Kindergarten End of School Swim Party

On Thursday, May 31, Kyler's Kindergarten class had a swim party at one of their classmate's homes. It was overcast, slightly humid and rained a little bit. But the kids didn't care. They were thrilled to get away from the school and play!

The back yard was full of fun things to do. They got to jump on the trampoline, act like monkeys on the play structure, relax in the hot tub (well, that might be stretching it, as I don't think Kindergarteners know how to relax!), and swoosh down the slide into the swimming pool. And, one of the moms brought adorable duck cupcakes. What more can you ask for?

Caden had a good time also!

  A very fun time was had by all. Yay for the end of school parties! :)

Kindergarten Graduation

Tuesday, May 29 was Kyler's graduation from Kindergarten. I don't remember having a graduation ceremony when I finished Kindergarten. Even though it seems completely unnecessary, I have to admit it's one of the cutest things in the world! Seeing all those adorable kids dressed in their caps and gowns is cuter than cute!

The theme of the ceremony was “Get on Board” and used trains for decorations and songs involving children getting on board with Jesus. Very sweet. Kyler's teacher, teacher's aide, and school principal all did a great job putting the program together. It was a very fun night. 

The platform before the kids filed out

All the kids lined up

Singing a fun song

The pastor who gave the keynote speech used cereal as an

illustration so here are all the kids with their boxes of cereal.

Kyler reciting his line about the letter "J"

Receiving his diploma from Principal Weller

The mom of one of Kyler's classmates made an amazing cake for the reception afterward. Everyone had a nice time talking and visiting after the graduation was done. My parents were able to come and cheer Kyler on as he received his diploma. It was nice to have some family to celebrate with us.

Check out that cake!

Caden showing Kyler his support

Grandma and Grandpa Cutting with Kyler

Proud Mommy & Daddy

We sure do love this boy!  :)

Congratulations, Kyler, on doing a great job in Kindergarten! We love you and are so proud of you!

Wallowa Lake

On Sunday, May 27, we took a day trip to Wallowa Lake in Eastern Oregon. We have family who have cabins there and we enjoyed spending the day with them. Unfortunately we couldn't stay longer as Greg was on call at the hospital the rest of the holiday weekend. But some of our family have a boat and took us out on the lake. It was quite cold, but very beautiful. Greg even took a swim in the water which was about 56 degrees!

My goofy boy on the steps leading down to the dock

Greg taking a very chilly swim!

Caden and I enjoying a cold boat ride

Kyler and Greg on the boat

 Me with my boys

If you've never been to Wallowa Lake, you should put it on your list of places to visit. So gorgeous!

Jogathon

On Friday, May 25, Kyler's school had their very first jogathon for a fundraiser. Kyler contacted several relatives and asked for sponsors. The whole school, grades K-8, were participating. I wasn't sure how many laps he would do because he has never done this kind of thing before. 1 lap = ¼ mile and the kids had 1 hour to do as many laps as they could.

The day started off kind of shaky with Kyler having a bad attitude and complaining about being tired. But as soon as he connected with one of his friends and his mom, he did a good job. 

There he goes...

Cheering Kyler on!

He was a little hot and tired at the end!

Caden and I walked several laps and then stood on the sidelines to cheer Kyler on. He ended up running 11 laps – 2.75 miles! Considering how he started, I am so proud of how well he did. He ended up being in the top 15 kids who raised money. All in all it was a good day.

Swimming Lesson Videos

I thought I would post a video of the kids' swimming lessons. This is a compilation of some videos I took during the two months of lessons. I thought they did a good job. This was the first time Caden has ever had swimming lessons and Kyler improved over the two months. We just need to keep working on his confidence. As with everything with Kyler, he just needs to realize he is capable of doing things. I'm proud of both of them.

Swallow Study

On Friday, May 18, Caden had a barium swallow study. I really wasn't worried he had an unsafe swallow because if he did, he would have had aspiration pneumonia by now. Or at least some other symptom which showed us he had a problem. But the main reason we did this was because Caden's new feeding therapist wanted to make sure, and also wanted to see how things moved down the esophagus. She was hoping to see if he had slow motility in the esophagus. I'm not sure the imaging was great for that, but from what they could tell, everything looks good and they verified he has a safe swallow.

Mother's Day

At school, Kyler made two smiley face flower magnets and a smiley face flower bookmark for Mother's Day. He was so excited about them and couldn't wait for me to open them. And, to make my gift even more special, he gave me $1 of his own money! It is so incredibly sweet of him to share that with me. Such a sweetheart to give me something he values so much. He loves getting money so for him to give me some of his is pretty special.

