Changes

There have been so many changes in our family the past few months. I don't want to ever forget the blessings we are receiving from Heavenly Father and the growth we are all experiencing. We have had so many wonderful times together as a family, with extended family, and with friends. Life is moving along so quickly and every day I feel even more than the previous day just how fast time really does go. I have been feeling it even more these past few months as all these changes have been happening and I've seen how far Tim and I have come since we were married almost six years ago.

This first change is also our greatest blessing. Just a month before going to Disneyland we found out we are expecting baby number four. Before leaving on our vacation we had our first OB appointment for this pregnancy and we asked her how she felt about me going on the rides at 10 weeks pregnant. Since there weren't any complications and I have always had low-risk pregnancies she didn't see any cause for concern. She did advise me to still watch for symptoms and signs of any potential problems. The entire week at Disneyland I didn't have any issues and felt great. None of the rides caused me to feel worse except for Tower of Terror. That one just caused my blood sugar to dip and as soon as we got off I needed something to eat and then I was fine again.

Since being home we have found out that we are having another boy and he is growing well and the pregnancy has been normal without any complications. We know and feel very strongly that Heavenly Father wants this little one in our family at this specific time and that there is a specific mission He has planned for Him. Almost from the day I found out we were expecting another sweet miracle I have felt the greatness and strength of this little one's spirit. We are so excited for him to join our family.

All three of the children are so excited for their baby brother, especially Arthur.

Baby #4 at 7 weeks

16 weeks

18 weeks

Baby Boy at 20 weeks

20 weeks

This was the video I took when I told the children that the baby is a boy. 

22 weeks

25 weeks

Back in June Arthur had an evaluation with the school district because of his developmental delays caused by his cerebral palsy. There is a program here called Child Find that help children with their delays by providing specialists to help with preschool special education, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, and physical therapy. Along with this program the children who are preschool age can qualify for free preschool and receive help at school. I took Arthur in for his evaluation while a friend watched the girls for me. They started out by testing his eyesight and hearing before we moved into a room with all the toys. There they watched him play, talk, and interact with me. I spent a lot of my time answering questions since they can't see everything during the evaluation.

His cerebral palsy automatically qualified him for the program but it was still needed to see where at his development currently was and what were his delays. I basically received confirmation for what I had already seen for myself which was that as of June he was at the developmental stages of the average two and half to three year old child for his fine and motor skills, but only at a two to two and a half year old stage for his speech. Meaning he was where Camilla was at and in some ways behind, even though he is almost a year and a half older than her. Since then he has started preschool and has grown in his development in some respects but still very slowly and is even stagnant in some other areas.

Arthur continually struggles with numbers, letters, and shapes. He finally has his colors down enough that I haven't heard him mix them up for at least two months now. With numbers he usually counts in this manner: one, two, four, five, seven, eight, nine, one. That's the current way anyhow. It's changed many times in the past two years or so. Sometimes he'll throw in a random higher number such as 13, 25, or 30. He still can't recognize the number by its written form. Letters he knows a few by name but doesn't know them in their written form either, except for the letter 'A' which he knows very well and that it is for his name, Arthur. Sometimes he'll remember 'B' and that it is for Bradford. When he tries to say the alphabet he'll often just skip to Q, R, S, T, but I try and focus on the fact that at least he knows the order of those four letters. Shapes he still struggles with big time but he has known for a few months what a circle is and has just recently retained what a triangle is.

He's slowly coming along and he is continuing to learn but sometimes it can very difficult. Every time Camilla learns something new or reaches another milestone I am so excited for her but I can't help but feel that twinge that always comes with a reminder that Arthur is getting further behind where a child his age should be. The best is when Arthur does or says something that shows he has learned something new because it's all the better knowing how much more effort and time it took him to reach that point. One of his biggest improvements since starting preschool is the progress of his speech. He has definitely improved quite a bit in that area.

This video is from when he decided that he wanted to start reading the scriptures during family scripture time each night. Since he doesn't actually know how to read he often just talks about church or will tell part of a story from the scriptures. His favorite right now and the one he knows best is Nephi and his family traveling to the Promised Land. It's fun to hear him talk about the boat and the huge storm that came from being tied up by his brothers. I love how much he loves the scriptures.

