Brody is a Graduate

Today was a big day at our house. Our baby Brody graduated from the pre-K class at his Parent's Day out program. He has been in this school since he was 12 months old and is now about to turn 5. I look back on how things have changed and how much he has grown over the past 4 years at his school and I get a little teary eyed with pride as I see the little boy that he has grown into. When I first started him in school, I was still getting chemo and now as he ends it, I have a full head of hair again, and am 100% healthy...for the first time since he has been in school it seems.
Anyways, today he and his 11 classmates (a few of them he has been in class with since they were al 1 year old) walked down the aisle and performed their program flawlessly (and to the nth degree of cuteness), received their diplomas and are now ready to enter the world of "big school." For most of them, that means Kindergarten, but for my little Brody, it means he has graduated to a 3 day/week preschool. Why? Well because his birthday is literally 3 days from the cut-off and he would still be 4 years old when he started. After talking to several Kindergarten teachers and just using my mommy instinct, we know it's best to just let him have one more year before he begins school "forever."
I think the hardest part for Brody today has been realizing that he and his two very best friends in the world are all 3 going to different schools next year. Brody, Carter and Elliot have been best buddies the entire 4 years they've been at school. They are quite inseparable and Brody talks about Carter and Elliot a lot. Luckily though, we go to church and are in small group with Carter's family, and we will see Elliot at the YMCA a lot this summer.
Now, on to some cute pics and videos...

I loved this because of what Brody said he wanted to be when he grows up...An Army Man!  Just like his Uncle Jordan. His friend Elliot wants to be a ninja and his friend Addy wants to be a "hair doer." Ha!!!

graduation cake...Brody is on the bottom far right

Brody and Jace walking in together. I just love this little man of mine!!!

Getting ready to start Hickory Dickory Dock

Getting his diploma and hug from Ms Ruth Ann

And his flower and hug from Ms Patty

Kiera, Amelia, and Jace saying their rhyme...Jack and Jill

Adalynn, Maggie and Haley singing Twinkle Twinkle

Benton, Elliot, and Trenton reciting Jack Be Nimble

singing Jesus Loves Me

happy boy with his graduation gift...an Iron Man Mask

ah, sibling love! Chloe begged to go to Brody's graduation and I couldn't refuse her. Plus Brody wanted her to come...along with Cabot (our dog), Blue (our fish), and Grammy and OpOp. Haha!!!

yummy grad cupcake

being silly!!!

Brody and Carter the best of friends!!!

Ms Loretta, Ms Patty and Ms Ruth Ann with my baby. These ladies have taken great care to make sure Brody (and Chloe) were always well loved and well taught. They will forever have a place in my heart.

VIDEOS:

BRODY'S "SPEECH" (and check out his quick bow at the end!)

SINGING "Thank You Father"

"THIS LITTLE LIGHT OF MINE" AND "WHERE THE SPIRIT LEADS"

Field Day Fun At Carmel Elementary

This was Chloe's first field day ever and boy was it FUN!!! The first part of the day, grades K-2 had their events and I watched Chloe's class participate at each station. There was basketball tossing, water relays, cone flips, volleyball, beanbag tag, hula hoops, and a few more I am surely forgetting. The kids were so cute (as you will see in the pics and videos I am posting) and had the best sportsmanship whether they won or lost. I was thrilled to be able to go with Chloe today and watch her compete and she was equally as excited to have field day.
After the lower grades were finished, I stayed on to volunteer for the older grades. I was placed in the basketball event. Basically it was just getting rebounds, making sure the kids didn't get too crazy, and making sure they followed the rules. Good times! Each class was so well behaved and had so much fun. I loved seeing them get excited and cheer on each other.

I can't wait to help in next year's field day. I love that Chloe goes to this brand new school with the most top notch teachers and administrators who really love parent involvement. I've been blessed to be able to volunteer in her class two days/week this year along with being active in the PTO. Carmel Colts rock!!! And FYI, I've also been blessed to have been able to walk my kid into school every single day this year except for 3...she still hasn't outgrown mommy too much! LOVE!!!

This was the basketball toss game. Chloe is the one in pink shorts

standing in line waiting her turn to toss...

very blurry action shot of Chloe's teacher, Mrs Campbell getting so excited that she made a basket...jumping up and down. Ha!!! Love her!

Getting ready for the water relay race with her friends: Bailey, Abby, Chloe, Kinsley and Blair

Squeezing the water out of the ball - had to see which class could get the most water in the bucket in a specified time frame. This was one of my favorite events.

Chloe's friend Jackson getting ready to toss the ball to his teammate. This kid is so adorable and definitely well behaved. 

check out that stance! haha

I was deemed a volunteer superstar!!! hahaha!!!

