6 Flags Discovery Kingdom

11/22

Grandma Shirley arrived, she will stay with us until Dec 9th (or so). The kids were excited to see her and they love checking out her camper arrangement ( a one person camper trailer). She watched the boys for us while Dane and I attended his boss' going away party. We had a lot of fun visiting with adult friends.

11/23

Dane and I took the boys to church. After church, we went home, had a big breakfast then went to Discovery Kingdom for some fun. Grandma Shirley (77 yrs old) went with us and rode on a roller coaster " Tony Hawk" with Dane and Tanner while I watched Cole. I know my parents will be able to handle that roller coaster too and hope that next summer we will have them on it too. Tanner got into his first fight in the kids play area. He was in the nerf ball tag room and was tagged by some kids. He got upset and felt that he was being picked on so he went and put one kid in a head lock. Dane approached the fight and Tanner came running to him crying from the stressful situation. Poor little guy. :o(

Busy, Busy, Busy

Tanner was constipated for almost a full week. I called the Dr to ask at what point do we get him into a hospital or what actions should we take. I was told to bring him in as it would be best for him to see a Gastrologist (sp?). I got him checked by the Ped and he was then refered to the Gastrologist. He will see him next Wednesday.

Tanner's been having a lot of bad days and some good days. The bad days require us to be on lock down at our home. I'm not sure who it is punishing more, me or him. Being couped up in the home and not allowing any toys or tv can really drive kids banana's. Tanner doesn't seem to mind and will stay in his room and read his books. But, because Tanner isn't allowed any toys, Cole doesn't know how to play with his brother or how to intertain himself. Those evenings are the hardest too because I try to make dinner and have Cole under me wining for attention.

Tanner and I attended Church last Sunday. I ran into a great gal a few days before while shopping, she is one of the leaders from Tanner's VBS. I told her that I had been interested in attending that church as Tanner seems to have matured and I believed it would be nice for him.
We went and Tanner did so well. We were standing and everyone was singing, Tanner looked up at me and made a comment, " Mommy, our family should be here."
We came home and reported to Dane, Tanner's request. We will be attending church this next Sunday as a family!

My laptop is down as the charger is broken. So communication has been minimal and pics will be later when I get the charger fixed (may take a while). :o)

Resurfacing for some air.

OOPS! The pictures are in backwards order.

In Tanner's Kindergarten Classroom

Enjoying the Kettle Corn

Our favorite Pumpkin Patch

Cole visiting Isabella

Halloween PJs

It's been a full month since my last post! Wow...
Things have been very busy with work, caring for the kids and running the home. I'm not sure how much I can remember from the last month.

Oct 14th
was Cole's first field trip with his daycare. His field trip was after my work hours so I was able to escort him to his first preschool event. We went to a local farm. Cole had a lot of fun running through a haystack maze, watching a barn show, and meeting a young donkey named Isabelle.

Oct 27th
Dane and I brought the boys to our favorite pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. The boys had a lot of fun.

Oct 28th
Tanner's first field trip in his kindergarten class. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to join him but I plan to attend his next one. He went with his class to the same pumpkin patch that Dane and I took him to the day before.

Oct 31 Happy Halloween!
Halloween went great, Tanner did his first costume parade in kindergarten, Dane was there to take pictures and watch. Tanner and Cole walked 4 whole blocks in our neighborhood. The boys scored on a lot of candy. Cole was funny as he had to stop every three houses to take a candy break. They were allowed to eat candy when we got home; however, the next morning the candy disappeared. The boys never asked where it went. I'm thinking this will be the last year that we will be able to get away with this.

Nov 1 Happy Birthday Cole!
Cole's Birthday was a rainy dreary day. We spent the day in the home ... a lazy Saturday:o)

Nov 2
My parents came to help celebrate Cole's 3rd Birthday. We enjoyed a steak dinner and a delicious Boston Cream Pie.

Nov 3
Cole had a Birthday Celebration at his school.

Nov 10
We saw the Neurologist and received the EEG report. Dr. Brown stated that Cole's EEG looked pretty normal. She saw a minor peak and isn't too concerned over it; however, with his Viral Meningitis at birth, she recommends that we look more into it with an MRI. We will schedule that soon. Cole's seizure like behavior doesn't appear to be seizures, instead it is more like a minor little habit that he has, a little quirk but not quite a tick.

