Celebrating a special Princess:)

We have had a busy few weeks! Lynsey's birthday weekend and just this past weekend, Brian's parents came to visit. Lynsey's birthday was a lot of fun! Her friend Ariaunna came to a movie with us (Lynsey's first time in the theater - "It's nothing like I was expecting!") and then we headed over to Red Robin for dinner. Unfortunately the wait was really long there, so we headed home and had some pizza that Brian had ordered for him and the boys. A bit disappointing, but the girls got over it really quickly. We had some cupcakes and then they had their sleepover! They didn't go to sleep until after 11!! Thank goodness time change was that night, the morning was much easier to handle with that extra hour! A lot of fun all around. Lynsey got to have her Red Robin dinner with us on Sunday, her actual birthday, so that was some consolation for the night before:). She got to be the birthday girl at school the next day, too, since I sent some mini cupcakes for her to share with her class - she really milked this whole birthday thing! I'm glad she enjoyed her day and felt really special, that's what we wanted for her!

Brian's parents were here this past weekend and we had a lot of fun with them! We went to the Aquarium on Saturday, and to be honest, my expectations for this place were not too high. I had heard it was small and didn't have much, but Lynsey had been dying to go since we moved so we wanted to give it a try. It was a lot of fun! All the kids enjoyed it! It was great to see Adam be so interested in some of the animals, and not just the waterfalls! We ended up getting an annual pass since it cost the same as one days admission for all of us, and now I'm really glad we did:). We will be back! We went to the Crab Pot for lunch and then Frances and I went shopping for the afternoon. I ended up splurging on a pair of boots that I didn't desperately need, but they are awesome so it was a good thing haha! Sunday we went to the zoo in the morning and relaxed in the afternoon. It was really nice to see them and the kids really enjoyed having them here as well. We are thinking about flying out to Alberta in February because I think I'm a bit more homesick than I originally thought, so we will see if we can make it work:).

Adam's bad sleeping has hit a bit of a peak in the last week. It just kept getting worse until last week we decided we needed to do a bit of a boot camp with him. We had to come to the realization that letting him have what he was demanding in those rants he gets into was not helping him, but merely making him demand more the next time. I always knew that on some level, but there is always the hope that "it's just a phase" and meeting this need for a short time will make the need go away. I think that is probably true in some cases, but in Adam's case, the more he got, the more he demanded. So I stopped singing, sitting with him, letting him into our bed, and it has been rough. Brian has been doing more of the bedtime and nighttime stuff with him which has been helping a lot, but last night, he went to a movie so I did bedtime alone. He wanted me to stay with him to fall asleep. What an internal battle for me - I knew at 8:30pm that if I just sat there for 10 minutes, he would fall asleep and the rest of the evening would be mine. But, I also knew that would only reinforce his idea that he can command me to do his bidding, and it would never stop there. Sooo I didn't give in, and he screamed until Brian got home just after 10pm:(. I went in to him once in a while to try and calm him down because he was in such a frenzy, but I never know if that helps or makes things worse! How long would he have kept it up? He was still going strong when Brian got home, but he just put him in his bed, tidied up the room a bit and when he left, he was almost asleep. He woke up again at 11 and Brian helped him a bit but he did fall asleep without him in the room, so fingers crossed that tomorrow will be better.

With all these sleep issues going on, we have also noticed that he seems to be more aware of things and communicating a bit more! The other day, he was talking about something "outside" and I assumed he was telling me he wanted to go outside. But he was pointing out the window at the maintenance guy and looking at me - it was like he was telling me about the maintenance guy outside! It was a bit surreal, as I'm not sure he has really done that before. Brian's parents also said that they thought his eye contact and general awareness was greatly improved from the last time they saw him which was good to hear. Also, the Aquarium trip and the zoo trip both showed us that he is becoming more interested in what is going on - Brian took him out of the lion viewing area apparently before he had a chance to see them, so he told Brian he wanted to go back and see the lions! What?? So he took him back, he looked at the lions for a bit, and then he was ready to go. There was a time not too long ago that he never would have cared enough to ask to go back and see the lions. I have been praying for him to turn a corner, and I continue to pray that maybe this is it!

