Fishing in Bed

Instead of reading books before bed the last few nights, we have played the card game, Go Fish, instead.  Collin had not heard of the game and found it when we were cleaning up his room this past weekend.  We play three games (on his bed) no matter how long it takes.  Of course, he bargins to play "just one more" before having to lay down and go to sleep. 

At first, he did not cheat because he was learning the game.  Now that he knows how to play, he either:

• Wants it to be his turn every time
• Wants to see my cards before asking for a card
• Wants to play his turn after I get a match when it's supposed to be my turn again

As with most kids, he does not like to lose.  If I do win (yes, I do win...it's good for him to understand he cannot win all of the time), then I don't make a big deal about it.

Last night, he got smart and bargined for three games of Go Fish AND one book.  I agreed but knew that after the one book he would want more.....and he did.  At least he is still predictable at this age.

Gymnastics Finale

Yesterday was Collin's last day as a Kindergarten Super Star in gymnastics.  Mimi, Daddy and I showed up to watch him use some of the equipment and then finish with his floor exercise.  He was very happy to get a trophy and wanted to know why his name was not on it.  He was fine with the explanation that there were so many kids there so they did not want to give his trophy away to the wrong person.  Phew, I was greatful for quick thinking....and that he approved of the explanation.

First, the entire group started of with some stretches.  Poor Collin inherieted his lack of flexibility from me.  He was not too focused at first either because he was still so hot from the bus ride home.  He did eventually start doing what his teacher was telling him to do.



Thinking about listening to the teacher....nope, let's look for Mommy.



Yeah Collin.  Not sure what this is called but he could do it just as well as the other boys

Then, the kids split up into groups.  Collin's group went to the balance beam first, then uneven bars, rings and then pommel horse.

Balancing on the beam with the group

Individual balance beam routine.  What is that cute smile about?

Rings and a butt shot

Love that hair!

He does not look too interested in the Pummel Horse today

He laughed really hard when he was flipping around on the uneven bars

Last was the floor routine.  Because he did not pay attention to the first student go through the routine or listen to the teacher when she first explained it, he had to stop and wait for the teacher to explain each step in the routine so it took him a little longer to get through it.

Incline backward roll over

His version of a cartwheel

He still does not like to "finish" properly which means stand up smiling while holding his arms up over his head.  At the end, each child received a trophy and got to stand at the top of the pyramid.  He did not stand up there long enough for many pictures like the girls did. 

My Little Man Takes Care of His Mommy

Collin sure does like to take care of me.  For example, we went to play some baseball in the front yard the other day.  I said, "I need to get my shoes and then we can go outside".  He told me to wait while he ran to the back of the house.  He came back with my pink flip flops.  Well, that was really sweet but 1) pink certainly did not match what I was wearing and 2) there was no way I was running in flip flops in the front yard.  He was so proud of which shoes he picked out for me, that I wore them anyway.

Now that I am wearing scarves on my head, he likes to pick these out for me.  Because I might be going in public and do want to at least match, I give him two choices of scarves that match for him to pick.  He thinks about it, holds one up and then the other, and then makes his selection.

He still loves to be with me in the kitchen.  It takes A LOT longer to cook dinner, but I try to slow down so that he can help as I explain what we are doing.  We made tortellini noodles and cream sauce last night.  I pulled out the frozen noodles and asked, "How do we heat these up?"  He chose the microwave.  I asked if there was another way and he went over to the stove, pulled out the drawer below to select a pot.  Now, that's MUCH better than the microwave.  I carried the pot over for him to put water in it and then I put it on the stove to heat.  "Mommy, you need to put the circle thing in it".  He is so observant.  He wanted me to but the small, round disk in the water so that the boiling water did not overflow....so we had to find that.  Next was heating up the white sauce.  You get the picture.  The process was about 15 minutes longer than usual but he learned a few things and loved helping me out.  Yes, he did want to wash the dishes too but that was not going to happen.  I had to unload the dishwasher first and I was too tired for that.  It was also close to his bed time so I knew that washing dishes would add at least 30 minutes before we headed back to his room.

"Where's my brother ?" or "Can I get a dog now?"

I knew when we moved back into the house that the questions would start again about the status of his brother and his dog.  We had been telling him that we needed to move back into the house before we could even consider either a brother or a dog.  SO....we have moved back into the house and he expect to have what he has been waiting for.

It's hard to explain to him that:

• The house still has some work which we have to schedule throughout the week
• There is unpacking and moving back into the house.  He is still sleeping in what used to be the playroom until we move him back into his old room....or set him up in the old playroom and let his brother, when he does eventually arrive, take his old room.
• I am still going through chemo so my energy level is not there and I don't feel good some days
• I am not home regularly now that I am back at work
• We still need to finish the adoption home study which has a list of over 10 items that have to be completed first before our case worker comes out for the visit.  These items include additional training, fire inspection (well, the loose wires in the house have to be repaired but we have to wait on the internet provider first...see the list expanding?), pictures of the house, update our file for car insurance and registration, fire escape plan....OK, my heart is elevating just thinking about this list alone.
• We are planning our June vacation.  Yes, the family is going on vacation which is rare for us.  We do really need it especially what we have gone through in the last 5 months.  We told Collin about our plan and he is excited....but still wants a brother and dog.

