C and D

C and D

Thursday, January 31, 2013

Speech therapy....

Is over. For now.... I have been on the verge for a couple months now and we just kept hanging on because Declan was doing so well with it and I didn't want to mess with that progress but with this upcoming eye surgery its just way too much so I spoke with his speech pathologist and we decided to call it good for now. She, of course, would like for him to stay (well duh we are paying her out of pocket every single week!) but was awesome and totally understanding of our situation. And hopefully will welcome Carrig with open arms should he need it :)

With this ending though I went ahead and scheduled a preschool screening test with the school system because when kids turn 3 the school system supposedly takes over. If you qualify. And of course Declan didn't qualify. He met with and got tested for his vision (that was interesting as it turns out his right eye vision is pretty horrible. scary.), hearing, processing, speech and he met with a school psychologist. He's still 2 so they had to test him in that age bracket but for me they tested him for 3 years olds as well and turns out he passed thru age 4. Shocking. Maybe that is why the SC school system ranks so low?!??!?!?!?!?!

No but seriously, he is ok and when I dropped him off at school after his screening his teacher was like "what on earth did u have him tested for?!?!" and when I told her his speech she goes "WHY?????" Ha! She doesn't seem to think there is an issue at all which probably more than anyone makes me feel better as she has been a teacher for over 20 years and seen tons of kids his exact age pass thru and on. He does really well there and actually when I talked to the therapist and psychologist at the preschool screening they mentioned how important it was that he do well in school. At home, its a different story obviously but so long as he is behaving and interacting and speaking etc etc etc in a school setting, that's what I should be concerned with right now.

So that's that. For now I guess. I have unfairly high expectations for everyone in my life and Declan bares a very large brunt of this. Is he behind? In my eyes, yes, but to outsiders who are not his mother and aren't nearly as emotionally attached slash can't see straight :), he is fine and developing at the exact appropriate rate. Because this is my first go round, I don't know what to expect and that coupled with my unreasonable expectation level of EVERYTHING, its just hard. I am trying trying trying to take other people's words for it and go with this...my only issue is that I just do not want him to get behind and always trying to catch up. I'm trying to avoid a future problem...I can pretty much guarantee you right now he's not going to be the "smartest" kid in class or blow teachers minds away with his genius, but I don't want him to be the kid who constantly struggles either. Especially if its something I missed. Or should have caught earlier. I'm his mom and its my job to look out for him when he's too young to look out for himself so if I miss something I'll just never forgive myself. With that, I'm so glad we have done the speech, its honestly been phenomenal for him and he needed it. He, without question, had a delay and needed a jump start. I'm glad he got it and we will just go from here....

Wish us luck. Mainly Declan :) With me for a mommy, he will need it........

Good work Santa (GiGi)!!!

This has been the coolest gift....we rode to the playground the other day and when we got there all the afterschool kids were out and as if Declan needs another person saying how cool he is......he got some more. They all came over to him yelling "oooo show me your bike show me your bike" so he glided all over the playground thinking he was something. Ohhh my. So anyhow if u are looking for a cool gift for your "in betweener" rider - go get yourself a glide bike!!!

YouTube Video

Basically it teaches them to balance without training wheels.
He still lovessssss his bike with training wheels on it and rides it all the time but this is awesome too and he is slightly obsessed.

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Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Monkey see monkey do


YouTube Video

I don't even know who starts these little escapades anymore but these two make mealtime..............loud.

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Big brother hugs

I know I just posted about this but Declan loves Carrig so much. So so so much and he is forever giving him a million hugs a day. One of my favorites is when I'm getting them out of the car and Declan insists I get him out first so he can "decky go see Carrig mommy!!!" He basically lays/squashes/suffocates Carrig but C is under that squash fest just beaming and Declan knows it. And he loves it. He loves making Carrig smile which makes me.............smile :)

YouTube Video

I love how Carrig hugs him back too. Gosh.

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It's gonna be a fight

Up until now, Declan had had Kaylie on lockdown...



