Fall has arrived in New England!!

mmm apples

This was Wes's first experience with any "real" food. He was confused at first, but then it went straight into the mouth.

He managed to suck off a little juice, but the apples were pretty sour and he didn't seem to like them. And really who cares?? Look at how cute he is!!!

Bath Time

Bath time, most nights, is a hectic time. This was a rare night indeed. Brenden and Annie don't take baths anymore...they're too big for that! But as soon as I put Wes in, they jumped at the chance to get in on the "fun".

On a side note...when will I ever be able to get all 3 of them looking at me at the same time? What do I have to do????

Wesley is crawling!!

Wes has been army crawling around our house for a little while, but he can finally crawl!! He's right on schedule for the Camarata boys...seven months and crawling. It has been fun to watch the process again, but I've forgotten how much effort it takes. Wes crawls for a while and then crashes. Now I have to figure out how to baby proof this house, there are so many places that are not good for Wes. We have to retrain the kids to keep everything put away and safe. Brenden already had a realization this morning! He was trying to play with his cars and Wes was right at his feet trying to get into the action. It was really cute! Here we go...

Hanging out

Annie and I made blueberry muffins. As you can tell, she loves cooking!!

Wes being his usual cuteness!!!

Brenden is in Star Wars heaven with his new sheets from Sandy and Papa!

Just thought I'd load some pictures!!

Are you kidding me?

This has been one hell of a weekend!! The beginning...

Friday morning I got a call at work to come pick up Wes. He had a fever again. It seems that he's been battling this fever for months now. I can't help but feel immense guilt every time I have to leave work. As I drove to get him I marveled at the day! First, I was driving away from a job that I love and was seriously enjoying that day. With the windows rolled down I began to feel the sunshine all around me and a bit better.
There was no traffic so I made the trip pretty quickly. I snagged Wes and we headed home. I sat at yet another intersection and heard seagulls and motorcycles roll by. Now, seagulls have always reminded me of my childhood on Mackinack Island and this day I found comfort and joy in their "noise". As for the bikes, they reminded me of my dad who is always a comfort to me.
Well, we got home and had a "normal" day for this mama of three. Late that night/early Saturday morning Wes's fever reached 104.1. To say I was beside myself would be putting it mildly. I gave him Motrin and a cool bath and waited. He nursed and slept while I waited with bated breath for his fever to come down. It finally did. We slept until 5am when Wes woke me with uncontrollable shivering. We bundled up and snuggled close to Troy (a man with a thermostat that is always set at 90 degrees). Anyway, we ended up in the doctor's office for blood tests and urine analysis. To find nothing causing his fever. Again, sent home to wait it out.
This is where I thought life would calm down and I could go home and rest, but alas the phone rang and I learned that my dad was in a motorcycle accident. He's fine, thank God! He was cut off going through an intersection and had to lay his bike down. He walked away with minor road-rash, a sprained ankle and a sprained shoulder.

Do you think there's ever a moment when you've been given too much to handle? There are several sayings that come to mind..."God doesn't give you what you can't handle" "that which doesn't kill you, makes you stronger" are just 2. But really, when is enough really enough? I really want to know the plan. I'd like to be let in on the life lessons. I want to find out what I'm supposed to be learning from this. My heart is walking around on the 3 little people that I call my children and I can't keep them safe enough. I am a child to only one parent. I am a partner to a man who feels the stresses of it all. I am a sister to a woman who is trying so very hard to keep it all together. Can I just have a break? Is there ever an easy way out?

success

I learned pretty early on that Brenden does not "do" things until he can do it 100% by himself. He did it with walking and with riding his bike. I'm not sure why I thought reading would be any different. This teacher/mama has been struggling with getting her eldest excited to read. I know he's seven now and should be a reading pro, but alas he's not. We have fought for 2 years to get him excited and reading! When it comes to the English language, Brenden could care less. Give him science or math and he's engaged for hours! I finally gave up....a pretty terrifying moment for this teacher. I continued to try but forgot the lessons at the table and continued hoping that one day soon he'd begin reading. Fast forward to this year. I prayed that he'd be given a teacher that would motivate him into reading. He entered first grade only knowing about a dozen words. Enter Ms. Reagan. I have to admit I was terrified to know that this is her first year teaching first grade and only her second year total! She has been proving herself worthy (really who am I to judge?) She started off with a bang and an envelope of flash cards for Bren to learn. This week, he and I were practicing his sight words and I realized that he knew many words and was using some basic phonics to figure out more. SO, I ran to the book shelf and grabbed our Dick and Jane anthology given to Bren by my dad. Sure enough, Brenden read the book cover to cover!! He got up from the table and ran to Troy and said, "I can read!" Of course this mama was terribly proud and amazed at my son!!! Now I know it's just Dick and Jane, but this is just the beginning! The very next day he came home excited to tell me all about reading an entire Curious George book to his reading buddy. He's thrilled with himself and ready to read it all. Thank heavens for little miracles!!