Updates

Wow, I cannot believe how much time has passed, since my last entry! Bad blogger!! So here's some quick updates!
Peanut has entered 4th grade and is now 10 yrs. old!! Yes! TEN! I can't believe it! This is his last year in elementary school! He will be in middle school next year, and that just seems so unreal to me. He's doing really well in 4th grade, though. He's still at the same school as last year and has many friends. A few of them even live in our immediate neighborhood, so he got to attend his first non-family birthday party this past weekend. He was so psyched about it!
Peanut continues to be a skinny lil thing. He's cold all the time because of it, lol. He's always got a sweatshirt or jacket on. He has developed, over the last couple of years, an aversion to eating in front of others. If he's with just us, he's fine. He'll eat whatever and however much he's hungry for. But when it's a larger gathering, even with family, he gets freaked out and feels like everyone's watching him, so he doesn't eat or eats like a bird. I had the same issues when I was younger, but I was a teenager before these social anxiety issues came about. Peanut's only 10, so it bugs me. But I just make sure he eats before or after the event we're involved in, so that he's still be nurished.
He continues to be an awesome big brother to Ben & Amanda. He just adores Amanda still. He doesn't hesitate to pick her up if she's crying, or get her something to eat or drink, or to sit and play with her. He's very protective of her. He's like a little Mr. Mom. It's so cute, and I'm so glad I could finally have a girl so that HE could enjoy being her big protector. He's an amazing kid and I just love him so much!

Benjamin is 4 1/2 yrs. old now. He was in preschool again but we started having the same separation issues as before. So for the remainder of the year, he will be attending every Friday and just meeting one-on-one with the speech therapist. I don't think he'll be going to kindergarten in the fall. We have the option of holding him back and putting him in preschool for one more school year and it seems that's what we'll have to do with him. He's just not ready for 5 full days of school. He can't even get thru 4 half days a week.
He's still my little comedian. The kid comes up with the funniest stuff, I swear! For the most part, he's a very good kid. But he has his normal-toddler sized tantrums now & then. Some days more often than others, lol. He definitely keeps us on our toes! And I have to say, he's a pretty awesome big brother to Amanda, as well! He likes to sit & play with her and talk to her. He tries to show her how to do things. He doesn't fully understand that she's not quite able to do a lot of things he can yet, lol. But it's the thought that counts!

And as for our little Princess!!! Miss Amanda is now 17 months old and a whopping (LOL) 18.4 lbs! Yes, another small baby for the Plaster household. Matt found some photos of the boys from when they were right around Amanda's age now and it's unreal how much alike they all 3 looked. There is NO denying these 3 kiddos are siblings! The only major difference is Amanda's hair is a good 2-3 shades lighter than the boys' hair color was. I expect she'll darken up a bit, later, maybe. She seems to have my lighter toned hair, though, so maybe not. We can pull her hair into one tiny pony tail on top of her head. The back isn't anywhere near long enough for that as of yet. If we didn't dress her in pinks and purples and put bows in her hair, she'd look like a boy, lol.
And she's probably going to be a tomboy. She's not a huge fan of dolls or stuffed animals yet. She'd rather have balls and cars! lol Her & Ben take their cars and trucks in the kitchen and run them all over the place. Mandy is walking, however she's still pretty unstable. She likes to hold on to things and cruise along them better than walking alone. And even better than cruising, she prefers to crawl because it's much quicker for her. She finds a way to get around, though. She has 4 teeth fully 'out' and 4 more on the way. The 4 that are fully out, are two on top, two on bottom. The other 4 that are coming in are on the top, 2 on either side of the full middle ones. They're so stinking cute! SHE is so stinking cute, all the way around! She's such a joyful, happy little girl! I can't imagine life without her. She just lights up our lives.
She's starting to say some words, but you have to be around her all the time, like us, to decipher them, lol. In her own way, she says "Love you", "Hi", "Please". She waves, signs "thank you" and sometimes signs "please". If prompted, she will sign "more" and "eat". And if these ways of communication fail, she grunts and points. As soo as she sees food, whether it's time to eat or not, she starts "mmm, Mmmm Mmmm mmmmmMMmm"ing lol. She is DEFINITELY our good eater. She will eat ANYTHING you sit in front of her. Which is nice! No picky eaters in our family...except for Matthew! lol And, really, the only thing I won't eat is olives, pickles and raw onions.
So the family is doing wonderful!

It's been a trying year for us though, because Matt has been unemployed since March. We get his unemployment but that's all. He's put in applications everywhere, from photo studios to factories to restaurants to stores (Walmart, Target, Kohls, etc.), all to no avail. I've been a few applications out there, as well. But let's face it, I am the primary care-giver, even with Matthew at home. Amanda is still nursing 3-4 times a day and that's just not something Matt can take over, no matter how much we try, LOL. And it has nothing to do with the milk itself...she drinks cow's milk from a sippy cup just fine. It's the actual act of breastfeeding and being close to mommy that Amanda still craves and thrives on. So I'm not about to rip that from her. I don't care what others think. This is about what's best for her and I'm her mommy so there! lol So that's that!
But we've been very blessed this year, through friends, family and our church family (even though we've been far from faithful in our church attendance). We've not gone without, despite Matt's meager unemployment checks. And for that, we are extremely grateful and thankful! We will never be able to repay all the kindness and help we've received over the past several months. We could never say "Thank You" enough to those who have been there for us. I just hope that one day (soon) we will be able to pay the kindness forward to others in need.
Well, that's all for tonight. I'll see about adding a few pictures of the kids and then I'm going to catch a few Zzzzz's before getting up again and finishing our Christmas preparations! Christmas! Already! But that's another blog for another day! Good night (or morning, depending on how you'd like to look at it) Blog World!

This was in November.

This was on Mandy's 1st birthday.

First day of school in August.

Trick or Treating.

My little Tinkerbelle.

My vampire Peanut, megatron Ben and Tinkerbelle Manda.

Peanut, Manda and Spongebob in July.

Ornery Ben! Just look at that grin!

Amanda in her cute outfit in October.

Peanut just a few days after his 10th birthday, in Oct.

Mommy & Angelgirl kissing, in October.