Snow In Logandale

When we finally got Kyle's crib put together there was a lot of styrofoam and plastic that was in the boxes.  Cayden asked if he could play with it.  I told him yes.  Big mistake!  He played in his room for hours with that stuff but then decided that making houses and blankets out of it was not enough.  He then decided to make it snow.  He called me into his room and said "Look mom!  It snowed in Lego land." Oh that is super!  It took a very long time to get the "snow" cleaned up and I am still finding little pieces of it.

Kyle Brandt is 9 months old

Another month has gone by and there have been some big changes with Kyle.  The week after I posted about him being 8 months old he
-started sitting up on his own for long periods of time.
-crawled 14-15 steps on the May 16 and now he is unstoppable and goes all over the place.
-started noticing other babies at church and when they were making noises.  He leans toward babies.
This is other stuff he has been doing too this month.
-loves loves to see himself in the mirror.
-on May 20 he pulled himself up on the couch.
-he makes motorboat sounds.
-he pulled the ficus tree down on top of him.  Connor saw it happening but was too far away to stopit.  He did say though "I said sh** but it didn't do anything."
-he is not a happy rider in the car anymore.
-he is not a happy dinner partner.  We went to Texas Roadhouse on 5-12 and it was quite the challenge. We also went out for Laura's graduation last night and he was passed around the dinner table.
-he does sit up in a high chair at restaurants though.
-he crawls over to whoever he wants to pick him up and climbs up their legs.
-he has eaten macaroni and cheese, enchilada soup, baked potatoes, french fries, toast, saltines, townhouse, watermelon, potato salad, frog eye salad and bean and ham soup.  He really prefers much more solid food than baby food.

-we did get his room put together last weekend-June 3-but the one night I put him in there to sleep and I stayed in the recliner he woke up all night long.  I hardly slept and couldn't turn my head to well the next day.
-the pack and play, his swing, and the diapering stuff is still in our room but we moved everything else out to his room.
 -he still sleeps in the bed with us.  This is becoming less and less fun.  He tosses and turns and kicks and ends up under the pillows sometimes.  I am reading a few books on how to get him to go to his own bed because he just screams and screams when we put him in his pack and play and if he falls asleep and we move him he immediately opens his eyes.  No amount of singing or face rubbing will get him back to sleep.  Tonight I am going to try and sleep with him in his room on a mattress on the floor so he can atleast start getting used to his room.  Connor is very concerned about him being left to cry in his bed and I really don't want to do that anyway but he is not making this easy!
-he likes to blow big spit bubbles and says mmmaa while he is doing it.
-he pushed the barstool out of his way to get down the hall last week.
-he pulls back on the banana rockers trying to tip them over.
-we call him Spiderman because he pulls himself up on the walls.
-he has smacked his head repeatedly on the tile.
-Cayden loves to play with tape and leaves little pieces lying around.  Kyle puts them in his mouth and has gagged on them twice.
-he still takes a short nap about an hour and half after he wakes up.  Longer nap in the afternoon and we are trying to get him away from the late power nap so he will go to bed earlier.  Not happened yet.
He loves patty cake and I still sing him Primary songs everyday. 
-we think he waves sometimes but when we want him to he doesn't.
-he gives open mouth kisses.
-he snuggles up against my neck and shoulder almost like a hug.
-he weighs over 20 pounds but I am not sure what his height is.  He should get his 9 month check up here soon if I get it scheduled.
-he is definitely out of the baby tub and loves to scoot around and splash in the big tub.
-he wears mostly 12 month clothes but some of them are even getting too small.
-he is still super spitty and wears a bib almost all day long.
-no haircut yet-it's too cute but getting longer and longer.
-he likes to pinch the backs of your arms when he is being held.  He needs his nails cut twice a weeks still.
-he loves my earrings.  It is funny to watch him look back and forth back and forth at them when he sees them.  He grabs and yanks at them until I have to just take them out and put them away.  I don't wear much jewelry anymore. 

Daycamp

Cayden went to Cub Scout Daycamp on Friday and Saturday June 8-9. Don and I helped chaperone. Don went up Friday morning and I traded him places around 11:00. Then on Saturday it was shorter day so Don stayed the whole time. Cayden got to build a catapult, learn to tie knots, shoot BB Guns and a bow and arrow, learn about bike safety and maintenance, play games, and pretend to fish.  He did not go last year because of Cody's graduation but this is his last time to go since he is a Webelo.

