Park Playdate

Today after preschool we grabbed some lunch and headed over to Southeastway Park for a playdate with Auntie Em, Kainen, and Piper.  The forecast had originally called for great sunny mid-70 degree weather.  That wasn't the case when we arrived however.  I had dressed the boys in shorts and sweatshirts.  They were freezing!  Thankfully, the spare set of clothes I keep on hand for both of them was a set of pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt.  I changed them quickly and they were much happier.  We've had a ton of rain recently so the park was pretty muddy.  Ryker and Kainen enjoyed finding sticks and using them as fishing poles in the puddles.  Camden might've shaved a few years off my life trying to do EVERYTHING he saw his big bro do.  That kid keeps me on my toes for sure!

Cam and Piper shared some QT on the swings

Ryker was trying to teach Kainen how to pump his legs.

Hudson LOVES to swing and has the cutest giggle when he does.

It warmed up eventually once the sun came out and we took a walk around the park.  These two were having some great adventures.  :-)

It's such a fun park and we can't wait to go back again soon. Ryker wants to walk the trails.

Asthma X 2

I've had a wretched cold all week.  Sadly, Camden started getting it yesterday and it quickly escalated into an asthma flare up.  I tried giving him a nebulizer treatment at home, but our machine was broken.  Thankfully, they were able to get him in quickly at the pediatrician's office.  They tested his oxygen levels when we first arrived and they were only around 90-92%.  Not good at all.  Thankfully, after a treatment, he was up to 96%.  Sadly, since these flare-ups have been happening consistently every time he gets a cold, he earned himself an official asthma diagnosis today.  :-(  Dr. Anderson put him on the same treatment plan as Ryker.  He now will do a preventive treatment inhaler twice a day and a rescue inhaler as needed for flare-ups.  The bright spot in this is that she allowed us to use the inhalers instead of the nebulizer treatments.  He HATES the nebulizer and it is awful trying to give them to him.  However, he sees Ryker do his puffs (that's what we call them) every day and since he has a severe case of hero worship for his big brother he thinks it is cool to do whatever Ryker does.  Thankfully, he has adjusted very well and the treatments are working great and he is breathing and sounding much better.  I'm disappointed that both of the boys have to live with this, but am hopeful they will outgrow it as Dr. Anderson has said is a possibility.

Playing and waiting for the doc to come back in.

Parent/ Teacher Conference

Today was our parent/teacher conference with Ryker's school.  Just yesterday when I picked him up Mrs. Steele said that he had worked on reading and writing his sight words with Mrs. Skinner earlier in the day.  Mrs. Skinner said he did the very best out of the entire group.  :-)

The conference went well with no major surprises.  He has really grown and matured through the year according to his teachers and they commented on his ever-present and VERY strong imagination!  He is doing great socially and his small and large motor skills are right on target.  He still needs help zipping some coats from time to time and we haven't even begun to work on tying shoes (Mommy fail???)

Mrs. Steele said he can be a bit wiggly sometimes when he should be listening but for a still-4-year-old boy I'm saying that's NORMAL!  She said he gets bored with some things (like certain songs) at times too.  He is an opinionated little guy and will tune out if it's boring.  This boring thing applies to flashcards too...specifically alphabet flashcards.  Flashcards are just plain boring in his opinion.  When they tested him on his alphabet she said he was so excited to have one on one time with her he was too interested in telling her stories to concentrate much on the letters.  However, at home, we make a  game out of it and he usually gets all but about 14 (out of 52-both upper and lowercase letters), so I'd say he's doing pretty well.  We need to continue working on his letters through the summer and some of his numbers.  He did great on sorting, shapes, patterns, and even his colors which is a relief given his colorblindness.

We've seen a major change in him in the last 6 weeks or so at home too.  He has cut out his afternoon nap and spends some time with me working on school things.  He asks now how to spell words and can sound them out and write them when he wants.  He made tickets to his "show" the other day with little help from me.  His handwriting and attention span has improved greatly as well.  He's showing a desire to do more and more things independently.  I think as he nears his 5th birthday he's just growing up.  Part of me hates and the other part is glad to see he is growing and maturing as he should.  As we struggled a bit with the decision to start him in kindergarten or not these changes have been reassuring that we are making the right decision for him.

A recent sample of his handwriting...looking pretty good I'd say!

A little afternoon cuddle time watching his favorite show, Dino Dan.  This kid knows so much about animals it's amazing! 

And, just because he is so absolutely precious... :-)

We're very proud of you, buddy!

SSMT: Verse #8

"...'Prepare the way of the Lord; Make His paths straight.'"

-Matthew 3:3b

Cousin Day

Sunday after church we came back home and got the house ready for some guests.  Robert's parents and siblings and their families came over for brunch to celebrate his brother David's birthday.  After brunch, Queen took off for work and the rest left for golfing.  I stayed here with the kids and we played and played!

Nathan helped me push Cam on the swings.

Ryker showed Nathan how to dig in the dirt.  He is a professional after all. ;-)

After naps, we went for a long walk/ride.  This was Ryker's first long ride on his bike.  He was like Lance Armstrong on that thing....I was jogging to keep up!

