SIX!

Justin - still our very sweet boy - is six!  In the last year he's started kindergarten - and seems to have made lots of friends in his class. He's adapted well to the before and after school program - and has started playing some sports.

He has continued to get more physical - learning to ride his bike without training wheels - and sometimes being more physical than he should with his brother who weighs half of what he does. He's still got some learning to do with organized sports though :)

When he does something that's funny- and you laugh and laugh at him - he will then proceed to try to do it 10 more times. Until it's REALLY not funny anymore. But I still get a kick out of the fact that he really enjoys making us laugh.

Justin still loves trucks, tractors, cars etc. I was looking around at the trucks littered all over the house the other day and stopped to appreciate that someday I won't get to see them everywhere. And his boots...he got a new pair for his birthday. He wears boots EVERY DAY that he doesn't have P.E. Each morning he'll ask if there is P.E. that day because if the answer is no - he gets to wear those boots.

Wearing his new boots!

Justin talks to all of the neighbors. We don't get to see as many people in the winter- but when we're out playing he hollers down the street to anyone who is out. "Molly's Mom" - "Hey- Molly's Mom" - it's nice until the 10th time :)  He enjoys making things for the neighbors- we have some ladies who live alone on either side of us and he was so excited to take them Christmas cookies and we just made them valentines as well.  

He is doing pretty well in school. Satisfactory pretty much across the board. The one thing that we continue working on - is what is the best motivation for him. When it comes to school or sports - it's not always easy to find that thing that is going to kick him in to gear. 

We didn't have a party this year - just us keeping it low key. Maybe next year we'll have a big party for Number 7!  He is dying to go to Chuck-e-Cheese - so maybe we'll save that for when the Stone's are here in a couple weeks! :) 

Excited to take cupcakes to school today!

We love you to pieces buddy!

Happy 3rd Birthday Kyle!

Kyle - oh Kyle. This little boy is a handful. He is still onery - he's very agile - very talkative. He has some great facial expressions and hand gestures. He loves rough-housing - and will pretty much fly through the air at you. You have to be prepared at all times!

He reminds me of his Uncle David at times...which is amusing and scary. It's hard to find the appropriate carrot or stick for this kid. You can tell him he's going to get in trouble and he pretty much tells you to "bring it" if you dare.

He's in to tractors, trucks, cars, bikes, and everything with wheels - or a steering wheel maybe I should say! The kid loves to drive. And he's not half bad for a little guy!

We celebrated at the farm last weekend (thanks Aunt Tara for the photos and cake!) and we will celebrate at home again tonight- with Pigs in a Blanket, Mac and Cheese and Cake! What a perfect party menu!

No Training Wheels!

Justin has finally learned to ride his bike sans training wheels! We had tried a few times before- but it didn't quite work. He's been using that balance bike around home a lot though and it was time to try again as he'd been doing great on it!

We went over to the school parking lot to give it shot. It was a rough start - I really didn't think it was going to happen - but then off he went!

Kindergarten!

Summer has flown by- and now it's time for...KINDERGARTEN!  They start early in Nebraska!  Justin's teacher is Mrs. Wolff. It sounds like the kids are all adjusting well!

Out like a light after his day!

Pain & Suffering

Dear Justin,

Two weeks ago you had major surgery. It's called a tonsillectomy and more than 500,000 kids undergo the procedure each year. Your surgery went smoothly and you were home within 6 hours of leaving for the hospital. Other than a reluctance to take your medicine, you were a model patient. You behaved well for Grandma and Mom Mom & Pop Pop and enjoyed your daily diet of ice cream, popsicles and pudding. We thought you were on the road to recovery.

But on the 10th day...there was a setback. You had some bleeding from your mouth and nose so we called the doctor and he said to take you to the emergency room. Despite it being the middle of the night, you were cooperative and calm. And then it happened...

It has now been five days but I can't get the image out of my head. You kicked and screamed while they held you down and tried to get a needle in your arm. I've never felt so helpless in my life. I wanted to scoop you up and take you out of that room and away from the pain forever. I couldn't wait for that moment to end. It finally did and you were quickly back to your old self.

While I realize many kids endure much worse, I can't help but be proud of how brave you were. It can't be easy to not understand what's going on and wonder why we let them hurt you. Just know, it wasn't intentional and we did it with the best intentions in mind. Most likely, you won't have any recollection of these past two weeks. But for me...it's not a time I'll soon forget.

Love,
Your Favorite Daddy

Lori and Kenny and Ethan!

Our guest room has been busy! The day Dick and Sue were flying out - Lori and Kenny and Ethan flew in for a visit.  They overlapped a few hours and we got to have lunch with everyone.

Sunday the Stones came over and stayed the night too. We hit up the Childrens museum and then had one big slumber party! It was fun having everyone here! 

Bye bye tonsils

Someday, Justin, you will be reminded of the fits you threw about taking ibuprofen.

Justin was a trooper about getting his tonsils out. Things went smoothly. Grandma came to town to hang out. And then Mom mom and Pop pop. He was great other than the fact that he had a complete meltdown almost every time he had to take Tylenol or Ibuprofen. COMPLETE MELTDOWN. It was ridiculous.

We managed through all of that. And the sleepless nights. Only to end up in the ER on day 10 because he had some bleeding.  Thankfully it stopped and we were just in the hospital for observation and got sent home the next day. Aunt Tara came to the rescue to hang out for a few days so we can go to work and Justin can stay home a few more days! THANK YOU AUNT TARA!

Thanks everyone for your help!  

His favorite thing about this whole experience- the hospital play room.

Ice Cream!

Resting with Tractor the Whale and Tonsils the Bear

Falling asleep on Mommy while she works

Lily!

Lily spent the night with us a couple weeks ago. It's fun to watch her with the boys. She is such a mother hen! She caught us at the tail end of Kyle being sick - so we didn't get to go do a whole lot but it was fun having her there.

We went to the nursery to pick out some flowers and she was set on finding an indoor plant to take home. She has no problem walking right up to sales associates and asking them questions. It was fun to watch her talk to them and get directed around the store and pick out her plant. There was a really nice gal who talked to hear all about how to take care of it etc. She had done the same thing when we were looking at purses in a store the day before- she found a sales lady and asked if they had shorter straps cause that one was too long for her- and the lady just tied it in a knot and solved her problem for her (and of course Aunt Tanya bought her the purse - how could I not after that). Love seeing her independence in those situations!

Farm!

We had a fun farm weekend at the beginning of May. The National Guard had an open house so we got to check out their equipment and helicopters!

The boys of course enjoyed the gator and tractors!

And Justin has been asking for a marshmallow roast - only he said something like "marshmallow pick" - I have no idea what he was meaning but assumed it was a camp fire and marshmallows..

And then...we ended up in the ER with croup on Sunday night. There was even a call to 911 before the ER trip. On the positive side there were 5 firefighters in the house...to check Kyle out of course.. Thankfully the little guy is now doing much better!