The One About Back to School 2013

     In about 15 minutes, Gavin will be home and we can say we officially completed Week 1 of Back to School.  It was rough, but we survived.  I always hate the first few weeks of school.  It takes a bit to get back into the routine of going to bed early, getting up early, eating breakfast right away, and actually getting dressed rather than lying around in your pj's like we do in the summer.  We had everything ready for Monday morning, and then all hell broke loose around 2:30 a.m.  Callum woke us up screaming and was running a fever.  Not a low-grade teething fever, but a high "damn, he must have an ear infection" fever.  I work on Mondays, and hated to take a sick day my 4th day back at work, so Ernie took Callum to the doctor, and I delivered the other two boys to their appropriate places...meaning I was still 40 minutes late for work.  Oh well, what can you do?  As it turns out, he did have ear infection.  

    Of course, we still made time to take our "first day" pictures.

 

     Gavin acted kind of off that morning, but I assumed he was just tired.  But guess who came home from school with a fever?  He was tired and rundown until about Thursday, so it wasn't the best first week for him. 

      I was busy at work getting my schedule ready, having my transition meetings, and just getting back into things.  We had to get haircuts for the wedding one day, b/c Sue was taking off for her Alaskan vacation.  Because the week wasn't busy enough, I also decided to schedule Asher's eye appointment and Callum's 1-year pictures.  But it's Friday afternoon, and now all we have left are the pictures tonight.  We survived the week!   Now if we can just make it through Nate's wedding week, which also is turning out to be just as hectic.  

The One About the Summer 2013

   I haven't blogged in almost 2 months.  Why?  I guess I was too busy living.  Which is a good problem to have.  The boys definitely kept me busy this summer.  I will try to do a summer summary, since I start back to work next week and Gavin goes back to school on the 19th.  I will have a 1st grader...imagine that?  We have a new backpack full of school supplies ready to go.  I think he is excited, but I am sure he will be nervous that first day until he gets into the swing of things.  Gavin will have Mrs. Ritter (formerly Mrs. Pelster) for his teacher.  Mrs. Ritter was my teacher in Kindergarten and 2nd grade, which seems crazy because she must have been a baby when she started teaching.  She isn't an "old" teacher.  She has always been one of my favorite teachers, so I am excited that she will teach Gavin this year.
     I posted last in June, and talked about how busy we were with Bible School, T-ball, swimming lessons, doctor/dentist appts, etc...  The month flew by.  In July, we spent Ernie's birthday at the new waterpark in Norfolk.  We spent the 4th of July at the Ewing park on the giant blow-up waterslide, and then drove back in to watch fireworks that night.    Asher fell asleep during the fireworks.  Callum was just annoyed that he wasn't able to fall asleep.  We had Asher's 4th birthday party, which turned into a large party with a pinata, fireworks, and a broken playhouse window.  Here are some shots from that night:

I made the boys dress up one morning and do a mini-photo shoot in the front yard.  My goofy boys!!

    With the rain in late July/early August, we were able to do a few family day trips in July and August.  We went to the buffalo ranch in Niobrara and then drove up to Gavins Point Damn.  We went to Bass Pro Shop and the Omaha zoo.  The boys were able to go fishing, swimming, to a few rodeos, and to a demolition derby.  We kept them busy.

     Callum is almost a year old now.  He is babbling like crazy, and calls Ernie "dada" and me "mama."  He understands simple directions.  He likes to stand at the refrigerator and we tell him "duck" when we need to open/close the door.  It is so funny watching him duck his head down.  Callum is doing three different crawls:  normal crawling, army/belly crawling, and now bear crawling.  He sometimes will go across the room doing all three methods.  If he is on a surface he isn't familiar with or is rough like cement, he bear crawls all the way.  He is cruising around furniture and letting go to stand on his own for 5 seconds.  I have given him strict instructions that he is NOT allowed to walk until after Uncle Nate's wedding.  :)  He has just recently starting eating real food.  He is still a peanut.  His 12-month clothes are nice and roomy.  There is no baby fat on this baby.  The other boys were so chubby around this age, but he has no rolls.  He is a very happy boy.  All you have to do is catch his eye, and he breaks into a huge grin as he makes his loud "inhale" squeal.

     Gavin finally lost his first tooth.  He was so sad last year because he was the only child in his class who hadn't lost a tooth.  He has had a loose tooth since May, but it just wouldn't come out.  In the pickup on the way home one day, we were talking about it.  Asher said, "Let me pull it out!"   He reached over and yep, pulled it out.  The tooth went flying through the pickup.  I don't know if Asher actually intended to pull it out, because he immediately started bawling and saying, "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean it."  I think he was also afraid that he lost Gavin's tooth.  He was hysterical.  We found the tooth on the floor, calmed down Asher, and watched Gavin smile the entire way home.  He was so proud!  Before bed that night, I finally got to get out the Tooth Fairy pillow I ordered a year ago for this special occasion.