Arthur is loving preschool. For the first two weeks of school I would drop him off and pick him up. Since then he has been riding the bus. It has a been a huge blessing for me as I no longer have to give Eliza an early nap and waking her up early resulting in a grumpy girl by dinner time or giving her an on-time nap which I still had to cut short to be able to pick Arthur up. It was a rough couple of weeks before the bus started picking him up and I was not looking forward to when the baby was coming and having to bundle all four children up for pick up and drop off. The day before school started they had a back-to-school night and I had the thought that I should ask about the bus and see if he would be able to ride it. Since the school Arthur goes to is just a preschool and not an elementary school, it is outside of our immediate area and because of that he qualifies to ride it. Arthur was so excited when he found out he would be riding the bus to and from school. For the past couple of years he has seen his cousins ride the bus from Grandma and Grandpa's house and he's always wanted to ride it with them. Another blessing of the bus is that it allows me more time at home with just the girls as it adds almost an hour and a half to his school day. He also often falls asleep on the way home from school which gives him a good little nap so he isn't quite as grumpy when he gets home.

This summer Arthur also learned how to do a somersault. Around the same time I took the children to a park where Arthur and Camilla both had the courage to go down a fireman's pole and Eliza went down a slide by herself for the first time. We spent a lot of time going to the parks and other places around Denver that were fun for the kids. There were a few days where we don't down and spent time going swimming at the pool in my parents neighborhood too. My mom found a couple of swimming vests for the kids at a garage sale and so both Arthur and Camilla were getting more brave about jumping in and trying to move around more on their own. It was fun to watch them find more courage each time and getting excited to try new things. Hopefully next summer will help to develop that even more in both of them.

Camilla turned three this summer and not long after her birthday we started potty training with her for the second time. Even though she was potty trained earlier this year, it only lasted for about a month and a half before she grew tired of it. She just had no desire to go on the potty and nothing I said or did worked to get her to do so. Back to diapers it was for her. When we picked back up on the potty training she was good to go from the first day back in underwear and didn't need much coaxing or reminders. Again, after about another month and a half she began to tire of it and decided she didn't want to go on the potty anymore. However, this time I've stuck with it a bit stronger and she'll still go but it's hit and miss with her every single day. For almost two months now she goes between having really good days with no accidents to having really bad days with no successes. It's been hard but I know that staying consistent will be better in the long run.

Now I'm starting to turn my attention to Eliza for potty training. I'm hoping as I start her on the path that Camilla will once again grow excited to go on the potty and help teach Eliza in the process. We know that Eliza wants to be a big girl and have her independence but she hates sitting on the potty. Just today I heard her up in the bathroom and so I went up to check on her. She had taken off her pants and diaper, had the toilet lid up with the potty seat on the toilet seat, and was standing on the seat trying to figure out how to sit down. It was rather hilarious to see her predicament and I am very thankful she didn't fall into the toilet. She told me she wanted to go potty but as soon as I helped her to sit down she started freaking out and wouldn't stay there. Agenda for this next week is to help her want to sit on the potty and then actually be okay with sitting on it. 

About the time we found out we were expecting another baby Tim was called to be the young men's president in our ward. This means he works with all the boys 12-18 years old, but mainly with the 16-18 year olds. He has been busy for the past few months with this calling and he loves it. Tim is great with the young men. Ever since we moved into the ward I've been the sunbeam teacher which means the three year olds who are turning four within the year. Arthur is a sunbeam this year so I have been his teacher and it's been a struggle as well as a blessing. I have really enjoyed getting to know the children and teaching them. Just a week or two ago they called a new teacher to take my place in the class so I can have a bit of a break before the baby comes.

A couple of months ago a friend in my parents neighborhood was having a garage sale and they had a piano for sale. We bought it and for a very good price. It's in pretty good condition and helped another dream of mine come true. Ever since I was little and took piano lessons I always wanted to have a piano in my home. I wanted to teach my own children how to play and to bring music into our home as often as possible. I love having a piano in the home and the children love playing on it. In fact, it has helped Arthur with his fits and tantrums. When he gets upset he will often go down to the play room and sit down and play on the keys. He doesn't know how to play but it still releases some of his tension and frustration, helping him to calm down a lot faster and on his own. He's actually been much better at self-control lately when he starts to become upset.

