Caiti's First Day of School

Today was the day I have been looking forward to for a long time. It was my sweet little Caiti's first day of preschool. I was such a proud mama helping my baby girl onto the bus. She was so excited. She was running up and down the aisle of the bus jabbering and giggling while we strapped in her car seat. She was so happy. I got a call during the day from her teacher just touching base about what she can eat, etc. I could hear her tantruming in the background which was actually kind of funny. Her teacher said, "She's pretty stubborn isn't she. She likes things her way." I just laughed and said, "Yep." I guess they were trying to teach her cause and effect, so they were having her place a bead in a can, and if she did that, she could play with her favorite toy (a light-up carousel thing). The reason she was screaming was because they would take the toy away from her until she put the bead in the can. So I would hear screaming while they were trying to get her to put the bead in the can, and then silence when they rewarded her with the toy. I just picked her up off the bus. She was so happy. I think she is going to like school because it will give her a chance to get away and have all of the attention for a few hours. I'm sure proud of my little girl.

Caiti admiring her first day of school outfit.

Caiti's first bus ride.

Getting back on the ball

So, instead of complaining about my additional holiday pounds, I decided to get back on the ball and start walking at the park across the street again. As you can see, the kids didn't mind at all.

Big Day

Today my cutie pie, baby Jason, is 9 months old. He has been outside of my tummy as long as he was inside of it! We sure love him!

For Our Daddy

Hi Daddy!
We just thought we'd show you what we've been up to since you left!

Hi Daddy! I've been eating lots of yummy things. Today, I tried raisins.

Hi Daddy! I have been watching "The Daddy Movie" and asking mom where you are nonstop.

Hi Daddy, I have been admiring my beautiful face in the mirror and lining up Sesame Street cars.

But, what we have all been doing together is missing you and praying for you!

Love Garrett, Caiti and Jason

A Visit From Nicole and Camden

So last Friday I was feeling pretty sad and down in the dumps because Kevin had left for deployment. In the afternoon, as I was lying on the couch feeling bummed, I heard the doorbell. There were my favorite little sister Nicole and my cute little buddy Camden. I was so happily surprised. I had such a great time while they were here for a few days. Nicole was such a sweetie and helped me out so much. She also was very fun to be around, and I enjoyed having real conversations with sentences that actually were in English and not jabber or asking me to get something. I loved going all the fun places with Nicole, having her try my interesting cooking, watching fun things on TV like the Bachelor and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (which we both thought our husbands would not want to watch). It was like a breath of fresh air to have her around. I absolutely loved having Camden here. It was adorable to hear him talk. I keep thinking of "Stinky, Tine!, Yummy, Tummy, Melmo!" So many cute little words. He was such a good playtime companion with my kids and he gave Jason good hugs and kisses. I loved it! Thank you Nicole for cheering me up and coming for a visit.

A Visit From Nicole and Camden (Play Town)

We decided to go somewhere inexpensive that would have fun bouncers for the kids...of course the only things I could find were bouncer rentals for your backyard which I certainly could not afford. We did end up finding this little place in El Cahon that is for kids 8 and under. It was a pretty fun place, and after I got over the embarrassment of Garrett and Caiti eating everyone else's food and drinking their drinks, I could tell all the kids were having a great time.

A Visit From Nicole and Camden (The Temple)

On Sunday we thought a great activity for the Sabbath would be to go see the temple. I loved it. It was so beautiful. All the kids were really good. It was so peaceful. Nicole took some great pictures for me. I love the temple. It always inspires me to do better, or to quote the old Mormonad "Aspire to Something Higher."

A Visit From Nicole and Camden (The Zoo)

On Saturday, we went to the zoo with my good friends, Elder and Sister Gilchrist. That was a lot of fun. Garrett just loved being on a walk, and Caiti loved all the plant life even more than the animals. I just really enjoyed the visit with Nicole and with the Gilchrists. That was a lot of fun.
Caiti could have stayed at the Flamingo exhibit for hours.

My cute little boys and their adopted grandparents, Brother and Sister Gilchrist.

Aaaaawww. Nicole and me.

Our family looking at the awesome gorilla exhibit. That was Nicole's favorite part. There was a mommy gorilla and a baby gorilla and then a bunch of others.

We are 3 strong women getting our exercise!

