Should I fade or should I fro now?

I have been LOVING not "maintaining" Bear's hair lately. It has gotten so long. I was really just being lazy by not cutting his hair, but then I started liking it and wanted to see how it would look long-er. So it has just been growing.

I do say he sports it quite nicely either way it goes.

But just for some fun and incentive what do you think we should do with his hair? I have gotten a lot of "let it grow" s out there. What do you say my fellow blog readers?

Fade, or

grow?
I am looking for a barber that will cut his hair from now on. I have tried my hand at it and though it looks decent it is NOT going to continue being acceptable!

All tied up

What do you do when a little girl as cute as this takes off in your boots?

Why, help her tie them of course!

chalk it up to the A's

This morning was time to hit the floor running, getting back on track from the little break we took. Since Miley Bird has left we have been kind of off track. Getting things put away and rearranged. All rooms have taken on a new look and are still in the process of being painted/decorated and created.

But I figure it is time to get back on the learning track for Bear. He is so much more well balanced when we are in a learning mode and I LOVE that balance.

Today we practiced writing the letter A.

I would start with writing the letter on the board. Then I would write half of one and he would finish it. Three tries later he was making his own A's.

Here is a bonus drawing. He has been drawing "pershuns" since Thanksgiving and they have evolved to stick figured drawings.

He is still learning the chalk motions so it is choppier than on his magnadoodle but still...it is AMAZING!

Wachsmann Christmas fun....

The weekend before Christmas we had a little party out here at our home with SOME of our friends! (AHEM..LOL).

We got into the fun of the Christmas story, complete with live characters and "Nigile" (Bear's crocodile) as Baby Jesus. Bear got to play the part of Joseph... HOW EXCITING that he "fathered" the Messiah. He did great.

It was a great night of food, fun, laughter

and roasting mallows for smores.

The night before Christmas we had all things set up and waiting for the recipient to awaken the next morning. I LOVE a Christmas tree all lit up and glowing inside :) Makes my heart happy and warm.

I received a gift in the mail from a precious friend to celebrate our precious daughter, Ymali "Emma" 's, birthdate. It was December 5th. I have not posted about it... I was in full busy mode (with a messed up ankle). The gift was a tiny bracelet with her name on it. I hung it on our tree and there started the tradition of ornaments on our tree. I will say it is by far my favorite ornament. I need to make two more now one for Samuel and one for Olivia Grace. I think I had one at one time with Olivia's name on it from J's sister. Maybe it is at his parents house.. hmmm.

J and I opened our stockings the night before (I stuffed mine so that one is a no brainer...lol). We got lots of fun stuff and new movies.

I had gotten my Christmas gift a few weeks early (My canon Rebel T1i) so I didn't actually open a gift at our home Christmas morning. I had lots of opportunity to catch everyone else in action and that was pleasing enough.

I made a breakfast of Biscuits and sausage gravy with scrambled eggs and fresh fruit and juice. We then got dressed and went over the the rents house for more Christmas fun.

I received a KITCHEN AID MIXER from the rents!!! I am super excited about it! I also got some fun clothes from J's sister, she's got great style. Maybe some day soon I will be thin enough to look good in cute clothes. Later we met up with my mom and dad and received our gifts from them... I got a.... wait for it...wait for it... stand mixer! LOL I mean what are the odds that I'd get two mixers in ONE day! haha. I loved that they thought of me enough to get me one also! From my sister I got a puzzle picture frame! It is so awesome. I will have to post a picture when I get it together so you can see for yourself the fun in it all!

This year we drew names so we were not as strapped for money trying to buy for everyone. J got a Blue Ray DVD player from his parents and a fun flashlight thingy from his brother. It came in handy seeing that our electricity to our laundry room has gone out. Not sure what is going on but the outlets on that wall and the lights on that circuit are not working anymore. hmmmm. So now I hang that light in our laundry room to do laundry at night. Thankfully our washing machine and dryer are on a separate circuit and still work fine!

