Some indoor fun

Skylar's hair is LONG. He actually let me comb it and I slicked it back. He looks so funny to me!!


Snuggling with Daddy after baths.



They were anxiously watching out the window for Mo Mo to arrive.


Skylar is making lots of progress with his therapy. When I have more time, I will write more about what it all entails cause it is pretty neat if you aren't familiar with any of this. One of the things we are using for him is a swing. It was causing major meltdowns because they couldn't be in it at the same time. Skylar's awesome OT showed me how to rig it so they both could fit. They LOVED it and snuggled for about 30minutes.


Another thing we have been working on is dinner time. Skylar struggled a lot with sitting in his chair, we gave in, let him out, and the cycle continued. After lots of work he is doing so much better. Tonight I was finishing up dinner. Jon was in Elaina's room playing with the kids. Skylar walked into the kitchen and I told him it was almost time to eat. He happily went into the dining room, climbed in his chair, and buckeled himself in. He didn't last the entire time but we are making progress!!

Outdoors having fun!

When you need to kill an hour or it is rainy and you just want to get out of the house, Lone Elk Park is a place we often go. They have bison, elk, deer, and wild turkeys. You never know what you will see. Off the same road is the World Bird Sanctuary. Jon has taken the kids but I had never been. As we were heading in, a woman was carrying an eagle on her shoulder to take it inside to be fed. Pretty amazing to see one so close! A few pictures from when we visited.

Checking out the eagle up close


She LOVES to run!


Skylar made a mistake and tried to touch the rope. Tough girl Elaina put him in his place!


Huge cage you can climb into...Skylar loved it and didn't want to come out.


So Elaina and I joined him:)


Lone Elk Park. Baby bison that could barely walk. Must have been just born (it is pretty neat that Elaina can look at this picture and tell us it is a bison).


Just an elk walking in front of our car



This weekend was HOT! Like in the 90s with humidity hot. So we decided to do summer like things....Strawberry picking at Lake View Farm in St. Charles! Elaina loves strawberries and was running around the house yelling "I pick strawberries" before we left. She definitely ate more than she picked. She just kept eating and saying "Mmm, it is SOO good!". Skylar enjoyed picking for a little bit but then gave up.



So independent, she wanted to hold it all by herself!


Found a big one


Hanging out in the strawberry field


Messy and loving it

Wheels, Buttons, and More!

Our early childhood center has lots of events throughout the year. Honestly, we didn't go to them as much as we could have this year. But we picked a great one for Skylar! It was called "On the Go" and had all kinds of cars. Yes, Elaina was there too but come on....this event was SOOO Skylar!

Been there, done that! The police helicopter had just landed behind them but Skylar has already seen one before at an Easter egg hunt Jon took him too (while Elaina and I got haircuts). He seems to be saying....NOT impressed!!


"Now this is more like it!!" Playing inside a tow truck.


"And there are buttons up top too?!?"


Helping the mailman


Taking over driving for a bit:)


Trying out the stretcher in the ambulance


Firefighter Elaina


Capri Sun is the best!


Racing the cars down the ramp


Getting fitted for a helmet (we had to get Skylar's "to go" since he refused to sit there and get it adjusted.


She just came from getting her diaper changed...helmet still on! It stayed on the whole car ride home too!

Spring Break

How does 10 days off fly by by a five day work week seem to crawl by?!? It seems like we just started spring break and I have to go back to work in just two days:( We didn't go anywhere as a family since Jon had started a new job and, well, after our Thanksgiving travels to Gibson Island, I swore I would not travel with the kids again until I took them to college. But we still had lots of fun and were so lucky to have amazing weather so we were outside a lot!

