Kindergarten, Here We Come!

The past two weeks have been very busy for us! Garrett had his kindergarten physical, luckily with no shots required (we took care of those at the 4-year check-up). His current stats: Height 44", Weight 35.8 lbs, Body Mass Index 0% (off the charts). His body mass was never high (usually around 5% but it took a downward dive so we are supposed to get this skinny boy to gain about 3 lbs this summer. Sounds like an easy feat, but I can't remember the last time this boy gained a pound. Guess we'll have to start eating his favorite food (PB&J) more often to make sure that he's eating enough! Garrett enjoyed the visit and was all smiles for the nurses, as usual. When a nurse asked him if his Mommy and Daddy know if they are having a boy or a girl, he promptly replied, "It's a girl." Very matter of fact! I had to explain that we actually don't know what we are having.

Yesterday we headed to Kindergarten round-up. Garrett was all smiles and acted a little shy when the principal said 'hi' to him. All of the future kindergarteners were divided among the kindergarten teachers and got to hang out in a classroom while the parents sat through an informational meeting. We won't find out who his teacher is until right before school starts, so they just randomly divided them up. Garrett happened to be in the same group as his friend, Julia, from daycare that will be attending the same kindergarten as him! He seemed excited about that. He got a stamp on his hand, colored a picture, and wrote his name on it while they were in the classroom. I can't believe what a big boy he is! It seems like just yesterday that we were bringing him home from the hospital and now he is headed to kindergarten very soon! He is excited about kindergarten and I hope that school is a wonderful experience for him. The principal said that parents are always welcome to come and eat lunch with their child. I'm looking forward to some lunch dates with my boy since I'll have Thursdays off this next school year!
Here are some stats about our school (which is about 1 1/2 blocks from our house!): I believe it is the 3rd largest elementary school in Lincoln (that scares me a little bit). They are expecting approximately 120 new kindergarten students, divided among 6 classrooms. The biggest class in the school is the current 2nd grade with 138 students.

What We've Been Up To...

I should be able to think of a more creative name for this blog post but for right now, that's all I've got. Here are some updates...

Garrett's stitches are out! We've been using steri-strips to hold his gash closed a little longer while it finishes healing. Today should be the last day. Swimming lessons can resume this week since he is fully healed! These are all wonderful things!

Avery has discovered my perfume. She came into the kitchen last weekend saying, "mell me, Mommy, mell me." She wanted me to smell her - she leaves off her 's' sounds. It's too cute to start correcting it yet! Turns out she had sprayed my perfume right onto her forehead. Thank goodness she didn't get it in her eyes! Guess I'll be keeping that out of reach from now on. She is very proud of 'being like Mommy!'

Avery is really into nail polish. Unfortunately we don't always have the same taste in colors. I prefer pinks and reds and she prefers green, orange, and purple! She insists that our nails must match so now I am wearing green, orange, and purple! It's hard to resist my little fashionista's style recommendations.

We have a sick bird for the first time in 13 years. Yes, much to Greg's dismay, the birds are going on 13 years now. Harry came down with a sinus infection and is taking a daily antibiotic (by tiny oral syringe!). We discovered that avian exams cost about twice the price of a dog/cat. But like I told Greg, we can't let her die of something easily treatable, and turns out, that was the case. Let's just say that Greg and I are becoming very experienced at medicating a tiny bird, again, much to his dismay. The birds have also been very unsettled lately, squawking at anything and everything. I think their general tolerance for a noisy environment is decreasing with age. It just so happens that my tolerance is decreasing with pregnancy. Anyway, this weekend, for the first time ever, I had suggested that maybe they need a quieter home. When I asked Garrett what he thought about this, he said, "No Mom! They can live in my room. If they keep me awake at night, that's okay." That boy has such a big heart. We definitely can't give his birds away.

My doctor's office is working on getting my c-section date scheduled. The date will be either July 14th or 15th, both good dates for birthdays, I think! I really seems like a reality when we start to talk about a birth date! This last trimester is going to fly by. I'm not quite sure that I'm ready for the sleepless nights and restricted diet again, but I sure am ready to start sleeping on my back again!

This might be the best news yet...there are only 33 days of school left!! Woo hoo!

Welcome to the World of Boys

Within 1 week's time, Garrett experienced his first goose-egg to the forehead/black eye and stitches! I already briefly blogged about him missing the front porch steps at Grandpa's house and his big black eye that formed later that day. Thankfully that is looking much better these days. On Saturday we went for our bike ride to our neighborhood park. A steep sidewalk leads into the park and Garrett and Avery typically fly down this on their Strider bikes. That day, Avery decided to hang with me and Garrett raced ahead. I could see his front tire start to wobble followed by a big crash. Thankfully he was wearing his helmet, but it didn't protect his forehead very well. He came running toward me with blood running down his face, a big gash in his forehead, and a bloody nose. We wiped up the blood the best that we could and I tried to calm him down. Anyone that knows Garrett well, knows that he is our spirited child and his reactions are usually elevated above most children's. It was a long slow walk toward home. Thankfully our friend, Audrey, who lives nearby, gave us a ride. I wasn't sure if we would need stitches or not, but luckily our pediatrician's office is open on weekends, and they said to come right in. When the doctor saw him, he asked if he had lost consciousness (referring to his black eye) and I had to explain that his black eye was from the previous weekend. The doctor laughed about that and said, "Welcome to the world of boys." Sure enough, my buddy needed stitches. He didn't want anyone to touch his face, so they had to "papoose" him with velcro to a backboard. It still took 2 of us to hold him still while the doctor gave him 5 stitches! My poor boy! Avery was a good sport too. Thinking that he wouldn't really need stitches, I had taken her along with me. She sat in the corner and rocked Garrett's stuffed cookie monster back and forth. Let's just say that it was traumatic for everyone involved! But the good news is that his stitches are healing nicely and he gets them removed on Thursday. We'll probably be a little more cautious around our house for awhile.