My Tru-Tru

This post is mostly to document some of the feelings that Truett is experiencing right now. Pre-K is going through a lot of transitions, doing "harder" learning work, and getting the kids ready for kinder. This transition is tough for Truett, because a lot of the memorizing does not come naturally to him - it has also been a good reminder for me that I need to work with him (can't be a lazy mom), and help him learn/memorize his new material from school. He is also very sensitive and jsut going through emotional growing pains so there is the added factor of that. This is also making me find ways to help him help himself cope, and hopefully get to a point where this transition isn't very rough. He's an awesome dude and all the text below was from an email I sent another mom. Long version: So after we talked at karate I talked to Truett that evening at home. I asked him, “are you really sad about karate and swimming or is there something else going on at school that is different?” I am sure there is always a little anxiety/nerves before his karate or swimming class but nothing to the point of how he had been behaving…I think that was just a result of bottling up emotions/anxiety all day at school over the past few weeks (tonight will be the truth – he has swimming). Anyway, He opened up and told me school was “boring” (code word in his language for something hard or something he doesn’t want to do), because he said all they do is “count to 50” and “count by 5’s” –later I found out they were having the kids do these skills in front of the class and I think Truett was embarrassed he couldn’t do them all. L (I’m still not clear if kids were making fun of or just making comments or if he is just beating himself.) Then he also told me they “talk about kindergarten all the time” and I asked him if that makes him nervous/anxious…to which he said yes. I think the talking about kindergarten + the skills that he hadn’t mastered and had to do in front of the class really shook him up and probably caused him to be mentally distracted at KrK (and so not paying attention but sitting there quietly means a lot of that went unnoticed until it became so bad L) – and poor guy was bottling in all that anxiety. I talked to Ms. Kim and Ms. Linda Friday morning and they both told me they had noticed a change (basically a regression) in Truett over the past few weeks too which nearly broke my heart! I am SO thankful you and I had that conversation at karate or I may have never gotten to the bottom of it. I talked to friend who is a previous Pre-k, kinder, & second grade teacher and now an assistant principal. She had some great advice for me and the teachers, which I shared with them Friday afternoon (I can tell you more just didn’t want this to be a larger novel but let me know if you want more on that). It sounds like all 3 teachers are definitely on board which is always great…I know they are doing the best they can and this was truly an experience of “being my child’s advocate” so dang early on in his education. Ms. Michele told me yesterday that the 3 teachers talked about it and they are already making some changes that will hopefully help. I think all these kids just process things so differently so what affects one of course might not affect the other. I also took Truett to Scanlan Oaks on Friday to tour the school and to see kinder, so he can visualize it when they talk about it at school instead of having so much anxiety about this unknown-mystical-place called kindergarten. I am SO glad him and I did that…that for sure helped almost immediately. So, in a nutshell I think tonight at swim and Thursday at karate will really be a test to see if some of our new methods are helping him cope with the changes and still building his confidence for and at school. I just hate that he is so young and had to experience fear/shame/anxiety/embarrassment/etc L – there is such a short window of time when they actually want to and like to learn and I really don’t want this experience to block that window for him.

Pictures from my moms birthday.

Weekend Update

We had a fun but exhausting weekend. It is Monday and I am pooped!! I just want to veg out right now... Friday night was grandma's (my mom's) birthday and we celebrated at Los Tios with all the aunts and uncles and counsins. Truett and Mila even spent the night with all of them at grandma's house. What fun memories for all the kiddos!! Saturday we hosted a couple's baby shower at the house so we were busy with that all day and well into the evening. I was in bed with a sleepy Mimi by 7:30 PM. That felt glorious!! Sunday was another full day - church in the morning, HEB, haircut for Ted, birthday party for Mila, then a fun backyard party with friends. When we got home it was crunch time to make a few healthy options for the weekly lunches and dinner and then into bed we all went. Truett had a super awesome weekend and after spending the night at grandma's house he went to BB and Pappy's lake house over night. Doesn't get much better for him! Back to the grind on a Monday - at least we have no events planned tonight so we will all just take it easy - make in the front or back or it's too chilly nad the kids are too tired we will all jsut hang inside. Fine by me. :) Operation summertime workout schedule started this weekend too. I'm trying something new. After a year of focusing on running, then 2 months of doing Insanity and barely any running, I am going to merge the two and do 3 days of running with 3-4 days of Insanity. I'm hoping for some good results. Of course, also trying to stay mostly gluten-free and mostly sugar free. What that means is I eat GF foods to the best of my knowledge, and no sugary treats during the week, only on the weekends when I absolutely cannot help myself (you know, such as buttercream icing at the baby shower), white wine, and sneaking 2 cookies at the BBQ. :P

