School updates and boy funnies

I don't have anything specific or huge to report. We have had a mostly good past couple days. The weekend was nice since none of us were sick! We went to see a movie at the cheap theater and we cleaned (exciting!), went to church and to the club and hung out at home. Elijah's sleep has been good and bad and as always, the challenging periods come in spurts and they are usually related to potty issues. I received a heartbreaking call from his teacher today. A few kids in his class conspired and put a HIT ME sign on his back. :( Another kid stood up for him and told the other kids to take it off. It sounds like it was a fairly big ordeal. Parents were called and kids were talked to. I talked to Elijah about it very gently and he seemed sad about what had happened. Other than that and a few minor things here and there, things at school are going well for him. I am constantly reminding myself how far we have come and how much progress Elijah has made! It's pretty amazing, actually. I tell BOTH of my boys how proud I am of them all the time and I think it confuses Elijah to hear that because it has become so ingrained in him that he makes bad decisions (scars from the past two school years). I constantly try to remind him how much he has learned and about the good decisions he makes now.

Sammy is doing great in kindergarten! His sweet teacher has told us that he is very patient and kind and a hard worker and good friend. His handwriting and reading have improved SO MUCH since school began! He could read maybe 15 words starting the school year and now he can read at least 50. He will actually come home from school and create work sheets for himself and complete them. He has his first class field trip on Thursday and I'm so excited that I'll be able to go with him! Last week he got invited to a birthday party for a little boy in his class and it broke my heart when Elijah read the invitation and excitedly said, "Can we go, Mom?!" :( Sammy was able to go to the party and he had a blast. Such a blast that he woke me up at 3:00 the next morning to tell me that he wanted to go back. Seriously. Elijah was upset that he wasn't able to go along, but we arranged a Daddy-Elijah date during that same time and they had a great time.

I'll end with some boy funnies that I've been collecting. Thanks for checking in!

One night Sammy didn't want to eat dinner and kept trying to get Dan to take bites of his food so he would need to eat less and still get dessert. Sammy grabbed a name tag that was lying on the table near him and that Dan had worn at a recent conference and that had his name on it. Sam turned to me, held up the name tag and said, "Send this guy over here!"

After getting mad at me because I ONLY got Sammy a cookie at Subway and not a cookie AND chips he said, "You are NOT my favorite person." I quickly reminded him that we always need to be grateful for every little thing and he was silent for a few minutes. Then he whispered into my ear, "The word 'not' was actually supposed to be silent. I meant to say that you ARE my favorite person."

After giving Elijah after-school snuggles today as I do every day (usually upon his request) he said, "You're the greatest woman in the world. You're like a little good person!" :)

Dan: Elijah, if you had to pick ONE of the following which would you choose...the biggest lollipop ever OR a giant pool of chocolate?
Elijah: Hmmmmmm....wellllll....normally I'd choose both. (long pause) But if I had to pick one...hmmmm.....I'll pick the pool of chocolate.

Sammy's bedtime prayer one night last week: Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Thank you for Earth. Thank you for life. Thank you for my faaaaaavorite person in this family, whoooo iiiiizzzz.......(long dramatic pause)......my sweetest brother Elijah. Amen.

Sammy (calling from bed): Mommy! My toenail is rubbing on my sheets. Will you clip it?
Me (wielding clippers): Ok, which one is it?
Sammy: Foot ONE! Toe ONE!
Me: Would that be right foot, big toe?
Sammy: You got it, clipper woman!

House of Sickness

Ugh! What a miserable past few days we have had. Elijah caught a bug that he had Saturday and Sunday. Mine came Sunday and Monday. Then it was Sammy's turn and now Dan is down. Poor Sam threw up in a garbage can at school yesterday. :( Thankfully (??) I was home sick so I was able to get to him quickly. We spent yesterday being miserable together, watching movies and dozing in and out of sleep on my bed. Today we all seem to be on the mend. All of our bugs lasted about 36 hours and all of us had some sort of tummy issues along with fatigue and no appetite. Elijah had a fever with his, but none of the rest of us got that thankfully.

Aside from that, not much has been going on here! Today I stayed home with Sam again and we have been catching up on laundry, washing all of our germy sheets, getting caught up on Elijah's MA paperwork and I just put a batch of applesauce in the crockpot! We are heading out for OT in a bit and I wanted to write a few words before the evening got ahold of me. Hopefully my next update will be packed with good things. :) Hope you all are having a great week!

