Proud Parents

It was time for our first parent/teacher conferences at the boys school. The first 9 weeks of school are over as hard as that is to believe.

I met with Ayden's teacher last week. She was very nice and for lack of a better word, normal. She wasn't one of those Pre-K teachers that talks to EVERYONE like they are 4. That was refreshing :) Anyhow, Ayden is doing great. He knows all of his colors, shapes and can count to 14. My big question was "is he taking naps?" She said that most of the kids are not sleeping during their one hour nap time but by law they have to have a rest time. They must lay quietly and still for a whole hour which must seem like all day to all those 4 year olds. The only problem that she has with Ayden is that he is a little "handsy". He likes to push and hit however she did say that its not just him. There are several boys who are doing the same thing and what I liked the most is that she didn't make a big deal out of it. She acted like it was completely normal for boys at this age which I agree with.

My conference with Christian's teacher was yesterday. His report card looks amazing! He has four A's and the one B is only one point away from an A. He's doing so great! His teacher shared with me a composition that he wrote. He did a great job and had very few spelling errors. His teacher was very complimentary about Christian and said several times that he is a very hard worker. It was an absolute relief to speak to one of Christian's teachers and have a positive response. From the time Christian was four years old and started at a British school in England we have been getting nothing but negative comments from teachers. Its been a very long road but we are now at the point where we have Christian on track with his medication and he is excelling in school. Its amazing and Dominic and I are absolutely proud beyond belief.

We have spent the last week and a half going to flooring stores and having measurements done to get all new flooring in our house. Today I'm getting the last estimate. I am anxious to decide which company to go with and set a date. We are going to put laminate in the majority of the living area and carpet in the bedrooms. I am so excited about this because I feel like it will make me feel proud of our home. I currently hate to have guests over because the carpet is beyond horrible! Its thoroughly embarrassing. To have new flooring makes me feel like I will be proud to have guests come over.

I'm an Auntie!

On Monday, October 5th my niece Eleanor Paige was born! My sister labored very long and hard for 35 hours before they finally decided (after dilation stopped) to do a c-section. Kara worked so hard for so long with lots of discomfort and pressure and was disappointed to have to end up with a c-section. The surgery itself turned into "the worst experience of my life" in Kara's words. Hearing her describe it was heartbreaking.

Of course the end result was nothing less than a miracle...a beautiful, healthy little girl! Elle was 7 lbs 6 oz and 21" long. Her daddy is Mexican, giving her long thick black hair, dark skin and eyes. What a special baby she is. Her mommy and daddy love her to death and Elle has lots of family and extended family who are completely in love with her. She has lots of adventures awaiting her.

Me giving Elle kisses before I had to fly back to TX

Sweet baby Elle!

8 days old

I am so happy that I was able to fly home to be with Kara, Julio and Elle for a week. I cooked lots of meals for the freezer and helped wherever I could with other housework. I know how amazing that help is after having a baby and I didn't even have a c-section.

I am excited to see how Elle grows and I hope to be a big part of her life although being so far apart makes that tough. I think that our family has proved that its possible though with our boys...so I'm determined!