The end of 1st grade

I CANNOT BELIEVE that Ben is almost done with first grade. How did my baby get so big??? This year has been a big one of change for him. Going to the "big school". Cub Scouts. Going to friends houses and birthday parties without adults. Reading chapter books. Tying shoes. Doing his own things.

Just a few weeks ago, I said to Amy that it seems like all of a sudden he is growing up. We were all together on a Thursday night watching Ben play t-ball. Friday we were together again and Ben was over at a friends house. Saturday, we went to the cemetery to post flags for Memorial Day and Ben went with the scouts to do the same thing. Then on Monday we all went to watch Ben (and Kevin) walk in the Memorial Day parade. He is no longer doing the little kid stuff, he has moved on to bigger things. He might be ready for these big boy things, but I don't know that I am!

Ben has loved first grade. "Big School" has been wonderful for him. He has made LOTS of friends (Richie, Quentin, George, Spencer, Cody, etc.) and has loved being in Mrs. Frantum's class. He has worked hard and is an excellent speller and reader (just like his mom!) and he loves math (just like his dad and mom!). He is a very smart boy. Homework has been a challenge but only because he has other things he would rather be doing.

He is still such a sweet boy. He would rather snuggle and cuddle probably more than anything in the world. He needs lots of hugs and kisses and for that I am so grateful. He is still my little boy, at least in some ways. Watch out second grade, here comes Ben!

Dylan's First Year of Preschool

Dylan's last day of preschool was Friday, May 29. Kevin and I went to watch him receive his certificate of completion from Miss Victoria and Mr. Andrew. It seems like not too long ago that we went to Ben's "Level 1 Graduation". Dylan had a great year of preschool. he made some good friends (Roman, Carson, Katie, Rachel and his favorites, Alena and Chloe). He loved Miss Victoria and after Miss Beth left (who he adored), he had a great time with Mr. Andrew. He started off quite shy at school but is now the wild and silly boy that we know so well. I am glad that I am able to have him in preschool, with me, for another year. He will be in Miss Kathi and Miss Bonnie's class. He is not very happy about that because several of his little buddies are going to Miss Jodi's class. Hopefully he will get over it by the time we go back to school because I know he will make some great friends in Kathi's room.

A Dylan Update...

All about Dylan...the wild, cuddly child...Dylan is now 3 and in preschool 4 days a week. He is considered the "Brilliant" one in the class. It makes me giggle every day, when I hear about how smart he is and how he knows so much about numbers and letters. I just want to say "Trust me, I know." Dylan is obsessed with buses, cars, fire trucks, police cars, trains and most importantly traffic lights. Yes, I said traffic lights. Every day, driving down the road these are the things that we hear. "Mommy, it's a green light. Slow down it's yellow. LOOK a green arrow. 4 Green arrows (by Avondale). Turn mommy. Slow down mommy. What number is on the bus? What does that sign say. Look, bus 4 (we saw it three times today!)." Sometimes it is exhausting. I can just imagine trying to explain to the police officer at an accident... "I'm sorry officer, but my three year old was yelling at me to go, so I went." Dylan also loves Mickey Mouse and Elmo. We take a small Elmo almost everywhere we go. Luckily, we have a few since we lost the first one at Disney World. Dylan loves popsicles, spaghetti, popcorn chicken, carrots and apples. He loves to eat, but is constantly on the go so he is still skinny as can be. Dylan is also obsessed with taking baths. We constantly hear "I am so dirty. My feet are stinky." We love this crazy, cuddly boy.

A Ben update....

Ahhh Ben....the 6 year old... the sweet responsible child... where do I begin? Ben is an all around great kid. He loves to read and any kind of math. School comes very easy to him (for now). He is slower to make friends, but when he does, he is loyal to the end. We still talk about kids that were in his preschool class when he was three. Ben loves legos. He loves to put things together and take them apart (especially computers). We joke that he will be an engineer. Ben loves video games. Sometimes I wish that we never would have started him on them, but we limit the time that he spends playing them. It has also improved his fine motor skills and his eye hand coordination (so says the preschool teacher). Ben finally stopped sucking his thumb over the summer but he is still a mole picker (don't ask!). Ben is a boy scout and Kevin is his scout leader. I love that the two of them have something to work on together. Ben is very artistic. He likes to scrapbook (just like his mom), draw and loves to cut random things out and hang them up on our walls. Our house is a work in progress. Ben loves to snuggle and I am sad that I know it won't last forever. He is growing way too fast, but oh how I love this boy.

I've found you at last...

After searching high and low for this blog, I've finally found it. Hint...place this in my favorites and don't forget the password again!

Today marks the eve of Dylan's 2nd birthday. It is hard to believe that my little guy is 2 and I have to accept the fact that my babies are no longer babies. In fact, this weekend we even moved Dylan into a big boy race car bed. No more cribs in this house! My little guy, you are growing way too fast! So my little Dylan pickles, at 2 I am thankful for you!

I am thankful for your temper tantrums...they remind me that you have an opinion.
I am thankful for your smiles...they remind me that the sun is always behind the storm.
I am thankful for your tears...they remind me that you are a very sensitive boy.
I am thankful for your hugs...they remind me that once upon a time, you would have rather hugged Daddy than Mommy.
I am thankful for your words...they remind me that you are growing up.
I am thankful for your runny nose...it reminds me that you are a very healthy little boy.
I am so very thankful for all of you. The good and not so good. I am a lucky mommy for having such a wonderful little boy in my life. I love to watch you grow into a big boy, but don't grow too fast.

Tonsils, Tubes and Adenoids

On Tuesday, Ben had to go to Mercy for surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed and ear tubes put in. We saw Dr. Ossakow a few weeks ago and he recommended having it done because of all the ear infections he has had. We had to be at the hospital by 6:45am, so Dylan spent the night at Mama DeeDee and Papa Dean's so we wouldn't have to worry about him in the morning. Mama and Papa then took Dylan to school so they could come to the hospital along with Grandma Bear.

At the hospital, Ben was taken to a room with us to prep for surgery, get into his scrubs and get all of his paperwork done. He was a very brave boy and I think it is because we read a book about his surgery prior to the big day. We were able to watch tv in this room and we also told stories to keep him distracted. At exactly 7:45 Ben got up on his big "bed on wheels" with his Lucky dog that he brought with him and he was wheeled down the hallway for his anesthetic. We went to wait in the waiting room with everyone else.

About 1/2 hour later, the doctor called me to say that everything had gone well but Ben had "an unbelievable amout of ademoid tissue". Don't know what that means, but he said that Ben should probably act like a competely different kid after the surgery because he will feel so much better. We got to see him about 10 minutes later as he was coming out of the anesthetic. He woke up scared and had a very startled look on his face. I was able to rock with him while Kevin had to go back to the waiting room. Shortly afterwards we were sent to a recovery room to fully wake up. That is when Kevin was able to rejoin us (or one of the grandparents). Ben was able to have some water and was offered popsicles but he wasn't interested in the sicles. He also got to watch cartoons in this room and best of all Scooby Doo was on. About noon we were able to go home. Grandma went to pick up Ben's prescriptions and take Dylan to her house.

When we got home, we deposited Ben on the couch. We spent the day offering lots of medicine, watching tv and listening to Ben complain that he wanted to get up and play. Such a nutty boy. Tuesday night, I slept in Ben's bed with him. He only woke up once complaining that his throat hurt so I gave him some of his Tylenol with Codeine.
"Mommy is it time to get up? I think we should play in my room for awhile, ok?" Now mind you, this is said with a squeaky little voice but lots of energy!