No Longer My Babies

All of the sudden, time around me seems to be flying by.  My oldest is only 10, but recently he seems to much older.  He "knows" more than us and would rather spend time with his friends than his parents.  My middle child has always been an old soul.  He's a 50 year old man trapped in a 6 year old body.   I think some of it has to him being number 2, but oh heavens, some of the comments out of  that child's mouth make me speechless.  Wise beyond his years and so quick witted.  I'm positive I will lose many arguments with that child as he gets older because he is so much quicker than me.

Then there is my baby.  The little girl that changed our lives.  Her first year was such a mental struggle.  It seemed to the be year that wouldn't end (doctor appointments, therapy sessions, navigating what seemed so scary).  Now she is approaching 3...she's not quite the baby anymore.  She's growing so fast and learning so much.  We are in the middle of transitioning her to preschool.  It hit me like a ton of bricks.  All of my babies will be at school.  Yes, Hailey will only be there half days, but it will be 4 half days.  I've had a child with me every day since we moved here 7 1/2 years ago.  It's strange territory for me.  It makes me sad.    It makes me want to slow down time because I'm afraid I'm going to miss something.  Afraid I will forget something.  Seriously, I still can't believe it...how can we be two months away from Miss Hailey's 3rd birthday?!?!?!?

I'm very excited for the holidays this year.  Brayden is on the verge of "knowing", but we aren't confirming it just yet.  Ian is more excited this year than ever.  He loves checking the mail for Christmas cards.  He helped bake and make candy.  He looks for our elf "Bernard" every morning and can't wait to tell me where he was. He can't wait for Santa to come and spend time with his families.  Hailey seems more aware of the holidays this year.  She spots presents every day, she loves the tree (and unfortunately, the ornaments), and plays Christmas music on a couple of snowmen.  We let the kids exchange gifts among themselves last night and Hailey didn't quite know what to think.  The first gift she opened and then tried to rewrap and give it back to Ian.  By the third one, she was tossing the paper to admire the gift. 

I guess that there are some good things about them growing up.  We will live in the moment and enjoy them while we can!

The boys let her do whatever she wants.

She's a mess!

She still thinks if she can't see you, you can't see her.  It makes me laugh!

No toys this year...just cups :-)

The first one got "re-wrapped"

There goes the paper!

Apparently his brother and sister knew exactly what he wanted!

Happy big brother

Life with our 2 year old...in pictures

I seem to get into a blog lull after October and writing for 31 days.  We've had a lot going on, just can't seem to make myself sit down and write about it.  I have a ton of things to write about but for tonight, I'll just fill in what we've been up to because a few of the items need an entire post to work through.

The week of Thanksgiving, we had our first meeting with the school district's preschool.  If she qualifies (Ds does not automatically qualify you for services), she will be in a classroom that is half typical and half atypical.  She will only get pulled out for physical therapy to work on stairs.  OT and Speech will happen in the classroom.  Hailey has her evaluation for OT and Speech on Monday, weather permitting (silly Ohio weather).

Thanksgiving was just the 5 of us.  My husband worked during the day.  Unfortunately working for the hospitality industry, he works when most people are on holiday or vacations.  That evening we had our Thanksgiving celebration with enough food to feed 3 additional families.  I was able to sneak out after dinner to hit a few sales while the kids hung out with Dad.

Since then we have been busy with the boys' schedules.  Hailey's has cleared now that our session of Kindermusik is over and we finished our last speech therapy set.  Both boys play basketball and seem to have lots of homework recently.  We are ready for Christmas.  Hailey will tell you that Santa says "Wo, Wo, Wo" and loves to sign tree.  She likes to remove the occasional stocking from the fireplace and random Mickey's from the tree (we have one tree with just Disney ornaments and she loves Mickey).  We currently have a window sill that is housing all the "Hailey has gotten" ornaments... we need a tube of superglue.

I'm looking forward to watching Hailey this Christmas.  The first Christmas she was little and didn't seem to care about any of it.  Last Christmas she only wanted boxes and paper.  I'm hoping this year she will get into it a little more.  Or...it might overwhelm her.  You never know what's going on inside the mind of a 2 year old!

Here are a lot of pics that shows what Hailey has been doing the past couple of weeks.....

 Lounging around....

Stealing big brother's snacks

Examining toys

Helping with Thanksgiving dinner

Sneaking a few bites here and there.

Drawing pictures of what we are thankful for

Climbing on the couch just so we can yell "I'm stuck, I'm stuck"

Stealing the remote control to try to find Doc McStuffins

Stealing the ipad to work on her Christmas list.

Cleaning the neighbor's house.

 

Loving on the neighbor's cat

Flashing those dimples and getting excited

 

Wrestling with her brothers

Working on her dance moves

Enjoying lunch dates with mom and dad.

Lastly, enjoying this snowy weather

Thankful

It happens every year.  I blog every day the entire month of October and then I hit a wall.  I run out of things to say for a few weeks.  In years past, I have blogged every day in November to list all the things I'm thankful for.  Being that it is the 19th of the month...I failed at that one :-)

There are so many things I'm thankful for that I couldn't possibly put them all into words or even into one blog.  See my new header?  I'm so grateful for those 3 fabulous children that it brings tears into my eyes.  I love the enthusiasm, focus, and unconditional love from my oldest.  I love the independence, humor and kindness of my middle son.  I love the smile, determination, and pure joy that radiates from my youngest.  God knew what I wanted and needed when I didn't.  They are each a perfect combination of my husband and I (both good points and the bad habits).  Each different and unique, but very similar at the same time.  I'm thankful for my husband, his love and support.  Grateful for his job that affords me to stay home with our children.

I'm thankful for the things that we sometimes take for granted...our freedom, a home, food, heat, clothing.  Grateful for our families.  Our friends and neighbors that have turned into our village here.

I am grateful for the new friends that have entered into my life because of the new "club" we have joined.  Such fabulous families that we may not have met otherwise.  How lucky we are!

This one will not make sense to everyone.  I'm grateful that I see these things clearer because I was afraid that they would be taken away.  Twice we thought we were going to lose Hailey...once at birth (her lungs were worse than I realized) and then again at open heart surgery.  Milestones...they have always been celebrated and appreciated, but they mean so much more when you realize they are not guaranteed.

So this Thanksgiving...I'm thankful for so much and I hope that everyone in my life realizes how thankful I am for them. 

A few more pictures of my 3 blessings (some better than others)...