Happy Birthday Uncle Mateo

My brother sure is popular around here.......the kids LOVED celebrating his birthday!

Confessions of a Stay at Home Mom {Transportation Services Update:Fluid Definitions}

The saga continues as I attempt to get transportation from my neighborhood to our public elementary school.  Please see my other post related to the matter here: Transportation concerns sent to State Board Of Education

The commissioner of education and his legal council responded to my request for the area to be reviewed. To summarize the very lengthy response, they agreed that they are operating within their policies. The State Board of Education said Papillion La Vista schools defined a major thoroughfare as a four lane road. Hold on?  WHEN are they counting that as their definition?  As you may recall, the definitions have been the following:

• Hwy 370 with one exception on 96th {I responded that I know of a bus crossing 72nd}
• "Oh yeah, we forgot....72nd is too" {I responded with another exception}
• "That's right 370, 96th, 72nd and Giles, sorry those are all major roads" {I pointed out yet another exception to which their rebuttal took longer to return}
• "The road must be four lanes to be a major throughfare"

 The *new* recommended path has us crossing a road that is reduced to two lanes only 100 feet from where they want the kids to cross this "non major thoroughfare".  However, here is the fun part...there is NO SIDEWALK along this "non major thoroughfare" and there is NO CROSSWALK.....UNTIL YOU GET TO WHERE THE ROAD IS FOUR LANES.  Are you kidding me?!!???!

I like how the definitions change to suit their needs.  A policy is not truly a policy if the implementation is inconsistent at best.

I will not rest until this is over! 

The Stats {Addison, 5 years and Blythe 1 year}

Addison is still long and lean; she's growing well!

Height: 3 ft 9 in /45.51 in (93%)

Weight: 42 lb 3 oz (64%)

Bmi: 23%

Bp: 96/62

Blythe is a big big girl just as she has been since the day she was born!

Height: 32.18 in (97%)

Weight: 25 lbs 8 oz (98%)

Head: 46.8 cm (91%)

Blythe is surprisingly our biggest At one year; Caleb was 25 lbs at one and Addison was 21.5 lbs.

Unfortunately our well visits turned sick when we confirmed suspicions of  ear infection and pink eye.  Shes on omnisef for  the ears and we are waiting to see if the pink eye gets better without drops.

Blythe Juliette {1 Year Old}

I find this post surprisingly difficult to write....

It has been one year since Blythe Juliette blazed her way into our lives and caused the hearts of our entire family to expand 10 fold!  Our lives are richer because of her, Happy First Birthday to the bright light of this family, Blythe Juliette Grant.

• Weight and Height:  We find out officially next week, but for now shes around 25+ lb
• Clothes:  18-24 mo/2t depending on brand and type of clothes
• Diaper: 4, but she needs five....I am putting it off as long as I can.
• Feet:  Do not care until she walks :)
• Teeth:  Four, but there are several popping thru.
• Breastfeeding:  I am proud, and shocked, we made it to a year!  She is trying to wean herself because she loves her almond milk in a cup.  The only reason we are hanging on is...well....me.  I do not even love nursing, but to think this is the end for good is hard for me.  It is not a feeling of relief at all.
• Food:  I can tell she is developing some preferences, but she still eats great.  Oatmeal is not her favorite along with any other concentrated fruit. She loves almost any veggie I can give her but clearly likes some more than others.
• Talking:  I do not think she will be as chatty as Addison and Caleb, but she is still learning new words well...dada, mama, piper, cracker, bub (as in caleb-bub), paci, please, dog, baby.
• Signing:  I LOVE SIGN LANGUAGE; she learns and uses new signs everyday!  Eat, water, milk, please, help, thank you, banana, more, all done, dog, bath, play, various body parts.
• Independent playtime:  Overall, she does fantastic with play pen time for up to 20-30 minutes daily or 15 minutes twice a day.  I started working on blanket time, but decided I would wait until she walked like I did with Addison and Caleb.  I started daily blanket time around 14-15 months with them and they both caught on and followed the boundary quickly.  I totally believe in boundary training....it is an essential transferable skill!
• Major motor:  She crawls fasts and has just recently started to cruise.  I think she will be walking by the end of May, which is EARLY to me---the other two did not walk until 15 months!  My kids are usually a little behind the curve in this area.
• Fine motor:   Good pincer abilities, tries to stack objects, turns pages in books easily, can manipulate velcro and clips.
• Separation anxiety:  Despite having regular date nights with our baby sitter and co-op moms and church, she still struggles.  When Addison is around, she is much more comfortable.
• Words to describe her:  Independent, opinionated, fairly serious, curious, active, sweet, daddy's girl, NOT snugly AT ALL, content
• Loves......her daddy, her snuggle blanket, Caleb, Addison, eating, self feeding, exploring, looking at books, climbing, people watching, singing, copying
• Does not love.....applesauce, pineapple, cuddling when it is time to sleep, nursing, waiting for food, getting ready for sleep, diaper changes, oatmeal

