Independence Day 2018

I'm not sure when it happened exactly, but the boys discovered "American Ninja Warrior" and "Beast Master" type shows on Netflix in the last couple months and have become obsessed with "training" (otherwise known as jumping and climbing on every surface in the house and yard).  

After Tim & I went away to Maryland to cheer Laura & Cody on in the Spartan race, the boys interest intensified.  They really enjoyed watching the videos of Laura & Cody competing.  So, I started looking around for kids obstacle course races that they could participate in.  I didn't find this one until a few days before July 4th, but it was the perfect opportunity for them to try it out.  Ages 5 & up, FUN, and obstacles and only a "mile" instead of a 5K.  

So, on the morning of July 4th we woke up SUPER early to get to the Freedom Fun Run Mile Obstacle Course Race by 7:55 (we were supposed to be there much earlier, but we didn't make it...)  The boys quickly got registered and ran off to line up in their corral, like they'd been doing races their whole lives.  

The first "leg" of the race was a long run. 

Then there was a slide bouncy house.

Some more running and then this "obstacle course" style bounce house...

Then more running...

Then they had to jump over these tunnels.. like hurdles.

More running and then tires.  Vinnie didn't know what to do with the tires & he was a little too small, so he put both feet in each tire! 

After the tires, more running and then the "barbed wire" crawl. 

More running followed that & then they had to choose between the short or tall climbing wall.  Both kiddos went for the short one, but conquered it epicly. 

Then of course, more running.  Vinnie was pretty much over the running by that point!  And so was Lucas!

Up next was this hay stack climbing obstacle.  That stupid hay had Vinnie covered in hives for 2 days.

Then there was more running...and a "balance beam" made from hay barrels, before the final home stretch to the finish line.

Vinnie finished ahead of Lucas by a couple minutes.

Two sweaty boys with their first ever "race medals".

After the race, we had a Chic Fil A breakfast picnic & then enjoyed the Family Fun Day presented by Community Church Western Branch for about an hour.  It was so humid we were all struggling with the heat.

After that, we went home & Mommy got to sew.  I had only finished Sulley's fourth of July donut outfit and needed to completely make Lucas and Vinnie's from start to finish.  

Frankie & Mom came over and Tim prepared an amazing steak, baked potato and corn on the cob dinner for us, with sauteed mushrooms and onions!  

I didn't get any pictures of that stuff, but it happened and was awesome!

After dinner, I started baking donuts!  I had a couple flavors saved from my first attempt at Vinnie friendly donuts but needed to make more so he would have a decent "variety box" to choose from.  

It took me about 2 hours to bake & decorate his donuts! He had so many choices!

Coconut, red white and bluberry hearts, blueberry with powdered sugar,

chocolate with chocolate frosting and beads, blueberry w/ blueberry glaze , blueberry monster,

blueberry coconut, blueberry powdered sugar no frosting, coconut flag

Choco peanut butter donut w/choco pb frosting Graham’s and marshmallows, chocolate raspberry flag, chocolate frosted with choc sprinkles,

choco pb with choc pb frosting and pb, chocolate with blueberry glaze and choc sprinkles, chocolate frosted with Oreo,

chocolate frosted, white frosting, chocolate coconut with choc frosting and coconut

As soon as I finished baking it was time to go to O' Doodle Doo's Donuts for the fireworks & our donut party! 

Lucas helped us pick out our Baker's Dozen of O' Doodle Doo's donuts & then we were ready for our sampler platters!

Sulley would only accept donuts off of my plate and then he preferred the Old Fashioned!  He wouldn't even taste the frosted or chocolate donuts!  

We got there around 7, so we had a 2 1/2 hour long wait for the fireworks to start.  They have put in a sand pit in the back and we brought bubbles.  The boys ran around and played.  They made friends with a bunch of the kids and had a general good small town fun time!  There were folks with corn hole boards, a wiffle ball game and a football game going throughout the time we were there!  The boys also had a bunch of glow stick toys to play with. 

