Lost in Space

I have really neglected this site for almost a year now. :-( Things are pretty hectic in our household lately. Leon is still doing karate and doing extremely well. He's even picked up an extra class and exceling in it just as well as the first class. He loves it. Noah wants to join karate as soon as he is old enough in October. They can't start until they are 3. Skip and I have a feeling that Noah may be better at it than Leon which is pretty scary.

Leon starts kindergarten in the fall. I'm not so sure that I am ready for it, but he definitely is. Kindergarten round up is in a couple of weeks. He keeps saying he wants to start school now. Leon has switched preschools too. In June I started working full time at a local daycare. Noah switched soon after I started and Leon switched in November. Leon is so much happier there than he was at his old preschool. He's still learning a lot. He is so smart, and I'm not saying that because I'm biased either. He is reading several site words. He is sounding out words to begin to read some. He can spell several words. The two new ones that surprised me were Friday and Tuesday. He is starting to get the concept of adding which surprised me a little bit too. Hopefully he will be able to tie his shoes soon. His belt test for karate that he has on Friday he has to tie his belt which is about half of tying his shoes. I'm hoping to start working on the shoes next week.

Noah is a very intelligent little boy as well. His speech is great for a 2 year old. He communicates very well most of the time. He loves to play with Leon, although Leon doesn't always love playing with him as much as Noah would like. They are both fairly independent boys, and always have been.

I am working full time at a daycare now and love it there. I have applied for the fall nursing program at IUPUI (IU school of nursing). I'm really hoping that I get in this time. My gpa is high enough that I'm hoping I don't have a problem getting an interview and everything, but we will see how it goes I guess. The deadline was last week which was spring break so I should hear sometime this week or at the latest next week if I get an interview. I'm hoping to be well on my way to a nursing career! I need to download some pictures and then I can upload those. The boys have changed a lot since I've posted pictures on here almost a year ago.

Almost Done!!

Tomorrow is my last final of the semester. I haven't been the greatest at updating here because I've been so busy. Going to school full time and running Leon around to all of his activities is quite the battle in itself! Leon started karate in March and he absolutely loves it! He is just about ready to move from his white belt to his white and yellow belt. He only needs one more stripe to get his next belt. He also has to take his "belt test" which shouldn't be too difficult for him since it's just a review of all the stripes he's gotten. I really don't know that much about it but I'm learning just as much as he is. On Monday and Wednesday next week they have a side by side with mommy class that all the mothers get to join in the class to participate for mothers day. This week they had teacher appreciation day which he loved because his preschool teacher came. They handed out certificates and let each age group do their own little show for what they do during class. I think his teacher had just about as much fun as Leon did. He has also been playing soccer. We have two weeks left of games and then a tournament. In a few weeks he will be starting t-ball as well.

Noah is getting to be quite the big boy lately. He still isn't completely walking on his own. I really wouldn't complain if he decided to do it any day cause I'm tired of carrying him around. We do make him walk holding on to us most of the time. He is in physical therapy for it, but the only thing holding him back for probably about a month now is his confidence. For some reason he's lacking in that area and doesn't want to improve which is very frustrating to me. He has finally gotten up to almost 21 lbs!! That's a huge milestone for him cause he's so small. Leon and Noah fight over the same toys. Noah usually gets them taken away and then as he is trying to get it back from Leon he tends to hit Leon and then Leon cries and Noah gets the toy back...smart little booger that's for sure!! Maybe some day Leon will learn...but I doubt it.

This has been an extremely rough semester for me! I'm glad it's almost over. I don't really get much of a break though because summer classes start on Wednesday. I just hope that I am able to get some things done around the house on my break. I'm sure I will but I hope it's enough to satisfy me! I don't get much done throughout the semester like I'd really like to...but it's tough with homework, two kids, and keeping up with a house. I'll try to post Noah's 18 month pictures soon too!! He's such a ham!!

