Notice the adorable wisp of hair sticking out the top of his helmet.
This last one was taken by Cole. :-)
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Jacob on his bike
Jacob loves riding his bike. Every day he asks to go out & ride around the cul de sac, and we pretty much have to drag him inside when it gets too dark to ride. A few days ago I grabbed my camera to get some photos of him doing what he loves. It's so easy for me to just take iPhone photos of everyday moments like these, and I really need to make an effort to get my "real" camera out more.
Notice the adorable wisp of hair sticking out the top of his helmet.
This last one was taken by Cole. :-)
Notice the adorable wisp of hair sticking out the top of his helmet.
This last one was taken by Cole. :-)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Taekwondo Promotions
This past week our boys had testing to promote to higher ranks in taekwondo. They all did great!
Owen is now a blue belt and is moving to the advanced class.
Jacob & Cole showing off their new Full Splits Club patches:
Jacob doing the full splits while waiting for the promotions to begin:
Now they're both green belts (that's half way to a black belt!) and will be moving out of Tiny Tigers into the intermediate class. That should be interesting!
Owen is now a blue belt and is moving to the advanced class.
Jacob & Cole showing off their new Full Splits Club patches:
Jacob doing the full splits while waiting for the promotions to begin:
Now they're both green belts (that's half way to a black belt!) and will be moving out of Tiny Tigers into the intermediate class. That should be interesting!
Friday, October 12, 2012
Field Trippin'!
All 3 boys had their first field trips of the school year today!
Owen & Marshall left the house at 4am to head to the Houston Museum of Natural Science with Owen's 3rd grade class. Owen has been excited about this trip for weeks, and I can't wait to hear all about it when they get home later tonight. The buses are expected back around 10:30pm (and yes, Marshall has to work a long day tomorrow for the LSU game...such a good daddy!). Marshall has been updating me via text message, so I can already share some pictures of their adventure. It's so fun to get these photos throughout the day so I know what they're up to!
This morning I got to join Jacob & Cole's kindergarten class on their walking field trip to learn about community helpers in Zachary. We spent just over 3 hours visiting some fun places around town, and we were all exhausted by the time we made it back to school. It was a fun-filled morning!
We started out at the fire department. The kids learned about fire safety, toured the entire firehouse, and got to inspect a fire truck. Here they are watching a demonstration about all the gear firefighters have to wear.
I didn't take any pictures at our last stops because it was so crowded, but we also went to Chris' Specialty Meats and Cajun Catch restaurant. The kids learned about Louisiana seafood & got a little snack of fried catfish. The boys were asking me if we could eat dinner there before we even got out the door!
Owen & Marshall left the house at 4am to head to the Houston Museum of Natural Science with Owen's 3rd grade class. Owen has been excited about this trip for weeks, and I can't wait to hear all about it when they get home later tonight. The buses are expected back around 10:30pm (and yes, Marshall has to work a long day tomorrow for the LSU game...such a good daddy!). Marshall has been updating me via text message, so I can already share some pictures of their adventure. It's so fun to get these photos throughout the day so I know what they're up to!
This morning I got to join Jacob & Cole's kindergarten class on their walking field trip to learn about community helpers in Zachary. We spent just over 3 hours visiting some fun places around town, and we were all exhausted by the time we made it back to school. It was a fun-filled morning!
We started out at the fire department. The kids learned about fire safety, toured the entire firehouse, and got to inspect a fire truck. Here they are watching a demonstration about all the gear firefighters have to wear.
Next we made our way to the police station. They gave us a wonderful tour of everything, including the holding cells, and the kids got to look at a police motorcycle & talk on the loud speaker in a police car.
I didn't take any pictures at our last stops because it was so crowded, but we also went to Chris' Specialty Meats and Cajun Catch restaurant. The kids learned about Louisiana seafood & got a little snack of fried catfish. The boys were asking me if we could eat dinner there before we even got out the door!