A Little Family Fun and Birthdays too

On Saturday, May 19, we had our Adams Family Day. It has kind of been like a FHE for the whole family where we pick one day a month to get together and take turns being in charge. We started in February at our house and had a dinner and then played pictionary about Valentine's Day. We also drew names and whatever name we had we said something that we love about that person.  We seemed to have skipped March but then we had Easter at the Zundel's in April and then Darbie was in charge for May. This time we went to Spring Mountain State Park about 15 minutes out of Vegas. We had never been there before and it was quite lovely. A really nice oasis in the desert. We sat in the shade and chatted, ate Capriotti's sandwiches and side dishes and had birthday cake for Don and Darbie whose birthday was the next day May 20. There was a old house to explore who we think was Howard Hughes and then there were some trails that you could hike. Don took the boys out on the trails while I sat with Kyle in the shade. After hanging out together for a while we took the long way out of the area back into Vegas and went to Bass Pro Shops to look for some hiking boots for Caleb and then we went to Target and In and Out Burger on the way home.  It was a long day but fun.  We really need to do more of these types of things with the boys but it is so hard to do much that isn't so far away or doesn't cost a million dollars.  Plus the summer is atrocious in Vegas to of course we have to go far far away to do any thing outdoors other than swim.  Cayden is really liking hiking and wants to go and hike some different places.  Don wants to take the kids to fish and stuff so we have good intentions we just have to do it!

Big Steps For Connor

On Friday, May 4, Connor had a special day.  This has been a long time coming for him and he was so excited.  One of his teachers is the girls' softball coach and so he wanted Connor to help be the "manager" during their season this year.  Since the teacher would be there to keep things under control Connor was able to do it.  He would go up a little before the game and help get out equipment and get the roster ready.  Then he stayed and cheered the team on during the games.  There were only two away games this season and so the last game of the year was a travel game to Mesquite.  Mr. Griffiths wanted Connor to be able to go and felt like he had earned the privilege to go with the team, ride the bus and stay there the whole time with him there to supervise.  Connor did great and handled himself very well.  This has been something he has had to work for and was not just a given that he would be able to go.  So Connor put on his pirate shirt and hat, packed some snacks and some water and went with the team on the bus.  Now you may think that this is not that big of a deal but we feel like it is a big accomplishment for him.  He has matured quite a bit this year.  We still have our moments with him but this time last year I don't think we would have let him go and do this.  Since there have been things that have happened in the past I tend to be on guard all of the time with him and for him and want to make sure that he is not put in situations where there is potential for trouble.  Whether that is trouble caused by him or just the fact that he ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time.  We have had a few "perfect storms" and try mightily to avoid that at all costs.  Sometimes to his detriment even because we keep a tight handle on what he is able to participate in.  Since this was a good experience there is potential for other things like this for him to be a part of.  He is understanding more that he can control himself and he needs to choose to do so so that he can participate.  Whew!  Put that one in the win column!

Connor has also been doing some things with kids his own age for once and those have been successes as well.  He has been to the reservoir swimming a few times with some kids, on the Rhino for rides up around the reservoir, and during "M" week last week he actually wanted to go to the movie on the field that they do.  We thought that he would last for only part of it since he does not like movies usually but he stayed the whole time.

Connor also was the official half time floor sweeper for the home basketball games held this season.  He would get the big push mop and sweep the floor during halftime. He got to sit by the score keeper too so that was a bonus for him. 

He has made great strides this year and we hope to see that trend continue.  High school has been so much better and easier for him.  I was kind of worried about it but it has really been good for which I am so grateful.  With Aspberger's there is no "cure"or quick fix but things can get better and more manageable. Since Kyle has joined our family it seems that we have not had the time to do all the things that we thought we needed to to "fix" the situation.  We do know that Connor needs to stay busy and have things to do.  When there is a plan in place he is much calmer.  We also know that we can't throw a wrench into those plans very easily with out some fall out.  All in all we have seen progress so that is always a good thing.      

Please Send Me My Mother of the Year Award

This morning it happened.  The dreaded moment in every child's life and this mom's worry from day one.  Kyle fell off the bed.  Yes, yes I know-what was he doing left alone on the bed?  Well he was asleep I tell you.  I put him into bed with us at 5 and he slept very vertically with his feet in my face until I decided that one swift kick to my face from that little darling may just throw a wrench into my whole day.  So when I got up and he was still asleep I barricaded him with pillows.  Well Spiderman here just does he what he wants.  I was out getting Cayden ready for school when we heard the pitiful scream and cry.  We all ran to the bedroom and found him off the bed and on the floor partway under the bed.  Oh boy, was he a sad boy and I was a very sorry mama.  We checked for bruises, bumps and goose eggs and luckily didn't find any.  We think it mostly scared him.  Cayden told us that he thought that for Show and Tell he would tell the class that Kyle fell off the bed this morning. I said "Umm why don't you tell them you went to see Mary Poppins over the weekend?"  I would like to avoid the judgement from a classroom of 10 year olds about my apparent lack of mothering skills. 

Another Caydenism

I remembered last night another thing that Cayden said when we were out on our "date" on Saturday.  He asked me about some of the people that had died in our family like Grandpa Kim, Pawpaw, and Grandma and Grandpa Gessel because he did not know any of them.  We talked about when Jesus comes again and we are resurrected how we will get to see all of those people again.  He said "Wow mom.  That will be great.  Then you can introduce me to them."  I thought that was so sweet!  I said to him "Cayden, you won't need to be introduced because you will already know who they are because you knew them all before you came to earth." He was ok with that.  I love that kid!