 

Sabbath afternoon before Mother's Day, I spent a nice, relaxing afternoon in the backyard with the boys. We took the opportunity to take some photos of us together. I sure love those kids!

On Mother's Day itself, May 13, we took a trip to Palouse Falls State Park. This is located in Central/Eastern Washington. We invited my parents from Coeur d'Alene, ID, and my sister who lives in Spokane, WA to join us. We thought it would be fun to make it a family affair and spend the day together. Unfortunately my sister in Portland was unable to join us.

Me, Caden, Cheryl, Melissa, Mom, Rylan, Kyler

Me with my Mom

My Mom and Dad

My sister Cheryl, My Mom, and Me

But the rest of us met at Palouse Falls and had a nice hike down to the falls. It is a unique setting because the waterfall drops into a canyon that is along the Palouse. They are rolling hills planted with crops. It's hard to believe there is a waterfall out there, but when you get there, you see it all of a sudden coming out of the gorge. It's quite a little hike down to the point closest to the falls. Greg carried Caden in a hiking backpack and off we went. It was a very hot day! But we all made it and had a good time.

Beautiful Palouse Falls

My amazing family - I am so blessed!

My sweet boys

Kyler standing with the falls behind him

Caden with the falls behind him

Greg with Caden in the backpack

The boys having fun together!

When we were done with the hike, we got out the food we brought for a picnic lunch. It was a really good day and I am so glad to be able to spend it with my family. It was probably the best Mother's Day I've had since becoming a mother. I feel truly blessed by my family!

OT in Walla Walla

I didn't get things together very quickly after we moved to Walla Walla in terms of getting Caden set up for receiving Occupational Therapy through the school district. I finally had an OT evaluation for him on May 2 where they determined he definitely needed ongoing services. So we set up an IEP meeting for May 8 to get all the paperwork in place. And, we ended up having his first OT session that same day.

He is scheduled to be seen once/week at the local public elementary school while school is in session. So he won't receive any therapy during the summer. He was pretty funny with his new therapist though. He really wants to do everything himself, even if it's wrong. I took a video clip of them working on counting pop beads he had just put together. He doesn't want the therapist to help him until he says so. But he clearly has a problem counting things one-to-one. Enjoy watching the clip. 

G-Tube Removal!

As I mentioned in the previous post, Caden is scheduled to have his g-tube removed on Monday, June 18 in Sacramento. This is very surreal for me. I can hardly believe we have the date when it is finally coming out. However, it is also very strange because it's hard for me to picture him without the tube. He has had it since he was 5 weeks old and it is a part of him.

Even though I am anxious to have it gone, it almost feels like he is having something removed that shouldn't be. I'm sure that doesn't make any sense to someone who hasn't been through this. But it's almost like he's having a toe removed or something like that. Like we are being told he doesn't need his toe anymore so they are going to take it off. I realize that's not the best analogy but that's the best I could come up with to compare how I am feeling about this.

Don't get me wrong though, I am THRILLED to have it taken out! But I am having more mixed emotions about it than I expected. Strange how things affect you when you least expect it. Who knew I would cry about it coming out, and not just tears of joy. Maybe it's because it scares me a little. It's always been our “back-up” in case something goes wrong and doesn't eat as well as he should. We haven't used it since the end of September 2011. It's very unlikely we will ever need it again. But for some reason I am happy and sad about it being removed. Go figure...

Sacramento!

On April 25 Caden and I flew down to Sacramento for a few days. The primary reason for the trip was for Caden to have a pre-surgery consultation to get ready to have his g-tube removed in June! We could have the tube removed in Washington, but we already have an established relationship with the surgeon in Sacramento so we felt more comfortable doing it there. And, the added bonus was getting to see friends and family while we were there.

Caden and I got to have lunch with my dear friend, Shirley! He had so much fun with her.

Shirley and Caden

On the 26^th, Caden had his consultation with the surgeon and we are scheduled to have his g-tube removed and the hole surgically closed on Monday, June 18! I will write another post with more information about this.

Greg and Kyler drove down and arrived on the 27^th and when they arrived, we drove over to his sister, Natalie's, house. It was fun to see her and her kids. Caden had fun playing with Brody who will be 1 in July. And, Kyler loves playing with the older kids, Brandon and Amelia. Good times were had by all.

Me with my nephew, Brody

But the highlight of the trip was getting to stay with, and visit with our best friends. Kyler had so much fun playing with his best friend, Brayden. And, all the kids had so much fun together. We miss them all so much! That has been one of the hardest things about moving away. :( 

Kyler with his best friend, Brayden

The adorable children: Caden, Ellie, Kyler and Brayden

 Me and Suzanne

We got home Monday evening after a full trip.  Now we are missing our friends again!