It's been too long...

It's been far too long since I've posted. A lot is happening in our family right now.

Ethan still loves TobyMac

We are still dealing with behavior issues with Ethan including hitting, pushing, name-calling, the list goes on. We began seeing a child psychologist a few weeks ago to see if he can help us. We also still continue to have problems with getting Ethan to bed without him coming out saying "I heard something" or waking up in the middle of the night.

For now, he's doing fairly well with the going to bed part, but he's still waking up scared and sleeping on the floor next to our bed. It's annoying to be woken up in the middle of the night and everybody is tired when 6am rolls around and Lila is ready for the day to begin.

Lila is into everything. Her recent love is climbing on pretty much everything. She likes to climb onto her brother's vest machine and clap with excitement over her achievement. She also recently started climbing on top of the ottoman. However, she doesn't quite understand that she can't just walk off of the side of it.

She wants to do everything that Ethan does including going up and down the stairs and she's getting more independent despite my hopes that she wasn't so independent yet. She's head strong and stubborn, just like her brother, and has a temper. She cries when she doesn't get her way.

Ken and I are busy preparing for the upcoming walk for CF in May. Ken's on the planning committee and gone for meeting about twice a month until the walk in 6 weeks. We're also busy setting up our team and collecting donations. We're hoping to raise $8,000 as a team this year, which would be our all time highest year of donations if we do it.

A few weeks ago I went back to work for a family I nannyed for before Ethan was born. I love being back and the kids seem to be adjusting to me being there very well. I love that we just picked up where we left 4 years ago. I'm working in the evenings so that pulls me away from the kids 3 nights a week but it's working although Ken has them all to himself on those nights.

I'm still working at the fabric shop in addition to the nanny position. Our hope is to save as much money as we can in the next 6-12 months and to buy a larger home. Our family is quickly outgrowing our 2 bedroom house and the kids have gotten to the point where they really need to be separated at bedtime. Lila's in our laundry room again because of Ethan's sleep problems, even though she tends to sleep right through the screaming.

That's what is happening in our family lately. I'll post more photos later.

Update on our family

It's a new year so here's an update on what's happening in our family.

Ken is still working in IT for the state and got a promotion last year. It was a long time coming and we enjoy saving his raise every month. He enjoys his job and is learning a lot with his new promotion.

Last year, Ken leased an electric vehicle making our gas bill every month cut in half. He is able to charge for free at work and park for free downtown where he works. This has been a big deal for our family as we try to save as much as we can every month.

In June, we leased a Kia Sorento as our family car. I have been wanting a bigger car for a few years now and I was very excited to finally get into my dream car. It has a 3rd row seat and a back-up camera which makes me feel safer driving it.

In early July, I started working at an Etsy shop cutting fabric and shipping it out. I love it! It's only 12-13 hours a week, but gives me flexibility to change hours if necessary for sickness or doctor appointments. I love being home with the kids most of the time, but it's also been a great getaway.

Ethan continues to be in good health. He was sick only 2 or 3 times in 2013 and each time it didn't last very long. He has stayed out of the hospital for 18 months now. He has not cultured anything in those 18 months which has made us more confident in our ability to get him healthy. Some of it is luck and the other is preventative care.

There is a new drug combo that is in the trial phase right now that will target his gene mutation (Double Delta F508). This drug will make it so that any mucus in his body will break down and leave his body like any other person would. This will be life-changing for us. It could mean less treatments down the road and less or no hospitalizations and definitely could mean not culturing these super bugs because they will be able to pass normally. We are very excited to see what the fall and early 2015 bring in research and treatments for Ethan. We are so close to something great!

Lila will be 14 months in a week. She is talking and making lots of noise lately. She started walking a little over a month ago and is into everything. She loves her brother but sometimes can't seem to get away fast enough from him. We just got her to stop taking bottles and the kids newest accomplishment is sleeping in the same bedroom at night. Ken tried it while I was away for the weekend and they have done it ever since with no difficulties. We are happy to finally be putting away the pack 'n play that she has been sleeping in the laundry room for over a year.

We are still living in a 2 bedroom house, but making it work for the time being. We love our neighbors!

Our family is looking forward to what 2014 brings us. That's just some of what we've been up to lately :)

We have a walker!

Lila started walking on January 4th and now she's walking almost everywhere. Earlier this week I saw her walk from the couch to her toys, pick up a shape sorter box, walk it back to the couch and play with it. It's amazing how fast they learn to do new things.

Lila is now 13 months old and talking a lot more. She likes to say "Tickle, tickle, tickle" when she goes up and tickles my belly. She cracks up when she does this. Her other words are "daddy", "mama" and sometimes I think I hear her saying "What's that?" but I'm not completely sure. I'm guessing the words will come quickly at this point. She's so full of gibber jabber that I think it won't be long before she's talking more.

I'll have to post a video of her walking once we get one :)

My little cheeseball

Lila turns 1 year old!!!

Last week Lila turned one year old! I can't believe that it's already time to write about her 1st birthday. Lila is talking more and more each day mostly saying "mama", "dada" or "daddy" and sometimes we think we hear her say "Wheeeee!"

For Lila's first birthday we decided to have a friend party and a family party that way we could fit everybody in our house. The theme of Lila's party was butterflies. I made butterflies on the cricut for the table, door and to decorate around the house. I also made a banner that said, "Lila Gail is Turning One". I know Lila won't remember this birthday, but it was a milestone for me knowing that we'd made it to the year mark.

