The Power of Praise (9-21-11)

I need a bumper sticker that says "Proud Mama!" today.

Both boys spent the summer in a weekly class at The Little Gym and we carried over Cash's Sports class through the winter. At the end of each class one of the teachers comes out and explains what skills they worked on (this week was being a soccer goalie and using polite game playing manners). Teacher Angela is always very positive and honest. If the group had a hard time listening she shares that with us parents and we all secretly hope it wasn't our child. The same goes for the compliments and "good news." One week she shared that "some kids" made home runs and she didn't usually see that at this age, I secretly hoped one of the big hitters was Cash, mostly because he loves hitting the ball over the fence and roof at Grandma's house and I knew he would be proud of himself. Later when I would ask him about it he would nonchalantly say "Yeah, I hit a home run" like it was an everyday occurrence. But this week Teacher Angela made a special point to let me know Cash really set an example with his manners. He said "Good Job" and "Nice Try" to the other kids and encouraged them when they didn't make a goal. I was proud, I was beaming, I was secretly laughing because had Chubs been in his class this conversation would have sounded a lot different. On the way home we shared the news with Grandma who happened to call and left a note for Dad. What I really loved seeing was that just like his home run, Cash wasn't proud of himself or his teacher's comments about his behavior but rather felt that his actions and words were the way things should be, he really hadn't done anything special, he was just being himself.

 All the kiddos love this "Donut" thing at the gym. Cash's class uses it to practice throwing a football, below Ryan's class uses it to climb through.

Ryan received his own round of praise as well this week with a visit from the speech path. We took the summer off from visits through our ESD because Ryan seemed to be doing so well, but after several months of ear infections through the summer, Ryan's hearing was likely not up to par for a while. He proved that he wasn't going to be seen and not heard by the end of her visit. He was mimicking, asking for help, and following directions very well. She mentioned he was making great progress and I was so happy because what parent wants their child to struggle, especially with communication which can be so frustrating for our kids.

As I reflected over Ryan's therapist visit, and Cash's class last night I was reminded that I hadn't yet checked in with all my parents. There is now an item reading "Write Good News Notes" on my work To-Do list. It is so easy to forget when my students are doing so well to pass that on to their parents. Who doesn't like a little Good News?

A Lesson from my Son

I have this problem/stumbling block/, call it what you will, but whenever something I am working on does not seem to be "Good Enough" I will often find a reason to move on from said task and spend my time on something else. That happened to my blog way back in April. But, I am finding that my newly found quiet evenings have given way to some extra time and a need to "talk" or write and share the great things my boys are doing, and with no one to share these moments with in the evening until Friday night, here I go again......


Cash sat next to me yesterday with his pen in hand flipping through the pages of an alphabet book. He has about 10 of these books I picked up at Target for a buck each. Some are addition which he is very in to right now, letter writing, object discrimination, and other activities that earn him computer time. He practiced a few B's, moved on and practiced a few Y's, moved on. After a few minutes I asked him what he was looking for and he told me "I want an easy page." I knew that "easy page" really meant a page where he did not make a mistake, where his letters looked very close to the letters already lightly outlined for him as a guide. An easy page. The mom sayings kicked in "We sometimes need to practice to get better." and "Writing letters takes time to learn, look at all the letters you already know!" He didn't respond but rather kept flipping pages determined to find one that suited his needs. He eventually gave up stating that he was very tired and went to find something else to do. Later I thought about how much alike we were. I do the exact same thing, maybe not look for the easy page, but the pages where I will succeed and my letters will not go outside the lines so to speak. I just knew I might as well put those books in the recycling, he wouldn't go back to them, but I was wrong. The next day he would pick up his pen and continue on searching the pages, trying letters that yesterday may have been too hard, and picking up pride along the way in the process. He inspired me to think about things I had given up and should try again, this blog was on of them.

Speaking of writing, when I started back to work I began to leave Cash notes most mornings on this whiteboard not only to let him know his mom is thinking of him but also to hopefully inspire him to write as well. Sure enough after a few mornings I came home to find he had written me back a letter, he read it to me and while I couldn't make most of it out, I did recognize the "Mom" above my Love, Mommy, priceless.

Baby Ryan's 1st Birthday Celebration (2-26-11)

We couldn't be more excited to celebrate baby Ryan's birthday today. He has brought such a new element to our family, he combines so many qualities of myself and Ryan, and he truly is a happy-go-lucky little boy. He had such a rough start and I when I remember those 10 days he spent in the NICU I have a hard time holding back the tears. He seemed so fragile, and helpless. Then, we finally got to bring he home, and we feared we would do something wrong. One year later he is tough as nails, not easily dissuaded, and even his brother gets a run for the money if baby truly wants something. You would never know he had such a trying first few weeks of his life. Happy Birthday Ryan!

