Busy Week

What an adjustment school has been!!  I knew it would be a change for everyone but we have never been so happy to see Saturday come, and it was only a three day week this week!  Next week will be Chase's first full week of school and I'm sure by Friday we are all going to be exhausted.  School will definitely get a little easier when the carpool line begins for the older kids... at least I won't have to have us all presentable as we head out the door in the morning.  All I will have to worry about is Chase and then by the time we pick him up I will have been able to get the other boys out of pajamas and ready for the day! :)  What a great start to school though... Chase loves his teachers and has made some friends in his class.  He took snacks on Friday so he was the line leader and the flag holder.  He was so proud and took his job very seriously!  I have gotten great reports from his teachers each day... I think they have already fallen in love with Chase just like his Cubbies and Sunday School teachers do. :)

We are going on a week and a half of no thumb sucking for Jacob.  I wasn't quite sure he was ready to quit... I sure wasn't ready for him to quit but Daddy was!  The first night we tried the ace bandage wrapped around his hand with medical tape holding it in place but it lasted all of sixty seconds before he took it off (I don't really blame him, those ace bandages are not all that comfortable on skin!).  So we came up with plan B... a sock on his right hand (he only sucks sucked his right thumb so we didn't have to worry about his left hand) and we secured it with a little bit of the medical tape at the top to keep it from falling off in the middle of the night. Plan B worked and he has done great!  The first few days he wasn't sleeping his normal but finally adjusted and has learned to snuggle his bear-bears real tight to his face and this seems to work.  A few times I would forget to put his sock on and he would come out and remind us.  We have gone two days now without the sock and I think (knock on wood) the habit is broken.  At least I'm hoping the habit is broken!  If not, at least now we know the sock works... we'll just have to do it for longer. 

Daddy even drew a little picture for Jacob. Since this didn't work he took that tape with the picture on it and it now has a home (a temporary home) on the back on Jacob's chair at the table....just a little visual reminder that he can see throughout the day :)

Luke is changing more and more every day.  He is still my little peanut but he is getting so grown up.  He has no desire to walk (which is totally fine with me!) and is still loving his sleep.  Before school started he had gotten into a really nice routine of going to bed at 7 at night and not waking up for the day until 10-10:30 the next morning.  The child can sleep!!  Now with the new school routine of being out of the house by 8:30 or so he is on a more normal routine of waking up at a reasonable time and taking two naps a day.  I am not buying baby food anymore with the exception of what he eats for breakfast.  Since Jacob was little Gerber has come out with some new combinations that I love... lots of fruit combined with cereals.  With the big boys I would make them pears and oatmeal for breakfast... starting as soon as they could eat solids until Chase grew out of it around 3.  These combinations are perfect for a quick breakfast!

Luke LOVES the dog.  He is always climbing on her and she is such a good sport.  I took Luke for a walk this morning and took Sam with us... he watched her the entire time we were out and at times I would look and he was holding on to her leash as if he was walking her.  Charles is always on me to make sure I get plenty of pictures of the boys with the dog... she is starting to get up there in age even though she still acts like a puppy.  She is such a great dog... I don't think we'll ever be able to find a dog as good as Sam.  I'm hoping for many more years with her around... I just wish she didn't shed as much as she does! :)