This was just a week ago at the aquarium...still in love.


This was today at the park:







Carrig made a biiiiig push for her and she was quite enamored.....

Decky you better pick up your game buddy. This dancing:



Might not do it.

May the best little man win :) love u both!

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Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Teachable moments...

For mommy.

So I sit here with two out of three toilets clogged in my house. Like full on, I've been plunging all day, took a wire hanger to it, nothing helped type of clogged. Why you ask? (dad and bros, sorry...) because I flushed my tampons. Apparently (I don't remember but knowing myself I can pretty much guarantee this happened) I clogged the toilet in our bathroom and so then I did the EXACT same thing in the hall bathroom. And clogged both.

All of that gross info to say what a wakeup call this is to me when it comes to my little friend, Declan. I think I even asked him tonight "how many times do I have to tell you????" in an exasperated tone. Well, Alli, how many times have your parents, your friends parents, your husband etc etc etc TOLD YOU NOT TO FLUSH A FREAKING TAMPON?!?!?!?!?!?! Or use so much fracking toilet paper. I do that too.

Holy crap. I'm 29 years old and have known what "to do" and what "not to do" for a very, very long time now but I still do the same stupid thing. So I think a little grace for my almost 3 yr old son is needed......

Teachable moments. They are everywhere. For everyone.


Sunday, January 27, 2013

Bros




Best hugs ever.




Sometimes Carrig gets rowdy and pulls Declan's hair. Well most every time really. I think it's well deserved. Good on you C-man......



Really though Carrig thinks Declan is the business........he is never happier than when his big brother is around. Never.

Love it times a bazillion. That's a lot.

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Ya got me there...

So we were out riding bikes today and Declan was flying. I yelled up to him, "buddy you are really fast!!!" And he turned, looked back super serious and said, "no mom, I'm decky brady hogan" :) ha!!!



A very good point, Declan. You win.


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Photo sesh:

Paul had a basketball game he had to go to last night so after we put Carrig down for sleepies, Declan and I decided to have a Photo Booth sesh........I had as much fun as him. Easily.




















Its really a shame the child has no personality....
And he's naked. Per usual........
Long photo shoot mom. Night night...

This is how dinner gets cooked:

When Paul is out of town:

YouTube Video

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Friday, January 25, 2013

Jalapenos....

Oh my word. I just had the best laugh and unfortunately it was at my little buddy's expense. He is like a dog - both of my boys honestly - he just begs for food constantly and even though he had just finished a massive lunch himself he was salivating over my sandwich.............which had jalapeno spread on it :) He would NOT leave me alone so finally I gave him a little taste. Actually it was a big taste. He took a monster bite and pretty much immediately was like WTF in toddler-land. He grabbed his water faster than I've ever seen him and basically poured it on his face. At that point I was dying because I knew what was happening but he had no clue. He then started licking the table.....even funnier. I guess he thought that would make whatever was happening on his tongue go away. It didn't. Carrig had a bath toy that he was playing with in his seat and Declan, on a rampage to get the taste out of his mouth, grabbed it away and started squeezing the water that was apparently in it, into his mouth. Then he just chowed on Carrig's poor unsuspecting froggy bath toy.

In the meantime I couldn't even breathe I was laughing so hard. Declan just kept looking at me with fear/shock in his eyes and it made me laugh even harder....oh my word. Well, buddy, I hope you learned your lesson! Stick to your food dude!

Oh and PS he still had the piece in his mouth because he's not allowed to spit out his food even if he doesn't like it. That was best part. He was trying to be so good and behave despite the fire that had engulfed his mouth.

When I was able to breathe again and speak I told him he could spit it in my hand.........I'm not totally the meanest mom ever. Close though ;)

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

A bad mom day

I think if I write this out I'll feel better so here goes......

