Senior Pictures: Anne

 Anne asked me to take her senior pictures and I accepted. Most of the days while we were in Idaho Anne worked. We finally had a day to go out and take some pictures. It was a very windy day, but we did alright.
Anne is a fun loving and amazing sister! She likes to ham it up a lot in front of the camera and it was hard to get just a plain ol' smile. She has many musical talents and plays the piano, saxophone, oboe, flute, and ukulele. She has played the saxophone since grade school and I finally was able to hear a performance while we were there. She is amazing!
Thanks Anne for letting me take your pictures. Congrats on graduating!

Idaho: Baby Chicks

We were all outside having a fun time lounging and watching the kids on the bikes when a visitor came by and surprised us with some baby chicks.

I was very surprised at Crew's desire to touch and hold the chicks and Sawyers reluctance to touch or have a chick near him. It was opposite to what I would have predicted.

Evening Play

The boys went outside as I finished cleaning up dinner. Pretty soon the simple act of watering the flowers resulted in getting wet, clothes coming off, and then snuggling in the hammock to warm up before heading inside for bed.

Park Days

We love the beautiful weather and going to the park with friends! It's good for me and the kids.

Crew is really getting into climbing up the ladders, rock wall, etc now that he has longer legs.

 Apparently we don't have enough dirt on the farm. The boys always end up just digging in the dirt/sand instead of playing on the toys!

B

Talon

he realized it was hot a little too late

Crew and Sawyer both love the slide. Sawyer does not like swinging and Crew adores it. If Crew is in the baby swing he will request underdogs. (He fell out of a swing awhile back he doesn't like to go too high in a regular swing) Crew can also do a fair job at pumping on the swing!

Funny: Crew

While the boys finished dinner I was getting the bath ready. Crew came in and said in a really sad voice,"Mom, my taco is dead!"
me: "Your taco is dead?" and I am trying very hard to keep a serious face. "What happened?"
Crew: "I squeezed it like this!"
We walk into the kitchen to check it out. His taco is unrolled and the inside have fallen out somewhat. Again I ask him what happened because it was so funny to hear him tell his story and watch his reenactment.
"I was holding it and I squeezed it and it fell apart. It's deeeeaad!"
Peace returned when I brought the taco back to life and it was rolled back up again.

Hearing Appointment: Crew

I have recently noticed Crew asking "what" or asking for things to be loud or complaining of not being able to hear something that is quiet. I especially noticed on my way to Idaho; I would ask him a simple question and he continuously said "what" until I changed my pitch or how loud I said it.  I didn't know if it was male toddler-hood or if I really should be concerned. So I mentioned the circumstances to his doctor and she referred me to an ENT. 

Crew creates a whole set of challenges when it comes to meeting new people, let alone someone trying to get him to interact with them. I prepped Crew the best I knew how and then I bribed myself blue! He initially did alright with talking to the doctor and having his ears looked at, but with all of the wait times he started to dwindle. 

I am so thankful for the very kind audiologist that took the time and effort to help Crew along. She was very patient and kid friendly! When we couldn't get Crew to put on the earphones she decided to test his ears like an infant. Everyone kept on telling me that he would most likely be fine, but I wasn't surprised when she told me his right ear passed but his left failed. That is when she really wanted to get him to test with the earphones on. So I bribed, bribed, and bribed some more until the promise of a big big firetruck was enough for him to want to do the test. Instructions where given at different decibels and he had to say things like, "blue, ice cream, car." Occasionally he would turn to me and say, "I can't hear her." So he knew she was talking but couldn't make out what she was saying. When she wanted him to count the beeps he was done.  We found that Crew was only able to hear to 20 decibels. The average person hears to 15. We were sent home with instructions to practice wearing earphone to get him more comfortable with the idea next time. We are to practice listening to the repetition of something, being able to count them, and then relay what he counted to. 

I was so grateful to have my friend Audra along. I had planned on having enough time to grab some lunch with her and check out some stores if she wanted. We were at the doctors for 2.5 hours. She stepped right in and helped sooth Sawyer when I was trying to get Crew to cooperate. After carrying around Sawyer for an hour her arms were shaking! (Mine would be too, and I am used to him!!) I don't know what I would have done without her there. Next time Sawyer will not be coming!

When we got home Crew and I headed out for the promised firetruck. Walmart had none! How is that possible? Crew set his eyes on the electric loader and was just as happy with it. Thank goodness!

 

Dentist: Crew

I decided to get Crew set up at the dentist to have things checked out and to ask some questions about his bite. He was excited for our day out and was well prepped. My heart sank when his hygienist called him back. She was awful: loud, impatient, and not kid friendly! I am so annoyed that my office said they take young patients but then be put with an obviously awful choice! She even complained about Crew in front of him! (I probably had steam coming out of my ears) I wanted to be able to rationally explain how I felt about the situation, but didn't think I could pull it off during the moment. I don't plan on taking him back but I still have the desire to explain, to whomever is in charge, that I was either misdirected or didn't have my son put with the appropriate hygienist  Watch out; my mama bear instinct is kicking in!

Food: Sawyer

Sawyer loves bread! As we were leaving Grandma's house she handed us a loaf of bread that Sawyer readily accepted. By the time we got home he had taken a few bits out of it. I let him continue to munch until I got his dinner put together. Sawyer out-eats Crew on most days!