We have made it through waking up at night for feedings, the beginning stages of teething, as well as all the good moments, crawling, pulling herself up on the couch, etc. This year has been bittersweet for me knowing that she is our last. I've tried to enjoy as much of each stage she's going through so I won't regret missing anything.

Lila loved her cake, which you'll see in the photos. She put it in her hair and because she was waving her hands around frosting flew through the air. She loved every minute of it. This was completely opposite of Ethan's reaction at his 1st birthday. He wouldn't even touch his cake and still to this day does not have a sweet tooth.

Lila is running alongside the couch now, taking a few steps at a time, and walking very well with her new baby stroller that she got for her birthday from Nana and Papa. She's such a daredevil and she loves to eat just about anything you put in front of her. She can crawl up the stairs. She weighs 24 lbs and is 30.5 inches long. Her height, weight and head size are over the 90 percentile.

Here are the photos from her party and a few from her actual birthday.

I bought this amazing tutu, butterfly wings and antennae headband from a shop on Etsy. The shirt was made by a friend with fabric from my work and from an outfit I wore when I was in preschool. The party and outfit were so much fun and I'm glad we got to enjoy time with everybody.

Lila, don't grow up too fast. Stay mommy's little girl forever. Love you sweet baby girl! - Mommy

Lila at 10 months!

Lila turned 10 months old a couple week ago. Time is flying by and we're already planning her 1st birthday party. We'll be having a family party with a theme of butterflies. I'm in the process of ordering a purple tutu, butterfly wings and a headband that has antennae on it for her to wear at her party. I'm trying to keep the party low-key since we have a lot going on this year.

At 10 months Lila is pulling herself up on anything that will hold her up. She's very close to standing on her own, but still doesn't quite have the confidence to try it. I think she'll walk before Thanksgiving but she seems in no hurry to try. She's still very much a daddy's girl. If she's hurt she'd much rather that daddy comfort her unless he's not available and then Grammy is next in line. Sadly, I'm her 3rd choice unless neither of them is available then I'm #1 finally.

She still a very happy and agreeable baby. She went from 4 teeth to 12 teeth in just under a week. Some of them haven't quite broken through but they are on their way. I guess that's better so she gets it over with.

She ate some grilled cheese sandwich last night and loved it. Right now she loves mangoes, bananas, avocados, toast, cheddar cheese, sweet potatoes and feeding herself Cheerios or anything I can cut up for her. She definitely is over getting fed. She wants to do it herself.

Here are some photos of her 10th month.

 Wearing her dinosaur tail.

 With Nana & Papa

 With daddy

 Making a mess with brother.

 Trying to get over the pillow. She figured it out in no time.

 Hanging out in diapers reading books.

 Playing with brother.

 Cousin time. 

Smiling for big Papa.

 10 month calendar photos

Another update on Ethan's behavior

Ethan's behavior has improved. We are still dealing with his anger issues, but we've seen a big improvement over the last few weeks. The marble jar has worked and the 1-2-3 Magic book we put aside. We are still putting him on time out if he hits, throws or does anything bad to his sister. He's a very strong-willing child so i know he will never be an easy kid to parent. His strong-willed attitude will help him in life though so I don't want his spirit to be broken. He is a fighter and I think that will help him to fight CF and to not give up on goals in his future.

Ethan had a huge temper tantrum this morning followed by an even bigger tantrum. I thought this would be a very long day. He freaked out this morning because he wanted daddy. It took 45 minutes to calm him down and even then the only thing that would work is letting him cool off while watching Curious George. He is obsessed with Curious George right now. After breakfast he was back to his old self and I'm crossing my fingers that it last. It seems that I spend my day just hoping every step of the way that he cooperates, never really knowing how he will react. We'll find our way through it. It's just stressful. We've learned some great tools for how to parent him. I think the three sessions were worth it.

So our parenting journey continues. Let's cross our fingers that Lila is easier than Ethan :)

Update - Ethan's behavior

A few weeks ago Ken and I started going to see a marriage and family counselor to get some ideas on how to better parent Ethan. We were still having problems with him hitting, throwing, being mean to his sister, the list goes on and on.

The counselor we started meeting with told us to start a marble jar for good behavior. He seems to really like the marble jar and it reminds us to praise him more than just saying no all day long. It's hard to stop and praise him for doing something right, but it's been a great lesson for us too. If he gets 10 marbles he gets to go to Target and pick something out, although we've had smaller goals lately. The counselor told us he should earn a reward every day or every other day so he gets the idea and remembers to be good. So far he's earned a milkshake from McDonald's and tonight if he earns 2 marbles he'll get a candy corn oreo cookie.

She also told us to start reading a book called "1-2-3 Magic". I like the basic philosophy of the book. Although, the counselor has tweeked some things in it to better suit our family. Basically it's a counting system. The first offense is 1, then second offense 2, and the third offense is time out for 3 minutes (since he's 3). We bought a kitchen timer that is extremely loud so he can see and hear the timer go off. He still struggles with talking during timeout and sometimes he ends up in his room because he kicks the bathroom door or won't stay in timeout. Overall, I like the book. Ethan is a tough kid to get to do anything, unless it's his idea. I've had to learn that I need to give him a heads up before we need to start doing something.

The counselor told us that it sounds like Ethan has a hard time with changes and transitioning. This makes a lot of sense considering he hates when we change the routine or when we try to get him to start doing something spur of the moment.

I think the book and the counselling are helping. We have one more session before we stop, but I think we're on the right track. I've already begun to have more fun with Ethan. It's become less of a struggle than it was before.