Bear received a huge life size sock monkey and sock monkey jammies from his 2 year old cousin (who drew his name). It is now his favorite wrestle buddy. He loves it! From his Nana and Pawpaw he got a train table and we got him his train station. He got a Glo Doodle from his Aunt BJ and cousins. From my mother (Also Nana) he got a kitchen set and a keyboard (that for some reason DOES NOT HAVE A VOLUME button!!! Thanks for that! LOL it stays in his room with ear muffs on each speaker!


We are now in the process of having a fun bed loft made for him. My Uncle is an amazing carpenter and I have drawn up the plans for him to construct from. I will be taking them over to him soon and he says it should take a weekend to complete. It is a loft bed with a slide. And a tent (that I will sew) below. I am super excited that he will have something created just for him!

Hope your eyes are still in tact from all the pictures and reading. Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with the ones you love and that it will forever be memorable!

Bear's Adoption tree(s)

My friend Mandy bought Bear a tree to commemorate his adoption. She waited for this particular one to be in season so it has taken until now to get it. I am glad she did.

We are now the proud parents of not only a handsome little boy but a Bald Cypress tree to boot! I absolutely LOVE it.



And there's a bonus, a Texas Red Bud tree! When she ordered the Bald Cypress, the company also "threw in" a Texas Red Bud.



She was just going to keep that one but they were camping out in the same bag so she gave us both! How sweet! Thank you so much Mandy!

My aunt came over today and planted them finally. I have been wanting to but my ankle wasn't allowing for anything like that. SO I called and humbled myself to get some poor trees planted in the ground! I sure hope they withstand the FREEZING COLD that is coming.

My aunt says they should be fine. I PRAY they will!

Bear's Blessings

Tristan has now gotten to the point where he blesses our/his food before we eat.

It sounds something like this..

"Jesus, thank you (for) food. Bless it, mershing (nourishing), Amen".

I have been VERY UNSUCCESSFUL uploading videos to blogger but they upload to facebook just fine. So here is the link to my facebook page to view him in action.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1306155782531&saved

If you are not a "friend or network" it is set to private so just request my friendship :).

We have also been teaching him scripture. He has learned "I am a Mighty Man of GOD" and right now he is working on "I can do all things through Jesus Christ who strengthens me". He is doing great. We want him to have the word of GOD tucked deep in his heart.

It has already been a blessing to hear him when he is in his room going to sleep singing Jesus LOVES Me. He will also say a prayer as he is in bed. I will hear him through the door, "Jesus, thank you food. Bless it, mershing. Amen".

It makes my heart happy that he knows to pray and he gets the idea of it. But as of now that is the consistent prayer that he knows. We pray throughout the day but they are all "new" prayers and from the heart... not consistent wordage. But he gets that we pray throughout the day. Even when we are driving down the road (when I do a lot of my praying) he will pray his food blessing from his car seat.

Oh LORD help us to raise a fisher of men. A man on fire for you that will keep YOUR WORD burning in his heart for all the days to come. When trials come he will KNOW that you will bring him through. YOU will sustain him. JUST as you have sustained us in this family through it all! -AMEN

You know...those dreams

The ones where everything seems so real and you wake up looking for all that just happened to be staring you in the face.

Yeah that kind.

I had one last night and in this dream I had given birth to a baby. And it lived. I was getting to take it home and everything. My very own.

This morning I woke up and let's just say I am very heartbroken today. Depression is looming and I am fighting back tears. I am losing. I feel like such a failure...

Why do they have to be SO REAL. So real you can taste it, hold it, breathe it, take it home...

What is the purpose for dreams such as these. The devil is close by like a prowler lurking in the dark. He knows where I have been hit hardest and here he comes in my weakness to get that one final blow in that will bring me to my knees.

His prey, he has caught me.

