Super Hero School

We weren't quite sure what to do with Ian as far as preschool went this year. I am absolutely terrified to have him enrolled anywhere especially with all the hype about the Swine flu. Two of my cute friends who live down the street from me, have little boys Ian age and they are best buds. We decided to do a preschool between the three of us. They are completely aware of his situation and I don't have to worry about them bringing their kids sick and I don't have to feel like we are wasting money if he gets put into quarantine and can't go.

As we met and the ideas began to flow, we decided to call it the Super Hero School for Boys (no girls allowed except for the moms of course). It has been so fun planning everything around a super hero theme. Sara is too cute and she actually made uniforms for them to wear which is a super hero t-shirt and a cape with their initial on the back. (When all the capes are together the three boys initials spell either BID or DIB.) They all have matching backpacks as well with several super heroes on them.

They had their first meeting Tuesday at Sara's house where she kind of laid down the rules and tested them to see where they were at. The next morning, Ian started bawling when I told him he didn't have school that day. Then on Thursday, we had our first field trip where we went to the Great Mall and had to find things like the letter S, snakes, slides, gumball machines, etc. Needless to say, it was a hit! I am so in trouble! I am going to be the boring teacher, I can already tell:) Ian said he wants to go to the Superhero School for Boys Forever. I guess we have a lot of work to do in order to turn it into a University:)

Four Months Old!!!

It is hard to believe that Caleb is four months old already. He had his well baby visit and all looks good. He came in at 90% for length and 75th for weight. He has started to roll over (from back to front and only to the right). We also can begin to give him rice cereal now. The kids were so excited to watch his first attempt at eating the stuff. He did fairly well at getting it down although he did need a bath afterwards to get the glued on cereal off.

From the nose down, he is all me. The eyes, are definitely Mike. It is crazy to look at a baby that looks like me. He is the first one where I can truly see it. I don't know if I have a warped memory or not but I don't remember my other kids being as high maintenance as he is. Caleb is a huge cat napper. I will just barely get him down and then he is up within 10-15 minutes screaming. He spends a lot of time in a front pack (which I am sure is going to cause me to spend a lot of time at the chiropractor). I guess I am just to loveable. He can't stand to be away from me because I am such an awesome mom:)

The nights have been so beautiful here lately. He was really having a hard time going to sleep so he and I snuggled up in the hammock while the kids fired up the fire pit and roasted marshmallows with Mike. He absolutely loved it and so did I. It was nice to hold and enjoy him while relaxing without worrying about the next thing I needed to get done. We need to lay in the hammock more. You cannot be stressed while hanging out in one. It is too peaceful.

We are a nerdy computer family. I think pretty much anyone who knows us will concur with that. My kids can conquer Lego Star Wars pretty much the day they can walk. We have more computers than family members (ok, slight exaggeration, but pretty stinking close). Caleb is already being primed as he sits in the crook of Mike's arm watching the screen while he programs (as you can see in the above posted picture). A perfect example of just how ingrained the computer is into our life is Ian. It was his turn to pray at dinner and he folded his arms and sat there quiet for a few seconds before he said, "I forgot the password. I need help."

Ian had an appointment on Tuesday. He was in a a great mood and it was adorable to listen to him singing "You Are My Sunshine" and "Pearly Shells" all the way to the hospital. The second we got there, he was completely silent and avoided making contact with all of the nurses and Dr. Max. He was brave though and opted to sit alone with me holding his hand as they accessed his port. It was just a routine injection of Vincristine, labwork, and then we were done.

The big event of the week was we took the training wheels off his bike. He instantly took off and was riding! Ian was so excited and proud! He only needs a little help getting started and then he is good to go. I am sure he will be totally proficient at starting alone in no time at all.

He hit the jackpot today and got about a 100 hot wheel cars from a friend of mine. She is soon sending her baby off to college and was cleaning out her garage and they were so sweet to think of Ian. We went over there so he could pick out his favorites. I was blabbing and not really paying attention, but evidently, they were all his favorites as there was not a car that didn't make it into the box we took home. He spent all day lining them up in a perfect straight row and then, sorting them into piles according to color. He had everything from an orange pile, to red, to silver, and camoflauge. Now, if we could just channel those organizational skills into his bedroom...

In addition to scoring the cars, he also scored 2 GI Joe's (Barbie size) and HUGE Hummer that they fit in. I was cracking up to see that he had rounded up 2 of the girls Barbie's and put them in the back seats so that each of the GI Joe's could have a girlfriend.

Caleb is growing like a weed. He gets more and more interactive by the day. We just discovered he is ticklish now and laughs hysterically at all the dumb faces and noises we make at him. He has gotten so strong and is really close to turning over.

It is so hard to believe that the summer is almost over. School starts in about a little over a week. I don't know what I am going to do when the girls leave. They have been such a big help to me. We just got to go and see their new school. It is so nice! Can a school be beautiful? Because, it really was. It is so open and spacious and there are HUGE windows everywhere you go. I think the power could go out and they would barely notice a difference as far as the lighting is concerned. They are so excited to start now. We will find out on Thursday who their teachers are and which friends are in their classes.

Branson Baby!

It has been a year since we went anywhere on vacation. We desperately needed a break but with our current situation of a newborn and Ian, we didn't want to go too far. There are so many places around us to explore that we have never been to before so we decided to check out Branson. It is about a 3 1/2 hour drive to get there so we figured we could handle it with the kids. Ian and the girls were so excited to go! They packed up their bags several days in advance. I made them empty thier bags out to see what they had and to make sure that they hadn't forgotten anything. Ian's suitcase was so cute. He had put a bunch of shirts (all orange in color) some shorts, a toothbrush, an orange flashlight, and an orange tooth holder (in case he lost a tooth) . I guess it was fresh on his mind since Lauryn just lost one and Emma was pretty close. He was convinced he would lose one too.

