The Haunted Forest....

Last week, Kayston was able to earn 4 smiley faces at school. I'm pretty sure it would have been 5 but there was a sub one of the days and he didn't know about the smiley chart. So, for his "reward", Kayston decided he wanted to go to the Haunted Forest. I had asked some people and I heard that it was pretty scary and that it might not be a good idea to take him. I told him that it was super scary but that seemed to only get him more excited about it. So, last night we took our 5 year old to the Haunted Forest. Well, I ended up just taking him since it was going to cost $40.00 for just Preston and me. And since Preston's not a big fan of haunted houses anyway, he was happy to volunteer me to be the one to take him. Which was fine since I have always liked haunted houses. I was more worried about how Kayston was going to do and just hoping he didn't want me to carry him or something like that.

Well, he ended up LOVING it!! There was only a couple of times when he said he was scared and that's only because it was pitch black. He was so funny, there were some creepy clowns that were taunting us and Kayston was just laughing and telling them that he hated clowns and he wasn't scared of them. Even when they tried to chase us with their chain-saws he just laughed. Then there was this big sasquatch thing that was pretty scary looking and Kayston called him a "big stupid monkey man"! He would ask all the characters "who are you?" I couldn't believe this kid! I know that he doesn't get scared easily and that he LIKES scary stuff but I honestly didn't know what to expect with him going into this.

I had such a good time with my BRAVE little guy!! Thanks for being so brave and protecting mommy!!!

31

Today we celebrated Preston's 31st Birthday! WOW! We are getting old FAST! Anyway, I have been asking him what he wanted for his Birthday for a while but he would never give me a serious answer. I don't know why but this guy is hard to buy for. Probably because all the stuff he likes/wants is too expensive. So, he ended up getting season 5 of The Office, a big fat chocolate cake from Costco and some cold hard CASH!!! =) I also asked him if he wanted to go out for his special day or stay home. He opted to stay home and carve pumpkins with the kiddos. Can he be any cuter?? NO!! So, I invited my folks over and I made him a nice dinner with roast, potatoes(thanks mom) rolls and corn. One of his favorites.

Last night he told me that he wanted a turkey dinner.

HA! I wouldn't even know what to do with a turkey if I had one.

Sorry babe!!

This cake is DELICIOUS!!

Oh, so good!!
Really? Can you ever be serious? =)

After my parents left we carved a couple of pumpkins and the kids loved it. Bry was a little afraid of the inside of the pumpkin but Kayston dug right in. I just love my little family!

Happy Day of Birth Babe!!! We love you SO much and we

are so lucky to have you!!

Kayston with pumpkin "guts" on his hands!

It's just a little scary mommy!

The fished product...and yes, Kayston's pumpkin has a slight cleft pallet.

heeeeeee haaaaawwwssssss!

We took the kiddos to Hee Haw Farms over the weekend. They both loved it! Bry loved all the animals and wasn't afraid to chase or touch them. She kept barking at all the animals. (that's her favorite animal sound to make.) Kayston loved the big slides and the swings. Before we went home we went to the pumpkin patch and each picked out a pumpkin. Another fun night with the family!

Kayston sliding down the slide on his stomach....of course!

Ummm, Daddy, I think you might be too BIG for this slide???Bry loved the piggies. Only if you could hear her snort. Cutest thing ever!Kayston feeding the sheep

You can just tell she wants to give this donkey loves!

Petting the donkey...and lucky for him(the donkey), he didn't get poked in the eye with a stick!! (Remember Britney?? SORRY you had to see that!!) Seriously? Can this pig get any bigger... and grosser?My cute little farm animals!Big brother taking his little sis on the choo choo. She wasn't as happy when they came back! =)He loved these swings even though they were pretty slow.She looks so grown up in this picture. It breaks my heart!Hmmm, I'm wondering if this choo choo has a weight limit??Unfortunately, my camera battery died before the pumpkin patch so here is a picture of our pumpkins. How do you like Kaystons? He thought it was perfect and so did we! We like to call it the "special" pumpkin. In fact, the lady wasn't even going to charge us for it cause she said nobody else would want it. =) Little did she know!!