I'm blogging again!

That.is.it. I am going to start blogging again!! Not even sure where to start. Truett is 5 now and Mila Kaye is 3. Where has the time gone? We are SO busy! Truett is trying out karate, he plays soccer (Ted coaches), has done t-ball (not this season though), and is taking swimm lessons. Mila takes dance, gymnastics, and swim lessons. These kiddos are the best. Mila has always been clingy, whiney, and mommy's girl - that hasn't changed much. ;) BUT, she has also turned into a daddy's girl and her pet name for her daddy is Beast and she is his Belle. Precious! She is a very, very smart little girl and definitely acts and knows more than most her age, but on the same coin, she very much behaves like a 3 yr old. You know, epic tantrums, no reasoning, etc? Yeah, that. :) She is a beautiful, healthy, outgoing girl that also loves to sing, is very animated, and loves her little soul-mate boyfriend, Davis. She is VERY girly. It's adorable. Totally all on her own...she adores dress up, make up, tea party, playing house (being the mom or sister of course), anything "pretend", and of course pink and purple are her favorite colors! Truett is the biggest sweetheart you've ever met. He is very well-behaved at school, and at home he isn't so bad either. ;) He is learning to listen very well, follow directions, and starting to do chores at home and helps his sister a lot. He loves his ipad, playing with the neighbors Aidan and Trey, his buddy Garrison, and loves trucks, cars, sandbox, riding his bike (without training wheels!!), and art. He also plays pretend with Mila and they can be very goofy and silly and sweet, and then they can turn on each other just like brother and sister, I suppose. I am working hard to help them have a close, loving relationship instead of one that is saturated with a childhood of sibling fights. He is learning all kinds of things at school, such as abcs, sight words, how to read and say letter sounds to read, adding, subtracting, etc. He would make any mother proud and I am so lucky he's my little man. Something that has started, probably about a year ago, is he loves sleeping in our bed these days...I actually love it too but I realize he needs his own bed and we need our own space...I'll keep working on enforcing that. For a while I had been very good about having Friday nights as "family slumber party" for all 4 of us, but slowly Truett has made his way into our room a little more often. Stinker! Let's see...as a family update Ted and I are still both wokring full-time. Ted is still doing his video work and other side stuff as time allows, and I stay busy with my workout/running obsession (it's kind of morphed into "workout" with running being a piece of that instead of all-consuming). We have all been going to a church for a while now and everyone seems to love it. Mila and Truett are learning prayers and it's just about the sweetest thing ever. Last night Mila was praying and she started out, "Dear God, I am sorry I screamed at mommy." Then she looked at me and said, "Ok, now you say you're sorry for not being nice." LOL! OK, that's all I have time for now but I will try to report back more often. :)

Back to the Blog

After months of going silent...I am back!!! I would blog on my website (see previous post) but I don't remember my passowrd :/ Anyway, so here I am. I can't tell you how many posts I have written only to delete them. It has been like therapy though -- but you know what, I should probably press "post" - I have been thinking lots about the kids and wanting them to remember me now...if that makes sense. So, I figure a blog that captures my thoughts, feelings, our memories, etc would serve them well in the future. One of the things I recently blogged about (and then deleted) was this internal struggle to be a super successful career woman, and yet to be an awesome, engaged, involved SAMH type (without being a SAHM). I don't even know how to retype it all, but basically the jist was, how do I get over the guilt with career when I leave the office eaerly, or work from home to attend a kid activity, or to simply be in my own home with my kids because I miss them? And on the flip side, how to I get over the guilt of kids when I have a late meeting and I know they are in childcare for 10+ hours or haven't seen me in 2+ days? *sigh* I guess my real confession is...I don't feel guilty for either one (most of the time). It is what it is, right? I'm not jipping anyone - I truly value my carrer, my job, etc, and do my damnest while I'm working. And same with parenting. I love my kids more than...well you know if you are a parent how you love them so much it is indescribable? Yeah, that. And just because I want career success, it doesn't mean I am any less available, engaged, in-love, or what-have-you with my kids, right? I guess I can feel the way I do, the true question will be - what will my kids think or feel when they look back? And THAT, my friends, is why I am blogging again. So they know where their crazy mama was coming from all these young years of their life.

