Evan Reading To Nathan

A cute short video of Evan reading to Nathan. I think its been so great for Nathan to get reading from not only G and I but also his brothers. Its made him so much more interested in books at such a young age. He will sit in my lap for the longest time reading book after book.

Photo Dump - November

Thanksgiving Day game of air hockey between Justin and Andrew.
My mom and my Nana.John, Allison and Nathan.
Me and the boys.
Nathan, two years old.
Nathan's fabulous fire truck cake.
Nathan the fireman.

Evan and John enjoying cake.YUM!
All the cousins crowded around the birthday boy while he opens presents.
Elf on a shelf came for the holiday season yesterday.
Nathan's birthday banner.
Its been really great weather outside so we have been doing lots of this:
and this:

Christmas Card Outtakes

Taking pictures with the three boys is not fun. It may be FUNNY but definitely not on the top of my list of things I want to do more than a couple times a year for holidays. When you get our Christmas card this year, be appreciative for all that went into its one decent photo (290 outtakes to be exact this year). Here are a few of the "keepers" from the hilarious outtakes....

Pictures, pictures, pictures

Nathan my cute boy and a sneak peek of the Christmas pjs. I had the boys dressed up to try and take Christmas photos this weekend. Epic fail. But, hilarious. Nathan going down the slide at Chuck E Cheese. He is a big boy now - he goes down facing forwards on his bum instead of on his belly.
Friday night ladies night in at my friends' house. Making pumpkin pie milkshakes - the adult kind with BOURBON :)
I love how Nathan was carrying his sippy cup and mowing the lawn here.
A leaf. Nathan can now say "leaf fall tree" in a phrase. He also likes to say "crunch, crunch" when he walks on all the leaves in the yard.

My monkey.Evan jumping off the swing.

Many of my favorite photos don't get used each week in our 365 project. There are just too many good ones. Also, I've been taking a photography class the past couple weeks and as a result I've had my camera out nearly constantly practicing and doing homework in the class.

Halloween Through the Years

20112010
2009

2008
2007
2006
2005

2004

You didn't think I would let a Halloween go by without a Halloween costume montage?! Nah.

Halloween is forever associated in my mind with my wonderful boys. The excitement and thrill of seeing Halloween through my boys' eyes makes me fall in love with the holiday more every year. Since that Halloween in 2003 when I went into labor with Justin, I will never be able to think of Halloween without smiling.

Through the years the boys have had alot of costumes. Some of my all time favorites are the frog prince and the kangaroo costume. I laugh every time I think of the THREE YEARS in a row that one of the boys (at least) was a dragon. I own 5 dragon costumes and counting!!! Our most fun Halloween had to be this year - and not only because we got to go trick or treating twice but because the boys really enjoyed themselves together as brothers and then again with their cousins.

Here's to many more Halloween pictures and memories over the coming years....

Dyspraxia Awareness

This week is National Dyspraxia Awareness Week and I couldn't let it go by without adding something here on our family blog, because it is a part of our lives, like it or not.

We don't talk about dyspraxia alot. In fact, I don't even know if Evan knows what the word means, or its meaning in relation to his life. This is not to say that Evan doesn't know he is different, or that we don't recognize his struggles. Its just that we have never formally labeled his disability for him. I guess I felt that giving it a name didn't make things harder or easier in his life.

The fact is, no one really talks about dyspraxia alot. Its known as the "hidden disorder" because most children go undiagnosed and struggle their whole early childhood with the disability. Evan nearly went undiagnosed as well. We had multiple evaluations and consultations done before we finally pinpointed (with the help of a neurologist) dyspraxia at 5 years old.

It astounds me now that it took 5 years to diagnose Evan because when I read the 12 early childhood signs of dyspraxia Evan had nearly all of them (irritable and difficult to comfort from birth, feeding difficulties, milk allergies, colic, sleeping difficulties, delayed motor development, no crawling, toilet training delays, avoidance of constructional toys like jigsaws).

But what amazes me the most is that after a proper diagnosis, the effect proper treatment had! Evan has come so far in just a year's time, with hard work, dedication and his ever present perseverance, as well as some FABULOUS therapists and service providers. Evan has effectively made up YEARS of lost motor skills, muscle tone and balance in just under a year's time! He has built up his self esteem (low self worth is a huge issue that dyspraxics deal with in life due to daily struggles), confidence and motor skills. Its amazing the transformation he has experienced.

Im extremely hopeful for his future and that is something I could not have said a year ago. I am grateful for our wonderful neurologist who pointed us in the correct direction by diagnosing Evan properly. I wish for all parents of children with undiagnosed dyspraxia enlightenment so that they can pursue a path of therapy and treatment for their children.

You can find out more about dyspraxia here: http://www.dyspraxiausa.org/

Misc. Fun in Photos

Justin's fabulous birthday cake - Angry Birds theme. Made by my awesome mom. She should be in business!!!
Nathan knows just what Halloween candy is all about. While trick or treating he was snacking the entire time.My cute ninjas. Can ninjas be called cute?! Well, they are :)
The cousins all ready for trick or treating. Not pictured here: one cute monkey still getting ready.

Trick or Treat by Nathan

I bribed Nathan with some candy corn today to get him to say Trick or Treat for the camera, because its so darn cute.

Everything is Fine Except for a Few Library Fines

My little crazies!!! Preparing before the storm, three sets of jackets, pants, boots, gloves, hats...oh my.
Nathan's new snowsuit, thanks to my mom!!! So cute and fits him perfectly.
They boys hanging out together. They are so sweet, they really do love spending time together and are best friends.
A Halloween party at my friend Amy's house. Nathan in his kangaroo costume in the yard. I love this picture of him bending over to pick up a bat with his tail in the air.
Eating an apple at the Halloween party. The upside to food allergies during the holidays is that Nathan eats very healthy in comparison to his peers :)
In the yard. G and the boys rolled this giant snowball. It was taller than Nathan!!!!
A downed tree in our culdesac.
Our road was never plowed on Sunday. The boys were sledding on it!!!
Hot cocoa. Something you would never think you would serve in October.
Justin was hot? He is nearly always undressed these days. It must be a boy thing :)
Nathan feeding himself cereal with milk! He is getting so good with his spoon!!!
Happy Halloween!!!
Baking with no oven, in small batches in the toaster oven :)

Out for dinner for Justin's birthday. Nathan ate jelly as an appetizer. Right out of the plastic container.
The big boys had pizza. Yum.
Happy 8th birthday Justin!!!!

Hello Out There!!!! Its good to be among those with power, Internet, cable and phones once again. We survived the Halloween storm and thankfully had very little damage to our yard, none to our house. Our generator gave us heat and some electric capabilities while we were without power for over 4 days, which was great! The boys missed three days of school, which they were delighted about, and G missed two days of work. I racked up a total of $6 in library fines (three DVDs overdue by two days each) which Im sure the library is going to waive in light of the fact that the whole town had no power during the due dates.

We actually managed to sneak in some fun despite the fact that Halloween was cancelled and the roads were impassible for a day or so. Justin celebrated his eight birthday in the midst of all the craziness. We took him out to probably one of the only restaurants in town with power, luckily it also happens to be his favorite! And we had cake and presents for him. Im a planner so all this was done well in advance of the storm luckily. The boys had a blast playing in all the snow. We got over 18 inches of it all told. We had 3 play dates with friends who were also stuck home with no school because of no power. We made cookies in very, very small batches in our little toaster oven, made shrinky dinks, did crafts, played with alot of toys we havent used in a long time, read, played family games and enjoyed eachother's company without alot of distractions!

And tomorrow its back to the routine....