Monday, September 10, 2012
Mrs. Jindal Visits Kindergarten
Last week the governor's wife visited several of the kindergarten classes at NES. Here is a link to the photos posted by the school board. Jacob & Cole are in quite a few - it looks like she spent a lot of time in their class. :-)
http://www.zacharyschools.org/blog/?p=167
http://www.zacharyschools.org/blog/?p=167
Monday, August 13, 2012
Kindergarten!
Kindergarten has begun! Jacob & Cole were beyond excited to go to school this morning. When the bus came they both climbed right up & only looked back when the bus driver asked them to so I could take a picture with my phone. They are both in the same class & have Owen's kindergarten teacher, who was wonderful. We are thrilled that Jacob & Cole will have her, too!
This morning after Zumba I got a text from Owen's first grade teacher. She'd seen the boys & sent me a picture of them - they looked like they were having fun! I can't wait to hear how their day was!!
Jacob:
Cole:
Owen & Jacob wanted a picture together in their matching uniforms:
This morning after Zumba I got a text from Owen's first grade teacher. She'd seen the boys & sent me a picture of them - they looked like they were having fun! I can't wait to hear how their day was!!
Jacob:
Cole:
Owen & Jacob wanted a picture together in their matching uniforms:
Thursday, August 9, 2012
3rd Grade
Today is Owen's first day of 3rd grade! He wasn't very happy when I woke him up, but by the time the bus pulled up he was excited to go. He's in a class with a lot of his friends from last year, and he's heard good things about his teachers. It should be a great year!
Jacob took this one:
Kindergarten starts Monday, and we have 2 very excited boys who are ready to go!
Cole asked to take a picture of me & Owen:
Jacob took this one:
Kindergarten starts Monday, and we have 2 very excited boys who are ready to go!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Surgery Update
We are so appreciative of all the calls, texts, e-mails & Facebook messages sending prayers & checking on Cole this week. I'm happy to report that he is doing just fine. His incisions are a little tender & his
throat is still sore from the tube, but otherwise he's doing great. He's been eating pretty well since about midday yesterday, and he spent a good bit of yesterday up playing Uno and action figures. This morning he has been smiling, laughing & talking a lot more, and it's nice to have our spunky Cole back!
The surgery itself went well, but 20 minutes into what should have been at least an hour long procedure we were called back to talk to the surgeon. We couldn't imagine what he would have found that he'd need to talk with us so soon, and our thoughts were running wild as we waited for him to come in. The surgeon walked in holding up the picture of Cole's belly I'd sent him, and then he told us that once they got the camera inside they couldn't find a hernia! We were all shocked! The bump that appears on Cole's belly when he bears down has every characteristic of a hernia, but there is no hole in the muscle. Since he hadn't yet made the incision in the "hernia" site and since Cole doesn't have any pain or symptoms from it, we all agreed it's best to just leave it alone for now rather than trying to fix his muscle when we aren't really sure what's wrong to begin with. So instead of a hernia repair Cole ended up having more of a diagnostic/exploratory laproscopic procedure, which should make for a much easier recovery for him. It's likely either some sort of spasm or weakness in the muscle, but I'm hoping to get more answers when we follow up next week. While it's a little hard not to feel like poor Cole had to endure surgery for nothing, it's relieving to know that whatever that big bulge is has been checked out thoroughly and isn't anything concerning.
Here's a recap of surgery day:
The day of surgery we spent a lot more time at the hospital than we'd anticipated. His surgery started 3 hours later than we'd been told it would, which meant we were there for 5 hours just waiting for them to begin. Cole, of course, had not eaten or had anything to drink since 10:30 the night before. He was a trooper, though, and only mentioned being hungry once.
In the pre-op room he refused to go near the hospital bed for the first hour or so, instead he sat in our laps & watched Spongebob on Netflix. Thank goodness for iPhones and Netflix streaming!
Finally he not-so-willingly agreed to put on the hospital gown. He was NOT happy about the gown being backless, and by the time they wheeled him back he'd put his clothes back on.
The Child Life Specialist came to help prep him for what to expect in the operating room. She left his blue raspberry scented mask with him, and every few minutes he would pick it up & smell it. It was adorable!