Today was not good. Starting at 1230am, when Carrig woke up for the first time. I think he is teething as he hasn't been napping very well the past couple of days and I remember with Declan this was usually a sign of teething....so he wakes up screaming like a maniac a little after midnight and I was CERTAIN it was at least 4am. I was in the middle of a gooooooood REM cycle there buddy, thanks but no thanks for that little interruption. Then again at 1am. Then again at 4am. Then again at 530am. At that point he had a really horribly poopy diaper causing a really horrible diaper rash :( Poor fella........Then Paul and I "woke up" for the day. I know its not his fault but that doesn't mean I have forgiven him yet.....

Declan wakes up on the exact opposite of the right side of the bed. It was not pleasant. Pee in the bed and a big attitude as a side. Fighting me on everything. Strong personalities do not mesh well. Finally he had one tantrum too many and I pretty much stooped down to his level, totally lost my temper, yelled loudly at him and just overall did not handle myself like a mature mother should. There are many days I'm able to handle his toddler 'tude and be an example of how to handle yourself when you get angry. Today was not that day. And I felt absolutely horrible about it...like a total mom fail. Kind of nauseous on the way to his speech therapist.

Speech is fine. His therapist comes out and tells me "I just love him....he is such an endearing child". Ummmmm.....come live with me please. She also tells me that he really struggled today with his vision...he had to get really close to the project they were working on and kept turning his head to try and "see". I hate it....this vision/eye thing is so frustrating and as much as I am dreading surgery, I'm really looking forward to it because I really hope it helps him....

We then head out for a playdate with our buds. Lauren had us over to her house, we made pizzas (she had pre-made a gluten free crust for Declan...good friend) and were all jumping on the trampoline when things got rowdy. Declan is just.....................he's just a boy. Like a boy times a boy times five big linebackers from the NFL. And he likes to wrestle and push and be physical. And he is STRONG. I'm not saying this because I'm his mom, but he really just doesn't realize how strong he is. Add to that his desire to be boyish and fight, and its a bit of a problem.

Lauren has this super cute little 2.5yr old girl named Quinn and after a few love taps from Declan, she decided to bow out of the trampoline fun so she was sitting on the padding outside of the net and Declan and Blake kept jumping. Well Declan, who just cannot freaking help himself, bum rushed her (and I could see this coming from 89032 miles away and still wasn't able to stop it) and knocked her so hard off the trampoline flat on her face. It.Was.Horrible. And I lost my mind on him. Double whammy. He was screaming, I was yelling at him, Quinn was crying and trying to figure out what the heck had just happened. Ohhh it was just bad and I was so mortified for so many different reasons. I couldn't believe Declan had just done that, I was embarrassed about yelling at him in front of other people, I was imagining how HURT Quinn really could have gotten...ugh it was just awful. Thankfully Lauren is awesome and was not upset for one second and Quinn was ok but ugh.....UGH.

Declan is not in ANY way a mean child and I'm pretty confident he didn't know that pushing her would make her fall that far, he just thinks its funny. And that is how he likes to "play" these days. Its so hard to explain to him the difference between playing and wrestling with daddy and playing/wrestling with friends. This is really getting to be a problem but today was easily the worst I have experienced because Quinn really could have gotten hurt. I didn't handle it well and clearly I need to do a better job at speaking to him about how we play with others.

Mom fail times a million today. When I put him to bed I just wanted to cry because he was so sweet and all he wanted was for me to lay with him and cuddle and give him hugs and kisses. That's it. I was a horrible mom today, he was a very strong willed, incredibly physical almost three yr old boy - its to be expected. I am the one who needs to be better.

Tuesday, January 22, 2013

A boy and his apple

He is beautiful.


And so happy so long as he is eating.....


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The dudes love to jump.....













Needless to say the weather here has been pretty spectacular.....

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Hogan Family Christmas!

The boys and I left Charlotte on the 30th and headed down to Atlanta to see the Hogan/Henson clan for a few days. We had big plans and were super excited to go to the aquarium the next morning with the twins and Nancy but Declan woke up at 2am vomitting. Which was cool. Finally around 630am he fell asleep with me...........needless to say we didn't make it :( We basically missed a whole day with them which stunk but the next few days were filled with lots of fun and "talks" about sharing our trucks with our cousins. Carrig was really the only well behaved child, at least in my family...........and that is only because he has absolutely no idea what the hell is going on. Next year he will be a nightmare and the other three will on their way back to the nice child zone...I'm really looking forward to it!




