.

Eating: Favorite foods are pizza, chips, apples, yogurt, hot dogs, carrots, french fries, goldfish, and pasta. He won't eat meat unless it's a chicken nugget or a hot dog, which let's face it- those two really can't be considered meat. :) He's recently discovered chicken drumsticks though, and those are getting a thumbs up. He loves dipping things in ranch or ketchup. He has always been an eater that eats teeny tiny amounts, but since turning four, his appetite has grown enough to notice. Maybe we're in for a growth spurt??

Speaking of grown spurt: He is currently about 39 inches tall and 31 pounds.

Random Stuff: He loves playing games on the iPad or iPods, and can beat Josh sometimes in Golf on the Wii. He could play real golf every day all day- along with football and basketball. He practices and practices throwing and kicking and gets so excited when he gets better from practicing. He no longer wants to ride in his stroller to the park- he'd much rather get on his bike helmet and ride his bike (with training wheels) instead. *sniff, sniff*, my baby is no longer a baby. :(

Four years old is proving (so far! knock on wood!) to be much easier than three years old. We never had the "Terrible Two's"- it was more like the "Terrible Three's"! Three was rough. So far, however, things have mellowed out a bit since he has turned four. Hopefully it continues. :)

He truly is the love of our lives. I couldn't ask for a better kid.

a vacation

My friend Karin (who I went to visit in July) asked me about 6 weeks ago if she could come visit. I thought she meant just sometime in the future- but she meant right now!! So she booked her tickets and came to see us this past weekend.

What fun we had!

She got here Friday evening. She was more than happy to come with us to the head football coach's house for dinner that night- and she fit right in!! After that, Josh stayed home with Brecken so Karin and I could have girl time in the hot pools under the stars. Girl time is not something I get a lot of, so it was so nice!

Saturday Josh, B and I decided to show Karin the mountains. We stopped at my school first to show her around, and had lunch while we were in town. Then we made our way up to Aspen Alley. I was so excited as we got up there- the trees were absolutely gorgeous and bright yellow. We've never been able to get to Aspen Alley in all it's glory; it's either been green, or the leaves are gone already. So I was pretty sure we were going to hit it at the right time, after seeing all these great trees! However, we got there and the Alley was GREEN! It was still beautiful though, and the weather could not have been any better, so we had a wonderful time walking around.


That afternoon we relaxed, hit a few stores downtown, and played at the park. After a delicious dinner, Karin and I took Brecken swimming.

Sunday, we all went to Cheyenne so Stacey could take B's 4-year old pictures. I'm always amazed at what she gets! I posted the link below. Karin got to see her first oil wells, the smallest town in Wyoming, and the state capitol all in the same trip! :)

Karin, we had a great time with you. Thanks so much for everything you brought. The lamp is burning every night! :) Brecken is in love with you. COME BACK SOON! We miss you already!!

this year's pictures!

Stacey, as always, did a great job! Here is the sneak peek- can't wait to see the rest!


http://staceyjphotog.blogspot.com/2010/09/socks.html

crabapple jelly

I have a million crabapples on my tree out in the front yard. I usually just let them run their course, fall of the tree, let the deer eat them. I felt creative this fall, however, and since one afternoon I found myself home a whole hour early, I decided to make jelly. Brecken helped every step of the way!

Crabapple Jelly:
10 cups prepared crabapples
5 cups water
5 cups crabapple juice extracted from apples
5 cups sugar
1 box pectin

Wash picked apples by placing them in a large bowl of water. Let soak for 10 minutes. Any worms in the apples will float to the top.

Halve the apples. It's easier to pull the stems out after you cut the apple in half.

Put the 10 cups of apples in 5 cups of water and boil for 15 minutes. Stir, but do not mash the apples! After 15 minutes, strain the juice from the apples. You can add 1/2 cup of water if you need it to make the full 5 cups of juice. If you need more than 1/2 cup of water, put the apples back in the pot with as much water as you need to get 5 cups of juice, plus 1 extra cup to account for evaporation. Strain again, until you have your 5 cups.

Add pectin to juice and dissolve. Bring to a hard boil for 3 minutes.

Add all the sugar at one time. Stir to dissolve and bring to a hard boil for 2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Your mixture will be like syrup but should coat the spoon.

Pour mixture into canning jars, 1/4" from the top. Add lids and rings. Put in a big pot of boiling water to seal the jars. I boiled the jars for 20 minutes. Take jars out of boiling water. Let sit for 12-24 hours without moving them. Check jars to make sure they sealed by pushing the little button on the top. Refrigerate and use any unsealed ones within 3 weeks.

dinnertime conversations

Josh to Kara: Got any plans this weekend?
Kara: Nope, you?
Josh: Nope.
Brecken: I DO! We can go to Disney World, ride the rides, and then go shopping at store after store! Then we can come home!

and then later...
Brecken: Mommy, when will I get hair in my armpits?
Me (while trying not to choke): When you're big.
Brecken: But I am! I'm already FOUR!

4 years old

Boy, how time flies. Can't believe my little baby is 4 years old today.

party, party, party!

We spent the weekend in Lingle for Josh's annual golf tournament with his dad. We had a great weekend, even though we didn't get to see much of Josh! Lennie and I spent Saturday morning shopping in Scottsbluff, and the afternoon at Annie's house, playing with the kids.

After the tournament was done for the day, we went out to the club and had dinner with Josh and Craig. After dinner, Josh, B and I went to Pee Wee's to hang out for a while. We left when Brecken announced he was ready for bed and headed to the door. :)

Sunday, Lennie, B, and I went out to lunch with Pee Wee and Aunt Mae. Then we headed over to Pee Wee's for a little while. It was good to be able to spend time with her!

That afternoon, Brecken was really antsy for his birthday party that was Sunday evening. So Lennie and I took him out to a farm to pick some vegetables for us to take home. There's nothing better than fresh sweet corn!!

FINALLY it was time for the birthday party, and he didn't have to ask anymore, "Please, can I just have a teeny tiny peek in one present??" :) We had a great time with our family and friends that were able to come! Brecken got a lot of great presents, including a TAG reading system from Josh and I and lots of books to go with it from other people- he's been reading it ALL DAY today and letting us know how fun it is!! He also got the dolphin pillow pet that he's been begging for for months, from Pee Wee, a TAG interactive U.S. map, a play-doh spaghetti factory, some new shirts and flip flops, a new movie, lots of great stuff!

It was a great weekend!!