P.S. I'm boring and didn't put up pictures of the animals, but you can see them online anytime.

Garrett misses Daddy

So, before Kevin left for basic training last spring, my dad and mom came over and helped us make a home movie with Kevin playing with the kids. It's a very cute movie (except for the largely pregnant me) and was a lifesaver while Kevin was gone. Now that he is deployed again, the "Daddy Movie" has become a favorite...again. Except this time, I think Garrett might think daddy is actually in the TV. He will bring me the DVD, and once it is in, he will lie down on the floor next to the TV and watch it over and over again. He fell asleep the other night watching it. Yesterday, he was watching it when it was time for his doctor appointment. I turned it off and he started screaming "Daddy!" and sobbing. That totally broke my heart. I love the benefits of the military for my family. I have to remind myself of the great services my kids are getting because Kevin is in the Navy and that I have a roof over my head on days like that when my sweet little boy is missing his daddy.

Off to Sea

My honey, Kevin, is off on his deployment. We drove him to the ship this morning and said our goodbyes. :( It will definitely be interesting to see how he does and how I do for the next 6 to 9 months. The kids and I will sure miss him and are very proud of him.

Happy Birthday Garrett!

Jason's Blessing Day

Today was Jason's blessing. It was a really nice day. Grandma Slack sent him a nice outfit. He was blessed by his daddy. Jason sure was good. Uncle Steve, a couple friends from the ward and the bishopric participated. He only started crying near the end. Here are some pics of our day. What a sweet little boy.

zzz....

This morning at about 4 a.m., Garrett decided to come sit in bed with me. He had my old high school yearbook and was narrating the whole thing in Garrett jibberish while turning the pages in the dark. Needless to say, I didn't want Caiti (who fell asleep next to me last night) or Kevin to wake up, so I took him in the other room and tried to get him to lie down and go back to sleep. Unfortunately, we were right next to Jason's bedroom, and Garrett's laughing/making silly noises woke Jason up. Then, Jason's crying woke Caiti up, who started to scream because she values her sleep and is not the funnest person to be around when that is interrupted. So, now I am in the front room with all three of my kids typing a blog. Garrett is bouncing a ball and being hyper. Caiti's lying on the couch watching Shrek the Third, and Jason is exploring the living room and all its wonders. Hooray for early mornings. (I'm being sarcastic, of course.)

A couple pics

This is a picture I took of my pretty little Caiti. She loves being outside and playing in the leaves, water, whatever. If I let her, she would be outside all day. I just thought I would post this picture of Jason to show that his eyes are changing. I'm going to have another brown-eyed boy!

Christmas was...Different.

This year, Kevin had to work on Christmas, so we decided to go ahead and pretend the 23rd was Christmas Eve and the 24th was Christmas...after all Christ really wasn't born on the 25th...right? So what does it matter what day we celebrate his birth. We had a pretty nice dinner. We ended up having ham, stuffing and green bean casserole...in a Christine sort of way...If you know me and my cooking, that should explain itself. We then watched the First Presidency Christmas Devotional which was very nice and brought in the spirit of Christmas. We opened the presents from "Santa on Christmas Eve." That was pretty fun. Santa gave me some fuzzy pajamas and super comfy dearform slippers. I thought I didn't like slippers, but I thought wrong. The kids got jammies as well. After the kids went to bed, Kevin and I had a nice time just getting everything ready for Christmas morning.

Of course, Jason and I were the first ones up and we waited in anticipation for Kevin and Garrett and Caiti to get up. We opened up all the presents under the tree. The kids got some great toys, dvd's, clothes, etc. I was very happy with all of the presents they received and want to thank everyone who sent such great gifts. Kevin got me my favorite present ever, a GPS. I am so relieved to have that. I have spent the majority of my driving in San Diego being lost. Now, I can have the comfort of hearing the words, "You have arrived," or "in 200 yards, turn right." What a good friend that GPS voice is going to be. Kevin got an mp3 player to take with him on the ship. (He leaves on January 9th). I also made him a scrapbook with lots of pics of the kids.

I made my first turkey ever. I ended up borrowing the neighbor's roasting pan. I don't know why I thought it was so complicated. My mom finally just told me, "Christine, you put in the pan and put it in the oven." She's so smart.

The rest of the day was just the typical Christmas Day. I had a great time spending time with my honey and the kids. It was actually my favorite Christmas of my marriage...even though I really did miss the extended family.

