Family Getaway Tradition!

Well, the weekend we long for in January, is now just a memory; however, what fun we had!  Every year on Brenton's birthday, we head down to Coco Key water park and we love it.  It's turned into a few trips throughout the year, because we love it so much. =)  So many memories at that indoor place of excitement and this trip, is no different!  Colin, sure found a new way to interact....I mean, truly found his way to other kids and was interacting with them, went down slides, and loved the lazy river!  Ethan, loved the slides, the "blue" one to be exact, but he loved the lazy river, the Pirate kiddie pool & slide, and just the whole thing.  I love that our boys think a night in a hotel, pizza, and a water park is a vacation!!  Anyway, we got to celebrate Brenton's birthday and had a great family getaway!  Here are some pics to prove it.....

Brenton's gifts from the boys

Sweet Treats made by my sister Clorissa =)  Yummo!!!

he loved his surprises!!!

having a 'WATER' fun!!!

COCO Key fun!!!

Long and Short of it!!!

Hello, hello....not much going on at our house these days, it was a pretty lazy weekend and the start of our week, as well.  The winter months bring out the lazy in us and honestly, I truly don't mind it.  We find things to do at home game nights, movie nights, dancing, singing, etc.....so, this winter, has started out to be just the same.  We have added a new game to our list and that's ZAP!  ZAP, is Ethan's sight word game and that gets played every single night, so we've turned it into a fun night of learning.   Colin, gets right in there, too and after Monday, he has a whole new set of "homework" things to do, so we are busy bees.  I kind of feel bad, because our life as turned into a very anti-social one, but truly it's not done on purpose, it's just the way its turned out seeing everything that we need to get done on a daily basis w/ the boys.  No complaints, but any free time we get Brenton and I are mentally exhausted and just want a cold beer and a few minutes of couch time to recoup.  We finally understand the saying "What you do for your kids"!!!  LOL.....

Anyway, on another note, we had our 6 month check-up at the Brain Balance with Colin on Monday and I was so happy to go over his progress report with Wendy.  She just kept writing and writing, as I told everything he's been doing.  That did my heart good, to realize, he's really coming along.  She was pleased, as well.  We still have to work on his social anxiety, but I truly don't know how that will happen, but just forcing him to be uncomfortable for a few minutes until he calms down and realizes he's not in harms way.....he cried when we first walked in the building, but then about 5 minutes he was walking around, singing, and talking "Colin Talk" to all the parents waiting on their children.  He warmed up pretty quick!  Anyway, we were so pleased and Wendy gave us a new "program" to work with him on and so, today, I made us a spreadsheet and will start doing the new program starting on Monday.  That gives me time to get all his scents in place and new things we need to prepare for, so that way we can start fresh.  I'm so excited about this and realize we are headed in the right direction for Colin, that the realization of the tuition, is not even a matter to be concerned with.  The best part, we have options and I thank my husband, because the money saver that he is will sure pay off!  I love him so much, because he always sees the future and I am more a here in now type of girl, so him and I offset each other and it works out great.  This situation is yet another reason I love him so, because he didn't even blink an eye.....our whole thing is helping Colin and we feel we are being lead the Brain Balance way, so Brenton is right on board and he was the one telling me, "don't worry, it's not even a question what we have to do, so don't think about the tuition"!!!  Man, I love that man....So, long and short of it, our sweet baby boy is on a great track and it's only going to get better.....YAY!!!

Yay, Ethan!!!

You know that saying "Hard Work Pays Off"???  Well, I'm here to tell you it sure does!  Ethan brought home his 2nd progress report of the year and let me tell you, he did GREAT!  He got all satisfactory and 3 progressing, which is a major improvement from his 1st 9 weeks.  He got 26 out of 26 on his letter writing (large and small letters), knows all of their sounds, BUT the one thing I am most proud of are his sight words.....Now, remember, we didn't send him to Pre-K, but he got some informal training at our sitter, so this year we had no clue what to expect, so our Ethan is sure making us proud.  We have worked on those dang sight words everyday, yes every single day and I knew he would be tested at the end of this month.  We were striving for 30, b/c that's what Ms. Bowden told us he had to have by end of January, so I'm happy to report that as of last Friday (yes, that was the 1st Friday of January) he got 35 out of 60 correct....ABOVE GOAL, YAY!!!  He is working hard and learning so much everyday and reading, oh yea the boy can read, too!  We are so very proud of him and he's looking forward to tomorrow.  Tomorrow, he gets to go get a reward for all of his hard work and he wants a Spiderman Wii game!  As much grief as he has given me this past month about going to school, I am happy to report that this week NO TEARS, as well!  So, I'm going to be happy to purchase that game tomorrow and our big boy is learning that rewards come to those who deserve them!

Hello 2013!!!

We had 1 more "event", if you will, during Ethan's break and that was New Year's!  We are low-key people, so we decided it would be best to just stay home and have our own "little" party!  Colin was still getting over his bug that he had that weekend, so we nixed all other plans, and just stayed home....I'm so glad we did, it was a great evening!  That morning, Ethan and I got up and needed to get his hair cut and new school shoes.....We first had to take a stop at the hospital to pick my dad up, b/c he was in that day with chest pain and Ethan would not allow him to sit and wait there for my mom to get him =)  I think, by the look on my dad's face, it was a nice surprise and he was happy to see us...most importantly, Ethan!  It ended up not being anything major, but they got his blood pressure down and he was able to head home!  As life continues on, I realize that my parents are getting older and not invincible, the reality is...time is now not on our side and everyday is a gift (and that makes so much sense to me now).....I love my family, each and every person from both sides, but of course my parents will hold a special place in my heart, forever!!!  I've gained a new respect for my dad, since our issue w/ Colin's sitter and the value of family is PRICELESS!!!  Anyway, all is good and now we continue on. =)

After we got dad to my mom, they went home and we headed to the mall.....I swear Ethan has grown tremendously over the past few months and getting new shoes proved it!!  We had to get him 2 sizes bigger....2 SIZES!!!  Just in August, he needed a 12 and now, he measured for a 1!!!  I mean truly he has eaten us out of our house and I was getting worried, but now I realize, he's hitting another growth spurt....Sure do love that boy and he was so excited for his new kicks =)  Once he played for a bit at the mall, we headed back home to get Daddy & Colin, then off to Walnut Creek Cheese we went to get some food for the evening.  Of course, we had to have pork & sauerkraut, so he got that and a few other things to enjoy the whole day....got back home to enjoy our new movies Avengers and Ice Age!  It was a great day and great end to a stressful year!  We are so ready for 2013 and looking forward to all it has in store...Happy New Year!!!

New Years Fun

Happy New Year

Little Man couldn't wait 10 more mins..... =)

"Snow" Much Fun!!!

We enjoyed every ounce of Christmas break with the boys....it snowed, snowed, and snowed some more, so that made things even more fun!  We were outside a lot and for someone not being much of a
'snow' person, I really enjoyed it!  The boys loved it and had a great time too....Our week off, after Christmas, was so awesome being home and just relaxing, potty training, playing games, and just plain enjoying each other.....It truly was the best week!!!