Karate

Skip and I have been talking about whether or not Leon would like karate for probably about a year now. I finally called to see about getting him into a class to see if he would even like it. He had an "evaluation" today to see if he was ready for it or not. He passed with flying colors!!! Skip showed him a video of it online one day and Leon kept talking about it. I asked him if he wanted to go and see if he was ready for it and he said yes, so I told him he was going today after I picked him up from school. He was so excited! When we got there all he wanted to do was sit and watch the class that was going on, which happened to be the class he would be in. He was so amazed at everything that was going on. He watched for a little bit until it was time to go do his evaluation. During his evaluation, they did all kinds of things. At first he started out with three different shapes, all three different colors and had him tell him what colors and shapes they were. Then he did some balance stuff like hopping on one foot, then the other foot and then jumping with both feet together both forward and backwards. Then, he got out the arm shields and had him practice punching and kicking etc. He had such a blast that he asked if he could go to class today! The only thing was by the time we were done with everything, the class was done. Noah was even starting to get into some of it!! He was clapping and cheering him on!! So, we decided to do a trial run for a little while and make sure he likes it and everything. He will start on Monday and it will be twice a week. His little uniform is just the absolute cutest thing I've ever seen I think!!!! I can't wait to get it washed and his patches sewn on and take a picture of him!!! Once we got home all he talked about was, when do I get to go back to karate mom??? A few days...a few days...it will seem like an eternity to him!!!!

Oh yes...I forgot to mention...not only did we already know that Leon is incredibly intelligent, but everything he did today for his evaluation...exceeds almost all of the expectations they have for the 5-8 year old class...just obviously closer to the 5-6 year olds. Leon gets his books out and pretends to read to Noah...although this weekend, I actually got him to read a couple pages of Green Eggs and Ham...too bad he misses the round up cutoff for kindergarden by 39 days this year!!!!

1 Down 1 To Go

Noah had his tubes put in yesterday. He has done very well with the whole thing...except for the ear drops. Each time he fights more and more, but we manage to get them in and for the most part they stay in. I think he just doesn't like it cause they are cold, but the good thing is...tomorrow is the last day for them!! 2 more doses and counting down. He surprisingly wasn't crabby after the anesthesia. Usually he is a big grump, but yesterday he did great. They said he woke up and never cried at all. I'm so proud of my baby!!

Leon is scheduled to have his tubes taken out on Tuesday the 16th and probably have another set of tubes put in. A couple weeks ago he was complaining that his ear hurt so I took him to the after hours clinic since it was on a weekend and they said that both tubes were turned and on their way out and that one of them was infected around the top portion of the tube. They gave us ear drops and an oral antibiotic cause it looked like they had closed enough that he had fluid behind his ear drum and they wanted to make sure we cleared up the entire thing. The following Monday I had called to schedule an appointment with his ENT for them to take a look at him and he said he couldn't even see his eardrum cause he has so much wax and dead skin so he wanted to schedule him for a surgery to have his ears cleaned out and the one set of tubes out and then he will see what his ears look like and if he needs another set, he will put another set of tubes in, but they will be a more long term set of tubes. They are called T Tubes and they "hook" around the eardrum somehow and stay in longer than normal tubes do. His first set stayed in for almost 2 years, and I can just hope that Noah's stay in for quite some time too!! Leon doesn't know he is doing anything, but he asked a lot of questions about Noah's so he's at least prepared somewhat for what they will do. I just told him that they would put a mask on Noah and he would take about a ten minute nap while they fixed his ears and then he would wake up and be just fine...which he was. He asked if he would cry and I told him no not while they were fixing his ears, but he may cry when they take him from mommy and take him back to the room. He was ok with that. Last time Leon walked back to the OR with the nurse with no hesitation what so ever...this time, it's not going to be the same I am quite certain!! I just hope it's an easy transition for him. 7 days and counting!! At least it's during my spring break so I don't have to miss any classes!!!!!

