Kaitlyn's swimming lessons & Kaitlyn update

We had been wanting to try and sign Kaitlyn up for some swimming lessons so I looked around for the cheapest places.  We ended up going to the West Blvd YMCA which was 8 classes for $70.  Not too horrible since the Charlotte Aquatic center was double that price for the same amount and time of lessons!  Overall they were horrible!  Kaitlyn is terrified of putting her face in the water.  She would listen to the teacher and do everything else she was supposed to do, but would not do anything that would make her put her face under.  It got to the point where she was dreading swim class and so was I!  On days Justin couldn't make it, it was a nightmare trying to keep Brayden away from the pool and still try and watch Kaitlyn.  I was more than ready for them to be over!  She does like the water and playing in the shallow end.  Just nothing that may require her to go under.  I decided I give up on any more lessons until going under water is not an issue.  The teacher basically just wasted her time on Kaitlyn always trying to get her under.  Sometimes she would just dunk her under.  She told me that is actually what we need to do if I practice with her in a pool is just keep dunking her, so that she gets over the panic and becomes desensitized to it.  But being pregnant and usually having Brayden with me, I was in no mood to get into the pool with her and start causing a scene by having her dunk underwater!  Maybe this summer she will be around water enough to get over it.  So far she won't even do it in the bathtub.   Here are a few pics of her lessons:

I am actually quite concerned about her anxiety and fears of so many things.  It just doesn't seem normal compared to all the other kids her age.  She is still extremely timid and shy around other kids.  It actually breaks my heart to watch her interact with other kids.   I tell Justin all the time I don't know how I am going to handle once my kids are older and they really start getting their feelings hurt by friends, etc.  Just watching her interact with her preschool group makes me sad.  Whenever it is my week to teach she still clings by my side and rarely will go play with the other kids unless I make her.  The other girls talk to her and try and get her to play and she just stands there and looks at them.  I know she wants to but is just so extremely shy and scared.  I actually just made the decision this past week to enroll her into a real preschool next year.  Justin actually pushed for it more than me.  Basically most of our homeschool preschool is going off to kindergarten next year or moving away and I wasn't even sure if there would be enough kids to have one next year.  So anyway I found a preschool near Carowinds that is only $160 a month for 3 days a week.  Even though that will definitely be a financial burden on us, we really feel it will be for the best for her.  She needs to get out of her comfort zone and be around other kids more.  I would have loved one of the great preschools a little closer to home, but they were all about $80 more a month!  So this will have to do!  I am excited about it though.  There is a lady on my street whose kid goes there and they LOVE it.  She only had great things to say and we will probably try and arrange a carpool which would be great.  I went and visited it this week to turn in my registration check and it seems nice enough.  Definitely not up to par with the most well known ones in my area, but the teachers seemed wonderful and the class sizes were nice and small which I liked.  No more than 10 kids per 2 teachers!  It is a play based school, rather than learning based, but I actually think that will be better for Kaitlyn.  I am not concerned at all about her learning skills.  She knows all of her letters both upper and lowercase, all of the sounds that they make, and she is actually starting to read.  Very slowly though.  I bought the Bob books for early readers and we go through those every so often.  Unfortunately I think she is memorizing most of them, but they still help I think!  So anyways, I am really only interested in the preschool for her social skills, not to help her learn.  I can handle that at home, plus she will be almost 6 years old by the time she enters kindergarten due to her late bday. 

So anyway, she has many, many other fears.  She still won't watch ANY Disney movies b/c she is scared of all villains.  She is even scared of the little kid shows on PBS.  Just to give a few examples: she used to love Curious George, but then there was an episode where they went to a play to see Hansel and Gretal and she got scared of the witch.  There was an episode of Daniel Tiger where he had to get a shot at the doctor, and an episode of Calliou where he fell and scraped his knees.  Now whenever any of those shows come one she runs and hides until she can know which one it may be.  Sometimes if she is in her seat eating and I am in a different room and one of her "scary" shows comes one she starts screaming hysterically until I come running in to see what happened only to realize that it is the tv show.  She gets nervous and anxious about even the smallest little things.  Hopefully this is just phase. But I have a feeling she is always going to be an overly sensitive child and that makes me scared, just b/c I am going to feel so bad for her! 

