Bathtime fun with Jett

It is so much fun watching my boys learn new things...small and big. Jett has learned how to make the "vroom vroom" sound while he pushes a car around. It's adorable and also proof that he IS his father's son...not that I had any doubt. If you are a boy in this family, it is imperative that you have a passion for fast cars and it seems he is on his way.
I suppose it is only appropriate that someone with a huge passion for fast cars also have a rat-tail. He's got that covered too!
Would someone that loves fast cars and has a rat-tail like fishin' too? Absolutely!He's showing me two that he caught bare handed!
I guess we need to start saving now for the jacked up pick up truck to tow the trailer for his fast car on the way to the dragstrip.

Hyper drive...

Hyper Drive. This is how the psychologist we met with today describes the brain of a person with ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder). It's like having a ping pong ball bouncing around inside your head all the time, not allowing you to focus or remember simple instructions. This is also the disorder that Drew is going to be tested for (among other learning/attention disorders) next week. We understand some people are against us testing him so young, as the primary way to help people with the disorder is medication, however, we also love him more than words can describe and hate watching him struggle to complete simple tasks. This is not a sudden decision either. We have watched him have a hard time since he started his first preschool class at 3 years old. He has always been very bright, but also VERY busy. Unfortunately, his brightness has always been in the shadow behind his busyness (or restlessness as the doctors call it). In order for him to reach his full learning potential and have a successful grade school experience, it is imperative that we find the cause of his restlessness and inability to stay on task. I have no doubt that God is in the center of this and already knows the path we are soon to travel down. I am so incredibly anxious to see how He will use this beautiful child that is so "fearfully and wonderfully made" by Him! Please pray for our family, as this is the hardest thing we have had to endure yet.

Here is a good site if you are curious about ADHD. www.chadd.org

We are gate less.

Oh, how I'd come to love my cheap Walmart baby gate. It was $10. Perhaps, had I purchased the more expensive, better quality one, I would not have had to subsequently purchase three more, but who's counting?! Drew never grasped the concept of stepping over the gate, he would step ON the top of the gate and jump over. Now it is clear to you why I had to purchase more, they'd snap right in half, usually cutting him somehow during the crash. Said crash was followed by a bandaid and a "I'm sorry, Mom, I forgot...again."

Sooo, my day yesterday was gate less. I used it to keep Jett out of the kitchen. Simply, because, well...have you ever had a 15 month old in your kitchen? Enough said, right? If so, it probably would resemble this:
Which leads to this:
I spent most of the day picking up random pots and pans that I found in the bathroom, under the couch or being used as seats for the boys in the middle of the living room.

I also caught Jett doing this...pushing the stool:
Climbing on top of the stool:
JACKPOT!!

I guess the decision to make is to either cave in on the annoying cabinet locks or head on back for my 4th baby gate purchase.

WE HAVE A ROUTINE!!!!

The title is typed in caps because I'm screaming with excitement! WE HAVE A ROUTINE!!!I'm so excited because 1) we've never really had one before 2) it's working like a charm 3) I'm realizing how much I was missing my nights with Matt! All those years of Drew going to bed about the same time we did apparently took it's toll on us.

Here it is:
6:15AM Wake up Drew for school/breakfast/get ready
6:55AM Out the door to the bus stop (which is just two driveways up)
then...
6:00PM Dinner
7:00PM Bath
7:30PM Jett's bedtime
8:00PM Drew's bedtime

Drew started Kindergarten last week. My days that were once filled with constant noise are much different now. My house is cleaner and my patience is in excellent shape! But, all the clean quietness aside...I miss my big boy terribly when he is gone. It has certainly been an adjustment for us all. Even Matt, who used to wake up way before us and head out the door for work, now has a house full of hustle and bustle in the wee hours of the morning!

I could go on for days about how sad, glad, excited and scared to death I am to have a new kindergartner, but I think it's pretty obvious, so I won't bore you. (Personally, I don't want to sit here and sob as I type...so I'll just leave it at that.)

Here is Drew on the first day of Kindergarten:
It's a little blurry, because he was so excited to run to the car, that he gave me one shot to get it right and this is how it turned out. I'm sad to not have a better picture.

And, just for kicks, this is Drew this time last year on the first day of Pre-K:
And (my favorite of all so far), this is the year before that on the first day of his 3 yr old preschool class:
As he grows before our eyes, I pray that God has his hand on his life, that he will grow into a warrior for Christ and live everyday loving all people. Oh, how I LOVE this kid!!

The funny faces of Jett.

Matt always says that I make funny faces when I'm having a conversation or just thinking to myself. Personally, I think Jett takes the cake for the best funny faces. Here a few over just about a 2 minute period.