When You’re Happy…

I picked him up from day-camp early on Friday because he wasn’t feeling well.
He buckled in and looked up and asked me to please take him to the doctor.
I called on the way and we went straight to the pediatrician’s office.
Not much happened.
He had a fever of 102.
We were told he probably just had a stomach bug and to be prepared.
So, we got through the weekend.
Not feeling well and fighting off a fever. By Monday, it was still going strong, but he was fighting.
Here we are trying to enjoy a pool day. He’s laying in my arms.
How do we feel better?
We make matching silly faces and sick faces.

When you’re happy. 
I’m happy.
When you’re sad. 
I’m sad.
When you feel sick.
I worry until I’m sick too.
When you’re unsettled.
I am unsettled.
You are my little dream.
My love bug.
My silly boy.
I love you so and hope you feel better soon.
Until then, I will hold you until you smile! 
El Momma and Leebug 

Happy Fifth Birthday to my Baby El

Well, those five years sure flew by! 
Today was a great day for this little guy.
We started with pancakes from Momma’s griddle.
Then, we spent the day at Vacation Bible School.

That afternoon, we had cake and waited for daddy to get home, so we could go to dinner, just the six of us.
He chose Little Pappasito’s for his dinner location. We love the fact that they put a giant sombrero on your head and sing to you.
It was a great day to celebrate a wonderful kiddo that blesses our life every single day!

Almost Five

Every day for the last week, he wakes up and asks, “How Many days until my birthday?” The answer today was “3 days!” He is so very excited to turn five. 
Can you imagine waking up this happy nearly every day and to top it off, you are wearing a top hat on your head? What a character!

We have lots of names for this child. 

Our fourth.
His name is Leeland. 
Lee for my dad, Jimmie Lee, and it was close to Leo, a family name on my mother-in-law’s side. After we named him, we found out that Leland was also a family name on her side too. 
We call him Leeland.
Lee.
Lee Lee.
Leebug 
Big baby (he was over 10 lbs at birth!)
😉
And, this week Big Baby turns five years old. He’s not a baby anymore.
Happy almost birthday, Leebug! Next time you awake, the answer will be “2 days!”
Love you forever.
-Momma 

We Made It…thankful for a new school year!

Last year was tough. Really, really tough. Our oldest son, who is on the Autism Spectrum, changed schools to be with two of our other children. It was a change to make things easier and smoother for the whole family. But, as you probably know, change can be very difficult for a person with autism. Honestly, change can be difficult for anyone. But, change is difficult for him and it was difficult. 
A new school. In third grade. In a team with three main-subject teachers in three different classrooms. All new (to Bakri) ancillary teachers. And, new kids (to Bakri) who have pretty solid friendships by third grade. That was the hardest part. Bakri had friends at his old school. We loved his old school. We loved the teachers he had. He had great ones. Really great ones. It turns out that the kids and the relationships your children have with them- that’s almost, if not more important than the teachers. I’m speaking, of course, about schools that we’ve gone to, where the teachers are, for the most part- top quality and the best of the best. So, when that is the case, the kids in the classroom and having friendships is the most important part of the school day. 
That was a struggle for Bakri last year. There were some super nice kids in his class. I think some of them really like(d) Bakri. But, when the bullying happened, the nice kids either didn’t see it or hear it, or they were afraid to stand up to the bully(ies). It’s tough. We are trying to teach our other children how to stand up for kids like Bakri. And, it is a tough line. When do they speak out to the bully and when do they tell the teacher? Or, do they always do both? 
After our crazy summer of fun and complete chaotic-24-hours-a-day togetherness, we (especially me!) were looking forward to school beginning. 
Some of us woke up extra early and willingly let our Momma fix our hair with a hairbow (that NEVER HAPPENS!) and even had time to cuddle on the couch, fully dressed with a robe on. That’s miss Kindergarten, Trinity. 
Some of us were pretty tired at breakfast. Leeland on his way to Pre-K 4!

