Devin's Christmas Pageant 12/20/11 at OneTrueMedia.com

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Visits with Santa

Candy Cane Lane Concert 12/15/11

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Busy Saturday

I officially became a "soccer Mom" on Saturday! Devin started his soccer team, the Sting. He is in a Kindergarten league in our town and all of their practices/games are held at 8:00 am on Saturday mornings! Devin LOVED soccer and can't wait to go back.
In the picture below you can *barely* see him in the center of the picture. He is #4. He was running and dribbling the ball in the practice drills. After a 30 minute practice there are 2- 15 minute games.
Last Saturday, after having soccer, Devin had to participate in his karate promotion. He is getting to a pretty advanced level in his Little Ninjas Program. He currently has a white belt with a red stripe and just received a "Junior Leader" patch. He only has a few stripes left in this program! Go Devin!
I also had to buy him a new karate uniform on Saturday (we went for black this time). It was the first time Devin had worn the jacket since spring and he has grown a little (okay, A LOT!) and his sleeves were about 3 inches too short and the jacket barely made it to his waist! ***Big shout out to Memmere for switching over/adding on all of the patches!! Thanks! Love ya!***

Kindergarten Boy!

Devin started KINDERGARTEN on Tuesday!!! What a big boy!! Here he is, ready to go Tuesday morning in front of our house with his pack back and name tag on. We were just about ready to head over to our neighbor's house where he hangs out for about a half hour before she brings Devin and her grand daughter to school in the morning (I pick them up in the afternoon). The kids go to a private kindergarten from 9am to 2pm.

Once he was at school, it seems like the kids got right to work. He brought home a paper in which he copied the alphabet and wrote his name and told me about doing some math- writing his numbers (but I didn't see it). The concept of "seat work" was definitely something that Devin did not welcome with open arms and we had to talk about that Tuesday night and do a bit of practicing. I'm told he did much better with this on Wednesday (yay!). In some ways I do feel bad for the kid with his mom being a teacher and all.

I am super-happy about his teacher being strict and expecting near-perfect behavior from him though. While she expects this, she is also understanding that there is some adjustment time needed and that he is having some health problems (see below). I'm hoping this helps to prepare him with great behavior for first grade in public school next year.

On Wednesday he told me that he worked on patterning and that his was blue, yellow, blue yellow, etc. They got to make their pattern with stamps. He really enjoyed this. They also did a Bible Story with the pastor and he told me about how God made all of us. I'm so glad that he is able to get the Christian aspect of education this year without being in a Catholic school.
Through all of this Devin has been battling an ear infection....since his surgery on August 23. His poor right ear has been so angry that its resisted the Floxin drops, azithromycin (oral antibiotics), and the Cortosporin drops (when used alone). He is now on Cefdinir (oral antibiotics) as well as the Cortosporin drops. I sure hope this does the trick! He is due for some relief (which is what I was hoping for with the surgery!). We are scheduled to go for a recheck with the specialist in Boston next Thursday.

Signing off for Now,
Mom of a Kindergartener....Karla

Surgery Outcome

This was BEFORE the surgery, see how happy Devin looks here? It took a little bribery and reassuring to calm him down, though. We had a great discussion at dinner the night before the procedure where I explained to Devin what was going to take place the next morning and allowed him to ask questions. He seemed fine. We got up early and headed into Boston and all was fine still. Once it was time to put on these pajamas, though, something clicked for Devin and he got REALLY freaked out! I think he was extremely nervous all of a sudden. We talked to him and told him that it was okay to be a bit nervous and okay I admit I bribed him with a new Wii game (Cars 2) if he "did a good job." (Hey, I was desperate!!!! I don't even like for him to play that much Wii!)

Overall, things went fine with his surgery. The biggest surprise was that it wasn't his re-grown adenoids like his Pediatric ENT suspected from the x-rays (she had told us this was possible because of shadowing). It was actually what is called Gerlach Tonsils. They are very swollen (hence the shadowing on the x-rays) and blocking the Eustachian tubes from working properly and causing all of Devin's symptoms (fluid in the ears, nasal congestion/allergy type symptoms, headaches/pressure, hearing loss). The placement of tubes (set #3 for Devin) should alleviate these symptoms for the duration of the tubes. It is likely that the symptoms will return once the tubes fall out and then we will have to discuss action at that time.

