Prayers, Back update, and Grace's words

So, I have a few quick things. The first one before I forget has to do with Atticus' prayers tonight. So, first you should know that he had a rough day of behaving well on a consistent basis: lots of back talking and growling at me when I wasn't doing what he wanted. Unfortunately, earlier in the day, I told him I had a new book for him that I wanted to give him this weekend. I've had it for several weeks now and it's all about...you guessed it...Dinosaurs, and tells you where they lived and is super cool. Anyways, I wished I hadn't said that I had one because not only did he ask for it over and over and I have to remind him his behavior would indicate if he got it this weekend, but I think it made him just act worse. And I don't know why I did that. I like to reward him for acting good in a situation or for a day and I like to prepare him for the reward so he remembers and acts good. #bribery. I really think that is ok at this age if I use a normal amount of time. But, why did I tell a 3 year old who doesn't even understand 1 minute vs. 1 week that he could have something in 3 days? Dumb, Sarah.

Anyways, he really wants that book. So, tonight in our prayers, we finished up and we did the method of me saying a line and him repeating. (sometimes, he will just say it all or I will say it all or we do this repeating method). I was about to leave the room and he said he had something to add to the prayers. It went like this:

"Dear God. Thank you for the food. Please help me to be really nice. Please help me to have a lot of kindness and be really nice to Gwacie. And please help me to have a lot of kindness so I can get that dinosaur book. Amen."

That stinker. And then as I walked out the door, he looks so stinking cute as he says "I love you." But then he follows it up with, "I hope I dream about dinosaurs tonight." with that adorable, completely naïve and honest little grin on his face.

Also, I want to give a quick update on Grace's words. I swore she said "dinosaur" last night. She kept bringing over dinosaurs and roaring at me with them while I would squeal and run. But, she kept saying "di-sau". I kept listening and am willing myself to believe that is what she was saying. When I finally asked her to say "dinosaur" though, she would just say one of her regular sounds. But, I'm going to keep watching. We have also been reading a Dr. Seuss book called "Mr. Brown can moo, can you?" and without realizing it until just tonight, I have decided it's a fabulous book because it has so many sounds in it (tick tock, boom boom, splatt, whisper, etc.) and she is into repeating them and is getting better and better at it. Woohoo! She is also getting good at pointing to body parts. Just this week, she has added (to her current repertoire of eyes, nose, teeth, ears, hair, bellybutton, fingers, and toes) chin and muscles and she will put her little arms up as if she is flexing. Yay Grace!

And finally a quick update on Vic's back. So - Tiffany! you were right on track with a back plan! Thank you!! He met with a PA in a neurosurgeon's office yesterday afternoon who prescribed a weeklong prescription of an oral steroid and two pain medications and then prescribed him physical therapy 2 - 3x per week for 4-6 weeks. They want to see him back in 4 weeks to see how he is doing. Of course, Vic was hoping for a quicker fix and isn't thrilled about taking even more time out of work for appointments that often (his work schedule is very hard to schedule those kinds of things and he'd already done lots of appointments with the chiropractor). But, we are super happy that surgery is the last option, as far as this office was concerned, and hopeful that we have as much luck as our friend Tiffany did with physical therapy. He still has an appointment scheduled for a 2nd opinion for next Thursday with an orthopedic surgeon. We are really hoping it is the same opinion because we would feel better that this is the route it will take to fix him! Oh and better yet - the PA said "good luck on your race" for the big Texas Independence Relay race Vic and 11 other guys are doing at the end of March. Woohoo!

Okay - just had to get those updates in. Later!

Ice Cream Bars

On this day last week, we geared up for the park with Katherine and Olivia and then later that day, ate ice cream bars outside. Side note: Vic bought these low calories ice cream bars and then after eating one, he decided they really tasted terrible. They have been sitting in our freezer for a couple of months. But, do you think the kids notice the difference between low calorie ice cream and regular? Nope!

First, Atticus threw himself a little dance party.

 He was pretending to be a dinosaur, here.

 So many things to keep up with!

 

Later in the afternoon, ice cream bar time! 

 Yum! This ice cream stuff is good! 

 But, as Atticus would say, "We have an emuwgency here!". Grace got ice cream on her hands. In her world, this is tragic.

And I just thought it was really funny that he blended right into the leaves here.

Porch Pics and Painting and Popsicles

I have really been doing a lot of these porch pictures. On this day, we were headed to the park with our toys in hand. Atticus had his Ninja Turtle and Grace had Doc McStuffins. They were super cute and got worn out on this day at the park. When Vic got home that afternoon, he stained the fence while the two kiddos painted and played and ate popsicles.

