Way Too Many Party Photos :)

We had a birthday party for the boys on Saturday, doing pretty much what we did for their previous two birthdays -- a pizza and cake gathering with friends -- only outside. :)  We really enjoyed it.

As usual, it was a team effort.  Grandma and Sue did the shopping and made the boys' day by getting them Dora balloons.  :)  Mike decorated. Uncle Adrian made his famous edamame and avocado salad.  Yvonne brought bubbles and party hats, which of course were an instant hit.  (Me?  I ordered the pizza and chicken nuggets, and picked up the cake.)  Sri brought another delicious cake from a special bakery.

Before the party, Aunt Nora and Uncle Adrian took Matthew, Daniel, and the dogs for a long walk (or stroller ride, in Mattie's case, since he refused to nap).  When Matthew came back and saw the decorations, I told him it was for his birthday party.  His first question was, "Where's the cake?"

Mattie had a blast playing with the big kids, C and N.  He wore his party hat the whole time (much of it with the party hat behind his head and the string around his neck, which didn't seem like a great idea to me, but didn't seem to bother him -- and then I remembered how easily those strings break, so I figured he wouldn't strangle himself.)

I thought James might need help or lifted up to blow out his candles, but nope, he got them all himself on the first try!  (What a big boy!)

The boys really liked all their presents -- Matthew was especially entranced by the musical bear that N got for him (it sings "you say it's your birthday) and has a little happy birthday light.

Pre-Party

Friday night ended up being exciting in a bad way -- James threw up in the middle of the night (not sick, probably just reflux on a full tummy), and then when I was putting him back in his crib, his tube got caught and pulled out his g-tube -- the part that's supposed to stay inside his body. It was scary! Mike was a rock star, though, and got it put right back in. (Whew, I was completely imagining a 3 AM ER trip!) James mostly seemed upset about being awake; he was mad and crying while we were trying to get it back in and when we had to test to make sure it was in the right place, but as soon as those things were done, he stopped, so I think the whole thing was more traumatic for us than for him.  He was completely fine in the morning (but of course, we were sleep-deprived!)

Saturday morning was much more fun -- everyone but me went strawberry picking.  (Alas, no pictures because someone forgot the camera!)  The boys had a good time and came back with oodles of berries.  (I was at the doctoral hooding ceremony with one of my students, which was fun in a completely different way.)

More Mothers' Day

Sue took us out on Sunday night for a Mothers' Day dinner.  Mattie made it maybe five minutes at the restaurant before he climbed out of his booster seat, put his head on my shoulder, and fell fast asleep!  All that excitement finally caught up with him.  He slept through the entire meal.  :)  James, on the other hand, was Mr. Chatty.  He was stealing Mike's nose, sharing Mike's water, asking about things, and just generally being completely charming.

Auntie Nora, Uncle Adrian, and Cousin Daniel had to leave in the afternoon.  Daniel was very happy to give the boys their birthday presents, though.  He is not much for keeping secrets:  "We got them a baseball set!  It's in the car!"  (Fortunately, the boys didn't much care about being surprised, so it was not a problem that Daniel gave it away!)  Daniel was also very excited about the ice cream cone toy that pops the "ice cream" part off.  

When we told the boys the presents were from Nora, Daniel, and Adrian, Daniel corrected us: "No, not Adrian.  He didn't go with us."  (Busted!)  Ah, the literalness of three year olds -- too funny!

The guys set up the t-ball set in the backyard, and Daniel, Matthew, and James played for a while.  (It was super cute, but we don't have any pictures because the ladies were all headed out to go shopping.  Oh well!)

James also loved his new "puggles" (puzzles) from Grandma, and Mattie immediately put on his orange Gator shirt from Honorary Grandma Sue.  :)

Happy Mothers' Day!

We were lucky enough to celebrate Mothers' Day with Grandma, Auntie Nora, and Honorary Grandma Sue.  (Celebration = leftover birthday cake and a trip to Kohl's.)

It has been a wonderful weekend -- many pictures coming soon!

Happy Mothers' Day to all of you!

Swing Set!

The boys got an early birthday present today -- Mike finished putting together their swing set!  He's been working on it every spare moment for the past week or so.  As you can see, they love it!

James has just about got the hang of pumping his legs to swing himself.  And he loves twisting around, which is good except that on this set, it brings him a little too close to the wooden frame -- eek!

Outside

 It was a gorgeous day to be outdoors!  Matthew gave Honorary Grandma Sue a tour of the yard.  :)

And we even have our first little green tomatoes on the plants.  (Woo-hoo!)

What's in the Box?

 The boys were so excited to see Grandma and Honorary Grandma Sue this morning!  They were also delighted to play in their huge box.

Grandma also brought some Dora books, which were a huge hit.  :)

Super Twin Power

 ...activate!

Not Crying

Mike took James to the new ear doctor today because his left ear seems to be having some gunk again.  (And let me just say -- we got a same day appointment, minimal wait once we arrived, the doc took a culture, and he'll give us a treatment plan once the results come back. Woo hoo!)

Mike reports that this was what James had to say on the way out to the car: "I going to the ear doctor, Daddy!  To look at my ears.  I'm not crying, Daddy. I happy!"

We are so lucky to have this kid.  :)


(In this picture he is actually cheering because he just made a basket.)

[I think he picked up the "I'm not crying" from Mattie, who will say that on his way to preschool, and still occasionally reports, "I didn't cry at preschool today!"]

Forward-Thinking

We went to Target this weekend, and on the way the boys were talking about getting to ride in the shopping carts. (They like the racecar ones, which Target unfortunately does not have!) Matthew said, "We might see a baby turning a wheel" (which is how they describe turning the steering wheels). I said that we might, since a lot of people bring their babies to this store. Matthew then added, "And if we don't see one, we will say, 'I wonder why there aren't any babies here!'"

Mike and I were both impressed by the complexity of this response -- it doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd expect from a two-year-old!

Preschool Anniversary

The boys' preschool celebrated its 25th anniversary this weekend, so we went over for the festivities. (It was a bit confusing for the boys to be at preschool for something other than school -- Matthew kept asking if we [Mommy and Daddy] were going to stay, and James cheerfully announced that we would go home and see N!)

But they had a good time; Mattie was happy to eat cake and play in the sandbox.  James went through a clingy period for a while, but then was delighted to find some balloons to play with on our way out.  (He also watched with rapt attention as an older boy climbed on top of the playground playhouse -- I'm certain this is not normally allowed, but I'm guessing James might try it next time he's there!)

Qualified

We had our meeting today with the Exceptional Children's team about James's evaluations, and we think it went very well. James did qualify for special education services for next year, but let me be very clear that they did not have any question about his cognitive abilities (in fact, the reports frequently used the word "bright").  He qualified under Hearing Impairment (which makes sense), and the focus will be on helping him increase his use of language in classroom settings.

The evaluations were very interesting because they included both standardized testing and classroom observations. On the standardized tests and one-on-one situations, he looks fine; his skills and language are at his age level. But he's not speaking up in the classroom -- he points to things rather than asks for them, does not stand up for himself if another child takes his toy, and so on.  So, the therapy will be focused on helping him develop and use those skills in the educational/social setting.  (Of course, they'll also be keeping an eye on  his speech and language development more generally, but that's not part of the specific goals in his education plan.) They'll have a speech/language therapist, an educational specialist, and a hearing specialist come to his preschool next fall for half-hour sessions a couple of times a week, probably mostly working with him in the classroom in the course of their regular activities.  That seemed like a good plan to us.

[This photo was taken by Grandpa; he calls it "Jamesie at the speed of light."  :) ]