What is Going On?

Lincoln has seemed to have minor stomach problems since he was born. He had terrible acid reflux as a baby which, I believe, has contributed to his ability to easily throw up. He often gets some stomach pains in the morning when he wakes and after he eats. We hoped that it is something that he would grow out of but he's growing so tall that it's been hard for him to put on weight. Recently he has also started to complain about double vision but we took him for a vision test and he's 20/20.

He was on a two month waiting list to see a pediatric GI at Phoenix Children's hospital and thankfully due to a cancellation, we were able to get him in last week. After an extensive discussion about all the possibilities, the doctor has set us on a path of what he calls round one of testing. Lots of blood work and a MRI of the brain. We've also started with PediaSure daily to try and get as many calories in him as possible. Celiacs disease is a possibility so we will try gluten free when possible until we know for sure. This will be an ongoing process of appointments and work to get this solved but I'm glad we are finally going to get some answers.

For the last year Logan has been struggling with a stuffy nose in the evenings causing difficulty when we breathes through his nose when he sleeps. Some nights are worse than others. He's been taking an allergy pill each night but we haven't seen that it really makes a huge difference. His appointment at St. Joseph's hospital happened to be the same day as Lincoln's appointment. We spent the morning at PCH and the afternoon at St. Joe's. Logan's doctor was great and was able to get a camera scope up his nose. We watched it all on the TV monitor. We saw his adenoid, his throat and his voice box. It was really neat to see. Logan was an absolute trooper. Did budge at all during the procedure. The doctor was able to see that Logan has some enlarged adenoid tissue and also some bumps which is a sign of allergies. He requested Logan get tested for allergies so for the first time Logan had his blood drawn. He threw a major panic tantrum, with lots of tears, in the lab because he didn't want the lady to take his blood. The second he realized it was going to happen, he stopped crying (not a peep) and watched the entire thing. Daddy promised him a piggy back ride out of the hospital after the lab work. Logan wanted to know if they were going to give him his blood back or if they were going to give it to other people for their bodies. Poor guy. We've had several conversations trying to help him understand what it means to have your blood tested and how bodies reproduce blood once it's gone.
We look forward to hearing what his results are so we can determine a course of action for him. For now, change of allergy meds.

More Fun

Ricky was on a business trip to Idaho earlier this month so we found some different activities to keep us busy while he was gone.

 We tried a new miniature golf place that was a glow in the dark course. Logan was really too little the last time we went golfing to remember but they both did a pretty good job. It's much for fun for me when I put my OCD/control issues aside and accept that we aren't taking score and that they just needed to have fun. 

 The boys made this sign for daddy and we texted this picture to him while he was gone. 

 Logan's favorite game is Doody Head. Yes, I get mom props for putting that on my head too and playing with him. 

 Ricky texted us this picture from Utah. It's the refreshed billboard that he, the boys and Natalee are on. 

 This is the word I got when playing hangman with Lincoln. He worked so hard to find the longest type of vehicle possible. 

 Logan loves to be outside. Recently he's had several lunches on the patio, set up with his iPad and the beautiful weather. 

 We had family movie night and saw Tomorrowland. I wasn't very impressed but apparently Logan was because he came home and later that night with no prompting as to what to draw, drew this picture. It's the girl picking up the Tomorrowland pin in the field of corn. 

Ricky and I were very impressed. I guess when you are left handed that sometimes your name goes from right to left. =)

School's Out for Summer!

Lincoln just finished second grade and Logan just wrapped up his last year of Pre-K. I can't believe the school year is done. Lincoln completed the year with another quarter of straight A's. We were also notified the due to his testing scores and shear awesomeness, he was accepted into the accelerated program for third grade. 

Logan really academically grew leaps and bounds this year. His vocabulary has grown, his letters have gotten significantly better and his art is pretty amazing for a 5 year old. Yes, I'm bragging. I'm a mom and that's my right. (Smile.)
I'm very proud of both boys and all they've accomplished this year. We are excited to have the next month off so we can catch up on sleep, take swim lessons and get some fun activities in and make more lastly memories from Idaho.

 The morning of the last day of school. Both boys were pretty happy.

 Logan and Ms. Swiderski

 Logan and his best friend Braxton. He doesn't quite understand that he won't see Braxton until school starts again.

At pickup time at the end of the day. We celebrated with a subway lunch.

Lincoln's work/certificates:

This isn't school work but Lincoln can often be found drawing something like the above picture. He creates Pokemon cards, game boards, rules for clubs, etc.

