May Update

May 6, 2008
The school year is ticking down and thankfully the warm months of summer are very near. This spring has taken a toll on my allergies. The trees and flowers are looking great, but the pollen they produce has had me sniffling and sneezing the majority of April. Hopefully May will bring relief!
The boys are doing great. Carson just became the proud owner of a new play set for our backyard. It is wooden and has a nice slide, swings and monkey bars. Chad was working on taking inventory of the pieces tonight to make sure all were included. When Carson saw the slide he asked Chad to “fix it for him”. When Chad told him it would take a ‘few days’ (we hope) to put it together, Carson assured him he would ‘help’! He was so excited. Chad sent him inside to ask me to get the instructions and Carson couldn’t catch his breath. I had no idea what he was asking me. He couldn’t even get the words out in his excitement. It was priceless. I wish I had those moments on film, to remember this stage of innocence forever.
Mac had an appointment with an occupational and speech therapists today. His problems eating are of some concern, so we decided to have a consultation to see what they would say. They believe that he is having breathing problems, possibly enlarged adenoids. The breathing problems are why he has never been able to suck on a bottle. The speech therapist explained that when it comes down to it, he feels he can eat or breath, but has problems doing both at the same time. So, he uses gravity to let the bottle drip into his mouth and has learned to maneuver the nipple to allow some flow of milk. He also won’t eat large pieces of anything for fear they will block his ability to breath. It was rather enlightening to know that there really might be something that isn’t as it should be, instead of just the preemie excuse. We are going to see an ENT (Ears, Nose and Throat doctor) next week to find out about the adenoids. It would be so nice if that were all that there was to his eating issue.
The occupational therapist was impressed with Mac’s physical abilities. He roamed around the room crawling and pulling up to things. He was very happy and interactive during our visit.
He has been quite active lately. He has mastered climbing the stairs and can get to the top step before we know he is missing. He likes to roam the upstairs rooms and find things to get in to. We have started to put away the baby ‘equipment’ that he used (Exersaucer, Jumparoo, etc.) . It is hard to believe he is already past using those things. He now just wants to be on the move!
Chad is staying busy doing things around the house. He is really glad (and so am I) that he gave up tennis this year. It is nice to have him home more! I do think he is looking forward to tennis lessons this summer. He gives them at a local swim and tennis club here in Fairfield. And of course soccer will be starting up sooner than you think it would. It really seems to me that soccer really never stops around here.
I am in the middle of creating an online course on careers. It will be used by the W&F teachers in four districts next year. This is my second of two online class projects this school year. The first was more of a challenge than this one, it was on Financial Literacy. I am looking forward to having teachers use them next year. I look forward to the feedback - -which I am sure will bring about revisions - -and more work. I have also been selected to be a part of a leadership academy within our district. I have no idea of what challenges that will bring, but I look forward to learning more about the district I work for.
It looks as summer will be a nice break for all of us here. Hopefully we can fit in some time to visit friends and family. We hope you are doing well! We think of all of you often.
Thanks for stopping by to check in with us!
Megan, Chad, Carson & Mac