Baby, Chores and Cooking

So after 3 years of deciding we were done having kids, Free and I both kept getting a nagging feeling that we weren't done.  After a few months of trying to make this life changing decision, we decided that there was one more waiting to join our family.

The way I found out I was pregnant was that one of the kids leaned into my stomach while cuddling on the couch and I had to run to the bathroom and throw up.  Then I realized..."Am I pregnant?" I tried a pregnancy test and there was a FAINT line that I wasn't even sure if there really was one, or if my mind was playing a trick on me. I decided to wait a day or two, and then as soon as I woke up, I ran to Albertson's got one and hurried back.  There was another faint line but more clear... I was pregnant :)  

See what I am talking about?  

The left round circle indicates if your pregnant and I was all..

" I think I see something, but, not really..."

 March 4th, 2013- 6 weeks

There goes my flat stomach that I finally got back after South Beach Diet :(

... bump already showing

April 16th, 2013- 11 weeks  

     May 8th, 2013-15 weeks

                  BOOM!!July 16th, 2013-26 weeks

         ( I know that is one round tummy!..

and I still have 14 weeks left)

First trimester was the worst out of all pregnancies I have had and had finally recovered around the 19th week. This pregnancy is completely different than my others so I think many people believe we are having a girl.  Possibly, but in my mind it's a boy, and when I talk to the baby it's always, "He" or "Buddy".  So we will see.  ;)

I hit my 27th week and have already started the nesting phase. I think I just know from experience that once this baby comes, I am going to have no desire to get things done. I know I want to enjoy the moments of bonding with this new baby and I need to give it the attention that it needs, and not worry about oil changes, house repairs, dental appointments, etc.  

One thing I am excited about that I've been working on with the kids are chores and teaching them to cook.  They have finally come to terms with chores and that while I am doing dishes, cleaning up after dinner and straightening up the kitchen, that somewhere in the house, something is getting cleaned and put away at the same time.  My 2 hours of cleaning, have now been fit into 30-45 minutes because the kids are now on board and taking responsibility for their mess. What a life saver, and perfect for when this baby comes. 

Along with these family chores, 1 child is assigned as my kitchen helper.  In the past when I attempted to teach them to cook/bake, it was 3 boys fighting about taking turns or who got to pour more, etc.  Because of this I was always shooing kids out of the kitchen and telling them, "no," when they asked to help because I didn't want to deal with their fighting.  So back to the kitchen helper assignment. Now that they know that they will have 1 full week of helping during the month, they don't bother me when I am showing another child how to cook.  The two oldest have been able to make scrambled eggs, cheese crisps, heat soup on the stove top, pancakes, sandwiches, and salads.  They are also responsible for filling up everyone's drinks and serving the prepared plates out (and I teach them to serve others first and then themselves last) It has been a great experience for them and I know it will teach them to be more self sufficient, and when I have my hands full with the baby, they can do more things for themselves, and have that practice and confidence when the time comes.

**My motivation for teaching them to cook was actually not for the new baby, but because I heard on talk radio that the skill of cooking is not being passed down to kids and our next generation is going to have an extreme obesity epidemic. The only cooking skills kids are learning are putting things in the microwave.  I was recently talking to my husband about how I remember when we first were married and I thought making Hamburger Helper and Boxed food was homemade cooking. :) He told me he really made a leap of faith marrying me ;) LOL.  I have come a long ways from then, but luckily I had the desire, time, and willing friends that had experience to teach me how to cook.  So anyways, I took this talk radio announcement to heart and knew that I needed to start that day to teach our kids to cook and be more self-sufficient. Along with teaching how to cook, I am also pointing out the names of the cooking tools and how to use them correctly.  I know that starting now, my kids will have the skills to take good care of themselves and their future families to come. 

Uplifting Changes

This past May I had the opportunity to go to a Women's Conference held at BYU.  It was a very inspiring and motivating experience and it was greatly needed.

 This past year I had just felt burnt out as a mom.  Our children were constantly bickering with one another, from the moment they woke up to bed time.  Our oldest (who just turned 7) was talking back, complaining about everything and anything, jealous of his brothers, and just has a hard time with any kind of change with his schedule.  I felt like the kids would walk all over me, trash the house, and by the end of the night I was screaming at them about something because I had just had it. I missed the calm, patient mom I used to be. I was confused how our children were treating each other because my husband and I have a good, strong marriage with kind and loving communication, and we were dumbfounded why our kids had so much attitude, when my husband and I are always so calm and considerate of each other.  When the opportunity came to go to Women's Conference, and my loving husband knowing I was at my wit's end with our children, he encouraged me to go, relax and enjoy myself. I had never left my children before for that long, and actually had a lot of anxiety about leaving.  Once I had gotten off the plane and joined my mother-in-law, I knew I needed this break and was ready to focus on me.