It was such a fun day for these cousins to spend together. :-)

Happy 4th Birthday Ruby!

After our soccer game, it was time for Ruby's birthday party.  It's hard to believe this sweet little girl is 4!  We love her so!

Opening presents.

Is she not so beautiful?!?

Getting ready to make her wish!

Success! :-)

1st Soccer Game

Soccer season is upon us again.  Robert is helping coach the team this year and our neighbor is the head coach.  Ryker is enjoying having his new buddy/neighbor, Karsen, on his team.  This morning's game was absolutely frigid and pretty miserable for everyone, but we made it through!

All the kids were bundled up like crazy ready to play.

Ryker ran off the field at one point, sat in the chair and covered up with a blanket.  When I told him to get out there and run around so he could warm up, he replied that he had been but it wasn't working.  Poor kid!

Cam was not too interested in holding still for the game, but with the help of Papaw taking him to the playground for part of it, we made it.

Half time!

He loves to make silly faces with me. I'm pretty happy to oblige. 

Nana had a blast! Ha!

Warming up with hot chocolate once we got home. :-)

Kindergarten Round-Up

Today was Kindergarten Round-Up for Ryker.  He was excited but also very nervous.  I'll admit, so was I!  We saw some of his preschool buddies which helped a bit.  He was able to check out all the rooms and meet the teachers.  We particularly enjoyed talking with one who has a daughter that will be in Kindergarten there next year too.  They enjoyed writing on the chalkboard together.  He relaxed a bit as the time went on, but was not keen on the idea of signing up for the Readiness testing.  He is such a worry-wart and immediately started getting nervous over it.  It was very neat to see the school though and get a feel for where he will be.  I can't believe he starts school July 30th!  It will be here before we know it.  I can't help but get a little choked up when I think about my baby boy going off to Kindergarten.  I'm trying not to think about it too much.  It just won't be the same without him around during the day come July.  His brother and I will miss him very much!

Our big boy all ready to check out his new school. 

Outside Work

We spent the majority of the day working out in the yard.  This house sat empty for over a year before we moved in.  In that time, the bushes on the property became quite overgrown.  Robert got busy cutting them all back.  The boys and I loaded up the branches and sticks and hauled them to a pile out back to burn.

Camden was seriously a big helper and loved hauling the sticks and branches.

Ryker was more interested in digging for worms and other creatures. :-/

These were the monstrosities on the side of the barn...yeah, they were taller than the roof!

Much better!

After continual prompting Ryker got to work and started hauling the brush away.

We had quite the burn pile to say the least!

18 Month Well Check

We finally had Camden's 18 month well check today.  Dr. Anderson was on vacation closer to his 18-month mark and then we had that bad snow Sunday night before his original appointment was scheduled.  I didn't feel taking all three kids out in nasty weather for a well appointment was worth the trouble so we rescheduled for today.  He was completely fine in the waiting room and was waving to everyone that came and went and was happy as could be.  But the minute the nurse called him back he was OVER it!  He ran the opposite direction.  I managed to corral him and get him in the room.  He proceeded to throw a fit over getting weighed and measured, but after several attempts, we finally got it done.  He calmed down once Dr. Anderson was in there.  I think he just knows that the nurse is the one that gives the shots and he does not want to do that!  Thankfully, he didn't have any shots today!

His speech has started to pick up quite a bit.  They are supposed to be saying 10 words by this age.  Here is a list of the words he says:
1) Dada
2) Mama
3) Bubba
4) dog
5) Tuck
6) boots
7) Hi
8) Hello
9) Uhoh
10) Buh-bye
11) book
12) ball
13) shoes
14) bird

That's about it.  At least he's above the minimum.  It's still hard to not get frustrated with his lack of verbalizing, but I'm trying to be patient and just encourage more speech.  It's especially hard for me since Ryker was speaking in complete phrases and sentences at this point.  Camden is a very different child though.

He's leaps and bounds ahead in his physical development.  His fine motor skills are seriously impressive and he can climb the stairs one leg at a time while holding on to the railing which is a 2-year-old milestone.  He is still obsessed with shoes and loves putting them on and forcing other people to wear theirs as well.

He is going through a major attachment phase right now.  He is very attached to his silky blankets, his Ellie (elephant), and sadly, his paci.  He's also very attached to Mommy and Daddy right now.  We are trying to wean the pacifier down to just naps and bedtime but it's harder than I'd like.  I'm not nearly as tough as I should be.  Honestly, he is very strong-willed and doesn't throw a fit over it being taken away for just a few minutes, he will make your life miserable for 20 minutes if that's what it takes to get what he wants.  We have quite the journey ahead of us parenting this little one.  He is equal parts sweet cuddle bug and mischievous terrorist.

His stats were:
Height: 34.25" 90th percentile
Weight: 27 lbs. 13 oz. 75th percentile
Head: 25th percentile- don't worry it's growing at the same rate it always has, he just has a peanut head like his Momma and his big brother. ;-)

SSMT: Verse #7

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like the shifting shadows."

-James 1:17 NIV