The first Day Went Great!

Well it didn't start out like that, he did get a little weepy when we dropped him off, but I think that happened because of an irrational little boy that gotn there just ahead of us. This other little boy was screaming and clinging to the fence while his mother worked to peel him away.

But Little J was happy when I picked him up, he enjoyed having 2 recesses and a lunch at school, and he says he likes his teacher. Her name is Mrs. Irvine and she put John in the front of the class close to her. He's still having trouble with reading and since I gave them all of the paperwork from the testing done at the previous school, I hope they can find a way to get him motivated in this area. I will work with him as well, but I notice with John it makes a huge difference when he likes his teacher.

I didn't get much in the way of pictures today, things were so chaotic, so I only got a picture of him in the crowd when I picked him up. Hopefully I can get a few tomorrow so that we can put them in a book.

I hope this post finds all of you well, but I'm exhausted so I'm off to bed!

Love always, Kim

Well, Little J starts the first grade tomorrow. *sigh* Where does the time go? My baby is growing up so fast. To top it off he's getting ready to lose his first tooth and the big boy tooth is growing in right behind it. I don't mean to be a sappy mom but it's all making me a little emotional. I guess I'm a little nervous about leaving him at a new school and I just know I'm going to be anxiously watching the clock so I can go pick him up. I'm so worried about how his day is gonna go. I'm sure he'll be fine..... right?

Ok, well I'm gonna go make his lunch and find some gooey treat to put in it!

Love always -Kim

An Update............

HI all,

Just thought I would post an update. It's been a busy summer to say the least. We are 3 months into our new house and about 50% settled. There are still many things to do, but all in good time. It was so chaotic getting out of the old house I decided to settle slowly and maticulously so that things will be done right and when I have the time to do them! We have unpacked for the most part. We still have a few pieces of furniture to move around and I have, hmm just a few things on the wall. I've been toying with the idea of doing a little painting, I'll start with the living room and work my way around the first floor. I've tried to accept the slightly tinted white paint they used, but after our many months of going in and out of the hospital setting I've decided that white is just too sterile and I need some warmth and color on our walls.

Little J starts school this Tuesday, we are looking forward to that. We get to walk to school this year! I know that seems like a silly thing to be excited about but it's great exercise and when we lived in Morgan Hill we were as you all know, on a hill and while driving down to the school we were a weensy bit jealous of all the families that got to walk to school. The hastle with parking can can be stressful to say the least. I'm also excited that little John will have the opportunity to make some friends that live in his new neighborhood. This move has been the hardest on him. He's come around to the new house nicely, but I want him to really be happy. I think having some friends his own age will bring him a little happiness. We've also done all the school shopping and he's had more of an opinion on his clothes this year. he wanted to pick his own things so we had to compromise a little. he didn't ask for anything drastic, but if he had his way the kid would wear sweats or spoorty type clothes all the time. It was also fun buying school supplies. I've never seen him so excited over a new box of freshly sharpened pencils. :o)

Riley is doing great as well. He had his 2 year checkup already. his birthday isn't for a few months but I thought I'd get it out of the way since he needs to get cought up on the shots he missed while going through his surgeries. He's 27 pounds, 10 oz and 34 inches long. Thats quite an average size for his age, so he's doing great! He has made some new friends in a playgroup I've gotten involved in. He's enjoying being around more kids and big brother has been able to join in the fun. If you don't know yet, Little J is Rileys favorite playmate. Even though they are 5 years apart they are very close and it warms my heart when I watch them together. There is something very special about the bond they share and I hope it will always stay with them.

John and I are doing good as well. It's going pretty well with him working from home. Sometimes I worry he will get tired of being in the same house with me all the time, but when he works he's in his office and it's really not much different than when he commuted. Except that his commute is the 30 seconds it takes to get down the stairs and sometimes he turns to me for lunch ideas. :o) That can be a bit of a challenge when I am used to preparing jelly sandwiches and mac n cheese! Those things aren't quite good enough for the man of the house. :o)

Ok, well I think it's time for me to get some sleep. I'll try to post more often as we settle into our new routines.