Some sleep issues, Lynsey's big day just around the corner:)

Adam's sleeping has not been fantastic as of late. It's actually been a bit of an issue for probably close to a month, I just didn't write about it last blog post - probably too tired! Most nights it's not too bad, he just comes to our room several times during the night and we just walk him back to his bed, usually take him to the bathroom one of the times he comes. And then some nights, it's bad. Usually this just means he refuses to go back to his bed and has to come sleep in our bed, but the other night, he didn't want to go back to sleep and had a major meltdown. It was about 6am so terrible timing, woke Nathan up and then Nathan was awake thinking it was morning! Putting him to bed has been getting increasingly difficult as well - he wants me to stay in the room. We don't oblige this because I fear where that could take us, but it is so difficult some days! Oh how I wish he could be reasoned with! I am hopeful this is just another season that will pass as other seasons have passed before, but I guess only time will tell what direction this goes. I suspect this is him trying to take back some control of his life, since he is probably still processing the change to this city and this preschool with longer days away from me, but I don't know for sure. We are trying to be patient with him, but when it's 10pm and he's still not asleep, it gets tough!

Adam had the first haircut of his life where he didn't scream at all this past Saturday! I thought it was going to be so rough because he started resisting as soon as we got there, and then his hairdresser was a bit behind so we had to wait there about 10 minutes . . . I was really bracing for the worst. BUT once he was in his chair (seat belted in) he was totally fine! I wasn't thrilled with the cut he got, she went a bit shorter on the top then I would have liked, but the important thing to note here is that he LET her cut his hair! With clippers and everything! He just continues to surprise me in the areas where he has grown:).

Nathan has started loving trucks and trains more than ever. He now carries them around with him everywhere. He had some for my outing to the zoo with my friend Larissa who came to visit last Friday (so great to see her!) and he did so well! Best outing with him probably ever! I am now taking trains with us where ever we go! He also has taken a liking to Adam's bus, which happens to be like the only toy that Adam really likes, so this has become a bit of an issue. The amount of screaming that ensues over that bus . . . I am not far off getting on Amazon and ordering another one just like it. Can you put a price on your sanity? I'm not sure you can! I love that Nathan has such a clear interest, I already know that I will have no trouble with Christmas shopping for him. Adam, on the other hand, totally stumped yet again this year. Another bag of the twist ties that he likes to shake perhaps?? Sigh - we'll have to think outside the box for our special boy!

Lynsey's birthday is coming up! We have talked her into only inviting her friend Ari and they are going to have a sleepover, her very first one! At first she wanted to have a big party with lots of kids, but we just can't figure out how to make that work since we don't really know many people and she doesn't have a core group of friends yet. I was not about to invite the entire first grade, so we approached the idea of just inviting Ari. That wasn't good enough at first ("that's just a playdate", she said) but when we upped the ante to sleepover status, it met the grade:). Whew! I'm going to take them to a movie then out to dinner and then back here for some cake and presents. Then we shall see how the sleepover goes! Ari's parents live just down the block so if things don't work out, it won't be a big deal to call it off. I hope it all goes well! Our special six year old deserves a special day:).

It is my understanding that Calgary had its first snowfall this past weekend, and that it going to be -12 degrees Celsius tonight. I will just say for the record that I am not even a little bit nostalgic for a "good ole Canadian winter"! I could not have been happier to see those snowy pictures on Facebook, and then look outside at the beautiful trees with bright red leaves, and the bare ground with nothing but fallen leaves on it. Yes, I think I will get used to this climate just fine!

Two month reflection

We have officially been here for 2 months (well, tomorrow it will be 2 months). It's hard to describe what it feels like to be at this stage, after most of the details of moving have been sorted out, the kids have been in school for over 6 weeks, we've been attending a church for almost a month . . . I'm not sure that, even with all those things in place, it has completely sunk in that this is our home now. I am trying to process how I feel about everything, and my best analysis is that we are on the right track to settling in, but not there yet. I feel like each of us has a good start to making this our home. Brian feels like he is starting to contribute at work which is making him happier at his job (never fun to start a new job!), Lynsey is settling in to Grade 1 and already has a "best friend" (and it would seem the feeling is mutual according to some of the artwork we are seeing, so that's always nice:)), Adam loves preschool and his weekly progress reports continue to show improvement in some areas, and I have been attending a MOPS group at church (Mother with preschoolers group) that has helped me meet people and feel like real friendships are forming.

