Discipline

Disciplining Owen has been a challenge to say the least. He is just a mini version of Chris so they butt heads on a daily basis. He's very strong-willed and very active. We've tried all kinds of methods and read books and articles on disciplining boys. I put together a system that took ideas from several sources and it has been working for us so I thought I'd share.

I took an idea from the website I Can Teach My Child and added in a little kindergarten discipline style and this is what we came up with:

I am not artistic or crafty so it's not the best looking thing ever and its taken a beating already so I need to redo the poster. Anyway, the gist of our system is this: Owen has rules based on our expectations for him at this age and 3 age-appropriate chores. He can earn green sticks when he does his chores or shows good behavior and he is given red sticks when he breaks the rules or misbehaves. The sticks are placed in the chart at the top (this particular day he had 3 red sticks and only 1 green...bless his heart!) throughout the day. At the end of the day we count the sticks and if he has more green than red he earns a quarter. The 3 jars at the bottom give him choices on what to do with his money. The green is for "give", the red is for "save", and the blue is for "spend".

We've been doing this for about 3 weeks now and my sweet Jesus loving little boy has chosen to put his money in the "give" jar every day so far. He takes the money to church each week and puts it in the offering plate.

This has really worked for us so far. He is highly motivated to earn those green sticks and a red stick just breaks his heart. It's a good math lesson at the end of the day when we talk about 'more' and 'less' and count the sticks up.

Snow Day...Again

Earlier in the week there had been mention of some possible snow for the end of the week. I didn't pay it any attention because we get that from time to time and then nothing happens. By Thursday the forecast was calling for snow and we were under a winter storm warning for the following day. The next morning we awoke to the phone ringing off the hook at 6 am with people calling to let us know that school had been cancelled.....AGAIN! We had a great time playing and spending time together without all of our usual obligations.

These pictures are not in order so bear with me!

he can't even sit up all the way in all of those layers!

It's the Michelin Man!

lots of snow!

suiting up!It was only 24 degrees so we spent a lot of time playing inside

the view from the front porch

Owen wanted me to take a picture of his horses. He carefully lined them up and then the horses had to approve the photo after it was taken.

there was lots of wrestling....

he's so excited!

the view from the back porch

They're calling for another winter storm this next week. I've enjoyed the snow and the fun that we've had but I sure am ready for summer!

Snow Day Dance Party

Aiden has always loved music and loved to dance! Owen has just recently started dancing around the house. While we were stuck indoors during the bitter cold we've had recently, we had a little dance party. It takes Aiden a little bit to get warmed up but once he does....look out!

Look who's walking!

Aiden had been taking a few steps here and there for a month but never seemed all that interested in walking. Around the week of January 22nd he started taking off and continues to improve every day.

Aiden......

...................is 13 months old.

...................is walking better each day.

..................is saying mama, dada, nana, yeehaw (redneck I know!), bye bye, and uh oh.

..................loves to give hugs but is not a big fan of kisses.

..................is so quiet, calm, and happy.

..................adores his big brother.

..................is an eating machine!

..................feels a little heavier each day.

.................seems to be traveling the same road of ear infections as his big brother.

.................loves a good laugh.

.................is our sweet Bubba!

Owen...............

..........................is growing too fast.

.........................never and I mean never stops talking.

.........................is hilarious!

........................has a vocabulary that grows every day.

........................is loving his new preschool this year.

.......................loves books and I pray he always will.

......................can identify numbers up to 30.

......................has developed some irrational fears.

......................is very loud and has a big personality.

.....................is a great big brother.

....................is a typical first born with a Type A personality.

.....................loves Jesus and would go to church every day if he could.

...................can spell color words and a few random other words.

...................is our source of entertainment.

...................is our sweet, wild, and loving monkey!

Life With Boys

maintaining order is a full-time job

Ladies Man

Owen has discovered that girls are cute (Lord help us!). He likes to tell girls that they're cute and comment about different girls that he sees. After church last Sunday, we had lunch at Pizza Inn. The girl that waited on us had long brown hair in a ponytail. As she walked away from our table, Owen announced very loudy "hers cute! Hers got a ponyhead (ponytail)!".

I don't know where he comes up with this stuff!?! Typical Speech Pathologist kid to have his pronouns all out of whack.

On a side note, as I was typing this Owen came in from his bedroom (he should've been asleep for an hour and a half now) and announced that I needed to come rescue him from the sharks that were trying to get him. At least the kid's got a great imagination!

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf???

Apparently at some point in the third year of life, we learn fear and our imaginations grow by leaps and bounds. These two make for a lethal combination when it comes to entering dark places and going to bed at night.

Owen has claimed that there were sharks under the bed, brown dogs were going to get him, snakes in the leaves outside, and on and on. Fortunately, a little reassuring usually does the trick. I have to giggle a little when he claims brown dogs are after him. Where does he get this stuff!?!

Happy Birthday Papa!

Happy Birthday to our Papa!

Love,
Your Super Silly, Wild, and Funny Boys