OH LORD DELIVER ME FROM THE GRIPS OF THE ENEMY. DELIVER ME FROM THE PIT OF BROKENNESS AND DESPAIR. I fight back tears but they overtake me. I feel so defeated I just want to lay down and become dust yet again. I feel there is nothing left in me. I feel like I have given EVERYTHING and still I am being chased down again and again for another kill.

Wouldn't you think the enemy would get tired of chasing after someone so DEAD.

Then again maybe he is just waiting for the victory.

I will fight with a supernatural strength. Because when I can no longer stand up I will CRY OUT and HE, MY GOD, WILL hear my cries and HE will come in and FIGHT on MY behalf. HE will be the VICTORIOUS ONE!

And I, I will fall to my knees, humbled, broken and totally in awe of the ONE who LOVES me without fail. Even when I am weak and devoured. He will love me in this place.

What child labor laws?

First we start out with a bit of prayer, Bible reading (ignore that it is upside down) and worship. We even make sure Duke gets in on the action.

Then it is time for chores. Vacuuming the floors are first on the list.

Wow that is a hard day at work. Wake up Bear baby... next is laundry.

Fun find and pictures

I have been busy and I am sorry. I have shut out all things communicative basically and even some of my friends have been neglected. I am sorry for that as well. I have, however, been super productive on the home (photography) front.

I have been taking pictures for our foster families. We were on a mission to get all families within our foster agency photographed with their families before Christmas. We succeeded. I shot 35 total I believe. Some of us may not have any friends left or maybe even children that don't remember our names, but by golly we got to bless all the foster families with free portraits. Even Wal-Mart stepped up and printed free 8X10's for each of our families from the photo shoots. Our precious foster families have been blessed indeed!

It is hard to share with you some of the shoots I have been doing b.c we cannot post pictures of our foster children (in any family) but last Saturday I shot a family that I am friends with and a few weekends before that I shot another friend and her siblings. I am super excited and am having so much fun learning new techniques.

This first few are of my sweet friend Abigail. She wanted some pictures taken of her and her siblings for her parents for Christmas. I obliged. She is way too photogenic!! :) Such a cutie!



The second family (and the fun find part of my post) are the end result of my friend Candy's shoot with her two PRECIOUS kiddos! I mean I could no better hand pick such GREAT kids! They are so very polite, generous and very helpful. They are amazing and model after their amazing mother truly! I love this dear family.

(you see this fun green chair... It was sitting behind this "abandoned" building downtown and I asked the guy in charge of leasing the building 'because he just so happened to be there that day' if we could buy it from them. He said we could just have it!!! Thank you Jesus... so we used it for some fun RR track pictures!)

My sister and I also decided to shoot some pictures for our Mom and Dad(s) as well as our grandmothers.

Sorry for neglecting you all and hopefully now for a while I will have a bit of a time where I can share with you more and jump into blogging.

I do have 2 more families coming up this Saturday so hopefully after that I will have a bit of some down time to enjoy the Christmas season and all that entails for a little while before jumping into 2010.

All the things

I could have been doing today... I didn't get to do.

I DO have TWO praise reports so I will start off with those!

I got a call about my Canon Rebel yesterday; I have it listed on Craigslist for sale. The guy that calls me is interested in it and so I offer to meet him in town today so he can take it for a "test drive". He agrees.

I met him today with camera in tow. We meet with my husband at Schlotzky's and let he and his friend ooh and aah and push buttons and take brilliant pictures with the new lens that was nestled on it.

He falls in love and hands me cash. THANK YOU LORD we were able to sell it for what we were asking.

J, Bear and I go inside Schlotzky's to go eat lunch together. We get to enjoy eachother for a bit before J returns to work for the rest of the day (meaning he gets off at 10:30 most nights).

*************************now not so good parts**********************************

I go to my car and get puffy jacket wearing Bear snapped into his car seat and get myself strapped into the driver's seat. Turn the key... "tick, tick, tick". UM NOOOOOOOOOO!

