Gymnastics

I stared Carter in gymnastics today. He is at Harpeth School of Gymnastics, the same place we had his 3rd birthday party. We did a free trial class today along with Will, Ryder, and Judah. Carter and Ryder are in a preschool class and Will and Judah are in a Mommy and Me class with Missy and Elizabeth. Rylan is just old enough for the Mommy and Me class but I'm going to wait a little while to enroll him until he'd get more out of it (it's not like it's free). So he and I hung out in the lobby and watched everyone through the window (Rylan wasn't too thrilled about that but he also was feeling terrible). Missy's mom watched Luke today but I'm planning on watching him some too.

All the boys had a blast. Missy and I went ahead and signed up Will and Carter and Elizabeth is seeing if the boys' family wants to sign them up as well.

The class started with both the preschool and Mommy and Me group doing some stretches and warming up. Then they split up and each class split up further into 2 groups. There were 4 stations that everyone visited and they worked on very basic gymnastic skills. Our boys are a little behind because they are starting late, but they all did an excellent job of listening and the instructors said they should catch up quickly.

All the pictures I tried taking were blurry but here's short video of Carter doing a somersault ...

After gymnastics we picked up Luke and went to the park in Missy's neighborhood. It was almost 60 and sunny. I was hoping that the fresh air would be good for the boys.


They both enjoyed it while there but now Carter cannot stop coughing. He didn't take a nap because he couldn't stop coughing long enough. Rylan on the other hand took a marathon 4 hour nap. Rylan is doing about the same today as yesterday - not great, but better.

Pneumonia

So Saturday was not better for Rylan.

He woke up miserable on Saturday morning. I called our pediatrician's office right when they opened and got him in with the nurse practitioner at 9:30 am.

She immediately diagnosed him with an ear infection in his right ear and a nasty throat (she never specifically said strep, but Brian went to the doctor today and got diagnosed with strep). Rylan's breathing was heavy but she didn't hear anything when listening to his chest and back. She did count his breaths and he was at 35 breaths per minute. She put the oxygen saturation monitor on Rylan's finger and got a reading of 92-93% (which she was happy enough with).

Because she wanted to rule out the flu, she did a flu test (which turned out to be negative). Rylan eventually fell asleep on me while we were waiting which was much better than the constant crying and thrashing around.

The nurse practitioner wanted to determine if Rylan might have pneumonia so she sent us to an imaging center to get a chest x-ray. Rylan HATED that but we got through it and only had to redo one of the x-rays. The doctor there said there were some spots in his right lung and diagnosed Rylan with pneumonia. I spoke with the nurse practitioner and she called Rylan in a prescription for an antibiotic.

Thank goodness for drive-thru pharmacies! Rylan fell asleep as soon as we left the imaging center and I was able to let him sleep while we waited for and picked up the prescription.

Rylan either slept or cried the rest of the day. It was a very long day but thank goodness it was the weekend and Brian was able to help with Carter. Rylan would not let me put him down and it would have been super challenging to take care of both boys.

Rylan has been doing better and better all day today. There have even been a few smiles! And a little playing. I was even able to get a couple of things done (like a load of laundry).

We are all ready to be well again. Carter still isn't 100% - he still has a nasty cough and a runny nose. But both are slowly improving. Brian has been sick for about a week and got diagnosed with strep today. He stayed home from work on Friday and is going to stay home tomorrow. I'm a little sick but the healthiest of us all. My throat has started hurting so I may need to go to the doctor too to see if I have strep.

Hopefully my next post will be about something other than sickness! I am so ready to get out of the house!

P is for Pajamas

I sent Carter to school yesterday even though he wasn't 100% yet. He was much better though even though his nose is still running some and he has a nasty sounding cough. However today is the first day his face doesn't look bad.

Anyway, this week the kids were working on the letter P. So on Thursday they had a pajama party. Carter was so excited to wear pajamas (and slippers!) to school. Here he is with Sarah Kate ...


The teachers served the kids pancakes for their snack. And hot cocoa which Carter told me he did not like and that he had water instead.

Even though Carter is doing better, Rylan is much worse. His cold started a couple of days after Carter's. But unlike Carter, he's had a terrible fever the last couple of days. Rylan was acting out of it all day yesterday and then was burning up before bed. We took his temperature and it was 104 (which is the highest we've ever seen for either kid). This morning he felt much cooler but got warmer and warmer all day. By mid-day his temperature was 103.5. He's been taking ibuprofen all day but it's only helped a little. He took several short naps today and has moments of energy and happiness though he's been just miserable most of the day. I really hope tomorrow is better for him.