Nancy and Scott have a poodle and he is HUGE! Declan's dream....seriously.....I'm currently working on Paul....


One my faves - he is not gentle. But he does love aunt nancy


I hate that we didn't get any pics of all the boys together.....maybe in 11 years....


Really though we had a great time in Atlanta. I know its hard, especially for Paul's mom, because as much as she loves our boys, she really just wants HER boy there and luckily she has a good one and he surprised her by driving 8 hours after a long day recruiting to tell her Merry Christmas in person :) It was awesome and Carol was a very very happy Nana/mommy! Paul loves loves loves hanging with the twins too and I think they love him too slash they might be a little scared of him because he throws them verrrry high in the air but they totally light up when he comes around so it was really cool that he got to come see them for a day or two :)
Oh oh oh! And Santa is the COOLEST and brought Declan a Lightning McQueen!!!! He was so pumped and per usual took a little while to get used to it but dang he has been obsessed ever since. Props to Santa! (Go nana!!)



These trips always go so quickly and soon enough we were back in the car driving back to the beach. Paul took Declan (totally the easy way out) and I got Carrig (slept for 20 minutes MAYBE the entire 8 hours...) - it was a fun drive. 

Not.

A long time away from home and we were sooooo glad to be back. I love being close enough to drive to see our families but I can't say how much I love being back in my own bed. Cuddled up with my husband. Knowing our kids are tucked away nicely in their own beds too.
That is peace.


Hunt Family Christmas!

As my mom put it, "this was the best Christmas we have had since you guys were little..." and I totally, totally, totally agree....

We got up to Charlotte late on the 26th where my mom was having my dad's whole side of the family over. Its kind of become a tradition for everybody to come to Charlotte around this time and its the greatest because its wild and loud and awesome because its the only day of the whole year we are all in the same place. Its exhausting but I love seeing my aunts and uncles and cousins and their wives/hubbies and I especially love seeing all the kids together. Warms the heart...






Carrig loved little Liv.They are 7 days apart and absolutely hysterical together. He came on very very strong she wasn't too sure what to make of his moves....








Adah Lee, Emmy, Merrill and Declan. Love them so........




The rest of the week was filled with tons of brother/Declan-Carrig time. I think that's what I remember and really cherish the most about this last Christmas in Charlotte. All of my brothers were home but I think it was especially cool for Davis because of everyone, he's been the one to see the boys the least unfortunately. We lived in CO and when we moved back here, he moved up to NYC so this was his first time spending more than like 4 hours with both the boys. And they looooooved it! And he was SOOOO good. So good. Like out drinking until 2am but up at 8am to hang with Declan good. That's a solid uncle right there. Turns out he is also a very strict uncle and was all over Decky's butt about saying "yes ma'am" and "yes sir" and ever since we have gotten home everyone's been super impressed with his manners. And of course I can take no credit........the only thing I get credit for are his sweet temper tantrums. That we still deal with daily. Its a joy.
We took lots of walks to the park, rode his new bike (this thing is the COOLEST), went to a trampoline place and Declan jumped foreverrrrrr (need to figure out a way to get one in MB), had a nice family photo sesh (diff post for a diff day), ate lots of good food (my mom is such an awesome little chef) and just had a really nice time hanging together and enjoying all the little moments. We don't all get together very often so this was such a special time.















That's Declan out there with Uncle Boo Boo...right in the middle of the action. No fear.








Declan might be a vet when he gets older........obsessed with animals. And very surprisingly gentle with them......minus suffocating them.


Early morning movie post Starbucks run for uncle d:





Best buds:






The only person we missed was Paul :( Its so hard because this is a HUGE recruiting time for coaches so he was down in FL until Jan 2nd. One day I think we will head down there with him when the boys are older and do Disney. But for now we miss him a lot...