My New Website

For my 30th birthday Ted bought me a website www.runcathy.com You can follow me there -- if you are interested. ;) I'll probably be shutting this one down and marking it as private and keeping my new website open to the world wide web. it will probably remain a little lame for a while until I get into a groove of updating, posting pictures, and figuring out how I want to use it. if u ever stop by it, leave me a comment :) adios!

Day 3 and 4

My iPad died last night before I could post.

Gratitude journal Day 3, things we are thankful for:

Truett said his three things were mommy, daddy, Mila.

for Tuesday mine were: meetings at work going smoothly, driving to and from work safely, and crockpots.

Wednesday--

Truett's reply tonight was "BABABABA". He is obviously in a silly mood.

This Wednesday I am thankful for chocolate, email, and Toy Story 3.

:)

2

I haven't forgotten. Day two of the gratitude journal. Today I'm extra grateful for:

1. Sunshine.
2. My sweet, wild, beautiful, soft, strong, loving, baby girl's personality. She's a smartie, a firecracker, a little lover, a bookworm, a talker, an eater, a mama (loves her babies dolls), a dancer, a ham....she's the best.
3. My boy. My first born, my sweet pea, my crazy 3 year old, my stubborn, testing, silly, goofy, hugging, curious, handsome little dude.

Entry #1

1. The beautiful, sunny weather today. It was warm enough to run in a tank, and then cool enough to wear a light sweater in the evening. Just gorgeous.

2. Good friends. I love that we spontaneously ended up at our friends for backyard family fun.

3. My new, freshly paint walls. They are about 2 months old now but I love them. Just fresh, crisp, and clean feeling.

Truett told me his 3 things tonight (no prompting by me):
1. God
2. Mommy
3. Three (?)

Gratitude Journal

For the next 30 days ( and longer, if I can keep this up), I'm going to post three things I'm grateful for at the end of each day. I took the kids to church this morning and the service was about envy and greed. I mean, who isn't envious or greedy this day in age? I know I'm guilty. I love this idea he suggested, of keeping a gratitude journal to focus on those things. And plus, I thought it will be something fun to do with the kids, too So, if I can remember I'll post my 3 things and then sit with Truettt and Mila before bed and let them list their three things (I'm sure Tru will do all the dictating for him and Mila ;)

I think the most difficult part is going to be listing only three things. And I'll try not to repeat anything over the next month.

Here goes!

Good grief

Oh boy - today was a challenge!!! It was my hardest day of parenting thus far.

My little three year old man tested every limit. I'm not proud of how our day went, but at the end of the day I got to tell him the "chocolate boy" story and smother him in kisses, so it's all good now :) I'd be lying though if I didn't say I'm already anxious about tomorrow. Finger crossed for a better day, and he is being shipped off to preschool anyway. :P

It was just one fit after another. I'm not kidding! My throat is even sore :( I am not a yeller, but yes, my throat hurts. I'll let you guess why. I seriously almost turned into a crazy person today, lol, and I'm pretty sure I said that 100 times, "you are making me crazy, True!!!"

Funny/not so funny quote of the day though, "Fine! Let's go in Target and find you a new mommy, one that will be nice to you." At least that got him quiet pretty quickly. ;) And it was a joke...promise...

Hi. I'm here.

I'm going to jump back into my blog. My kiddos deserve to know how cute they are, LOL.

