Monday, May 30, 2011

Friday, May 27, 2011

Final T-Ball Game

Last night marked the end of Michael's first season of t-ball. He really enjoyed getting out there playing games, as well as practicing. He made some new friends on the team too. This will be his only year of t-ball as they start coaches' pitch next year.

Their final game was against the Seadogs. One of Michael's friends plays on this team so it was fun to have the last game against someone he knows. Here are a few shots from the game:







After the game, we went to CiCi's Pizza for an end of the season party. The kids had fun eating pizza and playing video games. The coaches had baseball cupcakes for all of the team. They also gave out trophies and a bucket of popcorn. What more could a 5 year old ask for?



Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Monday, May 23, 2011

Doctors, Doctors

Michael had his 5 year well visit last Tuesday. It was a bit crazy as I had 3 kids there and Katie was also being seen for a sick visit.

The visit started off good. The nurse took Michael's height and weight. He is now 43 inches tall (50%) and weighs 39 lbs (30%). Then she took him in for a hearing screen, which was fine. Michael also had to pee in a cup, which he thought was fun. Everything was OK until it was time for the finger prick. This is when he started freaking out. I can't say that I blame him. He didn't want to stay still and was hiding from me. I finally got him and the nurse did it as quickly as possible. Michael screamed and let me know that he was not happy with me!

We finally got in to the exam room and waited for the doctor. When he came in, he joked that he was scared to come in the room due to all of the screaming. He examined Michael and discovered that he has a hernia. Michael will need to have surgery to have this fixed. We will be referred to a surgeon and I have also contacted Johns Hopkins to get their opinion on the surgery since Michael has Marfan syndrome. Other than that, the rest of the appointment went OK, until the shot at the end. We had a better plan for that and it was over before he knew it.

Wednesday was Michael's annual orthopedic appointment. They took x-rays of his spine, hips and feet/ankles. The doctor said that Michael is showing no scoliosis at this time. He also doesn't have flat feet. The final thing that they checked for was his hips and they were showing no signs of displacement. It was a great checkup.

We also talked with the doctor about casting for Michael's ankles to help strengthen them. His physical therapist had recommended that we look into that as our next step as the therapy is only helping so much. The cast will be for a week and then they will remove them and re-evaluate. After he gets them removed, we should know if it helped or not almost immediately.

Now we just have to wait for the next step on the casting, as well as the hernia surgery.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Preschool Goodbyes

Friday was Michael's last day of preschool. It was a bittersweet day. I can't wait to see what kindergarten brings next year but I am sad that he will be leaving a school that he loved so much.

Michael has changed so much from the first day of preschool when he was 3 years old. He was so excited to start going there. His first year was filled with making new friends and learning new things. His second year was spent growing closer with his friends and learning even more with fun activities thrown in.

I can honestly say that he enjoyed going to school here. He had some wonderful teachers who have helped him on his path to kindergarten. And he was taught that learning can be fun! I know he will miss his "little school", as he calls it.

First Day, August 2009



Field Day, May 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Kindergarten Orientation

Michael had his Kindergarten orientation on Tuesday afternoon at the local elementary school. I don't think he really understood about going to a new school next year until we were there. We went into the center of the school where we got an information packet. We were taken to another part of the school where they had a snack table set up. The kids loved this!

We went into the auditorium where we heard from the principal, as well as some other administrators from the school. The tour of the kindergarten classroom came after this. This was the best part of the orientation according to Michael. To quote his words, "these people are boring", while the speeches were going on.

The classroom was awesome. I had envisioned rows of desk and a chalkboard. Instead, there were tables all around the room organized into centers and a Smartboard. Michael LOVED the Smartboard and had so much fun being shown how to use it by current kindergarteners. He also checked out the other centers.

He told me, as we were walking out of the school afterwards, that he thought the school was so cool. He also told me that he can't wait to go there next year. He did tell me that he does not want to ride the bus because it makes too much noise! That was so funny to me because a couple of years ago riding the bus was all he could talk about. I am so glad that he liked school and is looking forward to it.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Birthday Party Recap

We had Michael's birthday party at our house on Saturday afternoon. We considered having it someplace else but decided against it. We invited Michael's classmates, as well as family and friends. The theme for the party was Transformers.

The plan was to have the party outside and on the porch. The kids were going to play some games and run around before we did the pinata. Well, it started to rain about 30 minutes before the party. It rained just enough to make the ground too wet to go outside. So we hosted 20-25 kids and their parents, as well as family inside our house. I had several people tell me we were brave to have that many people but it actually turned out really good.