   August is going to be a busy month with school starting, Callum's 1st birthday, and Nate's wedding!

The One About the First Month of Summer

   I can't believe school has been out almost a month.  Where did those weeks go?

Week 1:  T-ball and getting ready for our 15-year class reunion barbecue.
   
     Ernie and I are coaching T-ball again.  We recruited a coach for the 4-5 yr. old kids so we would just have the older kids on our T-ball team.  There are like 30 kids in town that could play, so this makes it much easier for us.  It also helps that I am not 8 months pregnant this season, so I have a little (just a little) more patience with that many kids in the dugout.  With the rainy weather at the end of May, we ended up only getting in one practice before our first game.  So far the kids are doing great.

    When our class got together for our 10-year reunion, we vowed we would get together every five years.   I see most of these people more often than that, but it is so much fun to get a big group together.  We hosted the barbecue at our house.  Lindy had a great idea to have the meal catered by a friend of hers, so all I really had to do was clean.  We had so much fun.  We've all gotten together often enough that we all know spouses and significant others really well, so that made it even better.  Almost half of the class made it.  I was laughing so hard most of the night that I was crying.  I don't know why I didn't think of getting my camera out that night.  Here is a pic someone took with their phone.  The quality of the picture stinks, but it's all I have.

Greg & Amy are getting married in September, so we are all excited to meet again at their wedding.  Jon has promised to do the worm across the dance floor.  :)

Week 2:   Dentist appts, doctor appts, and more T-ball.  I was running constantly, almost every day.  Callum had his 9-month checkup, the boys had their 6-month teeth cleaning/checkups, Gavin saw an allergy doctor and had allergy testing, and then Asher saw the dermatologist in Grand Island for his bumpy fingernails.  I was worried he had a fungus under two nails, but luckily she didn't think that was the case.  Gavin, it turns out, is allergic to almost any kind of grass, weed, or tree...particulary ragweed.  Basically from March to the first frost, he is screwed.  this year, he has suffered and his legs were just covered with a rash.  After a few weeks of medicine and cream, we got his skin rash cleared up fairly well, so now he is just on Claritin for kids.  I never really thought I had allergies before, but this year I have really suffered too...so it could be because it's our first spring living in the country.  ??

Week 3:  Bible School, T-ball, and a wedding.  I had to run Gavin to town every morning and then run back a few hours later to pick him up.  I knew we would have that issue when we moved to the country, but man...that's difficult when you have two other kids to pack up each time you have to make a trip to town.  Gavin enjoyed Bible School, so it was worth it.  Ernie left this week for Canada, so was working extra late the days before to get his spraying done before he left.  Luckily, I found a babysitter for Saturday and was able to go to Sami Hobbs' wedding in Madison.  I took Callum with me, and of course right after the bride's entrance, he wet through his diaper and onto my dress.  Never a dull moment with kids.  :)

Week 4:  I feel crazed already, even though it's only Tuesday.  Yesterday, my hair appt ran long, so I had to speed home from O'Neill to get Gavin, and get to the ballfield by 6:00.  Then today, we had haircuts for the boys, swimming (holy cow the water was FREEZING!!), and grocery shopping.  We leave for Lincoln Saturday to spend the weekend helping Mark & Shayla move into their new house, and go to my cousin Derek's wedding.   Next week is swimming lessons every day, and yes...more T-ball.  I always think of summer as being a time to relax and catch up on things, but I will say that I am way busier in the summer.  I have found myself longing for the school year more than once lately.
   
    Here are some fun pictures from the last few weeks.  Callum turned 9 months old.  He is belly crawling all over the place.  For some reason, I always find him under the toilet.  If we leave a bathroom door open, he hightails it for the bathroom.  I have no idea why.  He is just starting to pull himself up to standing.  We have tried to give him Gerber puffs, but he gags and even puked one time.  The other boys were eating puffs and even some soft foods by 9 months, but Callum is perfectly content with his baby food and formula.  He is so long and skinny, only in the 22nd percentile for weight...which is odd for one of my boys.  My Mom jokes that I forget to feed him because I am so busy with the older boys, which honestly could be true.  ha ha  My memory is shot after three kids.

We got a few new "toys" at our house.  This is the giant, blow-up waterslide.  The boys have been on it almost every day.