I cannot even THINK about having a dog right now.  With "chemo brain", I cannot even remember to bring my lunch in the car that I packed.  Yep, I left it sitting by the front door.  I only put it there 5 minutes before I left.  You would think I could remember it.  Nope....

Swim Lessons - He Passed!

Collin has been taking swim lessons since they were available at the beginning of the year. They are twice a week and Grandma H takes him. I have showed up a few times especially when I was on leave for two months. Collin has really excelled in his lessons compared to last year and we do attribute some of that to his instructors - Matt and Mary Anne. Collin really likes Matt and we like him too because he is patient with Collin...especially on those days that he does not want to focus. He generally does great with the instructions and does not have too much difficulty with them other than kicking. The poor boy is either too heavy or it's a coordination thing but he cannot keep his legs up when he kicks. They quickly fall down in the water which pulls him under. Matt will remind him to kick by saying, "kick, kick, kick" (in his English accent) which does help a little. As soon as Matt stops with the reminder, there go the legs.
During the last few lessons, Collin has kicked much better. It might be because it's warmer outside so he has gotten in the pool several days a week. We do make him practice kicking and his arm strokes during some of that time.

After Collin's lesson yesterday, Grandma H said that he did good enough to pass his test and get promoted to the next level (I think Level 2). Way to go Collin!

Tball Pictures

OK, how precious is this picture of Collin during his team Tball pictures?  I think the smile says it all.  He does love to have his picture taken too so that might be some of the reason for the big smile.  Plus, I was able to show up for these pictures because I felt good at that moment.  He does love to have his Mommy around.

Collin is the 2nd on the bottom row from the left.

He did enjoy this Tball season more than last year too probably because half of the team members are also in his Pre-K class.  I enjoyed this season for similar reasons because I got to know the parents, get phone numbers and schedule time for Collin or their child to play. 

His Olfactory System Gets Over Used

Collin continues to smell EVERYTHING!!!  Before he takes a bite of his food, he sniffs it and then eats it.  Too funny that I am writing this as I watched him pick up a corn dog bite, sniff at it, look at it and then eat it.  He got up from the table, picked up Monkey (yes, Monkey is still his best buddy), sniffed Monkey's tummy and then put him down.

I'll ask him why he does this and he cannot explain it.  I ask a few different questions, and he gets irritated with me and walks away. 

Before he puts his clothes on, he grabs his shorts or whatever he is about to put it on, sniffs it, and then puts on his clothes.  He does this for each thing he puts on. 

He sniffs his toothpaste and toothbrush before using it. 

He has been doing this for years.  I wonder how long this will last. 

Update...I know it's been awhile!

Since I last posted, there has been so much that has happened. 

• We moved back into our remodeled house on April 25th which was also my second round of chemo.  They weren't quite ready for us, but Daddy wanted me in my house so that I could endure round #2 in my house.  As of today, three weeks later, there are still minor changes that need to be made in the house (paint touch up, door bell...yep, they lost it, electric, some plumbing, etc) but we are at least back in our house and not cramped in the little apartment.
• I started back to work two weeks ago at a reduced schedule of 32 hours a week.  I don't think it's reduced enough but I will work what I can each week.
• Collin has sports activities each day on the weekend.  Tball games are Saturday and soccer is Sunday.

So, if you can imagine work, moving and unpacking the new house, attending Collin's games and some school activities, I have not had much energy to sit and update the blog.  There has been times that I wanted to but knew that it was best for me and the family to rest.

So, about soccer.  Collin played last year on the church league team and did fine.  He loves to run so we knew he would love to play soccer.  However, there was not much time to teach skills to the kids so they all ran after the ball no matter what.  This year, one of Collin's classmates, Brody, was playing on a 3-on-3 league.  Not only is there a weekly hour practice, but the kids get to play the ball more often and for an extended period of time.  In just six weeks, he has learned to control the ball SO much better.  He dribbles, kicks the ball at an angle if needed, passes sometimes, talks on the field to the other players and even scores at least once during each game.  He's an entirely new soccer player.  I am sure we will continue to play in this league for several more years.  He likes it so much, that he wants to practice every day.  Brody lives in the neighborhood so the boys got together for a practice game Saturday afternoon.  What a HUGE difference in both the boys during the game the next day.  Connor is also on the team, lives down the street from Brody and joined in much later.

He also got better playing Tball but it was not his love like soccer.  He has always been great at throwing the ball but needed work fielding and hitting it.  This year, unlike last year, they did have practice once a week which really helped.  They practiced hitting which really helped him.  We also practiced in the yard after school even without the T to hit the ball.  While the practicing helped him getting better at hitting, he still needs more work fielding the ball.  Because he can throw, he does play 1st base or the pitcher's mound area a lot.

Here's the leftie hitting the ball toward 3rd base

Headed to 1st base

Fielding the ball at 1st base