Knapp Buck$

We're trying something new around our house... Knapp Buck$.  The idea is, if you do what you're supposed to do, and don't throw a fit or cry or fight with your brother, you can earn some rewards.  (You know, like in real life.)  Tyrus was all hyped about the idea of earning a game night, or lunch with mom... Alexis, however, was quite upset about the whole thing.  You see, you can LOSE buck$ you already earned if you have an attitude or storm off, and since those are her favorite activities, she knows she's in for some big changes.  That very fact may or may not be why we started this whole thing!

After a while the idea had finally sunk in, and she seemed better with it.  She ran upstairs and brushed her teeth (1K$) and turned off the light in a room no one was in (1 extra credit K$), and as we were filling out the chart, she says to me:  "How about coloring?  Is coloring one of the options to earn bucks?"  hee  hee

Suckafating isn't so great

Today Alexis says to me, "Mom, is it true that you can suckafate if you put a bag over your head?"

Uh, yes, why I guess you can.  :)

Happy 8th Birthday, Tyrus!

Dear Tyrus,

It was on this day, 8 years ago that you were born, and in that instant, I became a mother and your dad became a father.  Since then, nothing has been the same.  :)  You've changed us forever and for that, I'll be forever grateful. 

You have changed drastically since that day.  You're much bigger and smarter now than you were then.  You have finally mastered reading and you can do many things now by yourself that used to require assistance from me.  You're smart and funny and intelligent.  You've got adult teeth now and are starting to look less and less like a boy and more and more like a young man.  When I think about that, my eyes well up with tears and I get choked up. 

Tyrus, I want you to know that I love you so very much.  I'm loving the young man you're turning into and I'm very proud to be your mother.  Thank you for all the sweet things you do, and thank you as well for letting me teach you the right thing to do when you aren't being very sweet.  Seeing your interest in different things grow is so cool, too.  I love watching you learn and "get" things.

Overall, I want you to know that you are so very special to me and your dad.  I truly wish you a very happy 8th year and a hundred more to come!  I love you Ty!  Happy birthday!

Love, Momma

Carsten, the smallest guy in our house

Carsten turned 3 in October and the kid is still in diapers.  Gah.  Anyone wanna come over and teach the kid how to use the potty?  Ty & Lex were already trained by this age, but each time I set him up there he just screams and cries and really it's exhausting for all involved.  :(  I've decided to give him a break for a while and revisit the issue in a month or two.  Maybe he'll be ready by then.  One can hope, right?

C's little life revolves around Tom & Jerry, or at least in a perfect world, he'd do nothing else but watch the cat chase the mouse on that old cartoon.  His grandpa and grandma K have picked up on this and bought him the entire series.  :)  I have to limit him each day and he gets upset, but eh, whatever, I'm taller so I win the battles. 

Puzzles are another thing that are high on his list of Important Things.  Most days there are oh, 4 or 5, sometimes more, puzzles on my kitchen floor in various stages of doneness.  He really gets them and loves the challenge they provide him.  I think it's time to move up a bit in the peice count since he's mastered the ones he's got. 

He is a little goof ball though, and enjoys taking my camera and making silly faces in it.  He knows when people are watching him and soaks it up for all it's worth.  Oh, he also likes to yell out during the quiet times at church too.  Fun stuff.

We're still dealing with chronic bloody noses with the poor kid.  We've been to the ENT several times and have tried all sorts of remedies.  Right now, the one that seems to be working somewhat is Sesame Oil spray, and a humidifier, and the vent in his room covered...  Maybe he'll outgrow this at some point before we have to resort to cauterizing it...  :(

Then came Alexis...

Alexis is 5, going on 16.  :)  She's full of life and isn't afraid to let you know how she feels - both good and bad.  The little lady seriously LOVES to color, draw, paint, write, etc... and I'm constantly telling her to put down the crayons and get her shoes on!  Her favorite gift this Christmas was from Grandpa Mark, and it's this huge Princess coloring book.  She spends hours on the thing each day.

She's very excited right now to have recently lost her first two teeth.  Her smile is very adorable and she likes to go sit on the counter in the bathroom (when she's supposed to be in bed) examining her smile.  I have to admit that her losing the first tooth really punched me in the gut... she's growing up.

Kindergarten has been a wonderful experience for her so far.  She adores her teacher and she has learned so very much.  I think that she was ready for more stimulation a long time ago, and so I'm happy that she finally has the outlet she needs and is being challenged each day.  Her reading sight words are coming right along and today she asked me to write out some math problems that she could solve.  She skips off happily each day to get on the bus and is nothing but smiles when she comes home...  Gotta love it.

Tyrus, my firstborn

Tyrus turns 8 on Sunday.  I'm not sure exactly how that happened.  He was just standing in his crib the other day, I promise, yelling "wan oooouuuuttt!"  And now he's this big kid who sometimes when I see him in the right light looks like a teenager.  Sigh.

When we moved earlier this year we had a hard time deciding if we should keep Ty and Alexis (since she was starting Kindergarten) in the same school or if we should move them to the neighborhood school.  It was a hard decision, and it took a lot of prayer and thought.  I think we finally made the right decison though, by sending him to the school close to home. 

The transition was tough on Tyrus.  He really missed his friends and teachers from Oakland.  It was hard for me to see him struggling...  We got him signed up to play basketball on Saturday mornings, and we're also allowing him to invite his friend from his old school to his birthday party this weekend.  He seems like he's coming along and is finally starting to mesh with the new school and the people there.  Thankfully, he's had a super awesome teacher and she's helped out a lot!

He's become a fabulous reader!  It's like he's finally realized that it's not work to read, but instead, he can be a lot of fun!  Most nights I have to go in and remind him 379845 times to put the book down and go to sleep!  :)

Hindsight is 20/20!

So in reading my post from last January, there are things we know now that we didn't then...  Thankfully, my mother's diagnose of cancer turned out to be false and she's now almost a year past surgery and doing great (minus a bit of numbness!)  We're so thankful for that!

Our game center, http://www.v2gc.com/ is up and running and we're rapidly approaching our 1st anniversary!  It's been a lot of work, some stress, lots of learning, but most of all - fun!  It's neat to be a small business owner and see how it all works, yet it's also freaky being the one that it all falls back on!

The coolest thing we did in '09 though, I think, was build our house.  It's such a lovely blessing and I thank God for it every single day.