Love always,
Kim

Meet the Rock Band!

Well Daddy got a new game for the Xbox 360 and all the boys seem to be into it. Even the youngest has decided he's lead singer! They had a blast rockin out together and I wanted to share some pictures. Enjoy! :o) Always.... -Kim













Sorry they are so small, Blogger seems to be having an issue today. I'll try to load the "medium" size later.

Rileys First Haircut............

We finally did it, after one too many "she's so cute" comments about our little man we had to take him to get a trim. I was so afraid that when they cut his hair he would no longer have any curls, but his hair remarkably is still wavy. He's as cute as ever too! But he's looking much more like a toddler now than my little baby. I just couldn't believe how much his hair had grown over the last few weeks.........

Finally a New Post!

Hi all, sorry I've been mia. We've been working very hard the last couple of weeks to get settled in to the new house. Slowly but surely we are getting there. I'm sure it will take a little while for it to feel like home. Mom was here most of last week helping me unpack and I sure hope she knows how much I appreciate it. I don't know how I would have got all that done without her. We have very few boxes left to unpack and most of that is just odds and ends that don't have homes yet. The boys are settling in nicely.I do need to take little J out to find some of the other kids in the neighborhood though. I think he'll be much happier when he has some kids his own age to play with. He's been very good playing with Riley, or as daddy calls him " The Crib Midget". :o)

It's been very interesting being a new place and having to learn my way around a new town. I feel like one of those bad drivers we have all come across at some point that doesn't seem to know the left from right. :o) But it's all working out. I am enrolling little J in his new school on Monday. He'll be starting the first grade on Aug. 26th. and hopefully by then he'll have made some friends and won't feel like such a newby.

Ok, well I'm tired. I'll check in tomorrow at some point and hopefully from here out I'll get to update the blog more regularly. Love always......... -Kim

Soooo Tired!!

Ok, we are in the countdown! Woohoo! It's so much work to move! I'll be glad when it's over, but it will be worth it. Still so much to do and so little time. Isn't that how it always is?

Jr. will be coming home soon. I really am looking forward to seeing him. It's been very hard with him in Iraq. He's my baby brother and the only reward I get from him being in Iraq is having him come home safe. Getting to see him and hug him and being able to feel the relief that he's outta there. Love you Jr.

Ok, well I need soem sleep. love always...... -Kim

TaDa, Here I am. :o) Sorry that it took me sooo long to write a new post. Things have been busy around here to say the least. We've been packing and cleaning like crazy people. My limbs and back hurt from all the lifting and squatting. But thats ok, it will be worth it when we get to the new house. Saturday is moving day.

It is a little sad to be leaving this house. We have been here for 5 1/2 years and have made a lot of memories filled with love and family. And when I stop and think about it I can't help but shed a few tears. I know some think that we are running off and that this is easy for us. It is what we want and it's a decision that John and I made together and we are excited about it. But it's not all easy. We love our families and this will be new to both of us to live somewhere with no family around us.

Ok, too many emotions. I'm gonna leave things there and get back to cleaning and packing. Here is a pic of the boys helping Mom pack. Love always.......... -Kim

Almost There

Well everything has finally been settled on the house. We sign the docs next friday the 23rd of May and will likely be moving on the 31st of May. Just in case you don't know what the date is today, that only gives me two weeks to pack and clean! Yikes. Some of it's done but since things were up in the air I was not very motivated to get much done. :o) Oh, and ofcourse our first heat wave is here, so that just makes it all the more enjoyable! ( insert sarcastic eye roll ) LOL, but it's okay because we are very excited and somehow we will get everything done.

