Caden Hiding

The Best Mani/Pedi Ever

The day after Mother's Day Lucas' teachers invited all the mothers to visit the class for a special treat. They set the room up in different stations and the kids took their mom to each section to get pampered. I got a massage and lotion rubbed on my hands in the first station. The second station was a manicure and the last one was a pedicure.

Caden is Walking By Himself

Dear Lucas (4 years 6 Months... and some days),

This is the latest I have ever been with one of your letters and this is NOT a habit I want to keep. It has been quite a busy month. We are currently in the middle of buying our first house and we all all excited.

Today we got brand new carpet and you were so happy to see your new room. When we got home you wanted to start packing up your room so we got out the boxes and let you pack up some of your toys. The first thing you packed... your trains. Hopefully you understood when we explained to you that we aren't opening the boxes until we get to the new house. I think you are going to be very happy there. We are planning to turn the spare bedroom into a playroom and there is a playhouse in the large backyard. We should be moving in there in just a few weeks.

To go along with our new house you and your Dad decided we needed a new dog. So about a week ago we welcomed "Nicey" to our family. You are the one that named her, "because she is nice." She really is a sweet dog and she loves to cuddle, so you guys are two peas in a pod. Every night she comes crawling in your bed to snuggle after you have fallen asleep. She is pretty much your dog. We were planning on getting you a loft bed for the new house but have been rethinking it because then Nicey couldn't crawl in bed with you. We asked you if you would rather have a high bed and Nicey not be able to sleep with you or a low bed so Nicey could snuggle with you. Your response totally cracked me up. You told us you wanted a high bed with an elevator for Nicey.

You've been asking for a brother lately and you've gotten the next best thing in your book, I started watching your friends David and Gabe again. When I started looking for a job last month it really hit me that I was going to have less time with you and just the thought of it was killing me. Right around the time I started getting interviews, David and Gabe's babysitter gave notice that she would be moving in a month and Priscilla asked if I might want to start watching them again. It seemed like a perfect solution, you would get to spend time with your best friends and I would be able to still be a "stay-at-home mom."

Snuggle Buggle, I love you to the moon and back,

Mama

P.S. The next letter should be written from our brand new home!!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Jadie

Sick Day

This morning I decided to keep Lucas home from school because his cold sounded nasty and he felt warm. I don't know why, but for some reason all day long I felt like I was a kid skipping school and that at any minute somebody would pop up and catch me. I think part of it has to do with the fact that there is a limit of days that Lucas can miss and it's only the first month of school and here he is already staying home.

I was a little worried that after today, Lucas might start playing sick all the time to try to get out of going to school. However, now I don't think I have anything to worry about. After a day of just laying on the couch doing nothing but resting and watching cartoons he was BEGGING to go back to school. Poor guy was so bored he kept asking me to take him ANYWHERE. I kept explaining to him the same rules that I had as a kid: If you are too sick to go to school you are too sick to do ANYTHING else. We'll see how tomorrow goes.

First Day of School

Last night Lucas was all excited to go to school. I kept thinking about how I was going to be handing off my baby to a perfect stranger. I went to the grocery store and bought juice boxes and cheese sticks and teared up a little because I was buying them for Lucas' SCHOOL LUNCH! I stayed up to make Lucas the perfect 1st day of school lunch. I made sure to cut his PB&J (made the CORRECT WAY of course) with an apple shaped cookie cutter. I also packed an apple juice, and apple sauce. Don't worry, I also packed a few other things. I made sure his uniform was laid out and his backpack was all packed. Then I went back in his room and made sure he was all covered up. Then I headed to bed, setting my alarm for 7AM taking in consideration that I would need time to snooze and snuggle with Lucas in the morning (since he always climbs into our bed when Curt leaves for work in the wee hours of the morning.)

When the alarm went off I pressed snooze twice and cuddled my sweet boy and then tried to get him out of the bed. He told me he did NOT want to go to school. He did NOT want to meet new friends. He did NOT want to have any fun and he did NOT want to get out of bed. In the back of my mind I was thinking "sounds good to me," but I know that I had to suck it up and be an adult. So I was able to coax Lucas out of bed and into the bathroom to go pee. Then I managed to get him to eat some breakfast and then he crashed on the couch. He told me he was sick and just couldn't go to school because he was covered in germs. Then I mentioned that I had packed him a special lunch in his CARS lunchbox. He started dropping his guard a little. Then I mentioned how there was a special note tucked inside and he got the tiniest bit excited.

Somehow I managed to get him in his uniform and put his shoes and socks on. Suddenly it was like a magic switch turned on and he was suddenly happy and couldn't wait to get to school. He was even happy to pose for pictures.

Even when his mood approved the one thing he was still bummed about was not getting to ride the bus to school. Luckily my car is school bus yellow and I was able to convince him that he had his very OWN school bus to ride in to school. He thought that was very cool and kept saying, "I'm riding in Mommy's bus."

