The Middle One

We are on a struggle bus with this one lately. The drama, the tantrums, the not staying on task, the getting in trouble at school, the waking at night. It's hard y'all. We had a couple issues with Drew when he was 4 but overall nothing like this and I'm not sure if it's because she's the middle child or because she's a girl or what but WHEW. She's a beautiful girl with so much potential but I just feel as though we're working through so much with her right now. I  know it's just a phase of life and we'll get through it and someday she'll read this and laugh but for now we are just surviving.

Overall she's doing great in school but we do get notes and messages from the teacher often about her staying on task. We can see this in the home as well. I do NOT suspect any form of ADD or ADHD I just think she loses focus and in our minds we only have Drew to compare her too. From birth he was a very routing and focused baby so I'm sure Ady is more like the average child but we are constantly reminding her to stay on task. I get it, she's 5 and this is perfectly normal, we just don't want it to effect her learning.

The drama and tantrums I think is just born in the girls. This is a whole new world for us and it's kinda funny to watch. She will be all sweet and lovey one minute and then you say something that she doesn't like and it's like a switch went off and she just breaks down. Again, it's an age appropriate thing of testing boundaries and limits but MAN do we have to walk on egg shells with her. The good news is that we've learned some distraction techniques when she does throw a fit and have learned to navigate this somewhat with her.

As for nighttime, we've struggled now for a few weeks. I broke down and posted on FB looking for help and had SO many amazing comments with awesome suggestions. We're trying a variety of them and although nights seem to be a bit better than a couple of weeks ago she's still not sleeping the full 10-11 hours. Based on the 50+ comments from friends this sounds very normal so I'm not worried, I just don't want it to effect her ability to concentrate at school each day!

I love her little self so and remind myself it's just a phase and it's touch being sandwiched in the middle. We dealt a lot with Will last summer that I decided to keep her home all summer and send Will a couple of days a week. I'm SUPER excited to do big kid things with just her and Drew and know she'll enjoy having some baby-free days! For now though, wine is my friend. Ha! :)

My Baby

He's getting so big and looking more like a little boy than a baby these days. I love our days together and enjoy every minute of our bedtime and nap snuggling. He's in SUCH a sweet phase right now and I couldn't love him any more than I do.

He LOVES carrying around Ady's babies while she's at school so much that I might have to get him one for his birthday in March!

He also has been using our sofa table as a reading bench lately. It's a perfect size for him and he fits in there just right. I think it's adorable.

CHIEFSSSSSSS!!

Derek has been a die-hard Chiefs fan his ENTIRE life. He has loved them through years and years of being a terrible team and we finally now have had an awesome season! As of this past weekend we are HEADED TO THE SUPERBOWL!!!! Uncle Bean is flying in for 2 days to watch with us and we all are beyond excited for the big game!

Drew's Big Week

Drew had a big week last week with his birthday, receiving A honor roll yet again and his birthday party!! For his birthday he got a new set of golf clubs, some Under Armour clothing and switch games among other things!

SO proud of our top notch student and all he accomplishes every year at school!

Drew's best buddy Weston has a birthday only a couple of weeks after Drew so they decided to have a combined party. Except for a couple of boys, their lists were basically the same boys anyway so it worked out well. Plus, they got to have a much cooler birthday party than they normally would!

SNOW DAY!!

We had a couple of flurries the first winter we moved down here in 2017 but we had actual big flakes and some accumulation here last week! The bigs woke us up so excited to see snow outside so we quickly threw on our gear and got out there to let Will experience his first now ever! He didn't quite love his hands being so cold but still enjoyed touching his first snow ever. :)

 

 

Ice Skating

So I had a day without the baby and knew I wanted to do something fun with the bigs! We grabbed some buddies and headed to the ice skating rink to try it out! Thank goodness they had buckets for Ady but Drew did an awesome job without them! We were all sore and had some bruises on our butts from falling but overall it was a fun time!

Bailey girl

This girl is almost 12 and a half and is starting to show signs. It breaks my HEART when I whistle for her and she doesn't come or when I throw her a treat and she misses it. She's mostly sleeping and her eyes are getting more cloudy but she's still our best girl and loved dearly. Love these images I caught with her and Ady the other day....

January Shots

I LOOOOVE January and shooting for ME. It's a nice break from clients and it's fun to explore new lights and angels and scenes!

Chiefs!

We celebrated Christmas with Derek's family a few days after the Holiday on the same day the Chiefs got another crucial win. They are having a great season this year!

Drew // 9 Years Old

HAPPY BIRTHDAY  DREWDLEBUG!!!!!

It's our LAST year in the single digits and I can't believe it! You have grown into SUCH a wonderful little man. You have consideration for others, you are so very smart, you get along with everyone around you and your curiosity amazes us every day. You love your brother something fierce and you tolerate your sister and even help her with Legos. ;) This year you have really gotten into watching football on TV and playing catch with dad nonstop. Overall I would describe you as a sweet, very well behaved boy who loves soccer and golf and eats us out of the house. Ha! Although we're starting to see some of the 'preteen sass' here and there, you're still a pretty easy-going and happy soul. I love you to pieces and am so very proud of everything you've accomplished thus far. 

For the stats:

Height: 55ish inches (we go to the doc tomorrow so I'll update then)
Weight: 68ish pounds
Shoe size: 3.5
Clothes: medium or large

And for the annual interview:

Favorite color: gold
Best friend: Josh
Favorite food: pizza
Favorite restaurant: Babe's
What do you want to be when you grow up: Marine Biologist
What makes you happy: When I accomplish something or the Nintendo Switch
Where is your favorite place to go: Driving range or to play golf
Favorite show: Worlds Greatest Wonders
Favorite sport to play: Golf
Favorite sport to watch: Football
Favorite toy to play with: A football
Favorite movie: Polar Express

Main Event

Before Uncle Bean headed home we had to get one last fun activity in. Main Event never fails to entertain and with how competitive my family is it's always a blast.