Cardiology check-up and IEP meeting

The past week has been FULL and filled with great news! On Friday we took Elijah to his 6-month cardiology check-up. Instinctively I knew everything would be good and that turned out to be the case! His heart function and pressures are the same as they were six months ago, which is pretty incredible. For the past 2.5 years not a whole lot has changed with his heart even despite him continuing to grow. Dr. G told us to keep doing what we're doing and to come back in six months. One of these years Elijah is going to need a heart cath, but it's impossible to know exactly when (we thought it would need to happen almost 2 years ago!). And after that, he'll need another open heart surgery but we will have to play that by ear, as well.

Our second bit of GREAT news comes from E's IEP meeting today! I know. I have never used the word "great" to describe an IEP meeting. It sounds like the same positive changes we have seen at home in the past few months are being seen at school, as well. Every person who spoke in the meeting today talked of significant positive changes from last year. His two main struggles are blurting out inappropriately and staying on task while completing school work, but compared to last year he is doing SO much better in both areas. I told his team today that for the first time in TWO YEARS, we are not just scraping by. We all have extra energy for things in the "other" category, which feels sooo good. For the past few years, anything "extra" that came home in his backpack (extracurricular opportunities, fundraisers, etc) went straight in the trash can after a loud "HA!" escaped my mouth. This year some of those things are actually feasible! It feels amazing and we are so incredibly thankful for the changes and the way this medication helps his brain. It felt good to sit down and chat with Elijah's excellent educators and not be totally sleep-deprived and edgy and anxious. It was a relaxed meeting and we were able to discuss how to help Elijah above and beyond just getting him through each day. The main objectives in this year's IEP are improving his social skills, helping him to be more self-aware and to get him to advocate for himself when appropriate. He is actually making strides in these areas already, which is awesome!

To go along with the more-than-scraping-by theme, Dan and I have pushed ourselves in some areas, as well. After technically being a part of a small group at church for two years and NEVER going to a single gathering, we finally went to one on Sunday night. We got a babysitter to come put Elijah to bed (since we still can't skimp in that area quite yet) and brought Sammy with us so he could play with some of his sweet friends from Sunday school. On the drive home he said, "Mommy, this was the best day EVER. I love Hayden's house sooo much." Dan and I felt a good connection with the group and we are excited to get more involved.

This is my second week working in Cannon Falls and it's going fine. The mornings are EARLY, but I have to be home by 3:00 for the bus so it's a short day. It's good to have the extra money (Christmas $$!) and I love the people I work with. The boys have the rest of the week off school, so they'll be going to daycare for a couple days (pray this goes well).

Here's to many more great weeks! Thanks for checking in!

Our presidential candidate

Due to our accumulating tiredness, we barely did a thing last weekend. We tried to catch up on sleep, but didn't get very far. For the past few nights, after multiple days of hugely cutting back on his sugar intake, Elijah has been sleeping better and later. I, however, am now getting up before 6:00 to get to work by 7:00! I'll be working in Cannon Falls 4 days/week for the next couple months. Dan will have to man the morning fort and get the boys on the bus before heading to work. I will be home in the afternoon to get them off and I'll man the late afternoon/evening routine! 

Last Thursday night Elijah told me that he was running for third grade student council and that he was doing so THE FOLLOWING DAY. We scrambled to get a poster partially made and I sent him to school hoping he'd follow through. After a little bit of encouragement from his teacher, he stood up in front of his class and gave a speech! We are so proud! His teacher said that he did GREAT. He didn't win, but he did receive a few votes! Yay Elijah!

For almost a week now, Elijah has been taking 18mg of Strattera (a slight increase from 15mg) and I think it's a great dose for him. Overall, his behavior and attitude have been great! There are still specific issues that we're constantly working on, but we are so happy with this medication. His days at school have been mostly positive, as well. His case manager has described at least three of his days in the past week as being "AMAZING." Last year at this time, nothing was amazing.

Sammy is doing great in kindergarten. I imagine he's probably the perfect little student. I have gone into his class to volunteer a couple times and he is so cute and sweet and kind. I love it!

That is all for now! Gotta work so I can get to sleep early. Thanks for stopping by.

Corn Maze 2015

Finally, corn maze photos! And an update of our week at the end of the post.

As always, the boys had so much fun at the corn maze this year. Elijah remembered that he was the driver last year, so the boys switched spots.

Playing on the train, even though Elijah is WAY too big for it. We let him get on anyway.

The corn pit! Sammy was more comfortable playing in the corn this year than ever before. Look at these two handsome boys!

