More pics

Merry Christmas

Justice is so funny. He woke up at 3:30 a.m. I was taking care of Jordan and saw Justice in his bed wide awake. He said "mom, there is presents in there!" So, since Jordan was too excited to sleep too, we were all up at 3:30 a.m. opening presents. Here is some pics of Justice, 1st one w/Jordan's transformer. 2nd w/cousins game,3rd checking out moms new camera up close,

Justice's 1st's

Justice has been sick. He got his first ever ear infection & required his first ever antibiotics. It started Friday with his ear hurting (he had a cold most of the week prior) then the fever came over the weekend. I have not seen a cold knock him down in a long time. He continued to complain of an earache through Tuesday but was acting like himself. I sent him to school thinking he was better. Went to work and got a call at 10:30. His ear still hurt & he had a 100.03 temp.

I took him to the corner clinic in the Wallgreens, (didn't want to drive all the way to his ped. doc when we knew what was wrong) And the nurse pract. checked him out, said both ears were infected & he burst his left ear drum. At this point I officially feel like a bad mom. He was such a good boy when she was checking him out (once the Tylenol kicked in) She said it was ok that the drum burst, that some docs wait until that happens because it helps drain the ear. It sounds bad to me. She prescribed Amox, and an ear drop med for the left ear and other ear drops for pain. We call them boo boo drops, they make the owie stop.

He hates getting his drops, says it hurts. I drew a picture of his ear & drum and explained what happened as best I knew & in a way he would understand. He was very interested & said he understood & would take his drops now. Then later, he said my ear drum is better & the guitar is broke now. And I think he said something about a trumpet in there too. He is such a good boy, he even kept the cotton in his ear & if it fell out he put it back in. He wants the drum to get fixed. Aren't 5 year olds cute.

As for school, he has adjusted just fine. It was a big change for him & I think he just needed some time to find his place in the class. He also asked for a lunch box so he could bring a lunch & not get hot lunch. A while back I bought him a Diego lunch box & he is very happy with it & not having to wait in the lunch line. Plus I put his favorites in there.

Today he will be joining me & Jordan to Chicago. I told the school I would keep him home today since he was still so sick & decided to just take him with me. My mom is coming with also to help (we don't have a nurse today) I think I may have to ask her to drive since I didn't have a nurse last night either & Jordan kept me up. It's going to be a long day.

fair day

Justice went to the fair Thursday night, Friday & Sunday. Friday he was out of school because of the fair & Thursday half day & running a muck so I took him there in the evening to wear him out, it would have worked if he didn't have pop & cotton candy. He loved it & after making a few side deals & $5.00 he won some prises. We all went Sunday together as a family & daddy took him in the bumper cars. He did not want to go down the big slide but took a rest in Jordan's chair as soon as it was empty. I think he misses the stroller days. I will be on the look out for a wagon soon.

Grandparents

Justice is going to be at his Grandma KK & pa pa tomorrow & have a sleep over. (Mike & I have a date) I can't wait to tell him. I wanted to wait until I was sure nothing would come up but grandma KK just told me she can take him sick or not. (I will pack some extra germ-X) Justice loves his grandparents & is perfectly comfortable staying there even if he isn't well. Besides, he has been asking for a sleep over there for some time now & it makes me very happy that he has such a good relationship with his grandparents that he asks to be with them.

This is the case for him with all his grandparents. Many times when we are at a crossroad in our town that either leads left into town or right to my parents, he will ask to go to grandma's house. When I turn left he says, "thats not the way to grandmas house"

The relationship Justice has with his grandparents is very special. Something I feel very strongly about. There is a security there for Justice & me. I have been trying to make visits more than just when Jordan has appointments or hospital stays. I don't want to just use them for babysitting (I have had to a lot). I want them to have that loving relationship grandparents & grandchildren have and have it grow as strong as it can be. The fact that justice asks for his grandparents makes me feel we are all doing something right, and that he does have that relationship I have always wanted for him. Jordan feels the same way too & he has shown them in his own way that they mean the world to him.

I am grateful & proud of the relationship my boys have with their grandparents. I feel very fortunate, and am glad that mom, dad, KK & pa pa are my son's grandparents.

I could go on and on about Jordan's relationship with his grandparents and the many things he does to let them know how special they are to him but, this is Justices blog.

