I love when they love each other

Sam made Nolan another card at school the other day. He did a great job drawing the minion. Much better than his mother would have done. I teared up when I found the card in Sam's backpack. 

Today was a bit stormy, so Sam had the radar on the iPad and was checking for storms all across the U.S.  He zoomed way in on a section of Rhode Island and found a street name he liked. He told Nolan he thought he'd move there when he grew up. Nolan sat next to Sam and looked at the map. He decided he would live just down the street and around the corner from Sam. It was so sweet. (Five minutes later they were fighting over something but their mother chose to ignore that). 

"Dear Nolan, you are the best brother I could ever have. I love you so much! Sincerely, your brother Sam"

Is it okay if their mother vetoes them moving to Rhode Island???

Interrupted sleep

I've been having a tough week, health-wise. I've been so exhausted that I have been taking daily afternoon naps, just so I can make it through dinner. And I called my cardiologist to inquire about some annoying palpitations I had been having. I get a very strange sensation in my chest and I feel a need to cough to correct whatever my heart is going. It was even doing it in the middle of the night earlier this week. I leapt out of bed in a sheer panic. I didn't fully wake up until I was in the bathroom and breathing normally. That was scary. So the doctor put me back on a cardiac event monitor. Ugh. I feel like I have a leash. For the next 30 days! 

So, back to those naps I was talking about. Overall, the boys understand I need rest, but they also see me sleeping A LOT. So they will come and talk to me, as if I am awake. I don't do a very good job at carrying on conversations when I'm mostly asleep. 

Today was a classic example. Nolan, my little sweetheart, saw we had forgotten to bring in the Sunday paper (whoever delivers it chucks it at the end of the driveway. Out of sight, out of mind.) So Nolan brought in the paper. He lugged it all the way up into my bedroom, took it out of its two bright orange plastic bags and proudly presented it to me. Perhaps I grunted a 'thank you' in his general direction. Two hours later, I was awake and working on my grocery list. I wanted to check the Meijer ad, but neither Bill or I could find the paper. Poor Nolan went back upstairs, retrieved it, and brought it back down to me. I guess I wasn't awake enough to remember he had brought it to me once already. 

Same day. Same nap. TJ comes in my room and sadly announces he broke the pink puke bucket. I mumbled my sympathy. He said he dropped his stainless steel water bottle in it and cracked the bottom of the container. I told him to recycle it. (He isn't sick. I don't even know why he had it out). TJ was carrying on about how we now only have a gray puke bucket. He asked me if I could get a new one. I mumbled that I would have to go to the hospital and have a baby in order to get a new bucket. I have NO idea why I told him that. But he left me alone after that. 

For once, Sam didn't have any questions. He just needed to spend some time with me. So he crawled into bed next to me and rested for awhile. I really liked that. 

Earth friendly, wet, and naked

Sam likes to take his showers in my bathroom. I'm not quite sure why, but as long as he doesn't make a mess, I don't mind sharing my space. 

The one item I am somewhat protective of is my shampoo. I get it on Etsy from a company called Gudonyatoo. This stuff is amazing. Sam is allowed to use it, but only if he uses a small amount. 

This type of shampoo is a cream that comes in a jar. I knew the jar in the shower was running low, and sure enough, Sam used the last little bit the other night when he was showering. He flipped the jar over and spotted the symbol indicating it is recyclable. Sam wanted to make SURE this container was properly recycled, so he jumped out of the shower and was heading for the garage when I stopped him. I reminded him that we recycle everything possible, so there was no way I would have accidentally thrown the container away. I also pointed out that there was no hurry. We could put it in the recyclables later. Finally, I pointed out that he was stark naked, dripping water all over the hall, and he still had shampoo in his hair. 

I suggested perhaps he would like to finish his shower and then recycle. He laughed, but followed directions. 

That boy. I never know whether to laugh, be super proud of him, or try to shake some sense into him. Usually I do a little bit of each. 

Stretch until it hurts

Nolan saw his doctor at Mary Free Bed last week. I mentioned to him that Nolan had been complaining of foot pain again. Dr. Rush examined Nolan, then had him do some walking up and down the halls. He then told me that Nolan's calves down to his heels were tightening up and Nolan had lost some range of motion. He was compensating for that loss of motion with bad techniques, which was causing the pain. 

So...back into private physical therapy Nolan will go. The PT and OT he is getting at school isn't enough. In addition, Nolan has to do some daily stretching. He has to stand on a step with his heels hanging off the edge. He has to hold that position for 2 minutes so the backs of his legs can slowly stretch. 

Nolan doesn't like this stretch because it hurts. But he also acknowledges that it will help him walk better during the day, so he cooperates and even reminds me when it's time to stretch. I set the timer on my phone so he can watch the seconds tick down. 

You can see how hard he's concentrating in this picture. 

Bathroom confessions

The other day, I was sitting on my bed, reading, when Nolan came barreling into my room and headed right into the bathroom. The main bathroom upstairs is the boys' bathroom, but they prefer to use 'my' bathroom (probably because it's cleaner...). A moment later, I heard a loud splash. It sounded like Nolan had dropped an apple (or perhaps a small melon?) in the toilet. 

"Good grief!" I said to the culprit. "When did you last go to the bathroom?"

There was a pause and then a small voice said, "Um...a couple seconds ago."

Gee. Thanks for clarifying. 

Samuel Baron, Resident Artist

We spent the first couple days of Spring Break in West Michigan. On Monday, Amanda and her crew came to visit my mom and the boys while I was at work. In honor of his cousin's visiting, Sam drew a picture. He figured out the spellings of their names without help from anyone else. Just to clarify, Amanda's children are Charlotte, Allison, Georgie, and Henry. So Sam was in the ball park...

He has started to refer to himself as 'Samuel'. I'm not too sure how I feel about that. He's always been Sam to me. 

Journaling

In Nolan's kindergarten class, they regularly do some journaling. I believe it's supposed to be an independent writing time. No one is telling Nolan how to spell the words, he's just doing his best. He also draws a picture to go along with his entry.  If his teacher suspects we will have trouble translating his entry, she will usually jot a note of explanation at the bottom. 

It's been fun reading these as they come home. We have seen tremendous growth in Nolan's writing and spelling skills. And we are also highly entertained by what topic of the day is on Nolan's mind. My all-time favorite was the one Nolan did right before mid-winter break. He drew a picture of a sad little boy saying good-bye. Then he wrote a sad tale of how his mom and dad were going on a vacation without him and he had to go to grandma's house instead. It was so funny. I would take a picture of it, but I can't find it!

Shifting subjects. Nolan loves our new church. The pastor is very personable. The kids' programming is great. But the best part is the coffee time after the morning service. There's a long table set up with all sorts of foods to choose from: veggies, fresh fruits, crackers and cheese, cookies, donuts, pastries...it's a dream come true for a small boy. Bill and I usually have to limit the kids to four items on their plates or they would be up there all day, eating. 

This snack table has made a huge impression on Nolan. He's usually the first one up and dressed on Sunday. He even (finally!) learned to button his shirt, in his desire to make sure we weren't late for church. 

He loves snack time at church so much he even journaled about it last week!