Another Update Post

It seems like all I use this for is updates.  As I said with my last post, I REALLY do hope to start back blogging on a more regular basis but since I have not done that this post will be another catch-up post.  What has changed since March?  Hannah has completed another successful year of school.  She made all A's & B's and ended up really enjoying 4th grade.  She is super excited about getting to go to her teacher's wedding in a week. 

 4th Grade Awards

It is so hard to believe that she will be a 5th grader when school starts back in August.  I have been thinking hard about where to send her for middle school and we still have not made that decision yet.  The girls say I should let her go to Bethany Middle but I don't know.  That will be added to our prayer list for her and we will do what God directs us to do.  I love having her in my school where I can see her throughout the day and know what all she is doing.  I also love being able to run and see her some on Field Day, PBIS celebrations, Award Day, and other events at the school.  I really will miss this when she goes to middle school.  Hannah has spent one week in Hickory with Mimi, Papa John, Uncle Matt, and Aunt Sherri and is looking forward to going back. 

She leaves for camp next Sunday and can't wait for that.  She has already read about 10 chapter books since school has been out.  I love that she LOVES reading!!!  We FINALLY had Hannah's 11th birthday party on May 18th.  She wanted to ride horses for her party and well that just is not possible in January so we waited till May to have it at Shady Creek Farm.

Monkey is all monkey or maybe I should say octopus.  We ofter wonder how he grab so many things so fast.  It really does seem like he has 8 arms.  He went from speed crawling to walking like an old man to running in a matter of a week or two.  He has not learned that he has to look down, pay attention to things around him, and maybe even step over some things so this has resulted in almost constant bruises to his head and face area and a few black eyes.  Dr. Burdine said he is convinced once kids start crawling they have a constant concussion until they are 2 or older.  I seriously think this will be true for him.  His vocabulary is growing everyday.  His most common words are apple, cracker, Pepper, tank you (thank you) and his favorite is BALL or baoon (balloon).  Every food is either apple or cracker and every animal is Pepper.  Ball is his last word at night and his first word in the morning.  He is very polite and will say tank you without being told to.  Monday he raised his hands to me and when I picked him up he gave me a huge hug and said tank you.  Needless to say it made my day!  We are having great fun trying to find foods he will eat that does not have eggs or nuts.  In case I didn't but it in another post S had a major allergic reaction to eggs one week after his first birthday party.  We ended up at the allergist where for the time being he only tested being allergic to eggs but I was told multiple times that as he gets older more most likely will be added so we are avoiding eggs, shellfish, nuts, etc.  We also found out that he has asthma so he is having breathing treatments two times a day and more if needed.  Monkey LOVES his daycare especially Ms. Mary and Addison.  We have been told several times that he was being "full of himself" and attacking all of his friends.  Yes my baby has already spent time in time-out and gotten bad reports from his teacher.  S is normally very loving but he can throw a temper just like anyone else.  He has sharp teeth and is not shy in using them.  Hannah must taste really good because she normally is his biting target.  He also has strong hands that love to pull hair, glasses, and skin.  We go back to court week this month.  His new social worker is hoping his birth mother's rights will be terminated so we can end visits.  Those days are awful.  He screams and shakes as soon as the social worker comes in to get him or another child for that matter.  It breaks my heart that he has to go through this and will be glad when it is all over and he is officially OURS!!!!!  I am so ready to be able to share his adorable face with the world and not just the back of his head.

May 24th was a hard day for us because we had to tell our beautiful nieces bye.  We are excited for them and their move to Greenville, SC but very sad for us that we won't get the see them and spend time with them like we have been doing.  Hannah said it best when she said that she felt like a piece of her heart had been taken away.  I feel the same way.   I was at the hospital on the day they were born, kept them a lot during the summer, and took them to school until Lanie went to 1st grade.  We have FaceTime with Lanie twice and that has helped some.  We are looking forward to when they will be here visiting or we can go there.