Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 9

I didn't log today either. Thankfully the day went much better. The kids were much more cooperative. I only had to put Josiah in time in a couple of times in the morning for not playing nicely with Tracie. Josiah and Emily had great days at school. I was able to talk with Emily's teacher and she told me "Please don't ever apologize for Emily's behavior. You are an awesome Mom. She's testing her boundaries and we will get through this." We did agree that if she wants to continue to get warnings on a daily basis...we would excuse the first one and write that up to a bad day...if it happens again, she will miss out on recess until she pulls her behavior back in check. If she ever has a day like she had the other day where she's just doing stuff left and right, she will follow through with a visit to the principal. I told her that she can't threaten to do something and then not do it and if Emily wants to keep behaving badly and then asks when she can go to the office that the teacher needs to send her. Emily needs to learn that behaving that way is not acceptable. I did give her a small reward for good behavior at school. She did get a bad attitude with her siblings later that required me to do a couple of time ins with her for until she got over it as she wouldn't ask nicely for things and just wanted to point, throw a fit, and try to grab for it even after the first time in. So, she sat on my lap for awhile longer and then she tried again. It actually took one more time before she got it right, but we got there and that's all that matters. :-) Tracie only got one time in today for not staying out of stuff that she wasn't supposed to be into. Overall, it was a much better day.

Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 8

I don't have a log of today, but I will say that it was a very rough day. Josiah got up and was like a tornado all over the place. Didn't like something and he was kicking the walls or the floor, jumping all over Tracie, taking everything from Tracie, the minute Tracie went to play with something and was content he was right on top of her trying to push her buttons and he would not stop talking and yelling everything. He had occupational therapy and that provided a nice little break for me. Did some puzzles with Tracie while he was in therapy. She did a great job...sometimes she really struggles with them. :-) Took Josiah to school while Tracie did her occupational therapy. We talked about being nice to our friends, listening to his teacher, eating nicely in the lunchroom, and he was excited to go. Came home and had some quiet time while Melina napped and Tracie laid on the couch and fell asleep. Decided to read for awhile and spend some time in prayer. Just as school let out, I got a call from the school nurse about Deidra complaining that her throat hurt and she said her throat still looked really red. She's still on her antibiotics, but I said that I'd put in a call to the doctor to see if she needed different ones or not.

After school, it became utter chaos. Ran and got Josiah from school and he started in on acting up right away. Didn't want to get his seatbelt on, had to pull over on the side of the road until he decided to cooperate. Then, he started screeching and pulling on his seatbelt and messing around in the car seat. Had to run to the pharmacy and they didn't have enough to fill a presciption. More screeching and more acting up and he got the baby upset. Ran home to get Emily off the bus. She said that she only listened for a little bit at school. Had to go get Deidra from choir. Josiah and Emily started acting up in the car. Screeching, trying to get out of their car seats, talking and yelling nonstop and trying to get into each other's spaces. They upset the baby again. I had to pull over and climb into the back to set them both straight. Ran to a different pharmacy to see about getting Josiah's meds filled and on the way we got stopped for 10 minutes by a train. Baby screamed the entire time and Josiah and Emily just wouldn't stop their antics. Thankfully, the pharmacy filled it for me on the spot.

Got home to a call from Andy. Emily's teacher had called him as her behavior at school was so bad. She hadn't ever seen her act like that before. Wouldn't stop rolling around on the floor, didn't get any of her work done, was a total distraction to the class, the teacher threatened that if she didn't start behaving that she would have to go to the office to see the principal. They went to specials and came back to class and Emily says "ok, when am I going to the office?" The teacher didn't send her because she didn't know how Emily was going to act in there. Well, that upset me as what message does that send? You ahve to follow through with what you're saying you're going to do. She wanted Andy to have me email her. So, I did. I told her that if she's going to act up like this at school (her behavior all month has been atrocious anyway), she can start missing recess and if she acts up really bad that she just doesn't need to be threatened with going to the principal..the teacher needs to send her there. I keep trying to get a feel for her behavior on a daily basis in the classroom, so I can see if they think her meds need to be adjusted or if it's just a one time thing that she does to get a warning each day. But, yesterday she made it to red and she should have been on blue. I'm not getting any replies from the teacher and this is the 3rd or 4th time that I've tried to ask. So, I guess tomorrow I'm going to have to see about getting a conference with the teacher so I can get some answers to what all ahs been going on this month and what all Emily has been doing so I have the information that I need to go to the doctors.

Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 7

We just had a lazy day and I didn't log anything. Josiah and Emily are really still struggling with listening and following directions. Very oppositional. Tracie's doing ok...wish I just knew how to handle her constant whining. She gets better and then backslides...it's been ongoing since she came to our house. Hoping this book will help with that too.

A Day of Blessings

What a beautiful day filled with God's blessings! I love seeing God work in our lives. We have a full plate of things that we are trying to work through, but God has His Hand in it all and days like today just prove it. :-) The kids baptisms were beautiful and such a blessing. Then, to add to the day, Deidra, Andy, and myself all went to confession. Tracie cried because she couldn't go in and talk to the priest too, but we told her that she'd have her own time soon enough. They thanked God for their baptisms in prayer instead. :-) Then, we wound up going to church that night and it was so nice to all go up as a family to receive Holy Eucharist. Andy hadn't been to Communion in quite some time. And the kids all got their blessings while Deidra, Andy, and I got Communion. It was just a really nice day. :-) Thank you, Abba, for all of your blessings upon our family.

Baptism

Here are the kids in their baptismal outfits with Andy and I. Aren't they so sweet? Tracie was excited about her baptism and got excited when it was her turn. Emily just kind of took everything in and was really quiet. Josiah's eyes just lit up and he got a huge smile on his face when it was his turn. Melina's eyes got big and wide when the water went on her head. They all did SO good. One of the family's little ones that was also getting baptized screamed and cried throughout the whole ceremony. I guess it didn't help that it was at noon. But, that was the only bad thing about all the family's doing their baptisms together. Our kids were well-behaved and did really well and I was proud of them. :-) My Mom is their Godparent.

Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 6

all the kids had issues with staying in their rooms and wanted to be up early.

7:30 am Josiah eating poorly and making a big old mess because he had to keep raising his bowl full of milk up in the air and then didn't want to clean up his mess or eat correctly

7:50 am Josiah snatching toys from the girls

8:00 am Emily calling people idiots

9:20 am Emily wouldn't eat and trying to make herself gag to get out of eating. I wound up feeding her.

9:30 am Emily laughing about her punishment

The morning was rough, but they were excited about their baptisms that afternoon. The rest of the day went ok. I'll put baptism pics up too. They looked so beautiful/handsome and were so sweet.

Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 5

7:05 am Josiah not staying in his room
7:15 am Josiah not staying in his room
7:25 am Josiah not staying in his room
7:30 am Emily not staying in her room
8:05 am Josiah, Emily, and Tracie rolling and flipping and jumping by Melina even after a warning that they were too close to the baby
8:55 am Tracie putting feet on the entertainment center and kicking the glass
9:05 am Emily flat out didn't listen when I told her no and went about what she wanted to do and told me that's just how it was going to be
9:30 am Emily getting into Deidra's watch again
10:05 am Josiah opening and closing the bathroom door on Emily
10:10 am Emily ignoring my redirection
4:00 pm Josiah bad temper tantrum over Emma going to friend's house with Deidra for playdate
5:00 pm Emily had a bad playdate. She was yelling at her friend, taking toys from her, made her cry, using bad language, barking orders at her friend and being mean. She will not be going next time.
7:00 pm Josiah We noticed just after he had been in the kitchen that there was a bunch of water in the cheesecake that we had left on the counter as we hadn't put it back in the fridge and there were finger holes all in it. He had just gone in the kitchen to get a drink of water. He admitted to doing it.

Jammie Day

My cuties in their jammies! I'm declaring today of a day to rest and be lazy.

Deidra is at Grandma's so she's missing from the picture.

