June update!

Well hello! It's been a while (again)! Sammy saw Dr. J for a well visit today, so I thought I'd stop in and record his stats. He is in perfect health, 53rd percentile for weight and 64th percentile for height!

Since my last post we traveled to Washington DC and North Carolina. It was a blast! It was one of the all-around most fun and most stress-free trips we've had in a while. Dan toured us around DC for a few days and the boys did GREAT with all of the walking. We rode a double-decker bus to Charlotte (minus Dan, sadly) and spent a few days with my dad and stepmom. We spent time in the pool, went to the drive-thru zoo (a favorite!) and hung out at their house.

We also celebrated this beautiful boy's seventh birthday (a couple times)! I cannot believe Sammy is 7! I'd swear he was born just a couple years ago. He's turning into such a fun, smart, kind, clever little person. I absolutely love spending time with him. He makes us all laugh constantly and I can't imagine our family without his cute smile. We love you, Sammy-Jammy!

We have been LOVING our house and yard as we approach summer. Our backyard is amazing and we constantly feel so blessed and grateful to call it ours. It's honestly been a huge pain maintaining the pool and I haven't got it down quite yet, but we're getting there. The boys love it, so it's worth the hassle. We get in it every day that the weather cooperates!

This week and early next week we are preparing for our summer RV trip! It's not nearly as epic as last year's, but we are super excited about it. We plan to head to Deadwood, SD (a favorite spot from last year) and then onto Montana for a couple weeks. We all loved Montana and are excited to explore it a bit more. Departure date is next Thursday! Woooo!

I have some updates to catch up on regarding Mr. E but that will have to happen another time. Nothing urgent is going on, but a few things may be brewing. He is currently receiving AMAZING support through a local organization that sends therapists into the home. His therapist has done incredible things in a short time. More later! I'll try to update once more before we hit the road! Adios!

A bit of tachycardia and some funnies

The sickness has lived on for the two adults in our house. Just when I think I'm feeling better, I have a terrible day. Today was better. Dan feels like this weekend will be our turnaround and I sure hope he's right. The boys have been great! Sammy healed quickly from his flu and praise GOD it never touched Elijah. It's a miracle!

We have had a few other concerns with Elijah lately. He has been falling asleep at school on occasion, which is something that has just never happened in the past. Then on Sunday he laid down on the couch and said, "I'm REALLY tired and need a nap." I was kind of anticipating the flu, so figured it was finally hitting him. But then he never got a fever or had any other symptoms, so I was back to scratching my head about the request for a nap. I called Dr. G right away Monday morning and he wanted to move Elijah's standard 6-month cardio visit up by a month based on what I'd told him. We will go in for a check-up on 3/14. We had his well visit with Dr. Judy scheduled for today, which was timely.

In addition to the naps, E has also experienced some headaches (maybe 2/week) and random body pains recently. Dr. Judy felt like the pains and headaches were side effects from taking Strattera, which is what my gut had been telling me. The naps and exhaustion, though, could be a concern. When she checked his heart rate in the office it was 130bpm at rest. She checked it a few different times and it didn't change. She was mildly concerned by the tachycardia and told us to keep an eye on it. If it gets above 130bpm before 3/14, we should bring him back in. His blood pressure was high today, too, but that has slowly been increasing over the past few months. My gut tells me that some sort of heart intervention will need to happen soon (maybe a cath) due to increased pressures. We will find out on 3/14!

Other than these concerns, Dr. Judy is super happy with Elijah's growth and progress! He's in the 4th percentile for height and the 51st percentile for weight. Considering everything, our oldest boy is doing GREAT!

Speaking of great, Elijah has had a few really great days at school this week. Today I got a few reports that used the words "super" and "fantastic." Wow! He has been buckling down and doing work at school that he previously was fighting and refusing. 

I'll end with a few funnies..

When I was super sick last week, Dan was helping me change clothes when I literally could barely move on my own. Sammy happened to walk by and yelled into the room, "Take care of your WIFE.....Dad." :)

While we were waiting for Elijah to get done snowboarding last Saturday, Sammy grabbed some supplies from the cafe. He had a few spoons and packets of salt that he was playing games with and I didn't think much of it. On our drive home Sammy said, "Mom, I'd like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch, please.......And you won't need to get out the jelly. Because I've got these.." as he passed me the jelly packets that he had stolen from Afton Alps. :)

I've been trying to consistently make time to be at school with the boys on Wednesday mornings. I go into Elijah's class first and then Sammy's. I LOVE spending time at school with my cuties. It is such a special time for me. I help their teachers out with whatever they need and I give lots of hugs to my boys in between tasks. I have loved getting to know their classmates a bit, especially Sammy's friends who I've been able to spend more time with. Mrs. H has had me take a few students out in the hall and play a numbers game so they can become more familiar with writing, recognizing and saying numbers. This week for the first time Sammy questioned why I never pulled him out for the numbers game. I told him it was because we could do our own game at home, so I have started writing some challenging numbers on paper for him to read back to me. This boy! He is so dang smart! I have been testing him with numbers in the millions such as 7,002,004 and he can read them back to me accurately. So impressive!

And tonight Sammy used the word "approaching" correctly in a sentence. While in the bath, he said, "Mom, look! The minion is approaching a waterfall!" I can brag about having smart boys, right?! :)

Tomorrow we will attend Sammy's kindergarten musical performance which involves him being a bumble bee. We can't wait to watch! Sammy warned me that he probably won't be singing in front of anyone because he "hates performances." :)

Thanks for checking in! More later!