Of course, it's not like there aren't some struggles mixed in with the positive things. Most of the details have been sorted out, but we still have some tax things to sort out etc. - I had to go into downtown Seattle this morning to go to the Canadian Consulate to get certified copies of mine and the kids' passports (this is so we can get tax payer identification numbers so Brian can claim us as dependents on his tax return in the Spring). The hoops you have to jump through! It was an interesting adventure, once again really thankful for the GPS, although I wish I could ask the GPS to lead me to the closest, cheapest parking garage as well. Everything is a learning experience! I am also finding that building new friendships is a long game and that it doesn't happen overnight, no matter how friendly and welcoming people are. It's a process that has awkward moments tied in, but I'm getting through it. The key I think is to just keep making an effort and be vulnerable, even when you're unsure of yourself. Sometimes when I have these moments of self doubt where I start thinking, "These people already have friends and lives - why do they need us!", I try and turn that thinking around and give myself the pep talk of, "Of course they want to know us! We are fun and genuine and will add something good to their lives! Who doesn't have room for that:)". I can tell you that with the busyness of our lives, it would be very easy to be here for months even years and never get beyond surface friendships with people. I am determined not to let that happen!

We had our first parent/teacher conference with Lynsey's teacher on Tuesday. I was really nervous about it, and deep down I had this fear that she would tell us that Lynsey should go back into Kindergarten. Last week, we got a letter that Lynsey is being put into a special reading group, and I just had this feeling that the teacher was going to come down on us for putting her in Grade 1 when we should have followed the state guidelines and put her in Kindergarten. The conference was nothing like that! She focused on some goals that Lynsey can work towards over the coming months and explained some of the things they are learning and how we can help Lynsey at home. We met with her reading group teacher, who gave us a great overview of the purpose of the group, and that it is merely a different environment for Lynsey to get more practice in some of the areas she is struggling with. I really liked both the teachers, and feel like Lynsey is in a great school where they are giving her every opportunity to learn in the right environment for her. We started having her read to us every night, which we hadn't been doing before, and we have already seen a huge improvement even just in the last week! She is also showing more interest in writing stories and it is just remarkable to me how just a little bit of extra practice at home has increased her confidence and writing skills. It's a bit scary to me what a big responsibility we have to her as her parents! Scary, but pretty awesome as well:).

Potty training update for Adam - he seems to have turned a corner in the #2 department! He's gone from being about 50/50 (and that was mostly because we were catching him in the act and rushing him to the toilet to finish) to being more like 80/20! He now often goes while he's peeing - he seems to finally understand that he's supposed to poop in the toilet! Hurray! I think we'll be at 100% soon, he just needs to learn to pull down his own pants. Most of his accidents are now happening in the bathroom because he is trying to get there, but doesn't have the communication to alert us to come help him. So close! I never thought I would see this day . . . and here I am, I've rinsed like one pair of shorts in the last 10 days:). Another encouraging Adam report is that he has gone to Sunday School three Sundays in a row, and he now just walks in without a backward glance. They haven't had to call us once! The first week he had apparently bit a volunteer that was trying to calm him down at the end (very out of character for him!) and they said they would call us if anything like that happened again. Thank goodness it has not happened again! Apparently he has accepted Sunday School as a part of life! Hurray! Now to have him join in with the other kids . . . one step at a time:).

When I said that they didn't have to call us for Adam, you might think that we've actually been sitting through church the last few weeks. Not the case. Our little Nathan has been quite a sad boy in the nursery! We get called several times a service, but I'm not giving up - we keep trying to leave him, and I'm hoping that eventually her will figure out that it's only temporary that that he'll be okay. It's been a while since we've dealt with "typical" separation anxiety so I don't even know how long it will last, but I'm hoping it won't be long!