I love getting into the corn with the boys and I always find kernels in our house for months after. In fact, I found a kernel from LAST year in July's laundry this year. :)

The hay bale maze is one of Elijah's favorite things, but Sammy just so-so likes it. He ran through once and was done.

Elijah, on the other hand, ran through the maze at least 5 times. He has always loved it, even as a really little guy.

Brothers posing with the giant hay fireman.

The parakeet house was a favorite again this year. Both boys seemed scared of the birds, but they came around. Sammy sure loves animals.

Elijah stared down this cow for a long time. "Wow, you are a really gigantic and funny-looking cow!" he said repeatedly. :)

After much coaxing, Sammy fed the...uhh, what are these animals? He thought they were going to nibble his fingers off.

I love these handsome boys!

Finding our way through the BIG maze!

I love this beautiful face!

Handsome boys..

This week has produced a TIRED Mama and a TIRED Elijah. We have given Elijah a little too much sugar (there's such a fine line), which has caused some very early morning potty issues. When he is awakened at 3:00-4:00am, he does not go back to sleep. When I am awakened at 3:00-4:00am, I do not go back to sleep. Today we totally cut out sugar and will do so for the next few days to get things back on track. Homework tonight was painful...more difficult than it's been so far this year. :( We are praying for a much better night of sleep tonight. My red, tired eyes are screaming for sleep!

Earlier in the week, Sammy's attitude was sour and he seemed distant. I have made an extra effort to give him one-on-one time and things were better today. Each night after Elijah goes to bed, we sit on the floor in our living room and play a few games of Mastermind. He is SO smart and is getting so good at this game. It is such a special time for us to spend together and I think he cherishes it, too. I love my Sammy! He is my precious, smart and wonderful boy!

That's all for now! More later. Thanks for checking in!

After the 23rd surgery

Two quick funnies from Friday that I forgot to write in my last post! At one point before surgery, a nurse asked Elijah if his wristband info was accurate. She said, "Are you Elijah Daniel Porta?" He said yes and she asked, "Who are these two people with you today?" Elijah said, "That's my mom and that's the guy with the gigantic beard." :) Then after surgery the anesthesiologist came in to discuss how things went (this doctor was AMAZING, as all of them are at Children's). He said that E did great and then started laughing so sincerely. He said that Elijah was so polite as they were sedating him, saying things like, "No thank you, I really don't like that icky mask. Please take it away." That's our boy!

Elijah has bounced back from surgery like a total champ. I can hardly believe it! Literally the morning after surgery he was chipper and helpful and happy and rested. He was bouncing all through the house and eating through our fridge like caterpillars eat through milkweed. He was hardly in any pain this time, which was a huge difference from last time. This made me think about something. How often do we say a specific prayer a million times only to have it answered...and not give thanks?!

ALL of my very specific prayers were answered for this surgery. I prayed for a miraculous calm to take hold of Elijah in the OR. This was surgery #23 for him and all of the previous 22 surgeries have brought severe anxiety when the mask was put onto his face in the OR. I'm talking, multiple people having to hold him down because of body flailing and total anxiety/panic. :( According to Dan (because I have only gone in once and swore I'd never do it again), this time was a breeze compared to the last 22. That was an answer to prayer! My other main prayer this surgery was for Elijah to experience minimal pain afterward because last time was pretty bad for 2-3 days. He has had such minimal pain this time. Another answer to prayer. This time I have followed up with much thanks. It's so easy to overlook that part when your prayers have been answered, isn't it?

We are having some specific issues with behavior which pertains mostly to Elijah acting out aggressively toward Sammy. We have a plan in place for that and we're sticking with it, even if takes months for him to stop these behaviors. Consistency works best for him. Other than these issues, behavior has been overall so good for the most part. I remember just a few months ago barely making it through every day. The late afternoon hours were so rough that I wanted to run screaming from my house by 5:00pm. It's not like that anymore, even when homework and therapy is thrown in.

Elijah has been using the toilet on his own lately and I've been afraid to mention that to anyone in fear that he will regress again. I realized today that I have also been able to work on "other" things that even a few months ago wouldn't have been possible. He now gets into the car all by himself and puts on his own seatbelt. Even as recently as July, this did not happen. He also will put his shoes away when he gets home and put them on without complaint when it's time to go somewhere. Prior to July, I mostly did tasks like these for him. If I ask him to do a favor for me around the house, he'll (usually) do it happily. He now brings his plate to the counter without being asked after every meal. All of these things would have been tasks I wouldn't have even attempted three months ago, as we were all just doing our best to survive! I attribute most of this to his anxiety meds. They are another answer to prayer and I am grateful for them!

