Whoa! It's a Christmas Miracle!

 

I don’t even know how to begin this update.  It has almost been 1 year since I have updated!  What? How did this happen?  I literally have thought about updating it every week during this past year too.  I guess this just  goes to show how busy we have been.  I’m either too busy to update or  when I do have an hour I either choose to clean, cook or take a nap. 

 

Well my last entry was about hockey and we are back at it again – Easton started again about 1 month ago.  He sure has improved from last year too.  I just love watching him play.  Jake told me I’m going to be the stereotypical hockey mom.  Don’t mess with my kid I tell ya!   Unbelievable how some kids act at this age.  Fighting because they aren’t as good or slashing or he has been made fun of for wearing glasses while playing.  We had him try wearing glasses this year and I think it heps him be more aggressive.  HE CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHERE HE’S GOING!  Imagine that! J 

 

 He has started Kindergarten… ya know, about 4 months ago!  Ugh! This is embarrassing to update this late because so much has happened.  He absolutely loves Kindergarten!   The end of the year in preschool ended pretty rough.  We were very close to pulling him out towards the end because there were so many horrible things happening.  All within 1 week Easton was punched in the back, pushed off the top of a slide and kicked in the face.  What?  Preschool?  Not to mention the horrible things he was learning from some of those kids.  It literally took about 5 months for us to reverse what he learned there.  Of course kids pick up bad things from other students ut these were pretty outrageous behaviors for a preschooler.  He still has his moments occasionally but that’s just part of growing up.  Kindergarten has been nothing but great for Easton.  Right from the start – he decided to ride the bus the first day of school.  I was extremely nervous about this.  I even drove to his scool to make sure he was ok and that he arrived.  He doesn’t know that I did this.  Once I saw him standing in line on the playground I left.  Otherwi parents stook around while teir kids cried and I didn’t want Easton to do tis.  I picked him up from school his first day.  That night he asked if I was going to pick him up again and he told me he wants to ride the bus home instead.  I guess that’s a good sign but again, I was nervous (like always).  How would he know where to get off? Which bus to ride?  But, somehow he did it.  I am in awe of how much he navigated on his own those first ew days.  Very proud of him.  He did tell me when he wasn’t sure about something, like where to line up on the playground – so I’m glad he feels comfortable enough to tell me so he doesn’t wander on his own.   He made friends easily as well.  Another Mom even told me that her son had a very difficult start but Easton made it better by being firneds with him. J  That sure made me proud!  Academically he’s doing great as well.  His teacher said he’s the best ready  in his class, by far.  He’s reading at about a 3^rd grade level.  He’s almost mastered all the skills he needs to before the end of the year.   I sure hope his love for school and learning continues for many many years.  I’ve never met anywone who wasnts to learn everything about everything.  It’s wonderful – but I sure to make a lot of stuff up when he asks about things I don’t have a clue!  Haha What a great mom ;) 

 

Easton had a great summer in our new house.  It was great being home with him every day for 6 weeks.  He was in basketball, baseball, ninja and he went swimming almost every nice day (and not so nice day) in our neighborhood pool.  He has become quite the fish.  We stopped swimming lessons at the beginning o fthe summer because he was swimming every day in our ppool and he’s mastered swimming.  We will probably start up again before next summer just for a refresher course.  He also got his tubes out of his ears in September which was a minor surgery but he wasn't able to dunk his head under water for 6 weeks.  So, that also put a stop to the lessons.  We also BOUGHT A BOAT a few months ago.  So, those swimming lessons will still come in handy that way too as a refresher.  Now we need to get Raya signed up for them.  Hopefully the kids aren't as terrified of boats this summer as they were last.  They would both scream if you went over 2 mph.  I guess they'll have to get over the fear real quick since we own one now. 

