Warm Weather Transformation

We have been LOVING this gorgeous Minnesota spring weather! We spend as much time as possible outside. Elijah has been very interested in riding our "big-boy" bike around the neighborhood (with me trailing close behind, of course). I love that he is finally wanting to be on a bike! He is doing great.

Sammy has been into RUNNING. He loves to run and asks me to time him as he runs to the end of the sidewalk and back. I can't remember if I've mentioned that he is starting soccer this weekend. All of us, including Sammy (surprisingly), are excited for his new adventure!

I frequently run into things like this in our house. Seriously.

And this. Love these silly cutie pies.

I snapped this photo the other day as we were walking home from the park. It looks like such a sweet picture, but Sammy was actually pretending to be holding Elijah captive. :) They sure didn't seem to mind walking like this. I love that they love each other so much.

I'm thankful that this the extent of our weekly update. We have had a great past week overall. School and behavior has been up and down for Elijah, but we all see a small amount of progress (yay!) in every area. Two steps forward, one step back. We will take it!

Thanks for peeking in!

Hand it over

The boys and I made it to the dropzone last night for our first time this season. They were SO EXCITED about going and had a blast! The fresh, open air, the attention (they are always given MUCH love by our amazing skydiving pals), the playground, our trailer that is totally stocked with toys.. The dz is such a novel place for them and they adore their time there...every time.

I told Elijah last year that he probably wouldn't fit into our toy car this year. Well, he squished himself in! He made it work. We're looking into turning it into a convertible. He loves "driving" this car around the perimeter of the hangar....over and over and over, and usually with Sammy sitting in the "trunk." Sammy is closing the door of our trailer in the below pic. The boys call this our "second home." I can only imagine what Elijah's teachers and friends at school must think when he tells him about our second home having wheels, in a trailer park. :) 

Being so close in proximity to the boys' beds last night, I was able to accurately determine what time Elijah was awake for the day. That would be 3:10am! I have a feeling this has been going on for a few weeks. I'll put a call into his development ped tomorrow. We are not entirely certain that the sleep meds are helping any longer, so I would like to discuss other options.  He was a very very tired boy all day today.

I packed the boys into the car fairly early this morning and headed to church, unshowered and all. I refuse to let our church attendance fall to the wayside this summer, despite our dropzone-ing, fun and busy-ness. I was glad I made the effort because our amazing Pastor Londa put a message into my head that I absolutely needed today. The stress, worry and fear I've been feeling lately NEEDS TO GO. It's not mine to hold, and I need to hand it all over. I've felt much better today. 

Yesterday was a different story. I sat on the hard cement at a playground for over an hour, watching the boys run around while my wonderful mother-in-law's arm was wrapped around me. I had a near panic attack as I walked out of the gym with each of the boys' hands in mine. It hit me hard and very suddenly. I hadn't had that feeling in YEARS. Dan's incredible mother came to my rescue and helped talk me through my feelings. I felt much better after a dose of her love. The next few weeks are filled with...so much! Work, work, work, work, time spent apart from each other...and my mind has a difficult time thinking about anything else. But I just have to GIVE IT TO HIM!

On a much lighter note, the weather was beautiful today! Aahhhh.. finally! And I'm not sure I've mentioned it here yet, but the little boys and I will be departing on a 2-week road trip on June 6th, the day after Elijah's last day of first grade. We will spend five nights in Louisville with our incredible heart friend Evan and his family. Then we will head to Charlotte for another week where we will spend time with my dad and stepmom. We are EXCITED! My cousin Trevor (the Car Doctor, as E and S call him) just did some work on my old but trusty car and will do a final peek before we leave. We feel ready!

This coming week is going to be so absolutely and totally nuts, but...I'm handing everything to Jesus! He can take it all on and lead me. I'm taking it day by day...hour by hour. Look for the blessings!

Thanks for peeking in! xo

Mama business = serious business

Did you hear that? I just sighed a HUGE sigh of relief. I'm done working in Cannon Falls for the week, so the scrambling is done for now. Dan gets home tomorrow night and I can't wait to squeeze him! It has been a totally crazy week for the little boys and me. This single mom business is no joke! I have a new, great respect for single moms. They are my heroes!!!

My limited patience and the boys' total craziness have been feeding off one another all week. Things that are usually a piece of cake have suddenly become chaotic. I don't know if it's chance or Dan's absence or both. Putting the boys to bed the past few nights has been filled with stress, which has never been an issue for us. This morning on the way to daycare, Sammy realized he had forgotten his sunglasses. It was raining, so I assured him he wouldn't miss them. The entire ride to daycare involved screaming (like, ear-clutching SCREAMING), punching the door, punching the air toward me and yelling potty words that I've never heard come from his mouth. Three of the past six school days for Elijah have been "bad" and the other three were "ok." Elijah has reverted to waking up at 3:00-4:00am, which I don't get. He's also been having a hard time falling asleep at night, which isn't like him at all. I'm praying all of this is just a result of a major change in family dynamic/routine and that it'll go back to normal...tomorrow.