J is there still and he goes to get the UPS package truck and tries to jump our Sequoia off. NO LUCK. I end up calling our repair shop and they send a tow truck after me to bring us all in (THE HIGHLIGHT OF BEAR'S DAY I TELL YOU, this boy LOVES big trucks. The driver even honked the horn for him several times... smiles beamed!!!). From there the mechanic shop brings me and Bear home, where we sit stranded, needing stamps, lettuce, and tortillas. But that's beside the point.

They say they will not be able to get to it until tomorrow to take a look at it. G.R.E.A.T!

It is no joke when they say God provides right when you need it! Can we say I can imagine that the job is going to be somewhere close to what we sold the camera for!!! hmmmm

I had plans to head an hour and a half north to meet up with a URL/IRL friend, NUTTY MOM, who just brought their precious little man into the beaming lights of the world today. She asked me a while back to be there when he was born to capture his first moments. Well a little bit after recovery for her for sure. But just to be there to photograph him in the beginning and them as a family. I was floored to have this opportunity and privilege.

I was able to find childcare and had my new camera packed up and ready to go. BUT this too fell by the wayside with a dead car! I am thankful I didn't get all the way an hour and a half north before it broke down! But I am sad to say the least. I am sad I missed the entrance of this beautiful little boy! I do know that I will have plenty of snuggle time with him soon ... until then I will have to ogle over his pictures that his mother keeps teasing me with! :O)


EAT.HIM.UP Beautiful!

Bear sings the Alphabet..... LIVE!

I cannot get it to upload to blogger for some reason but the video did upload to my fb account. It is set to private but if you want to see it add me as a friend and you can see it too.

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1292150312403&saved

********************************************************************************

ORIGINAL POST:

Here it is in all it's glory ladies and gents. So he was a bit upset in the beginning b.c I wouldn't let him climb on me anymore to sing the song; BUT I was finally able to get Bear singing the alphabet on video!!!

I finally got a Camera with video on it yet again and I cannot tell you how much I have been missing being able to watch videos of our sweet little ones grow (you know when they are sound asleep and you are LOVING the fact that they are all peaceful...

I am still sad we didin't have a "video" camera to get Miley while she was still with us. Or even Moe as he was getting bigger. But at last we are able to pick back up video recording Bear as he grows and develops.

And yes at the end he tells me that he has to potty! LOL

Mind the folded laundry everywhere... this is what was going on instead of putting THAT away! I liked this better.

So the other day we were leaving for Church and Bear always has to say "Bye Becky" when we pass by my aunts house next door. Usually we all chime in "Bye Becky"and wave at her house. But this time we just let it go unsaid. Well Bear was NOT okay with this. He said "mommy, Becky". I then obliged and said "bye Becky". Bear, "Daddy, Becky". J then, too, obliged. As soon as J's "bye Becky" left his lips, Bear nonchalantly says "Dood djob Daddy." Nice, I am glad to have the approval of a 2 year old.

A few days ago Bear was in the bathroom doing "his thang" when he starts telling me he is done. I go in there and assist the pulling up of the pants and as he is flushing the toilet he starts walking out and says, "bye, have a good day". Hmmm yes, have a good day indeed mr. toilet!

This little guy is growing up so fast and it makes my heart happy to see the little man he is becoming! He is so precious to us and we couldn't have asked for a better son. And we can say that because we DID ask/beg/wait on pins and needles for him :). And we are glad we did!

wow okay this is attempt no 2! I sat for 4 hours yesterday before having to leave it for the night. I finally go to bed and get up this morning and it didn't post it! UGH AFTER 4 HOURS and ALL NIGHT!!!! sheesh man.

Christmas is upon us

WOW it is barking at my back door louder than our dog does (truth be told he doesn't bark much at all). I cannot believe it. It's like I looked up for a second to check reality and >BAM< the Holidays are here, one being already gone.

I think the older I get the faster all the holidays seem to come and go. Sheesh. Like let's just speed up this process man... gooooolllllly. Maybe it is just that when I was younger I didn't have as many cares or stresses as I have now so the days played on unhindered (well for a kid).

