Updates


I've really been an absentee blogger lately, and I know I've admitted this faulty behavior before. I won't even bother trying with half-hearted apologies this time; my loyal readers know it won't change the frequency of my posts. But since it's been so long, I promise to fill this one with great details about the babies and their recent adventures.


We're all just trying to keep our heads above water right now. With another school year came quite a few changes in our house. Given that Lucy and Quinn attend one school with relatively short hours (as far as preschools go) and Atticus is now in 1st grade at our neighborhood public school, the logistics of getting everyone where they need to be in the vast sprawl of Houston became impossible and I decided to teach part-time. I honestly though the transition would be a smooth one. I'll finally get to see my kids' teachers every day! I'll have so much extra time to run errands and make lunches and do laundry! I'll have less grading and an easier schedule! To be fair, all of these things are true, but it doesn't truly make my new schedule any easier than my previous, full-time schedule (which, I should add, was only feasible thanks to help from our nanny extraordinaire, who I'm missing terribly these days). Turns out, I'm a better teacher than chauffeur. The 60 miles a day I clock driving everyone where they need to be is taking a toll on my sanity and, in the end, the hours available to do all my other chores are just as meager as they were last year. I won't even touch the topic of part-time teacher pay...I'm pretty sure I could make more money flipping burgers. That said, I am a more present fixture in my kids' lives, which is the most important part of this change. And the joy I see when I pick them up from a school, a rare privilege in years past, makes it all worthwhile.

So enough about me...you guys are here for the kids and I like to give the people what they want...


Lucy:

Little Miss Sassy Pants
Ah, Lucy. She is simultaneously my greatest joy and my biggest challenge. This girl's got OPINIONS. And she insists on keeping up with her brothers, so there's no slowing her down. Her personality and intelligence, coupled with her doe eyes, dimples, and curls means that this is a girl who will know how to get what she wants. And that's utterly terrifying if she's anything like I was between the ages of 16 and 22 33. Despite these fears, I also don't worry too much about her. She's a smart and fierce little thing, and will stiff-arm her brothers if they get too close. Her language is emerging ahead of schedule and one of her favorite activities is to walk into a room and point to and list all the items in it. But her absolute favorite thing to do is to bring me a stack of books, cuddle up in my lap, and insist that I read each of them at least 20 times. I have a sneaking suspicion that she'll be reading them to us before too long.

Quinn: 

Paging Dr. Quinn
Mr. Indepedent. This boy doesn't want help from anyone and that includes when he's running full speed across a busy parking lot, strapping into a carseat, or pouring his own juice. His speech is slowly but surely improving, but he still has a long way to go, so he gets frustrated when he can't communicate his needs or wants. This has taken quite a toll on the entire family, to be honest, as his defiance is both very loud and very time-consuming. But I can't be frustrated with him when I witness him becoming so frustrated with himself. We had a speech therapist for years who moved away last December and we never replaced her. Therapy is expensive and we didn't feel it was a good use of our time or money for what we were getting, but now that his speech is so severely delayed, we're back into looking at our [very limited with my terrible insurance] options. This time, though, we want to find a therapist who can focus on his oral motor development. Quinn's vocabulary is rather extensive, but his low muscle tone makes it difficult to understand him. For example, "juice" is "oos" and his favorite tv show, "The Lion Guard" is "gine gad". No one outside of our family would understand him, and that's a concern, especially as more language emerges. We need to find a therapist who can work on helping him develop the muscle tone and proper tongue and lip placement to make intelligible sounds. Hopefully we find someone soon and, when we do, I'll report his improvements here.

Atticus: 

It's been fun to watch Atticus's talents emerge this year and we've learned that he's a math whiz, a reluctant reader, and has blossomed into quite the musician. He  started piano lessons this summer and is learning to read music and can play a song independently with only the sheet music in front of him. It's pretty impressive, to say the least, and something I'm so glad we're encouraging. Music is always playing in our house, whether it's vinyl on a Sunday morning, a mid-week dance party fueled by Spotify playlists, or Mom, Dad, and a guitar. It's so exciting to add Atticus behind a piano to that domestic soundtrack, and I'm looking forward to the day when we can all play together. Here's a glimpse of him practicing his "Halloween Song." I love the way he sings the keys names aloud as he plays.



All in all, we're hanging in there and ready for the chaos of a new school year to slow down (you know, just in time for the chaos of the holidays to ramp up). Thanks for stopping in and I'll be sure to update more often. So tune in next time, same bat time, same bat channel.

Comments

  1. Great pictures! Glad they're all doing well.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Your son is beautiful.... My foster brother suffers from Alcohol Foetal Syndrome. I watch people stare at him when we're out and about, yes it makes me angry but I know it's human nature to stare and watch things that are different, my brother has his own personality, qualities able being don't have.... your son is absolutely beautiful, he reminded me of my cousin when she was younger, just a beautiful ray of sunshine she was.... thanks for sharing your sharing your story.... haters will always hate.... you've got a precious gem, named Quinn...

    Have a lovely day ����

    ReplyDelete
  3. Your children are beautiful- as ALL children are. Even and maybe especially Quinn. I read the article posted about the trolls. I cannot for the life of me figure out Why there are people like that. And maybe you have heard it before but I wanted to say that I truly think he is beautiful, not the 'U' word (absolutely disallowed in my house, except about behavior).
    All the best to you and your family.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just want to say that even though your son has down syndrome he is handsome as ever and just so adorable. God bless

    ReplyDelete
  5. You have a beautiful son. Some ppl. Are just stupid. Please keep your head up I lost my little nice three days before her graduation from high school. She had a touch of down syndrome we miss her dearly one of the most sweetest children you ever made in your life. So let your son know so many people out here who loves him. So just let him hold his head high for he is special

    ReplyDelete
  6. You should be commended my dear , you have three very beautiful children and the knowledge that they will have beautiful hearts will go a long way, as for Internet trolls who have UGLY hearts and obviously not capable of love or compassion need to be ignored.
    God blessed you with 3 miracles , trolls comments are not worth a 2nd thought . All the best for the future
    ������������

    ReplyDelete
  7. Wow was just reading your story. Your 3 children are beautiful. I hate that people can be ugly and mean behind a computer and sadly in person.
    I have a very soft spot for kids with down syndrome....prob because my first memory was when I was in the Navy as a corpsman and this beautiful baby girl was born with Downs syndrome...when she was cleaned up the drs informed her that het daughter had the classic features of down syndrome..so when she was cleaned and I put a pink bow on her soft baby hair. She was adorable and I hurried into the room to hand tjis mom her 1st child...she push my hand away...i was in shock and thought mistake I startled her...again I said I have your baby girl do you want to hold her...and she looked at me and said no I dint even want to see her. I was just 19 and i could not close my mouth that just hung open. Was this a joke. No she didnt want to look or hold this precious baby. I walked back to the nursery with tears as I snuggled this lil one. The corpsman never set her down..we were there on our time off...we wanted this baby to know love right away. I had no idea what might be ahead for her but her start was so horrible to me I can never remember that feeling over 30 years ago. Social services came and took her 4 days later...they were waiting for the husband to be sent home before they moved her...we loved her each day and all signed a blanket to go with her. I dont know what happened to that lil girl but I pray she was adopted by a loving couple. As a mom I dodnt have testing because zi didnt care .... I was having a baby and would wait for the gift God chose for me. I think God knew you were the right mommy for your handsome man.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular Posts