Bonus Winter/Spring Break

This year they are trying a different school schedule, and Jay had the last week of February off! It was like a bonus winter/spring break. I loved the little break and it felt really nice to have some time to do what we wanted to do and be home! The week did start with parent teacher conference. I decided to ride my scooter there and I wore Jay's neon paw patrol vest. I forgot to take it off when I got into the school and got a few giggling comments. Jay's teachers were overall very positive. They focused on what progress he'd made since previous assessments, not just everything he's not doing. I was very grateful, and I do feel that he has some teachers surrounding him who are trying to help him out! 

We got to play pickleball one morning, outside and it was beautiful! We played at the park and enjoyed the weather outdoors. I was grateful the weather mostly cooperated for the week! In late February, you never know what weather you'll get! It was nice enough that we went to the car wash and got the van washed. It's been a long time since we've done that, and Hugh and Jay were both wide-eyed as we went through. I spent a while vacuuming the van and got it looking pretty good. Just as we were about to pull out, the lady next to me locked her keys in her car. My first thought was, that stinks, I think police officers help with that. Then, I thought, she probably doesn't live too far, I should see what she needs. She was very flustered, of course, so when I asked her if she wanted a lift home, she was more than grateful. She called me "baby" at every turn and when she said thank you as we dropped her back off at her car. The boys thought the lady should come home and play with us, but it was a great opportunity to serve and I'm glad we could do it. 

We also got together with Katey, a couple of her friends, and Katie Dahl at a park in Thornton. I found one that seemed about half way for those coming from the north and for us from the east. It worked out so well and we had a great time! Both Katey(ie)'s were super helpful with the boys which made everything a little easier. I love hanging out with good people and strong women! We had a fun little picnic and made it home in time for naps.

Hugh and Jay riding the teeter-totter

I was able to do a little more service throughout the weeks by taking meals to two different families. One was gluten free and the other just regular. Serving helps you realize how many problems and struggles you are grateful you don't have! I've hardly ever taken meals to people, but this past month I've done three! It's been good for getting me outside of myself and looking for other's needs. 

Another highlight was going to dinner with my friend, Sam. We recently tried a super good Mexican food place, Lupitas, and so I shared it with Sam. We had a great time visiting and stayed until the restaurant was closing. She's a great listener, kind, and thoughtful! I am grateful for her and for the time we had together. I am also grateful that Matthew watched the boys so I could have a night out. 

The day finally arrived for the baby shower I was hosting for Anastasia. We were going to have it in early February and it never worked out, so finally it came on the first of March. Matthew was the super star and my saving grace, by getting the boys to Platteville to hand over to Katey and then getting home and helping me set everything up. Setting up on my own wasn't really in the plans and I was grateful for his help. My granola turned out super yummy for the parfaits and a couple ladies brought some fun additions. I planned the game "Baby Feud" and it turned out very fun! We had about 15 ladies in total, which was the perfect number for my house. I was grateful as everyone left and Matthew helped me get everything back in order. Katey was amazing and let me stay home to eat lunch with Matthew and take a nap and then come get the boys from her. I needed some time to reset after the shower and she was more than willing to take the boys for a bit longer. 

We had one very full Friday evening, and it was so fun! It started with a quick visit to my friend Breeanne's birthday party. I dropped in and then came home to set up for our murder mystery date night. Matthew and I sent out roles and invitations earlier in the week and we had the BEST time! The couples we invited, the Jacksons, Dahls, and Griffiths, don't really know each other, but are so awesome. Everyone had the perfect roles and everyone got into it. We had some fancy foods and chocolate fallen cake to go with our Duke's Descent theme. None of us totally solved the mystery, but we came close and we had an awesome time doing it. We all laughed and chatted and no one really seemed to be ready to leave even when it was over. It's been a long time since we've had interactions with couples in such a positive, uplifting way, and it was refreshing for us! 

A couple other quick notes, I went to the eye doctor and got a new pair of glasses. Hugh was my partner in crime and did amazing during the appointment and shopping for new glasses. He found a couple pairs to try on and he was the star of the optometrist office. He actually lost one of his toy cars and we couldn't find it anywhere. They said they'd put it in my file if they found it, and sure enough, when I went to get my glasses, they'd found it and kept it! 

Hugh in the chair before the doctor came in

This was the first pair he found and wore for a long time!

I later found him this kid pair which he thought was pretty cool too.

We had our first behavioral therapy session with Sister Dahl, aka Katie Dahl. We have to call her Sister Dahl so the boys don't get confused with Aunt Katey. She came over to help me work on helping Jay to stop hitting and using his body in unsafe ways. She's amazing at what she does and gave us so many pointers and makes it seem so natural. We are working with Jay and she's so willing to keep giving us her time and energy and resources and she's truly a gift from Heavenly Father right now. Some of Jay's behaviors are getting really hard and they are really hard at school too. Matthew and I haven't known what to do and she's giving us new ideas and perspectives and hopes for being able to help Jay in ways we didn't know how. Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways, and I am continually grateful he works miracles in my life every day! Jay's an amazingly happy boy and very good at helping. Here he's helping "Beary", his bear, clean up the magna tiles. Beary got all the tiles into the bucket! And, Jay loves hauling things around. In this second picture, you can see him hauling our trash cans around...he brought them from quite a ways away! 

Beary helping Jay clean up

Can you see Jay out there with the trashcans?!

We also got to have Grandma and Grandpa up for dinner on Sunday which was the best! The boys were sooooo excited when they woke up from naps to find Grandpa and Grandma here. We love having them come and feel so blessed to have them close. They are so good with our boys and our boys love them so much. The boys took an extra love for Grandma during this visit as she read them books and played the finger game with Hugh like she did at the cabin. 

Matthew, Hugh, and Jay listening to Grandma 

Grandma doing the finger game with Hugh

Hugh updates are that he's transitioned to a big bed! He's been doing amazing! He's so happy to be sleeping there and Matthew even put him to bed there at night without my knowledge. I'd just been doing naps, but when I was gone for the evening, Hugh requested the big bed, so Matthew obliged. 

He's unsure how he feels about his sandals, but he's happy to show someone who's willing to see!

He tucked himself underneath the blankets in the pack n' play that he usually sleeps on top of. 

Do you see him in that big bed? Amazing! 

He thought he was so funny with Jay's shoes on and he'd just previously sat in the melted ice water in the pool, so he happed to be pant-less too.