Now that there are said stresses and cares I am pushing on to get to the end of the day so I can have a break from chores, editing, cleaning, Bear, cooking, "organizing". I need to get a umph in my step and enjoy the days as they come and not dread them due to the things that need to be done in them.

Our cat Charlie is still missing since Sunday night. I have searched our land and all the surrounding lands and he is nowhere to be found. I did, however, find a dead dog/coyote (hard to tell really) and a dead opossum. But NO Charlie!

Bear is doing great. He has been learning all his numbers. He can now count to 20 (with some help here and there). He has been learning to write his letters and can now sign about 5 of them. It is still hard for him to position his fingers just right. Although, he can tell you what all the signs are of the alphabet when shown.

We have been working with him on "reading" (memorization really). I made him some index cards with a picture of an object/animal on them with the word written out to the side. He can now read cat and dog. I have not been working as consistently with him on that as I have with his writing and numbers lately.

J and I have been working on labeling all the things around the house to help aid him in learning to "spell and read".

He has not really shown any more signs of being "lonely" since the kids left. There are still the moments where he looks like he is wandering aimlessly (during his alone time). But for the most part I think he is so busy learning so many new things that his attention is focused there.

I have been getting to keep up with Miley Bird on Facebook. :) Her new mommy updates on there frequently and so i get to see SWEET pictures of our precious little girl! I sure do miss her but am happy that she is being very well taken care of where she is. The family is wonderful and very precious.

I hope you all are well and warm. I was shocked to see snow flurries this morning. Nothing to stick or cover the ground but they were there creating a nice white winter feel this morning.

nutshell

His ant bites have all blistered and popped. We have been putting some bactriban cream on it and praying against staph infection. So far they are looking very dried out and that makes me happy!

On the other hand we are all sick now. J got sick earlier this week and thought it was nice to share. So here we all sit... SICK! It really started this morning (so all of you that were around us last night... don't fear (much)). If it does not subside before Thursday we will be forfeiting Thanksgiving dinners in all locations. Sad but true. I DON'T share when it comes to this crud!

I heard from Miley Bird's new mommy and she says she is doing great. I am happy to hear that she is so very loved and attended to there. She said they took her down to get her ears pierced. I was shocked. I think she will look beautiful with earrings no doubt... as long as her personality continues to shine she will be beautiful no matter what!

I am so grateful for the blessing this family has been to us in keeping us updated and allowing us access to see their pictures of her growing up.

My heart has an empty place in it but it has healthy soil that is being tilled. This family is a new seed entirely and I cannot wait to see the friendship/relationship that sprouts forth from this new seed. Blessed am I.

On a different note. I got a call Friday for another placement. He was a 6 day old Native American. I had to decline seeing that we just said goodbye to our precious Miley Bird Tuesday. My heart still needs to grieve her in a healthy way... and completely!
Also I have been eyeball deep in pictures ( I so far have done, in two weekends, approximately 25 families with Arrow Child and Family Ministries). I finally got last weekends pictures all edited. NOW on to this last weekends pictures. 5 families from one day and maybe 8 from yesterday. WOW! Maybe the new year will bring in some paying clients from the "publicity" I am getting out there.

I took my lens in to a camera specialty shop here and they confirmed for me what I had been thinking. My lens is a piece of ... ahem... work or broken work rather. It is not focusing the way it is supposed to and so that means that all my work from this Saturday is pretty disturbing. Sunday I shot solely with my 50mm and so that days' worth of work was GREAT! Saturday... sore subject. I am going to be shopping The day after Thanksgiving for that new lens. I am praying I can come across a great deal!

Hope you all are wonderful and staying warm. Best wishes to you all!

OUCH

Bear has an attractive manner about him. He is pleasantly charming as well as witty and handsome. BUT the part where he is sweet is way too irresistible for the fire ants in our yard.