Vic's 34th Birthday

I'm a little late in posting, but we celebrated Vic's 34th birthday on Thursday, February 5th. We made him a Butterfinger birthday pie, bought him presents, made him a card, blew up lots of balloons, and made him dinner. We had turkey chimichangas with chips and queso for dinner. I took the kids to Bed, Bath and Beyond to pick out some presents. Atticus chose two new bright purple kitchen utensils for him as well as a surprise gift we will show you below. And, for his poor back, before we knew what was wrong with it, we also got him a heating pad. What an interesting set of birthday gifts! Atticus and Grace LOVED having me blow up 20 different balloons to float around the house. And, Atticus made both Vic and Melbo (who turned 85 on the 7th!) birthday cards covered in stickers of animals and dinosaurs and balloons. It was a fun day!

 This was when Vic was headed out to work Thursday morning.

Atticus told Vic to close his eyes for his surprise!

The birthday card.

 So, this was Atticus helping Vic open his presents. First, the utensils.

 Then, here is Vic's face when he realized what Atticus bought him.

It's a back scratcher as Atticus is demonstrating here. Of everything in the Bed, Bath and Beyond store, Atticus found the ONE thing that had to do with animals. It is a back scratcher in the shape of a bear claw. It was either that or one in the shape of moose antlers. Atticus made sure to tell us that it was not a real bear claw though. It cost $12 but I couldn't tell Atticus no. It was too much of a perfect present to give to Vic, from Atticus' little heart.

And here is Atticus showing Vic how to use the back scratcher.

 

And here is a good example of poor Vic, slowly getting out of a chair and getting through the pain to get back to a standing position with movement so the pain goes away. Yikes.

 Grace used the brightly colored kitchen utensils to scratch her back, I guess.

 The back scratcher.

Then, we ate dinner and birthday cake. It was a low-key, fun birthday evening!

Grace

How cute is she?

 

So, this was one of our lazy days of barley getting dressed and playing outside in the backyard for awhile when we had fairly warm weather. Also, not Grace's bow. She is currently into choosing her bow each day as soon as I get her up from her crib for her morning diaper change. Sometimes it matches what she will wear and sometimes I have to carefully trade it out for something else. I love these bows!

Random Thoughts

Here are few other things I want to jot down:

1. Grace has been attached to me lately. I mean, she has been a mama's girl for awhile now. And, I'm sure this has to do with her being with me 24 hours a day just about. And, if I'm out of sight, I'm typically out of mind. But, if I'm in sight and there is someone else close by, you better believe she prefers me over anyone else...including Vic lately!

2. Grace is not saying many words yet. I have gone back and forth for the last 3-4 months wondering if we are on track or not. Compared at Atticus at this age, and after looking back at my blog on him at this age, he was definitely saying more words. On one hand, I don't want to worry because I figure it will happen when it happens. On the other hand, I sure don't want to ignore any signs I could be looking for that she is having trouble with verbal communication. Basically, my biggest concern is that she doesn't say anything without being prompted and even then, sometimes the sounds she says make sense and sometimes I think she is just saying any random sound to please me. Other than "mama" and "dada" or "daddy", she truly does not ask us for anything. If she is in the mood and we get on a roll, she will repeat words that I know she knows, in her own way of course, and I start to feel better. Of course, I'm prompting her to say them. But, if she wants something, she either expects me to know it (which I usually do) or points and grunts until I figure it out. She makes noises and sounds and shows all emotions, but I keep waiting for some of those words to start coming - like no, or uh-oh, or wawa (water) or eat or something. I try to make her say things before she can have them - like "eat" when she wants food or something for "water" when she is thirsty. But, usually she doesn't say anything and then just gets mad. So is she mad because she is not getting her way? Or is she mad because she really can't say what I'm asking? I also think she started doing better when we were traveling for the holidays and when GG was here for a week. So, I'm probably inhibiting her in some ways because she knows she doesn't have to work as hard. But, with other people, she has to work harder. Anyways, am I over-thinking this today? Probably. But, I'm usually good at going with the flow and watching things work out just right without me needing to spend time worrying. So, for today, I'm just thinking it through more closely.