Nov 11
I took Tanner to see Madagascar 2. He really enjoyed being out with his mommy and enjoyed the movie too. We also shopped at Children's Place and a quick trip in Costco.

Appts set!

The last two weeks have been a blur as I have been consumed by a major research paper that has had me stressed. I've been writing it on the Feingold Diet and ADHD, It is required to be 11 pages long; I've completed 7 thus far.
Mom spent a couple days with me and we did a lot of alone time together. Mall shopping, errands, saw a movie. Mom watched the kids while Dane and I went out to see EAGLE EYE. Both movies were pretty good.
Cole has a neurologist appt set for Oct 21st, they will perform an EEG on that day. Then we have an appt set to see the neurologist to discuss the results on Nov 11th.
We have the boys costumes picked out, they will both be Dracula. Cole attends a Christian daycare that doesn't feel that scary costumes should be allowed, instead they will do a harvest week. That will be interesting to see what we can come up with for the 5 days of Halloween week. Tanner is super excited to share his costume at his school. I dread hearing how his day will be ;) We have a small gathering planned for Cole's 3rd B-Day, Nov 1st.
Happy Birthday to my sister, Michele (10/1) and my Dad (10/2). Congratulations to my cousin, Denise and Ted's marriage (10/9/08) !!

Parent Teacher Conf

9/24

Cole has an Audiologist apt set for Oct 20th. Still working on a date for the Neurologist.

9/23

We had our first parent teacher conference. Tanner is ahead of his class in most academic areas. Mrs. Eaton stated that he really enjoys books and puzzles. He is able to comprehend very well and knows all of his letter by name and the phonic sounds. ( He has known this since he was 3, so that was no surprise.) Tanner is well liked by his classmates and is seen as a leader; however, this is of little help for the teacher as Tanner likes to be silly and goof around, when he is goofing around, the students are easily entertained and want to join Tanner. Tanner has been getting into trouble a lot over this behavior. He has been receiving consequences here at home when we hear of him goofing around. On a positive note, I have seen tremendous improvement in Tanner since last year, so I'm hopeful that he will mature more in another year.
Big Congratulations to cousin Sara and James on the delivery of beautiful, baby Shane!

Molar woes and another Cole concern

9/20

Tanner had a terrible week at school and I was clueless as to what the cause of his behavior could be. We have been faithfully sticking to his diet and he doesn't seem to be constipated, so what is going on with him? Everyday, I'd pick him up from school with a report that he didn't do very well... not too terrible but not very good either. Dane and I even took his privileges away too, no TV and nothing special. Wed night we went as far as taking away all of his toys. Still no huge improvement. Today, I was helping him get all of his teeth clean and had good daylighting in the family room; At last, I believe I found the culprit to our dilemma! Tanner's 6 yr molars are coming in. Now, I might be grasping at straws, but I truly believe that kids act up for a reason. I work with kids and whenever they are really off, they are usually sick within that same week that they were so difficult. Tanner is a Highly Sensitive Child (according to his Pediatric), he is sensitive to the things he eats, the sights and sounds around him, to clothing tags, and his hair being brushed (this is just a few of the things that bother him). It makes a lot of sense to me that his world is currently rocked due to the discomfort of his molars coming in; however, it does not excuse him of his behavior... only helps to understand why the behavior is happening and help him through better choices with some sympathy toward him instead of anger.

9/19

Cole seemed to have a better night and was in a better mood to get out the door for school, so Dane and I went to work and the kids went to school. All seemed to be regular, but then I got a call around 9:30 from Cole's daycare. Daycare told me that Cole hit his mouth on a tricycle and his bottom tooth appeared to be loose, there was blood ,and his gums looked disturbed. Oh my dear little boy. I called his dentist and was able to swoop him up and whisk him to the dentist. The dentist offices was able to take an x-ray and found that the root of his tooth is fine and there appears to be no damage. They also confirmed that he is currently growing in his 2 yr molars. Hmm... why did I think he already grew them ?

I brought Cole back to school as he seemed fine and normal. I gave him some tylenol in case he may have pain that we might not be aware of. So I see his two teachers and thank them for calling me. As I'm about to leave, they drop a bomb shell on me. They asked if I have ever noticed if Cole has small seizures... WHAT? (I screamed in my head) His teachers stated that Cole was in a fetal position under the slide in the play-yard and when approached by a teacher he acted disoriented. Another incident was that he fell off of a chair for no reason. They also told me that the times when he seems as if he can't hear could be small seizures like he is checking out. Hmm.. I thought out loud. It would make sense.