Attachment Focused Parenting--Day 4

6:30 am Josiah not staying in his room

6:50 am Josiah not staying in his room

7 am Josiah trying to sneak into the girls' room to wake them up

7:50 am Emily and Tracie getting into stuff by the computers

8 am Josiah hitting Tracie

9:30 am Tracie kicking the glass on the entertainment center

10:05 am Emily hitting Josiah

11:00 am Josiah jumping all over the girls while they were watching tv

11:30 am Josiah jumping all over the girls

11:55 am Emily not sharing and talking ugly

7:10 pm Emily took Deidra's watch that didn't belong to her and when Josiah saw her and told on her, she lied about having it and then said she knew where it was. She crawled all over the kitchen floor and when we asked her again if she knew where it was she said that she couldn't find it. Finally, we searched her and found that she had shoved it down her pants. This is becoming a huge problem at school...if she wants something she just takes it and hides it. She's fast too so alot of times nobody really sees her. We keep talking to her about it, yet it's not sinking in.

Andy and I have both been doing really good about trying to be patient, being empathetic, and trying not to lose our tempers. Things have been going well, but Andy did raise his voice when Emily got caught with the watch. This time in thing is hard...the girls tolerate it alot better than Josiah does. Josiah is still trying to push any buttons that he can...he's pinching me, squeeling, trying to get out of my arms, whatever button he can try to push. I keep telling myself that we're just starting this, so it may get worse before it gets better.

Celebrating Melina's First Thanksgiving

Andy and I got up and started baking about 5:30 this morning. We made pumpkin bread, pumpkin cheesecake, and a black and tan pumpkin trifle. About 9, we put the turkey in. We made a cranberry turkey with thyme, stuffing, sweet and savory green beans, a cauliflower, cheese, and ham casserole, and garlic mashed potatoes and gravy. Mom made a small ham and corn pudding and brought that and Jimmie made mac and cheese. Melina ate her turkey and rice and sweet potatoes and fell asleep in her high chair. It was a wonderful day and I had fun cooking with Andy in the kitchen. The kids didn't like dinner and didn't eat much. Tracie wasn't feeling all that well and was running a fever. Poor thing! Mom and I were going to go for a walk after dinner, but it was just too windy and cold. We sat around talking instead while Andy snoozed and the kids watched Snow White on tv.

Mom saw Deidra's new bedding that she got for her birthday and saw the paint colors that Deidra had picked out and Mom offered to help her paint her room. I think it will look cool once it's done.

Mom left aroudn 5ish to go bring Thanksgiving dinner to her friend, Margaret, and I sat talking with Jimmie at the table for awhile. Deidra got a case of the giggles and passed them on to me. And then, we got Jimmie going too...I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time. He wound up taking Deidra back to their house to spend the night, so Andy and I took the kids to Walmart after everybody left to get faucet covers as we found out that we were under a freeze warning. Got home and put the kids to bed. I was suffering from a bad stomach ache that I've had on and off for the past couple of days, so Andy cuddled up with me on the couch for a little bit while we talked and watched an episode of Criminal Minds and then I fell asleep. It was a great day and I'm so thankful for my family that God has given me!

Melina's trying to grow up on me...

If she sees something that she wants, she will scoot to get it. Today, she started pushing herself up on her hands and her feet (almost like she's trying to do a push-up) and then she tries to get one knee up there, but then she runs out of strength. She's definitely trying though! Then, I put her in her high chair while I was getting the kids their breakfast and I put some banana puffs on her tray. Usually, she just lets me put them in her mouth and she'll open to let me know that she wants more. Nope, today, she grabbed them and was trying to put them in her mouth. Little stinker!

Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 3

This was a very trying day for me...but I made it through with God's grace and I didn't lose my temper. I had a day of cleaning and baking planned and I made something with each of the kids. Josiah and I made cinnamon apple chex mix. I made sugar cookies with Emma and Tracie...Emma got to make snowmen and Tracie got to make reindeer.