Poor Devin had a very difficult time coming out the anesthesia. He was crying and screaming and thrashing around. Three nurses and myself trying to calm him, soothe him. Once he started to wake up a little he started screaming, "I can't hear! I can't hear!" Now, up until that point I was holding it together very well. I was strong, hadn't cried. We've been through this twice before. I'm a veteran. Once he started screaming, "I can't hear anything!" I got scared. I couldn't help it. I felt bad for my baby. I was worried something was wrong. I knew the doctor had to put tubes in his ears because there was cotton in them... but I hadn't spoken to her yet. Erick had just been allowed in recovery with me and he looked worried, said he spoke to the doctor briefly and Devin has some "condition" but he couldn't remember what it was called. Something wrong with his ears.... That's when my tears started flowing. I didn't want Devin to see me crying so I kept my face away from him. The nurses got me some tissues and patted me on the back. Erick took Devin in his lap (I had been trying to rock him) and calmed him down with a Popsicle (got to love distraction).

We waited there in recovery for what felt like forever. It was probably only an hour or two but we were waiting for the doctor because she wanted to talk to us. We watched Devin's stats- his O2 is fantastic considering he has been off of his asthma medication since June! and rubbed his back. We could tell when he was feeling better because he started wiggling his finger enough to make the alarm go off on the stat monitor (is that what its called??) on purpose....little stinker!

She finally came in, once she had a break in between surgeries I guess, and explained to us what the Gerlach Tonsils were doing to Devin and what it meant for him in the future. I was disappointed to learn he had to get tubes put back in, as was he (that means ear plugs when he swims- and he LOVES to swim under water!) and that he will likely encounter all of these issues again when this set of tubes fall out. *sigh* Its been such a long road for Devin and all of his ear problems. I guess in one way its good to know WHY he is having all of these issues. On the other hand, I recognize that it could be so much worse.

We are so grateful to Devin's Pediatric ENT Doctor and all of the fantastic nurses and staff at Mass Eye and Ear. EVERYONE was just wonderful with us, especially with Devin. We have not one complaint. Thank you God for taking care of my baby.

Summer's End

With only one week left in my summer vacation I realize that I've hardly blogged all summer. We haven't done a whole lot this summer, in terms of big vacations or hitting the "hot spots" but we've had a great summer. In summary we've spent a lot of time at the pool and just enjoyed being at home. We've done the typical park trips and visited with friends and grandparents. We went to the ocean and the lake once, as well as an amusement park.

Its been a laid back summer, and I'm okay with that. I think we have all enjoyed ourselves and each other and that's the most important part. Devin is set to start kindergarten in two weeks and I will return to teaching next week.

First, though, we have Devin's second adenoidectomy at Mass Eye and Ear tomorrow. She may put in tubes set #3 as well, but she will decide during surgery. This should alleviate the fluid in the ears that Devin had all last winter (that resulted in hearing loss, behavior issues, ear pain, and headaches). These issues haven't been as prevalent this summer, but we all fully expect they would return after summer. Here's to hoping that Devin's surgery goes smoothly and his issues are cured!!

Enjoy the last few weeks of summer!

(Trying to be) Crafty

So it was a beautiful, hot day and our development's pool was closed for maintenance, our lawn was being landscaped (convenient) and we had already hit up the park for bike riding and playing. We went to staples for their back to school (Already?!?!?) specials and headed home to find something to occupy our time.

After reading my friend Sharon's craft blog I decided that Devin and I would make some multi-colored crayons. First we picked through the crayons to find all of the broken ones, as well as the restaurant and cheaper crayons. Then we had to peel them...that was the longest part! We broke them, mixed them up and put them in a mini-muffin tin and baked them for about 10 minutes at 250*. Once I took them out of the oven I set them on top of the cooling rack for a few minutes and then put them in the freezer until they were formed. After that we were ready to color....but first Devin wanted to play! We made letters, shapes, and all kinds of designs with the multi colored little discs before we settled in to make some pictures!
Of course Lolly was watching our every move. She is always interested in what we are doing. Independent cat? Not here!