Tonight there was supposed to be a carnival at Elijah's school and we were all really looking forward to it. There were going to be games, a raffle, yummy food, friends, etc. As Elijah and I sat in the car outside daycare while picking Sammy up (torrential rains had swept in, so I was trying to wait it out), I received a recorded call from the school. The carnival was canceled due to inclement weather. Oh man, I knew Elijah was going to have a really tough time with that news. I gently shared it with him and tears immediately squirted out of his eyes. I mean, literally, they flew from his eyes horizontally there was so much pressure and sadness. It broke my heart. I hate seeing my boys genuinely sad! When I got back into the car with Sammy, both of us TOTALLY saturated from the rain, I told the boys we could replace carnival fun with another kind of fun. We'd move pizza-movie night up a night! The boys loved that idea and I actually saw a smile on Elijah's tear-stained face. "Thanks, Mom! That made me feel happy again." It sounds like they'll try again with the carnival next week!

We are so excited to see Dan and to hear about his adventures! The boys and I have missed him so much and we're looking forward to a nice, relaxing weekend together. Next week = a follow-up appointment with E's awesome neuropsychologist, more work in Cannon Falls, Dan's and my 8-year anniversary, possible skydiving for Dan and hopefully more rest, normalcy and happiness for all of us!

Thanks for peeking in! Happy early Mother's Day to all of you wonderful mamas!

Croup: Season 3, Round 7

Elijah had a croup episode at 2:00 this morning. I can't decide if it's a good thing or a bad thing that this has become such a part of our lives that it doesn't rattle me much anymore. Elijah started out having difficulty breathing, but once I held my boy tight and got him to calm down his breathing improved greatly. We did a quick epi neb and dose of steroids and we were all back to sleep within 15 minutes.

This morning he was sneezing a lot and had a runny nose. I noticed Sammy coughing a bit, too, so it must just be time for a spring cold for us. I have some really cute OUTSIDE photos from the weekend that I will share tonight. It has been such a dreadful, long winter, so it was unbelievable to spend time outside without parts of our bodies freezing off!

Ahhhhh weather

Reading a book outside. Ohhh, it is beautiful today!

It has been the most beautiful, fun day. I cannot describe how wonderful it feels not to have my skin turn into ice crystals when I walk outside. AAAAAAaaaahhhhhh! We woke up and decided to go to the zoo this morning. They have a special display right now of baby farm animals. The little sheep and goats and pigs were sooo cute. Elijah seemed interested in the animals for the first time and we all really enjoyed ourselves. We stopped and had a yummy lunch on our way home and then Elijah took a THREE-hour nap! Whoa! Sunshine and stimulation equals good napping.


Weird creepy fish that we liked.

After his nap we went for a walk and went to the park. He loved the swing, as usual, but his new love is the slide. We slid down it a handful of times and he kept wanting more, giggling through it all. He just loves being outside. Loves it. I think we live in the wrong state.


Elijah even fed some goats!

Apparently all we need to do to get him to talk and sign is take him to the zoo. Right away when we walked in, he said, "Duh" for "duck" and "Kuh Kuh" for "cluck cluck." Then he said, "Up" whenever he wanted up. He has also been saying "Hup" for help today when he needs us to help him with something, which is AWESOME. He was also doing the sign for "bird" at the zoo. And, get this! He is finally doing the sign for "more," consistently, and of his own desire. Finally he decides he can show us this sign after holding out for so long.


Standing so proper

Oh and, the Twilight party last night was very fun. I just love my girl time. Let's do it again next week!

Tomorrow is Easter (happy Easter!) and we plan to spend the day with Dan's family. I am going to get Elijah ready for bed now and sit in the bath with Harry Potter, after stuffing my face with a few more jelly beans. Have a great weekend! Thanks for checking in.


He sat out in the front yard for quite a while, reading and playing with toys and occasionally (tentatively) feeling the grass.


Oh man, that is the sweetest face.


Couldn't you just eat him up?


Um, BIG BOY?! This is the first time EVER he has allowed the nebulizer mask on his face. YAAAYyyy for Elijah! He didn't complain once, through the entire 15-minute treatment. This is a minor miracle.

Blah

I feel extra glum today. Maybe part of the reason for it is this...


Yes! More winter!

Or maybe it's because Elijah is in fact sick again. Poor kid, he has a snotty, clogged nose and he has a temp and he keeps sneezing and you can tell that he just doesn't feel well. We have been trying so hard to keep him away from germs. I guess now we will have to be in full quarantine mode because I certainly don't want to postpone surgery. Please pray for quick healing for our boy! And for sanity for us, as we will be confined to our house for the next 15 days.

As I wrote yesterday, I have been feeling pretty sad and weak lately. Something Dan and I try to do every week is take turns picking a Bible verse that we feel is appropriate for the week and talk about it. Well this week it is my turn, so I think these are the perfect verses for me (us) to ponder:

2 Corinthians 12:10
"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong."

Isaiah 40:31
"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

On another note, our insurance company decided that Elijah doesn't need his RSV shot this month, which is completely ridiculous, so we are doing what we can to get that approved. We have not been a huge fan of Health Partners since we switched over this year. What? You want to keep your baby from getting RSV before he has open heart surgery? DENIED! That makes total sense.

One cute thing to share, since this post is filled with blah-ness. Elijah still has not said the D sound. Every day, I say to him, "Elijah, say 'Dada,'" and lately he will pause, look at me, and say, "Baba!" Then I'll say, "Ok, now say 'Mama,'" and even though he DOES know how to say the M sound, he will pause, look at me, and say, "Baba!"