First Full Week of School

Last week we began really trying to establish some new routines for school. Jay has to be at school no later than 8:15, so we are leaving our house a little after 8. It's quite a bit earlier than we were operating over the summer, and it's a learning curve. Jay is still waking up about 6 (at the latest), and we've been going for walks together. He rides his bike, and I walk. He's gotten so much better at stopping at corners, watching for cars, etc. We usually go about two miles. He often carries a snack in one hand, or in his pocket while he rides. Some days it is harder to motivate him to keep going, but most of the time he does awesome. We both greatly benefit from the early morning movement! Hugh usually stays asleep at home with Matthew. Jay actually had a few really great days at school with minimal physical contact, or none at all! That's huge. He has also been attending to stations for about 5 minutes and participates with friends in small group play activities. He comes home most days exhausted and ready for some alone time. He usually swings in the basement or goes outside while I make him second lunch. He's very ready for a nap, and sometimes has put himself to bed. 

Jay coloring, you can see Shelby in the background and a couple friends enarby

Playdough at school

I'm sure Shelby gave a lot of help with this, but cool to see it actually made

Jay has a chewy at school, and again Shelby there to help

He did all the placement of strips! I was told he got to show the class and was all smiles up front!

Jay wanted to ride, Hugh wanted to walk. Go figure :)

On Tuesday, my friend Rachel Jones came by for a visit. She always brings toys her niece no longer plays with and this was no exception. She arrived shortly after I dropped off Jay and stayed a little into naptime. We had a great visit and enjoyed the time we had together! She brought me a pretty bouquet of little roses and helped entertain the boys. They both loved the bubbles and the fishing set. Jay and Hugh both still sleep with the stuffies Rachel got them when they were babies. Rachel got laid off about a year and a half ago and has been looking for work since. She's finally starting to accept that she may enjoy not working. She also told me they were starting to look for a church! I bravely asked her if she wanted to know where our church down there was and if she wanted to meet with the missionaries. I sent a referral into the missionaries and they are already in contact with her. I don't know if they will accept the Gospel, but I love being able to share even just a little bit of it with her. She and Chris have come to listen to me and Matthew speak a couple times, and I personally think they'd be AMAZING members of the Church. She needs fellowship and good people, just like we all do!

Bubble fun! Hugh did very well blowing bubbles

Post nap bubble time with Jay and Hugh

Jay loves this truck, and probably most often sits like this in it.

Thursday morning, I think Jay realized school is something here to stay. He cried almost half way to school while scootering. He did pull it together and went in with Shelby. It broke my heart and made me almost keep him home. I thought, he'd have so much more fun with us today, but I didn't cave, and I sent him. Katey and Hope came to play with us, which made our morning much more fun! Hugh and Hope had an awesome time at the little splashpad at Footprint park. I think they were probably both grateful their mom's weren't taking them on errands! They splashed and played, and allowed Katey and I to visit. Jay was so excited when Katey and Hope were with us for pick up! Jay wanted both of them to come downstairs and play with him. Aunt Katey makes everything more fun, including time playing downstairs! The time went to quickly and Katey and Hope had to go home before the boys were up from naps. Jay did well in his physical therapy session and speech session that afternoon. Sometimes people ask what therapy looks like for a five year old, so here's a little synopsis. For PT, they usually do an obstacle course working on balancing on a little beam of plastic caterpillars, going down the stairs with alternating feet, and jumping. He will usually work on balancing on one foot to pick up puzzle pieces, and also do puzzles laying on his tummy. We're working on core strength, balance, and the ability to use one side of the body purposefully. Speech is the most fun because she brings awesome toys. Last week she brought a little train with barns and animals that attach. They work on putting multiple words together, colors, numbers, etc. She also has Jay working on certain sounds to see if we can find a pattern of what's actually missing based on a recent diagnosis of apraxia of speech. Occupational Therapy, that happens on Wednesdays, is usually more focused on fine motor and following directions with increased focus. Jay loves working with Miss Ari, even though she pushes him more than any other therapist. He usually responds super well. 

Friday we had tree trimmers come to trim the tree that was encroaching on our neighbors yard and house. We would sit on our porch and the wind would blow, and we could hear the branches creaking their rain gutter. Hugh and Jay LOVED watching the men work and it was really interesting to watch. They trimmed up everything, and removed the little bean tree in the center of our yard. We've never liked that tree, so we decided if we were having tree people come, we may as well have them do everything at once. They were done with everything by noon, which was very impressive! Matthew did get most of Friday evening off, and we enjoyed watching a movie and relaxing. We are both usually exhausted by the time Friday rolls around and last week was no exception. The boys wanted to get water cups from somewhere, but they were satisfied with our frozen pizza dinner and playing in the backyard. 

Before - can you see how it's up against our neighbor's house?

Before of the full yard

After! No longer touching the neighbors even in the wind.

