Busy!!!

Things are going well.  Ok, as well as they can when you have 3 small kids and a 10 week old puppy at home.  It’s Easter break this week and I’m guessing Kathie will probably go crazy fairly soon.

Braden continues with his gross and fine motor skills therapy sessions twice a week.  He is already getting tan from playing outside!  He loves playing with all his friends and (sometimes) his sister.  His birthday is next Monday and he’ll be five.  He’s very excited.

Emma is a constant:  A constant roller coaster of emotion.  She can be the sweetest girl one minute and a screaming devil child the next.  She’s very smart and I think she takes advantage of our lack of constant discipline at times.  Wait, I meant to say consistent there.  No, actually, with her it’s probably constant.  But I mostly joke about Emma and her fits.  She really is a sweet girl.  Her latest thing is pretending to be a baby, a momma or a daddy.  “I’m not Emma!  I’m a baby. Waahhhh”

Alex has had a rough week or so.  He hasn’t been feeling quite himself and we suspect it’s new teeth coming, but really aren’t sure.  No fever or other symptoms.  He’s just cranky a lot.  Ok, a lot for him… because he still is a very happy kid.  He’s also getting physical therapy once a week to help out with his core muscle tone.  But that doesn’t stop him from trying to climb everything in sight.  The other day he figured out he can get into the bathtub.  Or, rather, he figured out that he can get over the edge of the top and that gravity takes over from there.  He also really enjoys being outside and swinging.

Bindi is doing well.  Probably amazingly well for a 10 week old puppy, but it’s a little hard to judge when your embedded in the situation.  She has had a few accidents, but is house broken for the most part.  Of course we don’t really let her out without supervision yet, so there’s still some work there.  She’s getting a little better with the nipping and is starting to learn commands.  She came up to Emma the other day and Emma said “Sit!” and her little..um… moderately sized… butt plopped right down on the ground and she sat there looking for her treat.  At last measurement she was 27 pounds, but I think she’s growing in size faster than weight.

I know this is getting a bit long, so I’ll leave you with a Bradenism.  Braden took on himself to hide an Easter egg for Emma in his toolbox.  Then he wanted to give her a subtle hint, so he said “Emma, there’s an egg in the toolbox.  No.  Wait.  I didn’t mean that.  Um…. there’s an egg someplace where we carry lots of tools.”  Subtle he isn’t!

Breaking News

As I finished writing the latest Alex Updates blog post, I witnessed Alex climb two stairs to get by his brother and sister on the landing.  Then I saw him pull himself up to standing on the couch.  I attribute this rapid development to our upcoming consultation with Birth to Three.

Alex Updates

Haven’t really said too much about how Alex is growing/developing lately, so here’s a quick update.  He’s growing and developing. :)

But seriously, his second tooth (bottom, left) has not poke through.  It looks like the top two are pretty close too, but who knows when they’ll poke through.  He’s still army crawling like a mad man, but has started getting up on his hands and knees.  He can also crawl up on top of a couch cushion if we put it on the floor. 

He loves to dance and any time you sing or play music he rocks back and forth like disco never went out of style.  His favorite past time these days is grabbing the cat and eating his tail.  Sterling seems to almost enjoy it, as he keeps coming by Alex, even after he gets his tail pulled.

Trains at the Domes

Another annual trip to the domes was a success.  The kids really enjoy the trains and plants.  Kathie really enjoys the warm weather.  I think she’d move into the tropical rain forest dome if they let her.

We’re not sure, but we think Alex forgot what it was like to be outside.  He really enjoyed sitting up in his stroller and looking around.  Emma probably would have enjoyed sitting in the stroller too, as most of the time she spent asking to be carried.  That’s going to have to change!  She even tried telling us that Alex wanted to get out of the stroller (so she could get in).  She’s a sneak that way.

After the domes we had a special treat for lunch.  We went to Friday’s Front Row at Miller Park.  Braden couldn’t quite figure out why we were going to Miller Park when we were supposed to be going to a restaurant.  He also had ribs for lunch, which he thought was fun, once he got over the fear of accidentally eating a bone.

All in all it was a pretty fun day!  Although that night was a bit tough, as I think both kids were over-tired after the Admirals the night before.

 

 

Are Any Kids Really Normal?

Are any kids really normal, or are our kids just all abnormal?  Braden has anxiety issues and was speech delayed.  Emma has asthma and has a significant issue with leaving toys in the bathtub while it’s draining.  And I mean screaming, panicking type issues.

Now Alex is going to see Birth-to-Three,  (Birth to Three?  Birth 2 Three? Birth 2 3?) because we’ve noticed that he only stands on his tip toes when trying to take steps.  It’s pretty severe: to the point where he’s curling his toes underneath and walking on the top of his foot.  Hopefully it’s just a phase, but he hasn’t started pulling himself up or cruising yet, so getting a consult on it will be at least reassuring.

I think society is a bit more concerned about slowly developing kids these days than it used to be.  I’m still on the fence whether that’s a good thing or not.  On one hand it can help catch issues earlier and get children help.  On the other hand, it tends to cause anxiety in parents more.  Then again, parents are generally more anxious these days anyway, so maybe that’s just a wash.

I’m still not sure whether this is a real issue with Alex or not, but I think it’s good that we’re consulting with them now.  I think it’s mostly an excitement thing where he gets really tense when he’s excited about taking steps, or standing next to the couch and he contracts his muscles, making him stand on his toes.  I stood him up in front of me and let him calm down a little and he was standing flat footed.  Plus he jumps in his exersaucer very well and doesn’t seem to stand on his toes there.  So, we’ll see. 

But, all things considered, I think we are extremely blessed as a family, regardless of our ‘minor’ issues.

Clowning Around

Nothing really needs to be said about these pictures, except that Kathie and I laughed for about 15 minutes straight.

Good weekend

Great weather this weekend and good times.  No, not the big parties or exciting events some people might focus on, but a great weekend in my books.

Today we had a great picnic in the park.  Braden is really starting to become an accomplished tag player. Emma can climb playground equipment like no one else.  And Alex thinks napping outside is divine. 

We decided to stop having Braden take naps this weekend.  So far he’s doing very well with it.  He does seem to relax and calm down a little while Emma is napping, so that probably helps.  But so far he’s done pretty well and an earlier bed time seems to be working out well too.

Alex is doing great!  He’s eating like a champ and is growing very quickly.  He’ll sleep somewhere between 5 minutes and 3 hours at a time.  Although right now he’s going on 3.5 hours… SHHHHH…. Alex… go back to sleep.  Well, time to go get a bottle!  Good night!

Billy R. Ehlke

We’re changing Alex’s name to Billy Rueben Ehlke.  Ok, not really, but I’m starting to wonder if we shouldn’t.

But we had some good news today!  His levels went down from 9.7 to 8.8.  So we’re headed in the right direction without any light therapy, other than sitting in the sunlight.