We have treated our yard and I believe the last time was in Spring/ maybe summer. But since the rains came it has created quite the nesting ground for these pesky varmints!

He always plays by the storm shelter. He goes up the side and comes sliding down the front cement slope. This time he went a bit far; he went trekking over the back side. I was a bit nervous because the grass has been grown up around there for a while and I KNEW of the POSSIBILITY of ants. So I called him to me. He didn't come. I called him again, still no response.

** We have been using this new technique that we just learned in a fun "parenting" class at our church. We call him and he responds "coming" and stops whatever he is doing and comes running and greets us with a smile and says "yes (ma'am, sir)" ... RECENTLY though he has been cutting his TOP molars so here we go again with the CRAZY behavior. He doesn't listen and respond like he normally does when he isn't teething. DRIVES ME NUTS that he can be so well behaved then BAM... one day their little mouth is in pain and they regress back to a 6 month old!**

So anyway. He wasn't responding to my calling him. I start getting a bit agitated that he is not listening and then he starts screaming and comes running around the storm shelter... COMPLETELY COVERED IN FIRE ANTS... HAIR TO SHOE SOLE!

I start brushing him off and then just strip him down in the front yard (good thing for secluded country living ;)) Then I have to find them all over him and start picking them off. They were all in his hair and on his stomach, groin, hiney, feet, ankles, even between his fingers and on his neck.

I brought him inside and dropped him in a vinegar/baking soda cool bath. He freaked out but the stinging stopped and he calmed down finally. I call his dr. the receptionist told me the dr. only was there for a half day and was already gone. So she agrees that I should take him to the ER. We go. They look him over and he has no severe symptoms of reaction. So they prescribe him some Benadryl and Bactriban cream for when they "rupture" to prevent staph infection. I was also given instruction that if it got really red to take him in for a follow up with his dr.. I am watching the area on his wrist right now. IT is pretty red.


It is scary that Bear gets Staph so easily. The smallest spot on him will become a HUGE deal if untreated. So here we sit today trying to take it easy and NOT get into any more trouble!

Guess if it is not raining this weekend we will be treating our yard again!

yes it's a sad post... but it's okay

I am having a rough day. I admit it. Usually the one or two days following the "goodbye" is pretty calm (shock, denial)... but then the third day hits! I guess technically it is the 2nd day without her here but whatever... it still creeps in.

I miss her laugh, I miss her squeals and talking, I miss her petite little self all kicking and rolling around. I miss her smells and her smiles. I MISS HER. I miss holding her. I miss kissing her plump cheeks. I miss snuggling her and holding her when she was sleepy. I miss watching her laugh at her "brother" and Duke and Charlie (cat). I MISS HER!


I hear she is doing great. I hear that she is getting spoiled and that is pleasing. It still hurts all the same. I know she is in a great place and I know she will be fine (as will we all) but it does not take the pain out of the equation. I am jealous ( I know it is wrong to be jealous... I am a sinner... i repent) I want to be the one getting to LOVE on her and KISS her sweet face and HOLDING her all day. Fact is.. nothing is going to change. I HAVE to get a grip and change my heart. I do need help. I do need lots of prayer and I do need lots of help from the HOLY SPIRIT!

I know as the days go on the pain will become more faint and I will remember only certain things and not EVERY DETAIL! But for now it is still very fresh and very real and I miss her like nothing else.

Tonight Bear wanted to take a lovey to her that got left behind. Trying to explain to him that she is not in her room was very hard. He didn't seem to be affected by it really but for a mother it was hard HAVING to explain it!

I have talked to the new mommy and I do like her a lot. We have so much in common and I have a feeling that we will be friends for a VERY long time :). I am blessed to know our little Miley Bird is in good hands... GOD's hands are never hurtful. We have been blessed even in the midst of our pain.

Today she is gone!

today our little Miley Bird is gone and my heart is heavy.

