Sunday, January 25, 2009

Thank You for This, Elijah!

Elijah thinks the potty is pretty cool and has begun to show interest in using it. I say 'Potty On' little dude. Great Job!



Weekly School Update: My Shining Star

This week at school was a lot fun as Carter and his class enjoyed a camp out on Tuesday. All the kids wore their PJ's and brought along blankets, sleeping bags and pillows. Carter had a great time and made a new friend....a horse to ride around on. Because what a camp out be without a little bit of Giddy Up?!?!
Carter also received an excellent report from his therapist and has been receiving good reports from his teachers as well. It seems that he is maturing and we are turning a corner from the growing pains we were experiencing in December. For that and so much more you are my shining star, Carter!


Sunday, January 18, 2009

Carter and Elijah Update

Just a quick update on the Lansek Boys......

Elijah...
January has marked our one year participation in the Early Intervention program. Meeting this milestone meant a full evaluation for Elijah. We had a team of therapists come on Friday to the house and this is what they found. As far as Eli's gross and fine motor skills he is meeting all his marks and physically seems to be in perfect health. This means that we will no longer need the skills of Miss Kelly, our OT. Although sad to part ways with her...we are very excited to have over come any physical challenges that we had. When tested on his adult interaction skills Eli actually did quite well and scored way above that mark at a 27 month old's level...pretty cool! The speech portion showed that Eli will need the help of a speech therapist...no surprise. We knew that concentrating so hard on his motor skills could mean that he may fall behind a bit with his speech. We are anxious to get started and hope to have a speech therapist in place in the next several weeks. Aside from the craziness of having to adjust to therapy and all the exercises that come with that Eli is doing so well. He is happy and healthy and growing like a weed. He is enjoying the world up on his feet and shows no signs of ever being behind his peers physically. He climbs, runs and kicks a ball with no problems. He is even becoming more comfortable sticking up for himself when his big brother gets a little bit pushy.
Carter...
January has also marked some significant changes for Carter as well. He continues to have a therapist come to school twice a month. He loves to see her and responds very well to her. She monitors his activities and makes sure that he is consistent with his peers and not showing any signs struggle. December was a very tough month for us and Carter. All the excitement of the holidays and growing pains lead to some bad behavior and struggle but we have started January on a very positive note. Carter is displaying signs of maturity and is doing a much better job in the listening department. Mommy is enjoying his help with picking up toys and daily tasks such as helping to get dinner and snacks ready and doing dishes. Carter is also becoming much more excepting of Elijah....one could say he is even loving at times. Hoping to make a trip to Disney soon has also sparked Carter's good behavior. He has been told to get a reward such as a trip to Disney he has to listen, share, help clean up, lose the fresh mouth and most importantly be nice to his brother and everyone around him. Although sometimes we have little slip ups this seems to be a great incentive for not just Carter but all of us!

Weekly School Update

Carter has successfully completed another week of school and I am happy to report all seems to be going smoothly. The religion theme was Jesus is Baptized and the topic was bears. The class continues to works on writing their names and learning all about the letters that spell their names. The class has also learned about weather, sharing and the calendar. Among the crafts are beautiful snowflakes which are hanging from the classroom ceiling and snowmen!
Carter is looking forward to the start of this school week as Tuesday's class is a camp out! He gets to wear his PJ's, bring his pillow and blanket, watch a movie and make a trail mix with his class...sounds like a snuggly good time!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

What could be better.......

....than snuggling with these two love bugs on a cold Winter's night? The answer: NOTHING!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Trip to the Dentist

Yesterday Carter had a routine tooth cleaning at Dr. Wyke's. He wasn't really happy about the having to let someone in his mouth but given the challenges we have had keeping his filling in he did relatively well. Miss Pam counted and cleaned his teeth all while holding him still with precision strength. Then Dr. Wyke came over to say HI and double check for cavities. The good news is...NO new cavities. Which means Carter got to sign up for the 'No Cavity Club' and a chance to win a trip to the movies. The thought of winning a trip to the movies seemed to excite him and also made him understand that taking care of our teeth comes with rewards.