Logan's work:

Acro Man

Logan started gymnastics classes. I needed him to be involved in an activity and preferred one that would help him get some energy out. He is a very physical kid so we are giving gymnastics a try. 
So far he is more excited about the cute girl in his class that he knows from school but hopefully that will wear off and he'll get more into the actual gymnastics.

Another One is Gone

Lincoln lost another tooth. I feel like that poor boys mouth is filled with holes. He is waiting for three teeth to come in. Luckily he still has the most adorable smile. The tooth fairy was good to him and gave him a dollar for this last tooth. He was hoping for $2.00 like last time when she was too busy to make it to the house so she gave him an extra buck. Not so lucky this time around. 

Happy Mother's Day/Wedding Anniversary

Ricky and I celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary...on Mother's Day this year.  I surprised him with dinner reservations to our favorite restaurant, Arrowhead Grill, then we went to the movies. I love him more now than I did when I married him (which is hard to imagine) but he is my best friend, partner in love and life and a wonderful daddy. Plus, I'm the best thing that ever happened to him. =)

Earlier in the week I got to spend some time with Logan in his classroom for Mother's day juice and cookies. It was so fun to be his special guest as they sang songs for the moms, did a few dances and presented us with special books. He didn't leave my lap except for the time they preformed. It was a delightful morning with him. 

Of course Logan is leading the train. 

Misc Activities

Are days are filled with activities. Some of them are the normal mundane things we do each day and some are the fun, different adventures that we try to take and along with memories that we try to make.

DIY - I like to think I'm crafty but lately I can't take the time to do projects like this. I wasn't going to move this table into our new home but after no luck selling it, Ricky convinced me it would go perfectly in the library. I had to redo it before that happened though so I stripped it down and then re-stained it. I didn't get before and after pictures...somehow just ended up with an in process pic. It turned out great though and is now sitting in our library. 

This is one of my favorite things about living in Arizona. The desert skies are gorgeous. 

The skies will often change very quickly providing several different color palettes through the evening. 

Trying to encourage the boys to try new things and enjoy art, I took them to the paint your own ceramics place for something to do one day. They both chose to paint a car. I think they turned out great and neither of them have broken yet. 

This is Logan. Typical class clown and jokester. He was very impressed with his ranch lips. He makes us laugh everyday and has a fun personality. 

The boys built a fort to watch TV from. Daddy even let them sleep in it for a night or two. 

Lincoln realized his iPad battery was low so he plugged it in but decided he wasn't done playing yet so I found him with a barstool pulled up to the counter so he could keep playing. 

This was the grocery list that Logan made for me one day when I took him shopping. Since he couldn't spell out the words, I asked him to draw pictures. I have to say he was pretty spot on. He held the list as we went around the store and then told me what to grab as we went along. 

Our first time in Cardinal Stadium was for the Home Show. Given we had just moved in and were looking for ideas for our house and yard, we figured it was a good time to go. 

After the home show we found a new donut shop that is like a build your own donut place. You pick the type of donut, then type of frosting and then the topping. It was delicious and great to try new places. 

Logan earned a lollipop from walking around the home show and obviously it took him a few days to get through it and by then he had given up and tossed it. 

When we are home you will often find train tracks of some sort in our living room. Logan uses chairs, stools, pillows or anything else he can find to build tunnel, bridges or decorations around his tracks. 

I took the boys for date night to a pizza arcade place and they both hit the 500 ticket jackpot on this game. Onlookers couldn't believe that they would both win almost back to back jackpots. 

I think we might be in trouble when this one gets older because he loves speed, adventure and has pretty good form for a motorcycle. 

We tried playing scrabble for the first time. It was fine for the first few minutes but Logan got bored with how slow the game moves and he decided to attack daddy. 

Spent some time getting energy out one afternoon. 

Baby Banana brush is now in Target!

We spent a day at the Children's Science Museum in Phoenix. 

This is Logan's shadow and he's controlling the bubbles. 

Walks around the neighborhood. 

This clown thinks he's Santa. 

I got to enjoy a special date night with Lincoln. We ate dinner at BJ's and went to see Mall Cop 2.

 Nancee's family stopped by for a couple nights on their way to and from Tucson. The boys love playing with their cousins. 

Aunt Natalee was in town for a water polo game and Tutu's were here too so we headed down to Tempe to watch the game. We first stopped by a large street fair in downtown Tempe and then watched her game at ASU. 

Ricky attended a baby show in Seattle area for a couple days. The product went over very well and he was sold out by early afternoon.