Brody was completely worn out by the end of his day as a spectator

End of Soccer Season #5

We finished up Chloe's 5th soccer season last night with another win. This has been such a fun year...not as high scoring for Chloe, but the skill sets of the girls on her team and the opposing teams are really progressing and the game is so much fun to watch. This year, Chloe scored 17 goals in the 6 games she played. I could not be more proud of her growth in the game. She hustles every single second of play, she has learned to dribble the ball down the field with good control, and last night she even scored a goal from an angle using her LEFT foot (she is right footed)!!! She loves to play and the only time she complains is if she doesn't score in as timely of a manner as she expects herself to. She has my personality in that she expects perfection from herself and doesn't settle well without it. However, I am trying to work on that with her (and myself too). It's getting somewhat better...sometimes.

Last year she asked us about playing soccer in the Fusion Academy because her friend Kirk was doing that. At the time we could not add one more thing to that child's schedule because she was already on the pre-team in gymnastics and in tumbling class along with rec soccer, not to mention being a kindergartener and having to get used to going to school everyday all day. It was just too much. However, in November we allowed her to stop gymnastics as she was crying on the way to practices (3 days/week) and her legs were hurting her nonstop. She wanted to stick with soccer though and we were glad! Since she is still asking about the Academy, we have enrolled her in the summer soccer camp that is held at Austin Peay State University by the girl's soccer coach and are going to let her join Fusion Academy in August. When she turns 8 she will be allowed to try out for the travel soccer team through Fusion...if she still has a great interest in it. We shall see. In the meantime though, Chloe has recently told me she wants to start piano lessons and start back dancing lessons. Oy vey! I think we will stick to soccer and piano only...

Best Date Day Ever

Yesterday was the best date day ever. Nevermind that it was with my incredibly handsome and funny Brody. We decided after dropping Chloe off at school to head on down to Nashville for a spontaneous trip to the zoo. We arrived at 9:30 right when it was opening and were back in time to rest for a few minutes before going to get Chloe at school.
We started the morning off in the Jungle Gym play area figuring that it would be the least crowded if we did it first rather than waiting until the afternoon. Such a great decision!!! There were field trip kids everywhere but NONE in the Jungle Gym area when we were. Whew! We had the whole thing pretty much to ourselves.
We then headed up to the African Plains area and rode the carousel, enjoyed the elephants, giraffes, zebras, and ostrich. There was a baby giraffe there this time and it was so cute! That was probably my favorite exhibit this time around. Next, we rode the train around an exhibit...which was closed. It was incredibly lame for me, but Brody said he really liked it so that's what matters most.
After that, we took in the tigers, meerkats, cougars, and numerous other animals that I can't exactly recall right now. We skipped the petting zoo as neither Brody or myself really care to pet any goats or mules. We ventured over to see the flamingos and ended our animal adventure by staring at the monkeys for a while.
Before we left though, I couldn't resist his sweet little face in the gift shop admiring a stuffed parrot so he brought one home along with a slap bracelet. We were there for almost 4 hours and literally had the best time ever. We would have stayed a bit longer but we needed to get back to Clarksville to pick up Chloe.
Best part about the day? Spending quality one on one time with my Brody. Least favorite part? I still think the Nashville Zoo, as compared to the NC Zoo, is a really lame and boring zoo. I can't wait to be able to take them back to the NC Zoo again so they can see TONS of fun and different animals!

Random Pictures (aka iPhone picture dump)

I so need to update with several things so the easiest way to start is to do an iphone picture dump and get going. Here are the random pictures I took on random days just because. Enjoy.

Chloe's longest time friend, Kirk. These two have known each other since she was 4 months old. I hope they will always be good buddies. 

Me and Chloe at the Roxy Regional Theater getting ready to see Peter Pan

Chloe talked me into buying her some "fairy dust" at the play! Who can resist?!?

Another spring and yet another next in our grill.

Brody asked me one day how to spell out everything on his chore chart, so I told him how each word was spelled while he made his own chart. Ha! It says: Get dressed, brush teeth, shoes on, eat breakfast. The only letter I helped him on was the K. He even did the three dots on his A in breakfast. 

Not bad for a 4 year old boy, huh?

Sheriff Brody to the rescue!!

And then this is what happens when Brody's big sister gets ahold of him on Saturday morning...he transforms in to a girl-y Brody. 

No worries, I used to dress my little brother in tu-tus and jazz outfits and he turned into one great soldier :)

Hydrangeas on the front porch that I have managed to keep alive for a month now.

our azalea bushes along the side of the house. I love springtime!!!

