Aedan: 60 Months, Week 4
Owen: 19 Months, Week 1
After a few days of having the Clemons family, we had Easter at home with just our family. Ben and I had to teach first service, and we stayed for second service, like we usually do. The kids actually enjoy staying for both services, and Owen can handle it now, which is good. Before we left church, I got a few pictures of the kids for the obligatory Easter picture. Aedan wore his white dress shirt because he wanted to match Daddy. The only thing that would have made it better is if he could have had a tie to go with it as well. (Aedan woke up with some bedhead that morning because his hair is getting pretty long and needs to be cut.) Here are the best pictures we could get of our kids sitting together that morning. :)
Since our morning was pretty busy with church, we didn't have time to let the kids see their Easter baskets, so instead we did it after lunch. We reused these little plastic eggs to put some candy and jelly beans in, got them chocolate bunnies, and Ben picked a little toy for each kid. Owen got a Paw Patrol car with a puppy, Aedan got a Star Wars Lego set, and Samantha got a Lego Friends set. They were pretty excited to see their Easter baskets, and Samantha and Aedan spent the rest of the afternoon building their Legos at the table.
That afternoon, while Owen was napping, Ben worked on mixing the carrot cake and baking the bunny cakes from the special baking tin that Aedan gave him for Christmas. After they were done in the oven, I helped cut them to level them off, and then once they were cooled, I iced them and decorated them. We made them to take with us to our get together with our small group for Easter, and Aedan was excited that we used the special bunny tin. Here is how the bunny cakes turned out. They looked pretty good, I think.
We met with our small group out at the Clark's house that evening, and our plan was to let the kids play outside and do an Easter egg hunt, followed by ham, potatoes, dinner rolls, and the typical Easter type food for dinner, followed by more time to hang out and let the kids play. Here are some videos of the kids during the Easter egg hunt.
As the evening went on, Samantha came up and sat next to me on the couch, looking like she could fall asleep. She kept saying she was ready to go home, which is unlike her. We stayed a little later than we would usually do because they didn't have school on Monday, but that night, in the middle of the night, Samantha came into our room upset because she woke up with a fever and was shaking and shivering. We gave her some medicine and tucked her back into bed, but I felt bad that she seemed to be coming down with something.
On Monday morning Samantha was still not feeling, so it was good that she didn't have school that day anyways. Her fever was still running pretty high, and she was just sitting around the house with a blanket on, mostly just reading. Everyone was acting tired and cranky that day, even Aedan. He likes it when Samantha is home so that she will play with him, but she didn't feel like playing with him that day since she was sick, which made him kind of sad and mopey.
We had a follow-up with the ENT that morning to discuss the results of Owen's hearing test the week before and to see what treatment the doctor suggested. He looked in Owen's ear and, of course, he had fluid in it. He also discussed how the hearing test showed hearing loss at low pitches, so given those two things, he recommended that we get tubes in his ears. We scheduled his surgery for May 16th because it was the only time offered that would work for surgery. I felt bad for little Owen, but hopefully this will prevent him from getting so many ear infections. However, it sounds scary thinking about him going under general anesthesia and having surgery. He is just so little, but I know this is a routine procedure that many kids I know have had. So now we have to try to keep him healthy between now and then because if he gets sick, he can't have the surgery.
The rest of the day went by with little trouble. With all the kids being tired, I had them all take naps that afternoon and even though Samantha and Aedan didn't want to take naps, they both ended up falling asleep. I hoped that the more sleep Samantha could get, the better chance she would have of recovering. Her fever was just so high that after a few hours it would be right back up around 102 again. We just kept giving her medicine to keep her comfortable and encouraged her to keep drinking fluids as much as possible.
Since Samantha was still running a fever on Tuesday, she couldn't go to school again. However, I still had MOPS to go to, so Ben took her with him to campus so that I could still go to MOPS with the boys. Our topic for the day was technology and how to be a tech-wise family. We had some good discussion at our table. Even though I feel like Ben and I have a pretty good handle on technology right now with the kids, I feel like he and I could do better about not watching TV as much in the evenings after the kids are in bed. As the kids get older, I'm sure it will be much more complicated to figure out where we stand on technology and how we will monitor it. After MOPS, we had to take down all the tables as well as get set up for the Antiquities people coming back for people to pick up their pictures, so it took me longer to clean up that day because I had to do it mostly by myself, which made picking up Samantha, having lunch, and getting Aedan to preschool a bit more stressful.
Poor Samantha was still feeling so lousy. Even that afternoon she still had a 102.1 temperature, and that was with the medicine not totally worn off yet. I had Samantha nap again that afternoon for a little while because she was clearly trying to fight something off, and her body needed some extra rest. I kept hoping her fever would break, but it was just wiping out any energy she had, which is so unlike her. I know she was hating to miss school as well.
