Weekend Update

It has been a very busy week...the first day of school, the first soccer game, relatives visiting, etc. It's enough to make two little boys beside themselves with exhaustion (and mom & Dad aren't too lively themselves). Right now as I sit and type this it is all I can do to keep my eyes open. Yawn.

So here is the Reader's Digest Abbreviated Version:
• School has been a big hit with Liam.
• Soccer has been a big hit with Liam
• Sleep has NOT been a big hit for Beanie. :-(
• Friday Liam had his audiologist appointment at Children's and he passed no problem.
• Friday afternoon Ken's Aunt and Uncle arrived with their dog Logan. They spent the weekend with us and are headed up to the mountains for the week then will return on Friday and stay throughout the weekend and into next week. They are enjoying spending the time with the boys and vice versa.
• Liam had his first soccer game on Saturday--the mistake was made to ride his scooter the park for two hours the morning of his game. By the time it was their turn to play he was *exhausted*. He looked sluggish and had to be encouraged to even run after the ball. It was a night and day difference from his practice on Monday where he ran the whole hour. You could just tell he was done on Saturday. Of course this exhaustion did not keep him from staying awake instead of resting during nap time--so by the time bedtime rolled around both boys were done.

Speaking of sleep, or lack therof, I am so very tired. I got up at 5 to get my long run in and Sawyer was unfortunately awake a lot throughout the night. Crossing my fingers he can get back into the hang of sleeping through the night without calling out for me every two hours...

Liam's Post-First Day of School Analysis (in his own words)...

"It was even better than I thought it would be!!"

About what they did:
"We did a Freeze dance and we read books and we learned rules and got to go out to the playground!"

About Mrs. Jessen:
"My teacher is just SO nice! She is SOOO nice and did such a good job, I gave her one of my birthday treats!"

On Friends:
"I have a new friend Alan (Alex) and my teacher is my friend"

Miscellaneous:
"Mrs. Jessen doesn't need to worry. Everything I learned today is locked in my head." (I love that)

And lastly, my personal favorite:
"It was a lot of fun. And I didn't even get sent to the principal's office!!"

He's a Kindergartner now

Today was the official first day of school. Sigh. I took the day off so I could spend it with the boys and be the one to take and pick Liam up from school. The morning was a bit rough (and LONG). I think we were just waiting around for the show, aka Kindergarten, to begin. Liam is an afternoon kindergartner--which has its pros and cons. The pros are that we don't have to worry about hurrying him up and out the door in the morning. The cons are we have to keep him somewhat clean (and busy) until school starts. I haven't been feeling 100% so my energy level is nil-it is just about all I can do to keep up with the boys today.

We got to the school about 10 minutes early along with all the other moms who were anxious to be on time. When we got there, Liam said "I'm so excited I'm shaking!!". He bounded out of the car and got right in line. He immediately started chatting with Alex-a boy he had met last week. I think they will be fast friends. Mrs. Jessen had the children line up boys and girls and I was amazed to realize that out of the 18 kids in his class, about 11 of them are girls. After giving them all name tags she had them walk into class. I watched him walk in and shed more then a few tears. I am counting down the minutes till I can go and get him. In the meantime I have baked cookies for him to eat when he gets home. I always remember my Mom having some special treat (usually apple dumplings) ready and baking by the time the first day of school was over. i'd love to continue the tradition with my kids.

The pictures I have posted are of pre-school, school line up, role call and the actual school itself. It is hard to tell today but they have a great view of the Flat Irons. Not pictured: Mom crying in her car.

More post school analysis tomorrow...

SOCCER!

Not only does Liam start kindergarten tomorrow, he also starts soccer. Here is a pic of him geared up and ready to go. Here is also a picture os Sawyer chasing the dog around with a popsicle, just because.

All About 5

Liam turned five yesterday--it is so hard for me to believe. I am not sure why this birthday has hit me as hard as it did, but it did-maybe because he starts school tomorrow or maybe because it is a milestone...either way it is just another reminder that my firstborn is growing up. All day yesterday I found myself thinking back to the day he was born--how amazed and humbled that such a wonderful and beautiful little baby could belong to us. I *still* feel that way every time I look at both of my boys. We are so very, very blessed.