I got to drive on the way there while Mike somehow figured out a way to tether his phone so he could have internet connection and do some work the whole way there. The kids did really well. They all had their head phones on and were watching Harry Potter 1 which they haven't seen for a really long time, so they were completely into it. Mike and I didn't hear a word from them for 2 hours. It was almost like we were on a trip by ourselves.

We arrived in Branson and went straight to Silver Dollar City. The weather was in the high 70's, low 80's the whole time we were there and there was very little humidity so it was perfect. The park is very clean and pretty. There are so many trees around that most of the tracks on the roller coasters are completely hidden. I was unsure how Ian would feel about the rides, but there was not a roller coaster big enough or fast enough as far as he was concerned. He couldn't do them all, but he was a good sport about sitting out even though he really wanted to join the girls. We spent 2 days there since there was a deal on tickets where you buy one get one day free. It was a lot of fun. We hit all the rides and saw a magic show among other things.

The condo we stayed in was really nice and clean. We figured it would be a better bet than a hotel as far as germs go, and it completely surpassed our expectations. It made us feel like we were at home almost and it was nice to be able to cook and not have to eat out every meal.

We set Sunday aside to check out Branson since we spent Friday and Saturday at Silver Dollar City but since our kids weren't too interested in watching the shows, we headed home after checking out.

It took us a lot longer to get home than getting there. Caleb, was not too happy about being locked up in his car seat for that amount of time so I found myself sitting next to him rubbing his head, holding his hands, and talking to him to try to give him something to do other than staring at the ceiling (I can see why he would be bored). Plus, our navigation system had us take another route home which mile wise was shorter, but the speed limit was slower so it actually took longer.

It was a much needed and enjoyed trip. It was short and sweet. It will be fun to go again when Ian can do everything!

Great Appointment Today

Ian had his LP today bright and early. Mike took left the house with him at 6 am. His little face was heartbreaking! He was trying to hard to be brave and his bottom lip was quivering as he asked, "Do I have to get a poke?" I wish so badly I could do it for him. He has gone through more than any 3 and 4 year old should have to go through. He did great though. They had a video game for him to play so he played it the whole time while they accessed his port and it didn't even phase him. When he was drugged up for his LP he thought he was playing and that his man was moving around even though he wasn't doing anything.

He got a nice big pancake breakfast when he was done and then I showed up with the girls and Caleb to pick him up.

I was worried he would be delayed getting his meds today because he has a cold, but it actually made his ANC go up to help his body fight it. As long as he doesn't run a fever, we should be just fine.

Ian spent most of the day sleeping. I think he took a 5 hour nap. He woke up in a great mood though asking to go swimming so we took him to the pool after dinner for a little night swim where he was impressing us with his "flips" and cannonballs.

I am amazed at how much energy he has with all that he is going through and I am so grateful he is doing so well.

I talked last time about the grandparents coming in for Caleb's baby blessing but I didn't post the pictures from it. Is that any indication of how tired I am? So, here they are from his blessing on June 7th.

Caleb's appointment on Monday went well (yes it took me nearly a week to write about it). He came in at a whopping 13 1/2 pounds which put him in the 90th percentile so he is right on track to hit 20 pounds by the time he turns 6 months old like all the other kids. Poor little guy had to get shots. Ian sat by watching and got a little teary eyed. He has so much compassion for everyone with all that he has been through. He did inform me later though that Caleb wasn't brave because he cried when he got his shots.

Ian has a LP on Tuesday. He seems as though he is coming down with a cold so I don't know if he will be able to get his chemo or not. The last time we were there, he was right on the border of an acceptable ANC range so he may have plummeted with this cold and we will be back in quarantine mode. I really hope not but I'll find out for sure in two days. I'll keep you posted.

Caleb is Two Months Old!!!

As of yesterday, Caleb is two months old! He has gotten so much bigger and chunkier (which I love) since last month. I have been asked several times how much he weighs. I honestly have no idea; he was just over 10 pounds a month ago so I am guessing he is somewhere around 13 pounds or so. I will know for sure on Monday when his doctor visit is so if I am not a slacker, I will post it for you.

We were lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents in for his baby blessing. I was so glad they could come; it was definitely not the most convenient timing for either of them.

I was joking with my mom that Caleb would start smiling the second she got on the airplane. Well, I was pretty close. The next day of course, the smiles kicked in. I tried to get him to smile in a picture but he doesn't perform on command.

He is awake for a good part of the day now making cute gurgling sounds in addition to the smiles. He can hold his head up really well and gets stronger each day. I am so glad that someone invented front packs. Caleb is a bug snuggler and does not like to be alone so he spends a lot of his time in a pack so I can attempt to get stuff done.

The kids still adore him. Ian comes into my room every morning asking to hold Caleb. He even comes in first thing when he is on steroids before getting breakfast, so you know that Caleb is loved when as hungry as Ian is on steroids, he will forego food to hold him.

Ian is continuing to do well with his treatment. The chemo makes him really sensitive to the sun so unfortunately, we haven't gone out a lot. I took him to the pool yesterday at 5 slathered in sunscreen thinking he'd be o.k. but he still ended up with a rash. We have to be cooped up in winter for the germs and now we have to be cooped up because of the sun. Bummer. It won't last forever. We are getting really creative with things to do indoors. I should write a book on it:)