Right before we pulled out of the driveway Curt ended up calling so that he could talk to Lucas before school. Perfect timing! Lucas told him he was excited to go to school because his class had puzzles. Then his Grandma Valeri called and he told her about the puzzles too.

When we got to his school he hopped right out of the car and headed right for his class. All the fear that he had when he first woke up had completely melted away. All the faculty and staff were standing outside the classrooms making sure the kids knew were to go and that all the kids felt welcome.

When we walked in Lucas' class he immediately walked straight over to the wall to hang up his backpack like the other kids were doing. He saw the kids playing with toys at the tables and instantly ran over to play. (Mom who?) I helped him find his name on a table and gave him a kiss goodbye and left. I stood outside the door watching him for a few moments. He never looked up from the table to see where I went. He seemed perfectly fine without me, so I started crying, pulled my sunglasses down over my eyes and walked to my car.

Curt and I both went to pick up Lucas from school today. The car pool line was HORRIBLE but I'm sure it is to be expected on the first day. I guess if you want to get your kid at a decent time you need to line up REALLY early. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. Lucas' school ended at 3:50 and it was almost 4:30 before we even laid eyes on our baby. Curt spotted him first. He knew the minute he saw the curls. His teacher walked him to the car and said he did great and had a great first day. I got Lucas buckled in and he burst into tears and said he didn't do so great at school. I told him that his teacher said he did wonderful and that seemed to calm him down. Then he told us that he loved new friends and he got to eat in the cafeteria and carry his own lunch box there. He always says that he wants to go back tomorrow.

Oh, and the ONLY thing he didn't eat out of his entire lunch... the PB&J sandwich. Good thing Jadie LOVES apple shaped sandwiches.

Dear Lucas (4 Years 1 month and 3 days),

I catch myself staring at you just about everyday and thinking "how is it possible that he is so grown up?" Everyday you seem bigger than you were the day before. You always wake up happy ready to face the day. You always want to know where we are going and what we are doing. You always want to be on the move and HATE days where we stay home.

We had your fourth birthday party on August 1st and you got to celebrate turning 4 with your family and friends. The party was a race car theme that you decided on yourself. You've already started planning your 5Th birthday and anytime anyone mentions someone else's birthday you have to remind us that you will be 5 on your next birthday and that you think you want a Batman birthday. I am constantly reminding you to stop being in such a rush to grow up already, you JUST TURNED 4!!!

You are one lucky duck and got to go to Disney World this summer not once, but twice! Our last trip in the middle of August was totally unplanned. We went so that I could take care of your Great-Gram while Grandma was in continuing education nursing classes. One of the days we were there we all headed back to the Magic Kingdom. You were SO excited to be there. One of the things you loved seeing was a big show in front of the castle because you got to see Peter Pan fight Captain Hook. You are still talking about it. You LOVE Peter Pan right now and beg to watch the Disney movie ALL THE TIME. We often read Peter Pan at bedtime and you want to be Peter Pan for Halloween. It's a little funny to me that the kid who can't wait to get older is obsessed with the Boy that never grows up.

You spent a good deal of the summer playing with your friends David and Gabe. They were usually over at our house at least once a week while their parents were at work. Back in May when they first started to come over you guys used to fight ALL THE TIME but as the summer marched on the fights were few and far between. You spent lots of hours with them in the sandbox and sitting on the front porch eating popsicles talking about hot wheels and super heroes. At the beginning of the summer you guys planted zinnia seeds and you all loved watching them grow and helping water them. Last week was our last time watching the boys on a consistent basis since you and David will be starting school on September 1st.

On Friday night your school had an Open House and you were so excited to go and see your school and meet your teacher. There are 2 Pre-K classes at your school and they had everyone meet together and then the assistant teachers took all the kids to their class while the teachers talked to us parents. You excitedly lined up and followed the other kids out of the room. I couldn't help feeling just a little bit like I had just turned my baby over to a perfect stranger and I started to cry as soon as you were out of my sight. I know that you are going to love school (you've been BEGGING to go for so long) and that it will be good for you but I am going to miss having you as my sidekick during the day. I ended up buying a charm with your name on it and making a necklace for myself so that I can feel like you are with me when you are school. I am also planning on wearing big sunglasses when I drop you off for your first day, so that hopefully you can't tell that I am crying.

After the teachers were done going over the basics with us (reminding us that everyone is expected to wear red or white khaki shirts and khaki or black pants and have a clear or mesh backpack) all the parents headed over to the Pre-K classes. You didn't see us coming in the door and you ran out another way. Turns out you had to go to the bathroom and didn't know where it was or who to ask so you went back to the room where you had left us to ask for help, only we were no longer there. By the time we found you, you were so upset because you were lost and had an accident in your pants since you didn't know what to do. You were so upset. Your Dad took you to the car to get cleaned up and when you came back you were still crying. Daddy tried to distract you by showing you the alphabet that ran across the wall. It worked for a second but when it was time to meet your teacher you hid under the table. I hate that your Open House went like that but I hope that since "all the bad stuff" already happened that your first day will be smooth.

