2013 - Growth

                                          Niko - 6 years old

                                         Jacob - 2 1/2 years old





2013 was very good for my boys. We did not have major health issues with them, and I was glad about that!


Nicholas - Turned 6 years old on December 19th. He had a good year. It was the year he started Kindergarten. Mentally - Nicholas is very bright. He was VERY ready for Kindergarten. He is in the highest level of Reading in School. That blew me away. He still needs to practice fine motor though. He does not know how to tie his shoes (but I have a 2nd grader who does not know how to do that either), but he can zip his coat and totally take care of himself in the bathroom. He still has issues with writing his name (which drives us nuts), but he knows Math and numbers really well. I believe the little things will come with time. He is very hyper, and I plan on having a talk with his doctor (again) about ADHD. The teacher doesn't see it, because he sits still on the carpet. However, everything he does it has to be rushed. Physically, he loves Soccer. We also got the Wii for Christmas. I am hoping that helps the energy level too. Medically, we are having issues with his thyroid level. He just got retested, so we will see how that goes. He takes pills and shots now. Sigh.... Nicholas has done well this year. Still mouthy and full of attitude - but I still love him.


Jacob - Turned 2 years old on May 23rd. He has come a long way in a year. Mentally, delayed, but he is doing very well. OT will probably stop in April of 2014. Speech is going OK. I think he does a lot of his accomplishments on his own with time. He likes to repeat, but if we ask him a question, "What did you have for lunch?" He can't tell us or he will say no. He has just started putting two words together. I love when he does that. He will say "Ahmi's.....(pause)...... house". He says Niko, but very rarely will he say his name. He has done very well this year, and I am very proud of him. Physically - doing good. No more PT. He tip toe walks. Still falls down quite a bit. Medically, He had an MRI done in the Summer. Everything came back normal. The brain did show some abnormal stuff, but we will continue to see the specialist. His growth is still normal. No shots!

We have had a few colds, but I would say this year was pretty good for illnesses. We started 2013 with the FLU. Chris ended up in the hospital in November.

This wasn't a crazy year, so I am glad for that. We  had some ups and downs, but overall, this was a pretty good year!! Mandy

Merry Christmas!

 

.

Hi Everyone,

Whoa! Talk about Photo overload. I now have a camera.

. I figured out how to upload pictures on my laptop.

I am feeling better about the camera and laptop.

I did find my old camera though, but now I am used to my new camera.

 

We wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

We had a wonderful week.

Niko got his Wii. Jacob was good at opening three gifts then he was done.

My car was of course my Christmas gift, but everything after

that magical night has been great!

Chris and I went away for a few days.

He treated me like a Queen, which was awesome.

He paid for a massage, and we went to a wonderful Italian Dinner.

 

I will not be doing picture posts, like I do every year. 

Most of my pictures are on the other computer.

I think we will have this one for awhile, so I will do one next

year. I will do my Stat post about growth and learning.

I will also do our favorite memories.

 

Well, Niko and Daddy are playing Wii Golf. I need to

do laundry and have some Mommy time :)

 

Have a wonderful day!!! 

It's been awhile

 

 

 

 

Hi Everyone!
      
I know it has been awhile. My old computer crashed. I am very lucky, that we were able to get a new laptop. Sadly, all the pictures are on my old computer. I don't have many pictures to post. I also lost my camera. We have no idea the camera went. That could be a blessing in disguise though. I needed a new camera anyway. Hopefully, when the new year starts, I will be able to get a new camera. I have to do Christmas shopping first before I think about myself.

Anyway, after the old computer was unfixable, I waited a little while to get the laptop activated. I think everything is OK now. I have a love / hate relationship with this laptop. I am not used to it yet. If my finger hits the mouse, the cursor goes to another place on the paragraph. I am also not used to all the bells and whistles. I will feel better once I get used to everything. I am a very BIG creature of habit. I do not like changes...... To me this was a big one :)

Speaking of changes, Mommy got herself a new car. I LOVE it. We needed something bigger. I loved my HHR. Never had major problems with it. That was the first car I bought, and drove it the longest. There were certain things that were going wrong. My locks never locked. My speaker wire was going out, and my turn signals never went off when I made the turn. I think I turned it in at a good time. I am making the same payments on this car that I did with the HHR Of course, there are pros and cons when buying a new car. Lucky for me there were more pros with this deal. Next time it won't be so easy.  My creature of habit personality is going crazy right now :)

Everyone is doing well. We have been pretty healthy. Jacob had something going on with his nose. No one else got it though. I am thinking allergies. Niko and I start our Christmas break on the 20th. Nicholas turns 6 on the 19th. No party this year. My mom and brother are taking him to Build a Bear.

I have been insanely busy. I really hope it calms down soon. I barely got to see the boys this past  week. I worked Woodside two days this week.

Well  I need to put laundry in the dryer. Have a great Weekend! Mandy

4 Little Pumpkins....

Hi Everyone,

     I am still not finished with all our Fall activities. Only one more blog after this one, I promise. I can't leave out the Halloween pictures. Then it will be Thanksgiving time :) These pictures are from the painting pumpkins at the Library and our annual trip to Blue Jaye farm. We almost didn't make it to the Blue Jaye farm. Both boys were sick - they only had coughs, but the weather was pretty nice, and we did fine. We always enjoy that trip. They have a little Hayride and goodies for the boys.

