Poor Neglected Blog

My poor neglected blog! Sheesh. Where do I start? The girls have been attending Vacation Bible School at our church (VBS for short). They are having a BLAST. Tonight is the finale so we'll get to see them sing songs and watch a slide show of all the fun things they have been doing. Schuyler is in the same group as her best friend so it has been an extra special time for her. I was worried b/c they split apart the elementary students and pre-school students, meaning Mack wasn't with her sister. This actually worked well. The smaller worship area works better for the younger kids - they are not so overwhelmed and it's not near as loud. And, Mack has 2 of her friends from the Montessori. They are not in the same group but there groups rotate to the different activities together so she gets to be with them a lot.

Eli had his 18 month appt. As many of you are aware, he is not yet talking and has had some behaviorial issues which have concerned us. The doctor believes the behavior is a result of being "pre verbal" and once he starts talking the behavior will quite or at least decline. But, since he is not where other kids his age are, we are going through some screenings with him to rule things out. Lincoln Public schools will be coming to do an assesment and Mark and I are filling out a questionairre. Mark and I will complete this and our answers will be scored. Based on the score, we may need to have additional consultations or assesments done but will cross that bridge when/if necessary. Other than that, he is healthy, strong, active and tall! 90% for height, 40% for height.

A couple of weeks ago I got together with my good friend and fellow photographer, Holly. We attempted to get family pictures of the Riese's but some of the Riese kids did not feel the need to cooperate = ( We did enjoy the rest of the afternoon as mom's and kids went to the pool and dad's went for a round of golf! Here are a few from our session, all images courtesy of Holly Troxel Photography.

adjusting

Wow. It's been a long while since I posted!

Well, we had a good 4th of July. We went to a friend's cabin on the lake and enjoyed a day of swimming, boating, and tubing. All of the kids experienced their first boat ride and Schuyler even tried tubing! It has been so long since I have been tubing or boating. It brought back memories from when my uncle Ron would take us to the lake skiing. I remember skiing and tubing with my cousin. They would take us around the lake and try to get us to bite the dust - we were a little older at that point.

Eli started the Montessori the following Monday - the 7th. It has been a BIG adjustment for him = ( The drop-off the first few days were filled with a lot of tears. Then, with the suggestion of my husband, we tried something different. Instead of having the girls go straight into their room and Eli go into his, the girls (mainly Schuyler) have been holding his hand and walking him into his room. Things have got better and yesterday, there were no tears at all. As we guessed, his hardest time is when he can't see his sister's. When they are around, or when he is outside, things are fine.

On top of this, we were trying to adjust him to the toddler bed. He has good nights and bad nights. Sometimes, he wakes up with terrible night terrors where he is crying uncontrollably and will throw himself on the floor or bang his head against something. Nights like these I feel like I have an infant again but I feel so bad for him b/c he can't express any feelings = ( However, last night, despite his fight to stay up, once he was asleep, he slept the whole night.

I meet with the Dr. at the end of the month to discuss his speech and a few behaviorial issues. He is due for a vacination but we will discuss the other issues and see.

Mark was in a golf tournament this weekend. I think they won the calcutta and got 3rd in regular play but don't quote me on any of this! The girls enjoyed the new American Girl movie, Kit Kittredge, with Papa. And, I enjoyed a good girls night out on Friday!! Thanks ladies for getting me out of the house!

Pictures...

more projects...

What would life be without a project at the Riese household. Yes, we have began yet another project. The cement patio that was sloping into the house is completely out! Mark, with the help of his uncle, great uncle, and cousin have removed the patio. Our house is the talk of the neighborhood with a huge pile of dirt and a great big red roll-off taking up what was once our driveway. A big thank you to Aunt Diane and cousin Seth for helping watch the kids so the men could work.

The girls finished up their first round of swimming lessons last week. We are taking this next session off but both girls will be repeating their current classes in August. Mack is SO close to passing... just needs to do 3 seconds of floating unassisted on her front - she has the back side down. Schuyler needs to "master" her front and back crawl. Her class is rather challenging. This week we had no activities due to the holiday weekend! It was nice! I stayed at home with the kids Monday and Tuesday. We enjoyed swimming at Grandma's one day and a play date at our house with a friend of Schuyler's - complete with the slip and slide, baking cookies, and water color painting! What a fun time.

Mack had her 4 year old well child check up last week. She is still 50% for height and weight. Dr. asked her to play catch and I think he was surprised at her throwing ability. I mentioned to him we would be back in a month since Eli is still not using many words. He decided to check his ears. Sure enough, he had wax the size of my pinky blocking both ears. He was hearing but probably muffled. We are hoping for a language explosion = )

Speaking of Eli, he is officially adjusting to his toddler bed. With either Mark and I home this week, we thought it would be good timing. It is proving to be a difficult adjustment but we are making slow progress.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe 4th. We are heading to a friend's cabin with the kids for some fun in the lake and some and of course fireworks. We are truly blessed to live in a place with so many freedoms!

Look what Mack got for her bday!! Her first digital camera! I've created a mini me = ) And, a sweet picture of my mom and her!