Saturday, May 28, 2011

Pre-K End of the Year Program

Brody has officially completed Pre-K, and they ended the year with a big program. The Pre-K students started the program with the Pledge of Allegiance, followed by several songs, and ended by reciting a prayer. The Kindergarten Graduation followed, and all I could think was how Brody would be up there next year in his cap and gown graduating from Kindergarten! How in the world did he get so big and so smart?!?!? We are so proud of him and all he has learned this year! We will greatly miss Ms. Marianne next year. She has been an amazing teacher, and I truly hope that Colby will be in her class when it is time for him to start Pre-K!






As we left the program to go home, we saw a beautiful rainbow! What a great way to end a Pre-K and Kindergarten graduation!






After the program, Nana, Poppy, and Poogie and Gacky came over to celebrate with Brody. We had cake and ice cream. Mr. Nick, Ms. Kelly, and Remi also came over! Brody and Remi are the best of friends, and I am pretty sure they will be inseparable this summer!!

Swim Team

Brody joined the Bluegrass Swim Team for this summer. He had his first practice last week, and he did a great job!! There are 32 kids on the 6 and under team, which is a lot of 4, 5, and 6 year olds to have in a pool at one time! He is very excited to be a member of the team, and he is also excited that Remi and Max are also on the team. It will be a busy summer with daily practices and 5 swim meets, but it will be a lot of fun. Go Brody!!





Happy Birthday Kylee

We celebrated Kylee's 5th birthday last week! As usual, the party was a blast! The kids played on the girls' big water slide, and the adults played with the new corn hole set that Jason made. (That's right, Jason built a corn hole set!! I have a feeling we will be spending a lot of nights out back this summer throwing bean bags!) Kylee planned a great meal...hot dogs and brats, cheese dip and chips, chocolate covered strawberries, pasta salad, and a chocolate birthday cake for dessert! It was all delicious! We had a great time, Kylee!! Happy Birthday!!


















Middle School Awards Day

Lucy, our friend and neighbor, just completed the 7th grade. One day last week, she had an Awards Day at school, and she invited us to come!! I was very honored that she asked us to come watch her get her Art Award, and the boys were in absolute heaven being in a middle school! They just loved being around all of the big kids, and when Lucy walked them around to show them her locker and introduce them to one of her teachers, they were more than excited! Thank you for inviting us Lucy!! We had a great time, and we are very proud of you.

Surprisingly, we also ran into Maggie while we were leaving. Maggie just completed the 10th grade, and she was headed outside with ROTC. The boys were happy to see Maggie too, even though it was only for a second.

It makes me so happy that Brody and Colby have these two great sisters, right across the street, to look up to.










Friday, May 20, 2011

Another Soccer Season Comes to an End

Brody's third season of playing soccer is officially over. He had a lot of fun, met some new friends, and learned a little more about the game of soccer. The Sharks celebrated the end of their season with an ice cream party at Sweet Cece's. Coach Dave also handed out the trophies, which Brody was very excited about!

One of the dads, who also helped coach, told me that he thinks Brody is a great boy. He said that every team could use a kid like Brody...hard working, eager to learn, and a good listener (most of the time). These are great characteristics, and I am so proud that Brody is showing these at such a young age!! I hope he continues to grow and develop these characteristics as he gets older.










Wednesday, May 18, 2011

No Cavity Club

The boys had their dentist appointments yesterday morning. As required, Colby took his antibiotic one hour prior to his cleaning. It amazes me that the pharmacy gives us an entire bottle of Amoxicillin for Colby to only take 2 teaspoons prior to his appointment. It seems so wasteful to throw this full bottle away, but no one asked me!!

Brody did great! He sat so still for his cleaning and even had his first x-rays done, which turned out perfectly! Colby did pretty well. He sat still, but he didn't like keeping his mouth open. Every time she put her finger or a tool in, he would bite down. I'm just thankful he didn't bite her!! He has definitely bitten me a time or two while trying to brush his teeth.

I'm very happy to report that both boys earned a place in the no cavity club! They got to put their names up on the wall in the office, and they received a certificate. They were very proud of their clean, sparkly teeth, and so are we!






Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Back in Action

A few weeks prior to Colby's surgery, we had to stop all of his activities, including My Gym. We couldn't risk him getting sick, because he needed to be as healthy as possible going into the Fontan. We haven't been back since then, because Colby has obviously been on post-op restrictions. He has really, really missed going to his class every Wednesday and Friday. He has asked me almost every day, "go hi-hi?" He calls My Gym "hi-hi" because at the beginning of each class they sing the My Gym song, which starts "hi, hi how do you do, welcome to my gym!"