Nicholas is doing great. We got a very good report from his teacher. He is in the high level Reading group. They take a reading test called STAR. Normal range for his age is 300 - 400. He is 717! There are things we need to work on, but they will come with time - like spacing words. Overall, we were very pleased with his progress. The teacher and I agreed that he was most certainly ready for Kindergarten. I also got a call from the growth doctor. His thyroid level is elevated, so now he has to take pills. This poor kid. He has to go back in six weeks to get it check. His bone age showed him to be at 4 years old and 10 months. I think the doctor thinks he just turned five, because she wasn't too concerned, but he is almost 6. We will just keep doing the shots. I don't want them to increase his dosage. We had problems last time they did that. He looks OK to me :)

Jacob is doing OK. He did very well at Speech this past week. He also let me put on his jacket one this week. That is progress! He has been in a very good mood. Tomorrow it will be a little warmer and then be cool again. We shall see how he handles that change.

Nothing else to report. We are doing OK :) Have a good weekend!! Mandy

Some Fall Family Time

Hi Everyone,

            I put together two events on this blog. On Thursday October 17, we went to Niko's  School for a Fall Fest. Chris was able to meet us there. It was so packed. They had it inside, because it was raining. It was OK. I think it would have been better if it was outside, but good old Cleveland weather.... The other event was at the Akron's Boo at the Zoo. That was on the next day. Chris really liked this one. I was very surprised, because he was crabby. Jacob was in one of his moods, and it was so crowded! Two crowded days in a row - ugh! I am not a big fan of crowds. We did have a good time, but Jacob was terrible!!

Everyone is doing pretty well. The coughs are gone! When I took Jacob to the doctor, she finally gave us antibiotics. Jacob was a hot mess last Saturday. He finally came out of the sick coma around 4:30pm that day. He slept a lot that day. Nicholas' cough went away pretty fast, which I was glad about. I thought he was going to be next with a doctor's visit. Chris did take them for their flu shots this past Tuesday. Jacob went first because Nicholas was scared. I thought it would have been the other way around.

Nicholas has to take pills now for his growth. His thyroid levels or some kind of levels are elevated. I have been trying to contact the doctor, but she always calls in the morning. My job is not flexible about when I need to answer or make calls, so now we are playing phone tag. In six weeks, he has to have more blood drawn to check the thyroid. He is OK with giving blood again. I was shocked! I am taking him to the Zoo today, for being such a good sport about the whole thing. He also needs new glasses. The doctor is changing his lenses. It costs 389.00 for the new glasses!!! Our insurance has been used up for the eye exams and glasses. Hopefully, in six weeks the news for the thyroid will be better.

I am having another OT come in a take a look at Jacob. We are having the sensory disorder issues with Jacob, and they really aren't getting better. Usually, we have our flare ups and we are good to go again. This time they really aren't subsiding. I am doing OK with him, but Chris has problems with him. I am very glad Jacob is feeling better, because those two weeks were rough.

Well, I am going to get ready to take the boys to the Zoo. Have a wonderful Saturday!! Mandy

Apple Picking!

                                         My Girls Weekend! Friends since 1996!!!





Hi Everyone,


       My blogs are a little out of date. I am trying to update all my pictures! I think I will have more time now. I have been working every weekend, but there is a break now. All I have this weekend is Bingo, which is a good thing, since I have a sick little bug.

A couple of weekends ago, I spent the weekend at Lakeside, Ohio with my best friends from College. We have not seen each other for over a year. Actually, they see each other because they live close to each other, but I have not seen them for over a year. Poor Barb and Jen, they have not met Jacob! It was so much fun. It was like the year of not seeing each other even mattered. We had a great time. It was a much needed weekend. I love my family very much, but I do need breaks every once in awhile.


When I got home that weekend, I took the boys apple picking. This year,  I re-enrolled Nicholas for Sunday School. I am so glad he is back in Sunday School. He loves it! It helps that his teacher is very caring and was his 3's teacher a couple of years ago. I am the 3's teacher this year. I will only probably do one year. It is very  hard for me to teach second grade and then teach 3 years old. Anyway, the Sunday School group went apple picking. They picked apples to make apple pies for the hunger center the church is involved with. It was very nice to be part of that process. We were going to help make the pies, but I had to work, which is OK too. Working is good - extra cash :) The girl in the pink hoodie, is the girl I am considering to babysit the boys in a few years. She LOVES Jacob. She is only in 7th grade, so I think we need a few more years or even a year would be fine with me. Our babysitter which we love very much, got a full time job and got married :) She is so hard to let go, and I think the feeling is mutual. She is going to watch Niko while I take Jacob to the doctor, and she is so excited to see Nicholas again!!!

Yep, my Jacob is sick. He has had something for a week and half. It started as a bad cold, and it hasn't gotten any better. We took him to the doctor once, and the doctor said there is nothing we can do (of course). This morning he woke up crying Mommy, which he never does. He has been sleeping pretty much all morning. It is either the Flu or sinus infection. My poor baby! Nicholas is OK. He has had a bad cough, but that has been it. He has not complained at all.

Well I need to get going. You may hear a lot of crying. I need to wake up Jacob and change his diaper. Then I have to put on his socks, shoes, and jacket. Should be a fun time :/ Hopefully, we will have a better update next week! Mandy