We enjoyed picture time outside. The oldest two, Maddux and Bakri were all smiles. Excited for 2nd and 4th grade. 

How do we get all four to stand and smile at the same time? Who knows!? When it happens, it’s a small miracle. 

And, then Leeland woke up! Ready to go!

Leeland and his chauffeur! 

Big boy at a big school!
I took the other three kids to school to begin kindergarten, second and fourth grades. The first morning was the easiest of the week.
The rest of the week flew by and it was chaotic and exhausting. Mornings were tough. I’m pretty laid back in the summer. So, being at school at 7:30 on school days presents its challenges. Trinity already knew her teacher and seems to be adjusting well and enjoying kindergarten. Maddux has made a couple of new friends and knows most of his classmates. He has great teachers as well. Bakri had an easier transition this year. We met with his team of teachers- just two this year- the week before school began. I think that helped us to set some expectations. They also assured me that this would be an easier year for him in establishing friendships, now that he is in his second year at the school. We sure hope so. Leeland is in a montessori school and has the same lead teacher as last year. He loves her and she loves him. 
So, we’re in it. 2014-2015 school year. Ready to learn, love, and grow. I’m scared and excited and hopeful. How did your first week of school go?
Hope it was great.
love,
El Momma

It’s the little things

We plan big and most of the time it’s great. We keep our kids busy or they keep us busy, rather. We work, we play, we laugh, we cry, we sing, we dance. Sometimes we forget to slow down. But, when we do slow down, that’s when the magic happens. 
It happened this summer.
Nearly every day. We have taken this summer slowly.
Day
by
day
No theme weeks. (I know. Those were fun and really they weren’t super hard to pull together.)
No stressful activities or over-planned days. 
In fact, we’ve been on vacation twice this summer. The first one was less vacation-y for the adults -me and the hubs because we did a lot of driving and work was part of the trip. We ended up having several day-cations in that one vacation, but the second one- to Florida was definitely a vacation. We stayed in a huge house with my parents, sister, brother, sister-in-law and 8 kids (the 4 els and 4 of their cousins.) 
We cooked. We played. We ran. We swam. We played tag and watched movies. 
We made sandcastles on the beach and swam in the ocean. 
My favorite moments were the little ones. The moments when all 8 kids (4 of ours and 4 of our nephews and niece) sat in the sand building or digging together. 
When we laughed and played in the pool. 
When I had morning coffee and worked on song lyrics sitting in the kitchen by myself before anyone was awake.  (no photo of that!)
So much of what we are made to do is just about being in community. Being together. Enjoying each other and loving one another. I remember precious moments with my cousins when I was growing up. Learning to roller skate in my aunt’s driveway. Singing along as my mom played guitar for all of us. I adore my cousins. They are some of my favorite people in the world who I rarely get to see. But, I love them and cherish them all the same. I believe my sweet Els are growing up feeling the exact same way about their dear cousins. 
I am feeling pretty thankful as we head in to a new year of school. A new year of friends. A new year of memories, challenges, hopes, dreams, tears, love, laughter and promises. This summer has left my heart feeling full and ready for the year ahead. Let’s get out there and dream big. Love your kids and your teachers and enjoy the little things. 
xoxo,
Rebekah

Summer Week 5 Theme Week- performance week

Our youngest turned 3 this summer. One month before his birthday he asked (completely unprompted) for a Willy Wonka birthday party. It was a perfect idea, so we got to work. We asked our family to join us for the fun and even dress as characters from the book…anyone, but Willy Wonka. Leeland, our birthday boy, would be the only Willy Wonka.

Last year the Els had a performance week and did a song from Aladdin at a family Disney night at our church. This year, the kids picked out their characters and we spent the week rehearsing and preparing for them to perform a few songs from the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory movie.

He already had a blue velvet jacket (hand-me-down originally purchased by his grandmother for his oldest brother) I found this hat on ebay. And ordered him a size small.