Yesterday was quite the busy day. It started with chocolate chip pancakes, moved on to the Water Park, lunch out, back home to play with the neighbors and then commenced with homemade gourmet pizzas and a Little Einsteins shaped cake crafted by Ken. And then when it was all said and done: presents. I have to say this about Liam...he has ALWAYS been so appreciative of anything he gets. He opens one present and will play with it and be happy and then when we put another one in front of him he looks surprised and says "There's MORE?!" He really, really wanted a GeoTrax airplane which he has been asking for since Christmas. I of course knew he would get one and he assumed he would. Later in the day I said "what happens if you don't get your GeoTrax?" He said "That's ok Mommy, I'll just ask for it for next year." And he MEANT it. He exclaimed about a hundred times last night "This is the BEST birthday EVER!!!" And again, he meant it.

I just want to bottle his sweetness and give a dose of it to the rest of humanity. I think it would make the world a much more tolerable place to be.

Countdown to Kindergarten

School starts in FOUR days! I can hardly believe that my baby is going to be in school. Last night we went to the parent/child school orientation and learned all about the exciting year ahead. We learned that they will have homework *every* night and that they will be writing/reading almost right away. They will do *lots* of imaginative play and lots of reading and computer work. It is hard to fathom. I think back to when I was in kindergarten and I recall the big deal was learning how to tie our shoelaces... Times, they are a changing!

Liam is very excited about school. I hope and pray that his enthusiasm and hunger for learning will continue all through his school life and beyond. Ken has asked me recently if I am going to "be ok" when Liam heads out the door on Monday and I honestly don't know. I know I'll cry (hey that's my first baby!). I just feel sadness that once he steps in those doors he is going to be exposed to ALL sorts of things both good and not so good. I know I can't protect him forever, hard as I might try. I just want school to be a positive experience for him. I want everyone to love him as much as I love him-to see his sweet, nurturing side and appreciate his huge, sensitive heart.

I know that not every day is going to be good and that kids will be kids (mine included)--I just hope the good far outweighs the not-so-good days and that he never loses his individuality and his gigantic love of just about everything.

Your Daily Liam

Overheard tonight:

Liam: "Disco Man! He plays one, he plays nick nack on my tongue! with a nick nack paddwhack give the dog a bone, Disco Man comes rolling home"

Disco Man. Cracks. Me. Up!

Sunny Sunday

It is an absolutely beautiful day here today and uncharacteristically cool for Colorado in late August. The weather is sunny, cool breezes and only about 78--perfect. I went for a long run in the morning and then came home to get cleaned up and play with the kids while Ken goes fishing with his buddies that he hardly ever gets to see. The boys and I cleaned the house then went and got coffee (for me, not them, obviously) and then went to buy Liam his soccer gear for next week. I know absolutely NADA about soccer. I had to ask someone what all he needed--and we got him all hooked up. Soccer cleats, long soccer socks (?) shin guards, shorts and a new soccer ball. While I was trying to get Liam fitted Sawyer took off running through the store and immediately found the baseball bat display. By the time I grabbed him he had two full-sized bats in his hands and was gunning for more. I said, "that is the LAST thing I want YOU to have Sawyer--a large heavy weapon" so I put all the bats back but he had already managed to get to and then dismantle the wool sock display. Note to self: Any kind of shopping with both boys must be done with at least one of them physically contained in some way.

After the sport's store we went to the park and played a while. Liam made a new friend and Sawyer had fun giving me near-heart failure as he tried to jump off the platform repeatedly. We packed up and came home and Sawyer took a nap and Liam is currently watching "Finding Nemo". He seems really tired today...I hope he can keep it together this afternoon sans nap. We have plans to put on his soccer gear and give it a try after Beanie wakes up. It's been a long day and the day isn't even half over. I can't wait to go to sleep tonight...

Liam's 5 Year Checkup

Yesterday was Liam's 5 year checkup. He was really hoping he would weigh at least 40 pounds so he could move up to a booster seat in the car but he weighed in at a mere 37 pounds soaking wet. He is 44 inches tall--which puts him in the 75% for height and the 20% for weight. He is so thin in fact, that he is nearly minus in the BMI category. The pediatrician said that he could be having a growth spurt so we aren't to worry about his weight yet. She did recommend putting butter and olive oil on everything and give him whole milk-both of which we do. I often joke that with Liam if I could feed him pure fat I would--he is just so thin. There are less then 10 pounds separating Beanie from Liam. In fact, Beanie is wearing the 2t shorts today that Liam had on (by mistake) last week. Like I said-SLIM.

They also did a hearing and vision test on him. He passed the vision with flying colors but failed the hearing screening. We now get to go see an audiologist at Children's to do further testing. I think that his hearing is probably ok--but not great. With all of the ear trauma from the numerous infections he had as a baby and toddler it would not be too far out of the realm of possibility to think he has some scarring. He IS a very loud talker...and I've often wondered if that was because he couldn't hear as well as other kids his age. It is hard to tell--I guess we'll know more in a few weeks. I'm glad that we found this out now verses later--especially before school starts. I think I will mention to his teacher this week when we meet that for now it might be a good idea to keep him towards the front of the class.