No, but seriously, I need to document SOMETHING about our lives, right?

The days are a blur though. Truett is in preschool now and besides not napping all day, he is doing really well! He has a ton of friends and adores his teachers. If only he would nap. He can be such a beast in the evenings when he is sleep deprived. Three has certainly been an interesting age...he can go from sweet and silly to demonic in about 3 seconds. I'm pretty sure anyone out there with a 3-4 year old can relate. Good times, lol. It's really cool to see his imagination and independent play these days.

Mila Kaye is doing great. She is our wild child, no fear, approachs things without any caution...she's a dancer, a lover, a mama. Her smile is killer, it can melt you in an instant. :) She is really into her baby dolls and loves feeding them, wrapping them in blankets, playing with her stroller...it's amazing she is only 15 months because she can "play" like she is much older. I'm trying to call her Mila Kaye more often b/c I think it's cute and this way, in case Mila gets to be a popular name, this will keep her just a little bit different. ;) Of course no one else does this, just her psyhco mom, lol.

What else? Our weekends are filled with the normal hustle and bustle - showers, birthday parties, trips to the park, running errands, etc. I know -- everyone is jealous - ha. ;) I'm looking forward to this year though, for a few reasons. One of the main reasons is because our kiddos are getting more indpendent every day and it's exciting to take them places and experience new things through them. It is SO cliche but it's so true about all those "living through a child's eyes" sayings/quotes and all that mumbo jumbo. I mean, look how sweet:
Daddy & True at the Monstrer Truck Jam Show. Actually, all four of us went (and Ted's dad, Pappy), and we all really enjoyed it! It was Pappy's Christmas gift from True - might be something he gets to do every year.
Sweet baby girl looking through her purse.
Loving the swing!
First day of preschool - Handsome little man
Silly hat - they both love this thing.
Mila saying "CHEESE!" at the park.

On a random note, I also hope and pray this is the year I can make it without a running injury. I have been going to ART and doing PT since the week before Christmas, and I'll run my first 5 or 10K this month to see where I'm at recovery wise. Wish me luck.

August, September, October

August and September...You are a blur! September was kind of crazy for me. I was interviewing at work and was very distracted with that. It paid off and I got a position in Freeport (which I started at the end of Sept). So, that has been crazy, switching up our routine and me commuting a bit further. All worth it though and we are all very happy with the way things have gone.

October, you are also a blur...I do have pictures from this month though so, yeah! One of my best friends was married and I was part of the bridal party. It was so fun being a part of Myra and Jeremy's special month/day. So happy for those two, who are now expecting their first baby!!!

October was also full of family fun activities. Lots of birthday parties for the kiddos and fall festivals, and Halloween of course. Let's get to the pictures.

Catch Up

So, as usual, life has gotten in the way of blogging. We are all doing well, just so busy that I have neglected the blog. I *think* about updating it but then usually just shrug it off. I decided I owe it to Mila to attempt some updates! Especially since her baby book is about as blank as the blog (my poor sencond baby!) So, excuse the backlog but here goes. Off to post a million updates...

Our Family - July 9, 2011

Mila is just a week over 8 months and Truett is two and half years old in these pictures. I'm in love!!


















Taken by the fabulous Kelly Garvey, www.kellygarveyphotography.com

Family Time

Our summer has flown by. Unbelievable considering we haven't even done much. With the kids as young as they are we are just chillin' this summer (well, Ted and Truett went camping), but as far as family vacation we're saving that for next summer and the years to follow. We have also been super busy with friend's baby showers, wedding events, birthday parties, etc. I guess this is just life, ya know? It's crazy fun and exhausting all at the same time.

This weekend on a whim we decided to have some family fun and go out, just us four. We took the kids to a new place in town, Gatti Town, and had a blast together! We all chowed on the pizza buffet and then we had some fun in the game room. They actually had a bunch of stuff for Truett to play with, ride on, etc, and there where even a few things for Mila to enjoyed. She loved all the lights and sounds and was just happy with that, too.

While daddy and True were off in the go-karts I snapped a few shots of Miss Mila.