As always, I had a rough couple days after Elijah's surgery. It always hits me hard, even when it's a minor ordeal. I walked around in a stupor for most of the weekend and got nothing accomplished. Here's to a great week! Thanks for peeking in!

Successful surgery!

Surgery went great! It was successful and actually quite painless. Elijah was SO brave about the two things he is typically anxious about: the mask and the tape. We talked to him a lot about the mask beforehand and let him choose between needle (IV) or mask. He agreed that the mask was the best option of the two. Dan went back to the OR with him and said that he had the best going-to-sleep experience yet. Normally he fights it and needs to be held down, but was much calmer this time. He also usually becomes very upset when we take the tape off his arm that is holding his IV in place. Apparently some genius invented a painless tape (WHY wasn't this invented 10 years ago?), so Elijah didn't flinch a bit when the tape came off!

Despite all of that good news, he actually was quite anxious before surgery this morning. MUCH more anxious than he ever has been before. He expressed worry so many times. He even said things like, "THEY'RE GONNA KILL ME!" and "I'M NEVER GONNA LEAVE THIS PLACE!" We did a lot of distracting with toys and playing and a service dog even stopped into snuggle with him.

Starting to get a little loopy from the Versed.. :)

Immediately upon waking up, Elijah lifted up his left arm and saw that an IV had been placed after he was sedated. He loudly said, "WHAT?!?!?!?!" We all laughed. He sure was disappointed to see that thing in his arm!

After surgery he was NOT feeling well at all. He kept feeling like he was going to throw up and was just seeming uncomfortable. Dan left to get Sammy off the bus and Elijah immediately fell asleep and HARD. If he wouldn't have been hooked up to the monitor I would have worried that he wasn't breathing. That boy slept harder than I think I've ever seen him sleep. An hour and a half later I woke him up so we could go home. He literally could barely talk or walk! I pushed him in a wheelchair to the bathroom and he was able to go without screaming (unlike last time). Yay!

We had a short evening together at home and then Elijah ASKED for bed. He started crawling into bed without his pajamas and actually got mad because bedtime was taking tooooo looooonnggggg! He had some more nausea before bed, but totally crashed again and has been sleeping like a rock.

We have some daily obligations to perform for the next six months to ensure this surgery is a complete success. Please pray for that, as I don't know it is going to be a super comfortable thing for our boy. Hopefully it won't be too big of a deal.

I missed Sammy extra today! I told him that and he asked me to come sit on the blue chair with him. As I snuggled him tightly, he said, "Mommy? You know why I asked you to snuggle? Because I heard you say that you missed me and I wanted to make you feel good." I love that boy. I love both of my boys! Super proud of both of those cuties!

I am tired and I apologize, but I'm not going to re-read through the post and make corrections tonight! Dan is leaving for a work trip in the morning, so relaxation calls! Thanks for the prayers and we would so appreciate continued prayers for minimal pain and for this ordeal to be successful. Thank you!

Surgery today and a few funnies!

I promised corn maze pics, but that'll have to wait! I meant to write a post last night, but slipped away. Elijah's urologist feels comfortable going forward with surgery today even though he is being treated for a UTI. Sammy is off to school and we are just chillin' and mentally preparing for a trip to the hospital. It should be in and out with only a few hours spent there, assuming everything goes as planned. Prayers are appreciated!

We have had a good week! Yesterday brought some behavior that we hadn't seen in a while (home and school both), but I'm attributing it to surgery nerves, the UTI meds (his body NEVER does well with these) and having a substitute para at school.

I have a few funnies to share that I've written down recently. Forgive me if I repeat any of these. There can never be too many funnies, right?

Sammy: Elijah, I want you to plummet!
Me: Sammy! Do you know what the word "plummet" means?
S: Yep! To fall fast!
(this boy is smart!)

As I was coming toward Elijah to hug him, he yelled, "Aaaghhhhhh! A lady who wants to kiss me!"

Waking up one morning, Sammy said, "Ohhhh it feels so ouch in the morning."

I walked down the stairs and heard Elijah say, "There's the little lady carrying a box of snuggles!"

Sammy heard music playing somewhere and asked, "Is George Washington making that music?"

Elijah: Mommy, you are a REALLY good cook. Except...I don't like most of the food you make. But your desserts are good! Yeah, you make REALLY good desserts. Fantastic desserts.