Some quiet time with Grandma Severance

Pinata Time!

My mom made me wear this hat!

Cash and Bear - Too Cute!

T-1 till baby's birthday or a regular Friday night! (2-25-11)

Friday! I love coming home to remind Cash that mommy gets to stay home two days on Fridays. As I ascended the stairs to the living room I could hear giggling, lots of giggling. That usually means someone is hiding and waiting for me to turn the corner. Sure enough......

They were trying to hide together under the blanket but baby kept trying to escape causing a lot of laughter. Too cute, my 3 boys all together in a huddle.

And even though we had below average freezing temps, Cash continued his commonplace practice of playing the Wii in as few clothes as possible. If we look back over this year-long blog I am fairly sure that this will be his usual routine for most activities.

SNOW DAY!! (2-24-11)

I am the first to admit I am worse than the kids when it comes to wanting a snow day. It isn't the time off from work that prompts me to entertain the thought of a day off, but rather a day with the boys where we can stay in, drink hot chocolate, an unexpected wonderful day together.

A few weeks ago I started looking at the weather and saw a hint of possibility we may see snow again before spring. I waited to pack this year's snow gear, and that was a wise decision. Baby and I woke up first, of course, and I couldn't wait for Cash to come downstairs and see the white blanket. He was as excited as I thought.

First, a bowl of oatmeal to warm your tummy.

Next, dance around in excitement! Love the red socks!

Last, figure out which end the snow bibs go on. And after looking at this picture a few times I just noticed baby trying to get into the rice tub again. 

We started our snow fun with a wagon ride.

Baby tries his first snowball (I was careful where I took the snow from).

We finished up with a snowball fight. Cash remembers his first snowball fight with dad a year ago.

Had to add this pic in, Cash loved making this little snowman and the next day it was still freezing so he lasted, but by Saturday Cash would wake up to a pile of sticks and rocks. :( It did however lead us to get the book "What Snowmen Do a Night" from the library, definitely a must add to the Berry Library.

Baby Ryan adds a new word and Cash sleeps in (2-23-11)

This morning was an early morning, the kind where I am not sure how much sleep I actually got and the baby was awake before Ryan left to go to work. Ryan leaves at 5. Even though I dislike early rises, I absolutely love the quiet mornings with baby. I watch him play and try to show him new things. He always seems ready to go even if I'm not.

Last night baby was in the bath and he stood up and leaned over the side yelling out what sounded like "ette, eeeeeettttttteeeee" and he had the exact same inflections as I have heard Butters (his cousin) use when calling for Nana Nette. This morning I tried to get him to add the "N" for Nette and sure enough....

And of course a jaunt on the pony before breakfast is always a must! Cash slept in until the last minute and when I woke him he said "I need to sleep longer." There was a day, when he used to sleep like his brother, and I never thought I would hear such words. :)

Angry Birds! (2-22-11)

Cash (and the rest of America apparently) is obsessed with Angry Birds! I didn't understand this preoccupation with a slingshot, variously sized birds and "Are they smiling at me because I didn't beat this level?" pigs until last night, but that's a future blog. (3-11) A few years ago Ryan and I went to a Parent Forum and the keynote speaker spoke on the challenges our newest generation will face with all the new technology bombarding them, the media in front of them, and so on. He gave some ideas on how to stay "connected" and raise children minus the "gimme" effect.

Idea #1: Have children "earn" things like their computer or t.v. time, you don't even have to say that is what's happening, and it can be the smallest thing, "Let's pick up those toys and then watch some t.v." or in our case "Let's go poop in the potty, and then you can play "Angry Birds" the goal being that you instill into your child with a little work we get rewards, so can you guess who went poop?

I'll cut the suspense, it was Cash, dad just has to remember how to share! :)

Idea #2: Sooooo excited to try this starting this year when Cash turns 4. For your child's birthday you give a list of activities to do, say once a month, and they check them off as the year goes on. You also put on one DU, destination unknown, a surprise place to take your child. The speaker said when he went to visit his son in college his son planned a DU for him.

Baby on the other hand is going to be the unfortunate recipient of 2nd time around parents. Where some say with the second one they can eat off the floor, stay up late. Um, sorry baby Ryan but not true. Not only is he not going to be in on the Angry Birds scene for many years to come, he will wait longer for t.v., waited longer then child #1 to try juice, and so on. At least he has 101 toys to keep him occupied!