 

Easton has fighting with his sister down to an art!  Those to love each other and boy to they also love to get on eachothers nerves.    So there is lots of screaming going on some times.  If Easton is chasing Raya and sheS screaming that shes’ scared.  Oh boy!  Easton has also made some friends n our neighborhood which is great.  A couple of kisd on his hockey team this year live in our neighborhood and also go to school with him.   This is when I’m glad that we moved (among other reasons, of course).  But it’s nice to be in a neighborhood with lots of kids and that all go to the same school as well.  We are still working on him coming out of his shell a little bit.  He is super shy around the girls and of course that’s all how live right next to us is about 6 girls s age.  He will love it when he’s older though! Haha oh boy! 

 

 Easton’s favaorite things:

Learning

iPad

spelling


playing outside (he spent many hours riding his bike around the block this summer)


hockey


school

His sister

Gatorade

Treats


His Mommy J I hope this one never goes on his “dislike” list


Tator tot hotdish


Reading


Playing tic-tac-toe


Playing any kid of board game or card game


"battling"


Well, Now I will try to upload a million pictures to help capture this last year.  I really hope to write again before next December.  Obviously, I can't make that promise though... 

 

 

 

Hockey Star

I went to Easton's hockey game last weekend with Auntie Mary.  It had been about 2 weeks since I've watched him play (Raya will sit still for about 10 minutes....while I shove fruit snacks in her mouth... and then she will not stop going up and down the stairs so it's next to impossible to watch him).  Anyways, I was/am SO incredibly impressed with how much he improved - and I thought he was great 2 weeks ago.  I know, I know, I am biased because I am his Mother and I adore him and of course he's the best in my eyes.  But seriously, this kid has some mad skills for a 4 year (almost 5) old.  He was skating fast, passing the puck to his teammates, scoring goals (even backhand), stopping on a dime, hopping around on those skates like it's nothing and he has some mad stick handling skills.  He's going to be skating circles around these mites next year.  Very proud of him - he really listens to Jake when they're out practicing together.  This wasn't the best winter to utilize the ice rink in our neighborhood but they did get out a few times.  His love for hockey has exploded since he joined mites this year!  

Another skill he's really excelled at in the past month is reading.  He has picked up on it so fast.  He started out by reading the books Grandma Cathy makes and then moved on to Dr. Seuss books and now he'll pick up any book in the house and read it.  Of course there's words we still need to help him with but every day he surprises me with new words he can read.  It's really fun when we're driving and he'll read sings on buildings or the side of the road.  Grandma Cathy thinks he's reading at about the end of 1st grade level.  If you ask Easton he'll say he's reading like a 5th grader :)  He sure makes me proud! 

Easton absolutely loves Raya.  I will catch him saying things to her when they're playing like "you're so sweet" and "I love you, Raya."  Melts my heart!  Of course he's also a pro at picking on her but that's what big brothers are for.  They both fight for attention and Easton loves to be the boss of Raya - not surprising because he does not like it that Mom and Dad are the boss of him.  Hmmm.... rebelling against authority... who could he ever have gotten that from?  

I can't believe he is going to be 5 years old in 2 weeks.  I also can't believe we have Kindergarten round-up in a month!  So crazy to start thinking about Kindergarten.  Hopefully it won't be too much of a change for him since he's doing all day preschool right now.  I'm really hoping that one of his preschool friends will be attending the same elementary school as him.  I think that would really help his transition to a new school.  He's already talking about riding the bus to school which makes me incredibly nervous.  We only live 1.2 miles from the school so he wouldn't ride it long or far but I would still be paranoid if he made it to school and if he got off the bus at the right stop and if he made it to his classroom.  I will be crazy mom following the school bus and hiding in the bushes outside of the school to make sure it went OK.  (I'm not joking... this will probably happen).  I know that once Kindergarten starts the years are just going to be a whirlwind.  They've already whizzed by but I feel like once they start elementary school it's just a blink of an eye before they're in middle school and then dreaded high school and then (break moms heart) off to college!  Although he has expressed to me multiple times that he is going to live with me at home forever.  He doesn't want to move away.  I'm okay with that - for now! :)  

