October

We started the month with a magic show at Hunter's school, he and his buddies were so excited to see each other outside of the classroom.

That weekend we had a really fun double date with our friends, the Dunns. We took trapeze lessons out in Escondido. It was really pretty scary at first. Then quickly turned into fun. Then exhausted and sore the next day. Totally worth it, what a fun experience. Chase was awesome at it, as expected. I did surprisingly well too. We did back flips, hung by our knees, chase landed a double backflip even!

That next week, Chase went with his Dad, step brother and group of other guys on a 3 day fishing trip out of San Diego. He didn't come home with anything, but had a great time anyway.

Hunter had a Grandparents Day at school and Nana, Grancy and even Great Grandma MaryLou surprised him in the audience! The Grandmas bought him a special book from the book fair and came by afterward for a visit. What a special day.

We spent one fun day at Knott's Berry Farm with my parents and Grandma Converse. Skyler is still terrified of the robbers that come through the train, Hunter loves it and tries to give them money.  After we left we went to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor for the first time. What a fun, crazy place!

The next weekend we had our special "steak sunday" at Grancy and Papa's house. We celebrated all the September/October birthdays with some fun games and yummy food and awesome company. Included was baby Reese's first birthday! 

Hunter and his class had their first field trip. They took the school bus to the Peltzer Farms Pumpkin Patch. They learned about different kinds of pumpkins, walked through a corn maze, petted some farm animals, picked out their very own pumpkins and had a picnic lunch. Skyler and I came and watched from afar, they looked like they had a great time and so did we :)

We took our new family pictures this month, too. Normally Uncle Andrew does them every year but with crazy schedules we ended up at the local photo studio. Hopefully next year I will plan ahead more and get the quality I'm used to.. :)

The week before Halloween, my friend Michelle had her 30th birthday, so a group of 4 of us girls went out to her family's house in Lake Havasu, AZ. We spent 3 days off-roading with her Rhino, rented a boat, attempted wake boarding, swimming in her pool and BBQing, it was great, much needed girl time. Chase watched the kids all weekend and they had a blast bowling, going to the swapmeet, a halloween 1st birthday party for cousin Max, Bass Pro Shop for dinner, just to name a few. I don't think they had a chance to miss me ;)

And last but not least, was Halloween. Carving pumpkins, pumpkin patch with bouncy houses, Hunter's school parade, and of course, trick or treating our awesome neighborhood. I think there may have even been more people out than last year, it was crazy! SO much fun.

Happy Halloween!

Hunter update: after his ADHD diagnosis, we have decided to start therapy. Chase hasn't been able to make it because of work, but the kids and I have gone twice so far. Every other Monday night. I'm an obsessive researcher and there hasn't been much she's been able to teach me that I haven't already read and tried. More confirmation really on what we are doing and questions on if we've tried this and that, which we have but will continue to try in different ways. Not sure how long we will continue going but at least we've given it a try to see what its all about. The therapist agreed with Hunter's pediatrician that medication can greatly help his impulse control problems. Chase and I have put much thought into this and decided to give it a try. I took the prescription to get filled when we discovered it was denied by our insurance. So after a long battle, we are in the appeal stage waiting for an answer. $200 a month if insurance denies our appeal. So we have our fingers and toes crossed.

September

We started out the busy month with Back to School Night at Hunter's school. We saw some art they've been doing and learned about his teachers and what to expect through the year. Hunter and one other student received their "apples" the first month of school for knowing all their letters and sounds. I was a little surprised the other kids didn't know these things already as Hunter has known them for at least 2 years now.. The teacher asked the other mom and I if we would like to stay for their award ceremony and take a picture. That was a very proud moment :)

Hunter celebrated his 5th birthday at school this year. He stood up in front of the class and they sang him Happy Birthday. Then I read his class the book, "How to Train Your Train", that we donated as Hunter's "Birthday Book" instead of bringing cupcakes because he shared his bday with 2 other students. So we had to get creative. 

My parents brought his gigantic birthday present over to our house a bit early because it was too big to take to his party on the 6th.. They helped set it up and watched him try it out. There has not been a day gone by that it hasn't gotten used. And it helps get some energy out before school... Jackpot!

Hunter's Train Party was a success, starting off with a Metrolink train ride down to the San Clemente Pier. The weather was beautiful and we all had a great time. Watching the train go by with the ocean in the background, playing games, eating lunch, cupcakes, opening presents and then returning on the Metrolink. He was one happy birthday boy.

Skyler also started her first month of ballet. She LOVES it. She loves dressing up in her pink tutu and slippers and tights and refuses to let me carry anything. She always needs to have her pink purse to transport her shoes. They stretch, tippy toe, plie, twirl with wands, and then have free dance time with pom poms and other play things to princess songs. I think it may be my favorite half hour of my week now. 

We are so lucky that our school has so many fun PTA events. We attended the "Ice Cream Social" and rooted on Hunter's teacher in the Whipped Cream Eating Contest.

The next day we celebrated Vicki's birthday with our annual crab legs feast. Chase went easy on her this year and didn't attack her with whipped cream like last time. 

The kids were lucky enough to get invited to a "Frozen" birthday party for their friends Ashlyn and Dylan. And there was a surprise guest, Princess Elsa! They were in awe listening to her read her story, sing songs, and teach them to dance. 

We went to the LA County Fair with Oma and Opa, Grandma Converse, Danny and Cherlyn and cousin Brooklynn. The kids had a great time on some rides, petting the animals, seeing the model trains, and watching the pig races. And we all had fun watching them have fun. As usual :)

Keeping up to date on Hunter this month, its been a rough one. He has been having a really hard time behaving himself at school. At home too, but we are all used to that and have been giving him time to mature and grow out of what we hoped were phases. It's been pretty clear lately that his level of hyperactivity (which we have always called energy) mixed with his lack of impulse control and lately more and more defiance is causing more trouble, not less. And not just to himself, but to our family and now his classmates and teachers. Its a pretty tough situation, picking him up from school to find out just how much trouble and disruption he has caused that day, not to mention physically hurting others. And although its not every day, it is almost. Long story short, we switched doctors to go to a behavioral specialist pediatrician; she analyzed him, we and his teachers rated him on the "Conners Scale" and when we went to the follow up appointment, we were told he has ADHD. Although we are not surprised, its something we will need to deal with in patience, love, and support from family and friends, which we have whole heartedly received. Thank you all :)