New Beginnings

With the end of summer comes the beginning of fall. Fall is my favorite season! I love the feeling of excitement in the air as the weather cools, and I love the thrill of new opportunities with new beginnings!

Something went crazy with the way I uploaded the pictures, and I didn't want to take the time to redo it, so I'm sorry about the weird formatting.

Kate had a wonderful first birthday! We enjoyed our little party. We all ate at El Fenix for dinner, and then we came back to our house for some cake and presents. It was so sweet celebrating the beginning of her second year and watching her enjoy all the wonderful gifts she received! We are so thankful for Kate.

Her cousin Gage helped her blow out the candles on her farm-themed cake. She really enjoyed the thumbprint cookies, and didn't want anything much to do with the cake while the thumbprints were around!

One of my favorite presents she got was a baby doll. It was amazing to watch her instantly pick it up and start hugging and kissing it! It was like an instinct. Since then, "Day-dee" (as she calls it) has become one of her favorite toys. She loves to take Day-dee's hat off and put it back on, take it for a ride in her push walker, and pretend to feed it with a spoon and bowl. It is so much fun to play dolls with her!

Elijah has begun another school year, this time at Stepping Stones. He goes Tuesday and Thursday mornings to Teacher Sherri's house (Annalee's mom), and he has felt right at home there! I have had many moms tell me that Stepping Stones was such a wonderful place for their children, and I am so thankful they recommended it to me. Sherri only takes 8 students, so the kids get lots of personal attention. She focuses on giving them lots of experiences and developing the kids' social skills. I was particularly touched by the fact that Sherri sent home a parent questionnaire, asking us to write about our child's interests, strengths, and character issues we are working on. She puts so much thought into helping her students grow as a person, in addition to academic learning. Sherri, I know you read this blog, so I will say a thank you to you again! Both Elijah and I couldn't be more excited!

We will have to begin watching out for peanuts - We were surprised to find out that Kate is allergic! While eating her second peanut butter and jelly sandwich, she started rubbing her eyes. I thought she was tired, so I took her out of her high chair. Then I noticed her whole face had broken out into red splotches. She got very swollen, and even the whites of her eyes turned red! I felt sorry for her - I know she was itching or burning, because she kept rubbing her face. She acted fine other than that, though, and the bumps went away about 30 minutes later.

At her checkup a few days later, I asked Dr. Wiley about it, and he said that we should definitely consider it a true allergy. I told him that a family member had suggested that I wait a few days and try her on peanut butter again to see if it was a true allergy. Dr. Wiley's reaction surprised me - he just looked up at me and smiled, and he said, "You can do that, but if you do, be sure and do it in the morning in case you need to get to the E.R. quickly." I thought, okay! I guess this is serious. He said that a nut allergy tends to be progressive, and each time your body is exposed to it, the reaction will be worse. And it's one that she may not grow out of. So... we will look out for peanut oil, peanuts, and maybe even peas and soy beans. It will be a new way of thinking for me! I'm glad it is something we can avoid without too much trouble.

Elijah began taking gymnastics! He goes once a week to Beamers Gymnastics. They have about 15 students in their class, boys and girls from ages 2 to 4, but there are three coaches. They divide the kids into groups and rotate through different stations. He is forever jumping and flipping at home, so I'm excited to put some of that energy into constructive learning and fun! He has enjoyed being on the trampoline, balance beam, and uneven bars. At home he practices straddle jumps, back bends, and is even working on cartwheels, headstands and handstands!

I hope your family's fall is full of exciting new beginnings, as well!