Chloe is busy prepping for her dance recital. Dancing brings her such such joy and happiness. If she could, she'd go every day. Chloe and I have had some challenging times in the last several months with behavior and attitude, but just recently she seems to have turned a corner. Chloe is now my little shadow, wants to dress like I do (if I am wearing a dress, she has to wear a dress), wants to be a cheerleader like me, and wants to help me with all of my mommy duties. Overall, I think a lot of her behavior issues were because she feels left out with the boys. They don't not include her, but she's not interested in rough and tough, "boy" play. Chloe is very sensitive and very girly. I understood what was happening, but she of course, didn't. I think I am her new "friend" since Clayton is pulled in two directions at home. It's definitely sad, but a natural transition in sibling life. She's thriving at school. She loves playing "cats" with her sweet little friends on the playgrounds. It took me a while to figure out the inspiration for "cats," but I've since learned it's from Sofia the First. Chloe has the sweetest little voice. She loves signing (her current fave is "Jesus Loves Me...), loves crafting, drawing, and coloring, and loves dressing up in her princess dresses. One of our favorite lines from Chloe is whenever she thinks you should already know something, "Mommy, I already told you that. You knowed that. You did. I told you. You really did!" Love our Chloe Grace so much!
Clayton has had a fantastic first soccer season on the Ninja Turtles. He loves being part of a team, practices, and of course the official uniform! Ryan and I have had so much fun watching him play. He's the second youngest and one of the smallest, but it hasn't stopped him. Clay's a real analytical thinker, so he has to understand before he does anything. Once it clicks, though, he's unstoppable! Clayton loves his daddy. They are both constantly moving and doing. Every afternoon is filled with sports. Our backyard is littered with goals, hoops, and every ball you can imagine. Ryan just took Clay to the baseball fields for their first "daddy and son" practice. Ryan was smiling ear to ear along with Clay! He is a fantastic big brother. For the most part he plays really well with Chloe and especially Easton. He's definitely the "in charge" child, which does sometimes pose problems, but overall his "in charge" position is really helpful. One of our favorite Clayton quirks is his busy, inquiring mind. He is so smart. Like, really smart. I surprised him with high Nike socks in blue, black, and white. He's been wanting them for a really long time and I finally found some. He told me that he was going to wear them in a pattern, black, white, blue and then black, white, blue again. I couldn't believe it. It's one thing to learn things in school, but another to transfer it to real life in the correct context. One of our favorite Clayton lines is when you do redirect, correct, or reprimand him, he often replies with "Oh yeah, right, I know." I also love how he kind of sucks his cheeks in and lowers his voice and points his finger when he has something really in depth to tell you.
Easton is absolutely loving My Gym. He is super agile, wild, and fearless, but such a good listener. He's doing a fantastic job at following the rules, listening to instructions, and circle time. He literally starts belly laughing the minute he sees the teacher, Mr. Ryan and doesn't stop. It's impossible for the other parents to not laugh along with him because it is just infectious. I had a mom compliment him yesterday. She said that it's amazing how well-behaved he is despite his crazy energy. His speech therapy has been the best blessing. He talking so well. Easton spontaneously talks, says two-word sentences without prompting, answers questions, points out things he sees, talks gibberish constantly, and repeats everything you ask him to. His speech teacher, Mrs. Bree is so thrilled with his progress. She feels confident that we will close his gap by his third birthday. Easton is still about 6 months behind with his speech, but thank goodness there are no other delays. We just really have to hope he has teachers who incorporate lots of kinesthetic learning into their instruction! Easton finally has names for all of us, Mommy/Mama (all day, every day!), Daddy, TT (Clayton), Doey (Chloe), Eten (Easton), and RaRa (Roxi). TT took him the longest and he came up with it on his own. "Cl" is a difficult blend. I tried "Cay Cay," but C's are difficult too. He created TT and says it all day. "TT race" and "TT" then proceeds to cry because he wants Clay to play with him. He asks for things now too. "Mommy, I want nuuk (milk)." Another favorite is when he sings this silly song my dad started singing to the twins when they were babies, "hello, hello, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye." He sings the entire song...down the aisles of Target, in the car, and of course, when he sees Papa Jim! We are so impressed with his language and love watching him blossom.
The last big October news was that our sweet snowflake, Hannah Faith had surgery on her skull to fix a fused suture on one of her soft spots. It was a routine major surgery. It was a hard week from learning about the condition to the surgery and recovery. I cried a lot. I felt a lot of guilt, which I know is irrational, but I did. Her surgery helped me understand my feelings better...I care so much, yet am so far removed. It's a pretty surreal feeling and reality, but one I wouldn't change for the world. Her parents were so forthcoming with including us on her diagnosis and allowing us to be part of the Caring Bridge site they set up to keep their family and friends informed. We are so blessed to have chosen such amazing people to have and raise the little life we helped create. Though her mom and I have never met, I feel so connected to her. I'm so thankful for the comfort and peace God gives me. People wonder all of the time how we did it, it's simple. God directed it, we listened, and thank God we did. Not only did we make the dreams come true of an incredible, loving, devoted couple, but we gave life to an embryo that every ounce of us went into creating.
Here's some pictures from October (too tired to fix the order!)...
Trick or treating with Jett!
Emergency trip to Party City to buy a costume to make my little butterfly fairy smile!
Pumpkin Patch!
Go Clayton!!! We are so proud of you!
Love.
C and C's first preschool field trip.
Date night!
We made a pink bear at Build-A-Bear for Hannah. Each child kissed a heart, said a prayer for Hannah and put it inside of the bear before it was sewn up.
Irvine Park Railroad fun!
This stud had an amazing save at goalie! He played goalie a lot this season and was never scored on.
Two sick babies.
Our third annual Halloween Boo Bash!
First official school pictures.
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