9 Months & Two and a Half

I need to do some kiddo updates for record keeping :)

Mila:
She is nine months old now (9 and a half now)! Such a busy girl...
-crawling on all fours
- pulling up
-cruising
-talking: "ma-ma", "ba-ba", "da-da", and "bye-bye"
-waves bye-bye
-gives high fives
-kisses (open mouth style)
-pushes herself into a sitting position
-loves to hold your hands and walk everywhere...she just leads the way and she is FAST. once she gets her balance and can stand on her own we are in trouble.
-loves to eat real food. she will pretty much eat anything you give her. Her absolute favorite food is watermelon! Some other favorites are shredded chicken, egg yolks, blueberries, and graham crackers. she refuses any baby food now...which actually makes it easy to take her palces and eat b/c she is up for trying anything.
-loves her big brother still. She just lights up and gets so excited when he is around and plays/talks with her. Also loves to grab her daddy's face (and baby faces), and loves her mama.
-when she gets tired now she gets cuddly and just melts her body onto yours and lays her little head against you...it is the sweetest thing EVER.
-still napping twice a day, around 9 am and 1 pm. goes to bed right about 6:30-7pm and sleep until morning. Usually I will give her a quick early morning feed and she will sleep for another hour.
-she loves her little dolls and stuffies
-loves to chase Mocha now that she is mobile
-has her 2 bottom teeth and her 2 top ones are coming in

At her 9 month appointment (9.5 months actually ;) she was 19 lbs 5 ounces and I think she was 26.5 inches long (I cannot remember, need to check my stats card). She is just wonderful and healthy. Such a little love...seriously pinching myself for having her in our family.

Truett:
- POOTY TRAINED!!! I hesitate to even say "potty trained" it was more like "potty ready" - he was ready for it and so no training invovled. One morning I told him he was a big boy now, no more diapers, and underwear it was....we have not looked back! He goes standing up or sitting down, and he can get on and off by himself. SO proud of my boy! I was dreading this, truly, but he has done awesome. We did have some poop issues (he just wouldn't go, period), but that also seems to be resolved, thank you Buzz Lightyear. ;)
-Loves to jam out on his guitar still and makes the most hilarious serious rocker faces. Last night he told me he was a rock star. HA HA.
-Loves his tricycle. He will ride that thing all over the house, which is nice since it has been too hot to take it outdoors lately. Seriously, the kid LOVES his bike and so do we - he is very much self entertained with this.
-Loves to "essersize" with mommy and run, get chased, tackled, water guns, swords, very much all boy...
-He is getting into his t-ball and soccer or jsut full on running, lol
-Loves this game called "Tozzle" on the Ipad which is a puzzle game for toddlers.
-Still loves going places and exploring new things
-Talky talky talk! The boys says everything now...even the peditrician commented at Mila's 9 month appointment (he wanted to go to the doctor, lol), that he is a great talker, especially for a boy, whatever that means. She also said he was very bright, again, whatever that means...but it's always nice to hear something like that about your kid. I feel weird even typing it, but there it is. :P
-He is VERY much into imaginary play - and we even have visitors - his favorite characters... mostly it's Calliou, but Mickey and others will also come over. Daily. It is pretty funny and a tiny bit spooky, ah, toddlers.
-He loves the Arthur books, Curious George books, Chicka-Chicka Boom Boom, Cat in the Hat...the list goes on
-He likes to "make pictures" for people
-He likes to work with daddy in his studdy (he's actually in a huge daddy phase right now, so cute)
-he's about 29 pounds (I'm guessing) and a hair over 36 inches (maybe 36.5 or 37?) (I know this because you have to be 36 inches to ride the go-karts at Gatti Town and he was!) Barely, but he was. Woohoo!