Ever since we knew there was another little spirit that Heavenly Father wanted to send to our family we have been saving up as much money as we could and trying to figure out how to buy a new vehicle that would hold all six of us. We have our Jeep that we bought our first year of marriage and we have the Kia Tim uses for work that we bought when he started his job here in Denver. Both only seat five so we really had to figure out what to do. It's been a bit of a stress thinking about it and how we would make it work if we ended up having to sale the Jeep before we found another vehicle. Every week that went by made us realize how quickly time was going and that we were getting down to the final months of being able to figure it out. Yet the whole time we have felt very strongly that the Lord would help us. He made it very clear to us that this baby was coming at the time that was right and that He would help us to make sure everything that needed to happen would be taken care of.

Well about two weeks ago I got a text from my mom about a van for sell at a house just down the street from them. Since we didn't have any plans to go down there that week my mom and dad checked into it for us. My dad and brother even took it for a test drive for us and asked all the questions about it. Tim and I talked about it and decided to move forward with purchasing it. So on Halloween we bought the van and on Monday I took it to get registered and get the new license plates. It's all settled and we're just hoping it lasts us for as long as possible. So far, so good and we are extremely grateful for the blessing it is to us.

Arthur is so happy about the van and he loves it. When we got home and he had gotten out of his car seat he wanted to give Eliza a kiss. I didn't get the kiss but I got this big smile of his while looking at her. I have Arthur and Camilla's car seats in the back row and Eliza in the middle. When the baby is born he'll be in the middle row as well.

I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am to see the Lord's hand in my life and the lives of my family. I know that He is aware of us and our struggles. As we are do our best and follow His plan for us I have seen Him guide us and help us along the way. We have everything we need and we know it is because of Him that we have been blessed with what we do have. I still don't know why some things have worked out for us in the ways they have but I do know that it is all part of His plan for us and that He knows the purpose of all things.

Arthur had fall break last month and it was during a week that Tim was traveling so my mom and I took the kids over to the farm on the western slope of Colorado. My mom's mom lives there and we spent a few days with her before heading back home to Denver. I haven't seen my grandma since Eliza was about a month old. It was nice to see her as well as some of my mom's brothers. My one uncle owns a dairy farm and the kids loved seeing his cows. He also has miniature ponies, sheep, and a donkey. Arthur loved the ponies and the donkey and Eliza thought it was the best thing ever to climb in the pen with the sheep and chase them around. Camilla was much more hesitant and stayed outside the pen and just watched.

We went to visit Grandpa Jay's grave another day. Arthur's middle name is for Grandpa Jay and I try to tell him about both Grandpa Arthur and Grandpa Jay whenever possible. These were the best pictures I could get while we were there. Of course, we also had to get a picture with Grandma Annie before we left. It was a short trip but it was fun to have that time with her.

We also had visits from family and friends in the past few months. Right after we came home from Disneyland our good friends we were in Moscow with came to visit. They have a little girl that is Eliza's age and it was fun to have them stay, even if it was only for a couple of days. Then later that week my sister and her family came out to stay at my parents' house. We spent a lot of time down at my parents' so I could see my sister as much as possible to let the kids play with more of their cousins. It was fun to have so many of the cousins together for a few days. While they were here we went swimming, played games, and went to see a movie together. We also Skyped with my dad's mom, Grandma Irene, so that she could see the kids. One of the days we made cinnamon rolls with my mom. It was a fun week with some family.

A month after that Tim's sister and her husband came for a short visit. They were only here for a day and two nights but it was so much fun and the kids had a blast with them. The day that they were here we went to the zoo and just spent the day playing and visiting. Then just over a month later Tim's mom and dad came for a week to visit and spend time with the kids. We mostly just hung around the house and played but we also went to the zoo with them. One night we went to dinner at Chick-fil-A and then to the Disney store at the mall next to us. It was a fun week and we're so glad we were able to spend time with some of Tim's family.

Last of all is Halloween. We went out to farm not too far from us for some fall fun. They had corn mazes, a bouncy house, tire swings, a petting zoo, a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, bubbles, a corn pit, an old bus they could play on, as well as some tractors. All of us had a blast playing out there and we spent way more time than we originally thought we would be there for. The day before Halloween Tim's office did a trick-or-treat event and had crafts and snacks for the kids. Halloween we went to our ward trunk-or-treat and then went trick-or-treating with some of our friends in their neighborhood. It was a great holiday. Arthur was Dusty the airplane from the movie Planes, Camilla was a ladybug, and Eliza was an elephant.