5 years old

So we have a 5-year-old in our house now.  We had his party this past Saturday full of Ninja Turtles.  We did our usual pools in the backyard, which soon became a muddy mess, but the kids didn't mind.  Everyone seemed to have a blast at the party and the weather held off until later on.  We a beautiful morning to celebrate.  This year was a bit different because we had Jay select who he wanted to be at the party.  I guess we are getting to where most of the kids are now boys.

This cat showed up in time for the party.  Who knows where it came from, but come to find out from one of our neighbors, it is currently pregnant.  We joked with Jay that it was his present and that she was the only one showing up for the party.

Fun in the pools!!!

I wanted to be creative, so I created Turtle Water.   A drop of green food coloring in each bottle along with different color duck tape around each bottle.

Sam's doesn't have the license to create Ninja Turtle cupcakes, so I had them do the cupcakes with green icing and then they gave us all the Ninja Turtle colors needed to create the rest of the cupcakes.  Garrett finished off the cupcakes with this design.

The boys found it fun to jump from pool to pool.

We had a mini water balloon toss, which really ended up with one toss and the balloon was gone.

Jay got smashed in the face with one!!

Mason is growing up!!  He'll have his two year old party soon.

Garrett made ninja headbands for everyone as a party favor.  Better than the little toys we always end up taking home and most of the time throwing away.

Our muddy mess!!

Jay could not wait to open presents.

Thanks to everyone that came out to help celebrate.  In just a week and a half we will have a kindergartener in our midst.  Where has the time gone??  It's crazy how time flies.

A new week

The last two weeks have been nuts with sickness around here.  Two Sunday's ago we picked up Mason from Sunday School an it looked as if he had pink eye so later that afternoon we visited CVS where they said he had it.  He stayed out of school the first half of the week and by Wednesday it wasn't getting better.  To the doctor we went again.  The doctor wasn't sure if he really had pink eye but said it was a sinus infection turning into an eye infection.  Who knew this could happen?  By Friday it looked worse so we were back to get major antibiotics which included a shot.  The last week, he was able to go to school, but it looked like he had been knocked in the eye.  Still not 100%, but he acts perfectly fine.  I don't think it even bothered him.

Jay wasn't out of the loop.  He got a fever last weekend, but that was it until he was going to school Monday and he mentioned his ear was bothering him.  Back to the doctor we went.  An ear infection was about to work its way into his ear, so we got some antibiotics for that as well.

This week is a new week.  I will be 30 weeks pregnant on Tuesday and yes I'm still wearing heels and doing everything I normally do.  Can't stop now!  Nothing is really ready for this little girl, but really what do you need?  A bed and diapers and tons of wipes.  Can you tell this is #3?

This is the last week of summer school at Providence Day for me as well as the last week Jay will be at Hickory Grove for Daycare.  Crazy!!  He has been there since he was 6 weeks old.  The boy is growing up!!  He will be headed to Bain in the fall and to a new Daycare, Sunny Days.  Both of which I attended growing up.  Can't wait!!  Until then, Jay will be with me at home and we also have vacation planned in the middle of it.  

Looking forward to a brand new week!!

Now for a few photos of the last two weeks.  Some are of fishing at my grandmothers on July 4th.

Garrett was involved in a Live Sent project around our community yesterday.  On Friday we received an email stating that an elderly person had a tree to fall on their house and needed help.  Several people went out to help with the project and boy was this tree big.  Here is a before and after.  The rain and storms we have been having recently have been no joke and caused havoc for some people.

Time for an update...it's been a while

So the last time we updated our blog was on April 29th when Garrett came back from Mozambique and we announced that we were having a little girl in September.  Since then we have been busy and have done a lot, but have not had a lot of time to update our blog.  Here is a recap of some of the things we have done in no particular order.

At the end of May, before Memorial Day, Jay had his big ceremony (graduation) from his 4 year old daycare class.  (Don't look too hard at his pictures because someone stuffed his shirt way in tight and pulled his pants up past his waist.)  The kids enjoyed singing and also received a "diploma" for all their hard work this year.  It is crazy to think that all of these kids will be in kindergarten next year.  It's time to move on and grow up.  Such an exciting time in our little boy's life.  

One of my bridesmaids, Brandi Edward's got married the weekend of Mother's Day.  This was the first wedding Jay and Mason had been to, but as you can tell, Mason and Garrett spent a good amount of time in the lobby at church just playing around.

On Mother's Day weekend, we also visited my Grandmother at a restuarant about halfway between her house and ours off of highway 16.  She enjoys her time around Mason and all the other kids as well.

On May 13th, Mason went in for his 2nd set of tubes.  His first set had already come out of his eardrums in less than a year and it was time for a new set.  The doctor also took out part of his adenoids.  Normally, kids get all of their adenoids taken out, but as the doctor had talked to me in the office, Mason may have a partial cleft palate which would prohibit them from taking all of them.  As they got him into surgery, he was correct and only scrapped away the sides of his adenoids.  By the afternoon that day, he was himself and playing around.

Mason does not quite understand timeout.  Jay was in timeout, but Mason thinks he needs to sit with Jay and finds it fun.  Jay, not so much.

"I'll be like daddy and watch tv."

The boys playing ninja turtles!!

"Help, you locked me out."