Colds and Warm Weather

It has been so nice here the last few days. The boys and I have spent hours playing outside both yesterday and today. Unfortunately they are both sick (though it's not slowing them down outside).

Carter woke up with a runny nose on Saturday. It's been running A LOT and Carter now wants to wipe his nose as soon as he feels it running the tiniest bit. So now his face under his nose and on one cheek is insanely chapped. I don't think he feels too bad, but he is constantly whining that his face hurts. I'm putting Aquaphor on it a couple times each hour and today it is finally starting to look better. With all the nose wiping I think he's also spread the virus to his eyes a little bit. They are a little puffy and watery but not as bad as pink eye (I think, at least).

Anyway, Carter woke up around 9:30 last night crying. Brian went to him and slept on his floor. However Carter woke up again around 12:30 and would not go back to sleep. Brian eventually brought him into our room and we turned on cartoons for him. Carter "allowed" Brian to go sleep on the futon in the playroom and I stayed up with him until 4 am when he finally was willing to turn off the tv and go to sleep. I had tried turning it off a few times before that but he just cried that his face hurt and would get himself all worked up. I admit though that I did doze some during his cartoon watching.

Carter slept in until around 7:15 and I decided to keep him home from school because of his rough night. He's been acting a lot better today though and not complaining about his face hurting (just complaining about his nose running). I hate making that decision about keeping him home from school. Fevers and throwing up are easy - basic colds are hard. I've sent him through a few other colds because I know he's getting them from school.

Rylan's nose has also been running for a few days, but he's been sleeping fine and acting normal. I'm so ready for warmer weather when the boys are sick less!

The kids didn't seem overly contagious yesterday so we met Elizabeth with Ryder and Judah at Barnes and Noble for storytime. I didn't realize it until we got there but it was a "special" storytime with a visit by the Cat in the Hat. Which was good and bad. It was cool that he was there, but all our kids were pretty scared of him. None of them would go up and meet the Cat. Oh well. They all did good though listening to the book!


Other than that we've been running some errands and staying busy playing in the driveway with all the outdoor toys that have been packed since summer!

Zoo and Fence

We had been planning on going hiking today because all week the forecast was predicting 60s for today. However this morning the high was forecast to be in the mid-50s with an increased chance of rain. So we opted for the zoo instead since it'd be easier to warm up or go back to the car if we needed to.

It's been awhile since we'd been there and Carter was super excited.

The boys checking out the monkeys while wearing monkey hats ...


The meerkats ...


Carter touching an alligator's nose through the glass ...


Checking out the zebras ...


Cutie (even if his nose is running like a faucet today) ...


This is the best smile Carter gave me while taking several pictures of him with Brian in front of the tigers ...


Me and the boys ...


We finally have a fenced-in yard for Charlotte!



We had committed to a fencing company a couple of weeks ago but hadn't been given an install date yet. We needed to talk to our neighbors and tell them where we were going to put the fence but just hadn't gotten around to it yet. Well, the fence installers showed up Thursday morning while I was out and Brian was at work. Brian got a phone call from the fencing company telling him that our neighbors were freaking out about the location of the fence. Apparently they believed the property line was about 5 feet closer to our house. We however had found the property pins and were putting the fence about 6 inches inside our property from the line between the pins.

I spoke with our neighbors right when I got home and they were in denial saying the pins must be in the wrong location. Our builder eventually showed up and showed our neighbors the property drawings and explained to them where their property line is and we continued with our plans. I spoke with the builder after he spoke with them and he said they now understood but I haven't talked to them yet. Hopefully they don't hate us!

Jayden

When I call Carter a name, like smarty-pants, he tells me "no" and corrects me by telling me his first and last names. The other day I told him he also has a middle name and that it's Michael. His response was "That's the same as Papa Mike". I didn't realize he knew that Mike was short for Michael, but he now knows that he's partially named after his grandfather.

Today Carter was asking me what Rylan, Brian, and my middle names are. After telling him he asked what Charlotte's middle name is. I told him she doesn't have one and that if he wanted, he could choose one. He thought for a second or two and responded with "Jayden". We don't know any Jaydens so I figured I misunderstood him and asked if he said Caiden, the name of a kid in his class. He told me no and said Jayden again. I tried several other names but he was dead set on Jayden. So I guess our dog is now named Charlotte Jayden.