Pajamas, velvet jacket and top hat…normal for rehearsals!

 Practicing for the big performance. Our stage.

 Tickets…I purchased a set of Willy Wonka graphics from Etsy. Everything was customized.

 The party table. Cake, candy, chocolate and more candy. We’ve never served so much sugar at a party!

Our handsome birthday boy. We found the vest material online. It is the same fabric print as the Gene Wilder vest. Our little Leeland, Willy Wonka was so very happy!

Seven Year Old, Bakri’s First Song

Our oldest son, Bakri had an assignment to do a family culture project for his second grade Fall project. He wrote a song about our family. He sang the lyrics. I jotted them down quickly. We made our way to the piano and he continued to sing. He wrote several verses and a really cute chorus. I worked on recording the music and then Bakri sang his part. We recorded it with garageband. Once Bakri’s lead vocals were recorded, the kids and I recorded our parts. Once the song was done, we recorded video for the music video. I am very proud of my Bakri and his brothers and sisters. What a fun project!

The baby Els go to school!

It has been a busy week at the El house! On Friday, Miss T. and Little L went to visit their school and El Momma went to orientation. The Big Els were both in Elementary School at the time. So, I was able to give the event and my little ones, all the attention they needed. It was good. T loved her class. She is pictured (top, below) with the pink star balloon they gave her, which happened to match her outfit. She was super happy. On Monday morning, Trinity was still excited about school. The other picture below is just after she’s happily entered her room, and just as she’s decided that she would rather go with me. 🙂

L. was totally chilling at his orientation. He acted like he had been there a million times before. He had been there several times before. So, I’m glad he is comfortable.
And, here he is (below) at drop off. He was just chillin…again. He pretty much chills most of the time. They said he was a star student the first day. He ate, he played, he napped, he pooped. Success!

I am excited for L and T to be in school. I pray they will be blessed this year and that the time I have, I can use it wisely. I don’t know how I’ve gotten anything done for the past 7 years. Perhaps, I will hit a new found stride with my kids at this age and I will get my house organized! I am hopeful!

Leeland’s Birthday Painting, the Third Painting in the series

When I began painting the first of what would eventually be three paintings, I had no idea that I would be painting variations of the same painting more than once. The first painting was for our first son, Bakri, when he turned one. We planned  a baseball themed birthday party. I made him a cake shaped like a baseball and decorated like a baseball and I painted a baseball jersey on canvas for his wall in his room. I used the painting as part of the decoration for the party and I made a cake that matched the jersey. That was all for the first birthday of the first child. Little did I know, God would bless us with 2 more little boys with first birthdays! So, this week, I began the fun job of painting Leeland’s first birthday painting to go with the paintings for Bakri  and Maddux. Here’s how it went:

And, here they are all together….Leeland’s is nearly complete. My blue paint was old and didn’t offer much coverage. It was the day of his party when I made this discovery. So, we just went with it. I’ll finish it soon. I promise. As for the significance of these paintings, well they are very important to my babies. I realized that this week when working on Leeland’s. It was so cute to watch the other children light up as his painting became more and more finished. In fact, Bakri (our 6 year old) now wants me to find a way to make real jerseys…hmmm…I’ll have to think about that one for a bit. Maybe when they stick with one size for a while.
Leeland’s painting with a cake ordered from H.E.B. They do a good job with the jersey, don’t they?!
The famous baseball cake by El Momma. I really do enjoy making this cake!
The Happy Birthday side of Leeland’s baseball cake.
Pictures from Leeland’s first birthday party and day to come soon! We had a great time celebrating our little Leeland!

My First Tooth

I am 10 months and 1 week old. Today was a big day for me, because I cut my first tooth. Yippee! I am looking forward to all of the wonderful food I will soon be able to enjoy…after getting a few more teeth, of course. But, for now, I will enjoy my one bottom tooth and my momma will update with a new photo once it comes through a bit more! Until then, I will keep smiling and making everyone around me happy.

love,
Leeland