3. Preschool applications are due already for September enrollment. I already knew I was going to put Atticus in for 2 days a week again. I can't believe this next preschool year will be his last year I have him with me before Kindergarten! And I had ZERO intentions of putting Grace in. She is younger and I like having her with me. But, after thinking for about a day on it, I have decided to at least put her application in to get her a spot. I can't decide. I've started wondering if it would benefit her to be in 2 days a week or maybe even just one. It might help with her speech (which I know this is 6 months away and I'm concerned about speech now, but still...) and it would definitely give her kids to play with. I'm fine with her just having us to play with but you should see her when she is around other kids! She either screams at them or hits them as soon as she sees them at the park or at his school. So, maybe it would be good for her to have to behave and interact with some other little ones her age, as well as have teachers to be around and listen to. I don't know - I decided I could always change my mind once September gets here.

4. So, for those of you who do not know, we are currently in a predicament with Vic's back. For about two months now, it has been giving him lots of problems. The left side of his back and top of his hip have been giving him pain when he sits. For awhile it was kind of a general soreness and pain and he went back and forth deciding if he needed a new work chair or if we needed a new mattress or if it just happened when we drove in the car for long trips. But, it wasn't until early January that it became VERY painful. Between then and now, it has finally become an issue when he sits and stands and certain times when he bends a certain way. He can lunge, squat, run, walk, and as long as he stays active, he feels good. But, as soon as he sits or gets into his truck or does anything sedentary, it hurts him so much until he warms that part up again with movement - which usually takes 8-10 very slow steps. He went to his family doctor in early January who referred him to a chiropractor who decided his muscle was the problem. After about 2-3 weeks of massages and electricity type therapy and stretches and muscle relaxers and x-rays, the chiropractor was stumped. They ordered an MRI and we have learned as of this past Friday, that he has a bulging disc and a extruding disc plus a lot of other fancy words to describe them. Bottom line, they are not in place and thus, causing spinal fluid to leak out onto his nerves causing that terrible pain. These are located right above his tailbone which explains why this pain is caused mostly when he sits down or stands up. He now has appointments with two spinal specialists who will tell us what our options are. The chiropractor said that surgery is a very big possibility. Another friend of ours, who is a family medicine doctor, recommended one of the spinal specialist doctors and a pain management doctor who might also have insight to less invasive procedures. So, we don't know what to expect. There is a lot of relief knowing what is wrong now. But, we do not know much about what the future holds or how fast things need to happen. The chiropractor said this is something that could have been happening for years since Vic has always had some random pains in this area that last a couple of days and then go away. They have just never been this excruciating until now. The other part of this entire thing is that Vic is supposed to be running a big team relay race at the end of March. Of course, his health is most important so at first, we just assumed he would have to withdraw from the race. This would be NO good because he doesn't want to let his team down and it was his idea in the beginning to get a team together! But, we will do what we have to do. But, it's also interesting that the pain does not hurt when he runs, as he has been running anywhere from 4-8 miles every couple of days to train for the race. And after he has talked to our doctor friend, he thinks there may be a few options. So, he is not backing down yet! And hopefully won't have to. But, we will see.

5. Winter. I love winter. I love having cold weather because it means staying cozy in the house. I don't want it to last too long, but I do love it for a few months. The bad part of winter? Well, we do not go outside every day and we end up being extra lazy around the house. We watch too many movies and we play, but we don't accomplish much. I have decided I don't mind. Grace has become slightly addicted to the TV being on, but I've also noticed that when it's not something she cares about watching (like HGTV), she just plays like normal. I just tell myself we will make up for it when it's hot outside again and we are doing park playdates and pool playdates and taking daily walks again. And, then we won't have time for any movies or cartoons! Until then....we are enjoying being lazy.

6. Grace has decided in the last couple of weeks that she wants to be rocked to sleep again. I did this for a few days when she was in the middle of a cold, but after a couple, she wouldn't fall asleep. She liked being rocked but took so long to sleep that I would just lay her down anyways. And the she would scream and cry. So, now she does not put herself to sleep at night without crying. And the worst part? I decided the last two nights to lay her down without rocking at all. And she just stands up and cries out "Mama! Mama!" over and over while pointing at the rocking chair. As I shut the door to her room amidst that tearful scene, my heart just breaks. I know she only expects it because I gave in a few times, but poor baby! She just needs her mama! And I love to rock her so much...just not for an hour to just get her to sleep every night! So, in a few days I think we will go back to normal. But, it just shows that changing a little one's routine can really throw them!