The bad part of the day happened at about 8:30 p.m. We heard this "splat." Garrett had fallen out of his swing onto the hard kitchen floor...chin first. He was bleeding everywhere. My friends let me follow them to the hospital because I had no clue where it was. They stayed until we got all checked in, etc. Garrett ended up being strapped down and getting 8 stitches in his chin. They said the cut was to the bone. Poor baby. He did really good, only screaming when he was restrained. When they were done, he was back to his cute self, playing with the hand balloon and looking at a magazine while saying, "AT&T. Your world delivered."

Merry Christmas everyone!

Help Me Know How to Reach You

My little baby. Beautiful Baby Caiti.

You brought me healing and sweetness and calm.

You were for my heart a miracle balm.

I remember how you would snuggle me close, let me hold you.

With your a smile in your eyes, so beautiful and blue.

Your head on my chest and your curls framing your face.

You would always send me to a happy place.

Caiti it's been sad for me as you have grown older.

Yes, you still put your head on my shoulder.

Yes you still have that smile in your eyes

But it's different now, because you also cry.

You get so upset, I don't know what to do.

Caiti I wish I knew how to help you.

I want to be the mommy you need me to be.

I wish you had the language to communicate to me.

I wish I could get into your head,

and I could hear your thoughts as you place toys on your bed.

I could understand why they're all lined in a row

The thoughts in your head would be so great to know.

I think you know I love you, I adore my little girl.

I cherish your giggle as you run and you twirl.

Caiti, as your mommy, I want to know how

To love you the way that you need me to now.

I need to know just the way that I can reach you.

I need to know just the way that I can teach you.

Because Caiti I love you, I love you! I do!

Early Christmas Presents

So, my kids are not happy with my working when they want me to be paying attention to them. So, when Kevin and I went Christmas shopping for the kids, we got Jason an early Christmas present to keep him occupied while I work. He only sat in it for a few minutes at first, but he is getting used to it now, and will give mommy a much needed break. This is also helpful when doing dishes, etc. Yay! Hooray for baby toys.

Ever since I heard about therapy swings, I have really wanted to get one for Caiti. She is so happy and gives great eye contact when she is in motion and her first appropriate word was "Whee" for when she goes on the swing. We were so thankful to Nanna and Papaw Roach because this year for Christmas they paid for a therapy swing for our kids. We love it because it has a support bar that hangs in the door, so we don't have to drill holes in the walls/ceiling. I was amazed because Caiti was in the swing for 2 hours, happy as can be, and after Garrett got home from preschool, he was in the swing for another 2 hours. Now, our only problem is keeping them from wanting to be in the swing at the same time. I'm loving it.

Jason's Eyes Remind Me Of...

Caiti's Individualized Education Plan

Yesterday I drove to the Whittier Center for Caiti's IEP (individualized education plan). I met with the same people that evaluated her last week. Last week they had told me that she definitely qualifies for special education services (is anyone surprised). So we went over what they had concluded from her evaluation, as well as what their plans were for her education here in San Diego. I was very excited to hear that they are going to start her out right there at the Whittier Center. It is very difficult to qualify for that, so I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing :) j/k. They said that they really want to work one-on-one with her. So she is going to be with a teacher who they said is excellent in getting through to autistic children. I think the main purpose of her being with him is to get her more ready for actual preschool. She will be bused there every day and will have school from 9 to 12:20. So, I will have some time in there with just Jason at home. That will be different. (Garrett goes to preschool at Kumeeyah Elementary). She will be going to Whittier for her first 45 days of school, then we will meet again and decide what to do next. They said she will probably be in a similar situation to Garrett (a classroom of 4 with a teacher and 2 aids). I'm very happy about this. I also found out that ABA (applied behavioral analysis) therapy is a part of the curriculum for children with autism in San Diego, so that makes me very happy too. My babies are getting so big!

Three Sights That Have Made Me Happy Today

Garrett sitting on the counter reading the phonebook.
Caiti making faces at herself in the Christmas ornaments
Jason smiling happily with grown up food all over his face.

Pictures from Sunday morning

Here are some pictures from this morning. Please excuse how we look. We all just woke up. (Caiti was still up when we fell asleep last night. I found the dolls like that this morning when I went in her room. Ha ha.)