Big Brother Anderson

Anderson: best big brother a girl could ask for! There are times when I am looking for caralynn and I find her and Anderson hanging out together. Anderson will often pull Emmalee into his room with him and thoroughly enjoys her company. I love the relationships my children have and the bonds they are building! 

Homeschool Completed

Today was caralynn’s last zoom meeting with her teacher. She was very sad. Her teacher means so much to her. Anderson also said goodbye to his teacher in person today as we picked up the contents of his desk. So hard to say goodbye:( It is crazy how attached we have become to these amazing teachers who we have allowed in our homes. It’s a very intimate thing and we feel like they are part of our family. They read, sing to and with our kids, listen with eagerness at their stories and thoughts, engage them and uplift them. They do this all from the comfort of their own homes. We allow them into our most sacred space, where we are the most vulnerable. Distance learning is nothing like we had imagined. Homeschool is intense and time consuming. Our respect for educators is endless! These are uncertain times. We don’t know what the future holds. What we do know is that these last few months have been unique and we have learned to embrace this new normal. We have grown closer, more aware of each other’s thoughts, strengths and weaknesses. As we wrap up this school year, we can honestly say we will miss these amazing women who we have allowed a glimpse into our crazy home. Mrs Niles and Mrs Buckley, What an absolute blessing you both have been for our children. They love you both to the moon and back. Our hearts are heavy as we prepare to say goodbye to this amazing and challenging school year. Thank you for all you do and we pray you feel our love and gratitude!

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!! These kiddos worked so hard! We celebrated with McDonald’s meals and shakes! Anderson earned 3 Pokémon cards every Friday while distance learning. Today, he got a folder to hold all his spoils. Caralynn has been earning a fairy garden piece by piece on Friday’s when work is completed for the week. (Thanks Dollar Tree for the cheap rewards:) So proud of these two for doing “Hard Things.” Distance learning has been a challenge but we all got through it together, are are all still friends AND the kids are alive and thriving! SCORE! Tonight we are celebrating with a family pizza party and root beer floats! How do we have a Fourth Grader and a Kindergartener?!?!? Wow! Time flies when you are having fun learning and growing!

Sister Missionaries

Sister Elizabeth Williams, we are going to miss you so much!!! We have loved our adventures with you! Thanks for coming to paint with us before you leave tomorrow! Good luck on your next chapter! Keep us in the loop! Thanks for making us Nevada rocks! Thanks for the Iowa Rocks Sister Gilbert! Can’t wait to meet your new companion and introduce her to our craziness!

Cousin Fun

Caralynn is a year older than her cousin Preston. They are little besties and have so much fun together. They ran around for hours today playing “family”, shopkins, legos, iPad, jumping on the trampoline in the rain which led to a bubble bath. I made German pancakes for dinner. Ryan is 2 years younger than Anderson and they had fun playing Minecraft, beyblades, basketball, trampoline in the rain that ended in a shower for both of them, fidget spinners and Xbox. Kate is 12 and we had fun painting rocks together. I love having my niece and nephews over to hang with me:) thanks for letting me steal them for a few hours. 

May Birthdays!

Celebrated our May Birthdays with family tonight:) Happy Birthday Patrick, Paige and Papa!

Caralynn's New Room

Caralynn spent the entire day outside with Patrick. She kept herself busy playing with dirt, mud, rain water, she rode her bike, scooter, jumped on the trampoline and completely wore herself out! She scarfed down her dinner and got herself ready for bed, brought me her blanket and asked for her “nighttime snuggle to sleep.” She tries my patience and pushes every one of my buttons, but DAMN she’s adorable and sweet! 

We switched the kids rooms around. She needed some "Sensory support." Half the toys have been purged and half of them have moved upstairs to their new home in Anderson’s old room which is now Caralynn’s room!! Caralynn moved out of the nursery and her toddler bed will turn back into a crib for Emmalee. Once we get the sides up on the crib, Emmalee will be out of our room and into her new nursery. All of her baby toys are now in her nursery on her shelves and she can safely play in there and she loves it! Caralynn is so excited about her new play space and Anderson is thrilled for Patrick to build him a corner desk and make him a shelf for his reptiles and amphibians. We still have a lot of organizing to do but it’s coming along great! Thank you Paul and Blythe for the new mattress for the top bunk. What an exhausting day but I feel so accomplished. Gotta love a good Spring Clean!

Thank you Blythe and Paul for this “sensory swing.” To say Caralynn loves it is an understatement! It gives her an amazing amount of “input” and “pressure” and helps her so much! We are waiting for her chewelry to arrive. She has ruined several “borrowed” ones. I know we will be going through several kinds to find the “right” kind. Ugh! I feel like we are on the right track though! These past few days have been pretty fantastic and Caralynn’s much more grounded these days. We were given this “busy board” and the girls love it. There are so many positive changes happening around here. Thank you for all the support!

Thanks Karisa for the “chewelry.” It’s no secret that Caralynn is an active little girl. She has always beat to her own drum. She is always moving, constantly talking, seeking attention and interrupting. Some would say she is hyper and a bit impulsive. She never took a pacifier. She was never really into her bottles. She started “chewing” her blankets before she turned a year old. She received a blanket for her 1st birthday and it has since been called her “chewy” or “chewing blanket.” It has been repaired several times and it’s the only thing we have allowed her to chew on. She really only does it at night when she is going to sleep or snuggled up on the couch watching a movie. We catch her chewing on “off limit” items and we always remind her to go get her “chewy.” She has inadvertently chewed through several “off limit” items and today she seems to have hit her wall. She chewed up two fit bit bracelets, an Xbox headset cord and an iPhone charging cord. Constant supervision and reminding weren’t enough. Her need to chew got the best of her today. I broke down and ordered her a sensory processing necklace. It won’t arrive for a week or so. Karisa and her sweet daughter let us borrow one until hers arrives. I went back and forth on whether or not to order the controversial piece of chewlery. I started doing some research and found that children who have ADHD often seek out input and find what they need in clenching or chewing on things. Whatever is happening in her little brain is not something she can control and with this pandemic has come a lot of routine changes, less sensory opportunities and uncertainty. For now, I will nurture her little developing brain and do my best to help her cope in a constructive and positive way.