By the time they came to take him back he was pretty annoyed with being there. The nurse anesthetist was great & as soon as she showed him the games on her iPhone he was content to go along. Another nurse was handing him an iPad as they wheeled him away. We were once again very impressed with how great OLOL hospital is with kids.
Once the procedure was over we were called back to the recovery room. In true Cole style, he woke up screaming "I HATE THIS PLACE!!". Then he kept crying & saying "ouchie" that his tummy (incisions), throat & IV were hurting. Kids often have a hard time coming out of anesthesia, and we knew to expect that since this was his 4th time having it. He had some trouble keeping fluids down, but otherwise recovery has been very smooth.
We're very thankful it's all over with now!
The surgery itself went well, but 20 minutes into what should have been at least an hour long procedure we were called back to talk to the surgeon. We couldn't imagine what he would have found that he'd need to talk with us so soon, and our thoughts were running wild as we waited for him to come in. The surgeon walked in holding up the picture of Cole's belly I'd sent him, and then he told us that once they got the camera inside they couldn't find a hernia! We were all shocked! The bump that appears on Cole's belly when he bears down has every characteristic of a hernia, but there is no hole in the muscle. Since he hadn't yet made the incision in the "hernia" site and since Cole doesn't have any pain or symptoms from it, we all agreed it's best to just leave it alone for now rather than trying to fix his muscle when we aren't really sure what's wrong to begin with. So instead of a hernia repair Cole ended up having more of a diagnostic/exploratory laproscopic procedure, which should make for a much easier recovery for him. It's likely either some sort of spasm or weakness in the muscle, but I'm hoping to get more answers when we follow up next week. While it's a little hard not to feel like poor Cole had to endure surgery for nothing, it's relieving to know that whatever that big bulge is has been checked out thoroughly and isn't anything concerning.
Here's a recap of surgery day:
The day of surgery we spent a lot more time at the hospital than we'd anticipated. His surgery started 3 hours later than we'd been told it would, which meant we were there for 5 hours just waiting for them to begin. Cole, of course, had not eaten or had anything to drink since 10:30 the night before. He was a trooper, though, and only mentioned being hungry once.
In the pre-op room he refused to go near the hospital bed for the first hour or so, instead he sat in our laps & watched Spongebob on Netflix. Thank goodness for iPhones and Netflix streaming!
Finally he not-so-willingly agreed to put on the hospital gown. He was NOT happy about the gown being backless, and by the time they wheeled him back he'd put his clothes back on.
The Child Life Specialist came to help prep him for what to expect in the operating room. She left his blue raspberry scented mask with him, and every few minutes he would pick it up & smell it. It was adorable!
Once the procedure was over we were called back to the recovery room. In true Cole style, he woke up screaming "I HATE THIS PLACE!!". Then he kept crying & saying "ouchie" that his tummy (incisions), throat & IV were hurting. Kids often have a hard time coming out of anesthesia, and we knew to expect that since this was his 4th time having it. He had some trouble keeping fluids down, but otherwise recovery has been very smooth.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Cole
Our family's streak of random-but-not-very-serious medical issues continues. We don't get colds or the flu. No, we have things like cyclic vomiting, mastoiditis, and childhood regurgitation. A couple of weeks ago Cole was jumping & diving in the pool when we noticed something bulging out of the side of his belly every time he jumped. After a quick call to the pediatrician we determined that it was a hernia & had an appointment with the pediatric surgeon scheduled for the following week (the same one who repaired Jacob & Cole's hernias as infants). Of course the hernia refused to show itself at the appointment, so we were on a mission to capture a picture so we could get the surgery scheduled before school starts.
He will be having it removed on July 31st, and he should be fully recovered just in time to start Kindergarten. The surgeon believes it is a very rare type of hernia (sorry, I can't remember the name and I refuse to Google it), but we're expecting the surgery to be pretty routine. It's an outpatient procedure, and I'm expecting the activity restrictions will be the toughest part of the whole experience for Cole. Thankfully he'll have the Summer Olympics to keep him entertained!