Elijah (after walking a lot through the corn maze): MOM! Me feet are bloply and tired!
Me: What does "bloply" mean?
E: EXHAUSTLY!

After coming out of the bathroom, Sammy announced to us, "Ladies and Gentlemen! I.....HAVE ARRIVED!"

Sammy's super sweet bedtime prayer that is so perfect: Dear Jesus, thank you for this day. Thank you for Sammy, Elijah, Mommy and Daddy. Thank you for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Thank you for LIFE. Amen.

Me: Ugh, my eyes hurt.
E: Why?!
Me: Oh, because I'm a tired mama!
E: I...I really don't have a response for that, interesting red-eyed woman.

The other night Elijah picked up one of my tank tops from a pile of laundry and asked, "Mom, is this one of your boobie packs?"

Second week of school...success!

The second week of school is done! Both boys have been doing great. Sammy has been dutifully picking up litter in his classroom, just as he does everywhere we go. :) Elijah has been continuing to show maturity this week, which is in my opinion in HUGE part to meds. Being used to the way things were last year, I find that I brace myself in certain situations only to find that I can relax. Example: homework! He and I have sat down three times together so far this school year and completed BIG math sheets with at most one mild complaint. Last year there would have been 50 complaints and he would have scribbled over and eventually crumpled up the paper. As was the case during the summer, his threshold seems to be so much bigger. He can handle a full day of school and therapy and homework and not be totally overwhelmed. PRAYING this continues!

I took E to see Dr. M (developmental ped) this week and he was happy to hear how Elijah was responding to the meds. He told me that just observing him in the office he seemed calmer and less distracted. We are going to try a VERY tiny dosage increase in a few weeks. We are also continuing with talk/skills therapy and Dr. M was on board with everything we are doing. We are also having someone come to our home on Monday to do an assessment for in-home skills/behavioral therapy. I'm feeling super hopeful about this because so much of what Elijah needs assistance with occurs in our home and typically in the late afternoon/evening. In addition to being his LUCKY mom, I am also his behavioral/social skills coach and it would be SO helpful to get some help with this!

And of course that's not all! :) Elijah's urethral surgery is scheduled for next Friday, but Dr. R asked that we have pre-op done a week in advance in order to get results from his urinalysis in time. Today I got a call from his primary doctor with the news that Elijah's preliminary cultures showed that he has a UTI! Today we started him on a 10-day course of antibiotics and that likely will push surgery back by a bit (we'll know for sure on Monday).

It's always something, but I want to say that the constant "action" in our lives does not bring us down. Aside from HATING the pain and anxiety Elijah has to constantly endure, we do remember that THIS IS OUR JOURNEY (not just Elijah's, but OURS..we're always right there with him). It's useless to fight what God has in store for us. If we did, we'd be miserable!

I was able to spend a bit of time in Sammy's classroom this week and it was so much fun to see him in that setting. He is thriving and growing and doing so well. I am so proud of my sweet boy! He has been a bit more tired than usual, but he has eagerly gotten onto the bus every morning and hasn't complained about a thing. He adores his sweet teacher (she is the BEST!) and talks kindly about his new friends. He literally has not said a single negative thing about school.

Today we made our yearly trip to the corn maze as a family and we had so much fun! It was our warmest year to date. I of course have tons of photos to share. Next post! Thanks for reading!

First week of school done and a surgery on the horizon

We all survived the first week of school, phew! I shed far too many tears this week. My days felt empty without Sammy by my side, holding my hand everywhere I went. But I knew he was safe at school with the BEST teacher and having a great time and that put a smile on my face. Elijah had a great week at school, too! He had some blurt-outs, but as far as I've heard nothing worse than that went down. In fact, some really amazing things transpired with him. Things I NEVER thought would happen on this first week of school. During the first two days of school he completed two math sheets (one of them with 56 problems on a page!) WITHOUT COMPLAINT. Uhh...wha?! Last year when a math sheet even touched his desk it immediately got crumpled and thrown across the room. I was so darn proud that I gave him a bit of incentive (uh, bribery) to continue with this. I offered an Inside Out stuffed animal on Friday after school if he could complete one math sheet per day without complaint. He did it!

