Now if you need us, we will be over here bouncing with excitement awaiting daddy's plane! 

Colorado Springs has lots of places that set off fireworks on the 4th of July. We missed watching them last year because Greyson spiked a fever, keeping us home. (Spoiler alert - similar situation occurred this year). 

Even though there's lots of places to go, they're super crowded & require sometimes miles worth of walking just from where parking is available. 

Kids + extra walking + huge crowds = not for us! 

Every year, Fort Carson does their 4th of July event on the 3rd. I had been itching to have a BBQ all summer so my boss offered to host at her house. The girls I work with & our families all headed over & had a fun little potluck BBQ. We hung out, the kids played with chalk & bubbles, & we ate (of course!) 

Then we walked to the event on base since it was close to her house. Kids played in the bouncy houses a bit before they decided to kick 2-4 year olds out because there were too many. So some in the group grabbed treats & we headed back to find a spot to watch fireworks. 

Greyson loves my boss' son & finally warmed up to my boss, after months of breakdowns because he said Hi to him.  He also was obsessed with the stuffed alien her son won & carried him back, after naming him Aneen! His imagination is a wild one! 

Olivia was chill her first 4th. She was admired & passed around a lot. She mostly just hung out since she's really too young to partake in much of the fun . 

Fireworks are infinitely better when watched through your kids' eyes. I have Grey a light stick that was like gold to him. And the amazement on his face with each flash & boom. #swoon 

Olivia slept in the carrier of course, just like Greyson slept through his first 4th of July fireworks. 

And in typical Greyson + holiday fashion he ended up with bacterial conjunctivitis. We spent our 4th of July in urgent care before we came home to hangout, play with chalk, & cherish the joy of putting eye ointment on our 3 year old. 

Happy Independence Day!! 

When I imagined my family & what parenting would look like, I imagined many things. I saw hugs & kisses. I saw stories at bedtime. I saw lazy days when we never change out of PJs & watch movies all day. I saw adventures to the zoo. I never envisioned navigating how to parent with a toddler that has ADHD. 

My mom always put the mothers curse on me. 

"I hope your kids are just like you." 

Well he is in some ways, but in a lot of ways, he isn't. I was prepared for Greyson to have my demeanor. And at the same time, didn't really consider how much he could be like my husband. 

ADHD is very genetic. It flows through family members like blood type. And just like his inheritance of my husband's blood type, he also gained the ADHD that exists in a long line of his family. 

The internet is full of parenting advice, ranging from how to feed your child to how to where to send them to school. But in the throes of ADHD fun with a toddler, I haven't found much advice or many tips that have really helped for his specific kind of challenges. 

Patience. Unending patience. This is the hardest but probably the most important thing we've had to learn. When your toddler is just pushing to the very ends of your limits, take a minute & breathe. Working yourself up will work them up even more. Kids feed off of your energy. 

After lots of trial & error, plus a plenty of collaboration with Greyson's teachers, I've come up with the top 5 tips that have worked for us & help us manage our day to day activities, including school, dinner & bedtime. 

1. Count to 10 & breathe. This seems fairly simple yet it's the easiest thing to not do. Greyson has been a very good counter for awhile so he does this himself with our guidance. Just getting him to stop - whether he is running around like crazy or throwing a fit in the store - this helps so much. We count to 10 (or down from 10 to 1 - whichever he decides he prefers that day) and have him take 3 deep breaths when he is done. This helps to calm his mind so he can hear us or articulate what he wants/needs. It does wonders for patience on our part so we don't snap to frustration. 

2. Set rules & schedule. All children thrive having a schedule, which I know. But my research & experience has highlighted the necessity for children with ADHD to have set boundaries that they know & can follow consistently. We set all of our rules with Greyson. We ask him what they should be, he determines the "order" and it has become a ritual of sorts for him to tell us them. 