When it was time for the fireworks we got Sulley into his weighted compression vest.  He also ended up wearing Lucas' noise cancelling head phones.  And sitting in Tim's lap while clinging to my finger. 

He didn't really enjoy the fireworks but wasn't hysterical either.  He just kind of observed and stayed in his safe zone. 

After the fireworks were over, we cleaned up, loaded up and headed home.  Everybody was tired by then and we all pretty much went straight to bed. 

Tim took Thursday off of work and we spent the morning test driving some pick-up trucks for fun.  Mom stayed home with the big boys.  Then when we got home, we had a picnic lunch and I went out fabric shopping.  

All in all, it was a good holiday.  

Anaphylaxis Sucks

Our sweet Vinnie boy had another anaphylaxis scare yesterday. 

Vinnie made himself a couple sandwiches and used Lucas’ allergic Hawaiian bread slices. He ate about one and a half of them while I was nursing Sulley. That was around 4:00.  He had vomited at 3:00, which we think is a reflux issue he has going on.  (He's been vomiting for no apparent reason for about 2 weeks now.)

I got up to check on him bc he was complaining of an upset stomach. I thought initially it was left over from him vomiting earlier, but as soon as I saw the remnants of his second lunch I grabbed the baby and got everybody in the car. 

Vinnie only had an upset stomach which is a reaction but not ANA. So, we headed to the CHKD Urgent Care. But, before we got there (1.3 mi away) he threw up in the car. I called NJH and asked if I should epi immediately or go the last 5 minutes to the UC. They said go to the UC. 

We interrupted and got straight to the back, as soon as they did the vitals, they ordered epi and Benadryl. He was feeling pretty miserable at that point.  He did *NOT* want them to use the regular epi-pen.  I was actually quite shocked that they used that instead of a needle. 

His sats were a little low so they put him on oxygen. He perked up quite a bit after that. 

We had the doctor that I do not like one bit.  She is condescending and talks down to me.  She said, "You do know we aren't a hospital right?" Um, yea, but you are a DOCTOR right? (literally what I said)  I mean my choices were to stop the car, epi, call 911, wait on an ambulance to get to me in RUSH HOUR traffic in Greenbrier *OR* drive another 4 minutes to a medical facility that specializes in pediatrics--where I could then administer the EPI or let them do it.  When I walked in, I said, "He's having an anaphylactic reaction and needs epinephrine. I can do it or I can wait for your doc to do it."    If he had vomited any further from the Childrens Hospital of the King's Daughter urgent care center I would have epi'ed on my own.  BUT, either way, they needed to either treat him or get out of the way so I could.  The doc is just a pain in the butt.  She was also fussing about Sulley being on the floor.  I'm sorry lady, my concern is with my SICK child, the one who could die from his condition if you don't administer meds soon, I could care less if the babies fingers get stepped on.  Lucas was helping me keep him out of the way, but the doc was being a witch about it. 

Because he was considered in ANA after the vomiting, they called the ambulance from CHKD to transfer us. 

Vinnie got to wear a 5 pt race car harness on the stretcher and I rode in the back seat of the cab. He got to watch Spongebob on their mounted iPad. 

After we got to CHKD ER he was triaged (immediately) and given a slushee. 

He was obviously feeling *MUCH* better by the time we got to CHKD. He'd had benadryl, Epi, and 30 minutes of oxygen by then.  

They took good care of him in the ER.  He got zantac and prednisone & an iPad to play with there too!

Tim and the boys came and brought us the "go bag" and a change of clothes for Vinnie.  So, we were able to keep them all entertained until Mandy got there with food for Vinnie & I (they had finally cleared him to eat just before that) and then Beth came and helped Tim go pick up the Corolla and park it back at the hospital for us.  

After everybody left (around 9 PM), Vinnie and I snuggled and played on the iPad until about 10:20 when the doc said he was comfortable with discharging us at 10:45 if I was.  Since Vinnie seemed okay I was fine with it.  