I met with the families at the court house this morning before the hearing. I have to say that I couldn't have liked them any better if they were my own family.

They were warm and very kind. You could see the hand of God all over the family that she will be living with. I was blessed indeed to meet them and get to "know" them before letting go of our sweet Miley Bird!

Even though my heart is aching now... I know HE is watching over her and will keep her. I know there is a plan an a purpose in place for her little life. He knew her in her mother's womb! He knew exactly WHERE she would grow up and WHO she'd grow up to be. I am blessed to have met the family she will be growing up with! It puts a frantic heart to rest.

The hurt is still here and it is still very real and very fresh. But I am being HELD... in the palm of my FATHER's hand. He is protecting me and for that I am so very grateful!

I will post more later... but for now it is transition time at the Wachsmann house!

Meet Jeff

Jeff is the newest member of our family.

He is sixth in a family of 26.

And I think once upon a time he used the alias Eff. That was until Bear!

Soon you will get to meet "l'minnow minnow pea"

Kick back relax

These are the days that Fall are made of.

The days that bring a smile to your face because of the cool breeze and the beautiful sunsets.

The smiles come when you hear your little one playing nearby and laughing; when you look over and see your precious little girl sitting in her chair with her feet kicked up and enjoying JUST
BEING OUTSIDE!

I love the fall... THIS kind of fall!

The end of the snail trail

Ever see those dried slimy streaks caused by snails that kind of just wander aimlessly all over outdoor stuff? Kind of resembling this...



Ever wonder what happens to create the "end of the snail trail"?



Yeah... I used to also.

**no Bears were harmed in the making of this post** NOR were any snails!

Moe came... Moe went

Tuesday we got to bring Moe home to visit and stay the night. We had a wonderful time getting to play and just snuggle. He is getting so tall and he is the same precious Moe! He is a bit rougher around the edges now but very easily distracted from his tantrums and hitting.

He and Bear played together very well. Bear was even trying to "teach" Moe new things such as the alphabet. Bear can now sing his whole alphabet and he was trying to get Moe to sing it to. He would sing it first and then tell Moe... "you sing it". Or if Moe burped... Bear would tell him "say scuse me"... Wow where do we draw the line between training him up properly with good manners and creating a "teacher". I mean it is good that he acknowledges what is supposed to be done. But I don't want my child to be rude or bossy to others (even when they are not using their manners :)).

Basically he hasn't changed much in his developmental skills. He is kind of still at the wandering aimlessly unless you give him something constructive to do phase... makes me kinda sad to think that he does this elsewhere also but it is "the norm" there. But to each their own. Not everyone likes to "teach" their children each day. I don't either but it sure comes in handy later when you don't have to RE train them from habits they have formed by just doing whatever.



He is healthy and that is all I can ask at this point. When he first went home started refusing to eat. He has finally started eating again... a little here and there. When he came here he literally SCARFED food! It was good to see him eating though... b.c that is all I hear is that he will not eat. well he ATE... and then some!


We played out in the front yard for a bit then went to Target. It was interesting to have all 3 of them again toting them to and from the store. I never missed a beat. I remember that drill all too well! :) NOT hard... just a LOT of work, which I don't mind... unless I am in a hurry. I have learned with children you HAVE to slow down a LOT and just try and aim for everything an hour early! It has helped tremendously and you don't get quite as stressed :) or wore out!

I love my little Moe Baby and it was so wonderful to see him. I am welcoming this much needed break though. As long as I get SOME type of visitation... I am GREAT! :) I think it helped with Bear also. He doesn't seem to "miss him" being gone. Like he is not asking about him as much as he did in the beginning. I asked him after Moe left this last time, "wasn't it good to have 'Moe' come play with us for the day and stay the night with us?"... " 'Moe' is our good friend and we love him to come play and share our toys and room, huh?" Bear would just smile and say "yes". Then we agreed that Moe belongs with Daddy F and he went home. He seems to be okay with that answer; I have not heard anything else about it.