At The Park

We went to the park today and here are some pictures . . .


Brady (he's walking now, by the way)














Dylan

Big News

Jason was named principal of a high school in our county. This is something he has been working towards for the past year or so and I am so proud of him.

Unfortunately, this is a much more stressful and high profile position that that of an assistant principal. The hours will be longer, at least in the beginning, and we will have to work harder to make sure we have family time.

Fortunately, though, this should allow us to live without any of the money that I make.

So, while I can still make some money, we will be saving everything I make (you know, in theory and all - LOL!!). Then, if/when the work I am doing dwindles and eventually goes away, we won't have to worry and I will still be able to stay at home. This (me staying at home) is something that has become more important to us than we ever believed possible. And, now, even more so with Jason's new position.

So, congrats to Jason. We are all so proud of him.

Kids at the Zoo

It's spring break here this week, so the kids and I went to visit my family in South Georgia. (Jason went on a 120 mile bike ride with his dad - INSANE.)

The kids, my mom (she took a couple of days off work), and I went to a zoo on Monday. There might have been a total of 15 people there the entire time we were there. The weather was great and Dylan could run ahead of us and not worry about running into anyone. After we finished the zoo, the kids played in a huge playground for a little while. We had a great day, but most of the pictures are on my mom's computer (I forgot my camera). This is one shot I got mom to forward to me because this is how the kids were almost all week.

Dylan is Registered for Kindy

On Thursday of last week, I took Dylan to get registered for kindergarten. I was a little concerned because I knew that the kindergarten teachers completed a simple assessment of the kids abilities; however, Dylan is my shy child. I was concerned that he would clam up and then not want to go to the school in the fall. Now, don't get me wrong, Dylan is a smart little boy and knows pretty much everything he needs to know to start kindergarten. BUT - I was worried he would be so shy that he just wouldn't answer the questions.

Kids always surprise you, though. He was a little hesitant to go with the teacher at first, but only for about 10 seconds. Then when he was finished he came running out saying the "he knew everything" (and the teacher did say that he did an awesome job).

The teacher also told me that the school is having a kinder-camp in July (4 days/2 hours a day) for the kids to get accustomed to the school and to meet some of the other upcoming kindergartners. She suggested that this might be good for Dylan so that he would feel more comfortable on the first day of school. Isn't that a great idea??

Brady's One Year Stats

Height - 29 inches (25% - 50%)

Weight - 22 pounds, 6.5 ounces (25% - 50%)

Brady is completely off of the bottle (and the breat) as of about a week ago and is sleeping through the night (any where from 11-12 hours). He also has been switched to whole milk for about a week now, but still likes it to be mixed with a little pediasure (probably for the sweetness). He is on all table foods and I really haven't found anything that he doesn't like. (Oh, except cake. He doesn't like cake.) He likes to self-feed and will usually refuse to eat anything I try to feed him.

Brady is starting to mimic sounds that we make and it really sounds like he is talking to us, but we are just to stupid to understand him. His facial expressions are hilarious and you can almost figure out what the heck he is saying just by watching him talk. Even the doctor commented on how "vocal" Brady is - LOL!! He likes to stick his tongue out and can clap his hands.

Brady can stand on his own for a couple of minutes and has taken several steps, but his preferred mode of travel is still crawling - and, man, is he fast. Jason says he has two speeds - crawl and super-crawl. He loves music and can "shake his booty". He also likes to bounce up and down to the beat of the music.

Overall, he is just an amazing little boy. I can't imagine my life without him and I feel truly blessed to have been able to stay at home with him these past few months.

Brady's First Haircut

Before

After

Look What I Made . . .

This is my first attempt at making/decorating a cake - ever!!! I am very proud of myself - I have actually been keeping myself awake at night worrying about how this will turn out. Not too bad, if I do say so myself. But, please, keep your expectations low for two reasons:

1. I am new at this.

2. I am not a creative, crafty type person so this is huge for me.

Puppy Cake

Smash Cake for Brady

Puppy Cup Cakes for the kids at the party (I had so much cake left over after all of the carving that I did and I didn't want to throw it away)

Tornadoes

We had some crazy weather here over the weekend. Without knowing that we were actually doing it, Jason and the kids and I were out driving in the middle of one of these (but not one of the ones in the pictures - we were a couple of counties north of there).

Everyone we know is fine and we luckily didn't have any damage in our area. Downtown Atlanta, however, did not fair as well.

These photos were actually taken out of the window of one of our major news station offices.

ENT Update

Had the post-op appointment with Brady's ENT today. His ears healed well and his hearing is back to a normal range. Doctor said his hearing was so good he could probably hear a pin drop. (Prior to the surgery, his hearing was just below normal and I didn't really have any concerns in that area.)

Now, I wonder if I had tubes put in Dylan's ears, would it make him listen any better? It might be worth a try . . .

Da Boys

Just a picture of each boy from the past week or so . . .

Dylan's First Soccer Game

Dylan had his first soccer game today. He did great and never gave up (a huge accomplishment for him). He even scored a couple of goals - though one was for the other team - LOL!! All around all the kids on both teams had a great time and I think everyone of them walked away feeling good about their effort today. And, at this age, I think that is the most important thing. Now, Dylan can't wait for his game next weekend.

Dribbling

Sizing up the competition


Getting ready to score

What a kick - did you know that legs can bend like that?!?!


Defense

Soccer Star

Dylan is playing soccer this season. This is his first time playing any type of sport - individual or team. He is so excited and is loving it so far.

Dylan is the youngest boy on the team (he barely made the cutoff). He is not the fastest and not the strongest, but he seems to have a good instinct for the game. His footwork is pretty good and he is getting better with each practice. He can dribble the ball better than some of the kids that played last year.