Starting to feel like home

Wow, one whole picture to upload this post. I have apparently not been taking my camera out much! Must fix that over the next few weeks. Just a sign of how our life has changed, with both Adam and Lynsey in school so much.

Adam continues to love his preschool, and they are noting progress in a few different activities already which is good. I love to see the smile that spreads across his face when he sees his teachers:). And it seems as though the feeling is mutual! We met with Ann, the Program Director, last week, and she gave us their vision for him and a rough plan for the things they are going to work on with him. I have a feeling of complete confidence in the direction they are taking him. They seem to have good insight into where he's at and what he needs to do to gain the skills he needs. It's still a bit early, but my initial feeling about where he is is very positive! I can't help but feel like God really led us to RSA.

I love watching Lynsey's reading, writing and math skills improve week to week. She gets some homework Monday-Thursday, and she doesn't seem to mind doing it which is good. She is becoming really good friends with neighbor girl Ariana, and I am becoming better friends with her mom, too! We went to their church as a family last week, and it worked pretty well! Adam got a bit upset towards the end with a room change, but they handled it and didn't call us which was great. I feel pretty confident that we will be able to make a home there at that church! The pastor talks a bit more about football than we're used to, but welcome to America!:)

I think Nathan is on the verge of a word explosion. He imitates lots of words we say now, and I've even heard him put a few words together now and then. It might still be a few more months, but I think it's coming! I'm taking him to a hair dresser on Thursday and I think I might chop his mop off. A bit sad about losing the baby hair, but it might be time!

We are starting to put the final pieces together of our move! Of course, we've had a few hiccups along the way (does anything with Canada Revenue ever get done on the first phone call??) but the vehicles are pretty much taken care of! The car is coming today, YAY!!! The van is imported and registered (that was an interesting adventure, finding the border agency office in the industrial area of Seattle. Thank you GPS for saving me from a complete panic attack! Having said that, telling me to make a u-turn on the bridge might not be the best advice!). Registering the car should be a simple process since the shipping company already completed the import. I can't tell you how much we have missed that second car! Brian is going to get on a waiting list for a parking spot ASAP and start driving to work. If it turns out it doesn't save much time, we will re-evaluate, but at the very least he can drive to the park n ride. Insurance is switched over as of this week. Starting to blend in with the locals more and more! Now if I could just stop saying "sorry" all the time so people can't pick me out so easily as a Canadian:).

The latest from the west coast

Time for an update!

Adam is doing so well at preschool. He now just waltzes in there with barely a glance back at me to say, "bye Mom". He started full days this week, and will be full days three days a week from here on in. He was really tired the first day, but he was already much better on Wednesday so I think he'll get used to it really fast. His potty training has really come a long ways in the last month! He now usually tells us when he has to go pee (and if he doesn't use words, at the very least he is grabbing his crotch which lets us know it's time:)). He now poops in the potty about half the time! This is tremendous progress! I think he's finally starting to understand what to do! Very exciting for us:).

Nathan has been a bit of a pain in the sleep department lately, getting up really early and often not napping very long - how I hate these stages where they don't need much sleep! It sounds like he is starting to try to put two words together sometimes! He hasn't hit any kind of "word explosion" yet, but definitely we are hearing new words from him from time to time. So busy, so very busy . . . he is keeping me on my toes! Any illusion I had of relaxing times when it was just me and him during the day have flown out the window:).

Lynsey is adjusting well to Grade one. I am curious to meet with her teacher (not sure when but I think that's coming up soon) to hear how she thinks she's doing. She is making friends, and the little girl two doors down is becoming a pretty solid friend for her. They've had a few playdates already and have another one today! The coolest thing - the little girl's mom (Ariana is the little girl's name, Jaqui is her Mom's name), invited me to a Mom's night out event at her church the other night! They are a group of moms with preschool aged children that meet twice a month and do playdates etc. - just what I was looking for! I went and had a great time! And how totally cool that the little girl that Lynsey bonded with is from a church-going family:). We are going to check out the church they go to possibly this weekend. I went to a different church last weekend with just Lynsey, and it went pretty well, but I am totally open to trying a different place where we actually have a small connection now. It's hard to find a church. You feel so awkward because everyone else seems to know each other. This church where the Mom's group is is a pretty big church, I would guess it's a bit like Center Street Church in Calgary. We will see how it goes. It's nice to feel like I have my foot in the door to making some friendships and even finding a church family!