Your Daily Liam

Tonight as I was tucking Liam into bed:

Me: "So tomorrow morning you have a doctor's appointment and there is a good possibility (actually a DEFINITE possibility--but he doesn't need to know that) you will get a few shots tomorrow but don't worry-it will be over before you know it."

Liam: "Well where do they give you shots?"

Me: "Oh, usually in your leg so you can barely feel it."

Liam: "Well... I want her to give them to me in my pinky."

Me: "Your pinky?! That isn't really an option buddy and besides, I don't think that would feel too good."

Liam: "But Mommy, pinky is TOUGH! He can handle it..."

Sleep. Or lack thereof.

It has been a LONG week and a half with not a lot of sleep. Sunday night I was at work until 11:30pm and got home and just wanted to sleep. When I got home Ken said Beanie had been up crying and thrashing around for the past hour. He does this routine every so often and it is exhausting. He will wake up at around the same time (usually between 10 and 10:30) and then cry and whine and toss around for the next hour to two. It is very frustrating for everybody. So Sunday night I averaged about 6 hours of sleep--not too terrible but not enough. Last night for the first time in about 10 days I was able to come home and just relax--which was a wonderful thing. I looked forward to chilling out and then going to bed early. Not the case. Beanie woke up at 10:30 and cried and thrashed around and was wide awake for the next three exhausting hours. Finally around 1:30 he finally fell asleep more soundly. My alarm went off at 5:30 to go for a run and I just wanted to cry. It's just not enough sleep.

I am *hoping* (pleading/praying/begging) that he sleep through the night tonight. I am also hoping that we can figure out why he does this so often. It did occur to me last night around midnight, that I recall Liam going through something similar. He was a very restless sleeper and never really slept through the night until he was 2--now he is a champ. We are working at phasing out his naps (sniff) because when school starts in two weeks the naps are gone. I am hoping that with no nap he will sleep more at night and sleep longer in the morning. I'm all about sleeping longer in the morning.

Speaking of sleep...I better lay down now while I can before the night shift begins.

PS...

Liam did NOT go to the Art Camp finale this week because he didn't feel well so I have no pics of his play or or his dance or artwork. :-(

Like I said, a Hoover vacuum kind of a week. It sucked.

Trying to catch my breath

This past week has been a Hoover-vacuum of a week--it has sucked the energy right out of me. I feel like no matter how hard I work and how many projects I can crank out it is never going to be enough. I took a bunch of work home this weekend that I have to have done before Monday and I am still not sure when that is going to happen. I underestimated my ability to work at home. During the day I can only try during naptime, but now that Liam has given up naps it means I have a shadow at my side asking a million questions and pressing a hundred buttons. By nighttime I just want to either sit and try not to think or go directly to sleep. I am not sure how long I can swing this pace. Creativity has a limited shelf life in the course of a day.

If I still have this job a year from now I will be very surprised.

Yet Another Bug

Liam woke up today early but fever free. He told me he "felt good and healthy" even though he didn't eat a whole lot. I just got a call from Emily who said that Liam's fever is back and he just wants to lay on the couch. :-( Here is the part of the working mommy bit that really and truly bites..my child doesn't feel well and I am at work. Do I leave a very stressful and tense work situation to go home and hug my boy or do I let Emily handle it and therefor make me feel like a bad parent? Emily says that he isn't complaining of any other symptoms right now and she thinks that once the motrin kicks in he'll be fine but still...all the motrin does is mask the fever. Tomorrow is Liam's Art Camp finale...I hope that he can shake off whatever this is before then...otherwise "The Umbrella" will have no "Carlos". :-(

Not Fulfilling my Blogging Duties

I am apologizing in advance for the lack of blog posts. I realize that if something is going to give, it is going to be the blog. I am just really overwhelmed at work right now. I also recently scored a freelance illustration project that happens to be due within the upcoming week so my nights are also full. It's all good-I am glad to have a job and doubly glad for the chance to do some freelance work. I just might be posting less. Hopefully I can catch my breath sooner as opposed to later.

In boy news:
Liam's last day of art camp is Thursday. He will be performing as 'Carlos" in the short play "The Umbrella" as a finale to camp. I can't wait and hope to be able to capture it on film. Tonight he went to bed with a fever so I am hoping he isn't getting anything icky.

Bean is finally getting more hair! He is quite the blondie!