Week 31

The kids attended their new preschool, Noah's Ark, this week.  They love it there!  Even Ryan's bus driver noticed a difference and mentioned to me that Ryan seems so much happier when he picks him up from daycare each morning. 

Julia's teacher, Ms. Jessie, watches them when I drop them off and she is quite the artist.  They attended five days this week and Ryan came home 4 of the days with a different train hat that she made for him.  As soon as we arrive, Ryan runs and picks out a Thomas the Train book.  He picks a character, and while they eat breakfast, Ms. Jessie makes him a hat.  It makes him feel SO special!  In order from left to right, meet Diesel 10, Lady, Percy, and Thomas.

I think in a previous blog Phil mentioned Ryan's progress at PARC, and how the teacher is teaching the kids to sing songs.  Well, there's been more to it.  While up at my parents' this past weekend, Ryan picked up a flag and...

I have to say that the first time he recited The Pledge of Allegiance it caught me totally by surprise and brought tears to my eyes!  When we got back home Ryan showed the video to Phil and he was also pleasantly surprised. 

Not everything has been great this week.  Over the past couple of weeks Ryan has been having meltdowns at home and at school when things don't go his way.  Simple things to typical people, like Julia not wiping her feet on the rug and his teachers asking him to hold a door open, have set Ryan off.  It doesn't help that Ryan and Julia have been fighting a lot more lately.  While we mentioned last week how independent Ryan has become, well Julia is doing the same, and they are clashing!  Don't get me wrong, there are still plenty of loving moments between them, we just can't leave them alone for more than a minute because you never know what to expect.  And when things turn bad, it's fast and furious!

The kids made it through a Christmas card photo-shoot by mommy.  We bribed them with a lollipop to get dressed and spend 10 minutes outdoors letting me take pictures of them.  They happily accepted.  I would have given them a BAG of lollipops to cooperate, but they were happy with one!  They did a nice job smiling and following directions.  The photography wasn't too bad; not perfect but it will do!  Here's a sneak peek of a few of the photos... 
 

                               







                                  

By the way, did you know there's such a thing as Gluten Free turkey?!  Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  May you be blessed with a week full of family, food, and fun!

DC