Vacation Day 15...

for Erick that is. We've been busy doing this and that. We've gone to the beach, our pool, Erick's parents' pool (each pool a few times), celebrated my birthday, been to BBQs, a baby shower, a climbing play place, redecorated our bedroom, spent lots of time with friends and families, and especially each other. Here are some random pictures of our time during the past two weeks.


My new bedding
Me and Kim on our night out for my birthday
Kim and her beautiful girls at my pool for an afternoon swim
My little fish in the pool!
Devin and Nadya at my parents' house celebrating my Mom's birthday with a BBQ
Ahhh the beach on a gorgeous day!
Blueberry picking!

We've still got 2 more days before Erick heads back. On our agenda? A play date with a friend who is visiting from out of state and helping other friends who just bought a new house. We might also hit up a (semi) local Folk Festival. Whatever we do, I'm sure we will have fun!

Swimming Tricks

Devin does a handstand-flip and then a simmersault followed by Lexi doing a flip!

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Kitty in a Basket

Dancing Devin

4th of July Visitor

Devin had some "cousin fun" over the 4th of July week-end since N. joined us! Here are some pj pics!

4th of July Fun

On Saturday of our 4th of July week-end we picked up Devin's cousin (my cousin's daughter) and headed over to Erick's parents house for some fun in the sun. Pool + BBQ + beautiful weather = great time!

They enjoyed the water slide...





They had a ton of fun playing with each other- kids and adults alike. Our friend Hilary came with her 3 boys, Erick's cousin with her 2 girls, and some of Erick's other cousins were there too. The kids were AMAZING! No fighting- all fun!
After almost 7 hours in the pool, the kids were wiped! They sat on this seat and waited for us to leave.
This shot shows Devin's busted lip. He fell on a hand weight that he took out from under the couch and left in the middle of the floor on Friday!
These yummy snacks that I made (sorry for the poor pics) were scooped up faster than I could hand them out. I certainly didn't make enough!!!

Canobie Lake Park

We've been on "staycation" this week. Devin and I are now off for the summer and Erick had this week off (2 more weeks to come at the end of July!). The highlight of the week so far- aside from seeing Cars 2- has been our trip to Canobie Lake Park. We already knew that Devin loved rides from our trips to Disney World, Sesame Street, and Storyland. But this amusement park trip trumped them all- in terms of Devin loving crazy, fast, twirly rides!

Above you can see Devin waiting in line for "The Corkscrew" roller coaster- his first ever upside down coaster! Yup, he rode this one twice.

Here we are taking a mild moment on the train at the beginning of the day.



Devin REALLY wanted to ride the water ride that completely soaks you, but settled for watching it from the bridge (it was only about 74* at this point in the day- Erick and I weren't ready to be soaked!).



As it warmed up we headed over to the Log Ride where we all had a good time!
After many rides, Erick and I started getting queasy. I guess we aren't as young as we used to be! We ended the day by watching Devin play in the water park area for about an hour and a half!
This was one happy boy who announced, "This is the best day ever!"

Milestones, Milestones, all the Time...

Yesterday marked the last day of Instructional T Ball and the end of the "first loose tooth" era. My big boy was so excited for both! He was shocked (his new vocabulary word! haha) that he was given a trophy. The other exciting part of the afternoon was that his team actually played against another team. It was very friendly and encouraging (no scores, coaches from both sides helping the kiddos). It was maybe the cutest thing I have seen in a while!!
Devin had a lot of spectators yesterday- Papa, Abuela and Grandpa, and Uncle Brian and Aunt Courtney all came to cheer him on!
The Tooth Fairy brought him a dollar and a quarter during the night. Devin couldn't be happier about that!

Just a Bunch of Pics of US!