Jacob Turns 7

I need to play major catch up - I keep telling myself I'm going to get with it and start blogging on a daily basis again but then something comes up and I find another day going by without posting. I miss it - I feel like I'm constantly behind and I'm not keeping track of things the way I'd like to. I said that after school was in for a few weeks I'd get used to this new schedule and adjust but we're almost 9 weeks in now and many days I feel like I'm right where we started. Seems things are even more hectic with the little ones in preschool two mornings a week - I'm usually busy doing something with one of their schools so that basically takes me away from the house where I would have been getting things done. I suppose I need to find a way to make our schedule work - maybe eventually I'll get the hang of it.

I'm over a week late posting about Jacob's birthday so I'll start there and then catch up on the other stuff later.

Jacob turned 7 on Oct 10th - it was a bit of a bittersweet day. I don't know how it popped up on me like that but it's incredibly hard for me to believe he's 7 years old now. Alittle bit about Jacob right now : He's loving 1st grade and doing an excellent job! His teacher says he's the picture perfect student and she couldn't ask for better. He pays attention and is always well behaved. He is the one to stop and help someone when everyone else passes them by. I am so happy and proud of his behavior and personality at school!!! Of course most of the time he's the total opposite at home :) Guess he feels like he can let loose here! He's wild and full of spunk and constantly moving. He seems to go 200 miles a minute and can never get enough. I tell my husband constantly that if we could recreate him as a child it'd definitely be Jacob :) He loves all things police - I think he's seen every episode of cops known to man ( he's rubbed his cop love off on Caleb too so looks like we'll be seeing a lot more of that). He loves motorcycles and dirt bikes and would think we were parents of the century if we actually bought him one. Although he can be wild and totally loud he is a thoughtful, caring and loving kid and I adore him! He's an awesome big brother and Caleb absolutely idolizes him!!!! When Jacob is at school Caleb constantly asks when he's coming home and has been known to get upset that he's not here.

We went low key on birthdays this year - it can always be a little tough because Jacob and Lucas' birthdays are only 8 days a part and then close to Christmas also but we always celebrate with family on one day and then we celebrate again on their actual birthdays. They always get to choose whatever they want to eat for dinner whether it be at home or going out - this year Jacob chose to go to his grandparent's house and eat hot dogs and french fries - shocked me!!!!! We had cake (which was the complete opposite of what I ordered with his name spelled wrong) but he liked it and for the moment that was what mattered. He could have possibly been the happiest kid on the planet when he found that he got money from his grandparents for his birthday - I don't think I'll ever forget his face when he opened his card.

On his birthday we had his favorite meal at home - cornflake chicken and mac and cheese. I still can't believe he didn't want to go out to eat anywhere and then we had cookie cake for dessert. He got the new Karate Kid movie from his grandmother and a cop play set and a new bike from us. He had ridden his last bike until it was falling apart. Lucas gave him a soccer ball and he of course had to go spend his money as soon as he got it and racked up on video games!!

Now that that's over I think he should go back to being a baby again because I miss that!!!!

Caleb and Allie's New School

I'm way behind in blogging right now so I'm going to try to catch up. Caleb and Allie started preschool a few weeks ago and I feel like we're just beginning to get our feet back underneath us. They are going 2 days a week for three hours a day.

I was so excited when I found out I was able to get them enrolled at this preschool - it's by far one of the best around our town and one of the hardest to get into. I have never ever heard a single bad thing about this school. I really wasn't sure that I wanted to put Allie in yet but when I got there and they had an opening I was scared not to take it - my luck I'd have gotten Caleb in and then next year Allie's age group would have been full. I was worried about Allie from the beginning - whether she was ready or not - how she would adjust and exactly how she and I would handle the transition. I knew Caleb would do okay - all I heard was how ready he was to go to school day in and day out all summer while we were waiting for the first day.

We had meet the teacher too. I couldn't be more pleased with their teachers !! They both really like their teachers and surprisingly Allie went straight to hers and gave her a hug - I was shocked!

The first day went great - they both dropped off good with no tears. When I picked them up I heard they only had a few tears throughout the morning but overall did great. Second day wasn't quite as good. It took a few days for Caleb to catch on and want to go without tears but now he's excited and ready to go and can't wait to play when he gets there. He's made a great transition!

       As soon as they walked in the door after their first day they hit the floor - I think they were worn out!

Allie is still adjusting I think - I still worry about her. She's been sick for the last week and a half so I'm sure that has contributed to my worries a little. She has dropped off fine and knows to go to her teacher but has been fussier during the morning while she's there. She has had one great day with no tears at all and then she got sick and fussier as the next school day came up. I picked her up early last week and then she didn't go on Thursday because she was sick so I'm anxious to hear how she does on Tuesday morning when it's time to go back. I hope the fussiness that she developed was just because she didn't feel good and I pray she does well. I have been doing a lot at the older kids school while they are in school and have lots scheduled there to keep me busy. I'm not one that can drop them off and come home until it's time to pick them up again - my lazy days will come soon enough and I dread those!

It's That Time Again

                                                   Both boys at Meet The Teacher night.

Yesterday as the first day of school for Lucas and Jacob - it was a horrible day or at least it started out that way. They were both excited to go to school - Lucas walked to his classroom by himself and was fine. I walked in with Jacob and got all of his stuff put away and ready and as I was getting ready to leave I could tell he was getting nervous. He tried to cover it up but I could still see through. I asked him if he was okay as I left and he said yes but as he spoke I could hear him choking up and it tore into my soul. My heart broke and I wanted to pack his things up and take him back home with me. Instead I picked my heart up off the floor and stumbled out the door.