Sammy has really done SO well this week. I give that boy major props for holding his stuff together so well. He hopped onto the bus happily every day and he hopped off happily every afternoon. He eagerly told me details about his day and seemed genuinely excited about going back again. This morning when we were getting ready for breakfast, I could see that Sammy was on the verge of losing it. I think the craziness of the week had finally gotten to him. He sat on the floor of our kitchen, staring at our pantry and literally SOBBING because I told him he could not eat fruit snacks for breakfast. He would not budge from that spot and continued to cry. Finally I grabbed him and hugged him tight and rubbed his back and told him that I understood. School is tiring! It's been a week filled with change! And I told him I was very proud of him. After a few minutes he completely switched gears, got dressed, ate breakfast and was ready to hop on the bus again! By the way, Sammy got an Inside Out stuffed animal, too. :)

There was another major success with Elijah this week at school. There is a kid in his class who was a major antagonist in his first grade class. This kid...ugh. He preys on Elijah's weaknesses and vulnerabilities and instigates trouble. He knows that Elijah is prone to doing things like blurting out potty words or screaming when frustrated, so he will approach him and say, "Elijah, say a potty word as loud as you can!" In first grade, Elijah always did what he said and of course ended up getting into trouble. This year, after seeing this boy's name on a locker at open house, I began coaching Elijah and  doing some role playing. On day #2, Elijah got off the bus and proudly told me that this boy had urged him to "scream as loud as you can!" E told him, "NO!" and turned the other way. This is hugely hugely awesome.

We have had some medical developments this week, as well. Elijah had two routine specialist appointments, one with urology and the other with ENT. We have known that the urology surgery from last November hasn't worked, but we did not expect to alarm the doctor quite so much. Another surgery is necessary and SOON! He wanted to do surgery as early as Monday! I choked and began coughing and asked if we could maybe wait till the following week. So Elijah will have a urethral dilation on September 25th. The surgery itself is not major or worrisome, but what we have to do at home with him every day afterward for SIX MONTHS is worrisome. Let's just say major painful things in that region. :(

Today Elijah got a hearing test and we chatted with Dr. L. His hearing is the same as it was 6 months ago...mild hearing loss in left ear with a spike into normal hearing in higher decibels. YAY! And an improvement even from last time...his ear drum now moves when air is blown into the ear (before it wouldn't budge). Dr. L said AGAIN that he never ever ever ever would have anticipated this outcome for Elijah. In standard fashion, he referred to E as an "evil genius" and walked away scratching his head. In a good way!

I'm super excited about tomorrow because we will be getting together with two new friends (one in the am and one in the pm) who we have recently met. We are excited about the opportunity for new friendships and connections!

Phew, here's to another FULL week almost done. Looking forward to what next week has in store!

Hello to third grade and kindergarten!

I figured out today that this is Elijah's seventh year of school. That is crazy! I remember putting him on a bus on his third birthday and feeling like my limbs had all just been chopped off as it drove away from me. He was sooo little, could barely say his name and was totally dependent on other people. Now he seems like such a big boy and so seasoned when it comes to school. The boy I worried most about today was my little Sammy. Time moved soooo slowly today. I could hardly stand being apart from him and wanted him here with me so badly.

But I just knew he was enjoying his day. I could feel it in my heart and was so happy about that thought. His teacher sent me an email toward the end of the day saying what a great day he had. Yay!

According to Elijah, he felt he had a great day, as well!

Super LOVE this pic...

I NEVER thought it would be so difficult to put my sweet little kindergartener and his bro onto a BIG bus and trust other people to take care of them outside of the school building. Before we left home today, I talked to the boys about the kissing hand and laid a big smooch into the palms of their hands. I told them that if they ever felt sad or lonely throughout the day, to place their smooched-on hands to their cheeks. Then..while at the bus stop, Sammy reached for my hand and kissed it. "Mommy? This is MY kissing hand smooch. If YOU feel lonely today, put your hand to your cheek." Such a sweet, thoughtful boy.

Elijah has a few medical appointments this week, but otherwise not much else is going on. Thanks for peeking in on our cuties! xo

State Fair 2015 and preparing for a new school year!

Another full week has passed! It was fun having my mom here for a few days. The boys were ALL over her and I think they made her head spin a bit. :) We said goodbye on Wednesday as she hopped on a plane to go back to Palm Springs. Dan got back from a long work trip and we made it to open house to visit both boys' new classrooms. Sammy is finally excited for school. He was so cutely excited to have a locker that has his name on it and to check out his new classroom. I think he is going to have a super fun year. Elijah's teacher seems AWESOME and we feel like she will be a great fit for him. Dan and I sat down with her this week for a few minutes and gave her the insight that we thought would be helpful before jumping into the year.