The kids played inside with Michael's trains and other toys in the playroom. After about 45 minutes, we took the kids into the garage to do the pinata. Todd lined everyone up from shortest to tallest and they got several chances to hit the pinata. It took about 3 or 4 times through the line to get the pinata open. This was one stubborn Transformer! Once it was open, the kids went wild for the candy.

Before


During


After


Shortly after we finished the pinata, we did the cake. Michael had requested a Transformers cake with a Transformers candle on top. We all sang Happy Birthday and then everyone ate cake. People stayed for a while longer before starting to go.



Michael opened his presents after the majority of the guests had left. It was better this way as there were so many people in the house. That way, he could concentrate on who gave him what gift and really get to see everything.

We all thought it was a great party and had lots of fun!

Happy Birthday Michael!

I became a mother for the first time 5 years ago today. It was one of the best days of my life. I can't believe the time is going by so fast already.



This year you went from preschooler to a little boy. You started to like toys that I only think of older boys playing with, like Transformers, Legos and super heroes. You became much more vocal about what type of toys you like to play with and have definite opinions on what is good and what is not.



You got your first computer last fall and have been enjoying it ever since. There are many games that you like to play and your ability to figure out how to solve them amazes me at times. You have also learned how to play Game Boy and use the iPod touch with apps that you like.

Your relationship with Katie has really evolved into a true sibling relationship. Some days the two of you play nicely all day and other days you both want to play with whatever the other one has. You told me that you are happy to have Katie as your sister, which I think is so sweet. You also show her how to do things and help her when she needs it. I couldn't have asked for a better big brother for Katie!





You played organized sports for the first time last fall. You started with soccer and then did indoor soccer in the winter. This spring you are playing t-ball. I think that you enjoy the social aspect of the sports as much as the actual sport itself. It's been fun watching you learn the sports and play games with the other kids.





We have been working on letters and numbers, writing them and learning to recognize them. You learned how to write your first name and were so proud of yourself. You have been asking about reading and figuring out the sounds that letters make, as well as how to spell words. Asking questions about all kinds of things has really helped you to learn about different subjects. One of your favorite books is The Illustrated Encyclopedia because you like to read about your body.



Michael, this year has been one of learning and growing. You are now a little boy but still aren't afraid to show everyone how much you love them. I love to get hugs and kisses from you. I hope that they never stop. We are so blessed to have you as our son and we love you very much!!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Isn't this sweet?

I picked Michael up from school one day last week and he had a bag in his hand. He told me it was something special that he made for me. He wanted me to open it that day but I told him that I wanted to wait for Mother's Day.

We sat down on Sunday morning for me to open the bag. I was so excited to see what was inside. This is what I found.





There was also a piece of paper rolled up inside. The teachers asked each child what made their mom fantastic. Michael told them that he loves when I make him yogurt popsicles. It's the little things that mean a lot.

It was a nice Mother's Day and I am so thankful to have Michael and Katie as my children.

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

"Mommy, can I......?"

This is one of Katie's favorite ways to start a sentence. It can end with all sorts of requests. A few of the most popular include ".....something to eat", "......watch a show,", ".....go outside". Her newest one let me know that she is listening to everything we say. Yesterday Katie came up to me and said "Mommy, can I write my name?". This was when I was sitting at the table writing with a pencil. I told her yes and gave her a magnetic erase board and she "wrote her name" to her heart's content.

Tonight I wasn't home for bedtime so Todd put the kids to bed. Katie didn't go to sleep right away and he had the monitor on. He said that she was up there talking to herself. Todd likes to tell Katie and Michael that he is crazy about them. Todd told me that he was listening to Katie say, "crazy about Daddy", "crazy about Mommy", "crazy about Michael", and went on to list a bunch of different people, including one of his co-workers (who is also a good friend). We both thought that was pretty funny. It was also even more proof that she really is taking it all in.

I think we are going to have our hands full with Katie too! This can be such a sweet age.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

An Early Mother's Day Present

Todd called me one day last week and told me that he knew what he and the kids were going to get me for Mother's Day. The only problem was that he needed to tell me now so he could get it done. I really like surprises but he said it would be really hard to pull it off without me being suspicious.

So we went on Wednesday to pick out my present, which was a new cell phone. I have had the same phone for 4 or 5 years. Todd thought it was time for me to get a new one, especially since I rarely get anything for myself. I got the EVO 4G and love it. I can tell that it's going to take some time getting used to it though since all I did on my old phone was make calls and send texts.

Thank you Todd, Michael and Katie for this awesome gift! I love you all very much.