Preschool has been going great for him.  I think he gets pretty tired from it though.  There's some days that we start bath time around 6:30 because he's so exhausted.  But he needs that constant go-go-go throughout the day to burn off all his energy.  When I pick him up at 4, he's in the gym still running around like a wild man.  Where does he get this energy?  We're also pretty certain he doesn't have a future in medicine (at least not as as doctor).  At one point this year Easton cut his finger at school with a scissors - a very minor cut - and this teacher emailed me asking if he has an aversion to blood because he got super pale and upset about it.  Another strange thing - a friend of his threw up at the lunch table and Easton wouldn't eat for 2 weeks at school and was very upset about it if anyone asked him to talk about it.  They ended up moving him to a different table and he was able to eat again.  We think he was too terrified that the kid was going to throw up again that he wouldn't eat his food.  And about a week ago another student threw up in the classroom and the teacher emailed me saying Easton was very upset about this and all he wanted was his Mom.  Well, that night when he got home we talked about it and then he threw up.  So, at first we thought he must have gotten this stomach bug as well.  But he was not acting sick in any other way.  Just complained of his tummy hurting...this went on for about a week.  I think he just can't handle seeing other people get sick.  Again, I think he get's this from me.  Hospitals terrify me.  Sorry buddy. 

We're still going gluten free with him.  He's been acting out a bit more lately but I think he's just going through a phase of testing us and also a mixture of exhaustion.  He's definitely a champ at talking back to his Mom and Dad.  That is something we've been really struggling with.  Maybe someday he'll get the concept but he just does not like to be told what to do.  But the meltdowns are much quicker and he's able to calm down faster - as opposed to when he was filled with gluten - there was no calming him down... it took hours.  

He's still wearing his glasses and never complains about having to wear them.  I take this as meaning they must be really helping him.  He even occasionally asks to put them on if he's not wearing them  But he typically wears them all day every day....unless he's playing hockey or battling with Dad.

Easton is so funny - the things that come out of his mouth on a daily basis are hilarious! Now he's starting to make-up his own Knock-knock jokes which are ridiculous and almost always involve poop.  Boys!  

Things Easton loves:

• Hockey
• Raya
• Cereal
• Riding his bike
• Reading
• Learning new things - he's constantly asking a million questions
• Swimming lessons 
• Battling with Dad
• Cuddling with Mom and Raya 
• iPad
• Monster Trucks
• Super heroes 

Easton does not love:

• Bedtime
• Being alone in a room or going anywhere in the house alone 
• Being told he can't do something
• Meatloaf (I've tried to trick him so many times into eating it... never works)

This will be my last post before this gets turned into a new book for Easton. I really hope I can get better at updating this blog.  I'm sure he'll be 5 the next time you hear from me.  :)

Ice Castles

Easton loved going down the slides at the Ice Castles

Ice Castles

Wild game 

Warn out after the Wild game

In awe...

Adult night out

Outdoor hockey practice

Outdoor hockey practice 

So much love for Raya

Gymnastics with Dad (wait...shouldn't Mom be doing this?)

Easton LOVES his baby sister

Making valentines 

Shaking hands with the other team

He's a natural

Hockey game

Bath time fun

Pretending to take a nap

Cuties 

Yes, he's holding a mirror.  Yes, he's investigating his nipple.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Hero's in a half shell

Watching a movie

Sister wearing big brothers (clean) underwear

Oh Charles 

Out for a bike ride on a warm February day

A valentine a girl in Easton's class made for him

Still loves to wear his halloween costume from when he was 2

poop bugs

"Poop bugs" - This is the name of the book that Easton wrote with Grandma Cathy.  That's normal, right?  haha... BOYS!  Grandma Cathy taught Easton to read and writes easy reader stories.  Well, Easton finished all of Grandma's books and decided he wanted to write his own.  When he spent the night at their house recently he sat down with Grandma and wrote his very first book and he wanted to call it, "poop bugs."  What's it about you ask?  Well, of course it's about a dog that pooped in the yard and bugs crawled all over it and now they are poop bugs.  The pictures are pretty good too.  Speaking of reading - this boy is a pro!  He can read a 64 page Dr. Seuss book like it's nothing.  He's always reading signs when we're driving or at a store.  

