First day...Hooray!

Warning: Tyler pictures overkill ahead

Well, Monday was the big day...Tyler started kindergarten. I have been dreading this day for years now. I just wasn't quite ready for my baby to grow up, and starting kindergarten feels like the starting of him leaving. I also REALLY hate that we have full day kindergarten here (don't get me started on that topic...it gets my blood boiling), but it is what it is and I can't change it (although I can check him out everyday at noon :) )

Preparations for the big day started the week before when we went to our "meet the teacher night." We arrived at the school and found the lists of classes and teachers posted on the doors. I scrolled down the list and found Tyler's name listed under the teacher that I had hoped for. I then checked the list again for Ava's name. Certainly they were in the same class, right?! Jen and I had requested it months ago, but Ava's name was not on the same list. After a quick scan, I found Ava's name listed in another class. I was stunned. I tryed to gather my senses as we headed off for Tyler's classroom. I guess I had always envisioned Tyler's first day and first school year to be one shared with his best friend. It was like in those three minutes I had to re-work the whole image I had set up in my mind for how things would go. Needless to say, kids are way more reselient that we are. Ty seemed totally fine with it.

We walked into the school and I was flooded with emotions- excitement, anxiety, and nostalgia. After teaching first grade for a number of years, this was the first time I was experiencing it all from "the other" perspective. It was like walking down memory lane as I peeked into various classrooms and watched nervous children and teachers meet for the first time. As I looked around Tyler's classroom, I had a deep appreciation for how many hours went into setting up bulletin boards, arranging desks, organizing supplies, creating lesson plans, carefully considering rules and routines, typing up letters, and so on and so on.

Tyler was very cute- obvously nervious, which is quite amazing. It takes a lot to rattle this little guy's nerves. He found his desk and checked out the classroom and politely (and nervously) shook hands with his new teacher.

Sunday night finally rolled around and it was finally time to prepare for our big day. John gave Ty a sweet and simple Father's blessing and a quick pep talk. We each had one assignment for the first day. John wanted Tyler to learn the names of three friends in his class and report back to him that evening. I told Tyler I wanted him to listen very carefully to everything his teacher said...I was afraid that in all of Tyler's enthusiasm and excitement for the day he would drift off and tune out his teacher and miss some important instructions and not know where to sit at lunch or when to come in from recess.

Then we got ready for bed and John helped Tyler choose his clothes and set them out for the next morning. They decided to make a clothes dude, which Ty thought was pretty awesome.

The next morning at 7:00 on the nose, Tyler walked into my bathroom, where I was getting ready, and said very brightly, "Good morning Mommy!" He was all dressed and ready, including his shoes. The tears welled up in my eyes and I realized that this day had really arrived...much to my dismay. We took a few pics and headed off to school!

John decided to go into work late so that he could help drop Tyler off at school for his first day. We survived the chaos in the halls and managed to get Tyler to his classroom. I could sense that Ty was nervous and excited at the same time. Quick hugs and kisses and he was off...and with that, I left my heart at the elementary school.

Knowing that Tyler has been looking forward to this day with much excitement and enthusiasm made leaving him a little easier, but I couldn't help the tears from coming. We rushed out the doors and headed for the car so that Ty nor anyone else for that matter would see me loose it.

I knew it was going to be a loooong 7 hours, so I decided I needed something to keep my mind occupied while Tyler was gone. I set to work trying to create a first day of school tradition for our family. Since I'm all about keeping life simple, I settled on a "First day Hooray" party with a banner that we could pull out each year, along with a hat and a special after school treat.

I'll admit, I couldn't wait until 3:00- I checked the clock a million times. When it was finally time to pick Tyler up, I couldn't wait to see his happy face and hear all about his exciting day. Tyler indeed had an exciting and wonderful first day. He gladly reported that he listened to his teacher and had the names of three new friends. We sat and ate cookies and discussed his new adventure.

After dinner, we continued the celebration with a visit to our favorite frozen yogurt place.

Diabetes or not, we can still celebrate the good old fashioned way... with a hefty sugar buzz!