7:25 am Emma and Josiah TI wouldn't stay in their rooms

7:50 am Josiah TI he asked to get down from the table and then knocked his cup and bowl and everything all over and kept doing it repeatedly and then asking over and over where to put them and where they needed to go and the whole time I kept telling him to put them in the sink and he'd just knock them down or drop them purposely on the floor

8 am Emma TI took Deidra's Nintendo DS without permission and took it into the bathroom where she knows no toys are allowed

8:20 am Tracie drew all over the furniture and refused to clean it up when asked

8:25 am Josiah put his feet in Emma's face even after she asked him to stop

9:05 am Emma drew on the furniture

1 pm Josiah took scissors to my candles on the table while he knew that I was sidetracked with signing papers for the speech therapist

1:15 pm Josiah I was outside getting Christmas presents put in the garage by the Fex-Ex man and I had told the kids to stay in the house with Deidra. He ran screeching and giggling outside not once but twice in the 3 minutes I was outside with Deidra running after him.

1:30 pm Josiah wouldn't quit throwing toys all over Deidra while she was trying to rest on the couch

2:40 pm Tracie she got into Deidra's water bottle and was drinking it in the living room (her cup was on the counter in the kitchen where she had total access to it and she knows that no food or drink go out of the kitchen)

3:15 pm Josiah taking things from Emma and talking mean

3:20 pm Emma and Tracie for lying and hitting each other

4 pm Emma and Tracie wouldnt' stay out of stuff while I was trying to finish up baking

4:30 pm Emma bad attitude over having to wait to eat cookies

5:05 pm Emma got into Josiah and Deidra's rooms and took stuff without permission

5:15 pm Josiah was supposed to be cleaning up toys in the playroom and was getting into stuff in the kitchen instead

5:40 pm Josiah got mad at Emma over toy and told her that he hated her

5:45 pm Josiah jumping on the furniture

Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 2

8:05 am Josiah TI being too loud and refused to be quiet when asked

8:10 am Josiah TI wouldn't quit spitting after being told to stop

3:45 pm Josiah TI big fit over having to wait a few minutes for his snack

4:00 pm Emma and Josiah TI trying to open and shut the bathroom door on Tracie

4:20 pm Emma and Josiah TI putting hands on each other and lying about it to try to get each other in trouble

5:00 pm Josiah TI talking ugly and wouldn't stop

5:05 pm Emma TI wouldn't stop doing puzzle to go clean up her bathroom mess

5:10 pm Tracie TI pushing Josiah

Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 1 Part 2

I decided to track behaviors again so that I can see if things get worse or get better. I definitely see that Josiah cannot stand to be put in a time-in. I set them in my lap and put my arms across their chest or abdomen. With him, I'm having to make sure his hands are within my arms or he's started trying to pinch me and do anything he can to push my buttons to get me to react. I don't talk to them when they're in my lap, I just hold them and if they're crying I lightly rub their backs. When our time is up, then I stand them up while I'm sitting on the floor, I hold hands with them, get eye contact, and then I talk to them about what happened and what they're feeling, they get plenty of empathy, and we talk about the rules as well. The girls are responding really well so far to it, but Josiah is trying anything and eveyrthing that he can...he'll scream "ow, you're hurting me, my tummy hurts, I have to go potty," just anything and everything that he can think of. Emma even went so far to tell him "will you be quiet? mommy isn't hurting you, she's just holding you." I had to stifle a chuckle. I have to redirect them to another room though or they will stand there and make comment after comment trying to micromanage each other. I have to keep reminding them that I will parent them or Daddy will, but that they don't have to parent each other. Anyway, I'm going to start blogging about our time ins and who's getting it and for what just so that I can see if it's getting better or worse.

8 am Josiah TI as he wouldn't quit bugging Deidra when she was sick and trying to rest

8:15 am Josiah TI for not wanting to sit quietly and he was constantly testing me (where do I sit? right here? he'd get up and move...right here?...finally he threw himself on the floor...then got up and ran behind where he was supposed to be sitting even though I was giving him clear instructions the whole time)

9 am Josiah TI not leaving the foot stool on the recliner alone even though they know they're not supposed to have it out of the chair

10:45 am Josiah TI getting into stuff in Mommy and Daddy's bathroom when he was supposed to be emptying the trash

12:15 pm Tracie TI getting into stuff in the pantry that was supposed to be in time out (toys)

4:25 pm Emma and Josiah TI not being quiet when asked

4:30 pm Tracie TI wouldn't give Emma some space like Emma asked her to

4:40 pm Emma TI lying to get Tracie in trouble

6:00 pm Emma TI wouldn't leave the light switches alone

Attachment-Focused Parenting Day 1

Andy and I read the first two chapters yesterday. Two things that stuck out at us is that these kids need structure to feel safe and secure and while I think we have a good routine down, I think we're going to try and fine-tune it a little more.

