And We're Off

I have not written since the middle of July. It has been too long since I last wrote. If you know me well, then you know that I love writing about our lives. I love sharing my experiences as a stay at home to 5 beautiful kids and a wife to a wonderful husband. Going over a month without writing is too long. Last time I wrote, I wrote about finding time to blog, updated on our little girl (who at that point was only one month old), and updated how our summer was going.

It is now August and our summer has ended. School started for our oldest, Logan. He is in the first grade. The few days were a little rough as he is getting adjusted to a new school, new friends, a new teacher, and a new routine. I think he is finally getting into the swing of things. So far he is doing well with his work load for a first grader. We are so proud of him!

Since I last wrote, our middle son (Landon), had two appointments with his doctors in Cincinnati. For those that follow and read my blog you know that he has an ear and facial condition called Microtia Atresia and wears a BAHA (bone anchored hearing aid). He will be 5 in December and will be old enough for a surgery that will permanently allow him to wear a hearing aid without the headband. It will click to something that will stick out of his head. This will be nice because hopefully he will wearing his hearing aid more since he will not have the band. We are excited and nervous for the surgery for him, but definitely more excited than nervous because this is something very good for him! He will be starting his last year of preschool sometime next week. Hard to believe that next year he will be off to Kindergarten.

Liam has been in speech therapy since May. We put in speech therapy because he still isn't talking using full sentences and we needed to improve his vocabulary. As much as we read and work with him, he needed some extra help. I am so thankful we got him extra help because he has been very successful! This past week he was evaluated to see if he would need further speech services past the age of 3 (he turns 3 this Saturday). If he does qualify (which we think he will), this means he will be starting his first year of preschool sometime next week. It is hard to think he is old enough for school! Like I said, his birthday is this Saturday. I cannot believe he will be 3! We are having a party for him on Sunday that will be Thomas the Train themed (will definitely write about it).

Lucas, who is 1 year old, is also in speech therapy. He still has a long ways to go in becoming verbal, but he is getting there! He is a very busy body and loves exploring everything in our house, even if it gets him into trouble. He is super sweet and for the most always a happy toddler! His world got rocked upside down when his sister was born so he has spent a lot of the summer getting used to being a big brother and not being the 'baby' of our family. He seems to be adjusting a lot better and even asks to hold Leliana every now and then.

Leliana will be three months old on Sunday. If you read my blog posts leading up to this, then you know she had a rough start at birth and was in the NICU for 2 weeks due to sleep apnea episodes. Since she has been home (she came home June 6), she has been doing very well. She is fully nursing (when she came home she was nursed and supplemented with formula) and growing very well. At her last appointment she was 9lbs. even. She goes back to the doctor next Wednesday and she will get shots. The boys adore her, and so does everyone else whenever we go somewhere.

So far, the school year is off to a great start. I'm thankful to be back into a routine. While I enjoyed the summer break very much, our family thrives on routine. Toward the end of the summer, I could just tell we were all ready to get back in to the school schedule. I think this school year will be wonderful for the older boys and I am excited to see what they will learn! I pray over them every day and pray God will use them at their age in ways I could never imagine.

I hope my readers had a wonderful summer and I hope your school year is off to a great start!