Out of all the classes we had planned to attend, my #1 priority was going to one that was aimed specifically about not being a screaming parent.. It was the very first class out of the weekend full of classes, and the funny thing was, was that the things that were encouraged for us to do, were repeated in many of the classes we ended up going to through out the conference.  It was all simple little things that they said to implement and how much it will help in our lives.

These essentials are:
1. Personal & Family Prayer
2. Personal & Family Scripture Study
3. Weekly Family Home Evening

I heard these and in my head I was all, "check, check, check"  okay, why isn't it working for me?  But then, some true thoughts started coming as the classes kept going, and I started to really look at our family habits and that we weren't truly focused and doing these things full on.

Personal and Family Prayer:
This is something that we do, but I kept hearing (kneeling as a family).  We were saying them around the table, and then of course the kids would argue/whine of who was picked, or someone was peeking, and I just felt separated and miserable... So, the key word in there that I knew we had to change.. "KNEELING" It took some time but we now kneel as a family, and for now it is led by Mom or Dad.  We go around our kneeling family circle and everyone has a chance to say something we could pray about as a family. Then the parent who is saying the prayer, includes the thoughts of everyone into the prayer, and it truly feels as a genuine family prayer.  
 
Personal and Family Scripture Study
Again, this was something we were doing... but not consistently.  I know that the calling my husband and I share at church (we teach 6-7 year olds) was an inspired calling for us.  We have been working as a team with teaching, and studying that Sunday's lesson and fully understanding these basic principles for ourselves, and then able to discuss it with our children (since they are learning the same lessons in Primary) and sometimes implementing it in our Family Home Evening.(F.H.E.)  I have been keeping our church magazines and scriptures on the table. (with 3 boys it seems like they are always eating, so how convenient that they are in arms length of us the majority of the day) Many times the stories we read, relates back to what my husband and I have been personally studying that week and we can go into more depth and I feel more confident and prepared to teach my children the gospel.

Family Home Evening
Our changes that we have been making to Family Home Evening is having our kids more involved and trying to plan it out better.  Our oldest loves to plan out lessons and we have given him a minute or two with teaching.  Because of his example, our 5 year old started having the desire to teach as well.  While we were reading the "Friend" magazine, he came across something and said he wanted to use it to teach a family home evening lesson.  It was simple and all he had to do was read questions and have us answer them. It was one of my most favorite lessons!  Our goal that we would like to implement is learning primary songs.  Who ever is in charge of the songs, can never think of what song to sing, so we always go with a basic, well known one.  My husband and I have discussed having a list of songs that we want to work on as a family and learn the words and just having it prepared for them better. I think that will be a big help.


I feel, as I am following these basic principles that I was overlooking and not putting my full heart into, has started to heal my family. I have been feeling more promptings and inspiration of what changes I need to make for our family to work together.  The bickering and arguments have decreased tremendously between the boys and I know that following the Lord's counsel is healing our family and helping our boys and their relationships as brothers. The boys are also more calm, and get better control of themselves to listen to my counsel and advice, and not rolling their eyes or complaining, and I feel like they are understanding my role as a parent better, and I feel more appreciated and understood.  I have learned that I need to not go through the motions of everyday life, but to take a step back and look at the things that I need to put my full heart and effort into, and be honest with myself of what am I not truly doing. There is of course much more to work on, and this will be a constant thing to work on, but am grateful for the difference it has made for my family, and how much I(we) needed it.  It's so nice to start feeling like me again, and not the frazzled mom I was a few months ago.

Imaginary Ants

Looks like my littlest one takes after his sleep walking mom.  So... I sleepwalk when I have a nightmare with Spiders.  I dream that there are spiders coming down from the ceilings, that they are in the bed, or dangling in front of my face.  I scream, yell, walk around the house and find Freeman and explain that there are spiders coming after me. I then wake up and realize what is going on, and it's, well, awkward and embarrasing.  So enough of my story and unto my 2 year old. 

