It's been an exciting time for Kendall. Last week she switched into the toddler class. I was worried for her b/c they moved her without any warning and she had been sick over the weekend. She did FABULOUS. She walked in and never look back. She loves her teachers and the room. I have been so pleased. She sleeps on a nap mat like an angel.
If you are around Kendall, you've probably seen her eyes do funky things. We saw an opthalmolgist in January, who said all was well. Her eyes were crossed due to a 'wide nose bridge' and that she would grow out of it. Well they seemed to get worse and we could tell her eyes weren't focusing on things. So today we met with a different opthalmologist, who was absolutely fabulous. He immediately said her eyes were crossing. She also has some vertical misalignment when looking to the left. And if you've ever seen her do that cute head tilt to the left to look at you or something... it wasn't just an expression (so we thought), it was due to her vision. So the doctor has prescribed glasses. We are going to try those for a month or two. He thinks/hopes that this will correct it. But their is a chance that she may need eye surgery. He did say that her vision isn't too bad, but she has a 'muscle imbalance'. We should know by 1-2 months of her wearing glasses whether or not she'll need to have surgery. So please keep us in your prayers during this new adventure. I'm not sure how you keep glasses on a 15 month old. I was able to spend time with a mother while at the doctor and she made me feel better about the entire situation. Apparently, once they realize the difference, they will want to wear the glasses. They will see the world in a completely different way. I'm actually excited about it. We have joked about Kendall being fearless. She's a HUGE climber and will completely walk off of tables, chairs, couch, etc. But this condition causes the child to have little or no depth perception. So she just doesn't know better. It'll be interesting to see how she reacts to her new world. Again, God is Good! We all suspected there was something going on. It feels good to have answers and a plan.
Friday, August 27, 2010
God is Good
The past eight days have been some of the hardest of my parenting life. It's really a long story and so I will try to concise the situation.
Last Wednesday, Taylor (and some fellow students) were moved up into an older class. Due to her being so well behaved and potty trained she went straight to the 'older three's'. Starting Thursday, afternoon, in the hallway of daycare, my sweet, Taylor disappeared and an ugly, defiant, out of control toddler appeared. This being stayed until Tuesday afternoon. To summarize Taylor's behavior: she kicked, she screamed, she talked back (tone I've never heard come from her), she threw items at the wall, at us. She refused to sleep in her bed or room (she slept in the hallway). We tried time outs, spanking, reasoning only to make the temper worse. I heard from her "don't talk to me that way, don't you hit me, hush, you are not my best friend, get out," At night she would scream for me but when I appeared she would yell, "get out." Every morning, as soon as her eyes opened, she would scream about going to school. She didn't to go to school. Attitude you don't expect to come from a three year old. Tantrums that could be heard down the street and that lasted for hours. I didn't know what had happened. I honestly thought she had turned herself into a brat. She doesn't handle change well and I blamed it on the classroom switch. She just wasn't taking it well.
This went on all weekend, and most of the day... not just spurts. By Tuesday, I basically remained in tears all day. I felt hopeless as a parent. My child was out of control. I didn't know what to do or how to make her stop. Nothing was working. It wasn't until I got to school at 3:30 pm to see Taylor sitting in her teachers lap crying that I knew something was wrong. It was a turning point. T had basically cried off and on all day. I started telling the teacher what was going on at home. She then informed me that there was a child in the class with that same behavior during school hours. Again, long story short. There was alittle girl in Taylor's glass, that no one could control. She bit (kids, teachers even directors), kicked, threw chairs, talked back, screamed, cried... constantly during school hours. She had never done anything directly to Taylor. But she was picking up on this hostility plus the classroom environment wasn't stable. They spent all day arguing with this one child. The behavior and phrases Taylor was using at home was identical to this child's behavior. I left Tuesday with a much better understanding. My baby girl wasn't a brat! She was confused, upset of her environment and testing her limits. I immediatly started talking with her about this girl and the behavior. I went to the director and told her my concerns and the impact is was having on Taylor. That night I was much more patient, as I laid down beside Taylor on her floor to put her to sleep. My daughter was scared of her world. It wasn't just a fit. The next day (wed), Taylor had a great day! Thursday, she again had a great day! She's now sleeping in her bed again without mommy or daddy's help, talking more politely than she was before and having her normal fits. The director stopped me yesterday to inform me that the child had been dismissed on Thursday. Apparently, the child was supsended on Wednesday, which hence the reason Taylor had a good day.. The director said the atmosphere in the classroom was completely different. She gave the girl one last chance on Thursday but the girl acted out and they called her parents for good. She won't be coming back. As sad as it is for that little girl and her family, I have never been so relieved.