After of the yard, no more tree plus the trimmed views

Hugh got to finish his breakfast while watching the guys work

Saturday was such a fun day! We started the day going to the Touch a Truck event in Brighton. Katie Dahl was willing to come with me and the boys, which made the whole outing possible. She is soooo good with them and I would never have been able to do both boys on my own. They loved the fire truck the most, but they also really liked the skid steer and the helicopter. The helicopter landed in the field right next to the park we were playing at, which was so cool! Hugh did a little bike safety course and rode a big kid bike. We got free snacks, stickers, water bottles, and other do-dads which the boys love. The long lines were really hard for Jay, but we skipped around the longest lines and saw what we could. We were all tired by the end and headed home! After only being home for a few minutes, I got a call that the boys had won bikes in the raffle. We went back over with Matthew, but the only two bikes left were Elsa bikes. We were there long enough for Hugh to fall asleep and Jay to have an accident, and left without any bikes. Kind of humorous. In the evening, we went over to the Dahl's house and helped them shovel rock. Jay was sooooo excited to help and stayed shoveling the entire time. He alternated between shoveling rock and just shoveling their dirt. Hugh was thrilled too, and alternated between shoveling the dirt and "Going to check on Ben." Ben and Katie fed us dinner and popsicles at the end. Ben and Matthew moved a ton of rock and were exhausted by the end. They do so much for us, we were grateful to be able to help them in a small way! 

Hugh and Katie in the SWAT truck

Jay driving the Fire Truck

Hugh's turn!

Jay and Hugh checking out the back

Jay thought this ambulance was pretty cool

Jay inside the United Power truck

Can you see little Hugh in that window?

Jay, Katie, and Hugh checking out the boat

Jay and Hugh walking through the bus

Hugh actually let the lady help him, he made great progress throughout the day!

Jay waved at every window looking for me, and I finally saw him when he got here. He was so happy!

Jay hopping down

This kind man helped Hugh through the bike obstacle course

The helicopter!

Jay checking out the truck

Jay wanted to close every vehicle all day long, and finally the last stop at the skid steer, he got to and he was so excited!

Jay and Hugh with the door closed

They both had a controller, so they loved being in there together, even though it doesn't look like it.

Jay on top of the rock pile!

Jay shoveling the dirt

Hugh working with his shovel in the dirt.

General updates on the boys include building block towers and playing together more. I think the break from school is helpful for their relationship in some ways. Jay's attention and impulsivity seem to be decreasing, allowing him to actually build and create, which is AMAZING to watch. He is deliberate, and can execute more effectively. He has been copying Hugh a little bit more, which is a HUGE developmental milestone. Hugh loves to tell Jay, "it's okay, Jay!" whenever Jay is upset. He often will ask me, "Are you happy?" He usually asks this when he knows I am not and it helps me rethink my attitude. They both LOVE when Dad comes home and get all riled up until they are sent to bed. We also got a new to us freezer, which I am so excited about! 

Hugh enjoying a "new" big bike

Hugh built this, called it a giraffe, the legs are down closest to him and the head up above. Very creative!

He also built this out of duplos!

Jay copied Hugh's tower, so cool!

He helped me build this tower

And, he built this one all on his own.

We recently decided it might be time for Matthew to look, so he started to just browse casually for opportunities to see what he would like to do next. This position came up, and we know one of the partners at the firm from our ward in Littleton (and Matthew from growing up). Matthew talked with Brother Dunning about the opportunity before applying and we were excited! This company does similar work to what Matthew has done and the work he enjoys. They also pride themselves on not overworking their people, so it seems we may actually achieve some balance in life that we haven't had for years. Over the past month, Matthew has been interviewing for the role. He's averaged about one interview a week with at least one or two people within the firm. We went on morning walks before each interview, to get his body and mind focused and to practice answering questions and thinking through answers. Everything was going so well until we received the first offer. It was a different role, a senior role, a level lower than Matthew is currently, as well as a salary decrease. Emotions and logic took the front seat and we declined the role within 24 hours. Both Matthew and I didn't feel settled after declining and both had experiences that made us consider reconsidering. Through some very sincere prayer, thought, and conversation, we determined reaching back out about the opportunity felt like the best thing to do. The pay cut, the down-level, the timing of a new baby, all weighed on us and honestly continues to at some extent. However, we felt Heavenly Father soften our hearts to accept this path and the feeling of peace was undeniable. We hope this path that will allow Matthew to step back and pause, to learn new skills, to work on the work he loves, and to have more time with our family and for himself. Time with our family is the biggest motivator and is what pushed us to look for another opportunity in the first place. We hope this company will provide us with more time with Dad (aka Matthew). We need him, he needs us, and that's worth more than any monetary amount can fix. We are moving forward, trusting that Heavenly Father will take care of the details as Matthew works hard to build a new path and reputation with this new company. The whole process has drawn us closer together and closer to Heavenly Father, which is maybe one of the reasons it worked out the way it did. I am so grateful for prayer and for a Heavenly Father who cares enough about us to guide us in career decisions and life decisions. We need Him!

One last note...I think I've also done my last procrastinating getting ready for baby project, which was hanging up some decor in Hugh's room. I finished this morning and it's fun to see. It makes it feel a little more homey around here, which is what I love about doing it. This was simple, and now he has a picture of Jesus in his room that he really likes. When I re-did our monthly meal calendar and planning, I realized baby is coming SOON and I should really start some prep. So, that's my goal now, get ready for baby boy's arrival!