Just an Update

Just an update about what's been going on around here for the last few weeks.

WILLIAM

Will has been having trouble the last couple of weeks of school. His regular kindergarten teacher is out on sick leave. Well, more than just sick leave... she is having radiation and chemo treatments for her second bout with cancer. She's probably just a couple years older than me and they have four children. Please keep Mrs. P and her family in your prayers.

With Mrs. P gone, a substitute has come in. I don't know if it's just the time of year, the difference in teaching or strictness, or what, but Will only had two days out of the last two weeks that there wasn't a "card pulled". (A card gets pulled each time a child doesn't obey the rules... after a warning.) So, it's been a little hard around here on us all trying to figure out what's going on and how to train Will that he needs to obey all the rules the first time.

This isn't anything new with him, but now it's getting harder since he is trying to reason with us on everything. He thinks he has the answer to everything and that life should just go his way. We're trying to teach him that it just doesn't work that way all the time. Parenting is not easy work, but we love our kids and want them to grow up to be respectable adults with healthy attitudes, so we are doing the best we know to do and we're already seeing improvement. :)

He loves to ask "what if" questions and math questions... "What is 100 plus 97?" He's extremely inquisitive and very social. He loves to tell stories about trains, too, as always. He says his favorite part about school is recess. :)

[UPDATE: I received a call from a friend that works in the school system that read this post and she asked who Will's substitute was. Upon hearing the sub's name, my friend said, "Just so you know... it's the teacher, not Will. She runs the class like Kindergarten Bootcamp." Makes me feel a little better, but Will still needs to learn to follow rules and obey his teachers no matter how strict. He will have a different teacher when the new year arrives, so we'll have to wait and see how that goes...]

NATHAN

Poor Nathan. He has a fever for a couple days and then one night he started complaining about his ear hurting. That night was an awful nights sleep. He woke about every 30 minutes crying. Finally around 1 AM, he got some sleep. The next morning, I made an appointment with the pediatrician. While at the doctor's office, I noticed his ear was draining.

A LOT. Turns out he ruptured an ear drum and lost the tube that was in that ear in the process.

He's gone through his 10 days of antibiotics and has an ear re-check next week to make sure it is healing correctly. If ear infections return, he will most likely have to have a tube put in again. He's feeling much better though and when I ask about his ear he says, "All bayer" for "all better".

I've also started the process for having him evaluated by the school system to get enrolled in speech therapy next year. He's doing much better and can make complete thoughts and some full sentences, but the enunciation is still not where it should be. Jeff still brings Nathan to me from time to time for interpretation and there are still occasions where I don't understand him. I'm looking forward to getting started with the therapy. I think he'll be happier, too.

It's also time to get serious about potty training. He's getting better, but we're getting tired of waiting on him... I know that sounds awful, but it's time. IT IS TIME. Time for big boy underwear. This week we're making the switch. No school to interrupt. We'll be home most of the time and I can really focus on getting him to the potty on a consistent schedule. Maybe Santa will bring him some fun big boy underwear that he'll want to keep "clean and dry" (as Nathan says). :)

Thankfully, he has kept his love bug attitude. Lots of smiles these days with tons of hugs. His favorite toys are tractors, diggers, firetrucks, and, well, just about anything that is big and goes. "Jaa Dee" (John Deere) is a common daily phrase. The other phrase we hear a lot is "Pa-paw woo like it" (Pa-Paw would like it) when he sees big trucks or tools. :)

[UPDATE: At Nathan's follow up ear appointment, the doctor was able to see that his ear tube is still in tact and functioning! Dr. P said that it must have been so "gross" in his ear after the rupture that he just couldn't see the tube. This was great news that it is still there and functional!]

WITTMAN

Witt is coming along in speech and motor skills just fine. He enjoys jumping on the bed or pulling the cushions off the couch to jump (although we're trying to break that habit!). He loves to fall from the bed or changing table with his arms up in the air and "KA" for "catch". He gives "fives" to anyone that will take one, too.

A few of the most recent additions in vocabulary are:

Saying "saa" and giving a hug when he's sorry.

Saying "bay" for "bear".

He says something for milk that has the "mi" in it, but I can't figure out how to spell the rest. :)

"cu" for "cup"

"moe" for "more"

"duh" for "done"

He signs:

more, milk, all done, shoes, eat

He also signs "sign" when he hears the Signing Time song come on. Very cute!

Beyond the allergy testing, the biggest thing for him right now has been reducing his naps from 2 per day to 1 each day. This is MUCH sooner than the first two boys - they were more than 2 years old before they went down to one nap. His naps range from 1 1/4 hours to 3 hours and I never know which to expect. He's in bed at 8:00 PM and wakes just before 7:00 each morning. So he's sleeping pretty well and isn't very fussy most days. I guess it's just his time - even though I wasn't ready for it. :)

Witt's got a nice sized temper, and knows how to throw a pretty good fit. I'd say the best fit-thrower I have for his age. That foot stomps and those teeth show. Then the squeel. Oh the squeel! And usually a fully understandable "MINE!" or "NO!" follows. We can't help but laugh at his angry cuteness... bless his heart. :)

He keeps up with his brothers well and takes a knock to the head with ease. LOL!

JEFF & ME

(sorry no picture of us in our pjs! LOL!)

Jeff has already shot his first deer of the season! Yippeee for a freezer of meat! :)

As far as I can tell, work is going fine for him... nothing too stressful right now. But then again, maybe he's just gotten really good at leaving work at work. :) He's so thoughtful of me and what I'm going through at home. I couldn't ask for a better husband. Truly.

He's teaching the teenage bible class on Sunday mornings for the second quarter in a row. He taught again this quarter so that I could be in the ladies class.We usually alternate quarters in teaching, but a new class was available this quarter for the "young" ladies and since I really wanted to join it, he stayed another quarter. Again... best husband ever!

As for me, well, this blog is pretty much just constant updates about what's going on in my life, so there's not too much extra to tell.

We're in the early stages of making resolutions for the new year and seeing how far we've come with this year's resolutions. The end of a year is always such a good time for reflection and then knowing there is a "clean slate" coming in the new year brings such encouragement to me. We'll let you know what we decide.

Until then, we're wishing you and your family a very merry Christmas!!