He gets a little discouraged that the other kids are faster than him and when they can kick the ball harder than him (he always wants to be the best at everything he does and will often just quit if he isn't). We are just so proud of him that he is listening to the coach and that he just keeps trying even when he doesn't get something exactly right the first time.

Dylan's first game is this Saturday and I am so excited to see him play. The games for his age group are 3 on 3 and the coaches are the referees. The whole purpose of this age group is to learn the rules of the game and to enjoy playing.

Hopefully, we will be able to yell "GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL!!" a lot on Saturday.

Pictures from yesterday (Brady's ear tube surgery)

In the waiting room . . .


In the exam room before surgery . . . (no, he didn't have to wear the hair net - I did)

After surgery . . .

Exhale . . .

Brady's surgery was today. I took him back to the operating room and stayed with him while they administered the anesthesia. Once he was "asleep", I left and within 5-10 minutes the doctor was telling us that everything went great. Just a couple of minutes after he left us, a nurse came and told us that Brady was waking up and we could go see him.

We went back to the recovery room and I was able to nurse Brady through most of the waking up experience. His eyes were a little "druggy" so we had to hang around until he was a little more alert.

From start of the surgery to in our car on the way home, it only took about 45 minutes. Within an hour or so of the surgery, Brady was back to his normal happy self. Right now, he is crawling around the house and enjoying himself.

So far, the only strange thing I have noticed is that he occasionally jerks like he has lost his balance. I assume that this is because he is having to learn how to balance without the everpresent fluid in his ears.

I'll post some pictures a little later. Thanks to everyone who thought about us today. I appreciate it.

UGH!!!

Back to the pediatrician with Brady again this weekend. Ear infection is better, but now he has Fifth Disease. I was afraid it was another allergic reaction to his antibiotic. Can't this kid catch a break.

On a good note, however, Dylan is still doing well and is getting excited about starting soccer soon.

Jeep Boys

It was so nice outside today. The boys wanted to go cruisin'.

Brady's Ears

Well, as most of you know, we have been fighting constant, recurrent ear infections since Thanksgiving. We had an ENT appointment today and Brady is a good candidate for tubes. I was ready and we actually went ahead and scheduled the surgery.

Brady will be having tubes put in his ears on February 18. I am scared, excited, hopeful, etc. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that we will have at least one or two more cycles of antibiotics before that date.

So, please keep us (especially Brady) in your thoughts on that day.

More Snow Pictures and Jump House Fun

Well, it snowed again down here in the Great South. So, of course, I had to take some snow pictures.

And, since it really was too cold to play outside at all, we took the boys to a jump house place. They had a blast.

Pictures

I am trying to make more of an effort to take pictures. I am so bad about remembering to take pictures, even if I have my camera with me. So, since I am staying home now, I am going to try to make more of an effort just to click away. I know I will be grateful for these reminders later on.

Brady's preferred way to carry things these days . . .

Today, he got trapped and needed rescuing. Of course, bad mommy took a picture first.

Dylan just being silly after pre-k today.

My sweet (and sweet smelling) boys after their baths.

It's snowing here in Georgia. This is big news and (sadly) this little amount of snow will probably close most school systems tomorrow. Don't laugh, this inch (that will probably melt off by mid-morning) will shut our city down.

Almost a Month

Okay, so it's been almost a month since my last post. Wasn't I supposed to have more free time now that I am not working outside of the house. Yeah, right.

Well, here is a brief synopsis to get you caught up to where we are . . .

• Brady is still fighting the ever enduring ear infection. We have been on three or four different antibiotics and had shots, but nothing seems to kill it. Right now, we are waiting for an appointment with a pediatric ENT - probably headed for tubes. I really am okay with this. I just want his poor little ears to get better and I don't want his hearing to be affected.

• The Friday before Christmas, Brady had another seizure. Once again it started in the car. This time Jason was driving, so I climbed into the back and pulled him out of the car seat. It was nerve-wracking and I thought I was losing it. We have got to do something about these ear infections (see above).





• Christmas was good. We cut back some this year (we had to now that there are two kids in the family), but it didn't feel like anything was missing. Both boys had a great Christmas.





• We went to the mountains in PA to try to find some snow for the boys to play in. Of course, it wasn't much colder there than here in GA. But, apparently, it did start snowing the day we left. Go figure.





• New Year's Eve was spent at home with some good friends and their children. The kids camped out in the bonus room and almost made it to midnight.





• Dylan started his new school. He was a little (actually, a lot) nervous, but he was such a big guy. He only cried a little before we left home, but once we got to his school he was a big boy. He had a great day and loves it. I was so concerned about this transition for him (and so were all of the grandparents because every single one of them called to check on him this week), but he is doing great. His reaction to this change has given me great hope for next year in kindergarten and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Dylan says he likes his new school and he says it is because he gets to come home earlier and spend time with me and Brady (heart melts).





• Jason and I joined a gym. We got a great deal because we joined before Christmas before the New Year's rush. It has a kids club, so we take the kids with us. I have been going each morning after I drop Dylna off at school. Brady stays in the kids club and I do a 1 hour class. I could also lift weights or walk on the treadmill or whatever else you do in a gym, but I am exhausted after that 1 hour class. Maybe later in the year, ya know?!?!





• As a treat for Dylan this week, I took him and Brady to Build-A-Bear. They had a blast.

This has been my first real, normal week of staying at home. We are starting to get into a routine, but there still aren't enough hours in the day. I am beginning to think there never will be. But I am spending time with my kids that I will never be able to get back. That's really all that matters, right??