I struggled this week. I struggled with the fact that you can't shelter your children from all the bad in the world. When she gets to public school, there will be bad behavior, bullies, etc. But what I kept reminding myself is that there would still be some order of control. THe behavior this child exhibited would not be tolerated in a public classroom. It was an unsafe enviroment physically and emotionally. I prayed on my knees this week that God would take care of this situation or tell me what I needed to do. I had found an alternative daycare down the street that had openings, Adam mentioned just me staying home. None were ideal but we knew our child could not stay in that environment. We were giving it to Friday and our prayers were answered yesterday! God is GOOD! I pray that as Taylor gets older, she won't be as impressionable. That other behaviors around her don't influence her the way they do now. But this week was a learning experience for all of us.
On a MUCH lighter note. Some children have immaginary friends. I had several growing up. Well Taylor has an immaginary GRANDMA! Yup. It's quite funny. The past months,she talks all about grandma, and things she did at grandmas, and ate, etc. I think it stemmed from playing at school with someone who must have a grandma. At first we thought she was referring to one of her real grandma's (cici, Grammy). But finally one day, I asked her a question with a concrete answer, "Taylor, what color hair does grandma have?" Without missing a beat, she leaned her head and said, "Grandma doesn't have hair." There you go, a bald grandma! To add to the story, we were at McDonalds (I think) in Lexington meeting Cici this week. We were parked out towards the back. Taylor says, "Momma, grandma lives there" and points out to the left. I look out my window to where she is pointing .... the Wingate Inn. Hilarious! She was serious too. Bald Grandma living at the Wingate Inn! Who would have thought?!
Last Wednesday, Taylor (and some fellow students) were moved up into an older class. Due to her being so well behaved and potty trained she went straight to the 'older three's'. Starting Thursday, afternoon, in the hallway of daycare, my sweet, Taylor disappeared and an ugly, defiant, out of control toddler appeared. This being stayed until Tuesday afternoon. To summarize Taylor's behavior: she kicked, she screamed, she talked back (tone I've never heard come from her), she threw items at the wall, at us. She refused to sleep in her bed or room (she slept in the hallway). We tried time outs, spanking, reasoning only to make the temper worse. I heard from her "don't talk to me that way, don't you hit me, hush, you are not my best friend, get out," At night she would scream for me but when I appeared she would yell, "get out." Every morning, as soon as her eyes opened, she would scream about going to school. She didn't to go to school. Attitude you don't expect to come from a three year old. Tantrums that could be heard down the street and that lasted for hours. I didn't know what had happened. I honestly thought she had turned herself into a brat. She doesn't handle change well and I blamed it on the classroom switch. She just wasn't taking it well.
This went on all weekend, and most of the day... not just spurts. By Tuesday, I basically remained in tears all day. I felt hopeless as a parent. My child was out of control. I didn't know what to do or how to make her stop. Nothing was working. It wasn't until I got to school at 3:30 pm to see Taylor sitting in her teachers lap crying that I knew something was wrong. It was a turning point. T had basically cried off and on all day. I started telling the teacher what was going on at home. She then informed me that there was a child in the class with that same behavior during school hours. Again, long story short. There was alittle girl in Taylor's glass, that no one could control. She bit (kids, teachers even directors), kicked, threw chairs, talked back, screamed, cried... constantly during school hours. She had never done anything directly to Taylor. But she was picking up on this hostility plus the classroom environment wasn't stable. They spent all day arguing with this one child. The behavior and phrases Taylor was using at home was identical to this child's behavior. I left Tuesday with a much better understanding. My baby girl wasn't a brat! She was confused, upset of her environment and testing her limits. I immediatly started talking with her about this girl and the behavior. I went to the director and told her my concerns and the impact is was having on Taylor. That night I was much more patient, as I laid down beside Taylor on her floor to put her to sleep. My daughter was scared of her world. It wasn't just a fit. The next day (wed), Taylor had a great day! Thursday, she again had a great day! She's now sleeping in her bed again without mommy or daddy's help, talking more politely than she was before and having her normal fits. The director stopped me yesterday to inform me that the child had been dismissed on Thursday. Apparently, the child was supsended on Wednesday, which hence the reason Taylor had a good day.. The director said the atmosphere in the classroom was completely different. She gave the girl one last chance on Thursday but the girl acted out and they called her parents for good. She won't be coming back. As sad as it is for that little girl and her family, I have never been so relieved.