While I drove back to work, I quickly called Cole's Pediatric and asked to speak to her. While I was waiting for her call back. I was also thinking, I'm not going to panic... there could be other explanations to this. I spoke to a co-worker about this and she reminded me that if he is having something going on with his hearing, it could be some kind of inner ear build up and that could also cause his equilibrium to be off. Phew.. this whole thing that we are going through with Cole could be a simple fix. I will keep with that hope. I got a call back from Dr Goldman and she felt that with Cole's newborn history, she would like him to see a Neurologist and she will but in a request to my insurance. This now puts us waiting for approval for an Audiologist and a Neurologist.

9/18

Cole kept us up through the whole night, from 12am- 7am. Dane and I felt miserable in the morning and Cole still seemed pretty upset; we made the decision that I would stay home with Cole. The day went with a lot of needy behavior, fussiness, and a low grade temperature. My co-worker threw out a couple of ideas as to what might be bothering him. 2 yr molars coming in or an ear ache. I too thought about the molars but quickly discounted them as I figured he already had them in over 6 months ago and the ear thing didn't seem right either as Cole wasn't pulling at his ears. I kept thinking that maybe he was having headaches. Cole was in a bit of a quiet mode and was able to do a little communicating to me and pointed to his mouth when I asked him what was hurting him, I looked back at the molars and sure enough, he is getting his molars in. I love being his mommy and being here for him when he isn't feeling well, I'm so thankful that I have a job that will still pay me when I need to be home and take care of my children. Cole cuddled up on me around 12 noon and I sat there very still for him to sleep; if I move a muscle, he wakes and gets upset. I was his pillow from 12 noon -3pm.

Our weekend

My little Ham!

Week of Sept 8

Sept 11
My memory of 911
I was still asleep, Dane was getting ready for work while having the tv on the news channel downstairs. I was woken by him running up the stairs and yelling, "Oh, no!" , "Oh, my God!" He told me to turn the tv on and there we both sat glued to the tv. I didn't want to go to work (at that time I worked as a Para Educator). I couldn't believe what was happening. My parents were in Alaska on a Cruz ship, I wasn't able to contact them and had to wait for a call from them.

Sept 10
I called Cole's Pediatrician, Dr. Goldman and asked for a referral for an audiologist. She mentioned that when a parent has a concern about their child's hearing, it is an automatic referral without a visit to her first. She will have to get approval from my insurance. I asked her, if he does have hearing damage, could it be a residual from when he had meningitis? She said it is possible and she also mentioned that the insurance will most likely cover this. The approval will take a week or so to come in.

Sept 9
Dane picked Cole up from daycare; Cole's teachers informed Dane that they are concerned about Cole's hearing as they often call for him and he doesn't seem to respond, a book fell to the floor with a loud boom and all of the children turned except Cole. The Cole being unresponsive to calling didn't surprise Dane, but the other mention did and caused Dane's eyebrows to raise.
Dane and I realized that this may be a background noise problem. (Sept 10 call to Dr. Goldman)

Sept 8
Tanner had Karate, he was a bit bouncy and not listening to his instructors.
Cole is getting into a wonderful routine of going to daycare.

Cole's Speech Eval

We had someone come out and check on Cole's speech, this was an informal evaluation. Nancy arrived and Cole came running to greet her and was parroting almost everything that she said to him. She mentioned it is good that he greeted her and was parroting almost every word spoken. He threw a tantrum while she was in our home, he wanted gum and we wouldn't allow it. Once he calmed down, Tanner started causing ciaos. Nancy quickly noticed that Tanner had to be the center of attention the whole 2 hrs that she was in our home. We informed her that we discovered that when he is constipated, he is out of control and also when a visitor is in our home he has bad behavior. She pointed out to us that Tanner is the reason that Cole isn't much of a talker as he has learned to stay quiet and let Tanner run the show. Cole's blood curdling screams are because he is protesting for or against something and demands his way.

We need to work on three things: Tanner needs to have better behavior via cleaned out bowels, we need to be firm on Cole and not let him have what he wants, and we need to work on teaching Cole how to answer questions.

