Croup: Season 9, Episode 2 (Elijah) and behavior/school updates

Apparently we are finding plenty to do because time is passing way too quickly. Life is full right now! We are managing everything ok, but Dan and I are starting to show signs of being over-extended and exhausted. I cannot imagine what it will feel like to be fully unpacked and settled in our house. We still have so much to do. And we're hosting Thanksgiving. And and and...it's always a million things. Last weekend we pulled out our RV to give it a final clean-out before storing it for the winter and it was bittersweet! That was our home for four months. We made incredible memories in it. Life was SIMPLE while we lived in it. It made me both happy and sad to pull everything out. We will say our official winter-goodbye this coming weekend.

Two nights ago I recognized a few signs that Elijah might get a croup episode. I said, "Croup alert tonight!" and sure enough, a couple hours later we heard the stridor. It was a mild case, but of course it's never fun. We gave him a tiny dose of oral steroids and Dan sat outside with him for a bit. After that he was just fine, minus a few sniffles and sneezes that he's had since.

We had Elijah's fall school conference today and it was great! He has the BEST fit for teachers this year. They take the "rough" times in stride and certainly know how to bring out the best in him. So far this year, Elijah has shown interests in a few new things! He loves science and music. He just got a new recorder and he has been practicing it faithfully and learning how to read music. We've had a few people tell us that he has begun opening up a lot at church (the boys go to a separate area from us) and he's even been dancing to worship music comfortably in front of everyone. I love it! I have always had a feeling that music would be the bridge that connected him to church and Jesus. His teacher told us tonight that he has made some meaningful friendships in class this year (all girls, of course). There are a handful of girls who help to keep him on track (LOVE this) and really look out for him and care about him. He is keeping up with school work just fine and knows way more than he believes he does.

As far as behavior is concerned, his teachers explained his school behaviors to us and they basically mimic his home behaviors. This is good because he's being consistent! He has good days and he has tough days. I can tell within two minutes of spending time with him in the morning which kind of day it's going to be. Good days are really good. He doesn't defy authority, he completes tasks without complaining and he is generally good-natured and kind to everyone. Most days are good days. Lately I'd say we get at least four of them/week. The tough days can be really tough. There is a lot of talking back and refusals to do anything that's asked of him. He seems to want to anger and provoke everyone around him. I'm sure the tougher days are related to not sleeping as well through the night, but we aren't sure what causes that. We got new comfy (BIG!) beds for both him and Sammy and have made their rooms safe, comfortable, dark and peaceful places. I know that sometimes anxiety intrudes his mind and it's so hard to stop once it starts. We just continue to give him consistent love and care and pray that over time the good days will happen even more frequently!

A Sammy Prank :)

Sammy is loving first grade. His classmates and teacher could not be a more perfect fit for him. He is SO. Smart. He puts together and solves math problems that I'm pretty sure 5th graders can't do. His handwriting is perfect, he aces all of his spelling tests and he never has to be told to do his homework. He is such a sweet, kind little soul. He always has been, but it's been fun to see that sweetness in him even when kids around him start talking about more mature things. Despite his sweet spirit, he has not lost his strong will. He can so easily get mad at any one of us for something as simple as being corrected when using bad manners. He gets SO MAD and can say hurtful things and even threaten to run away from home. His latest tactic is running out to my car when he's upset and sitting in it until he cools off. Smart! He always comes back in with apologies and love.

It's a busy season for us, but a fun one, too! There are so many good things coming together for our family. I have to learn to bite off just a little bit at a time and not expect everything to come together overnight! Thanks for peeking in.

Our little teachers

Have I shown you the boys' haircuts yet? I don't think I've taken pictures of them since all their hair was chopped off! Here is the back of Sammy's head at his kindergarten music program last week..

Being in this small group was the only time he participated in actions. I suppose he figured that not participating when in the spotlight would make him the center of attention even more. When he was in the masses on the stands, he sang the songs but did NOT participate in hand or body movements. That's our Sammy! The cutest little bumblebee ever!

We have all been healing this week. I mean, I have been healing this week! Everyone else has been doing great! We are all super excited for our waterpark trip that begins tomorrow after school. This will be our sixth annual waterpark adventure!

Elijah has had another super week at school! We are so happy about the reports that have been coming home. I have been trying to spend as much time at school as possible and I like to think my hugs help.