I struggled this week. I struggled with the fact that you can't shelter your children from all the bad in the world. When she gets to public school, there will be bad behavior, bullies, etc. But what I kept reminding myself is that there would still be some order of control. THe behavior this child exhibited would not be tolerated in a public classroom. It was an unsafe enviroment physically and emotionally. I prayed on my knees this week that God would take care of this situation or tell me what I needed to do. I had found an alternative daycare down the street that had openings, Adam mentioned just me staying home. None were ideal but we knew our child could not stay in that environment. We were giving it to Friday and our prayers were answered yesterday! God is GOOD! I pray that as Taylor gets older, she won't be as impressionable. That other behaviors around her don't influence her the way they do now. But this week was a learning experience for all of us.
On a MUCH lighter note. Some children have immaginary friends. I had several growing up. Well Taylor has an immaginary GRANDMA! Yup. It's quite funny. The past months,she talks all about grandma, and things she did at grandmas, and ate, etc. I think it stemmed from playing at school with someone who must have a grandma. At first we thought she was referring to one of her real grandma's (cici, Grammy). But finally one day, I asked her a question with a concrete answer, "Taylor, what color hair does grandma have?" Without missing a beat, she leaned her head and said, "Grandma doesn't have hair." There you go, a bald grandma! To add to the story, we were at McDonalds (I think) in Lexington meeting Cici this week. We were parked out towards the back. Taylor says, "Momma, grandma lives there" and points out to the left. I look out my window to where she is pointing .... the Wingate Inn. Hilarious! She was serious too. Bald Grandma living at the Wingate Inn! Who would have thought?!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Old Lady in the House
I've started calling Taylor a 'young lady' usually not in a positive way. Example, you need to watch how you talk, young lady.' She usually replies back, "I'm not a lady, I'm Taylor" as if I"m insulting her.
Well today on the way home from lunch, she was trying to get my attention with no luck. So she says, "Momma, look at me, Old Lady." It was hilarious. Who knew she was smart enough to pair old with young. I was actually pretty impressed.
Well today on the way home from lunch, she was trying to get my attention with no luck. So she says, "Momma, look at me, Old Lady." It was hilarious. Who knew she was smart enough to pair old with young. I was actually pretty impressed.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
What's new with us?
I'm having a hard time keeping up with the blogging world. I want to blog, have things to blog, but just can't seem to make myself do it. So what have we been up to this summer?
Adam is working away at BCBS. He's joined a softball team with our church and so has practice on Sunday nights and games on Tuesday nights. This is his second week but so far has enjoyed it.
I recently joined the couponing world. It's alot of fun but I find myself getting in over my head. If I'm out searching for a 'good deal' that I have on my list... I almost make myself sick until I get it. I went to three Walgreens this week in search of 19 cent high-lighters and finally had to throw in the towel. I don't even need highlighters. My house is more stocked in food than it has ever been. If you visit my bathroom, you'll find applejuices (2), sodas (3), V8 splash all in the tub (that we don't use). In our cabinets, I have toothpaste and deoderant to last the rest of the year. Seems almost silly. But for a control freak, it's addicting.
Adam and I just recently finished a small group at church called Love and Respect. It was AWESOME! Maybe one day, I'll do a blog just on it and cover the highlights. But I highly recommend this six week class at Mt. Horeb to all married couples.
I have had the best time taking Taylor and Kendall to Music and Movement at the library every Tuesday. We join Melissa, Caedyn and Eli there as well. The kids really love it and it's been fun checking out books. Taylor has really grown to love to read. I have had so much fun with Melissa during the summer (couponing and library). I'm sad to see her return back to school this week.
Taylor has blossomed into a child over night it seems. She has amazed me at the conversations she can hold. She's also become a chatterbox. She'll perch on the couch and just talk and talk about nothing and everything. If you try to interrupt her, she'll say she's not done talking or it's her turn to talk. We recently had some issues with Taylor regarding meltdowns, monsters stories, etc. We ended up meeting with her pediactrician about it all and he helped us realize that she is just a strong-willed, type A personality child that will grow up to be goal oriented, want to be in control. This can be good and bad. But I'm not reading up on strong-willed children and how to parent them. Adam and I have let her have too much control over our family for too long because we didn't want to wake the 'beast'. Which in fact, that just creates a bigger beast. I can already tell a difference but we still have a long way to go.
