Preschool Graduation

Sam graduation from preschool. The kids put together a little program to showcase what they had learned throughout the year. It was so fun to see how much he has grown, educationally and socially. He enjoyed preschool so much and I know he will love kindergarten even more. Though we will both miss Teacher Patsy.

I had to laugh because I asked Sam what he wanted to do for the summer now that he didn't have school every week. Yet it has rained everyday since school has ended.

Port Angeles

Our trip to NC got postponed until next fall, so we decided to take a little weekend getaway up north and visit our dear friends the Woodhouses in Port Angeles. Nicole and I got a little time away with the some grown up conversation, the boys reminisced about their childhood and high school years, relaxing at the hook, skipping rocks,

feeding the birds,

hanging out with these gorgeous girls,

and these handsome boys,

playing in the sand,

finding treasures,

and then playing in more sand at the aquatic center. Nevermind, all the cool sea creatures you could touch.

Unfortunately, the day ended with me getting sick, Sam falling asleep and Jackson causing terror at a restaurant.

We loved our little getaway and tour of "Twilighty" Port Angeles. We can't wait until next time!

Northwest Trek

Today was Sam's last preschool field trip to Northwest Trek.

When I woke up to rain, I thought about skipping out. When we were getting ready and it was dumping, I was seriously trying to talk Sam out of going. When we were loading up the car in the drizzle, I was resorting to bribing.

The drive out was dry, but as soon as we got to the park it was raining again.

And it didn't stop until we got on the tram to ride around the park and see the animals.

Imagine that, it started raining after lunch and the rest of the time we were walking around.

Regardless of the horrible weather, we had a wonderful time. Sam was like a kid in a candy store. So excited to see all of the animals. His favorite being the moose and the cougar. The whole time we were at the cougar exhibit Sam was chanting, "BYU Cougars. BYU Cougars." So way to go Grandpa Jan!

I was so proud of Sam for walking the WHOLE time! There was a lot of walking and he did such a great job. The last field trip his class had was a week after his surgery and he was in a wheelchair, so he has made a lot of progress in the last couple of months.

Little Brother

I have been hesitant to post this since I wrote it up about a month ago. I don't really know why, I guess I didn't want to make a big deal of it. But now that we know everything is probably going to be ok I guess I will share.

At baby's first ultrasound everything looked great with the exception of finding out I have a two vessel umbilical cord. (Normally you are supposed to have a vein and two arteries in your umbilical cord. Mine is lacking one of the arteries.) My doctor didn't seem too concerned because when he has seen it, everything has turned out normal. But I have a good friend who also went through this and Brandon and I felt better about getting a second opinion.

So the in the beginning of April we were able to meet with a perinatologist and have another in depth ultrasound, which also showed baby's development to be good. While this can cause some problems with the liver, heart or genetic disorders (none of which were detected in either ultrasound), the most common result of SUA (Single Umbilical Artery) is slow growth rate. In addition to regular visits, we are going to watch baby's growth with scans at 32 weeks and 36-37 weeks and biweekly stress tests starting at 32 weeks.

Baby 28 Weeks

Wednesday marked 32 weeks and we had our third ultrasound. The boys were able to join us. Armed with bribery candy, our family of four was about to see #5 move around. Sam thought it was pretty neat and was really interested in what we were looking at, especially when he could recognize body parts on his own. Jackson was more interested in his lollipop, but kept on saying "baby" over and over and over again. Once again we are blessed to report everything with baby looks good. He is measuring about 3 day behind, which apparently is really good. They would be more concerned if he measured 3 weeks late at this point.

Baby 32 Weeks

Next question is who is this little boy going to look like?

Today

Today was the kind of day that makes up for all the days like yesterday.

Yesterday was full of complaining, fighting, doubting, lacking motivation and patience, headaches, threatening and overall everything that I don't want my kids to remember about me.

Today I woke up to Jackson's corny grin, snuggling and a hot wheel driven all over my face.

Today Sam woke up on the top bunk. So excited that he didn't fall off.

Today the boys were having so much fun playing Hot Wheels and Batcave they didn't want to come outside.

Today the sun was shining and I ignored my dirty house to spend the day outside with my boys.

Today Sam WALKED UNASSISTED!

Today the boys helped me weed all the flower beds in the backyard.

Today we had our first "picnic in the backyard" of the year.

Today Sam and I laid in the grass as he told me how wished everyday could be like today.

Today Jackson played T-ball with a plastic shovel.

Today I laid on the hammock with all four of my boys.

Today the boys and I played with play dough for over a hour.

Today Sam tried to bribe Brandon (with Brandon's money) to stay home instead of going to a meeting.

Today the boys and I cuddled while feeling little brother kick.

Today we had an Alvin and the Chipmunks dance party complete with glow sticks.

Today Sam and Jackson went to bed in the same room on the bunk beds.

Today didn't go without it's occasional fight or complaint, but was the kind of day that I want to remember every detail. Today was the kind of day that makes going through yesterdays worth it.