Carter also got another piece of good news.....we are going to leave his cavity unfilled for the time being. We were there a week ago and the filling has already fallen out. Brian, Dr. Wyke and I agreed that it seemed to silly to keep filling the particular spot and then losing the filling a few short days later...not to mention the stress it causes Carter. He likes nothing about the process and screams, which cause his mouth to be wet and that means the filling isn't adhering properly. We decided since all the decay has been removed that we will keep it extra clean and give it some time and schedule to have it refilled in a few weeks and maybe in that time Carter will be a bit more cooperative. This sounded like very good news to Mr. Carter.

All in all not a bad trip. Besides not wanting anyone in his mouth (who can blame the kid?) he did excellent and his behavior was stellar. I love when his listening ears are ON! Our next cleaning will be in July with Eli joining Carter for his first cleaning.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Frosty the Snowman

All that Carter wanted to do in the snow that fell over the weekend was to make a snowman...his very own Frosty. Unfortunately it was a light soft snow that fell...not very good for snowman making but we gave it our best shot. We piled and shaped the snow as best we could...the winds kept blowing the snow around but we persevered and sang Frosty as we shaped our new friend. Complete with a hat, scarf, gloves, eyes, nose and mouth he is a jolly little fellow. Looks like there may be an impending storm coming later on into the week sure to bring more snowman making fun!



Friday, January 9, 2009

Hugs from Heaven

Carter takes a nap wrapped in his Pop Pop Lansek's love.
Even though we miss you everyday Dad, it gives us comfort to know that you are watching over us and are very proud of your two grandsons.


*Note* This quilt was lovingly made for Brian as a gift from his mom and is patches of his Dad's favorite clothing.

School Update

This week Carter went back to school after a very long Christmas vacation. In all he was very happy to be back to his regular routine. He was happy to see his friends and got two very good behavior reports from Mrs. McAtee. This week's theme was snowy weather and the religion theme was Jesus Grows. The shape was a square and the color was white. The class also began working on spelling their names and colored this cute little snowman. The children had to follow a pre-colored picture done by Mrs. McAtee. When completed they recieved a sticker. Carter seemed very proud of the tasks he completed this past week. Good job!

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Awesome!

Today was Carter's first day back to school. He had an excellent day and got a great behavior report. Even more awesome was the surprise in his cubby. Today the students began working on their names. This is Carter's first 'real' attempt and he did a great job. The top is Mrs. McAtee, the middle is Carter with the help of Mrs. McAtee and the bottom is Carter on his own. Way to go, buddy! I am so full of pride I think I could burst.

So Suave

Carter's Nini got him this sharp bathrobe for Christmas and as you can see he loves it, not to mention he looks quite sharp wearing it.

Sunday, January 4, 2009

TRAINS! TRAINS! TRAINS!

Thomas the Train and his friends seemed to all but out the door until Santa brought the Action Canyon track for Christmas. Thomas and friends are back and in a big way! Carter and Eli had a blast playing last night.


This was quite a crack-up and required the help of a skilled train expert!



Nothing like a little train lovin' between a conductor and his engineer!








Such a Little Gentleman

Carter shares a moment with his favorite cousin. Love the hand resting gently on her back!

Just Because

I can't think of anything much sweeter than this little boy...except for his big brother!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Happy New Year

We wish all of our family and friends a wonderful New Year! May 2009 be filled with laughter, love and hope. We look forward to the new year and can't wait to enjoy all the adventures that await us. All of our love to each and everyone of you that we hold close to our hearts. We can't wait to make memories with all of you in 2009.
xoxo Brian, Jamie, Carter and Elijah
p.s. It should be noted that mommy tried in vain to get a nice family picture to go with this post..no such luck. Maybe in the new year my boys will be cooperative for photo time!