We just found out that you need glasses. Turns out that you are extremely nearsighted and can only see things close up. This explains why you always stand right in front of the TV no matter how many times we ask you to move. I feel like I should apologize for all those times I pointed at something across the room and told you to please pick it up and you said you couldn't see what I was talking about and I would get frustrated. I thought you weren't looking, and it turns out you really couldn't see from across the room. You are very excited about wearing glasses like Grandpa and Daddy and you I let you pick out your frames all by yourself. They might not be here for a couple of weeks so you have to start school without them. I can't wait for you to be able to REALLY see. Last night you looked up at the sky and said "Mommy, the sky is so beautiful." All I could think to myself was just wait until you get your glasses.

Little Boo,I love you to the moon and back,

Mommy

4 Year Well Child

This morning Lucas did not want to get out of bed. He just wanted to lay there and snuggle and every time I suggested that we get up for the day he would say "just a few more minutes." Normally it is me trying to convince Lucas to stay in bed snuggling for a few more minutes but Lucas was trying to stall because he knew he had a Doctor appointment today. He was a little nervous about going after his Dad informed him that he had to have shots. I finally convinced him to get up and got him bathed and dressed but he had to be coaxed out of the house and into the car.

Once we got to the Doctor he was fine and excited to see how big he had grown. (I guess he no longer wants to be tiny.) He now weighs 34 lbs and 38 & 3/4 inches tall. After Lucas got weighed and measured it was time to go into a room and wait to be "checked out" and get his hearing and eye test for school. I was hoping for the Pinocchio room, but no such luck.

Now I am NOT usually a superstitious person at all, but when it comes to Lucas' well check appointments I am a little bit (okay a lot.) I know it sounds CRAZY but every time we get the Pinocchio room for a checkup everything goes perfect, and anytime we get ANY other room there is always some sort of issue that usually requires a referral. I am NOT joking, and of course this time was no different.

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When it was time for Lucas' eye test they tried using the letter chart. He kept trying to get closer and uncover his eyes and kept saying "I can't know that one." So next they tried the picture chart. Again he kept trying to get closer and uncover his eye and say "I can't know that." Then he flung him self on the floor and tried to hide and threw the eye cover in frustration. I mentioned that when we are at home we are CONSTANTLY telling Lucas to not stand in front of the TV. When we went back into the room I asked Lucas to read the letters off of a poster from across the room, and he kept saying "I can't know" and when he would walk up to the poster he knew all the letters. He eventually told me that the letters looked funny from far away.

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So we now have a referral for an eye doctor because it is quite possible that Lucas is near sighted. I know not the end of the world, and if he is I'm glad that we caught it early. I'm just glad that he ended up not needing shots after all, but not as glad as Lucas.

Funny Face

Lucas: (while picking up butter with a picture of a cow on it) "Mommy is this milk?"
Me: "No, it's butter"
Lucas: "Oh okay, did you get it from the happy cows?"

Raising a Little Worry Wart

Me: "Bye Lucas, I'm going to drop off your paperwork for school. Be right back!"
Lucas: Mommy don't go!"
Me: "Why?"
Lucas: "IT IS RAINING!"
Me: "I know, it's okay."
Lucas: "My papers will get wet in the rain."
Me: "They will be fine!
Lucas: "BE CAREFUL! I don't want them to get wet. If they get wet they won't let me go to school!"

Welcome to The World Aubrie Nicole

My brother-in-law David and his fiancee Ashley are now parents. Aubrie was born late last night and weighed just over 6 lbs. Since I am still sick I'm not sure when I will get to meet our new niece in person. I am really hating that I'm not getting to take any picture of her on her birth day! I just know David and Ashley are going to be wonderful parents.

Helping Daddy Pick Out New Glasses

Not Going Under the Knife

Curt had his orthopedic referral yesterday and we were both relieved to hear that he does not need surgery. It isn't his vertebrae that are causing the pain after all. He actually has a pretty nasty pulled muscle in his lower back. The Orthopedic Doctor wants him to do more physical therapy, take an inflammatory medicine, and come back in 4 weeks. He will not be released for work until then. Yes, that means that we are going to be together pretty much 24/7 for another month. Maybe I should stop praying for God to make me more patient because he keeps giving me all these new opportunities to work on patience. :-)

The Doc also told him that if he wants to avoid any further back injuries he needs to continue with the exercises from physical therapy to strengthen his core for the rest of his life. We are going to borrow my parents treadmill for a few weeks so he can do some walking inside without having to be embarrassed about walking lopsided outside in front of people (he is still leaning to one side when he tries to stand up straight.) In one way I think this is all a blessing in disguise. We both need to get in better shape and I think this might be the push we both need.

Random Acts of Love

I've gone to church almost all of my life but I am just starting to realize that the whole "God Loves you thing" applies to me too. I don't know why finding these words written on a toy at Wal-mart touched me so much tonight but they did.

So This is What Fall Looks Like

Gardening with Papa