Meds update: We have been going up and down and up and down with dosage because neither 10mg or 20mg has seemed right for E. This week I decided just to deconstruct the capsules and give him what would be around 15mg every morning. We had some SUPER rough days this week, but I feel in my gut like we need to stick with this dose for at least a week before making changes. Just about every 2 seconds I whisper a prayer to myself that we will find the magic dose before school begins. Please, God.

We squeezed in a trip to the Minnesota State Fair this week and we hit all of our favorite food stands and rides. As always, the day went super fast. We love our yearly family State Fair day!

Sammy posing like the "Statue of Liverty" with a cold glass of milk. :)

He was so excited to pet a cow ("Cowwy's family!").

Traditional oink booth crown photo.

Love these two oink booth cuties.

You'd never know that 2 seconds before this photo was taken Elijah was head-butting his brother. Ugh. That switch can go on and off in the blink of an eye.

Posing with their loot!

Wishing you all a fun and safe Labor Day weekend! Thanks for peeking in!

Fullness

If I had to describe our summer in one word it would be FULL. It has been totally packed full of fun adventures with one another and with family and friends. In May I never would have predicted that we could fit so much into a single summer. And honestly, much of the reason that we were able to squeeze so much in is thanks to Elijah's new medication. The dosage still is not ideal, but we are inching our way there slowly. We know that it does something very good for his brain, so we have continued to perfect the dose. Thank goodness we have had the summer to work through the bulk of it!

This has been a long time coming, but both Dan's and my cars are basically useless. Mine is currently not working at all and Dan's is limping along like a 100-year-old man. Some big developments and blessings have come our way in the past week. We have purchased a new (to us) Camry that is seriously the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I have NEVER been more happy and grateful to drive a car in my entire life. I LOVE IT.

I love driving places and not being stared at for being so annoyingly loud. I love not having to park at the deserted end of the parking lot when I meet someone for a photo shoot. I love that the radio works and the seat moves forward and backward and that I can communicate with others in the car without yelling. Sammy's favorite feature of the car is the fold-down cup holders in the back seat. He loves them and exclaimed, "This is the best car EVER! My favorite one in the entire world!"

We have been working with my car mechanic cousin Trevor (who is sooo kind to us) to figure out which one of our pieces of junk we should salvage. In the meantime, my sister and her husband came upon an extra car unexpectedly so they offered us one of theirs. So now we have two working, non-embarrassing vehicles to drive. Yay! We are super grateful for not only our new cars, but also for the people in our lives who have helped us out so much.

All summer long I have wanted to sit down and write a post about new developments with Elijah, but things just keep developing so it never seems like the right time. I think what describes things the best is what I wrote in one of my last posts about Elijah being composed of puzzle pieces. We are learning what the main puzzle pieces are and that we need to guard those pieces with our lives and keep them firmly in place so that the smaller pieces don't fall off the table. Keeping sugar intake under control is a HUGE piece. Early, consistent bedtimes is another major piece and now so is reading his behavior carefully and changing the dosage of his medication accordingly. We have also continued with essential oils and I don't know if this is a main piece or not, but it certainly isn't hurting. Elijah does still have rough days, but the definition of "rough" has changed since last winter. Even when he is totally exhausted, he can leave a fun party without throwing a fit or use the restroom when asked (not always, but it CAN happen).

The boys have had so much fun getting to know my mom this week! She is visiting from California and we are having a great time with her. Elijah and Sammy were super excited to take her to see Inside Out (their second time seeing it, lucky boys), their most recent favorite movie obsession. They are also educating her on the topic of Captain Underpants, potty talk and brotherly "love."

It is going to be strange having both boys in school after this insanely busy summer. It's just over a week away! Thanks for peeking in and have a great rest of your weekend!

Reunited and fitting the puzzle pieces together

Sammy is back home and the world feels right again. :) I missed him terribly, but I LOVE that he had such a good time with his grandparents/aunts/uncles/cousins. Elijah had a great week at heart camp. He had fun again this year and was able to tell me way more about what he saw and did throughout each day than the past two years. I got to hear all about the owls and chickens and songs and kids. He told jokes again for the talent show, but this year needed my help. I went up on stage with him and helped him through the jokes. Once he saw that people were LOVING him, he was able to tell a few on his own. :) He won the award of "Mastermind" for the week since he pondered so much and thought through every situation.

Elijah since has had a stellar dental visit (no cavities!) and we said good-bye to my parents as they traveled back to North Carolina. Sammy has had a MUCH better attitude since coming back home from northern Minnesota. Everyone there must have been an excellent influence on him! In the past few days I have occasionally looked at him and said, "PLEASE just let your brother do...X.." and he has looked at me as if to say, "Ok, Mom." and he has just chilled a bit. It has helped to alleviate some arguments/disagreements.