Preston was sick with a fever and in mommy mode I wanted him close to me through the night so I had him sleep in my bed.  I was woken up by Preston screaming, "Ants! There are ants on me!"  It must of been quite a scene because with out glasses/contacts I am probably legally blind, so I am screaming and trying to see where these ants are.  After turning on the lights and putting on my glasses, I don't see any ants.  Preston lunges at me and says there's ants on him and the bed.  He is pretty much hallucinating these ants because he is actually pointing to his arms and shirt screaming, "See, right there! Ant right there!"  So this happens off and on the whole night.  At one point his eyes and face are splotchy from crying and I tell him, "Preston! Your face is all red!" and he tells me matter of factly, "I told you mom, there are ants!" 

What a night... I feel bad for my husband and that it looks like he has a few bug-frightened wierdos to deal with. ;)

Downsized

I realized I never put our update in of our new adventure we took. We sold our home back in November 2011 and have been living in our "starter home" that we have owned and has been a rental for the past few years for us. Before we moved we were really confused to where we needed to move to and within one week we had our renters announce they were moving and second, that a potential job offer was stirring up and we were pointed in to where in AZ we needed to move to.

We were first hesitant to move to the home we now live in because of it's size. For a family of 5, fitting into a 1128 square foot house with a small backyard didn't seem ideal, but funny how things work out WE LOVE IT!

What I love about downsizing...
1. I love that I have everyone in earshot of me and that I can hear my kids at night and that they are so close by.

2. I actually enjoy my smaller kitchen. It seems more functional how it's designed and that I am down to the basics with supplies and cookware.

3. Of course, cleaning! We had 4 bathrooms previously and it's nice to just take care of 2 now. In our old house I would attempt to lock some of the bathrooms just to keep one bathroom clean in case for guests. I catch myself in disbelief when I finish cleaning so quickly and then I'm done!

4. Yard work. We now have a small yard. No pool, only 2 plants to take care, no HOA. Love it! My time is freed up and I don't feel anxiety when I have weeds popping up and I have to walk my yard weekly for fear of the HOA hunting us down, or I can put my garbage out at noon instead of waiting past 5pm.

5. Bills! Smaller bills! No HOA fees, lower taxes in Phoenix, smaller electricity bill because of reduced square footage and not running a pool pump. Ahhh.

6. When we moved we had a few garage sales. At first it was hard to let things go, but then it is a big relief to reduce the amount of STUFF we had! We realized or stuff was just looking pretty, tucked away hidden for years never to be used. I probably have potential to be a hoarder, but my husband always talks sense into me and I'm picking up on his minimalist preferences and it works. Reducing stuff helps reduce the clutter in your mind.

7. Cooling down the house! In our old house I gave in a lot to turning on the A/C because of how our house was designed it was hard to get the outside air to come in and get a breeze in there. I can cross-ventilate more easily and the house can cool down in a matter of minutes.

What I love about living "In Town"
1. Libraries are everywhere! I have a choice of 3 libraries in a 5 mile radius. I have a choice of different story times available to me for 6 days of the week. I don't need to do an interlibrary loan and only have it for 2 weeks, I can order a book and have it sent to which location I want and actually renew those books.

2. Rec Centers. Again, 2 recreation centers in a 5 mile radius. I love to have choices!

3. Parks! Plenty of parks and they are lit at night!

What I miss about being in Buckeye :(
1. I miss the people. The people is what made Buckeye awesome. I love how you really got the sense of a family away from family. Everyone teamed up and worked together.

2. Being out there trained you to be prepared and work with what you got. If you had to go "into town" for a doctor's appointment, your trip out there would not be wasted. You would plan that day and the places you would go around that doctor's appointment. Your trips seemed planned out and the car was packed with food, extra clothing, water to support whatever errands you needed to do.

3. Since stuff was limited out there, the people really came together to work with what you had. Not many parks, so playdates were 20 mom's showing up. Library time, you got to know all of the mom's that attended and then you start seeing them through town. I felt like us mom's got pretty creative with our resources!

4. In phoenix if someone honks at you, you are usually ready to give them the bird, In Buckeye, it's because they know you and you wave. Miss that!

5. It was quiet out there. I could run anywhere and can get in my zone because it isn't congested with traffic.

6. You can see so many stars and constellations out there. Beautiful. I remember that really stuck out to us when we first moved out there.