Nancy will come and visit us again around Jan. Cole will then have 4 months of being in a daycare. We hope that being around his peers and having structure where he wont get what he wants all the time will help him communicate better and lessen the screaming tantrums.

Daycare Blues

Sept 6

The car had a broken ignition coil. Thank goodness it wasn't anything major. We got it fixed and picked it up later in the day. I ran a few errands and cleaned the house.

Sept 5

I dropped Cole off, he walked straight into the room and didn't look back, sat down for breakfast and was a happy little one. Ahh ... so nice to go to work and not see him cry as I'm driving off.
We brought the Pilot into the shop as the check engine light was on. *Crossing fingers* that it isn't anything major.

Sept 4

Cole had a very difficult drop off at daycare. Ugh.. makes it hard for me to go to work seeing him in distress as I'm driving off. The daycare lady at the front desk reassured me that it only lasts for 1-2 mins then he is over it and his day is fine. He still protests naptime. :o(

Wow.. three weeks have passed!

Cole's first day of Daycare

Cole on a day that we reached up to 108*
Cole and Mommy at Marine World
Tanner at Marine World
Tanner at Marine World

Cole at Marine World

Cole trying peep over at the neighbors

Tanner and his new Wall-E backpack

Sept 3

Tanner had Karate and was a complete mess. He is constipated and making life for those that work with him misserable too.
Cole had a hard time being left at daycare, he cried when I left.

Sept 2

Cole's first day at his daycare. He was so proud of his new lunch pale and wouldn't let it go when I was buckling him into his carseat, dropping him off at school he wouldn't leave it in his cubby, he just wanted to hold it. :o) He had a hard time letting me go too. I had to bring Cole to the window (they have a "goodbye stool") and show him mommy's car and to watch mommy go to work. He did it and it was so heart breaking to leave him in a place where he didn't know anyone, yet. I called to check on him around lunch time. They reported that he is doing fine.
I had school later that evening and Dane had to pick him up from school, which wouldn't be until 5:30 that evening. I had to take a peek on him before heading out to Walnut Creek for class, so I made a visit with out him knowing. He was playing well outside with the tricycles and the other kids. :o) His teacher reported that he did a good job with no accidents, pees standing up, and protests naps.. big surprise lol

Sept 1

Labor Day and Done with Au Pairs and finally have the extra room in our home to clean and get organized for our own. I turned the closet into an area for Tanner's clothes and my scrapbook materials.
The boys and I took a drive out to Livermore to pick-up a Cricut machine for my scrapbooking. We also paid a visit to my friend Leah and her kids ( Scottie and Jordan). The visit was short and sweet but great.

Aug 30

I joined my good friends in scrapbooking in Livermore. What a great time talking with the group of lovely ladies about not-so-ladylike discussions.. lol

Aug 24

We took Alex (German Au Pair) and the kids to Discovery Kingdom (aka. Marine World). We had a lot of fun! Tanner rode his first "adult" roller coaster, Tony Hawk, and was thrilled by the experience. Dane and I are so excited to have a child that enjoys coasters like his daddy and mommy. Cole is at a difficult age that he doesn't know to stay with you, yet he doesn't want to be in a stroller either, so it was quit tiring to truck him around the park. Cole had his first ride "alone". He went up in a dumbo ride. I was a bit freaked out as he is my accident prone child and that dumbo goes high up in the air w/ my Cole.

Aug 22

Dane and I went to a wedding at a resort, Willowood Spa in Helena California. The children were lined up to stay with my parents, but my mom hurt her leg and couldn't care for the kids. We called our friend, Jim (the Groom), he told us to come and bring the kids. Our kids were the only kids at the wedding. Absolutely beautiful location, I felt like we were in the Blue Bayou in Disneyland as the night was illuminating with stars, temp was perfect, paper lamps were strung from tree to tree. The service was something I have never experience, our table sat eight and we had eight servers (one per person) sit each of our four course plate in front of us a the same time. Too cool!

Great day alone with the boys!

