And this is exactly one of the reasons why we chose to have my tubes tied...I would be wanting to have a new baby every few years! It just hurts my heart to see my little cute, cuddly, sweet smelling, soft, babies getting so grown and independent...and mouthy.
Mikayla will be 9 next month! I only have one more year until she hits the "double digits". I tease her all the time and tell her that once she hits 9, her next birthday she will be 8..."we start counting backwards after 9". She's not buying it. She's getting so big and mature, but I am so thankful that she is still our sweet, tender hearted baby girl. Why do little girls seem to be so much older than their age these days? It's crazy to me that these 9 year old little girls are going crazy over Justin Bieber and even have little boyfriends already. Thank the Lord Mikayla still loves Disney Princess, baby dolls, and Barbies. She could care less about Justin Bieber or any other boy. Thank God! I know that will change eventually, but I am just so glad that my little girl is still a LITTLE girl right now.
She played softball last year and really liked it, but for some reason she doesn't want to play this year. She really wants to do cheerleading, so later in the year we will look into that for her. She's still my movie buff. She will sit with me and watch movies all day, if I'd let her. I love it when there's a sad or even a happy part in a movie and I look over to see her eyes full of tears, just like mine!
She's doing good in school...better than she started out this year, thanks to her teacher taking extra time out for her. Mikayla has always struggled in school, even in kindergarten. It has always been an exhausting uphill climb for us every school year. So this year when we saw how difficult it was for her, how it was taking her 3 hours to finish one homework assignment, and how she still struggled even after we would basically give her the answers, I decided to start researching on how to better help her. When I was looking online I started reading about learning disabilities and how it is very common for kids that were born prematurely to have learning disabilities. When I read about that and read some of the signs of learning disabilities I suddenly remember how when Mikayla was a baby and in the NICU, we asked one of her doctors if she would have any long term effects. The Dr told us that mostly she would just need time to catch up, but really we wouldn't know until she was older and in school. Basically, we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Yea, I forgot about that. But she has always been perfectly fine and healthy. Right at the same time I started looking into these things, her teacher emailed me about wanting a conference with us. So we went in for the conference and her teacher told us that she pulled all of Mikayla's records from her old school and wanted to do an Early Intervention meeting for Mikayla. They will do some tests, evaluate her and schedule a meeting with us, her teacher, the Guidance Counselor, School Psychologist, Curriculum Resource Teacher, and the Principle to form a plan that best fits Mikayla's needs to try and get her on the level that she needs to be on. So they will do this and if need be, adjust the plan 3 different times. If she still isn't improving like she should after the third plan, then a possibility of a learning disability will be discussed. So we were really relieved by all of this! At last, we will get somewhere with Mikayla's schooling. I feel like this is another answered prayer. It took us coming to a different county and school for someone to take notice and action for Mikayla. Her old school put her in a program that gave her 3 different teachers and had her changing classes several times a day. We specifically asked them not to put her in that program because we knew what she needed, but they told us they couldn't change her classes. Whenever I asked her teachers what we could do for her, if there was tutoring or anything, they just told me no and to keep working with her at home. I'm not trying to say anything bad about her old school, we loved it there! But God knows our needs and this is obviously what Mikayla has needed.
He is so stubborn and anal about the most ridiculous things, like if he thinks his pants are too long. I tell him that they aren't and to leave them alone. We will be walking out the door and I notice that his pants are rolled up into high waters. He gets so mad when I roll them back down. But he brings so much joy into our lives. He is always making us laugh. I think he could be a comedian one day.
I don't know why but he is absolutely fascinated with "tooting" and burping. I'm hoping that it's just his age and he'll grow out of it, but then I look at his Daddy and my hopes diminish. Boys are gross.
He is super smart, not just books smart but common sense smart. Sometimes Ben and I will ask each other, "is he really only 6?" He makes excellent grades in school and has been trying really hard this year to listen to his teacher and not get into trouble. He has done really well. We are blessed to have a teacher that understands little boys and so she gets that it's very difficult for him to sit still for a long period of time. I swear sometimes it seems like he has ants in his pants!
Aslyn will be 4 in a few months. This makes me sad. My last baby and she is growing way too fast. She is such a sweet heart. When I get Mikayla up for school in the mornings I always make sure Aslyn isn't laying all funky in her bed and then tuck her back in. She always says, "thank you" and it makes my day. She is a good mixture of Mikayla and Brayden. She loves all the girly things like Mikayla, especially dress up. But she also loves the boy things too, like Brayden. She loves playing and hanging out with Brayden but they are so much alike, usually they just end up fighting. Unfortunately she has Brayden's stubbornness and attitude, but when she looks at you with those big blue eyes and smiles that beautiful smile, you can't help but to just melt. She has us all wrapped around her little fingers. She is still obsessed with Minnie and Mickey Mouse. We are trying to plan a trip to Disney very soon since it has been a few years...she will really get a kick out of all the Minnies and Mickeys now. Can't wait for that.We've been talking about whether or not to start her in pre-k this fall. If you know me, then you know that I'm not a huge fan of pre-k. If you have to, you have to. But I think kids are in school for long enough, why add an extra year when it's not necessary? I am a big fan of keeping my babies babies for as long as possible. But we've been throwing the idea around since I'm in school now. Thinking maybe it would make things a little easier on me. I don't know who I'm trying to fool...I know that it won't happen. I didn't do it with my first two and Aslyn is my baby. She will be home with me until kindergarten. Which is next year! I don't even want to think about that.
So I think that about catches everyone up. They are all doing great!
It blows my mind how quickly time flies by. I can't believe that in just a few years I will have a "tween"...let's not think about that one.
Ben and I were talking last night about our "3 kids" and I said something like, "actually 4 kids". We agreed that it was weird to think about having 4 kids, but we do and it's hard not to acknowledge that every once in a while. I think about that a lot. When someone asks me how many kids I have, I sometimes feel guilty for saying 3. But who wants to explain "4 kids" especially to a person that I'm just meeting. Honestly, I wish someone could please tell me what it will be like when we get to Heaven and we meet our 4th child! Will he/she still be a baby? Will he/she know us? There are too many questions that will drive me nuts if I think about it too long!! So I really have to try and keep my mind from going there and just be patient. Besides, that topic is probably best saved for a different blog post altogether. ;)