Kendall has also grown leaps and bounds this summer. She's trying so hard to talk but can understand most of what we say and follow commands. She is in total love with stuffed animals, babydolls and blankets. It's so precious and makes my heart smile. (she must be my child). I can see her in a few years sleeping with dozens of her animals. She rocks them, reads to them, puts them to sleep, pats their back. She also loves spending time in her car that CiCi and Popsey got her. She can't go anywhere but she'll just sit in it. She's such a good girl. We've battled ear infections with her. The entire month of May she had one ear infectiion - treated three times. Finall three Rocephin shots fixed it in early June. She'd done well since then until this week when she got sick with a fever/rash and ear infection. I'm sure we'll be doing tubes in our future. More big news with Kendall is she will be moving up to the toddler class this month. Taylor is moving to the three year old class as well. But this is a bigger move for Kendall as she will go from sleeping in a crib to sleeping on a napmat along to one nap a day (which I think she is ready for). I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.
That sums us up for now. I'm going to attach some random pictures from the summer. Enjoy!
Fourth of July
Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila
Dress-up fun
Adam is working away at BCBS. He's joined a softball team with our church and so has practice on Sunday nights and games on Tuesday nights. This is his second week but so far has enjoyed it.
I recently joined the couponing world. It's alot of fun but I find myself getting in over my head. If I'm out searching for a 'good deal' that I have on my list... I almost make myself sick until I get it. I went to three Walgreens this week in search of 19 cent high-lighters and finally had to throw in the towel. I don't even need highlighters. My house is more stocked in food than it has ever been. If you visit my bathroom, you'll find applejuices (2), sodas (3), V8 splash all in the tub (that we don't use). In our cabinets, I have toothpaste and deoderant to last the rest of the year. Seems almost silly. But for a control freak, it's addicting.
Adam and I just recently finished a small group at church called Love and Respect. It was AWESOME! Maybe one day, I'll do a blog just on it and cover the highlights. But I highly recommend this six week class at Mt. Horeb to all married couples.
I have had the best time taking Taylor and Kendall to Music and Movement at the library every Tuesday. We join Melissa, Caedyn and Eli there as well. The kids really love it and it's been fun checking out books. Taylor has really grown to love to read. I have had so much fun with Melissa during the summer (couponing and library). I'm sad to see her return back to school this week.
Taylor has blossomed into a child over night it seems. She has amazed me at the conversations she can hold. She's also become a chatterbox. She'll perch on the couch and just talk and talk about nothing and everything. If you try to interrupt her, she'll say she's not done talking or it's her turn to talk. We recently had some issues with Taylor regarding meltdowns, monsters stories, etc. We ended up meeting with her pediactrician about it all and he helped us realize that she is just a strong-willed, type A personality child that will grow up to be goal oriented, want to be in control. This can be good and bad. But I'm not reading up on strong-willed children and how to parent them. Adam and I have let her have too much control over our family for too long because we didn't want to wake the 'beast'. Which in fact, that just creates a bigger beast. I can already tell a difference but we still have a long way to go.
Kendall has also grown leaps and bounds this summer. She's trying so hard to talk but can understand most of what we say and follow commands. She is in total love with stuffed animals, babydolls and blankets. It's so precious and makes my heart smile. (she must be my child). I can see her in a few years sleeping with dozens of her animals. She rocks them, reads to them, puts them to sleep, pats their back. She also loves spending time in her car that CiCi and Popsey got her. She can't go anywhere but she'll just sit in it. She's such a good girl. We've battled ear infections with her. The entire month of May she had one ear infectiion - treated three times. Finall three Rocephin shots fixed it in early June. She'd done well since then until this week when she got sick with a fever/rash and ear infection. I'm sure we'll be doing tubes in our future. More big news with Kendall is she will be moving up to the toddler class this month. Taylor is moving to the three year old class as well. But this is a bigger move for Kendall as she will go from sleeping in a crib to sleeping on a napmat along to one nap a day (which I think she is ready for). I'm nervous and excited all at the same time.
That sums us up for now. I'm going to attach some random pictures from the summer. Enjoy!
Fourth of July
Cow Appreciation Day at Chickfila
Dress-up fun
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