The other side of the story

Justices teacher called wanting to know if Justice was ok because, a couple of kindergartens were shaken up by the tornado warning yesterday and didn't show up for school. I said he was sick last night but was doing fine today & I wasn't sure if he had a little bug or if it was nerves. She said he did have a couple mishaps on lining up & quiet time and he was crying. Mainly because he wasn't getting his way but I know, he also isn't used to the schedule & he didn't know what to expect & that makes Justice uneasy & scared. Then they are ready to load the bus & come home & the tornado warning alarmed, everyone had to switch gears & get to the safe area. She said all the little ones were upset so I am sure justice was. I know it is only kindergarten but that is a lot for a little guy to take in. His next day is Wednesday and Jordan and I will be joining him for lunch. I asked the teacher if it would be better for us to come wed. or wait & she said to come wed. So Justice has a lunch date with his brother & mom.

2 hour flu?

He is just fine now. He ate toast & jam & drank a cup of water & he is jumping on the couch, watching bugs life. I am having to tell him "we sit on the couch" every 30 seconds. He appears to be back to normal.

Justice is sick

He was vomiting last night. Not sure why, I hope he isn't getting sick, but I also hope it isn't stress from starting school. I also put him on the hot lunch program. Who knows but he is home today.
He is sleeping on the couch with a bucket. I will let you know how the day progresses.

1st day of school

Today was Justice's first full day of kindergarten. Of course he isn't talking. He isn't very good at giving up details, but there was a note that said he had a good first day. It was a long day for him. He left at 7:30 and just got home at 3:50. He normally wont be getting home that late but there was a tornado warning & they kept the kids in school. Justice didn't seem phased by it, he fell asleep on the bus. I on the other hand, was waiting on pins & needles, with Jordan in the basement.
I missed him today. I wanted to get all sorts of things done around here & kept finding myself going and playing with Jordan. I kept thinking about Justice all through the day. I was wanting to know how he was. I wanted to sneak over & peek in the classroom, just so I could see him playing & having a good time. It hit me this morning, I wanted to know if he was nervous, or scared, or lost or frustrated. I wanted to be there for him, to tell him it's ok. I wanted to protect him, ease his fears & walk through this new adventure in life with him so he wouldn't be scared.

That must be what all the letting go talk is about. Letting him go to pre-school was different.
I wasn't leaving him to work it out on his own, I was able to ease him into it. This was new for both of us. This is big boy school. I think he did better than I did.

1st day of school

Well it was actually orientation. And I had a cling-on to me the whole time. He is a bit apprehensive & overwhelmed. He has a new teacher & didn't know any of the kids in his class. He though it was pretty cool that he had his own desk to put his supplies in, and his own hook for his backpack & coat. He found the shoe shelf to put his gym shoes on (but wouldn't leave his lightning McQueen shoes there) He wouldn't venture off on his own very much to practice where to line up after recess, or getting on the bus.

We did take a practice bus run, and the kids practiced getting off the bus with the big steps and Justice actually went by himself, and then..... The bus took off. I saw him watch in horror as the bus pulled away with the parents. All we did was circle the parking lot so the kids could practice how to load the bus from across the street. He got back on the bus very happy to see me with teary eyes. He told me he was worried. I told him I always come back.

I am glad to see he is getting much better at explaining his feelings. He still has his outbursts, but talks about things now and we can work things out. It is so neat to watch him grow like this. I really didn't think I would be so touched about him starting Kindergarten (it is the same place as his preschool) but I think he knows, this isn't preschool anymore, it's big boy school.

(I will let you know how well we get him on the bus tomorrow morning) click on pictures to see larger.

Justice's museum trip

At first he didn't want to go. I guess it didn't sound kid friendly. Once he got there he thought it was pretty cool. There was a kid section we practically had to drag him out of, and he liked working all the interactive displays.
We brought our own packed lunch & had a nice meal & got ice cream afterward. He was so cute. He was either holding Mikes hand or Jordan's. He is a great brother & had a good day today which they both deserve.

World cup day

Well, we got some good practice in Wednesday evening. Mike even painted a little soccer field in the yard. However, Thursday it rained & although the camp still met at the park, Justice did not want to stay. Friday we showed up again. It was world cup day & Justice was on the Germany team. He even made a German flag to bring to camp. It was raining again but they were still having the big game. Justice did not want to go play. He became a bit disruptive to the other family members trying to watch so we left.

