Spring-time

We're currently experiencing the "showers" part of springtime this Cinco de Mayo. Thus far, 2013 spring weather has been quite varied. It snowed during spring break:

Harding got to use this nifty snowball shaper that Uncle Stephen and Aunt Cambridge gave him for Christmas.

Shelby Frances WALKING in the snow for the first time! She loved it!

Playing outside when its cold and snowy calls for a warm bubble baths:

The yucky un-spring-like weather provided Trip and me with time to catch up on movies we wanted to see and some antiquing. We bought these chairs for the dining room table at the new house: 

We plan to have chairs on one side and a wooden bench on the other. My father-in-law is making us the table. :)

But then the sun (sort of) came out in time for Easter weekend. My long-time friend Emily came to visit. We got some hiking in AND we visited a few of the Asheville breweries:

Burney and Shelby enjoyed some quality snuggle time during the church service Easter Sunday:

We had some absolutely gorgeous days in April. Shelby got to have a PT session outside at the park (which is good because Harding gets to enjoy himself there too). And we've had OT out on the front porch a few times. Shelby is working on throwing the ball with both hands and then catching it when Harding rolls it to her....we are trying to encourage more reciprocal play. I love this picture of her and Adam:

Now that my THREE grad classes are over this semester (never again), I'm coming out of a four-month blogging and social hiatus and we're looking forward to lots of family and friends time outside. We're off to eat Mexican food with friends now for Cinco de Mayo...

IEP update

Its been a year since Shelby started Head Start and it has been such a positive experience for her. She has flourished over the past year and it is a testament to Shelby herself--and the dedication and hard work of her teachers and therapists. Last Monday, Trip and I met with Shelby's teachers and therapists to update her IEP (individual education plan). It was wonderful to sit for an hour with Shelby's team and share our hopes and dreams for her and to hear the specific goals that everyone has for her to achieve in the next year for vision, math, reading readiness, OT, PT, and speech. This next year is crucial for Shelby as she prepares for kindergarten and I am glad that she will be in the same classroom with all of the same people working with her. By the way, check out the great use of "lefty" in the photo above (taken by my friend Megan who works for the school system). 

Puppy Love

We've missed having a dog around the house. Two weeks ago, Trip and I had a moment of temporary insanity and decided to adopt this sweet adorable puppy. Rocky's mom was pregnant when a boxer rescue group took her in and Rocky is one of her 8 pups. We love that he's half boxer....it reminds us of our Bailey. It has been fun watching the kids enjoying this puppy too. Harding is smitten with him.

And Rocky is starting to grow on Shelby. She loves petting him, but gets pretty mad when he takes her baby dolls out of their stroller.

So far, Rocky seems like a laid back dog. On Friday night at Matt and Ashlee's, Rocky tolerated being pushed around the house in Landen's toy car....it was pretty cute.

Tuckered out after playing hard!

Next week he starts puppy training classes...should be entertaining!

Shelby Frances 2012

Shelby's 2012 Pre-School Picture

This is by far the best picture Shelby has taken in a couple years and it captures her saucy 3-a-half-year-old personality to a tee! I can't look at this picture without smiling at her little half-smile. Shelby has been walking since the end of summer, but is now starting to initiate it on her own more. She will go short distances between pieces of furniture around our house by herself when she is after something like a particular toy, book, or the iPod. We're actually having to rearrange a few things, so that Shelby can't get to them now that she is into everything within reach. She'll also walk long distances when we are holding one of her hands.

Her favorite toy is still her little wooden piano. We have it sitting on top of the train table and she will stand there and tap away at the piano for over an hour and dance to the music she makes. She is intentional about what she plays and some of it actually sounds pretty good. Trip and I would love to get her a real piano one day and I can see her taking lessons eventually. Shelby has been very into music for a long time and wants it to be playing at all times. She yells for us to turn it on when it stops, "Waaant Mooosic!" and prefers it to have a beat. We are still working on getting her to ask nicely and say please. Her vocabulary improves every day and she can be very demanding and specific about the things she wants, like cookies to eat or wanting to hear Paul Simon. She requests his songs Kodachrome and Graceland several times a day. When she is not playing her piano and bouncing and swaying to music, she is playing with one of her baby dolls or turning pages in her books.

I think that Shelby is going through a growth spurt. She has shot up this fall, and is looking like she'll be tall and skinny like her big brother. She eats constantly and the days when I was worried sick about getting her to chew and swallow anything without choking seem like forever ago.

Shelby has a great sense of humor and absolutely loves to make us laugh with her silliness. She is very good at mimicking people and teases us constantly with her imitations of people's idiosyncrasies. She can yell, "Trip" and sound exactly like me trying to get Trip's attention from a different room and knows how to cough and clear her throat exactly the way Trip does. She thinks its hilarious to shout, "What the heck" and she says "bummer" in a perfect mimic of my Aunt Dearing's voice every time she sees her.

We took away Shelby's pacifier at the beginning of Christmas break, and it feels like she has grown out of being our baby overnight. She is transitioning into being a big-girl, but luckily, she is still the best little snuggler in the world. I absolutely treasure bed time and the couple minutes after she wakes up in the morning because she will snuggle close with her head in the crook of my neck being still and sweet. 

Harding 2012

Harding's Kindergarten School Picture (Fall 2012)

Harding is now 6-years-old. Recently at school, he realized that he could read by himself. He brought his teacher the book he was reading at the time (The Mitten) and proudly read it to her without a hitch. She sent Harding to the principal with the book and a "positive office referral". Harding got to read the book out loud to the principal and she recognized him over the intercom during afternoon announcements. Mrs. McClure informed Trip and me that The Mitten is a 2nd grade book (I realize that I am shamelessly bragging about my child, but this is my blog and I can brag here if I want to). Anyway, Harding is very much into reading on his own right now and since Trip and I are both bookworms ourselves, we could not be happier about this development.

He is also interested in drawing, coloring, and writing notes and he will spend hours sitting at the table working on pictures of superheroes, Star Wars characters, vampires, and scenes from Harry Potter. Speaking of Harry Potter, we just finished reading the first book to him, and watched the movie together as a family last week. Harding absolutely loved it, but I think we will wait another year before reading any more of that series since it is a bit scary.

Harding is also very active physically these days. He's always been fairly uncoordinated, but seems to have figured out to move around in his own body and control it a little better this year. He loves to ride bikes with his neighbor buddies and he is constantly running, jumping, and kicking around the house practicing his ninja moves (complete with sound effects). We signed Harding up for basketball this winter, and he has loved going to practices and learning how to shoot the ball and dribble. He is still figuring it out, but loves every second of being there with his buddies and running around. The games start in January and should be interesting. Harding is pretty laid back and seems to love participating in whatever comes his way. He is still the sweetest older brother I have ever seen. He helps Shelby (and us) in countless ways and delights in making her laugh or snuggling with her on the couch and reading to her. I am starting to see why they say Kindergarten through 4th grade is the golden age of childhood. We are certainly enjoying Harding at this age.