And because I know people will be curious, we do expect that Jacob will present with this at some point in the near future. They are identical, after all, and since Cole's isn't due to an injury we'll be keeping a close eye on Jacob, per doctor's orders.
Since this is a "Cole" post, I just have to share these adorable pictures he took. A week or so ago he & Jacob spent at least an hour making their bed & rearranging their pillows & stuffed animals. I later found Cole with his camera having a little photo shoot with his animals. He had posed & photographed them, and when I walked in he was working hard to get a picture of himself with them all.
His little lion family.
I took the last one for him.
Today, out of the blue, he asked me to order prints of these so he could put them in frames. We uploaded them to the 1-hour photo lab at Wal Mart, and he was thrilled until he pointed to a 20x30 portrait in our bedroom and told me he wanted them all to be that size. Not gonna happen, buddy. He agreed to choose a favorite after he sees the small prints & we'll order a poster print of that one next time I see a sale somewhere.
And because I know people will be curious, we do expect that Jacob will present with this at some point in the near future. They are identical, after all, and since Cole's isn't due to an injury we'll be keeping a close eye on Jacob, per doctor's orders.
Since this is a "Cole" post, I just have to share these adorable pictures he took. A week or so ago he & Jacob spent at least an hour making their bed & rearranging their pillows & stuffed animals. I later found Cole with his camera having a little photo shoot with his animals. He had posed & photographed them, and when I walked in he was working hard to get a picture of himself with them all.
Today, out of the blue, he asked me to order prints of these so he could put them in frames. We uploaded them to the 1-hour photo lab at Wal Mart, and he was thrilled until he pointed to a 20x30 portrait in our bedroom and told me he wanted them all to be that size. Not gonna happen, buddy. He agreed to choose a favorite after he sees the small prints & we'll order a poster print of that one next time I see a sale somewhere.
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Preschool graduation 2012
Jacob & Cole are officially done with preschool! They won't let us call them kindergarteners just yet, but August 9th will be here before we know it.
Here they are as we were leaving for their graduation program. Jacob obviously wasn't in the best of moods.
These were a cute surprise when we arrived.
Jacob & Cole were in the back row for the program so I didn't get any great shots of them on stage. They were both singing their little hearts out, though!
This is Cole getting his diploma.
And Jacob getting his diploma.
Owen & Juliet.
Here they are as we were leaving for their graduation program. Jacob obviously wasn't in the best of moods.
These were a cute surprise when we arrived.
Jacob & Cole were in the back row for the program so I didn't get any great shots of them on stage. They were both singing their little hearts out, though!
This is Cole getting his diploma.
And Jacob getting his diploma.
Owen & Juliet.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
2nd Grade Awards Program
This morning was the 2nd grade awards program. Wow how time flies! It's been a great year, but we are all looking forward to summer break!
The program began with the classes performing short musicals (hence the black clothing instead of the usual uniforms). Owen had the not-so-coveted part of playing the finger symbols. He wasn't excited in the days leading up to the performance, but he was all smiles this morning.
We were on the 3rd row but didn't have a great view of things. Here's a quick shot I grabbed while they were singing "Circle of Life".
After the performances, it was time for the awards. Here is Owen collecting all of his on stage. :-)
And here he is after school showing them off. This year he received the Citizenship Award, PE Coach's Award, All A Honor Roll, Reading Award, AR 50 Point Club, Champion of Conduct, Meritorious Attendance. We couldn't be any prouder!!
The program began with the classes performing short musicals (hence the black clothing instead of the usual uniforms). Owen had the not-so-coveted part of playing the finger symbols. He wasn't excited in the days leading up to the performance, but he was all smiles this morning.
We were on the 3rd row but didn't have a great view of things. Here's a quick shot I grabbed while they were singing "Circle of Life".
After the performances, it was time for the awards. Here is Owen collecting all of his on stage. :-)
And here he is after school showing them off. This year he received the Citizenship Award, PE Coach's Award, All A Honor Roll, Reading Award, AR 50 Point Club, Champion of Conduct, Meritorious Attendance. We couldn't be any prouder!!
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