Coal Train Railroad

The kids and I met Missy and her boys and neice and Elizabeth and the boys she nannies at the downtown Nashville library today to see Coal Train Railroad. They are a local jazz band that sings children's songs.

The boys and I got there a little early so we read some books and played for a bit. Carter wanted to bring Teddy, the bear that his teachers gave him for Christmas, with him today. He had to read Teddy a book - it was very cute.


Then we headed into the performance room. It was packed with kids and parents but we were early enough to get a spot up front. Unfortunately Missy and Elizabeth were running a little late due to having to fit an extra carseat in Missy's car but they were still able to find some room in the back.


The band was very good and the boys paid attention the entire time. Carter danced a little (not as much as I would of expected though - I think he would have danced more if his friends were with him).

Rylan hamming it up for my camera ...

After the show we headed out to the courtyard to eat lunch. The boys all had a blast throwing pennies into the fountain and making wishes. They didn't eat much but they had lots of fun running and running and running.



We headed back inside after awhile to warm up. Carter had fun putting on puppet shows. They weren't very involved, just a "hi" from the character and it was over, but it was cute.



This was the first time we'd been to the downtown library. They apparently have really awesome storytimes so hopefully we'll go back again soon.

House Pictures

I realized the other day that I hadn't posted any pictures of the house since we moved in. I still have a few boxes to unpack and lots of decorating to do (like hanging up pictures) but it's getting there.

This is the entryway ...


The dining room ...


The office ...



Downstairs half bath ...


We are planning on redoing the furniture in the family room in the near future. I want to hang the tv above the fireplace and then do a big sectional couch and two large chairs closer to the kitchen. We have a large open area between the family room and kitchen right now that won't be weird looking once we get better furniture.




We will probably build a desk to match the kitchen cabinets and counters where the Mac is now in the kitchen.



The guest room is a disaster right now. It's where we're storing all our empty boxes. But I LOVE having the treadmill in such a convenient location now that the kids can't hear when they are asleep. I was able to run 5 miles last night after they went to bed



The guest bath ...


We just started working on unpacking the garage. We got a lot of the Gladiator tracks up that we use to hang everything but that's about it. At least now we can start putting things away.


We love our huge screen porch. We've already spent time out there playing on warm days. And since it's right off the kitchen, I can send the kids out there when I'm making food.



Our deck is nice and large too. It's going to take us forever to seal it all this spring!


The loft bonus room at the top of the stairs is where I've collected all our baby stuff. I'm going to do a consignment sale at the end of February and get rid of some things so I'm going through it all still. We are also still waiting on our couch that the storage company has lost in their warehouse. We aren't getting our hopes up that we'll see it again.


The master bedroom from the hall ...


And around the corner ...



The master bath ...


The enormous master closet ...



Our storage area off the master closet ...


I love that the laundry room doesn't share a wall with one of the kid's rooms anymore so I don't feel like it'll wake them if I want to do a load of laundry during nap or at night.


My absolute favorite room in the house is the playroom. We spend a ton of time in there. We had 5 boys and 3 adults over today and everyone was able to fit in there and play. It was a little crazy but lots of fun!



The kids' bathroom ...


Carter's room ...


Rylan's room ...


We still have a lot of work to do but it's definitely feeling like home.

Speech Evaluation

Carter had his speech evaluation today. It was at noon so I had to pick him up early from school. I hated that he missed part of the day but I didn't want to push back this appointment at all.

The evaluation was at Crockett Elementary with a speech therapist. I filled out paperwork and tried to keep Rylan quiet while the Ms. Janet showed Carter pictures and asked him to name things. Then she told him a story using several pictures and asked him to tell her the story (I think she wanted to see how he did putting words together). Last she had Carter repeat sounds while looking in a mirror. He was a little shy for this part so Ms. Janet bribed him with stickers.

Ms. Janet still has to go to Carter's preschool and observe him there but then we'll have a meeting and discuss what help Carter will need. She said she wasn't really supposed to say anything yet, but Carter definitely needs speech therapy. As we already knew, Carter's dropping middle and end sounds. Ms. Janet said this sort of thing does not get better on its own. She said if we didn't do anything at this age, Carter would get to kindergarten and be really far behind with his speech. He'd then probably need speech therapy all through elementary school. By doing therapy at this early of an age, Carter should be almost 100% caught up by kindergarten.

Carter was so excited to go to the "big kids school" today. I hope he continues to be this excited because we'll probably be going there a lot soon!