Boston is 6 months old!

 We've had 6 months with our little Boston now, which is kind of hard to believe! Time really does fly. He's a big boy, weighing in at 19lbs, which is in the 75th percentile. He is already sitting up on his own so well without even a pillow behind him needed. He rolls all around the floor, looking for things to play with. He loves toys, especially his giraffe! He can get out of his bumbo chair if he's not strapped in, and we've now moved him to a high chair for eating. He eats any pureed foods right now, although he isn't super aggressive about eating. We started around 5 months giving him baby cereals, sweet potatoes, etc. and have now moved on to blending our dinners (which he seems to like more!). He eats the little baby crackers, but if I ever give him chunks of food to eat, he just spits it out. He still loves to breastfeed, even through the night. We put his bassinet in our closet and that's where he sleeps and naps now. I'm gonna have to do something about his sleeping soon, because I am up so many times in the night I can't even count. It's definitely been an exhausting few months!! 

He is so worth it though, and I've really been enjoying my last baby! I love going in the bath with him because he just completely relaxes and snuggles with me...it's one of my favorite things to do. He also laughs a lot now when he gets tickled or just at random things his siblings do! His first tooth just popped out and it's been bugging him a little bit I think. Other than waking up so much in the night, he is just the sweetest boy!

Back to School

We had about 2 weeks before school started after we came home from the cabins. We took that time to get all the dentist and eye appointments done, and haircuts for the boys. We also made sure we had as much fun with friends as we could! We went to Treehouse, had playdates, waffle party at our house, and lots of park dates. We went to a pancake breakfast at the Seton chapel opening with bouncy castles, and Jeff and I went on lots of dates! We also started going to church for the full 2 hours, which seemed weird because we hadn't done that in our own ward for a while. It was awesome, although I was usually stuck in nursery with Leo who won't let me leave. Because of covid, he's not used to being away from me! Also, Bentley and Deacon are obsessed with Lego now, as well as minecraft. We had a good couple of weeks and then I think we were all ready for school to start!

Bentley and Deacon were excited to finally be together at Red Deer Lake school! 

Bentley is going into grade 2 and is so ready. She already reads and writes so well, loves art, science, gym and playing on the playground. She is great at the monkey bars and also loves her friends! She loves writing notes to people, organizing her own pretend school at home where she is the teacher, and playing barbies. She likes going to bed late, so waking up early for school isn't always her favorite thing, but she does it anyway and I'm really proud of her! She is taking piano again this year and starting basketball (we'll see how it goes). This year she is in a combined class of all the grade 2's, and her teachers are Mrs. Bilotta and Mrs. Hinton. Her best friends are Violet, Presley, Jersey, Penny, Truett, and Sienna. Her favorite color changed to purple. I'll also add that she has become the best big sister and is so so helpful! She's learned to clean the bathroom (even the toilet), make her own sandwiches and lots of other things, and carry Boston around entertaining him. She teaches Deacon lots of things and is helping him learn to read and write. 

I was so excited for Deacon to go to Kindergarten because he was just so ready, and was used to the school playground and Bentley's friends there. He would often come with me to pick her up and play at the playground for a bit, and Bentley's friends just love him! He is always the one that finds the bugs and has a whole circle of kids gathered around him to see what he found. He is the sweetest kid I know! Always worried about how others are feeling and trying to be fair to everyone. 

He is starting Kindergarten with Mrs. Ozimko, who I just love and adore from when she taught Bentley. He has Violet's brother, Spencer, in his class and we had a playdate with them before school started so he could get to know him a little better. Abby Whiteley is also in his class. He is a great kid, and I think he'll make lots of friends and have lots of fun! He loves animals, bugs, stories, crafts, and anything exciting. Luckily, he finally achieved the right pencil grip just before he started school! We had been working on it for so long. He's now starting to write more comfortably and has learned his name in lower case letters pretty well. We are reading the "Teach your child to read in 100 easy lessons" book and he is getting a lot of the sounds and understanding reading more. We'll see how it goes! Most of all, I hope he feels loved and has a great time in Kindergarten! He comes home saying he missed me for a little while, but he was okay. Such a cutie!

Leo started preschool this year! He's just following in Deacon's footsteps and is also struggling with speech, although his weaknesses are more on the understanding side rather than sounds. He got assessed and qualified for PUF funding so he is going to Renfrew! Leo is what I call a "covid toddler" and hasn't really been away from me besides with family very much. I was pretty worried about sending him on a bus to school, and sure enough he absolutely hated it! The first day he thought it was cool and got on the bus, and everything was fine. But the next day came and he was not having it! I guess he realized where he was going this time. He screamed bloody murder and I buckled him in the seat on the bus and asked if I should take him off or not, but they took him anyways. The next day I tried driving him and he screamed at the door as I handed him off, even more than before. Each day was such a struggle! They called me a few times telling me he had calmed down so that I wouldn't worry, but every day when it came time for him to go to school I felt terrible. It was like this for about 3 weeks, until one day we were playing outside and I brought his backpack out ready for him to scream when he saw it. This time, though, he looked at it and said, "Bus coming?" When the bus came he walked on it without a cry and I just could not believe it! Since then, he hasn't cried when the bus has come ever again. It makes me so happy! I think he realizes going to school is kind of fun! He's so little to be going, but I know that it will be really good for him, and I enjoy a little break from his nonstop energy!

September was a beautiful month, the warmest weather we've ever had! For the long weekend, we took the kids to Calaway Park with Ryan and Angie Locking. I forgot how expensive that park is, but we sure had fun! The kids loved the rides, the magic show, food, and hanging out with friends. We also went on a bike ride/walk to Annie's for ice cream that weekend. I was trying to fit in the last few things on our summer bucket list!

Since it's been so beautiful this September, we've been playing outside as much as we can! We play in our backyard, go to the park, and we went to the zoo on one of the kids' days off. It was a lot of fun and Leo especially enjoyed it because he hasn't been there much at all! He loved the penguins. We also attended the Welcome Back BBQ at RDL school, which was a lot of fun, and Bentley went to Penny's birthday party at the Deerfoot Inn pool. 

Now that Leo is enjoying school, his teacher says he is a "delight to have in the classroom." He can be hard, but he can also be so fun, so it's really good to hear that! The teacher sent me some pictures she had taken of him at school, and also I have his school pictures so here they are...

Bentley and Deacon also started basketball! Unfortunately I haven't taken many pictures and only have videos of Bentley...I'll have to take some more later. But they are loving it. Bentley was a little unsure the first day, but the second time she went she had a blast! Deacon can't get enough and is loving every second of it!