3 SmiLEy FaCEs......

For those of you who read the previous post, you'll understand why I'm SO EXCITED!! Kayston came home from school yesterday with his behavior chart and he had 3 smiley faces. One for every day. The reward system that we have been trying is, if he is good at school he will earn a smiley face for that day and he will bring it home and get a prize from me. If he earns 4 out of 5 smiley faces that week, he gets to choose something really fun like, going to a movie, picking out a toy at the dollar store, going out to lunch with mommy or daddy, Kangaroo ZOO, just stuff that we know he really likes. Well, it hasn't been the easiest thing for him. And when he does get a sad or straight face, he gets pretty bummed out about it. This week he has been kind of a beast at home so I figured he was acting the same at school. So yesterday when he brought that home, I was not only surprised but extremely happy and proud! I seriously got teary eyed over it. I made a HUGE deal over it and we had to call Daddy and Grandma right away to tell them. I let him pick what he wanted to eat for lunch and I even let him eat goldfish crackers ON THE COUCH while I made lunch and he watched a movie!! He was pretty excited about that. Being that there was only 3 days of school this week and he got a smiley face EVERYDAY, we let him pick something fun to do. His first choice was to go to a movie but when I suggested Pirate Island he jumped ALL over that!!! (we wanted to go somewhere we could take Bry so we didn't have to worry about finding a babysitter)

We also surprised him by secretly inviting one of his friends to go with us. He had no idea until we went and picked him up.

And let me just say...best choice we made by taking a friend. He had a blast and we were able to just sit back and watch for once. With Kayston being so much older than Brylee, he has always depended on us to play with and entertain him so it was fun to watch him have fun with his buddy!

Anyway, we all had a really fun night and we are just so proud of Kayston for doing so much better in school. (now only if he would start being good at home...sheesh, we'd take the kid to Disneyland!!)

Oh, I forgot to mention that yesterday he was also KING at school. He got a crown and all the kids drew him a picture that his teacher made into a book for him. LOVE IT!!! He was so proud!

Good job bud, we are so proud of you! Keep up the good work! We love you more than you'll EVER know!

FYI-we are trying some herbal drops that are supposed to help with hyperactivity. I'm also going to start giving him fish oil. I read that it can help calm a child better than Ritilan and really help them focus. CROSS YOUR FINGERS!!

KAYSTON......

Kayston, Kayston, Kayston, hmmmm, where to begin. Well, as most of you know, Kayston has been somewhat of our HARD child. I like to refer to him as "my trial". From the day he was born he has been so hard. It started with the colic then the constant throwing up (caused by extra large tonsils that had to be taken out at 18 months) then came the attitude/hyperness/stubbornness etc.! I know what you're probably thinking...sounds like any typical toddler. Well, let me just say, he is not like any other typical toddler/kid. Anyone who knows him well can testify to that. =)

From a very young age my husband and I have thought that he may be ADHD, but of course the doctors don't like to diagnose it until they get a little bit older and into school. Well, after Kayston had only been in Kindergarten for 3 weeks, (one of which he missed while he was in Idaho) his teacher emailed me and told me that Kayston was having some issues and she wanted to meet with me. I wasn't too surprised considering his bus driver has already had to talk with me twice about him hitting and not staying in his seat. Plus the numerous notes that were sent home to me even when he was in pre-school. 

So, I went and met with his teacher and she confirmed what we already knew, that he is ADHD. I mean, how could he not be...I'm ADD and Preston is HD! =) The poor kid never had a chance! =)

So, his teacher and I came up with a reward system to try for a while since he responds well to positive feedback. If that doesn't work, she wants to try out some type of heavy vest that he wears. I've never heard of it before but supposedly it helps kids as a reminder by putting pressure on them or something like that.

I'm just having such a hard time finding the right ways to get through to him. I know I don't want to turn straight to medication, he's only 5 for heavens sake! But so far, nothing else seems to be helping. Yes, the reward system helps but only for a little while. We have tried everything from taking away a favorite toy to time outs to losing privileges...you name it, we've tried it. 

We love this little guy more than anything and it hurts us to watch him struggle. He even has a hard time being social with other kids. He gets intimidated easily and will act out or be mean. 

The other day he was playing outside while daddy was mowing the lawn and he kept doing stuff that he knows he shouldn't do. He came inside and told me that he was having a hard time being good and that it's hard to be good. I know he wants to be good but he can't figure out how to control his impulses. He lives for the moment and doesn't care about the consequences. It scares me to think that he will have no friends and that school is going to be a constant struggle for him. It was for me and I hated it! And I know how mean kids can be. I was one of them for a while. 

Anyway, just thought I'd update you on our situation and if anyone has any tips or advice, we would love to hear it. Thanks!!!