Looking back on the last year.......I have enjoyed her first year so much more than the first two children; I can see the forest, not just the trees this time.  We also proactively prevented the PPD this time, that was HUGE.  I truly relished so many moments and milestones this go round; I knew from AJ and CA that it would fly by in a blink.  However, those two LONG months without the leader in this family, Matthew, were some of my darkest moments.  I am not proud of how I handled it, but it made me realize a few things 1) I am so thankful we have a godly leader in our house who provides, loves, leads and cares for this family, 2) I am thankful our family has a father/leader in it 3) children are far more impacted by the absence of a father (who is just unavailable vs passed away) than I ever thought possible 4) children are emotionally resilient  5) my mother is a saint (I already knew this but it was made even clearer) 6) I cannot do it all and must ask for help 7) my husband is absolutely the most amazing human being I have ever met in my entire life.  If I remove those two months from the last 12, this past year with Blythe in our family has been so rich, full and blessed and as close to picturesque as possible.  

To my joyful survivor:

As silly as this sounds, each time I think of you I feel as though I could explode because of how fiercely I love you.  This family is smitten with your big green eyes filled with wonderment, your contagious squnichy nose smile, your laughter which you carefully select to use, the constant curiosity and your angelic voice.  My heart is so full when I see you look at your brother and sister with admiring eyes.  Blythe, you are so blessed to have a brother and sister who love everything about you and love you more than anything.  And your Daddy.....there is not a better one around.  Truly. 

I thank the Lord for you everyday.  I claim the scripture hanging on the wall in your room...

Numbers 6:24-26“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.”’

I am honored to mother you.  You will always be so special to this family; God was so gracious to daddy, Addison, Caleb and me when he let us be your family.  There are still many days I wonder what it would have been like to have you and your twin Olive here.  Sometimes when you are nursing and I day dream I can almost see our other crib in that room.  In that same moment, I squeeze you extra tight knowing that while we lost one, we were give you and you baby...you are wonderful.  I cannot wait to watch you grow and watch you become the person God called you to be.  I crazy, fiercely, big, squishy love you my "Blythe-y".  Always.  Always.

Its all squishy nose smiles these days

Yoga

She hugs every stuffed animal...just like Caleb does!

Loves that bear

I can hardly breathe when I see this picture......

Big Brother letter her pull is hair :)

She can do no wrong in his eyes

I love that we can never get a perfect picture of the trio....because that is life, imperfectly perfect!

My three as one year olds :)

Addison Joy is 5

 Wowzers, Addison turned 5 on April 1!!!