Aug 17
Bro finished my bathroom tile and it looks great! Dane has been out of town since early Saturday morning, playing a tournament in Reno. Saturday was rough with the kids as Dane wasn't here to help out and they were so reved up with having their uncle here and fascinated with the tile work. I think they became acclimated with their uncle being here and the work going on as they left him alone to do the job and they played well with each other the whole day.
I made a yummy dinner for just me and the boys; mashed potatoes, chicken strips, bisquick, and cheese (all in a casserole dish). I learned this dish from our au pair that we had last year from Bosnia, Adisa.

Trying to get up to date...

Aug 16
My brother came over to lay new tile in my master bath. Looks good so far! He worked from 8am-10pm, non-stop. Wow!
Aug 15
I met the director of Cole's new school. I'm very excited for him to start. He will take his first school picture on Aug 26th.
Tanner had his first school picture taken. I can't wait to see how they turn out.
Aug 13
Cole had his last day of swim lessons. Patty Gates mentioned that we need to sign him up right away next summer as he is an eager learner and is ready for the next step in his swimming.
Tanner received his sparing equipment and karate duffel bag. Too cute! He made a statement that he is now a big kid because he has the big bag with karate stuff.
Aug 12
Tanner had his last day of swim lessons. He is a pretty safe swimmer now.

Happy Birthday Huns!

Aug 11
Tanner had his first class of karate as an orange belt. Tanner did pretty good and got a little re energized about karate when he saw that this level gets to wear sparing gear.
Happy Birthday, Dane! A great dinner prepared for us from our Au Pair (Alex), she did a fantastic job. I invited Jeff and the kids for dessert ( banana splits with all of the fixings). We sang Happy B'Day and dug in. I braided Salina's hair and she loved it. :o)

Aug 10
Dane stayed home with the kids and I ran out to Tracy Outlets to buy the kids school/winter clothes. Founds some cute threads.... Then came home to do more cleaning.

Aug 9
I spent the day cleaning and the boys hung out. Just another day of R&R.

Aug 8
The house is empty... just our little family. Aahhh...
Nothing special going on this day. We worked, Tanner had school, Cole was watched by our friend's daughter.

New Karate Belt!

Aug 7
My sister and her family flew out. I drove them to the SJ airport and Dane took Tanner to Karate. The kiddo graduated to a new belt color (Orange). Congratulations, Tanner!
He was so excited when I arrived home he had it hidden and led me to his hiding spot and had me guess what he was hiding it. It was too cute!

Tanner's special days out.

Aug 5 & 6

These pictures where taken in Capitola and Santa Cruz.

Auntie Shel took Tanner and her crew to the beach;

they spent one night there for two days of beach fun and sun.

Tanner has himself a huge sand box

Beautiful view of sail boats out in the sea

Cousin Tim took Tanner and a family friend Nina to play in the waves

Time to come back.

Cousin Tim, Tyler, Ty's girlfriend Marissa, and Nina

Just relaxing in the sand

He will need water for his moat.

Tanner waits his turn for tilt a whirl

Riding tilt a whirl with cousin Alyssa and Nina

Tanner had a great time at the beach with his auntie, cousin and good friend Nina and Hiedi.

He will never forget getting burried in the sand, riding tilt a whirl, and playing in the ocean.

Cole's special day out

Aug 4

Cole at Gharadelli Square Ice Cream

with cousin Alyssa and Auntie Shel

and cousin Tyler

argh.. Ahoy, matie!

walking the warf with cousin Alyssa

swing time with cousins Tim and Alyssa

~~Oneday, I will have a yacht of my own~~

Cole enjoyed his special day out with his cousins and auntie. He watched the seals mingling and heard their barking by the warf, the boats were such a spectacle to watch sail, the ice cream was delicious to his tummy. But the best part of it all was being with his cousins and auntie, they sure did make a fantastic day of giggles and I'm sure he felt like he was flying like a kite with the special rides. I know he loves his cousins and auntie. :0)

Dad's Surprise Birthday Party :o)

Aug 3

Surprise!

Dad is questioning my mom about this as

his birthday is two months away.


My parents with their grandchildren

Dad gave a short speech on how much of a miracle

it is that he is here with us today after all that he has

been through and that he feels so blessed and grateful!

Cole with his cousin, Alyssa

mom and dad with their four kids and 6 of the 9 grandchildren

The boys had fantastic behaviorDad and Cole watching a slide show of his life.

Me w/ my sisters, Trisha and Michele

Tanner and his cousin Alyssa

Happy 70th Daddy!
I love you!