Hello Again!

Hi!

So it's been a while...

Who knew the boys starting school wouldn't give me a ton of free time but instead a busy schedule & somewhat of a life outside of my home?!

My intentions were not to stop blogging, quite tho opposite really but here I am 5 months later, finally sitting down at my computer, logged into blogger & on a holiday, so the boys are home destroying the family room with legos as I type...

Well, I think I left off with the boys getting ready to start kindergarten. They half half a school year under their belts now & are doing fantastic!!! Darren is the same girl obsessed social butterfly he has always been. Caden is only slightly shy anymore & LOVES his classmates & his teacher! Kellan is a totally different kid than he was last year! He LOVE LOVE LOVES his teacher & going to school (if you don't recall or are new here, he had to be peeled from my leg, screaming, every.single.day last year) This year I pull in to the car lane, open the door & away they all go happily. It's such a relief!

Meet the teacher day

Backpacks

One of the boys' school supplies...

First day of Kindergarten

Already loving their teacher

Caden

Kellan

Garren

Academically the boys are doing great! They've gotten 2 report cards now & have all E's with the exception of S's in handwriting. I can't really complain about that. They are doing well conduct wise too.

Kellan had one little hang up at the very beginning of the year, he didn't like the noise in the car rider room at the end of the day. He's always been sensitive to certain sounds & the static of the walkie talkies was too much for him. He broke down in class one afternoon & told his teacher he couldn't go there anymore. My poor baby, she worked him through it but called me immediately after school to work out a plan. I had signed up to volunteer in the class already, so we worked out a schedule that would allow me to be there at the end of the day, making it possible for me to walk out with the boys instead of sitting in the car line waiting for them & them going to the car rider room. It's been a win/win/win for all of us.

Ms Webber's Birthday

Volunteering at the end of each day has made me room mom/party coordinator by default, lol... There are 2 other moms that volunteer too but one substitute teaches also & the other has 3 kids in 2 different schools so she rotates between them each week. They are my right hands when it come to parties though! I love the daily interaction with the boys' class this year & the constant feedback from their teacher, who's become a good friend. It has made me consider substitute teaching myself, but we will see what the coming year holds...

Kindergarten Physicals

I started to post theses in my previous summer shenanigans post but decided they deserved a post of their own.

April (the boys birthday month) & May were a bit busy with birthday parties, my own medical drama & end of the school year. June we were busy traveling for vacation. I finally got around to getting the boys 5 year well checks/kindergarten physicals schooled & done in JULY. I'm such a slacker they couldn't even get in with their doctor & had to see a nurse practitioner. I don't usually mind but prefer seeing their doctor for annuals, especially since 2 of the boys had issues I needed to discuss.

Anyways, we got them done & just in the knick of time for school, lol
We decided to take them individually this year since last year was a bit chaotic.

Caden

Caden was first up. He's super healthy & growing just right. He is slowing down a bit which was expected after growing so big so fast for so long.

His measurements were:
Height 45.5" - 86th %
Weight 44lbs - 69th %
BMI 14 - 34%

The NP emphasized drinking 3 glasses of milk a day & getting them to dentist since they haven't been yet & will likely start losing teeth soon.

Caden got the last 2 vaccines he needed to start school & is happy he won't need anymore until the 7th grade.

Garren

Garren went later in the same week that Caden went & saw the same NP. He is also super healthy. He is still on his growth curve & continues to grow at a more 'normal' rate.

His measurements were:
Height 43" - 50th %
Weight 39lbs - 34th %
BMI 14 - 30th %

Garren also got his last 2 vaccines until 7th grade & received the same emphasis on milk consumption & getting to the dentist.

We have noticed that one of Garren's tes.ti.cles seem quite a bit larger than the other. We knew there was suppose to be a slight difference but weren't sure just how much so I asked the NP about it. She also thought it was pretty significant so she called in a doctor to take a look. It was determined that he has a hy.dro.cele & we were referred to a pediatric urologist. We had an appointment with the urologist at Nemours Children's specialty care Tuesday. He does in fact have a hy.dro.cele but it isn't causing any problems right now. we are just suppose to keep an eye on it & it if become commutative  we'll take him back & he'll have to have surgery to remove it & hopefully avoid a hernia. Right now it stay in place & doesn't move or travel.