Some of his funny sayings:

"I dinin't do anyting"

"Mommy, you hold my hand?" (while sitting on the pot)

"Daddy come and see it? Daddy!!! Come 'ere!!!" (sitting on the pot)

"No, dat's my booty. You have your own. You have a bigger one. I have lille one." (pinching his booty and talking about butts)

"No, I not a baby, Mee-ah a baby! Her wear diapers. She ikes me, too." (talking about his sister)

"Dear God, dank you for Bella, Ms. Kari, Mommy, Daddy, TruTru, Mee-ah..." (how all of his prayers ALWAYS start out, lol)

"I got go werk now. I going. Bye mom! Bye dad! Oh. I got go Mcnonald's first. Ummm....fench fies, chocate milk, and pancakes please. Thank you." (imaginary play dialouge with himself"

"Mommy, I scared." (I ask him why) "Calliou screamed at me. He hit me. He need to go time out."

...back to add photos and add more as it comes to mind.

Update

I haven't blogged in SOOOOOO long. It is time for an update but unfortunately I am short on time so this might be short.

Mila is officially mobile now! My baby is 8.5 months. She is half crawling and half creeping...basically whatever gets her to where she wants to go. She also loves to stand and "walk" while holding your fingers. Once she gets her balance she is going to LOVE all those push toys, I just know it.

Truett is doing great. Poor buddy had a double ear infection last week though, but his abx seem to have kicked in and he is way less cranky again.

We had family pictures done on Saturday by the wonderful Kelly Garvey. She was so fab and patient with our 2 kids who happened to be on totally different schedules that morning. I know Kelly from the high school days, and she is just as I remember and sweet as can be. I need to link her blog/website so everyone can check out her fab work. We will for sure be using her as our new family photographer (we never had fam pics done before). I can't wait to see them :)

In other news, my dear friend Lexy is basically a celebrity. If you know me then you probably also know Lexy since she has been in my life for oh, about 12 years now. What you might not know is her amazing fitness/health story and struggle. Here is her blog she shares with her 2 inspirational sister-in-laws, Cydi and Carman www.firelitesfire.com. Love that woman!!

Here we are:

This weekend we are headed to the beach for a little Borel family reunion. It is actually my first time back to Crystal Beach since Hurrican Ike came through and took away the Dore's beach house. (That would be Ted's grandparents.) We've been to Galveston since then but I just have never made it back there. Man, it just stinks that place is gone. I know the family is still heartbroken.

Anyway, can't believe the summer is just flying by like this!

Rock on, Tru!

Baby Updates

Earlier in the week I was reading some old posts from 2009 and I did such a good job of writing updates on Truett when he was Mila's age that I think M deserves her own update post, too! She is 7.5 months now. Here's a list of what she's up to:

-Sits all by herself - loves playing and grabbing and reaching for toys.
-Loves to roll and push off with her toe to get places. Not crawling yet, but who needs to crawl when you can just roll/propel yourself to the other side of the room? She does get on all fours and rock like crazy...
-She likes her jumpers, walker, etc...she loves variety - playing on her belly, then sitting, then a baby contraption, in the stroller, going bye bye, etc. Mostly though, she loves to be free!
-We retired the baby tub and she sits with her brother now in the big tub.
-Loves food. She must have food if I'm eating so she has already tried tons of finger foods -- too many to list. She loves pancakes and bananas and really has not met a food she didn't like. She prefers the "real" stuff over purees but still gets those, too. She nurses about 5-6 times a day (when I'm home), and during the work week just once in the morning, then 3-4 bottles while I'm gone, and once before bed.
-She is getting her 2 front bottom teeth right now.
-She is babbling "BA-BA-BA-BA-BA" and oh my goodness it's the sweetest sound. I took video but I can't get it to upload. I will figure it out...
-She is ready for bed around 6:30 pm, usually asleep by 6:45 or 7:00pm and wakes for the anytime between 5:45-7:00am. She takes 2 naps -- typically around 8:30 or 9, and then her longer nap around 12:30 or 1:00 --- basically whatever time Truett is going down is when she goes down, too. She is awesome, have I said that yet?
-She loves stuffies - little baby dolls and stuffed animals and blankets and cloth.
-She has been to the pool once now and she liked it. We stayed for 2 hours!
-She had her first camping experience and did wonderful. Her 2.5 year old brother, however...that is another story (it was just a really long day for him in the Texas heat which resulted in an evening meltdown that I am forever scarred from!)

I know I am forgetting some other milestones, but this list will suffice for now.

Isn't she cute?