The other thing that stuck out at us is rather than doing time outs for punishment they need to do time ins. So, I've been sitting with them on my lap. We don't talk during that time, I just sit with them and hold them. If they're upset, I lightly rub their backs. Once a couple of minutes go by, I talk to them about what happened and how we can change the behaviors to make a good choice instead.

We've only done 2 so far. Both have been with Josiah. The first time he wouldn't quit talking. And when I stood him up (I sit on the floor and they stand in front of me) to talk to him, he thought it was funny. 10 minutes later, we were right back to another time in over another behavior. He didn't want to have to sit on my lap and he was trying to make himself go rigid and then he'd push against me over and over. Once I stood him up to talk to me, you could tell he was really trying to figure this all out. It's new for all of us, but I want healthy-attached kids and so I'm willing to give this my all. Some other things may fall to the way side during the next few weeks/months, but it's worth it if we can work through some of these attachment issues.

Feel so bad for Deidra...

All she's been talking about is her class field trip to Austin to see the Capitol building and going to a museum. They were going to ride charter buses and she was excited that they had bathrooms and movie screens on them. She couldn't wait for today. They were leaving at 6 am and coming back home at 6 pm. First time the school has done anything like this. She could barely sleep over the weekend as she was just so excited. Yesterday at church she started saying that she was really tired and feeling dizzy. She came home and took a long nap and woke up and she said that she was still dizzy, but not as tired. We went to the grocery store and she started to cry as she was feeling poor. I got some Sprite and some tylenol into her and that made her feel better. I thought it was just because she was overly tired. She went to Awana and we had our Thanksgiving feast and she said that she felt a lot better. We came home and I had her take her temp just to see and it was 99.7. I had her take a bath and put her to bed early. She came in our room in the middle of the night saying that she really didn't feel good and she felt really warm. The alarm went off to get her up for her field trip and she felt even warmer. Took her temp and it was 102.8 and had a headache and still felt dizzy and her throat is sore. We put her back to bed after I gave her some Motrin. She's been sleeping all morning. She's heartbroken that she couldn't go on her field trip. I feel bad that she missed her field trip too, but they were going to be 3 hours away and that's just too far for her to be if she's sick and feeling lousy. I told her that 5th grade is going tomorrow, so hopefully next year she'll be able to go.

I just want peace...

The more and more I think about it, it's really time to pursue the attachment part of all of this parenting the littles. I'm so tired of having to redirect and correct them every 2 seconds. Josiah can't do anything without it turning into a process. You tell him to get dressed, he takes his clothes off as slow as possible, then he starts jumping around naked, trying to stick his butt in Tracie's face, all the while I'm telling him to get his clothes on, then he'll slowly put on his underwear, then he's slamming himself into the couch, then he's climbing up on the couch, then he'll get his shirt on all the while yelling "I can't...it's too hard." He does it everyday, he's perfectly capable of doing it. Then, he's got to run around the room, grab himself a few times, then he will go and get his pants on...all the while I'm telling him to focus and that he needs to get dressed. Can't have him get dressed in his room or the bathroom as he's coming out every 2 seconds or he's getting into stuff he shouldn't be and making a bigger mess. Every little thing I ask him to do turns into a test...go get the baby's diaper for me..."this one?...you mean this one?...I don't want to...where are they?" He's got to walk backwards all around the house and knock stuff over when he's told to go do something. Time outs don't work, spankings don't work, taking things away doesn't work. Every day, he acts like he doesn't have to follow the rules. He knows that he's not supposed to go into anybody elses bedroom but his own, yet every morning he sneaks into Deidra's room and gets into her things and breaks stuff. There's no remorse. You ask him why he does that and he says "I don't know." I'm just tired of all the behavior issues and more and more people are telling me that it sounds like RAD. The behavior therapists aren't really convinced of that, but you tell me why we can't get his behavior to modify. It's really like he just doesn't care. He's getting in trouble left and right at school as well. He'll tell me "I didn't know I couldn't write on the furniture." I ask him "are you allowed to write on the furniture at home?" He'll say "no." It's like he has no respect for anything...it's all about what he wants...he slams the toys down, he breaks things, he's ruined the window sills in his room, scrapes the paint off the walls when he's mad, I'm just tired of all of it and want there to be peace in the house. He gets in the girls' faces when they're playing nicely and has to stir them all up...he doesn't respect their space at all. It's all a game to him sometimes. Don't get me wrong, there's times that he can be sweet and funny, but the day-to-day stuff and battles and behavior issues are wearing me out.