Our friends James and Sarah are coming to visit this weekend! I am so excited to talk to some familiar people soon! It's weird to not talk to anyone familiar for over a month (face to face anyway). I am starting to feel more and more comfortable here, though. Now that we are getting into a routine and I am learning where to go shopping (this I am still having a bit of trouble with, but it's getting better!), it's starting to feel like home. Our car finally got picked up in Calgary this week! It might still take a month to get here, but we are counting down so Brian can start driving to work. The bus adds close to half an hour each way to his commute because of all the walking he has to do.

I thought I had more to report, but I think that's it! So happy to be unpacked and 99% organized and can focus on doing life here. Oh I did get my Washington Driver's License today finally! Woot! Now to get the van registered and insured . . . insurance will be easy, already have it lined up, but I don't know about registration. Maybe this will be the ONE thing that will be way easier than we thought!!:)

Trip down the Oregon coast, starting school, settling in

Our Labour Day weekend was a lot of fun! We were not settling into our new place the way I had HOPED we would be, but took a nice drive and stayed in Tillamook, Oregon overnight. We stopped at Long Beach, Washington on the way (where all the beach pictures are). What a beautiful beach! How exciting that we have such beautiful beaches so close to us now! The kids loved it. We weren't really prepared to stay at the beach for the day so it was a bit of a mess getting them all cleaned up without towels etc. (smart I know!) but it worked out okay. I had always wanted to see Cannon Beach, and now I have:). We will be back for sure!

The kids started school on Tuesday! I felt a bit disoriented not having our stuff, but it worked out okay. Adam was a bit upset the first day, but he recovered so fast! And every day after that this last week he has gotten better and better! I am so proud of how much he has grown up in the last year. I have a good feeling about his school, the staff seems really competent and friendly and I just feel like it's the right place for him right now. He is only going in the mornings right now, but starting in a week, he will be going three afternoons a week as well. I hope he adjusts well to such long days! I guess we will see. Lynsey is having fun at her new school as well. She has made a friend from a Kindergarten class that she plays with at recess, and apparently a few other friends here and there. We are encouraging her to try really hard to make friends in her class (just discovered that a girl in her class lives only two doors down from us!) but we can't force her to do anything. The first few days were a bit frustrating for me because she lost my good water bottle on the playground (why did she have it you ask? Hers wasn't here yet!) and almost lost her sweater, luckily that turned up in the lost and found. The staff at the school seems really friendly and I think she will do just fine there. I look forward to a time when I am not so busy with organizing and getting my bearings in a new place, and I can actually concentrate on meeting people and building somewhat of a community there. It will take some effort, but we have to start meeting people some time! Haven't gone to church yet, I have decided that next Sunday will be the day we check one out. It's hard to think about meeting our social needs when so many other needs are just barely being met in such a chaotic time! We'll get there:).

We finally have our stuff. The saga is over. Sort of. We discovered that our TV doesn't work which is a real bummer, but we've already decided that if the insurance process is going to be a huge headache we are just going to go ahead and buy a new one. Anyway, our stuff was supposed to come Wednesday morning, but of course, there was a hiccup and the truck didn't come until about 5:30pm. They were here unloading until about 9:30pm and we got to sleep in our bed that night! Yay! They came back the next morning to finish unloading and help unpack and set up furniture. I know it's expensive to hire movers and get them to pack and unpack, but I have to tell you, that service saved our lives over this move. They don't organize, but even just having them take things out of boxes and get rid of all the paper and boxes and everything was a huge help! We are basically unpacked now, the only boxes left are boxes of books. I still have a lot of organizing to do, but it's not so daunting now. I feel like it's achievable to just do a bit every day. And having our living room set up makes me feel like it's actually a home! Yep, starting to feel like we live here and aren't just temporarily here. Don't know if that makes me feel more happy or more terrified right now, I think it might be an equal combination of both!