Chloe's Appointment at Vanderbilt

Today I took Chloe to the Pediatric GI specialist at Vanderbilt for an appointment. About 4 months ago I started noticing her throwing up in her mouth (yes, it was VERY audbile) and her breath always smelling like vomit. I started questioning her and come to find out, she thought this was completely normal and told me it had been happening since she was 3 years old. I almost choked on my own food at that point. THREE YEARS OLD?!? Are you kidding me? Epic Failure of a mom right here. She has been puking in her mouth and swallowing it or chewing it back up and then swallowing it for three years?!?! Don't get me wrong, I have noticed her chewing on things before but I assumed it was the inside of her cheek or her tongue or something because when I asked her what was in her mouth, she said nothing, and when I checked, there really was nothing there (and now I know it's because she swallowed it back down). Anyways, I took her in to her pediatrician and she put her on Nexium immediately. One month later nothing was better so she doubled the dose (the highest dose she can be on) and even 6 weeks later, we still have little to no improvement. We can still smell her vomit breath daily and hear her puking and swallowing it back down several times/day. Luckily, there is no pain associated with this. She has assured us of that.
At the appointment today, we got some possible answers and found out that Chloe will need an endoscopy. This is where they will put her to sleep in the OR at Vanderbilt Children's Hospital and then slide a camera down her esophagus to look around for strictures, ulcers, herniations, and any other abnormalities, and then they will take a few biopsies. The doctor thinks that Chloe may have Eosinophilic Esophagitis. Here is the best description of it that I could find online to explain it:

From the Mayo Clinic -In eosinophilic esophagitis, a type of white blood cell (eosinophil) builds up in the tube that connects your mouth to your stomach (esophagus) as a reaction to foods, allergens or acid reflux. When that happens, the eosinophils can inflame or injure the esophageal tissue.

If her diagnosis comes back as EE, then she will be set up back at the GI clinic for what is called food allergy patch testing. Here they literally put baby food on her back and cover them spots up with patches (I think there are 25-30 different foods they will test). These will stay on for 3 days and then we will go back to see what she has reacted to. Whatever that test shows, if it shows anything at all, will lead to us being set up with a pediatric nutritionist who can guide us in eliminating the offensive foods from her diet for good. That may be quite the challenge, but we can do it and will deal with it if the time comes.
As for the esophagus, I believe they treat that with steroids and there are some experimental things going on too using a certain type of allergy med in conjunction with the steroids. I'm not sure if it will be a long term thing or not. I would think if she does in fact have EE that they will keep her on the steroids until her esophagus looks better and then her dietary change will sustain the healthy new tissue.

If they find ulcers, hiatel hernia, or any other issues we will go from there with a plan. Hopefully there is no damage from the reflux that has been happening for 3 years (geesh!) or I will REALLY feel guilty then, although the doctor told me that kids think it's totally normal because they have never known different and that she sees it in her patients all the time that are Chloe's age. I guess that made me feel a little better.
 If the endoscopy comes back normal, they will still do the patch test to check her for allergies. I asked if we could start there but she said that insurance won't approve it until a scope has been done and that they needed to check her esophagus anyways since it's been a long term thing and the Nexium isn't working. I tried my best to get out of having to take her in for "surgery" and general anesthesia, but I know it's all in her best interest. 

The test is set for June 28th as that is the earliest they could do it. Until then, we are to continue the Nexium and just wait it out. I will keep everyone updated if anything changes. I'm actually praying they can get her in earlier due to a cancellation but we shall see...

Anyways, after we left the doctor, we shopped and had lunch at Cool Springs Galleria. I kept her out of school for the whole day and made it our date day. 

Potty Talk Solution

Motherhood can be a challenge...a real challenge on most days. Currently, in this season of life, our main problem with Chloe and Brody is "potty talk." Now I'm not talking those 4 letter words (we all may be in therapy if I was referring to those), no, I'm referring to actual potty words. Fart. Poop. Diarrhea. Butt. Partner (refer to a few posts back about Brody naming his manhood Partner). THOSE words with the exception of poop are just NOT okay, and poop is only okay if you are going to actually go do it. However, my two kids (especially Brody) are obsessed with saying those words. It's crazy! I was so over hearing those words that I racked my brain trying to come up with some form of discipline that would get them to stop it real quick. I considered washing their mouths out with soap like they did in the good ol' days, but I couldn't bring myself to do that.  I also considered a drop of Texas Pete on their tongue but just couldn't justify it for my kids, and then it hit me...the best idea that I KNEW would work on my kids, and the worst that could happen was actually a POSITIVE thing. The solution? Brushing their teeth every single time I heard a potty word. Usually, they will absolutely only brush their teeth when I make them because they hate taking the time to do it on their own accord. So, to have to stop whatever they are playing so they can brush their teeth due to potty talk...well it is  equivalent to murder in their eyes.
Let me tell you though, after one week of teeth brushing out the wazoo for Brody, he has severely cut down on his potty talk. As in, I have hardly heard it at all in the past week. The first few days were rough. Poor thing (insert eye roll here) had to brush his teeth 6 times the first day (four of those were before lunch), and 5 times the second day. After that he caught on and has only had a few other days since that he has had to brush them extra. Chloe has had to brush hers a few extra times but I think she learned by watching Brody be tormented by the toothbrush and chose to silence her potty words.
It's a win-win situation form of discipline. There is very very little potty talk anymore and if there is any, they will have the cleanest teeth in town. Bonus!

The next thing that I will experiment with this form of punishment is excessive whining and tattle-taling. I have to nip this in the bud before summer break or I will be MISERABLE...and we all know that if mama ain't happy, nobody is happy.