7. Close to Cali and Mexico!

8. Bigger homes! Of course what brought us out there were big homes for small prices!

Life Saver

Seriously, Kindergarten where have you been all my "mom" life!? Today is Day 2 of my oldest's first week of school and it has been great for everyone in the family. It has solved his problem of being bored, wanting to be social, and to gain independence. His brothers are getting the attention that they need from me, and I now feel like I can balance the time now between 3 attention hungry boys. It has also given me more structure to my day, and the time to get all my work done with chores, yardwork, running, and more focus on our investments and getting our house sold. Oh, and showering and getting dressed before anyone else wakes up! It's nice having a calm mind and not having everything racing through it of what all you need to do. So, there are my 2 cents on the enjoyment of kindergarten.

Getting ready for a new school year

We had to make some last minute changes this week, but we have decided to switch Freeman at of the local charter school and put him in a public school. We will be moving in the next few months, and it didn't seem fair to take up a spot that someone else needed.

So we attended the Open House for his new school and met his teacher and we are all excited about the start of the school year!

Happy 8 Year Anniversary!

We are celebrating our 8 year anniversary this month!

In honor of our 8 years I would like to share

8 favorite memories from our marriage.

1. Well, this should take up 3 spots, but our 3 boys!
2. Our wedding in the Boise Temple. Words can't describe that day.
3. Awesome Honeymoon to Jamaica with Scuba Diving and unlimited food
4. My husband surprising me with our dog Tohbi! (He's turning 8yrs in October)
5. Laughing until we have tears in our eyes
6. Family walks
7. Big Freeman's first time at Disneyland
8. The Journey of it All...

Homeschooling Inspiration

My friend Susan invited me along with her to our first Homeschooling Convention. We have both played with the idea of the possiblity of homeschooling, and we just enjoy learning about education. We went to a few workshops and they had products galore to better assist with Homeschooling. It was a great experience and a gave wonderful insight to the Homeschooling Movement and the reasons and how to make it successful.

Even though I am not choosing Homeschooling now for my future Kindergardner, it has inspired me to make some changes at home. I don't believe it is all up to the teacher at school to teach everything to my child, and that I can supplement at home with what they are learning. I am putting faith in the school that we have chosen for him, and that I can still take responsibility to be part of teaching my kids very valuable lessons before and after school, that will strengthen them while during school.

So one of the workshops we went to was "7 steps to Sanity." (Yes, I think most stay at homes are seeking advice like this...) So I'm taking her advice and applying it to our day. So far no changes in behavior with my kids, but... I feel like I am making it more fulfilling with the time that I am putting aside for Scripture Study. I have been using the Primary Manual from church which came with pictures to use, so I have the lesson already mapped out, visuals, and scriptures to refer to. I also can apply it to our
"challenges" that have been testing my own sanity and hopefully it will help. So it's pretty much a mini Family Home Evening (F.H.E.) daily with just mom.

Here is her advice below:
1.First thing to do is pray: before rolling out of bed, say your prayers.
2. Serve others; Serve our family
3. Stay focused. She comments on the success of homeschooling... "The answer isn't homeschooling, It's Jesus Christ. Seek Him first in your day."
So before teaching ABC's, math, reading, whatever, start with teaching your children about Jesus, the gospel. Whatever you may call it... Daily Devotional, Scripture Study, Bible Study, do that first because that is what Homeschooling's main purpose is and should be our focus in our lives anyway.

A. Set limits: They are the Priority: no phones/texting/computer allowed
during their time.
B. Say No: Focus on your children, your family first. If someone needs
help, and you just can't do it, say no. Also, let others say no to. (Don't get
offended if someone turns you down when requesting help, remember they
are focusing on their family 1st also)

4. Start Slow: The Journey is part of it. Enjoy this stage. Foundational for everything.
5. Stay Home: Dealing with Characteristic Issues at Home. Kids are so busy nowadays and add stress, so just stay home.
6. Start Laughing.
7. Sleep Well.

I'm Proud of Him

Today I had the chance to be interviewed by the background investigator for a job my husband is applying for, and it felt so good to be able to proudly answer all the questions about him and that all I had to say were good things.