Then when I got home everything was blah - nothing seemed to go right and all I could think about was the fact that time flies by all too quickly. I was holding together somewhat until I talked to David on the phone and then I lost it. I started worrying about everything and stressing over Caleb and Allie. You see I have enrolled them both in a two day a week program for 3 hours in the morning at a local church preschool in town. One of the biggest reasons I have done it is for the socialization that I feel they both need and also so I can be at the school and not have to call on my mom to come watch them all the time. Caleb is ready - he's excited to go and everytime we drive past he tells everyone in the car that is his school! Allie on the other hand - it gives me panic attacks to think about her. I am going back and forth about her - I'm not sure she's ready. She's such a baby - I know she's 2 but still - I am home and it's my job to care for her. Maybe I should wait another year on her. I don't know what to do - I am not sure I can handle leaving her somewhere crying like that though - I'm not sure I have that in me.

So all that came out yesterday along with the fact of the older boys heading to school and it made for a splendid day!

I was so happy to see the bus pull up yesterday afternoon - which with all the hassle has ended them back in the car line again starting today - I could have cried when I laid eyes on them. The younger ones were so happy to see them too - they missed them so much while they were at school. With all my worry Jacob got off the bus and said 1st grade was the coolest ever! I asked him why he thought so and he said " We get to keep our water bottles on our desks ALL day long and we get to drink them WHENEVER we want to!!!" It just doesn't get any cooler than that!

Wordless Wednesday - Allie's first week in her big bed

Jacob's Happenings

This kid has come a long way! I remember being so terrified at the beginning of kindergarten and now he's 3.5 weeks from walking through those same doors and into first grade. I'm not sure I'm ready for it but he sure it!

This past week he finally learned to tie his shoes!!!!!! Wahoo!!!! He was supposed to learn while he was in kindergarten but being the bad mama that I am I never got around to teaching him how to do it. All of the sudden it hit me last week that they weren't going to tie his shoes for him in 1st grade so he had to learn. I sat down for what I thought was going to be a long grueling task of teaching him and I showed him twice and the little sucker did it! Reminded me of the first time he got on his bike and just started riding without training wheels like he'd been on there forever. One thing I have learned about Jacob is that he picks up on things very quickly!!! Smart little guy.

He also reminds me of an alien right now :) He finally has a loose tooth and he is soooooooo excited! He can't stop showing me how much looser his tooth is from the previous day. All of his friends had loose teeth last year and his never were. He had to have his top one pulled but he wanted the whole experience of losing his first tooth. So this bottom one is finally loose and he already has the adult one coming in behind it. I can't help it but when there are two teeth in there at the same time it reminds me of an alien or something - it's so weird looking. These pictures are weird but it was a hard angle and I had to document :)

I believe he's ready for the toothfairy. He might even let me pull it today - Yippee - or not so much. I'm not a big fan of that part of it. I'd rather it just fall out on its own rather than me have to pull it out.

Allie's Big Girl Bed

Allie has never been a very good sleeper. From the time that she came home from the hospital until present day she wakes up night after night. I have rocked and held her while she went to sleep since the day she was born so I know that I haven't helped matters much. However she's a little over 2 now and it has hit me that she needs to learn that she goes to sleep in her own bed. I'm not one for letting them cry it out - I just can't do it regardless of what anyone else says it's just not for me. So yesterday we bit the bullet and I changed her crib to a big girl bed. She loved it!!!! She got on it and played and laid down. I think the coolest part for her was that she could jump on it :)

Last night we had to go and get bedding for her bed because her bumper wouldn't work anymore. She was so excited - I talked it up all day long and by the time we got to the store she was jumping up and down with a huge grin on her face. She picked out what she wanted and got her pillow and then we headed home. We made up her bed and she continued to go in and out of there. In fact she played in there and each time I couldn't find her she was sitting in her bed.

Then it was time to go to sleep - she wasn't such a huge fan of that. I sat beside her (minus the rail we bought) and rubbed her back. She cried and cried and cried - I finally figured that she was used to my direct body contact each and every night so I laid my head down on her pillow and rubbed her head. She put her nose right up against mine and tucked her hands under my head and went right to sleep. It was one of those moments that I will remember in my mind until the day that I die. Such a precious memory! I took her Daddy in there after I got her to sleep and he just stood and stared at her. It was during that as he was kneeling down looking at her that I almost lost it. I've never seen love like that - don't get me wrong he loves his boys and he's a phenomonal dad to them but there's something about a Daddy and his daughter. It was the most raw intimate moment that I've ever been a part of.

She slept in there until 2 and then came into our room - I'm okay with that. I don't mind her coming in during the night as long as she'll go to sleep in her room and stay in there for a while. I just want her to be able eventually to put herself to sleep and then I'm able to read in the bed before I go to bed since she's not in there to start out with.

As for the rail - well the one we got just won't work. Her bottom rail comes up a little bit so it's not even with the bottom of the mattress and the rail has to go down a bit for it to fit. I can't fold it down because of her bed rail therefore it's too high for me to get to her while I'm sitting there and she's going to sleep. She did fine last night without it. We put pillows down in case she rolled off. I went in at one point a little after 11 and she was close to the edge so I moved her over and then at 2 she got out on her own and was calling for her Daddy. I'd say even though she didn't stay in there all night that overall the first night was a huge success!