Emma's got a lot of behavior problems lately too and I'm wondering if this attachment therapy would help all of us.

The things these kids bicker about...

Josiah---Mommy, Tracie just said "Melina."

Emily--Mom, Deidra's picking up the baby.

Tracie--Josiah won't let me have that toy.

Emily--Josiah's giving me one giant headache.

Josiah--the brownies are going to take too much longer (they had to bake in the oven)

Deidra--how come I have to behave and the little kids get away with everything?

Emily--Josiah just said "butt" and he won't get his feet off of me

Tracie--I gotta go potty too (the minute someone steps into the bathroom).

Josiah--I don't want to be quiet.

Deidra--Emma isn't listening.

Emily--Josiah and Tracie won't leave me alone.

Josiah--I want to watch tv. I want to watch a kids show. I don't want to go play.

Sometimes I just have to laugh to stay sane...it's never ending some days no matter what I try and do.

Attachment

Josiah has been full of energy...I mean overflowing with energy. I'm doing all this sensory stuff with him trying to calm him down and nothing is working. I went to my sensory board for support and I had a Mom ask me about RAD. I told her that it hasn't been ruled out. Another Mom told me that her son isn't adopted but she was reading a book by Daniel Hughes that is called Attachment Focused Parenting and it was helping her son with his behaviors and he had alot of stuff going on that was similar to Josiah. We are having problems with Emma and her behavior and her attitude as well and Tracie struggles alot with fits and whining anytime she doesn't like the answer or she's told to wait a second or sometimes it's just because she wants something and doesn't want to have to ask for something...she'd rather cry instead. Things are hard for her...she cries. She doesn't want to do something...she cries. She is really doing a lot of 2-year old behaviors right now. With her developmental delays it's understandable. But, I told Andy I think it's time to pursue some attachment therapy and see if that helps...at this point it can't hurt. I'm going to start with reading Building the Bonds of Attachment by Daniel Hughes and the Attachment Focused Parenting book and see if we can see some improvements and I'm going to hunt down an attachment therapist in Dallas to see if we can be seen and get the littles evaluated.

August 2009

I used the Beach Party Quickpages by Heavenly Scraps for these!

Deidra and the New Kids...

I'm really proud of her and how she takes the new kids under her wing. I went and had lunch with her the other day and a boy and his Mom sat across from us. Turns out, he's a new student and we all got talking. I really liked his Mom and she just had a baby boy 6 weeks ago. Anyway, after she realized who she was and the kids went back to class she informed that he really adores her. He's coming to her birthday party tomorrow. She told me that the kids at school tease her that he's her boyfriend, but she just really likes to play and hang out with him and he likes to play with her too. I told her not to pay attention to the kids at school and that it's ok to have boys for friends too. They seemed to get along really well and his Mom just called to RSVP that he'd be there for the party and she said he wanted to get her the perfect gift so she was wondering about gift ideas. That's too cute! I'm not ready for all the crushes and stuff...but he is a sweet little boy.

Being the Mom of 3 Sensory Kids...