I have always been impressed with him since I met him. He is funny, charismatic, has high morals, and patient. My list of course goes on and on, but I just had to put it out there that I am grateful to be best friends with him, to be his wife, to have him as the best father for our children, to have him forever. He has taught me to be myself, he understands my wierd, corny humor (and laughs), and knows how to quickly turn my temper into hysterical laughing with just a look or funny comment, He has the magic of calming down a bleeding kid and worried mom, he loves his friends and will go the extra mile, he can turn anything into something fun, and is a great support for what's best for his family. He lifts me up and always says good things and never complains about anything... he will tell the truth though when asked! He is such a unique, special person, and I am so happy (and lucky) that he chose me to marry and to be with him forever, and I love him with all my heart.
-Tiff

Free Summer Sports

A few months ago a friend and I were chatting about organizing a sports program, and after getting approved we were able to start a summer sports program for our ward and we are able to hold it indoors at our nearby church building. It has been great and everyone has pitched in to help run it.

My motivation for being involved stems from a few things. Sports and Exercise are high on my list especially with the obesity epidemic that our country is facing. Threats of cutting physical education programs and our country complaining and not doing anything to fix the problem. Another is availablity and money. I have always taken advantage of the programs the city has to offer and actually started Freeman when he was 6 months old in a mommy and me swim lesson. Next we went on to Soccer, Tennis, Flag Football and Gymnastics. Slowly some of those programs I was signing up for, the quality of coaching and the price I was paying for wasn't worth it. And maybe this is where kids lose out on the opportunity of being involved in sports. We shell out the money for something and then the quality isn't what we expected and we say to ourselves, "I could have taught that at home!" Well, I don't like to sit around and complain, I like to fix what I am complaining about. So instead of paying $50 a kid for 6 lessons for soccer, why not do it myself?

So, my friend Susan and I, combined our passion for sports and exercise, and are passing it on to our kids and to anyone that would join us. :) Everyone has been great with support and providing equipment for us to borrow and make this a free program for all those that participate. We have been able to teach T-Ball, Tumbling, and Soccer, which in the real world would have cost me about $300 for my 2 oldest kids. But instead I invested about $18 for 3 sports. I know I am not a professional, and I learn how to adjust my coaching each time I coach a class, and youtube has been a lifesaver, but there are so many resources out there that it is possible to make this happen.

I don't think sports and doing exercise should break the bank. I understand that it does cost money and I know that in the future it will cost money to have my kids join teams, but right now, if I don't think the quality is that great, that I could teach it to my kids and to others, well why not? I hope this experience this summer will start a new tradition and we can continue on throught out seasons. We are very lucky to have a church building to use in the Arizona heat, and wonderful parks that our close by for when it does cool down.

I am grateful for the motivation and ideas of others and learning that as a mom I am able to provide many opportunities and experiences to my children and not having enough money doesn't let them miss out. I do believe that it takes a village to raise a child and I am impressed with everyone who has stepped up to the plate to let this happen and to work together to provide this to all the children involved.

Stitches

Last Sunday we were at a friend's house and we were getting ready to go and I was finishing up a conversation with one of the mom's. Nate came up and was trying to get my attention and I asked him to wait until I was done talking. The boy of the mom I was talking to also came up and she told him to wait, and then we noticed that he was upset and crying. At that moment, I hear Daddy Freeman say, "Freeman needs stitches." He walked in from the backyard and my sweet Freeman was covered with blood on his face and shirt and was crying. He had walked up behind one of the boys who was swinging a metal baseball bat and he got hit in the eyebrow.

We rushed to 3 different Urgent Care's that were all closed, before finding one right before closing in Avondale. They were very prompt and calm and got started. Freeman had calmed down as soon as dad put him in the car and I give all that credit to Daddy Freeman for being so calm and setting the mood for Little Freeman. (and mom) Freeman laid there and answered all the doctor's questions and even stayed real still for his shots in his cut. We took turns holding his hand so he could squeeze as hard as he could. One time he even calmly said, "oww. oww." and still laid still and maintained his composure.

The doctor was stitching him up and asked what his favorite number is, and Freeman answered, "One thousand." The doctor asked him if that's how many stitches he wanted and he told him no. The total count was 8 stitches and X-rays came back normal.

I am so proud of Little Freeman and being so tough and realizing how important it was for him to be calm and stay still. I am also grateful for my husband and how he is such a great father and leader. He knew he had to stay calm for Little Freeman and that he had that much strength and immediate response to do just that. I am proud of him and thankful for his example he is always setting and that he could be that strong for our kids. I am thankful that I wasn't alone when that happened, because that experience that Freeman went through would have been ruined by me because I know I would have broke down crying and freaked out if it wasn't for Dad.