Clothes: 6 or 7
Height: We shall see next week!
Weight: 43 lbs
Shoe: 11.5-12
Teeth:  She lost two last November; the grown up teeth are almost completely grown in.  She has three more loose-two bottom and one top
Words to describe her: Nurturing, talkative, caring, talks back, timid, thoughtful, perfectionist, meticulous, bossy, leader, intelligent, loving, aware, mature, giving, outgoing introvert :), rule follower, sassy, teachable
Reading:  She is reading at or around a late 1st grade level, maybe early 2nd.  Addison has an amazing ability to sound out words and remember all the exceptions in our complex language.  While we eat dinner we spell random words for her and she can already visualize the word in her mind and tell you what we spelled.  Her comprehension and fluency is well beyond a 2nd grade level.
Math:  She is told a concept and its committed to memory with little to know reminding/reinforcing.
Fine Motor:  Cutting, coloring in the lines, painting, etc improves daily and her progress in the last year is sunning.
Major Motor:  My kids are tall and lanky so major motor is always a struggle for them.  However Addison attended dance class this year, I can tell his has improved her balance and coordination substantially.  We are undecided about continuing, but leaning toward yes.
Faith:  I truly believe that when Addison asked Jesus in her heart a little over a year ago, it was real.  She understands salvation to an uncanny depth.  Awanas remains a favorite activity of hers; we plan to continue next school year.  She will be in Sparks and Caleb will be in Cubbies.
Fears:  Oh golly, this one is BIG.  She has struggled with an INTENSE fear of wind for about a year now.  Just before Matthew left for his 2 months of training we had to go to the basement due to tornadoes in the area.  It was totally a non event; we did not make a big deal about it....in fact....we played fun games.  A couple of weeks later she read the Wizard of Oz and happen to see a Wal-Mart bag blow away......thus birthed the fear of wind regardless of what the weather is like outside.  And people, IT IS WINDY HERE EVERYDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!  In the past, swimming has been a fear but we are scheduled for two weeks of everyday swim lessons in June, so we are hopeful to make progress.  I believe the root issue is she is intelligent to make very logically conclusions, but no life experience to tell her the ODDS of things happening.


 An interview with Addison, as compared to her 4.5 year old interview:

• What do you want to be when you grow up: Doctor
• Hero:  Caleb and daddy
• How old is daddy: 32 and a half
• How old does daddy act: 11
• How old is mommy: 32
• How old does mommy act: 4
• Favorite number: 100
• What does daddy do:  makes some money for us; he works on his computer
• Best friend:  Alexis...that is really my best friend because you can tell
• Favorite color: pink and purple and lavender
• What does mommy do: takes care of me
• How many kids do you want one day: 10 hundred because I love babies
• Favorite food: strawberries
• Favorite activity: reading
• Favorite book: pee wee scout books, magic tree house books, bob books
• Favorite bible story: David and Goliath 
• Favorite clothing: lavender clothing
• If you could go anywhere in the whole world where would you go?: Egypt and Puerto Rico
• What do you want your husband to look like: daddy, brown eyes, same size feet as mommy, loves Jesus, same size as daddy, same job as daddy
• Favorite animal: snakes
• Favorite song:  skip to my lou
• Most looking forward to in Kindergarten:  Art

My darling blessing:

Addison, you are truly a joy to be around.  Your nurturing ability and wisdom of our Heavenly Father is well beyond your years.  I have learned how to nurture because of you.  You inspire me to learn more about Jesus, memorize his words and display his love by serving others.  You have been gifted with an amazing memory and ability to learn; using this for his kingdom will surely change the world!  I am speechless when I watch you read chapter books, signs, newspapers...anything your eyes can see.  You are truly gifted my darling...I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!  YOU are a blessing to everyone around you!

Today I was admiring your tiny freckles on your nose and just under your eyes.  I commented to you "I love these freckles, it reminds me of Mia" to which you said "mommy, I LOVE how God made me....me".  There is such wisdom in that.  When you read these posts one day, I want you to remember what you said...love how God made you.  Sadly Addison, one day people will say things to you out of their own insecurity, things that criticizing the very fiber of who you are or what you look like.  It will hurt, but remember your reckless love for Jesus when you said you "love how God" made you.  HE made you.  The creator of this universe took great care in creating you....so the words of others are meaningless, not worth your thought!  Choose to declare his truths to yourself and others, rather than allow the poisonous lies to penetrate your heart!

Matthew 10:26-32

²⁶ “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. ²⁷ What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. ²⁸ And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.^{[g] 29} Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?^[h] And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. ³⁰ But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. ³¹ Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. ³² So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, ³³ but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

One thing I want you to always know darling...I love you more than I can articulate and I am INTENSELY proud of you.  When I discipline you or correct you, I KNOW it feels differently.  I know it.  Believe or not, often after disciplining you I am brought to tears because it is so hard to see you endure ANY pain, even the ones good for your training and upbringing.  But there is absolutely nothing you could ever, ever do that will change how I feel.  Ever.  I love you.  I always will...."just in case you ever wonder".

04.01.10, Newborn

04.01.11, One

04.01.12, Two

04.01.13, Three

04.01.14, Four

04.01.15, Five       She is a little girl now :)