Looks like tubes in our future

We have had quite the stomach bug going around our house last week and the week before! Now that we are finally over with that and have lysoled our house to death, I think we can move on and finally settle back into our "normal" routine. I took Noah to the doctor on Monday...again. He still wasn't eating the greatest and still was vomiting occasionally so I wanted to see what was actually wrong with him. Come to find out, he had another double ear infection. One of his ears was really bad and the eardrum was actually buldging a bit. :( Poor baby. I feel so bad for him. That makes the third ear infection for him since Christmas. He had only been off the antibiotic a little over a week when he got the current one. It did actually go away too cause she checked him about a week into his antibiotic. He took omnicef this time which he only took for 5 days and he goes back next Monday to have his ears re-checked. I asked the doctor how many more we have to go through since each one is getting progressively worse, and we can't be off the antibiotic for more than a week before it's back. She said that since we already have a followup with the ENT scheduled for his reflux on March 1st that she wants me to have him look at his ears and tell him how many he has had and then he will fax paper work to her to fill out and then the date will be set for the tube surgery. I just want to get it done and over with. He never runs a fever and this time I really didn't expect him to have another one! (nor did I expect him to have one at his 15 month well baby visit) The last two he has gotten green goopy eyes, along with being fussy but no fever at all with any of the three last ones! So...I guess the next time he gets green goopy eyes and pulls at his ears and cries about literally EVERYTHING I should make an appointment...kids...ears can be such a headache when they are little and can't talk!!!

Double Ear Infection...

Noah went to the doctor last Friday, January 8th for his 15 month well baby checkup. He only weighed in at 17 lbs 8 oz and 28 1/2 or 29 1/2 inches if I remember correctly. At the time he wasn't eating hardly anything, but he was drinking ok. So...in a round about way...he wasn't gaining weight...he was losing weight, which for him lately doesn't surprise me since he did the same thing at Christmas with an ear infection. She checked him all out and he had a little bit of a cold, and then she got to his ears, and he had a double ear infection. We literally hadn't even been off the antibiotic for a week when he went in for his well baby checkup. So...last night was the last full dose of his antibiotic and so we will see if he gets another one in another week I guess. Wouldn't surprise me too much if he does. He finally started eating well again at the beginning to middle of this week and he is now wanting to eat us out of the house again. :) When I weighed him last night it actually said 19.4 lbs!! I was a bit shocked, but of course, that was right after dinner and at bedtime. His nutritionist comes today to weigh and measure him so we will see what she says his weight has done in the two weeks since she was here last. 19 lbs would be great, but I'm expecting in the low 18's probably. He went back to the doctor Wednesday for his vaccinations since he had the ear infection, she wanted to wait which was fine. He got 5 shots and she looked at his ears to make sure they were good and the ear infection was gone then...hopefully we don't have to deal with it as soon, but it wouldn't surprise me at all. I don't know how many ear infections they want them to have now before they bring up tubes, but I'm sure we won't get by with too many more before they bring it up especially if it continues the way it has since Christmas.

Classes started again on Monday and they should be ok this semester. I have 4 classes, in which 2 of the 4 have a separate lab, and one has lab and lecture combined. Physiology will by far be my hardest class and I think my computer class will be my easiest. Other than those two I am taking a first aid class and a math class. Time will tell I guess. I will update more as I get more time. I haven't done much homework all weekend so I really need to take advantage of our MLK day off of classes and the boys being at preschool and the sitters.

One last thing...Noah gets fitted for his orthotics this evening so hopefully it goes smoothly. I'll have both boys with me cause Skip will be working...it's a long day ahead of us it looks like!!

It's been a while...

It's been quite a while since I've been on here posting anything. Things have been kind of crazy around our household. I have finally finished my first semester of the pre-nursing program. I have this semester left of pre-reqs before I can actually apply to the program for the fall. I knew it wasn't going to be the easiest thing going back to school with two small kids, but I managed to do ok. :) I had one night class which Leon really had a hard time with. He is so use to me being at home to put him to bed in the evenings and the first few classes I had voicemails with him crying saying, "mommy, I love you. I want you to come home." After the first few weeks, the messages were more along the lines of, "Mommy, can I stay up until you get home?" Most of the time the answer was no, but it depended on how well he had done at preschool that week. That was his reward for following instructions during the week. It didn't take him long to catch on thats for sure!

I have decided that with Skip only working one full time job now since he lost our primary source of income that I am going to look into taking a short CNA class sometime in the spring. I'm looking into a couple different places to do it at, I'm just waiting to hear back from a few places. I figured this would give me the opportunity to start working in the medical field while still going to school so that I can make some money earlier. My unemployment isn't going to last forever and I'm just hoping it lasts until I get the CNA program finished.