Kellan

Note to self; take Kellan first next year! He is the most nervous of the 3 boys & by the time his appointment rolled around the following his brother's he had heard all too much about the shots he would get & was as nervous as could be. Not good for an already anxious kid :(

Kellan's appointment was with his preferred doctor. He saw her for his stomach aches, that seized to exist once school was out. We talked a little about his anxiety. I think over the course of the summer he has worked out some of his fears so we decided to see how he does starting school this year before we pursue any additional help for his anxiety.

He is also healthy & slowing down in the growth dept.

HIs measurements were:
Height 45" - 81st %
Weight 42lbs - 61st %
BMI 14 - 22nd %

Kellan had his last vaccines until 7th grade too & is OH SO HAPPY about that!

There you have it. Three healthy & happy (to not anymore shots for a long time) boys!

VPK Graduation

It is so hard to believe that the boys' first school year has already come to an end. It was a long school year in some aspects but it also flew by. The boys have grown & learned so much over the past 9 months. They loved school, their teachers & their friends but drop off was hard every single day until about 6 weeks ago or so. They started VPK knowing their shapes, colors, letters & numbers (up to 10) & finished knowing so SO much more. I'm usually entertained in the car by them coming with compound words or doing math equations. Caden loves to show us how high he can count, I think he's up to 160+. They know lots of sight words & are sounding out words beginning to read. They know their months, seasons, & how many days are in a year. They learned about the planets, fruits vs vegetables, all about their teeth & lots of other stuff. They are all social butterflies & think everyone they meet is their friend. 

Kellan, Caden, & Garren, the last day of school.

Their classmates

Caden, Garren & Kellan with their teacher, Mrs Inez.

Caden, Garren, & Kellan with their beloved asst teacher, Ms Justine.

The boys' graduation was the very next day. They were so excited leading up to it! They each learned a line for graduation & a dance routine to the song What I Am. They also sang a song in Spanish.

Here they are walking in to receive their diplomas...

Kellan

Caden

Garren

Walking across the stage...

Kellan

Caden

Garren

All Graduated!

Caden, Garren, & Kellan with Mrs Inez

(We didn't get an after picture with Ms Justine because her oldest graduated too & she was busy with him)

 From NICU Grads to VPK Grads, here's the best photo of the whole year!

Kellan, Garren, Caden

VPK Spring Pictures

I wasn't expecting spring school pictures but I guess those photo companies take every chance they get to make money, so when they came in to do graduation pics, we got spring photos too.

It's amazing how much they have changed just since the beginning of the school year. I'll be on the verge of tears for the next week or so leading up to the last day of school & graduation, just fyi...

Caden

Garren

Kellan

We'll go ahead & call these their 5 year old pics too. I think we've spent more on school photos this year than we ever have with any of the photographers we've used.

And Just Like That, They Are 5!

Caden, Kellan & Garren, their first official photo as 5 year olds 

Throwback Thursday - Birthday Countdown... FOUR!

One week until our boys are 5 years old... let the hyperventilating begin, lol...

We dropped the ball on having professional 4 year old pictures done last year so here's one of the only pics taken at their party last year.

The boys' Toy Story (k), Spiderman (g), & Thomas (c) cakes

Throwback Thursday - Birthday Countdown... THREE!

 
Garren

Caden

Kellan

 
G, C, K

Throwback Thursday - Birthday Countdown... TWO!

Caden

Garren

Kellan

Throwback Thursday - Birthday Countdown... ONE!

I'm sort of in denial about the boys' upcoming 5th birthday. How can 5 years have gone by already?!?

Well since it cannot be stopped I have decided to reminisce a little with a Throwback Thursday post each week until the big day. Here are the boys diving into their their very first birthday cakes at their 1st birthday party... 

Caden

Garren

Kellan

And since the boys want to invite the whole town birthday party planning & prepping is in full swing.

Finally A Legitimate Family!

On December 17th, a long wait finally came to an end for Donna & our little family. 

We finally had our court date for Donna to adopt (step-parent adopt) the boys. It was a quick & painless process for us once the law finally recognized our marriage. The cost were more than cut in half & the time was basically just what it took to draw up the paperwork & get a court date.

The judge didn't even let our attorney finish her review of the legalities before he said "I've already signed the judgement, lets just put down on paper what is already a reality for these handsome boys."

I think we were in his chambers for 5 minutes, if that!

It's a great great feeling knowing that our family, all of us, are now recognized & protected!!!

Soccer

The boys started soccer again, this time it's with a non competitive group that meets right at their school. They're focus is on teaching the skills of the game & their coach says they are naturals. If they are loving it & want to, we'll sign them up with the county team in the spring. 

2015 Family Photos

 No words...