Side note: after school on his second day, I asked Ty what his favorite part of the day is. He thought about it for a moment and said, "The end." I giggled and then asked him why that is. He told me because he gets to see his mommy and play with his brother and he doesn't have to do any work!

I'm glad to know that he loves school, but has a very realistic and accurate view of the whole situation.

I'm proud of our little man and hope the rest of the year is as successful as the first day seemed to be!

Back to School Anxiety

There'll be plenty of friends

It's okay that Ava's not in the same class

The teacher will be so nice

Lunch time will go swimmingly

There will be someone to calm jittery nerves and wipe away sad tears (should they appear)

The day won't feel too long and we'll be together soon

The other students will be kind

It'll all be fine, it'll all be fine, it'll all be fine

If you guessed that this is the pep talk that I have with Tyler as we near our first day of school, you're completely wrong. He's totally excited and confident (thank heavens). This is what I say to myself every night as I fall asleep worrying about my baby starting school. More than a few tears have hit my pillow as I think about all of these upcoming changes.

A few weeks ago, when I first started to realize how quickly the school year was approaching, I panicked. He can't be leaving me already!!! Have we done all the fun things we wanted? Did we spend enough quality time together? What fond memories will he have as he looks back on the summer? So I decided to consciously create fun, simple, happy moments that we could would both cherish. Here are a few:

Trips to the park. I have to admit, this activity didn't happen very often. We only visited the park on cloudy days and we had to be done by 9:30 am. It sure has been a HOT summer!

Much more frequent were our trips to the pool. It was always especially fun to have a few friends meet us there.

But I was also thrilled on this particular day when we had the pool all to ourselves. I loved swimming and playing with these two cuties.

Tyler has never had swimming lessons, but he's done quite well and has become a good little swimmer. Robby loves the water too. He has a great time playing with water toys and splashing in the water and pretending to swim (I've got a hilarious video I'll post another time).

Tyler has never seen the Dallas Temple, so I put that on our list of summer activities. I'm glad I did. I enjoyed taking the opportunity to teach Tyler about this special place. Jen and her kiddos joined us for this outing as well. When I took the boys into the foyer for a quick look into the doors, a very nice temple worker offered to let us walk through the main lobby if we promised to be very reverent. I hesitated at first (the "very reverent part" had me a bit nervous...we did have five small children with us after all), but decided to give it a try. As we walked past the front desk, I pointed out the temple worker at the desk. We talked about how everyone at the temple wears white just like him. Then Tyler asked me what that man was doing at the desk, I explained that his job is to make sure all who come to the temple have a recommend from the bishop. When Tyler asked me what that meant, I told him that means we have to be old enough to go to the temple, and we have to be worthy. Of course Tyler then asked me what that meant, so I told him that it means we have to be making good choices and repent of any sins. Tyler then said, "Oh. I have sins. I called Robby a bad name. I'll have to repent before I go to the temple." I thought it was very sweet...let's hope that's all he ever has to repent of!

Jen and I couldn't resist getting a few pictures of these two together at the temple...who knows, maybe someday they'll come here together when they're older.

Just as Jen and I were gushing about how cute they are together, we look up and see them walking hand in hand. This was totally not prompted by us. They genuinely like each other this much. Soooo sweet!

We also made a trip to the bounce house place. I love the air conditioning and Tyler loves to climb, jump, run, slide, wrestle, and play. It's a perfect fit for us.



Along with several outings, we made sure to spend some fun times playing at home together. Tyler always impresses me with his crazy good lego skills. I sometimes can't believe he can put those things together without any help.