Little John also has a lot of year end activities going on at school, so thats keeping me busy as well. The boys and John are doing well and if I get a chance I will come back later on ofr a better update. Love always -Kim

Quick Update-

This one is going to be quick because there is not much to update. Riley is doing good, as are the rest of us right now.
No news on the house. They are still waiting for the rental survey from the lender. The buying process can't go anywhere until that comes back. It's frustrating to say the least. I think I may have to start calling Dave the lender more often to light the fire. Maybe he'll stay on top of it and push a little harder to get that back. Who knows! For now though things are going fine. Gotta get ready to take Little J to school. -Kim

Kinder Kuisine @ Little J's School

On Friday John, Riley and I attended lunch with the kinders and Little John got to be a bus boy at the kinder restaurant. He did a great job and was a very polite busser. He served our water and kept our table clean and neat. :o) He came to our table and said "Mommy and Daddy, do you want water?" It was so much fun and Riley really enjoyed being in a room with so many kids. When it was time to leave I took my tag to the little cashier girl and asked her how much kinder money I owed her and she looked hard at my tag and said " I don't know!" LOL, so I payed her some kinder money and put the rest of the kinder money in the tip jar. It was all play money of course, but it was just so much fun, we really enjoyed watching all the kids scurrying around. They were all very eager to do a good job. It was a singing restaurant as well, so we got to hear them sing the song "I am a Pizza". Here are a few pictures from the event, I hope you enjoy them. -Kim

The bussers waiting-


Our Handsome Bus Boy-


Riley waiting for pizza-


Here he is-


Yummy pizza-


Picking up a tip-

Yet Another Late night Post......

All is going well, Riley is doing good. He had us worried Wednesday night when he woke up at midnight screaming. I sat up with him for an hour trying to figure out if he was just having a night terror or if he was in pain and having complications. He gradually calmed down and went back to sleep while I rocked him. I am still a little worried as to how his left kidney is draining since removing the stint. He has an ultrasound tomorrow morning at 10 to check on his kidney. So hopefully all will look good there.
Little J's kindergarten career is winding down and all the end of the year events are starting. Tomorrow afternoon John and I will be attending the Kinder Kuisine. The kinders open their pizzaria and fill the roles of cooks, waiters, bussers and hosts. The parents get the grand pleasure of being served delicious english muffin pizzas. :o) I'll be sure to take plenty of pics to share tomorrow night. Well it's getting late and my eyes are getting heavy. Love always -Kim

We're Home and Riley Did Great!

Rileys procedure went great. It was less than 20 minutes and he woke up right away when they took him off anastecia. Dr. Lee gave the stint to us as a keepsake. Not sure what to do with it? He was tired though and took a 3 hour nap after we got home. I took advantage and got some sleep as well. I'm totally not a napper either, but I couldn't wait to close my eyes. Little J spent the first half of the day with his Papa and behaved very well. :o) We are more than happy to be home with no signs of complications. Gotta get the boys to bed but here are a couple photos of Riley enjoying his sphaguetti dinner. Love Always -Kim

Surgery Tomorrow

We have to have Riley at Kaiser in Fremont at 8am and surgery is scheduled for 9:30. I'm always nervous about not being able to feed him in the morning. He's done fine so far not eating before a procedure, but I would be grumpy if someone wouldn't let me have breakfast. :o) I'll try to update tomorrow when we get home. Love always........

Kim

Rileys Upcoming Procedure

Riley will have an outpatient procedure on Tuesday the 29th. This procedure is supposed to be very short. It's to remove the stint that Dr. Lee placed in his left uriter. No incisions need to be made. But they do need to go through his poor little boy part to get to the stint. So all we can do is hope and pray that this will go smoothly and that there will not be any issues after we bring him home. For those of you that know all the history behind Riley's surgeries you can understand why we're on the terms of beleiving what we see these days. But he has been doing extremely well and I do have to say that I feel that things are going to go well. Dr. Lee has been quite devoted to making sure Riley comes through this whole and healthy. His perfect reputation also depends on it. If things go as planned he should wake up a little grumpy and sore but he'll be fine in no time. So I'm asking that if you can all just saya little prayer for Riley to have a smooth and speedy recovery I would greatly appreciate it.

Love Always, Kim

Hey, I started a Blog!

Well it looks like we are moving soon, so I started this blog as a way for family and friends to stay connected to us. I know we're not going that far, but I know how hectic all of our lives can be. So now I can post messages, pictures, and videos to share with everyone and maybe the distance that will be between us won't seem so bad. We love all of you.............

-Kim

Just a pic of the front of the house............