handsful

Bought one yet?  I’m going to…

Click on the Wild Olive Tees link on my sidebar…the owner of this site has 8 children, 4 adopted from China and another China daughter on the way!

We had dinner at Carrabba’s tonight to celebrate R’s birthday :)  SO much food, we brought some home.  Lainey ate all of hers, plus some of my soup, some of Randy’s soup and salad, and some of Abbey’s food.  Gracious. 

We ran out of time tonight, but he’s going to pick out some new leather flip flops for his present (got him the same thing last year, he loves them, but they’re wearing out!).  I also gave him a bag of healthy munchies.  He and I are both cutting back on snacking, but we snack differently.  He loves salty/crunchy…I love sweet/gooey.  Makes it easier on us, we don’t tend to “steal” each others snacks!  Anyway, he was complaining last night of not having healthy or low-fat things to munch on.  Course, I also got him a cream filled canoli at the bakery…it IS his birthday!  

Happy Birthday, Randy!  We all love you from here to the moon and back :)

Running to her momma…

Got home from our trip to NC last night, so today was spent unpacking and washing an insane amount of dirty clothes.  No, they’re not done yet, so that continues tomorrow :)  I’ll be doing a post about our trip when I’m not this tired, but until then…

Lainey had her speech/language evaluation through the school system today.  She is currently receiving speech services through the state program for children 3 and under.  She ages out of this in July, and will then be seen by the local elementary school therapist (who, thankfully, we hear is really good).  Today’s eval went great, she cooperated with everything.  The therapist was looking at her communication skills, both receptively (how much she understands) and expressively (both speech and sign language).  Receptive skills are above average…she made it up to age 3 1/2 with sporadic correct answers up to age 5.  Woo hoo :)  Expressive skills, like we thought, are a little delayed.  She scored in the 2 – 2 1/2 age range.  Most of this is through signing, but she is consistently vocalizing with each sign and putting together sentences of 4-5 sounds/signs long.  At times, it seems as though her speech progress is going soooo slowly.  But, when we compare where she is now to where she was, she really has made big strides.

On Monday, Ethan set out these buckets to measure the rain.  They’re full and so heavy that they’re sinking into the wet dirt/mulch. 

As of today, the water in the pool is flush with the patio. 

Last Saturday, after EJ’s game, Lainey had her first ice cream cone. 

She liked it a little bit. 

And, just cause she’s so stinkin’ cute, here she is all ready for church last Sunday.  Love this consignment-find dress :)

Yes, I know I’m cute.  My brothers and sisters tell me ALL the time.

 

EJ’s piano recital tonight…recorded on Abbey’s camera, so quality isn’t so high. He did great!

Lainey Jett

So much going on these days, with the kids finishing up their subjects before the coveted summer break and my mind on all the amazing projects and things I’ll get done once I’m done teaching.  Who am I kidding…  So, here are a few quick snapshots of things going on in our household at the moment: 

The above shot makes me think of American Idol, and how crushed we were to see Danny leave.  I’ll be nice and not say how much I LOATHE Adam (oops). 

I have a couple of friends who are deathly afraid of amphibians, namely frogs (waving to Amanda)…it would be tough to have that fear here in Florida.  The sounds of countless frogs and/or toads croaking in and around the pond in our backyard is almost deafening this time of year.  This green tree frog visited us this week.  I grabbed the camera and aimed and he promptly turned his back to me.  I changed position.  He turned away again.  It became quite comical and took a few shots to actually get the little guy’s face.  I think he might be in the witness protection program.  Good disquise. 

While I’m talking animals, here is a pic of Marley “tending” her brood of water beetles, assorted land beetles, and her bin of tadpoles.  This is a busy season for our animal lover.  Lainey is watching intently, learning the ropes from big sis. 

I know you’re busy, but could someone pullleeaase feed me?

This is Payton’s reaction to hearing he has to have teeth pulled in June.  Initially it was SEVEN baby teeth.  But, he’s lost two on his own.  Still, five??  And, the boy is missing 4 adult teeth to begin with!  We’ll be double-checking that the orthodontist and the dentist are on the same page on which ones to pull! 

Spring brings plantings around here…lining the window on our patio are seedlings of flowers that the girls planted.  I’ll have to ask them what they are, I forget! 

Update on pumpkin…still growing strong and flowering like crazy.  Not seeing any baby pumpkins yet. 

Cucumbers in the planter and tomatoes in the background.  It’s been a long time since I’ve tried cucumbers, I’ve never been very successful with those.  Last year, I tried those hang-upside-down planters for the tomatoes.  They ended up with some weird growth on them and did nothing.  Went back to right-side-up this year and so far so good. 

This has been our favorite snack lately to make…won tons with cinnamon sugar.  We cut, sprinkle, and bake until they get crispy.  They’re easy and really good. 

Ethan has his first piano recital tomorrow night.  He’s been practicing the song for a while and has it down pat.  I forget the title, but it’s by Johann Strauss.  Lasts about 30 seconds :)  Course, we’ll still be sitting through the other 30+ kids to play. 

He tells me this is B minor.  EJ has been playing the guitar A LOT lately, it’s nearly always around his neck.  He loves to find songs online to copy and he’s beginning to make up songs on his own.  The kids used to complain a wee bit (okay, maybe more) that he played too much.  Now, they all comment on how good he sounds.  He really does. 

Resident teenager.  You can find her in her room or on Facebook.  Or taking a really long shower.  Or in your face asking to have friends over.  She’s my “baby” who is taller than me, wears larger shoes than me, and shares clothes with me.  Fun. 

Lainey loves to swing.  The higher the better.  What else is new…She signs 3-4 signs at a time now, in sentences.  “momma stay home” – “Lainey swing blue swing” – “pink cup water”.  Speech is showing progress, too.  She’s using “w” more appropriately, “y” and “l” are pretty close, and I’ve finally gotten her to more closely approximate “n”.  So, “no” is “mo”, but we’re working on it.  She can say “yo-yo” and calls her flip flops her “ma ma” (says it like “mop” without the “p” sound).  She copies EVERYTHING we say, but usually just says the vowel sounds – momma stay home is “mama ay om”.  She’s facinated with colors matching, loves choosing her own clothes (with mom’s guidance), and still dislikes mushrooms.  Actually, we’ve noticed she isn’t much of a bread lover of any kind…usually has to be urged to finish a sandwich.  Being a grains lover myself, I do NOT understand that.   

Lastly, EJ’s team plays for the championship on Saturday!  I’ll have pictures, I’m sure.  :)