Spring Break started with Aunt Barb coming in town for a visit. Elaina warmed up very quickly and was calling her BoBo almost as soon as she was here. Mom, Aunt Barb, and I went to the Ozarks to go outlet shopping for the weekend. The weekend started with us driving and talking nonstop and then about an hour into the trip I decided to take a nap. I told them the exit to look for and fell asleep only to wake up in Columbia...which is about 3o minutes PAST our exit! You see there are really only three roads to get on but the O'Leary girls were too busy talking that they missed it!! We pulled over, I got directions and took over driving. When we finally got to the outlets, we hit the ground running. Lots of shopping for the kids! We checked into our hotel and then headed out for Mexican food and of course margaritas (which were the weakest ones I think I have ever had, but that is probably a good thing since they give me hangovers!). We all crashed early. The next day we finished up shopping and then headed home. When we got home, Elaina was happy to see me and of course MoMo and BoBo. But Skylar...well, all he cared about was his MoMo. It was like I wasn't even there!

On Monday we took Skylar, Elaina, and Olivia to the zoo. The highlight was definitely the children's zoo where you can pet the goats.

The rest of the week was just a lot of time spent outside. We went to Suson Park for the first time with friends and it was GREAT! Spent time at our favorite park, Longview. Played in the yard and got the outdoor toys out. Went to the early childhood center playground and burnt off lots of energy.

We also had several appointments for Skylar over break. He received his first visit from the Developmental Therapist who I really liked. She is working with us on some of the behaviors like eating, tantrums, but also incorporates sign language and some of the sensory tactics. He also had his first visit from the speech therapist and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. But after talking to a few people their experiences are similar. It is play based for now and she is also working on boundary setting so he learns who is in charge and can follow directions. It was at times a struggle for him to not be able to do what he wants. Whereas we would probably just let him have his tantrum and not give in, the therapist does that PLUS makes him do what she has asked. Often it is hand over hand so he learns what to do but with time he should be able to do it more independently. Our last appointment was for a sensory evaluation. Sensory Processing Disorder is something we are just learning about and my experience has always been with autistic children. In my reading, frequently children who are diagnosed with autism have sensory issues but the reverse is not always true. Everyone we have talked to does not think Skylar has autism which is such a relief. We will get the report from the evaluation soon and find out what we need to do next. In the meantime, our little guy is signing "more" like crazy (usually when he wants more milk, chips, or pushes on the swing). He is babbling new sounds and "talking" to himself when he goes to bed at night. He is so expressive with his face and his sounds, we are just anxious for the words.

It is funny that all our pictures from break are inside since we spent so much time outside but oh well. Enjoy!

Elaina decided to sticker herself and her bunny. She was so proud of her work!

Watching tv together


Skylar realized Elaina didn't have her sippy cup so he was trying to give it to her. They might fight but they do take care of each other like this all the time!


Enjoying a snack in the kitchen while wearing Elaina's boots (which he brought to me to put on!)


A better view of the look


Blackmail pic in 20 years!

Resting on the couch before lunch since she had been up since 4am. Mommy didn't have the luxury of resting at this time!!


Elaina and BoBo


Elaina asked for a kiss and got one:)


Skylar not wanting to sit still.


With MoMo


Coloring in the basement


Bubbles!


He is getting the hang of it...


And now he wants Daddy to do it too!


Elaina walking around with a tunnel on her head.

Is it spring yet?!?

This dreary weather needs to come to an end! Woke up to a rainy morning after a beautiful weekend. When it is nice, we are outside all the time. The kids sleep better and we are all in better moods. Plus right now we can't shake being sick. I am home with Elaina who was running a fever. I start my spring break on Friday and have all next week off. Let's hope it is nice and we can enjoy some sunshine and warm air! Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

Being silly wearing mommy's hat


A more reserved picture


Guess who got a new haircut!


The aftermath of finding the one permanent marker at our sitter's house. It was on her face too!!

Changes

It has been busy around our house. We all have new things happening, things changing, and all for the better! We are counting our blessings often these days.

It is hard to decide what is the biggest news because I think it is all important but what will have the most impact on our family as a whole is that Jon got a new job!!! It has been a long road from when he graduated in December 2007, the weekend we found out about the twins actually. Life and the job search was put on hold while we adjusted to having two babies. And then when things seemed to settle down, the recession hit...and no one was hiring people without lots of experience. It has been challenging for him. But he is really excited about his new job...I will butcher explaining what he will be doing so I will say he will be selling equipment to medical research labs, dealing with the types of things my dad's labs work with. Basically Jon gets to be a science geek all day, every day, and I am sure he and my dad will have lots to talk about!! I am so proud of my hubby for working hard to get this job. It will be awesome that he is home at nights with us...helping with baths, having dinner, and just relaxing together.