Mason has really improved physically with his walking skills as well as his climbing.  He has learned to climb on furniture as well as up slides.  We  have a small slide we borrowed from my sister that he mastered a couple of weeks ago, and just the other week, he was able to climb the larger slide by himself and go down it.  As of a week ago, we have decided to quit physical therapy with Mason because in the words of his therapist, he is "kicking the program's butt".  We are going to pursue occupational therapy this week.  On Thursday, June 27th he will have an evaluation for this to see if he qualifies for services and how we can go further with it.  He has also started speech therapy and has had about 10 sessions so far.  Hopefully he will begin speaking words in the coming months.

 This past month, we ordered bunk beds for Mason and Jay.  When "Taylor" arrives (yes that is what her name is right now), she will have her own room and the boys will have to share.  We are not quite finished because we have to get a twin mattress as well as bedding for the top bunk, but we will be there before September when little girl arrives.

Last Saturday, we attended a College Reunion Cookout for our College Ministry from church.  This was the only picture I got which is of Mason all soaking wet.  Angela brought a water table and Mason took full advantage of it.

This past week, we stayed plenty busy by attending our church's Vacation Bible School at night.  Jay had tons of fun and seemed to learn a lot.  He sang the songs at home and talks about certain parts of it at different times.  The theme this year was Colossal Coaster World, hence all the roller coaster themed stuff.  I can't wait for next year, but I'm glad it is only a week long.  It can wear you out.  Tons of kids participated from our church as well as from surrounding neighborhoods.  Last night, they said there was from some upwards of 900 kids involved with about 400 volunteers.  Not sure if that was just main campus or both north and main combined.

In other news, Garrett has started softball up again and will be playing throughout the summer about 2 games a week.  We will be able to go out to some of the games, but not to all of them.  I think Jay is really going to pay attention to Garrett this time while he plays since he understands a bit better from playing t-ball this year himself.

This week, I am currently 26 weeks along with "Taylor" and doing well.  The sickness is all gone and I am just trucking through the next few weeks.  I was told today, that at the start of a contraction to just go to the hospital.  They don't want to hear that I had this one in the car or anywhere else like I almost did with Mason.

I also started Summer School at Providence Day this week.  1 week down and 4 more to go.  I only have 9 kids, which is great and the days have seemed to go by fast this past week.  I haven't had a break much though because every second I get, I try to do my maternity lesson plans for next school year.  This time I have two subjects instead of just one, which I had with Mason.  It's going to take a little bit longer to do these plans this time.  Just pray that I am able to get a math teacher to sub for me while I'm out.  It is in the works, but not set in stone yet.  Somehow, it all works out in the end.

The rest of our summer seems to be filled with birthday parties, a beach trip at the end of July, and anything else that pops up in our way.  We are ready for a good summer and look forward to what is to come later on.  Jay's already talking about his birthday party.  I'm already looking at Ninja Turtle stuff for his party.  Go figure.

Here is one last picture to end the post.  Me and my little man Mason.

2 1/2 week secret

So the last 2.5 weeks I've kept a secret that yes, we are finally having a girl. At my last doctor's appointment, my nursed asked if I wanted to find out. My nurse, Brandi, is a friend from middle/elementary school and I think she was more excited than me to find out it was a girl. Until yesterday, the secret was wrapped underneath HIPAA laws and only my nurse, doctor, ultrasound technician, and I knew. How I kept the secret, who knows? We only looked at the sex of the baby and nothing else. We will find out if everything is okay this Friday at the high risk doctor.

I decided I would surprise Garrett in the airport with the news with this sign when he got in from Mozambique. I didn't tell Jay either until then. I was afraid he would say something or be really upset. He kept saying he wanted a baby brother because he didn't want to mix the toys. Well, I guess we are mixing toys.

Wrapping up 1.5 weeks

So we are coming to an end to this long 1.5 weeks that Garrett has been gone.  Tomorrow around 8:00 our time, Garrett starts his trek back to the US.  I warned him it would be cold and rainy, but what was I thinking?  Of course they will gladly come home to anything that is below 90 degrees rain or shine.  I know for those on the trip, AC and a nice shower will be the best commodity.

This week, I've been typing away each night trying to complete a 12 page paper (I know it does not sound like a lot, but I am a math major.) for an award I was nominated for.  I've been putting off until this time when Garrett was away.  I think with keeping the kids, getting them up each morning, getting dinner for them, putting them to bed each night, and then working until at least 10:00 each night, I am beat.

Today, we went to the ear doctor for Mason.  After going to the pediatrician a couple of times in the past, I knew that the tubes were no longer in his eardrums.  I was told once that Down Syndrome kids will most likely need tubes in their ears constantly to keep the fluid out.  After the doctor took the earwax along with the tubes out, he was able to see that Mason had fluid in his ears.  I also talked to him about the constant runny nose and coughing the past few weeks and he was pretty quick to suggest to take out his adenoids.  To make a long story short, on Monday, May 13th Mason will be getting tubes in and adenoids out, or at least part of his adenoids.  The doctor explained that Down Syndrome kids sometimes have cleft palats (which he doesn't believe that Mason has) or a partial cleft palat.  He will not know until he gets into surgery that day.  If his palat is fine, then he will proceed with removing all of the adenoids.  If the palat is partially cleft, he will only take a part of his adenoids.

We have survived this past week and we have 2 nights and a day and a half left before Garrett is home.  Tomorrow we have a t-ball game along with a birthday party to attend.  This should keep us pretty busy tomorrow.  We hope Garrett has nice flights home and makes it back on time on Sunday.