Today after school we had Elijah's BFF over for the first time in a few weeks (due to the crazy sickness). She approached me privately and told me that there is another girl in their class who has been getting in the way of Elijah and A's friendship. Today at recess when A was pushing Elijah on the swings (how sweet is that??), this other little girl came up and said, "I'VE got this taken care of....you can leave, A." So after A told me this story I explained that Elijah truly cherishes their friendship and that she just needs to talk to him about this. So A said, "Elijah! I need to talk to you!" E said, "What did I do? Am I in trouble? Are you mad at me?" :) I sat on the sidelines and listened to their chat. A told him her concerns and Elijah replied in the most mature way I ever could have imagined. His response was better than anything I could have come up with! He said, "A....that other girl is my friend. I like her, but I don't like her as much as I like you. You are more important to me. Tomorrow I will talk to her and straighten everything out." She kinda sat speechless (as did I) and I jumped in and expressed how proud I was of both of them for communicating so well and sorting through an issue. It was awesome! I love that E and A are such great buds and that they complement each other so well.

For the past few mornings the boys have been playing "school" before Dan and I get out of bed. They are awake by 6:00 and either play quietly in their room or in the loft until 7:00 when we get breakfast ready. A few mornings ago I walked into a "classroom" where Elijah was teaching a handful of stuffed animals about sea creatures, while Sammy had a few students pulled out for reading. It was seriously the sweetest thing. I couldn't believe the organization involved and the dedication to the project. I took the above video later that afternoon....still dedicated to teaching their students!

If Sammy becomes bored in the morning before 7am, he has been coming to my side of the bed and asking to get into bed with me. This is NOT typical, but I have loved it. A few mornings ago he said, "Special DELIVERY! SAMMY SNUGGLES coming INNNNN!" Once I had my arms wrapped tightly around him in bed, he said, "Mommy? At the end of the day at school when we do circle-up, I'm going to say that my favorite part of the day was THIS. Snuggles with you are the BEST!" He always asks me to squeeze him tighter tighter TIGHTER!!!! This morning as I was squeezing as tightly as possible without suffocating him, I told him that I had to get in the shower. He said, "But you smell so good! PLEASE don't wash that delicious smell off you!" Oh that boy..he melts my mama heart.

Have a great rest of your week! We'll be back early next week!

Dirty toes

My birthday was awesome yesterday! My boys treated me to an incredible day. I woke up to a homemade breakfast sandwich (sooo yummy...Dan makes the BEST) while Sammy and Elijah made me food in their play kitchen. Elijah made me a Salt & Pepper Cake and Sammy made me Vegetable-Fruit Soup. Both were delicious! :) After I ate their food, Elijah "cleaned" up their kitchen and was pretty proud of himself for doing so.

Before I opened my gifts, Sammy said, "Here Mom! Open your new purple water bottle!" He couldn't understand why he shouldn't have said that. It was cute. And I loved the water bottle. I will forever have the image etched in my mind of both boys standing excitedly in front of me, literally jumping and bouncing around with enormous smiles and flapping arms because they were so excited to give me the gifts that they had picked out. I have the best boys! They gave me 39 spanks and then Sammy said to me, "Mom....I love your dirty toes." Oh my goodness, that boy. He is so funny. Dan and I got away for a quick dinner last night and that was delicious. It was a great 39th birthday!

We had such a fun morning today! We spent the morning with our friends Jen (E's awesome kindergarten teacher turned friend) and Allison (her adorable baby girl). We went to the music class that they attend every week and it was so much fun! Aside from a 15-second bit of "trouble" Elijah gave me, the boys did awesome and had such a fun time. Both boys loved the musical triangles and I noticed that Elijah was clanging his mini cymbals together with impeccable rhythm. I remembered from one of my NLD books that NLD kids typically are musically inclined especially in the realm of drums or instruments that require rhythm. Hmmm, something to keep in the back of my head. We played at Jen and Allison's house for a bit afterward and the boys had so much fun!

I feel so grateful for the ideas that have been sent our way regarding Elijah and some of things he has been struggling with. Thank you so much! My soon-to-be sis-in-law (right, Joel?) is going to school to become a child behavioral analyst, so she sent me tons of valuable thoughts and ideas. One of the things she mentioned that I thought was brilliant was to make our white board schedule portable so we can bring it to the dropzone. Why didn't I think of this? Above is our end-of-week and weekend schedule with the dz part being portable. Sometimes it seems like Elijah doesn't pay much attention to these schedules, but if I ask him a specific question about our day he knows the answer without having to look. He obviously relies on them for structure and predictability.

Last week I contacted Fraser (special needs organization) and Autism Society of MN and got E's name on their lists so we can get him evaluated for services. I'd love for him to be able to receive social skills help and emotional/behavioral help. I'm excited to see what comes from that. Depending on how they pan out, Courage Kenny is next on my list. I've been reading parts of E's neuropsych report every day to try to absorb the info from that. I'm feeling a bit desperate to get a few of our recent struggles under control before second grade starts.

Today was a mostly GREAT day, so I'd like to copy and paste paste paste.

This weekend: work, dropzone, church and family time. I'm so grateful for my amazing boys and for YOU for reading and caring about us. Have a wonderful weekend!