I have decided not to return to teaching after this year (well sometime in the future) but in the meantime I will be a stay at home mom full time and will also be watching another family's two kids. I am so excited to be able to be home with the kids and be a part of everything. I missed teaching when I took last year off but it has been very challenging balancing work (where I spend all day dealing with children) and then coming home to my own. I feel like I have nothing left to give. I am really excited that I get to do this!!

Elaina, oh Elaina. Well she decided she was going to start potty training herself last weekend. We are taking it slow until I am home over spring break and we can go at it 100% but she is going every night before she gets in the bathtub. She needs no reinforcement yet but lots of cheering and hugs. Our little pleaser! She is so proud of herself:)

And Skylar we learned this week has qualified for First Steps which will come to our house for speech/language. We are so happy he will be receiving support until he is old enough to get it through our school district. And bless his heart he is signing Milk and More all the time. We are working on other ones but so happy he is able to tell us something.

So lots of changes in our lives. All good, all exciting! Now if only I could get over being sick....

It's a good thing she has a brother!

Elaina has always been affectionate. She loves to give hugs and kisses. Will rub your back when you are holding her and is just in general a very loving child. It used to be with people she knew. You could always count on her to snuggle on the couch and give you a bed time kiss. But now, it is getting a little out of control. She kisses EVERYTHING!! Not as much people as things. All her stuffed animals especially bunny are fair game. So are animals in books (she kissed every page when Jon read her a story the other day). Her "owies", our "owies", and anything that might look like an owie i.e. food on her hand, or a freckle. She wants to kiss Marley and Vaughn. But the strangest was the other day she kissed the kitchen counter. Just a clean counter. Needing a kiss. This child is just so full of love she can hardly contain herself! All Jon and I keep saying is, it is a good thing she has a brother, to keep an eye on her!!

Anxiously waiting

Skylar and Elaina are now 26 months. Yeah, after they turn two you don't really count months any more...they become 2, then 2 1/2, then 3. But for our purposes 26 months is important to note. On Monday, Skylar was evaluated through First Steps for speech/language delay. In order to qualify, he must be at least 50% delayed which means he is at the level of a 13 month old. We have been concerned for awhile. It is so hard to not compare the two of them...I mean there is no "Do you remember when she did that" because they are of course the same age. Elaina has a large vocabulary and uses it a lot. She strings words together and is constantly absorbing and using new vocabulary. But Skylar says three "words"....mama, hot, and mi which is milk. He has better receptive language but still is not where he should be. He is very expressive and uses inflection in his grunts but he is not able to TELL us what he wants. When he was evaluated, he was in a very bad mood, easily frustrated, clingy. Basically in a 30 minute period showing all the ways he struggles to express himself. We will find out next week if he qualified and where we go from there. One of these days I am sure I will look back at this post and wonder why we ever worried. But for now, we do, and we are hopeful this is the way we will be able to help unlock the words!

Oh what personalities!

Every day brings us laughs and challenges. The kids are full of life and personality and we are loving this age!

Quirky! She is so silly and loves to do things that make us laugh. She saw my glasses and put them on while eating her snack.


Check out that lump on his right side of his forehead. That was the result of Elaina chucking her Elmo bath toy (which is hard not soft and cuddly) over her shoulder and hitting him. Immediately this bump came up, tears followed, and a certain girl was taken out of the tub and put in time out because she had been asked not to throw her toys already.


Having lunch.


They love to sit at the counter in our kitchen and eat. It makes it easy for me because I can clean up while they eat.



Our little artist hard at work on her painting which she was so proud to show her MoMo when she came over.





This is soooo Skylar. He is always trying to figure out how things work. It took him awhile to manuever the stroller into the climber but he did it.






Such the caretaker, feeding her baby. It cries when you stop feeding it and Elaina rocks her and kisses her and even gives her "bunny" which makes everything better!

He loves to wear his shoes around the house. You take them off, he brings them to you to put back on.