One of my other favorite outings this summer was a trip to ride a small train that runs on a small track through part of Fort Worth. We decided at the last minute one morning while it was overcast and not too hot. We packed snacks and enjoyed the morning together. The train ride was just long enough to be interesting, but not too long to be boring. I loved watching my two boys sit side by side as they each enjoyed the ride in their own little way. Robby was so cute checking out the real live choo choo train. His little eyes were like saucers when he first saw it rounding the corner with the whistle blowing and all. It has definitely triggered a train fascination in this little boy! Ever since, he's been all about trains.
As I've mentioned, it's been an incredibly hot summer. We spent as much time in the water as possible. When we heard about this new splash pad, we were thrilled. We visited a couple times just to break up our "swimming pool routine." Tyler loved filling up a bucket with water and trying to sneak up on me to dump it on my head. I had a great time trying to chase him down for payback.
Robby is absolutely darling at the splash pad. He literally runs for two hours straight. He runs from one feature to the next, all the while smiling, giggling, splashing, and having the time of his life. I think it's the one activity that we can definitely count on effecting his blood sugar. After running and playing for two straight hours, he gets to enjoy a couple freebie sugary snacks.

And of course, no summer would be complete without a good dose of cartoons. What I can't seem to figure out though is why they sit this close EVERY time they watch cartoons. We have this big room with plenty of places to sit and inevitably they always end up sitting like this.

And so you can see why I'm left thinking, "what will I ever do without my Tyler bear?"
He's been my little buddy for almost six years now and I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that he won't be with me all the time. I'm glad we spent the summer doing fun things, nothing extraordinary, but simple moments that I know I will always cherish.

Momma gets a break!

A few weeks ago my dad called and asked me if I wanted to fly out to surprise my mom for her birthday. It took me about 3 minutes to call John to clear it with him and then I started making arrangements right away. I'm sure grateful that I was able to be with my mom on her birthday. It was such a memorable trip. But I'm also grateful that my dad was able to help provide an opportunity for me to enjoy a much needed break . It was heaven and couldn't have come at a better time.

I packed my own bag- and no one else's.

My purse contained a wallet and a book and that's it! No test strips, no needles, no pdm, no extra diabetes supplies, no emergency sugary treats...NOTHING!

At meals, I had to resist the urge to poke someone's finger and count a plate of carbs.

and best of all, I SLEPT...four nights in a row! No alarm beeped at me in the middle of the night (signifying something is wrong...and happens at least once every night), I didn't have to run upstairs to give anyone juice or deliver any insulin, I didn't have to set my alarm for 15 minutes and two hours after an episode to re-check blood glucose levels, I didn't have that looming worry that something was going to go terribly wrong while I slept. It was peaceful bliss!!!

Here is a little of what I did do instead:

I went out to lunch and a movie with these lovely ladies (my two sisters and my mom)

I got to hold this tiny little peanut (Chrissy's 3 week old baby)

She is seriously the cutest little thing ever. I couldn't get enough of her. When she was born I was so bummed that I lived so far away and couldn't see my newest niece. Chrissy is a great mom and I'm so grateful that I got to see her as a first time parent in action. Amazing!

I got to go hiking one morning with this fantastic brother

The hike was amazingly beautiful, and I totally enjoyed spending time one on one with my brother...

...and it's good to know he's still a complete goofball and can totally keep me laughing.

I also got to have lunch out with these three monkeys. (these are Steph's three entertaining boys. I sure wish Tyler could spend more time with his cousins...he would have SOOOO much fun)
And of course we celebrated this lovely lady's birthday. Chrissy and Mike know how to celebrate BIG time. check out this Diet Coke cake they ordered. Yep it's a cake and it was DELISH! Nothing says love like a big Diet Coke!!!

A huge thanks to John for jumping right in and taking the boys for me. He planned fun things and took care of all their needs. I like to think they missed me, but in reality, I'm sure they had a great time (refer to previous post). Also a big thank you to Jen. She took the boys for two mornings while I was gone so that John could actually go in to work for a bit and then again so that he could get a training ride in with Shayne. She is a diabetes pro. I'll never forget how grateful I was when shortly after Robby was diagnosed she said to me, "train me when you're ready so that I can watch your boys." She is heaven sent.

And to my dad- THANK YOU! It was a wonderful trip. I loved spending time with everyone and I loved being with Mom on her birthday. The break from my regular routine was therapeutic, and I was thrilled to escape the Texas heat for several days. It was awesome.

While I was gone...

When I got home from Young Women's last night, I found these videos on my camera.

Glad to know they have a good time when I'm gone, but wondering if I need to hire a baby-sitter.