Sammy's 3-year well visit

It feels almost silly reporting on Sammy's well visits, but I will continue to do it! He checked out great. His weight was at 31.6 lbs (49th percentile) and his height was at 38 inches (65th percentile). He is a lean boy! He doesn't eat consistently, but we hear this is normal for his age.

We are hoping Dan can get some good skydives in tomorrow! I have a fun race that I'm looking forward to on Saturday, and the boys will spend that morning with their cousins and auntie. We are looking forward to another fun weekend. Thanks for checking in!

Sammy turns 2 (and has a well visit)!

We had two fun little birthday parties for our two-year-old SAMMY! One at the dropzone and one here at home. Here is Elijah showing Sam how old he is now. "You are TWO, Sammy."

Two years ago this was our 7-pound Samson!

And here is our independent little monkey today.

It is hard to believe that two years have passed since that day when we first met our growling, gorgeous second-born. Time is such an odd thing, isn't it?

At Sammy's well visit today the doctor went over all of the usual stuff. Is he eating well? Sleeping well? Growing well? Yes, yes and yes. Sooo, do you have any concerns? Hmmm...I thought hard about that, but couldn't come up with a thing. Oh wait! Thumb sucking! I asked if we should be concerned about it and the doctor thought no. If he is still sucking his thumb two years from now, then we will attempt to stop it. For now, soothe away, Sammy!

Here were his 2-year statistics:

27 lbs, 7 oz (43rd percentile)

36 inches (87th percentile and only 4 inches shorter than his bro)

He got one vaccination and one finger-poke, and he didn't flinch or cry one bit, in typical Sammy fashion.

Do you like Emma's green teeth?! :) We all had green teeth, by the way, Emma just happened to have hers captured by my camera.

Sammy got some very thoughtful gifts for his birthday! He received some specially stitched t-shirts, books, balls, clothes and a toy lawn mower!

I'm pretty sure Elijah has been enjoying Sam's toys more than Sammy has been!

Coincidentally, Dan's day off was on Sammy's birthday, so we were able to have a special family day together. Dan made special birthday pancakes for breakfast and while Elijah was at school, Dan and I took Sammy to his favorite park (the "colorful" park, as the boys call it). When Elijah got home, we had Sam open our gifts and enjoyed lunch together. After nap we prepared for his second party and enjoyed a fun evening with family!

Today we all went to a park near Elijah's school along with his preschool class to celebrate his last day. Except, it wasn't really his last day. We get to do the same thing again tomorrow since he was a part of both the M-W-F class AND the T-Th class. We have always known this, but we saw evidence today that his teachers ADORE him. I love that. 

I have been thinking a lot over the past couple days about our Elijah and his behaviors and I have realized that...well, um, he kinda sorta takes after his mama in some regard. There are certain things that I have done (and refused to do) in my life that have pointed to the fact that I AM STUBBORN. I have a feeling Elijah is taking after his mama! There are just things he wants to do and doesn't want to do. I can understand that.

Dan and I need to sit down and rethink the potty issue. We were able to deal with it so patiently and in such a detached way for so long, but we have fallen back into getting upset and emotional about it. Neither method proved to be effective. We don't know what we will try next. All I know is that this is getting really really really really really really really really old. 

I tried to sit Sammy on the potty chair this morning and he FLIPPED OUT. He refused to let his butt touch the toilet. He kept running to the stairs, grabbing a diaper and handing it to me while crying and saying, "Diiiii-peerrrrrrr OOONnnnnn!" Upon chatting with his doctor about it today, she suggested we hold off and try again in a few weeks.

Tomorrow we will enjoy more of Elijah's friends on his official last day of school. Our boy will be in kindergarten next year! I'm feeling both very sad and very happy about that. Since I'm not working full-time now, I have so many things I want to accomplish with the boys this summer. I am planning on making lots of zoo, park, museum, pool, beach and dropzone trips. It is going to be one fun summer!

I love this photo of Auntie Lissa, Emma and Sammy!

Dan has been working at the dropzone as much as possible, and as weather permits. Our financial situation is an interesting one right now! We keep praying that we can continue to keep our house and that our very old cars continue to run. 

I am trying to get as much photography business as possible while I continue with my food blog. I enjoy both of those things so very much. 

Ok, this was cute. Some dropzone friends of ours have an adorable little girl, Myla. Sammy is DRAWN to her. And, Sammy isn't drawn to anyone (but Dan and me), really. On Saturday at his party, he followed her around like a little shadow. After I put him to bed, for honestly one hour straight, I could hear him yelling, "Myyyyy-yaaaaaaa....where aaaaaare yoooooou?!" So cute!

Here is a typical meal in our trailer. Toys, a show, some food, quiet time, sunshine and (mostly) peace.

Elijah wrote Sammy's name all by himself on his card!

This has been Elijah's bus driver for his preschool career! She is such a sweet lady and we have been so appreciative of the way she has interacted with and cared for Elijah. The bus ride to and from school has always been on my list of Major Mama Anxieties, so I have always been very thankful for her!! We were sad to say goodbye to her on Monday. Another chapter awaits..

One last thing and then I will stop yapping and let you look at the rest of our (tons of) photos. There is a tree at the place Elijah receives OT and PT that he has always been drawn to. One day he said, "Mom! That tree's name is Willy!" Ok, cool! So now every time we get there, we greet Willy and we approach him and touch him and talk to him. This past Monday, Elijah said, "Look at you, Willy! You are growing so nicely!" :) I don't know what it is, but he just adores Willy!

Enjoy the rest of the birthday photos (and some unrelated to birthday, too). Thanks for checking in and have a great week!