3. Use favorite toys/items to channel behavior. Greyson has just a mass amount of energy at all times and sometimes he doesn't pick the greatest ways to expel it. By chance, we stumbled upon encouraging him to use to toy or book to guide the energy into something to focus on that fits the situation. For example, we found Grey a Lightning McQueen backpack at Target that he just loves. When he has energy he wants to get out, we have him put on the backpack so he can be a race car like Lightning & then he has to be Greyson, aka calmer, when he takes the backpack off.

4. Set designated areas for energy outlets. This sort of goes along similar lines as the last point. This is more to teach him that some places are okay to let loose & others we need to keep it reigned in a bit. He has a hoodie that is from Where the Wild Things Are that he likes to wear & pretend he's a monster. We were having problems with him being wild & screaming in other kids' faces. So to help with it, his teachers came up with a few isolated areas in the classroom where he could be a monster. After awhile, he knew that if he wanted to be wild & yell a bit, he went to those areas and came back out ready to chill. 

5. Get on their level & make eye contact. This is a hard, but important one. When you're standing over your child talking to them, even in a calm or nice tone, it can easily seem like you're scolding them. A trick I learned working in childcare was to talk to the child at their own level. Keep the same calm tone and make eye contact. Greyson has a tendency to drift his eyes around the room while talking to him. Getting him to look at our eyes helps to keep him focused since he is only really listening when he's looking at us.

6. Parent out of love, not punishment. Every child and family is different and only you know what is best for your situation. We are far from perfect parents, but we know that Greyson is a unique little person who has different needs than other kids, even different than I'm sure Olivia will need when she's older. But when we work with him, we keep in mind that we are molding a little person and want to provide him with the best tools to manage his energy and attention throughout his entire life in order to allow him to succeed in the best way he can.

I know that what works for us, may not work for everyone. But I do hope that some of these tips can help and guide others to a point where they find what is best for their child. I've learned that it takes a village & hopefully realizing that the village is a bit bigger than expected will bring some reassurance to those who are gifted with raising a little ball of energy like we have been.

 This was her first time meeting Olivia in person, which was super special. Greyson was 8 months old before we were able to make a trip home after he was born for her to meet him, so for her to be able to meet Olivia when she wasn't yet 4 months old was pretty awesome! Grey loves Nana Deb & we call her all the time, even when she isn't available to chat he'll have pretend conversations with her! And quickly became obsessed with her camera. 

 Next we walked around & looked at the outside planes that are on display as a part of the Peterson Air & Space Museum. Grey is obsessed with planes so he was pretty excited to show them to Nana. And of course assign one to everyone he knows! 

 We love when family comes to visit but are always sad when they have to leave! It's definitely hard having kids & living so far from everyone. But we are grateful that we live much closer now & are able to go back & forth a little easier. 

We look forward to our next visitors & are hoping we can find some time to make it back to Ohio sometime soon. 

 We had her check-up a week early & she weighed in at 12lb 5oz and was about 23.6 inches long. She's wearing mostly 6 month clothes, with a couple smaller sized onesies that are brands that run a tad on the bigger side. 

 She started rolling over from both her belly to back & back to belly. This week she also discovered she can roll multiple times to take her places she want to go, usually to get a toy she sees. She is even moving her little legs like she is wanting to scoot. #slowdown 

 She is a hardcore thumb sucker. Usually she only has it in her mouth when she is trying to sleep. Since she started rolling & can lay on her tummy, with that & her thumb, she goes to sleep great all on her own. She is sleeping basically through the night, only sometimes waking up once or occasionally twice. 

She loves watching us, especially Greyson, do just about anything. Loves flying in the air & tickles on her tummy. Her favorite toys are animals & make the crinkle noises. She is definitely interested in food & I just know she will be ecstatic in 2 months when we start solids! 

She is seriously an amazing baby! Pretty laid back & chill almost all of the time. You know, the opposite of Greyson! Ha 

Can't wait to keep seeing the new things she does & try to not compare her to Greyson toooo much!