Leon has been doing great at preschool. He talks non stop, but somehow is still able to learn and be ahead of all the other kids in his class. He knows the sounds and recognizes capital and small letters from A-L now. He recognizes his name, can spell his name for you, and can write it, although it's not always the greatest. He can count to 15 and since he goes to a christian preschool, he has around 6 bible versus memorized. He comes home all the time with new songs he sings to Noah. Noah just stares at him mesmerized most of the time. :) He loves being around Noah although they are starting to fight over toys. Noah is starting to get the best of him. I've told him since Noah was little that someday, Noah would be able to fight back and he better watch what he does to him cause he will remember...someday. Noah likes to take his toys and try to hit him with it. Usually we catch him, but sometimes he has actually hurt Leon. Boys will be boys I guess. Leon turned 4 in October and had his first birthday party for his friends. He had a blast as well as all of his friends from preschool. Our neighbor brought their little boy. They often play together in the evenings outside when it's warm out. He got a really cute fireman outfit for his birthday which is what he was for halloween. He loved it...and still does. He told Santa that he wanted a monster truck, and a boat with some water for Christmas. I was confused on why we needed water, but he got all kinds of stuff from Santa. He got his monster truck and a boat...no water though, and a few games. He also got a shoe that teaches him how to tie his shoes. He wants to learn so bad, but he just ties them in knots. We need to start working on that with him a little more. He knows how to completely dress himself, other than tie his shoes, he almost knows his right from left. He gets them right most of the time...probably 95%. He loves to learn new things and is VERY energetic. He is playing indoor soccer and his first game is Saturday. This is his third "season" playing. In the spring he will probably play closer to home. He couldn't play anywhere within 20 minutes of our house until he was 4 and the spring will be the first time he can play closer to home with his age. Leon is in speech therapy through the school system. He has trouble with his "l" sounds primarily but they have been working with him on all kinds of sounds. He has other sounds he needs help with too, but right now they are working on beginning sounds.

Noah tries to imitate everything anyone says or does. He will be 15 months tomorrow and has finally broke the 18 lb mark!!! He's little...Leon was small, but he's even smaller. He usually loves to eat, although lately we've had some teething issues and ear infections so he hasn't been eating very well at all. He usually out eats Leon but doesn't gain much weight...but he's getting there. He says hi, bye, bubba, mom, dad, kitty, yes, more (and signs more), does a lot of pointing for what he wants. I'm sure there are other words but they just aren't coming to me. He hasn't said "no" yet which I'm excited about...the longer the better :) He shakes his head yes and no, but doesn't know what it means necessarily. He mostly army crawls although he can crawl normal. He is pulling to stand and cruising all over the place and starting to stand next to something without holding on. (both of the boys are/were low tone so the are delayed on walking) Noah has a physical therapist and a nutritionist that he works with. PT is once a week for an hour and nutrition is twice a month for an hour. The nutritionist weighs him every time to monitor his weight and goes through what he eats, drinks, etc. and gives me ideas on how to get more calories in. He never sits still so it's not surprising he doesn't gain much weight. He was discharged from occupational therapy at the beginning of December. I was excited about that. It took a lot of time out of my studying to have to be home. Now both therapists are going to be seeing him at daycare so I won't have to schedule my studying time around that which will be really nice. He loves the babysitter though. His PT has ordered some orthodics for him to help support his ankles so that he will hopefully walk sooner. He goes in a week and a half to have them fitted to his feet. Hopefully he cooperates!! He had another surgery in October to be re-circumcised and they also did a chordee repair then. He recovered nicely from that with hardly any pain the next day which was nice. He is also going to be going to an eye doctor in February. When he was evaluated for his annual review for First Steps they brought up that his left eye doesn't move with the right eye like it should...more like a lazy eye I'm assuming. Through First Steps, the evaluation is free so we decided to take advantage of it and have his eyes checked to see if they think it is something to be worried about. We never noticed it until we started looking for it and looking at pictures and then we saw it. It's not bad, but noticable.

I have some pictures to upload, but Noah is ready for lunch now and then a nap, so I better get to feeding him!! I'll upload some pictures later I hope...sooner rather than later!!!