I get burned out sometimes dealing with all of the behaviors. 2 with ADHD and ODD and developmental delays and 1 with a lot of speech issues and a lot of developmental delays and problems with memory and focus as well and they all 3 have sensory issues of varying degrees. I do the best that I can and I love them all dearly and am constantly trying to do things to help them achieve their goals. But, I do burn out sometimes and I get frustrated. I went to my sensory membership board yesterday and just talked about one of them. I won't say which one...it really doesn't matter. But, one of the gals said that she too adopted her child and felt burned out a lot and she stumbled upon this book Attachment Focused Parenting by Daniel Hughes and really liked the few pages that she had read and put into practice thus far. I think I'm going to go see if I can find the book and start reading it. I figure it can't hurt.

Wrote my first chapter...

I don't want to go into too many details...I'm thinking about writing a book and I feel that God has laid it on my heart to do it. I sat down this morning and typed out my first chapter. We'll see how the rest of the book develops.

Deidra's 10th birthday!

I sit here with tears in my eyes reflecting about Deidra's pregnancy and birth. I cannot believe that 10 years have already gone by. She is such a sweet little girl and so full of life and she has such a beautiful heart. She is an amazing big sister and looking back on all of those years that she wished for a brother and a sister so that she could have siblings like her friends...I'm so glad that she has a house full of them now. Yes, I'm sure there are times when she wishes she was still that only child, but I know that deep down she wouldn't trade them for anything. She is SO good (well, most of the time) with them. She loves to teach them things and to play with them. And to watch her with Melina....I'm so glad that she loves her baby sister! I was a little nervous that with the age difference between them, of how she was going to do with her. The first thing she does when she gets up for school is to come see her baby sister and love on her and that's the first thing she has to do when she comes home from school. She is a big helper with her too and she loves her baby sister. People ask her in public what she thinks of her and she acts indifferent, but I always tell them it's an act...she loves that baby SO much! I'm proud to see the person that she is becoming. Sure, that tween attitude I could do without...but she really does have a heart...she looks after the new kids at school and quickly becomes their friends and that makes me so proud of her. She is beautiful and I couldn't love her more or be more proud of her. 10 years old...darn, I'm crying again...they grow up too darned fast!

We're going to take her out to Chili's for her birthday tonight and we have a birthday party planned for her on Saturday afternoon here at the house.

Melina loves the cats

It is so funny to see her reach out and try to pet them and her eyes just follow them all over when she sees them. Ok, so she does try to grab at their fur sometimes too, but they don't mind. We try to teach her the concept of gentle hands. It is too cute to watch her with them!

Are these littles ever going to get the concept of boundaries?

They've struggled with it ever since we've had them and we've worked on it and worked on it and worked on it and it frustrates me to no end. They sit on top of each other all the time, they think to talk to the baby they need to be on her play mat with her or 1/2 an inch from her face. We've done the whole "if you can hold your arms out and touch someone you're too close" thing...they take it to exaggeration and then go right back to being too close. They play with Melina and shake her toys at her and because they're too close she gets hit in the face or the head and it's just frustrating. I know they don't mean to hurt her, I just wish she didn't have to get hurt sometimes. She loves them to pieces. I know some of it may be their sensory issues too. I'm going to get 3 carpet squares I think today and try that since none of the other rules or ways I've tried to teach them seems to work.

Josiah's getting hurt at school 3-4 times a week too because he gets too close, spins and jumps all of the time and is always bumping into someone and hurting his nose on the back of someone elses head. Iwould have thought natural consequences would have taught him easily enough by now, but no such luck.

Melina is one smart little baby

We were at the grocery store and I got some more applesauce off the shelf and she started kicking her legs and opening her mouth...she loves applesauce! When I put it in the cart, she started crying. We had ran into one of the receptionists that work at the doctors office and she couldn't believe that Melina recognized what that was at only beiing 6 months old. She's always been an alert baby and she takes everything in. She watches her hands open and close now and when she sits up she watches her toes curl and uncurl. So cute to watch her! She still doesn't like it if Mommy goes somewhere in the house that she can't see me. She's definitely got some separation anxiety. I also think its adorable, that just like I do when I'm tired...Melina also rubs her feet together to fall asleep. Too funny!