Day two...even worse

So did day two go any better??

The simple answer...no, worse actually :(

The long version: Rylan had another very rough morning. He had some issues bullying the younger children, so we were called out of class a few times to deal with the situation. Needless to say we were rather frustrated but we are trying to be patient with him as he is adjusting. It is a hard balance to find because the behavior is unacceptable regardless of what is going on in his little world, but you want to be understanding of his feelings as well.

Tomorrow they are moving him to the preschool which I think will really help. There are only 2 other kids in there and it is much more structured. He is in the toddler room with 4 other kids who are all 17 or 18 months old. He does better with older children and he loves doing crafts and having story time, etc. He is in class for 4 hours which is a long time for him. The last few years, I was only in class for 2 1/2 hours so that is a big difference. Hopefully day 3 will be much better.

Carsten did a little better, but was still fussy and wanting to be held a lot. Thankfully there are only 2 other babies who are 1 month and 2 months old, so he is the only hands on baby at this point.

I don't know who is having a harder time, them or me! It is so hard as a mom to hear that your kids are the "problem" kids. (No one has said that or even remotely indicated that, but it is sort of how I feel) I just hope it gets better soon!

Jeff and I had a great time in our class however which is the note I will leave the blog on. It was not all doom and gloom today!

First day of class

Today was our first day of class. We were anxious and excited to start the training. For some reason, even though I woke up 2 hours before we had to be to class, we ended up walking in about 5 minutes late. I hate being late and this was awful because they had already begun and the room was full with not enough chairs, so people had to do some shifting, find an extra chair, etc. I know my face was the shade of a fire engine! Once we got past that, it was a good morning. We enjoyed the speakers who shared their vision for our two years here.

Rylan was very excited to go to class today. He was all ready to go this morning. He even put his shoes on without being asked telling me, "they not on backwards mommy!" When we picked him up I flipped through the notebook to see if there were any notes on his day. I passed by the other 4 children whose note all said, "had a great first day." Then I got to Rylan's and it said a lot more than that! Things like, "had a hard time sharing, had a hard time remembering to be nice, etc." Needless to say I was rather disappointed. Please think of him this week as he is still adjusting to all these changes.

Carsten was not excited to go to class. He just wanted his morning nap! He did not have a great morning either, although discipline was not the problem. They said he was sad most of the morning, just wanting to be held. I think he is getting in more teeth because he has not been himself this past week. Think of him as well as he also is adjusting!

Settling in

Now that we have been in Canada for a week, things are settling down and we are getting into a routine. Here are some pictures from our first week in our new home!

We were so excited when we heard that we were getting a four-bedroom house. We honestly felt overwhelmed by it. Wow does Dad know how to take care of us or what?? This is the nicest place we have lived in yet and who would have thought in a little place called Durham, Ontario??




Unpacking was quite a chore since we had to do it all by ourselves and take care of two babies at the same time. It was a great opportunity for us to work together as a couple and we did great. We both came together with ideas and collaborated well to put together a place we can now call home.

Canada, oh Canada

We have arrived in Canada!! To our surprise when we arrived we were expecting to move into a two-bedroom apartment, but ended up moving into a four-bedroom house! Wow! This was much larger than we were anticipating. It is beautiful. This is by far the nicest place we have lived in so far!

The boys are settling in and adjusting. Rylan is struggling a little bit with all the changes and having mom and dad busy all day unpacking. Carsten is doing well and is working on sleeping through the night (a feat he had mastered in CA, but regressed in along the road).

We are all fighting a head cold, so think of us this weekend, we would like to be well before training begins on Monday.

Missing you all :)

The road trip continues

Well we have made it to Waukesha. We will be here for a few days before heading onto Michigan and then Canada. Our trip has gone pretty well so far. We spent a few days with our friends in Idaho and then went on from there to the Grand Tetons National Park in Jackson, Wyoming. What a beautiful place!

I know what you are thinking...where are all the pictures you took in this beautiful place. Well that is a great question and the answer is: still in the camera that has yet to be found! Somewhere in between going to the park and getting to our hotel (we had it in the car on the way from the park to the hotel) it got lost. We are still holding out hope that it is lost in our huge car that is a disaster right now.

If we ever find it I will be sure to post the pictures we took there! Anyway we had a great time in the park. The kids loved it. We went for a 5 mile hike and on the way back it started to pour on us! The boys were fine with it, but by the time we got to our car little Carsten's lips were quivering because he was so cold (it was in the low 60s).

From there we went to Cheyenne, just to break up the trip. We stayed overnight and left the next morning to go to Lincoln, NE. We had a great time in Lincoln as usual with our good friends the Moores.

Now we are in Waukesha taking care of a few details here before we head to Michigan to visit our dear friends, the Ritsemas!

Pre road trip pictures

Our road trip is well under way, but here are a few photos from before we left California. We got the chance to go to Disneyland, which was a lot of fun! We also spent some time swimming...both of the boys are little fish, loving every minute of time in the pool!





We are now in Idaho visiting the Walton family who are graciously hosting us for the weekend. We head to Wyoming in a few days!

Saying goodbye

The summer has truly flown by and we now have less than a week left here in CA. We have had a wonderful time in CA and have been so encouraged by our many meetings (over 40) this summer! However the hard part about being here for a summer and having such a great time is that it makes it that much harder to leave. Please think of us this next week as we say goodbye to everyone. Also think of our families who are already struggling with the thoughts of goodbye. We will post pictures as we are able to on the road and then once we get to Canada we will be updating regularly again. Our road trip to Canada looks as follows:

8/4-8/6- Las Vegas, NV
8/6-8/9- Hailey, ID
8/9-8/10- Grand Tetons National Park, WY
8/10-8/11- Cheyenne, WY
8/11-8/12- Lincoln, NE
8/12-8/17- Waukesha, WI
8/17-8/19- Grand Rapids, MI
8/19-8/20- Detroit, MI
8/20- Arrive in Canada

Think of us as we travel to all these places!