2 months old

Well Gabriel turned two months yesterday!! I still can't get over how quickly he is growing. I will post some pictures as soon as I get a minute to download them. Baby Gabey as I've come to call him, had his first check up yesterday. He is 23 1/2" long (almost 2 feet at 2 months) 75% and weighs 9lbs 13oz only 10% so he is already having a build like Michael and Hunter tall and thin!!

I have almost finished the announcements and am currently addressing the envelopes. Just yesterday as I was putting the finishing touches on them all I realized that I had forgotten to put his name anywhere on the announcement!! I guess that's what happens when you get old and have 3 kids. I'm just lucky to be getting announcements out at all, but I really had to since I made hand made announcements for the other boys. I guess later is better than never.

On another note, a friend of mine bought me the first book in the Twilight series. I usually try to avoid main stream anything (books, movies, fads, fashion, etc) with the exception to electronics because those things don't define who I am. I am unique, different and a rebel. Any who, I didn't have any books left in my haven't read stash and began reading this book (my Dad commented unapprovingly, you have time to read with 3 kids?), I read when I am feeding the baby (a little more stimulating than just watching TV). Well during this mornings feeding I got to the part where Edward has just saved Bella from the thugs in Port Angeles and they are in her drive way he says, "do me a favor Bella, don't go into the woods alone"......RING RING RING my phone with this horrible ring tone to signal my Dad is calling starts up and SCARED ME TO DEATH!!! This same friend who gave me the book had text messaged me a ring tone labeled psychosis and it's like in the scary movies when the victim is about to get hurt (reh, reh, reh, high pitched squelches) at least I didn't have that ring tone on!! YIKES.

Okay so back to the boys... sorry I'm all over the place Michael's been out of town all week and I think the sleep deprivation has caught up to me. He usually takes care of the big boys when they wake at night so that I can get some sleep between feedings, so sweet huh! Good thing Hunter has only half day school and goes in the afternoons other wise he would have missed the bus all week. Gabriel has had some trouble with his BM's for two weeks and the doctor advised 2oz of warm water with a tablespoon of Karo syrup, I was skeptical about this remedy but went ahead with the plan and gave him a bottle last night. At 10am this morning we had a blow out, I'm just wondering does this work on big kids too?

No plans for the long weekend (kids are out Friday and Monday for Presidents day and Teacher planning) or Valentines day either. Michael says it's a made up holiday just to get people to spend their money, but I think he's just too cheap. Heck every day should be Valentines day, aren't I worth fine chocolates, diamonds, beautiful flowers, mani's and pedi's, facials and messages too?!! HAHAHAHA that would be the life, but soon would get boring too.

Well that is all that is on my mind right now. Will get those pictures posted soon!

Parent/Teacher Conferences

I know it seems odd to be so excited over parent/teacher conferences when kids are only in preschool but because it's with Hunter I cannot tell you how important these things are to me.

Hunter was "officially" diagnosed with PDD-NOS (Pervasive Development Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified), basically he has many behaviors that fit in the Autism Spectrum but because he doesn't fit exactly into any one category like typical Autism, high functioning Autism, Aspergers or ADHD he has the NOS label. He attends pre-school at the public school where they have a delayed development program for 3 and 4 year olds. Just recently we put him on some medication (our last resort) and his response has been amazing! Thus at parent/teacher conferences Hunter's teacher was so excited about his progress that she was pretty certain that Hunter would be able to attend regular Kindergarten full time.

Early on in the school year Hunter was placed in the regular preschool program 2 days a week while the rest of the week he attended the delayed development preschool. Just prior to putting him on medication we had a meeting with his teachers, they didn't feel like he was having a whole lot of success in regular preschool so they wanted to have him in regular preschool only one day a week while increasing his time at the delayed development program. So having his teacher say that she wishes they would have waited to change things after seeing such major improvements with Hunter and that regular Kindergarten was more than just a possibility was AWESOME!!

