New School Year-1st Day of School Pics

Hayden and his 2nd grade teacher, Mrs. Mansfield (he loves her, so far)

Rowan's pre-school group-aren't they the cutest!?!

Rowan is just slightly taller than the rest of his group ;)

All of my handsome boys are in school, this year, and they make going to school look cool!

Trip to San Antonio/Alamo/Rainforest Cafe/Riverwalk

Schlitterbahn 2012

We went to Schlitterbahn to celebrate Hayden's birthday.  Irene, Lou, and their nephew lil' Tony came along for the ride.  Nadia and Rowan loved hanging out in the kiddie pool at Surfenburg.  Rowan can swim, but he was content just laying in the water, playing with the turtles (he loves turtles) and helping Nadia go down the slide.  Irene and I played with Rowan and Nadia while the big boys went on rides.  Later, I went on a newer, tube ride with Hayden, but it scraped my knee all up.  All of us went to Blastenhoff for a bit, but Rowan got lost there.  Luckily, he was turned in to the lost and found and quickly found.  After that drama, we went back to the kiddie pool and found out that Schlitterbahn was now Sh*terbahn, as a child had gone number two in the water and it had to be evacuated.  We decided to eat some Dip 'n Dots and call it a day.

Nadia's Tonsillectomy

I hate these socks and gown!!  Thankfully, she fell asleep right before her surgery-I think they call that twilight sedation...

Watching Max & Ruby, eating popsicles, and drinking juice.

Nadia had her tonsils removed near the end of July.  Her sleep apnea was soooo bad, that the doctor's wanted to remove them, even though she wasn't even two years old, yet.  She would snore soooo loud, every single time she was asleep, and it typically took about 4-5 tries before she got air in her lungs.  Kevin filmed her "sleeping" and showed it to her doctor who decided they needed to be removed, ASAP.  She was not happy about wearing the sleeping gown in the hospital or socks, before her surgery.  After her surgery, I stayed the day and night with her in the surgery center.  She still snored whenever she fell asleep and her O2 levels would drop below 90 (towards 70s) and the nurses made me hold a tube with oxygen blowing on her face, but that didn't even work.  Thankfully, the doctor explained to the nurses that Nadia actually does have sleep apnea (they throw the term around, loosely) and that even though her O2 levels were low, she was probably getting more oxygen than she was used to, before she had her tonsils removed.  It's been at least a month from her surgery, and Nadia is doing great!  She sleeps soundly, and she evens seems to be learning faster, now (saying more words, etc.).  She was a champ at taking the pain meds and handled the recovery period much better than her older brothers.  I hope she doesn't get sick as often and can rest easier, now.  I also hope she doesn't go through a huge growth spurt like Rowan did.  This was Nadia's 3rd time in surgery, as she already had surgery for ear tubes, and then another surgery for another set of tubes and to remove her adenoids.  We sure love our little Nadia!

Happy 7th Bday, Hayden

Happy Birthday, Hayden!!

Hayden turned seven years old on July 9th.  We took him to eat at Chuy's , and he enjoyed a Tres Leches for dessert.  Hayden said the best thing about being seven is getting taller and getting to go on more amusement park rides.  Hayden told me the other day that it is no fair that he is a wort and Rowan is a heart.  I asked him why that was so, and he told me that it is because he is a worry wort and Rowan is a lover boy.  Hayden's fortune cookie recently said, "Don't be superstitious about things that aren't warranted."  We often remind Hayden to stop sweating the small stuff and to let go of his hang-ups.  Hayden started piano lessons, recently, and he was great on the swim team, this summer.  He was the third most improved in his age group.  He reminded me, today, that he was never disqualified on the back stroke, which was his favorite stroke.  He even tried the butterfly, twice, but was DQed both times.  I love my little "worry wort", because he takes everything so seriously and is constantly worried about choosing the right.  His stress about everything causes him to be a good kid who likes to brush his teeth, say his prayers, eat healthy, use his manners, study and practice, etc., because he is too afraid of the repercussions.  He weighs around 55 pounds and is about an inch and a half taller than his little brother, Rowan, who weighs about 77 pounds.   Hayden is a good boy who recently told me he stopped watching Youtube, because sometimes they have bad videos that get bad and scary images in his head.  He always asks me before he does anything (unlike Rowan, who thinks he's a man and wants to do everything himself), and Hayden enjoys playing his 3DS and iPad.  He takes good care of his little sister, Nadia, and can often get into a pretty decent fight with his brother, Rowan.  He is continually losing baby teeth, and recently the tooth fairy let him keep his baby tooth and left behind 'GOLDEN DOLLAR COINS".  Hayden worries about having nightmares or scary things at night and would love for his parents to sleep with him, every night.  He still loves to watch Max & Ruby, and enjoys the other Noggin/Nick Jr shows like Olivia, Peppa Pig, and also Sponge Bob.  He worries about his mom or dad posting on facebook that he watches those shows, though.  Hayden is such a sweetheart and often seems like he is my middle child and that Rowan is the big brother, because he is so childlike.  He loves his build-a-bear's, too, and that's what he had his Grandmama get him for his birthday.  We sure love Hayden bunches, and I hope that he grows a bunch this year, so that he can ride more rides at the amusement park.