There were 35 kids, split into 2 groups. He was with the younger kids but there were kids who were older & bigger than him & who had more experience playing. I told him he doesn't have to play soccer if he doesn't want to but not to quit just because other kids are better & have been playing longer.

He is actually very good at it and has learned a lot from the 2 days he did participate. I just hate to watch him quit & not realize his talent.

Practice makes perfect

Justice has been doing very well at soccer camp. It is much more intense than the pee-wee soccer camp but he is learning a lot. There are about 35 kids with varying ages in the camp. Justice gets a bit discouraged. It is hard to get him on the field sometimes, and today I finally got out of him why he isn't as enthused with soccer as before. He said he doesn't want to lose and he thinks he stinks at soccer. The poor guy. He actually doesn't stink, he is very good, there are some bigger kids out there who have been playing longer. So we are going to start hitting the back yard & practicing. I think that is all he needs. He has been asking to go practice & Mike has been working late his last week of work here & I have not much night help here this week.
Justice has learned some new soccer moves & I bought him a new flag soccer ball yesterday.
here are some pics. Yellow shirt/blue shorts

Take a picture of me

"MOM! Take a picture of me & put it on my page"

Here you go Justice, it is your blog.

This is how you do Trach care

How to take care of a baby with a trach; by Justice

First you clean the trach with a wipe






Next you suction









Then take out the trach









Inspect it carefully & put a new one in, not the same one like I did. Mom wouldn't give me a new one.
better start a tube feeding








Put on a diaper, we did just feed him



And thats how you take care of a baby with a trach.

Camp night

Justice loves when friends come to play with him. His dad set up tents in the yard & got a camp fire going. The boys roasted marshmallows and made smores. They played in the yard for a good long time. There are not to many kids who come over to play with Justice so he gets very happy when my friends kids come out. They are a bit older than him, but they all play together very well.

I am just starting to meet other moms of Justices school mates. He should be having a play date this week. Once he starts up school again I am sure we can arrange for much more play dates for him.

The week of the 23rd, starts Justices 2nd soccer camp. It is a bit more of an involved program than the earlier one. I am having troubles getting good shots of him on the field, as I don't have an optical zoom. I will try to get more pictures to post, and keep working Mike for a new camera. ha ha.

Here are some from the last camp
In this first pic just below, he is goalie just in front of coach. In second pic. Justice is in the orange shirt, second to last in line. Click on picture to make it bigger.

Zoo day

Justice loved going to the zoo. We went to see all the animals he asked to see. He had this smile on his face, it's different than his usual smile. It is a smile that says "this is the happiest day" I have seen it many times, when he is at the park, and having a good time playing with kids. When he plays in his pool, when we are somewhere exciting, like the zoo, children's museum, the hot dog stand, starbucks. He just gets a different kind of smile and his eyes light up. I love seeing that smile, I even see it just when we are doing anything all together.

He had that smile all day yesterday (except during pictures of course). We rented a wagon for him & pulled him around the zoo, he liked that & stayed in it. He also loved the dolphin show. He said "they jump up & play., their silly."
Justice petted a snake, and petted goats. When he was in the butterfly tent, he watched & walked very careful so he wouldn't squish one. He was such a good boy & I was very glad to see him have a good fun day with all of us together.

Tomorrow, his friends are coming by to play. They are my friends kids & a bit older than Justice but they love each other, and play together very well. He is excited about that. The boys are planing a camp out & smores. I'll give Mike the camera for the big camp out. His friends wont be staying overnight, but Mike & Justice will be sleeping in the tent in the yard.
Which in Justices eyes, is as good as yellow stone national park.

Justice's updates

Well Justice needs updates too. Plus I have tons of photos I would like to have take up space on the Internet. Yesterday was Justices first library trip. He got a library card, checked out a book, & a video. He was very excited & liked hanging out at the library. I could even use the Internet there while he was in the play room. It took me a while to realize there were no card catalogs. Tells you how long it's been since i have been in a library. It was all his idea to go, it took me a bit to find it, but now we know and will be making many trips there.

July 23rd starts Justice's 2nd soccer camp. He did great with the first one, and this second one is a little more advanced and a longer time period.

Here are some recent pics