Asher loves riding on the lawnmower deck when Ernie mows.  More than once, he has fallen asleep while riding.  I'll look out and he will be leaning against Ernie's leg sound asleep.

The One About the Dune Buggy Crash

      This is all very funny now, but at the time I was not laughing.  The boys were playing outside.  Asher suddenly ran in the house crying.  I couldn't make out what he was saying, but I could get the words, "Gavin, dune buggy, hurt me."  He was hysterical.  I walked outside with him to see what was going on, thinking that Gavin ran into Asher or wouldn't let him drive or something minor like that.  Asher led me to the dune buggy, which was tipped upside down at the bottom of the boulder wall.  Panic now set in.  Asher calmed down enough to tell me that they drove the dune buggy over the rock wall, and that it landed on top of Asher.  I still didn't see Gavin, so then I was worried because he must be hurt somewhere.  Gavin has a tendency to run off and hide when he gets hurt, whereas Asher comes straight to me.  I looked to see if any limbs were sticking out from underneath the dune buggy, but he wasn't there.  I ran around the house, and eventually found him sitting in the garage crying over his bloody knee.  He was furious with Asher, because apparently Gavin was driving and Asher reached his leg across and hit the gas making them go forward over the wall.  Asher then started crying again, screaming, "It's all my fault.  I'm sorry, Gavin."  I finally got them calmed down again, and found out that Gavin was dumped out of the dune buggy during the fall, but it landed right on top of Asher.  Gavin lifted it up enough to get him out.  What a hero!  So now thankfully we have no broken bones.   Just bloody knees, scraped noses, and a bump on Asher's forehead.  It could have been worse...that was quite a fall.

The One About the Field Day 2013

   Gavin had his field day last Wednesday.  It was a beautiful day for it.  This year, Ewing has a new P.E. teacher, and he made some great changes to the field day.  First, he gave out prizes for the wackiest outfits.  Second, he added all these fun challenges, instead of the boring old field events/races.  The kids had so much fun!!
    Here are some pics of Gavin in his events:

Shoe Kicking

 Frisbee Toss

Long Jump

Softball Throw

50-year Dash

Potato Sack Race

And then the fun began!!  First, they had a Water Balloon Relay Race where they had to pop a water balloon by sitting on it.

Then came the Toilet Paper Mummy Relay.

Sadly, this is where I sent my camera to the car with Ernie, who was leaving.  After this, they had a Water Bucket Relay, which turned into a HUGE water fight.  Several other parents and kids got in on it.  Callum and I did not, but Asher was right in there throwing buckets of water and the high schoolers.  Both boys were soaked!  It was hilarious to watch and awesome to hear all the laughter on that football field.

The One About Kindergarten Graduation

   Gavin has officially graduation Kindergarten.  Tomorrow will his last day.  I am sad.  Kindergarten still feels "little" to me, but 1st grade is old.  Grown up.  True elementary.
   He did a great job at graduation. He had a big day that day.  In the morning, the kids took a trip to Shamrock Nursery to buy flowers for their Community Day planting.  They had lunch at the park and then came back to town to plant flowers all afternoon in the 90-degree heat.  When he got home from school Monday, he was exhausted.  In fact, many of the kids were dragging at graduation.  His allergies have been really bad lately, so the poor kid looks like a wreck.  When he first got home, I could tell something was wrong.  Like his Mommy, he has trouble hiding his feelings. He finally admitted that he was nervous for graduation.  We talked about it, and I told him that he only graduated Kindergarten this one time and it would be so sad if he didn't enjoy it because he was scared.  That seemed to help.
   The program was cute.  They sang some adorable songs.  Gavin sang and did the actions.  He definitely isn't the most animated performer, but he did it.  It's obvious he would rather be anywhere but on stage singing.  :)

Recognize the cute baby in the background.  :)

The One About Surgeries and Stomach Flu

       The last month is a blur.  With Asher's surgery, my Mom's surgery, my surgery, and then the stomach flu, I was just getting through each day hour by hour.  We all were.  Luckily, all the surgeries went well and everyone is back to full health.  I was going to write some things about the last month, but decided I would rather just pretend it never happened.  We made it through it, and that's all that is important.  Now we are gearing up for Kindergarten graduation, the end of the school year, and our class reunion BBQ that we are hosting at our house Memorial Day weekend. 

 Callum is 8 months old now.  Here are some pictures we took for his baby book.

He is on the move now, belly crawling all over the house.  If I take my eyes off him for a second, he's gone.  He just had his two top teeth poke through a few days ago, so he has four total.  He is so observant, and watches his brothers constantly.  He loves getting their attention and then making his high inhale noise that he makes.  He is still an easygoing and happy little guy.  :)