Snow Day 2013

It finally snowed here enough to actually go outside and play in it.  Kaitlyn was excited to go out.  Me not so much.  I hate being cold, but we all bundled up and headed out.  It was actually a really nice snow. Like real powder snow!  It wasn't too wet or slushy and was perfect for building a snowman!  Justin started rolling up the balls for the snowman.  I didn't even know that's what you were supposed to do!  Unfortunately making the snowman pretty much depleted most of the snow from our yard.  But Kaitlyn enjoyed it.  I am not sure about Brayden.  He just looked cold the whole time and had a lot of trouble walking in it.  He kept falling face first into the snow and crying. We also tried going sledding in a part of our neighborhood with a pretty steep hill. Kaitlyn went down it one time and then was pretty over it b/c it scared her. Here are some of our snow day pics. Ignore how horrible Kaitlyn's outfit is! It was all I could find warm enough to put her in and it was given to us free from a neighbor! haha!

Brayden's 15 month Stats

By the time I made Brayden's appointment for his 15 month check up he was already almost 16 months.  But that's fine.  I prefer to wait as long as possible to delay the vaccines.  Just in case b/c you never know what to believe.  His stats were:

 

Length: 30 inches (10-25%)

Weight: 23 lb 8 oz (25-50%)

Head: 47.5 (50%)

 

We finally had a nice streak of about a month with no sickness!  Everyone but myself I guess.  But mine was more of a sinus infection that went out of control!  It lasted about 5 weeks and was so bad that I literally could not even blow my nose most days it was that completely clogged.  I tried a neti pot but it just went up into my head or ears and hurt so bad b/c my nose was too clogged for it to work.  It started traveling up to my eyes and I would wake up with my eyes crusted shut from the infection.  I even went through a whole 10 day bottle of Antibiotics and it still didn't even finally clear up after that for another week.  It was seriously horrible.  But at least Kaitlyn and Brayden were finally better and that always makes things easier!  As for Brayden's 15 month accomplishments, he is pretty behind I would say.  He is definitely on track for the physical skills (walked at 12 months, can climb onto furniture, etc) but his communication skills are way behind.  He still even at 16 months does not say any words.  He does like to Roar or make Growling animal sounds a lot but that is about it.  He will occasionally say Mama when he is extremely upset but only then!  It's so weird I can't tell if it is just coincidence or not b/c it is only when he is hysterically crying about something.  But I am convincing myself to just give it time.  Kaitlyn was a very slow talker as well and now she is fine.  She can say most anything now.  She still isn't a very clear talker, but she talks.  So I'm sure he will get there in his own time. 

 

Brayden has also gotten to his independent stage.  He is starting to refuse to ride in grocery carts.  He keeps trying to stand up, but then if you buckle him in he throws a fit and I just have to keep doing my shopping with a crying baby looking like "that mom."  He also has started getting pickier about his food which I do not like.  Sometimes if he is hungry and I put something on his tray and it is not what he wanted he gets mad and starts throwing it around with his hands.  It drives me crazy!  He also throws things when he's mad.  Even himself!  He will fling himself onto the floor and roll around crying!  If we are at home, it is funny and I laugh, but of course out in public not so much :)  Overall though as long as he is not sick he is a very even tempered baby.  He is still a very sweet boy.  In the mornings when I get him out of bed, he either immediately needs to be fed his cereal or else he has to be held by me.  No one else.  If Justin tries to take him from me he gets mad and throws a fit.  Unless it is for his cereal.  Both my kids love their morning cereal.  Which is easy enough for me.  Always either Frosted mini wheats or rice krispies.  I do enjoy finally having a baby that likes to cuddle.  If he is grumpy after a nap he likes to be held for a while as well. 

 

Brayden and Kaitlyn have also gotten to a stage where they have started to play together well.  In fact Brayden is by far Kaitlyn's best friend!  She always wants him around.  If he is napping I am convinced that she is loud on purpose so he will wake up.  But I will really be happy once he is talking and they can really play together.  But for now they play really well in their play kitchen and Kaitlyn loves to "read" him books while he just sits there.  It's cute.  I wish I had a picture to go with Brayden's 15 month post but unfortunately I am an extremely slack photographer.