We got discharged and headed home.  Tim was *JUST* getting the boys into bed when we got there, so I got to nurse Sulley to sleep and Tim didn't have to try to get him down without milkies.  

Anaphylaxis remains a scary event.  Fortunately, this one didn't go beyond some minor facial swelling and hives and the vomiting.  

We have a WALKER!

Sulley is officially walking!  He's such a big boy!  Over the last two weeks he has really taken off & gotten confident in his walking! He still stumbles a bit and hasn't started RUNNING yet, but he is definitely walking all of the time now & prefers walking over crawling!  Huge gain for our little preemie.  So, we will officially say he was walking at 17 months old.

He seems to be right on track with most of his motor skills and is doing really well with hand-eye coordination activities and plays just like a little boy!  He loves to drive cars all over the house & playing catch is one of his favorite games.  Lucas even taught him how to "get ready" by placing his hands open in his lap!  He LOVES water, he enjoys playing in the bath, in the pool, and even at the beach!  The beach is another huge milestone, because sand is one of the textures that he has been really struggling with.  BUT, with shoes on he doesn't seem to mind walking on sand and even without them he enjoyed playing in the sand for at least an hour on Monday this week.  He wouldn't crawl or walk away from where he was sitting, but he did PLAY.  He didn't shut down and was actively involved in his task.

The most impressive gain that he has been making aside from walking is with his communication skills!  He is learning a new sign almost every day right now!  Today he used Thank You for the first time, yesterday he signed "More Drink Please" for Daddy. 

Spoken Words:
Mama, Dada, Bruh Bruh, Go, Up, Working on "Woof" so far he says "Fff", Uh-oh, Yea

Signs:
Diaper, More, Milk, Please, Thank You/ You're Welcome, Drink, Eat, Up, Down, Out, All Done, Yes (nodding head), No (shaking head)

Signs he recognizes:
Help, Yuck, Jump, Bubble, Play

Lucas is an amazing helper and has really been pushing Sulley to use his signs.  He even taught him a couple of the signs all on his own! 

A Month of Toddling

It's been just over a month since Sulley took his first steps.  He has been very slow and timid.  At first he would only take a few steps with a lot of coaching.  He'd walk between Tim and I or around the living room but not much further.

Then, he decided to start walking all sneaky like.  He'd toddle around the kitchen or down the hallway, as long as nobody was paying attention to him.  He braced himself on his legs or holding his belly and each step was very deliberate.

Last week during therapy, Ms. Lindsay gave us a weighted vest to try.  The difference in Sulley's confidence with walking was immediate!  He was willing to take several quick steps and just seemed much more at ease.  I was able to find a weighted compression vest just like the loaner on ebay, so we will be able to keep up with it.  Ms. Lindsay did a sensory processing survey on our boy and he scored "More Than Others" and "Much More than Others" in almost every category.  We aren't sure what exactly that is going to mean for him, if anything. 

So far, Sulley is still definitely just a beginning walker, a toddler, to the definition of the word.  He isn't going to outrun anybody just yet.

He has also had a language explosion since we started using the vest.  His words include mom, dad, brother, dog, go, help, and up. He signs more, milk, all done, and down.  He also shakes his head for no.  I love that he is able to communicate most of his needs so clearly at 17 months old. 

Homeschool Second Grade

Lucas is wrapping up his second grade year of homeschooling.  He is 8 and a half years old and has never been to public school.  The past 14 months have been full of new adventures for him & lots of new skills as well!

About a year ago (March 2017) Lucas learned how to ride his bicycle.  He was apprehensive at first, but I firmly encourage him and he eventually took off like a pro!  Within a day or two of learning to ride his 2 wheeler he began to make new friends in the neighborhood.  He also broke his finger that first week of knowing how to ride his bike.  (He took a hard fall while turning on gravel.)  Making neighborhood friends has been amazing.  Our house is the "cool" house and all the kids tend to gravitate here.  We had to set down some rules and that weeded out the kids who were here just for our trampoline. (We had 12 year olds coming to play with our 5 & 7 year olds...)   Now, we are down to a core group of 4 extra kids who like to hang here.  They are all closer in age to Lucas than Vinnie, but they include him just as well.  Lucas has learned some amazing things from having friends from the neighborhood.  He's learned that he can't always be the boss, sharing, problem solving, and we're still working on not bullying in defense of his kid brother.