Daily Gospel Teachings

One of my goals as a mother is to teach the gospel to my children. At the end of the day when it is time for my personal prayers, I realize that I need to do better and pray that I may focus my goals as a mother and make teaching the gospel a priority. Well, this has been a repeated weakness that I feel at the day's end, and started to feel discouraged and couldn't believe that I could get so distracted by little things through out the day, and not accomplish one of my main goals...

Well, there is hope to this story... read on...

We were sitting down for lunch and Freeman said the prayer and asked that his food won't be hot. He then tried his soup and it of course was hot. He was confused and said he prayed about that and Heavenly Father didn't do it. I then told him that we have to do our part also in order to recieve help from him. I shared an experience and explained that Dad and I prayed about something, but then we went out and did all that we could do and then had to wait. Then we were blessed. Little Freeman then picked up his food and put it in the fridge. I then realized that I do teach the gospel in my home, it may not be formal sometimes, but we live it. We live the gospel and we come across obstacles that we can use as teachable moments to teach a principle about the gospel.

I am grateful for these moments and can't believe I've been overlooking so many of them. I am grateful for my testimony and the choice that I have to teach my children about Christ and our Father in Heaven and that they want us to return to him and that they gave us so many teachings to help us be happy down here and to learn so much and return back to them. I am grateful for all that I have learned and hope that I can have more moments to slow down and take the time to use it to teach my children some kind of gospel principle. I am grateful for prayer. I guess I have been hard on myself, but am grateful to close the day with a prayer and reflect on what happened, what I am grateful for, and all the blessings that Heavenly Father has given my family. I am grateful for the Holy Ghost that does comfort us and help us realize these special moments and that it truly cheered me up and pointed it out that I wasn't realizing.
-Tiff

The Power to Read!

The past year Little Freeman's been working on reading CVC words and some word families, but we just didn't have access to the right books that were easy for beginning readers. After a frusturating day for me and the librarian not finding anything appropriate for easy readers, I turned to facebook for help. A good friend recommended "Bob Books" and the next day when I glanced at the Book Order form through Scholastic I was excited to find out they were selling them. We anxiously waited for our order and they have been a big hit ever since. They come with a set of 12 little books and it starts easy and gets a little more challenging. This has opened a whole new world to Freeman and his frustration with trying to read has been lifted, and he is so happy and proud. (So is Dad and Mom) Little Freeman loves taking his turn to read to me at night or to his brothers. I am so proud of him and his desire to read and figuring it all out.

Tonight I walked by his room after tucking him in and heard him talking to himself. I peeked through the crack of his door and he was reading aloud a new book and trying his best to read through. I love the freedom that comes with learning to read. If Freeman had his way he would have me read to him all day long, so for him to want to read a book, and not have to wait for a grown up to read I think really excites him.

Besides Bob Books, I also want to give credit for some great programs out there that really help with kids learning to read. So here is my shout out to them:

Starfall.com
pbskids.com
pbskids.com/island
SuperWhy
Between the Lions
Leapfrog DVDS (these are the bomb!)
WordWorld

The Start of a New Adventure

So our family is hoping to start a new adventure... We decided to put our house on the market this past weekend. These past few months have been hard to make that decision, but you gotta do what you gotta do. Today our "For sale sign" went up and I had a mix of emotions. Happy, Sad, embarrased, excited, STRESSED. :) It's sad to sell the house where you have so many memories with your children, excited that there are new possibilities ahead for us, Happy to hopefully be free of being a slave to this mortgage, and stressed because we don't know where to go from here.

I'll keep you updated on our plans, as soon as we figure them out. Had to put my feelings out somewhere, and facebook just wasn't an option. :) I'll keep you posted and any suggestions or input is appreciated.

Thank you to our family and friends for all your encouragement, advice and just listening. It's amazing how your support really helps just put our minds at ease. (Extra shout out to my momma for all her time listening to my ramblings... LOL)

Nate's Speech Update

So this past month we were able to start Nate in speech therapy. He loves going and looks forward to going to "peech" with mommy and have learning time. He is working with articulation and working on those tricky "s" and "r" sounds, blends (st, br). He shouldn't need too much therapy, but I'm looking forward to this help so he could feel like he is being heard and understood.

We have had moments where I could not understand what he was trying to say, and he is so determined to tell you sometimes and just to see the sadness when I have to say, "I'm sorry, I don't understand what you are trying to tell me," breaks my heart. I'm glad he is proud to go and that it is fun for him to.