October

Dress Up!  :)

Such cool kids!

Sierra helping shovel 4 yards of mint compost with a tiny trowel.

Sierra eating an ice cream cone.  I was impressed that she drew herself from the side!

Outfit #47 of the day.....

Jaxon loves to swing!

Met Daddy for lunch at Avery Park!

Happy pumpkins!

A remedy for our leaf problem.

Jaxon does not like pumpkin guts this year!

My kitty and dino trick-or-treating in downtown Corvallis.

Jaxon is doing so well potty training!  He's going #1 and #2 on the potty and instead of having to follow him around and watch for signs, he's started to tell me before he has to go!  I love that part of the training stage!  It let's me off the hook a little.  There are still accidents but he has done very well.  He's also doing GREAT with his letters.  By the end of the month he could visually recognize all except V and Z.  He tends to turn his head sideways and say N when he look at a Z.  He also mixes M and N up frequently.  But I am so impressed.  He's still not speaking in sentences, but the boy knows his ABC's!  He also counts to 10, says "bless" if I sneeze and says "uuuurch" when I put the breaks on in the car:)  He's at a super fun age!  He's such an affectionate, lovable little boy. 

Sierra on the other hand is giving me a run for my money.  Aside from infancy, four has been the biggest challenge so far.  I've seen my sweet, kind child turn into a hostile and mean kid at moments.  If she gets sent to her room, she runs up the stairs, slams the door, and says things like "I wish you weren't here and daddy was home."  "I wish you weren't my mommy."  "I'm never going to play with you again."  The list goes on and on.  I expected the door slamming to be several more years down the road.  She is very good at saying she's sorry though and usually does so on her own without prompting.  But the ups and downs, drama, and emotional roller coasters every day are exhausting.  Some days I get so frustrated with myself because I find myself constantly telling her no, don't do that, that's not nice, why did you do that, and I really have to make an effort to say some positive things to her.  I'm supposed to be building her up but teaching her at the same time.  Some days I feel like it's impossible to do both.

I read an article this month that really struck me.  It was talking about correcting your child vs punishing.  Kids will be kids.  They will be forgetful, make messes, talk too loud, and be silly.  If they spill their milk or leave their shoes in the middle of the floor for the 10th time of the day, they need can be reminded without being punished and belittled.  We tend to want to say "I've had to tell you 5 times today to put your shoes away.  Why do you keep forgetting."  Well, they keep forgetting because they are a kid!  It happens.  When they do some intentionally that they know is wrong (ie hitting a sibling, lying, etc) then those situations need to be treated differently.  Those are the times for time outs, or sending them to their rooms.  I've been really working on trying to look at her actions and remind myself of the times that she is just being a kid.  She needs to get to be a kid!  This takes constant effort from me though.  And some days I fail.  Repeatedly.  But, I also work really hard on saying I'm sorry.  I'm a work in progress myself.  We are all works in progress while we are on this Earth.  Here's to hoping that tomorrow we are a better person that we were today.

September

Amy treated me to a pedicure for my birthday and Sierra had her nails done!  She loved it!

Sierra is a true Oregonian!

Jaxon did not like his coat, his boots, or the rain.  I think he's more like his mama and prefers the sunshine!

One of the longest thunder storms I can ever remember!  Sierra used her "noculars" to look for lightening strikes.

I.Love.Summer.

The kids (and zoey) playing in daddies mustang.

Jaxy did not want to get out!

Working on letters!

Happy boy!

The rain is here.  I'm not ready.  I'm never ready.  Jaxon isn't a fan of the rain either.... or his boots or his puffy coat.  Sierra on the other hand, loves puddles and boots and mud.  She was made for Oregon, I guess.  With the rains came our first colds too.  Another reason I'm not ready for fall.  I'm still trying to get over the panic attacks that come with sickness in this family.  I'm finally starting to feel secure, that Jesse will stay healthy, and like sickness isn't a part of our everyday life.  But every time one of the kids starts to get sick, I still really have to fight the panic. 

Jaxon had a well baby appointment at the beginning of the month and he weighs 26 pounds and is 32.5 inches long.  He's in the 50th percentile for weight and 97th for height.  The Dr's were super happy about his increase on the charts for his weight.  He's grown 2.5 inches in 3 months too - it's no wonder all of his clothers are too short all of a sudden!  He's getting to be such a big boy!  He had his first #2 on the potty this month, sings EIEIO!, says ouch if he gets hurt, calls all cats Olive, because that's one of our kitties' names, and is really starting to get interested in learning his letters!  He love to watch me draw shapes, letters, and animals.  He says horse, cow, cat, dog, elephant, bird, sheep, and mouse.  He makes the appropriate noises for each as well.  I think Sierra was around 11 months when she started doing all of this, they both have such different strengths!  He also finally started calling me mama this month!  I've been waiting forever!  He says dada, sissy, papa, pop pop, and GG, but didn't say mama!  I'm loving to finally here him call for me.

We still struggle with food and did discover this month that the terrible bum rash he has been getting is from wheat.  I had a multigrain cereal that I would mix with appleasauce and when I used the one with wheat in it, he would get the worst rash on his little biscuits.  Once I figured out what was causing it and eliminated the cereal we havne't had any problems.  He still does get hives easily though and has really sensitive skin.  I'm hoping he will outgrow that or we can figure out other things to avoid.

Sierra has been working on writing and numbers.  She doesn't like to follow directions.  If I get a packet of craft projects, she does not want to follow the steps, she wants to make her very own craft.  When we work in her workbooks, she follows the directions, but can't wait until she's done so she can go back through and make up her own directions.  When we make cookies, she doesn't want to follow the recipe, she wants to mix her own bowl of random ingredients.  It's hard because I want to encourage her imagination and creativeness, but the girl has got to be able to follow directions when she starts school next year!  Next year!  I think she will love school because she thrives on interaction with others, but I'm not sure if she'll be able to stop talking long enough to listen.....:)  We shall see!