On Saturday, Sept 17, we picked Jeremy up from the airport (remember he was in Seattle for a few days), and on the way home, we stopped in New Prague, MN for their annual Czech festival. It was a lot of fun to see more of the culture and traditions that our last name comes from!
The traditional dancers and singers were adorable!
As you can see, I was the most excited to see the dancers and singers.
The Czech alley had lots of little historical tidbits about Czech Republic and it's traditions.
We bought a Czech toy for the boys. This man is the one who made the toy!
The highlight for the boys was the petting zoo, which didn't really have anything to do with Czech culture, haha. I was really proud of Tanner because after about 15 minutes, he warmed up to the goats and went into their petting pen. The boys spent about 25 minutes petting, feeding and playing with the goats!
We tried lots of Czech foods: zelnicky crackers, vomacka soup (yum!),kolotchkes, and dumplings with gravy. At first the dumplings seemed super bland, but after a few bites, we really enjoyed it and scarfed the whole plate down. It was a fun change of pace to enjoy the fest.
BIG NEWS- Tanner learned how to ride a two wheeler in September!! One day, it just clicked, and as soon as he got it figured out, Tanner rode around the park. And he kept going. And going. He went around the park path 9 times, which is 4.5 miles! A few days later, Dallin said he wanted to ride a two wheeler, too, and we noticed how big Tanner was on this tiny two wheeler. So we decided some early Christmas presents were in order. Jeremy scored a brand new bike on craigslist for $25, and it was the perfect size for Tanner. (Even cooler was the time it took from searching for the bike to receiving the bike-- just 1 hour!) We then suited up the green and purple bike with training wheels again, for Dallin! He was really excited.
It was fun to go on a few bike rides around the park with all 4 of us on our own bikes!! No pictures though. The above picture is when Jeremy took Tanner on to a little dirt path, kind of like mountain biking because Tanner's knew bike is like a mountain bike. Tanner was really hesitant at first, but after a little bit, he got the hang of it and was SO proud to go mountain biking with Daddy!
We enjoyed lots of beautiful, September evenings in the backyard.
But the bugs. We had a lot of mosquitoes due to the wet summer. As you can see, Tanner couldn't play much in the sand box because of all the bites he was getting.
Tanner displayed how big our yard is by running to the other side! This is a definite plus to living in Minnesota. This way, we have more room to run from the mosquitoes, lol.
Tanner took a little soccer class for 2 weeks in Sept and 2 weeks in Oct. He was super anxious about it every day before class. I don't think people understand me when I say "anxious." I'm not talking about asking a few nervous questions on the drive there and being shy to get on the field. I'm talking full-blown tantrums before we even get dressed for the day. He experiences any combination of the following: hyperventilation, irrational thoughts, death threats, punching, screaming, unable to eat or drink, headaches, itching, stomach aches, and genuine panic attacks.
Then as soon as we are within ear shot of the teacher or his peers, Tanner shuts up and almost acts like nothing is bothering him. But I've learned that his anxiety doesn't vanish. He bottles it inside during class, is completely paranoid about doing everything correctly and not breaking any rules. When we get in the car, he has a few moments of joy, but often focuses on all the things he couldn't do, or all the things the other kids did wrong, or how I ruined class because I didn't do what the other moms did.
Some of this behavior is a personality thing, but I'm learning that a lot of it is because he is burdened with an abnormal amount of anxiety. I have anxiety, too, and seeing Tanner struggle with it at such this young age often makes me wonder about my own childhood and how much of my experiences were fueled by anxiety. Unfortunately these days- and even moreso 25 years ago- people brush off anxiety in children as "overly dramatic behavior" or "attention seeking behavior," and kids end up not getting the help they need to function happily in life. It is really hard most days for me to be patient and to see past the annoying behaviors that Tanner exhibits. It's hard to accept the fact that he truly cannot function in many cases because of the stress his little mind puts upon himself. Luckily, we are finally getting some real help for him, and we should have an official diagnosis soon.
On the bright side with soccer, Tanner's anxiety was a great motivating factor for him to follow everything the coach said. If he was told to run, he put his whole body and soul into running, trying to do everything as perfect as possible. And he was by far the most emotionally invested player. When it came to scrimmage time, Tanner would cheer, clap and jump for joy when his team scored points. He would announce the new score even though none of the other kids seemed to care. If the other team scored, Tanner would fall to the ground, stomp his feet and mutter angry comments. And honestly, instead of being embarrassed for him, I was proud. Very proud. I remember thinking, "Way to go son, for expressing your true emotions and putting your whole heart into this!" I also found myself thinking, "Why isn't anyone else excited or mad?! Seriously, can't we get a few more people to be emotionally invested in this?!" Then I had to laugh, as that seems to be a major theme of my life and career. Maybe Tanner will be like me- one of the few in the crowd with true passion for whatever he puts his mind to.
Here's another park I was able to take the boys to before going to work one day.
I helped organize a playgroup day at church. We made thank you card stationary! The moms and littles got really creative!
Both Tanner and Dallin were able to come. Tanner had a panic attack and stayed in a different room away from the crowd for about the first hour. Dallin and I got to make lots of cards together. During September, Dallin showed a lot of interest in drawing more and writing letters (scribbles) to his grandparents. He walks down to the mailbox and puts little papers in the box and puts up the flag, all without me knowing. So somewhere out in mail space, there is a bunch of unaddressed letters from Dallin.
Later, Tanner joined us and ended up having a lot of fun playing with his friends.
One morning we worked with clay for project time!
The boys went on a Father/Son Campout at the Grush Farm in late September. A little kitty followed them everywhere...
all the way to this cool fort that the Grush boys built all summer.
The following morning, we enjoyed "family day" at the bowling alley in Albert Lea. The Hansons came with us!
We got a huge rainstorm that flooded our town and caused school to be canceled. A day or two later, the boys went to play on the playground, but found out they still needed to wait.
Tanner had a dentist appointment and did great again!
I can't remember why I took this picture. Probably cuz DJ is so beautiful, even with a messy mouth.
Tanner made this fish tank with sea weed and fish out of these rods. What a handsome, creative kid!
Dallin got at least one fever every week in September. Daycare took a toll on him.
Tanner was sick, too. They both kept struggling with diarrhea on and off throughout the month.
Jeremy's life without a car is going well. He tried a grocery trip on his bike one day and was able to carry everything home in the bike trailer!
At the beginning of October, we enjoyed a wonderful Halloween party at Sheila's house. Here, the boys are playing with water beads and eyeballs.
Work went well the first month! I am doing several different things this year that are making my load a little lighter, and I really enjoy the campuses I get to teach at. Sometimes, I get the opportunity to observe online music classes at the schools. The teachers are in Minneapolis, and they connect to the classroom via Skype. It's wonderful professional development for me, and I get paid for observing! I have gotten a lot of new ideas by being able to watch these teachers.