We got the all clear from Dr. Doyle last Tuesday at his follow-up appointment, and we started back to My Gym on Wednesday. I think he was more excited than I have seen him in a long time! It's great to see how happy My Gym makes him and how much he loves his teachers and friends. I couldn't help but get teary eyed several times during the class...just seeing him so active and energetic only 6 weeks after surgery. Plus, it is encouraging to see that he hasn't fallen any more behind on his gross motor skills because of the down time from the surgery. In fact, he has even picked up the skill of jumping in the last couple of weeks! We are so proud of him!

Watching Colby during this My Gym class was the first time that it hit me...he is now post-fontan. He has had all of his repairs done, and now he can just be "normal." We don't have any surgeries hanging over our heads putting our lives on hold and making us crazy. He is done, he is happy, and he is thriving!!!!!


singing the "Hi, Hi" song at the beginning of class



warming up




getting instructions from Ms. Mandy




First gymnastics skill for the day





2nd gymnastics skill: forward rolls (his favorite)





Zip Line (Colby said he flew like Buzz Lightyear)














Playing a game of Hot Potato



Story Time




Ready for Summer

A couple of days last week the temperature got up in the mid 90's! The boys were so excited, especially Brody. He asks me at least once a day when it is going to be summer, so we decided to take advantage of these summer-like days by having a water hose fight and getting a new pool to play in at home. It made us all very eager for summer to arrive!! We are ready!











Colby gets the "All Clear"



Colby had his 6 week post-op follow up appointment with Dr. Doyle last Tuesday. This involved another chest x-ray, sats, blood pressure, weight, and a good listen from the doctor. I'm extremely happy to report that following the check-up, Dr. Doyle said, "well, he is perfect!" Praise God!!!!


It is so hard to believe that we are already 6 weeks post-op! I was dreading these weeks, thinking they would drag on forever, but surprisingly, they flew by! What is even more surprising to me, is that Colby really only felt bad the first week of this recovery period. Since then, he has been full of energy and back to his old crazy self. He has proved once again what a tough little guy he is, and he really is an inspiration to us...our little heart hero for sure!!


I feel I must also record Colby's weight here...for our reference later. Only 6 weeks after this surgery, and he has gained 2 pounds! He weighed 22 pounds!! We have noticed an increase in his appetite over the last few weeks, so we were happy that this showed on the scale. Who knows, maybe he will keep gaining and actually get back on the growth chart soon!


His sats were impressive as well...low 90s!!! He hasn't seen the 90s in a long time!!! We should have known his sats would be good, because he is actually pink now!! Instead of having that constant blue appearance in his lips and under his eyes, they are pink. We have 2 pink babies now, and I couldn't be more happy!


Monday, May 9, 2011

Mother's Day

I had a fantastic Mother's Day!! The only thing that would have made it better is if I could have seen my amazing mother, but she spent the day helping my sister with some things and then had dinner with her sisters and Shug. So, we will celebrate together with dinner on Thursday night. I can't wait! I love you very much mom, and I have always said that if I can be half the mom you are, then my boys have got it made. Thank you for being a wonderful example to me of who a mom should be.

My day started with the boys and Jason showering me with gifts. Jason did way too much for me, as always, by giving me four very cute dresses, 3 pairs of sandals, some running gear, a 13.1 sticker for my car, and a card that made me cry like a baby! I am so lucky to have a husband that shops so well and has such great taste! He knows I will never buy these things for myself, so I am happy that he did it for me. What girl doesn't like getting new dresses and shoes? Thank you Jason for making me feel so special, not only on Mother's Day but every day!

At church, the boys' classes made presents for their moms. When I read Brody's little note, I couldn't help but cry happy tears. I just love seeing what in on his mind. Knowing that his favorite part of the day is when we play and that he is thankful for me teaching me how to climb on the swing set makes me even more grateful for the path God has me on as a stay-at-home mom. Even on days where I feel like I might lose my mind if I hear one more question or one more whining comment, I know that there is nowhere I would rather be than at home with my boys. I cherish every moment we have together!








After church, we headed over to Nana's house for lunch. We had a great time celebrating with Nana and Nenny...two wonderful mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmother. When I think of what a wonderful person, husband, and dad Jason is, I always remember that he is who he is, in part, because of the work of these two ladies. Thank you Nenny and Nana for bringing up such a great man!





God truly blessed me with these two amazing little guys. I would have never thought it possible to have so much love for these two boys. They spent the day thanking me for being their mom, but all I wanted to do was thank God for giving me way more than I deserve...a wonderful family, an amazing husband and father to my boys, great in-laws, and the two best kids around! Thank you Brody and Colby for making my mother's day, and every day, so special!












Happy Mother's day to all moms everywhere! I hope your day was as special as mine.