7. Naps are my favorite time of day for my kids. It means I get 2 hours, on average, to do whatever I want whether it is catch up on church stuff and emails or blog or shop online or do housework or sit down and watch TV on DVR or even take a nap. It is ME time. But, lately, Atticus is finally getting to the point where he doesn't need an afternoon nap anymore. I told him he had to wait until he was 4 before he could stop taking a nap. But, to be honest, when I do make him nap, it just means he doesn't want to go to bed until 10:00 because he just isn't that tired. So, we spend the evening basically picking fights with him, because although he is behaving, we want him to go to bed and he is just not tired. So, I've been giving in if I think he is really not that tired. Grace, on the other hand, should still be napping, but also doesn't always want one or seem to be that tired. I think, again, once summer hits and we are physically getting more tired because we will be playing outside more, Grace for sure and maybe Atticus occasionally, will nap again. But, for now, I'm letting Atticus be done with naps and I'm taking Grace's day by day. The best part of this for Vic and me is that we set bedtime at 7:45 and we have not really had any problems with them going to sleep then. So, that means we get a solid 2 hours to be together each evening. So, we will see how this nap thing progresses...

I think that's about it for my need to dump my mental thoughts onto the blog. See ya next time!

Happy Valentines Day!

So, last year, I had a lot of fun posing the kids for some Valentines pictures. You can find them here. But this year, not only could I not think of a super cute idea, I also know how well these two pose lately and was afraid I'd put too much effort into it and then it wouldn't even be fun to do because they would test my patience and then I wouldn't get any fun pictures after all and we would all end up cranky. Or at least that is what I thought might happen.

So, instead I took candid's throughout the last couple of weeks. We had a Valentines party at my friend Cady's house and then we had Valentine's Day at school and church and finally at home. Also, on the actual Valentine's Day, which happened to fall on Saturday this year, we took a little family trip to campus. We walked across it to eat at Chimy's on Northgate and then walked back across to the car through the Century Tree part of campus. It was a fun day and one that the kids really wore themselves out from. Here are pictures from our Valentines fun these past couple of weeks!

Grace was NOT a fan of having her picture made that day, but Atticus was! We just ran some Valentines errands on this day. But, while we were in Michaels, I let Atticus stay in the toy aisle where he loves to get animals and dinosaurs down and set them up on the ground. It was early in the morning and I could keep checking on him every few minutes from a glance across the store. At one point, a lady walks up to me and asks if he was my son. I immediately wonder if he is ok. He is and she said that she saw him setting up the animals and started to talk to him about them. She said she asked him if he liked animals. And apparently, his answer was: "Oh yes. But, dinosaurs are my life!" She was so tickled and being the crazy mom that I am, I actually got teary eyed. But, it is true. Currently, dinosaurs are his life!

 Cady invited a friend of hers and me to help host a Valentines day painting party at her house. She did a super cute job of making edible paint and having regular paint and letting the kids all paint outside and then play and eat snacks. Grace and Atticus were a lot less interested in painting than the other kids. They just wanted to run around and play outside. But, it was a lot of fun!

This is the precious Valentines outfit Melbo made for Grace. I am going to keep it out for a few months because I think she will keep growing into it. It is super cute and actually sleeveless, but chilly on this first day she wore it, so she wore a jacket too. I always love outfits that nobody else has...and she got so many compliments on it at Atticus' school party!

On Saturday, we got dressed and had a nice, leisurely Valentines day. We took the kids to campus and parked in Koldus garage. Then, our plan was to walk across campus, eat at Chimy's on Northgate and then walk back across to our car. The hope was that they would burn a lot of energy off. Honestly, we had moments of fun and moments of cranky. We only brought the single stroller because rarely do both want to actually be in the stroller. Of course, this day, they both did. And Grace wanted to just run off across campus and although you would think she would get too far and come right back (especially since she is attached to me at the hip all day long), she did not and then when I would go after her, she thought it was a game. While this can be funny to her, this has actually been an issue lately because she is not listening when I say "stop". It makes me nervous to even play in our front yard! Anyways, lunch was fun with both kids and they actually let us enjoy it. We rarely take the kids out to eat anymore. On the way back across campus, we walked under the Century Tree. Best Idea Ever. The tree has these really long branches that lay low on the ground so they crawled on them, hung on them, sat on them, and played. And Grace found steps as well so up and down she went. Neither kid wanted to leave. Plus, it was a beautiful day and the weather was perfect so Vic and I were not in a hurry either. I plan to put "going to campus" on my list of playdates this spring. Later that evening, Vic ran out to meet a friend, and the kids and I played outside on the backporch for about 2 hours and opened their Valentines goodies from GG. We ended the day with baths, a movie, and a nice early bedtime of 8pm (for them!). Also, I couldn't help but snap a million pictures of Grace and her hair above. I love it so much right now. I still have to make the most of the time she actually sits still to fix it each day, so it is not perfect, but I love those pigtails and bows! It was a GREAT Valentines day!