Around that same time, Lucas also started expressing interest in learning to read.  We worked through about 70 of the "100 Easy Lessons" and he began to read cautiously.  He has since become much more confident and can read quite a bit.  He still struggles with sounding out some words on his own, but if you tell him to find a word in a page, he is able to do it.  We aren't pushing it and it is amazing to watch his confidence grow as he realizes that he is capable!

In the Spring the boys were taking a Mystery Science based co-op class and for the past 2 semesters they have been taking Math Games.  Lucas really enjoys the math games class and getting to play lots of fun games that teach math skills. They have also taken arts & crafts with Grandma & a movement/dance/p.e. class.  Lucas is actually getting into the dance class now too. 

Lucas is an amazing big brother and has been extremely helpful with taking care of baby Sulley.  He enjoys playing with him and taking care of him (most of the time).  Its quite tender to watch the two of them together, as Sulley truly looks up to his brother. 

We haven't done any "school" school work.  Lucas has asked about different topics and we've taught him what he wants to know.  He's very adept at math.  He is starting to get multiplication quite well and is able to do most math in his head. 

One area that Lucas has always excelled is in his Awana memorizations!  He is finishing up the third year of Sparks and will receive the Sparky Award (plaque) for completing all three handbooks. 

He will also get a Sparky review pin for completing the "Return Flight" handbook for the level 1 book.  He has worked *VERY* hard to complete all the activities and memorize the verses for his accomplishments.  We are so proud of him! 

This year the boys also participated in the Sparks A Rama and Awana Grand Prix.  Lucas chose to create a car that could compete to win for speed.  Vinnie wanted to design a car that would win the design competition. 

We learned a lot about the painting techniques this year and both boys accomplished their goals and came home with a trophy.  Lucas had the fastest car out of all the children, and only one of the 4 adult cars beat him!  Everybody loved Vinnie's car that made noise and had a Yoda on top!

Awards night for Sparks is just a couple weeks away and then we will have a break with Lucas until Truth & Training begins in September.  Vinnie will work on learning his review lessons over the summer break. 

Lucas has already completed his end of the year testing for 2nd grade.  He took the California Achievement Test (CAT) and did amazingly well!  We had to do some quick grammar lessons before he took it because I wasn't sure he'd had any grammar training at all (he did though, from coop) so I didn't want him going into it completely blind.  He rocked the math section and only missed ONE question!  Overall he scored in the third grade range for everything, so I'm satisfied that he's ready to move on! 

We are looking forward to a summer of more reading improvement, plenty of beach days, and preparing for fall co-op classes.  Lucas will be "moving up" to the new "Upper Elementary" class, which will be for our third through fifth graders.  They will do more in depth art projects, have a history class that requires reading/writing/and projects, and will do more of the advanced math games. 

Sulley is Walking!

Because Sulley was a preemie, he has had some delays in his physical skills.  He hasn't been terribly behind, but he has been in Occupational/Physical Therapy through Early Intervention since he was about 9 months old.  We've made a lot of progress with monthly, and then 2x a month visits from his awesome therapist. 

Sulley started sitting unassisted in August 2017, so he was about 7 months old.  It was right around his birthday that he learned to crawl.  He took his first steps on April 19, but wouldn't repeat the act until May 6.  Each time he only took a few steps.  On May 7, during therapy he just took off! He walked across the living room numerous times & even made full turns and continued walking! 

He officially "gets it" that he can walk & is very excited when he does it!  He is still crawling most of the time, but he will be running around behind his brothers in no time!

We are so proud of our big boy!