TGIF

I think most if not all of us like Fridays, but some Fridays are more coveted than others. This week I have definitely been looking forward to today. It's just been one of those weeks. It started out Monday with Kendal puking all day (fortunately a 24 hour bug), then to top of my Monday I saved her puke-stuff for the last load of laundry and guess what??? The washer quit! Nothing like thrown up clothes sitting around for a couple of days. We have decided to get a new washer/dryer pair rather than put more money into repairing our 8 year old pair. I am excited about new ones, but I won't officially be excited until next Tuesday when they come! Fortunately I have good friends who have offered their appliances while I wait for my new ones to arrive.



Other than Monday, I guess the week really hasn't been all that bad except that Jeff has been in New York all week. We have missed him and are VERY excited that he is coming home today! TGIF!!!

Highlights

I finally downloaded my pictures off my camera today, so I feel the need to at least post the highlights of what we have been up to the last couple of weeks.

Bayley playing "D"

1) The kids started their Saturday basketball league. Kendal is by far the most enthusiastic of our group, but Bayley has had a great attitude after she saw the concession stand and was promised $1 to spend after giving her best. Bribery to play basketball goes against everything I believe in, however, Bayley needed a little push and actually has done a pretty good job playing. She is definitely the tallest person on the court and looks very good running. She loves to pass the ball to her teammates. I think if she could score just once, it would build her confidence in her shooting ability. Either way, she is fun to watch. Trey is still a little hesitant to play. I think one of the biggest problems for him is that the games start about 10 minutes after he wakes up from his nap. He doesn't feel like moving much, so maybe one of these Saturdays we will have to skip the nap to see if that makes any difference. He has managed to run up and down the court a couple of times and shoot the ball. Kendal can't get enough and is always excited when Saturday comes.

Kendal going up for the dunk

2) Last week our branch had a talent night. Bayley chose to participate by displaying her pixos art and Kendal decided she wanted to dance. I struggled all week to come up with something for her to dance to, but was finally able to find a cute little ballerina music box song off of itunes that was perfect. The song started with the sound of a music box being wound up (Bayley and Jeff took turns winding up Kendal) then a cute rendition of twinkle twinkle little star played and Kendal did her BEST dance moves. She is such a little performer.

Kendal on stage at the talent show

3) This last Saturday Bayley had a swim meet. At first she wasn't too excited to participate because "she doesn't like the whole idea of competing". Where did I get this girl? Anyway after some coaxing, she agreed to give it a shot. Well, she did a great job. It was a small meet with only 3 teams participating, but Bayley totally dominated her age group. She won the 50 free, 25 breaststroke, 25 backstroke, and 2 group relays. She also placed 3rd in the 25 free. She was thrilled with all of the ribbons she received and actually had a great time. Maybe a little competition isn't so bad after all???

4) Of course, I need to post a little bit about our V-day. We had a busy but fun day. As fore mentioned, Bayley had a swim meet and the kids had basketball so that took up most of the day. However, we did get a Valentine treat courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa "G" who invited us for a nice dinner at their lake house. It was a great way to end a busy day.

5) Last but not least, yesterday Bayley had the day off from school for President's Day. So we made the short trip to Georgia to get our teeth cleaned. I have to say that the visit was a success! All the kids cooperated, even Trey, and they all had a great time...how many people can say that about going to the dentist? I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that Leigh did our cleanings and both her and Spencer make the kids feel very comfortable in their office. Thanks Dr.'s Griffeth.

Trey not only got his teeth cleaned, but assisted with Bayley's cleaning

Despite all of the fun times we've had, unfortunately I have few pictures to show for it...maybe because I put Kendal and Bayley in charge of the picture taking? I do have a lot of pictures of the floor and closeups of Kendal...Oh well, there are a few decent ones to share.

High-Speed Chase

Jeff and I live in a pretty safe location. We are located at the end of a street which dead ends and the only way out is the way that you came. So imagine our surprise, when last night around 10:45 p.m. we heard sirens, screeching tires, and speeding cars in front of our house. Both Jeff and I HAD been asleep, when we heard the aforementioned and both of us made it to the window in time to see the car fly pass with the police right behind. The chase came to end in front of the golf maintenance shed which has a locked gate after the car trying to elude the police ran out of room and ended up hitting a tree. The police caught the 18 year old driver, but the passenger ran and as far as we know still has not been found. After talking to our neighbors, the young boys had attempted a robbery at a different neighborhood, but despite their best efforts to hide from police (they had placed underwear over their license plate) the police noticed them and the chase ensued. The boys were obviously not from around here or they never would have chosen our neighborhood as a getaway. Needless to say after a nice dose of adrenaline neither Jeff nor I slept very well last night. We did set the alarm and probably will continue to do so for the next couple of weeks.

Mommy said uh-huh!

I don't think that I have mentioned as of late how much Trey is talking. We started speech therapy with him about 4 months ago and since then his speech development has been amazing. I don't know how much, if any, of it is attributable to the therapy or if things just finally clicked for him and he decided he did know how to say the words, but nonetheless it has been a fun couple of months to hear new words come out of his mouth just about everyday. Recently he has been putting together 3 and 4 word sentences, which is potentially going to get him kicked out of speech therapy. He has 2 more months of therapy before he will be re-evaluated, but based on the preliminary discussions with his therapist and therapy coordinator, it looks as if Trey no longer will exhibit a delay after his next evaluation. So, it looks like it a couple of months we will be forced to decide whether or not he really is caught up or if he will benefit from further intervention. In the meantime, let me tell you a few of the funny things that have come out of his mouth as of late!

The other night he wanted some milk before bedtime. I told him to ask his dad who was around the corner. The next thing I heard out of Trey's mouth was "Milk, daddy? Mommy said uh-huh." He then directed Trey to double-check with mommy. So Trey came to me and said, "Milk, mommy? Daddy said uh-huh." Smart boy, I tell you!

He also is using his words a lot to blame things on his sisters. His feelings will get hurt when his sister's leave him out of something, but he likes to exagerrate how bad it is by usually adding that one of them has hit him, which is rarely the case. He knows what will really get them in trouble.

You would think that better communication would lead to less melt-downs, however, Trey gets more frustrated now that he can communicate what he wants because he knows that you understand him, however you are still telling him no. WE are still working through that just because you can say it doesn't mean you get it!

I think Trey's feels more included now that he can communicate. For instance, last night while driving in the car we were playing a game where each of us took turns saying what 2 things we would take on a trip. We did a couple of rounds with the girls and Jeff and I, when we heard Trey break in and yell that it was his turn. I have a feeling the poor kid is always going to have to interject a "my turn" with two very talkative sisters around!

Trey is such a cute boy. I love being able to communicate with him further. It has really added a new dimension to his personality.