Easton's been doing great with his glasses too.  Frequently even asking to put them on.  When we had a check-up at the eye doctor in December the Dr. was very impressed with how much better he can see with them.  He said he'll need to wear them until we re-check in October.  I'm guessing he'll need them for awhile.  

We decided to go completely gluten free with Easton over winter break.  We did this awhile back and noticed huge improvements to his behavior but then we fell off the bandwagon and he started eating it all the time again.  Well, his tantrums were getting pretty out of control and he would make comments like "I can't stop crying, I don't know why I'm crying etc... etc..."  He would get soooo worked up and then it took a good hour to calm him down again. We noticed it got much worse if he had gluten.  So, since he was going to be home with me for 2 weeks straight I figured that would be a perfect time to try completely clear it from his diet.  Well, let me tell you - he's a brand new kid.  Of course he still throws fits...he's 4...he's still going to get upset and frustrated just like any other 4 year old but he doesn't get so out of control that it takes an hour to bring him back to reality.  So, we decided to make sure this continues when school started back up.  We pack his lunch every day and bring snacks to school - along with breakfast.  Yes, it's a TON of work for me.  But so worth it.  I can't imagine how much better he feels and how much clearer he must be able to think.  

Easton is doing so great in school too.  His teacher always comments on how much she loves having him in class... along with all the before and after school aids... they always comment on what a great kid he is.  Easton won't hold back either.. he'll tell me he's the best one in his class and the nicest! ha :)  I think he has a girlfriend too.  One day I picked him up from school and he was in the gym and had his arm around his friend, Fiona.  I asked him if Fiona was his girlfriend and he said, "no, but she thinks she is."  haha - who is this kid?  He cracks me up!  

He also started playing mites hockey this winter. Jake is his coach - so it's double the fun to go watch.  However, with Raya it's pretty impossible to watch.. but we try.  They like to have his practices eat 7am - so Raya and I don't make it to many.  He's getting so good at skating though.  Whenever they have games he's always the only one on his team to score and he scores a lot!  He's not the fastest all the time but he sure knows how to work his way to the net with the puck.  

He still loves our new house and if we joke that we're moving back he'll get upset and tell us that our old house was "terrible." haha  However, he's still terrified to go in any room that we're not in.  He was like this at our old house and we were hoping for a change once we moved - but not yet.  He likes the comfort of having us with him at all times.  Which we need to embrace, I think, it wont be long before he wants nothing to do with us.  

Easton's favorites lately:

• monster trucks
• playing hockey (ice hockey or hockey with Dad in the basement)
• battling with Dad (more like beating the crap out of Dad)
• Raya
• Reading 
• Mom tucking him in. Don't even try it, Dad... it's not going to happen.  

Bonfire on Christmas

Building a pop can robot 

Danger!

Easton being a good sport about Raya wanting to sit in his chair

Our Family's footware

Our stockings all hung in a row... Who's picture is on the mantle?  

1st day of hockey

Christmas 

The big kids

Picture perfect 

Reading with Grandma Cathy

He's got Ups

Christmas morning 

So happy he got his monster truck

This is the face I get whenever I tell him to smile 

Hugs for Grandma

Harry sitting in the same highchair that Grandpa Tom did 

Hemmah cousins 

The hockey crew 

Mary carries on Eddie's annual Christmas present for Jake.  This time it's "used" boxers from Bruce! haha

Jake reading us all a Christmas story

Oh it's Rudolph....  or Rufus.. or Jake 

Best gift ever from Auntie Mary .... PIEFACE

Twister with Grandpa 

Yes, he's playing hide-n-seek with me.... yes, he's the one hiding 

Taking a break from shoveling over winter break

hot coco after shovveling

Easton's  super fans at his first hockey game

Gretta made Easton a sign!  So cute :) 

Picture with great grandma marie on Thanksgiving 

Holy Moly I love this kid :) And I think he loves me too....  mamasboy :) 

Super fun time at his first Wild Game with Grandpa,  Grandma and Mary