We are so thankful for everyone who has been so supportive and helpful with Hunter and in our venture in finding him help. It hasn't been easy, to say the least and at times it can be extremely frustrating but we know how smart Hunter is and we are confident that his successes will be great, we are so blessed to have him in our family. I now have a much better attitude when we go shopping or out to eat and I hear children screaming or having a meltdown in public. Sometimes it is just what it is but other times that child may be having a problem with the many noises, lighting, or any number of things. For me to judge what is going on with that child would be nothing short of ignorance, just because there are no outward signs DOES NOT mean that a child doesn't have a disability. Remember that next time your out and about, because 1 in 150 children have Autism ( from very mild to extreme, the spectrum is so large). If your not sure about what Autism is or your perception is skewed by movies like "Rain Man" check out the web site http://www.autismspeaks.org/!

Gabriel's 1 month birthday!

After our big day in OKC

At the grocery store taking in the cool trucks!!

Dad was pretty excited about the trucks too!

Monster Truck Jam
Pops

OK Science Museum, of course Hunter found the self face painting station

and blue being his FAVORITE color, went a little crazy

View from the elevator
@ Sam Noble Museum

Dino's

A few weeks ago we found out that the Monster Trucks were going to be at a grocery store to see and take pictures of, so we headed to Broken Arrow so the boys could check out the big trucks, the next day Michael won 2 tickets off the radio for the actual Monster Truck Rally so Hunter and him enjoyed an evening of boy fun together. We also went to Oklahoma City (OKC) to take in some museums with the kiddies a couple of weeks later. One was the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History (Dinosaurs) and the other was the Oklahoma Science Museum, both of which were VERY cool. Michael really wants to go back to the science museum by himself since the boys were running everywhere we didn't hardly get to take in all the exibits which were so varied from earth science, to astrology, one section all about drilling for oil, and tons of physics and the like. We were there for 3 hours and by the time the boys slowed down to where we could really take stuff in the place closed down!! It was dark by the time we left and took a small detour to Arcadia, Ok just NE of OKC to a place called Pops on Route 66. It's a 50's style gas station/soda shop and they have over 500 different types of soda pop. VERY COOL. They must have pretty good food too because it was standing room only with a huge waiting list at the soda shop.

Starting Out

Gabriel Michael Andrews

Okay, I've been keeping tabs on my cousins and their family blogs for the last year or so and now that I am sort of in the know and have a new baby with lots of family and friends that don't live nearby I wanted to be able to share the going-ons and new photos of all the boys on a more personal level than facebook or my space. Especially since most of my family isn't on either of those.

Two big THANKS go out to Cassy and Melissa for starting their blogs and letting me get to know their families since we don't get to see each other except at an occational wedding and/or funeral!!

Things have gone by so fast these last few months with.....Elections, Thanksgiving, a visit from my folks, Hunter's tonselectomy, Michael's mother coming to help w/the boys, Michael's surgery, having a baby, Christmas, along with a visit from my brother and his family, the New Year and now Tax returns!! And yes, the baby is already a month old!!! I have yet to even send out baby announcements and because of the plan to do so I didn't send Christmas or New Year's cards because of all that was going on. I have all the stuff to make such cute announcements (which I have to make even if he is 6 months old before I get them sent, because I hand made 40+ announcements for both Hunter's and Samuel's births) but with 3 boys home most of the day (Hunter is in school 1/2 a day) I can barely get my normal work around the house done let alone get some crafting done. I have a quilt top ready to be basted and quilted together, along with scrapbooking which I am SO behind on it's not even funny!! Then there is keeping up with taking photos both candid and posed. So what am I thinking starting a blog!!! I don't know but at least I will get some pictures out to family and friends since I'm not so good about that.

I hope all of you who read, enjoy this blog and keep tabs on the family so you can see the boys grow, because they are getting so big so very fast.