Friday, October 22

Still kicking

Yes, I am still alive. I know I haven't posted in forever, but I blame my princess on that. She loves to be wherever I am at and "help" with whatever I am doing and after 3 or 4 posts that I had started were deleted, I gave up for a while. As she is asleep right now, I have a few minutes to write, before I am going to go crash. I am finally working part time and I am LOVING it. It is one of the best things to happen since Jolee was born. I love getting to spend more time with Jolee. Life is so much better when I get to be home more. Working full time nights was starting to drag me down and I was losing far to much of Jolee's childhood for me to be happy. I am trying to make the most of each day that I am home. We have done quite a few zoo trips. Our day usually starts off with breakfast. Then I turn the radio or a CD on and we dance. Jolee is a great dancer! I want to put her in ballet when she is a few years older. Jolee loves to blow bubbles, but I have to hold the bottle or she will dump it everywhere. She is actually pretty good at blowing bubbles. She likes to build towers with blocks or legos and then knock them over. We are working on learning more sign language and talking more. She knows how to sign: food, water, milk, cracker, more, again, hungry, cuddle, dog, peach, color, thank-you, please. Jolee says: mama, dada, hi, bye, more, cracker, hungry, dog, baby, peach, apple, keys, puppies. She probably says and signs a few more words, but I can't really think tonight. She also is working on learning animal sounds. She woofs like a dog, quacks like a duck, moos like a cow, meows like a cat, and opens her mouth like a fish (it is hilarious). She knows how to use keys to unlock locks and open drawers. She likes to climb and do anything dangerous. She loves getting the mail. Lately she has been getting in a lot of trouble for trying to run rampant in the grocery store and for trying to run and hide in the parking lot. NOT good. She is going through another growth spurt and has been super snuggly, so I have been slacking on housework and spending more and more time just holding and cuddling her. She loves to cuddle. We are again trying dairy products with her and she is finally able to tolerate them! She is really enjoying yogurt. She still has mostly soy, but dairy is officially been added to her diet. It is going to be so much easier to cook without having to check ingredients all the time. Randy continues to enjoy teaching in Nogales and we are planning on him continuing to teach in Nogales for at least 3 more years, but possibly much much longer. With Randy having to drive an hour and 15 minutes each direction, it is getting to be more and more pricey with raising gas prices and Jolee and I are missing having him home. With all of this, we are starting the process of looking for a home in the Rio Rico area. I always said that I wasn't going to move again until we move to Idaho, I guess I was always wrong. I am still running (just ran 4 miles tonight). I ran a 5K a few weeks ago and I will be running a 12K in December and another 1/2 marathon in January. I am having the pleasure of helping one of my very good friends train also. It has been a blast to run with her and help her "learn" to run. I miss having Randy with me, but it is much easier to run with someone closer to my height and not have to try to keep up with Randy. We continue to be doing well and we are excited and a bit terrified at the thought of a new home and the changes that go along with it (having to find a new babysitter, YIKES!). Love you all, Sarah

Oh, I almost forgot, Jolee is working on potty training (yes, I know it is early, but we are using cloth diapers and I am very motivated to help her learn to use the potty). She is starting to both sign and say potty. She loves to say peepee and poopies. She is getting better and better at telling us when she needs to go potty and she running to the bathroom. When I was over at a friend's house visiting teaching, Jolee had a piece of toilet paper and proceeded to wipe her fully dressed bum. I think I will have to start working on teaching her that the potty is a private place. I think I am up for a lot of embarassment in the next few months.

Sunday, October 3

ME TOO!!!

Jolee seems to think that she can do anything that we are doing. It never ceases to amaze me what she thinks she should be able to do. She has become quite the dare devil. She will climb on to the couch and stand on the very edge and jump on the edge of the couch until she almost falls the she runs to the back of the couch only to do it all over again. She will occasionally fall off and think that it was the greatest thing ever. We will occasionally put her on the bed, until she gets to the edge and almost falls off. She loves to play on the bed, running, falling, and jumping.

Jolee even thinks that she needs to be eating what we are eating, although what we are frequently eating will make her sick. She even attempts to take the dog for a walk. When we bring him in from a walk Jolee will run over and grab the leash before we take it off of him and try to walk him. She does pretty good until the dog pulls a little bit and then she drops the leash. I think that she needs a little more practice before she actually gets to walk him outside of the house. Jolee has been wanting to type on the computer because she sees mom, aunt Sandy, and dad typing on the computer. So this morning I let her type  a letter and this is what the out come was. I let her type until she said that she was done. She did havbe fun and I guess it is all part of learning.


Zvcgnbvnbnnnbnmmnbnbnggnnnnnnnjjjjgjgnhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhm            vyd7ufuuryt6ey7ey cwbcxf              gjjjgm                                                                                                        v    vmv n                     sll;mm mmkfdrkllwl;4dzccdbhsghgggfgdggesasgvvvv b                              bqwyuew2T76b7                1`8b78nHAHBHhhvfhhbj cdhjcgggggg             k,,,kaaq 


Jolee loves to eat cold cereal for breakfast. She will eat two or three small bowls full with a bit of soy milk. She is still allergic to milk and I am hoping that she will out grow it. It would make life so much easier if she did.

Work is going well for me. Although by the end of the week the students are driving me a little crazy. Most are doing much better. I have one student that does not like to listen. The like to grab students and/or teachers/aides. He usually will grab them by the arm, wrist, or hand. However with one particular aide he loves to attempt to grab her in in appropriate places and areas. One day he attempted to undress her. Last Friday this aide was not here so it was my turn. This student decided to "hug" me but did not let go. When I finally got him to let go he grabbed my wrists and would not let go. It was not until I got the "do it now" voice that he let go. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Sometimes I think that it is better to have a room filled with 3-4 year olds, rather than have a room filled with high school aged students with the mentality of 3-4 year olds. What was I thinking? How could this have ever been my dream job? Now with all doubts aside, I really do enjoy my students. I have been able to see some of my students grow by leaps and bounds all ready. One student is non verbal and would not use their communication device. She would also have everything given to her. It was when I came into the picture that she had to ask for what she wanted, using her device. She will now verbalize what she wants and has become quite the little spit fire. I guess that is what I get for wanting her to open up. Another student that that is also non verbal has also opened up and has been quite the little miss attitude. What have I done. Oh well, things will improve. They always get worse before they get better. I do enjoy my students and I don't even mind the drive. Although it would be nice to be home in thirty minutes or less.