Today we found out who the boys' teachers will be this coming school year. I literally cried happy tears while standing at the mailbox when I opened Sammy's envelope. He has Mrs. H! She was one of E's kindergarten teachers and she is incredible. We love her! Once my happy tears hit the ground, I let out an excited scream that I'm certain echoed through the neighborhood. I'm not familiar with Elijah's teacher, but I learned from a trusted source that she is awesome. YAY all around!

I said something to Dan the other day regarding Elijah's struggles, which sparked a visual for me. After the second night in a row of cleaning sheets in the very early morning hours which resulted in NO sleep for any of us from 4:00 on, I just KNEW the main culprit was SUGAR. When E consumes too much sugar, he has huge accidents. Huge accidents occur in the wee hours of the morning for him. When he is awakened in the wee hours of the morning, he does not go back to sleep. When he does not go back to sleep, he is tired and anxious (as are the rest of us). When he is tired and anxious, things are difficult...for him and for his family. When this scenario happens for days in a row, everything is magnified and CRAZY.

As I said all of this to Dan, he said to me, "Elijah is a puzzle! It's not just one or two things that need to happen. A handful of things need to occur in order for him to function properly." Since hearing this, I've been visualizing a six-piece puzzle. If one piece is missing, we can still work. If two pieces are missing, things start to get tough. If three pieces are missing, we all struggle. The pieces? Medication, sleep, sugar intake/diet, proper potty direction (day and night), stimulation (NOT over-doing it) and anxiety management. When and if all of these factors can align favorably, we will all be feeling good!

Heading to bed now! Thanks for reading! More again soon...

Butterflies, sickness, camp, cousins, vacation and water...phew!

Since my last post, we have been busy! We have raised a few caterpillars who have transformed into beautiful butterflies. In this photo Elijah is holding Mr. Juicy! We set him free yesterday. I sat next to him until his wings were ready to fly. Watching the entire process from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis to butterfly is incredible. It's a miracle!

I think Mr. Juicy flew back to our house for a visit today! I never see monarch butterflies in our yard, but one sat right on one of our bushes for a while this morning. 

We spent a few days last week in Iowa for our annual family reunion. The boys had more fun than ever this year, playing with their second cousins and splashing in the lake.

They got tons of snuggles.

We enjoyed a campfire by the lake one evening. This is the FIRST time Elijah has ever been able to participate in anything past 7:00pm (thank you, Straterra, for helping to expand his threshold!). We are still having some issues with behavior, but overall things are better. We are seeing fewer incidents and they are overall less dramatic. We do still have rough days and moments, but we are finding that he can bounce back from poor sleep or overstimulation MUCH more quickly than before. We are praying this trend continues.

The boys got a couple boat rides, which is always a treat!

They had so much fun in the lake this year! If we would have let him, Elijah literally would have spent every waking moment swimming. Being in the water is calming for him. It is definitely his happy place!

Silly green faces with cousin Cate!

We spent tons of time sitting on the dock and gazing out over the beautiful lake.

The boys got a to have a fun popcorn-movie night with their awesome second cousins (seriously, this bunch of kiddos is incredible...love them all!).

Literally two minutes after we got home from our Iowa adventure, Sammy dropped onto the couch. He spent the following 48 hours with a fever and a sore throat. He felt crummy. It was sad seeing him out of sorts, but it made for a good photo op! Sleeping on Gramps' lap during story time.. :)

The day after Sammy healed up, Elijah got the virus! :( Sammy thankfully was feeling good enough to go with my dad and stepmom up to northern Minnesota to spend some time with family. Elijah stayed back because this is heart camp week. We have been bummed that he's had to miss a few days of camp due to his fever, but he is looking forward to going tomorrow for the last day. Tonight we will be prepping for joke-telling at the talent show!

Here is a cute video of Sammy running to Elijah Monday when we picked him up from camp. He has done this SAME exact thing every year. It's so precious. "BUUUDDDDDDDYYYYY!"

With Sammy up north, the boys have been missing each other like crazy this week. I've had to limit Elijah's phone calls to 1/day. He tells me how much he misses Sammy about 100 times an hour. Their phone conversations are ridiculously adorable. The first time they spoke Elijah excitedly said, "SAMMY?! Is it really YOU???" :)

Thanks for peeking in!