That afternoon I had to head over to church to help man a table for people to pick up their Antiquities pictures. Ben was able to come home early so that I could head over there. I was only there for a couple hours, but it was a pretty steady stream of people coming in to pick their pictures up. Here is the main picture that we received. I also got a few more pictures of each kid on their own. The photographer was even nice enough to throw in a couple extra pictures since I helped out a lot as a volunteer. It's hard to get Owen to smile, and he kept squinting because of the big flashes, but the pictures turned out pretty cute. I love these three kids of mine. :)
Samantha's fever just wouldn't quit. She didn't have any other symptoms other than a stuffy nose and cold. Tuesday night before Ben and I went to bed, it was 102.5 again. I felt bad that she was still battling such a high fever, and it of course meant that she would have to stay home from school another day.
On Wednesday morning Samantha was acting much more like herself. She was playing and interacting with people, and had more energy than to just sit on the couch like she had been the previous couple of days. I hoped the fever would finally break so that she could get back to school. Since she was doing a little better, didn't have a fever, and I really needed to go grocery shopping, I took her and both boys shopping with me that morning, but as we went through the store, I could tell that her fever was coming back and she was losing her energy. I felt bad that I made her come with me. It wasn't quite so high that afternoon, but she spent all her energy that morning walking around the store.
Here is a video I took of Samantha that morning. As part of AWANA this year, the kids have been memorizing Psalm 23. Here is Samantha reciting it for me as practice for the Awards Ceremony that night. I was so proud of her for being able to commit this to memory. Scripture memorization is so important, and I love AWANA for instilling this discipline in the children at such a young age. Hearing how much she has memorized this year, challenged me to memorize more as well. I know it would help me to hide more of God's Word in my heart.
That afternoon once Aedan got home from school, it was actually nice outside, and the kids were begging to play outside, so while Ben and I worked on dinner together, the kids played in the backyard together. Owen was super excited to be able to play with his big brother and sister. They all went on the tire swing together, and I'm pretty sure this was Owen's first time riding on it. I told Samantha and Aedan that one of the two of them had to put their hand behind him as they spun so that he didn't fall off backwards, and they obliged. You can tell in this video that he is leaning back with a very dizzying look on his face. However, nothing is better than being included in playing with Samantha and Aedan. These three make me smile when they play together.
Wednesday night was a big night for the kids because it was Awards Night for AWANA. Since Samantha's fever was largely gone most of the day, we decided it would be okay for her to go that night. She would have been extremely disappointed if she had to stay home. They have worked hard all year at AWANA to memorize their verses and finish their books. Aedan was a little nervous about standing up in front of everyone, but he was much braver this year than last year when he stood in the back away from the rest of his group. Aedan is the third kid from the left in the front row. Samantha is the second kid from the left in the third row, kind of hidden behind the American flag in these pictures. You can see her better in the videos.
The program started with all the AWANA kids coming on stage and singing some of the songs that they sing together each week. Here is one of Aedan's favorite songs. You can tell how much he is getting into the motions for the song and concentrating really hard. (He sticks his tongue out when he is really concentrating on something.) He has really been enjoying AWANA a lot this year, and he will sing these songs all the time: in the car, in the grocery store, on the toilet, and every time I hear him singing these songs about God it brightens my heart and makes me smile. I'm so thankful for an AWANA program like this.
Samantha also really loves singing and has no qualms about being on stage. Even though she was getting over being sick with a fever for the few days before this, she was enjoying singing and doing the motions as well. I'm glad that they both enjoy things like this still, and Ben and I loved sitting there and watching them perform.
These next three videos are the song, "God of Angel Armies," and it was awesome to see how well Samantha knew the words to the song. Aedan could follow along with the motions for the verses, but he knew the words of the chorus really well. He was singing loudly and we could hear him from our seats. I love the meaningful expressions on Samantha's face as well as the fervor of Aedan's hand motions.
After that, the Cubbies stayed on stage to sing the Cubbies song, recite what they have learned over the year, and get their awards. I love that you can hear Aedan's voice above all the rest. Before going that night, he was very nervous about remembering everything he had to say, but he did a terrific job, and I was so proud of how brave he was. Aedan was the last one called for his award, and he was really excited to dig through his bag and see what special gifts he got along with his ribbon for completing his second year Cubbies' book. Next year he will be in Sparks, and we already know there is an AWANA program near where we will live in Pennsylvania.
Once the Cubbies went back to their seats, it was the Sparks turn to sing their song and get their awards. Samantha is the second from the left in the back row.
And here is Samantha receiving her awards. She was super close to finishing her book, but didn't quite make it. Sparks is designed for them to do one book a year, for three books total. However, Samantha didn't do AWANA in kindergarten, so she started last year in 1st grade, doing a book and a half, and then finishing that book up early on before moving to the 3rd book. The verses get progressively longer and harder, so she wasn't quite able to finish it. However, after the program was over, I talked to the leader about us moving out of state and starting a different AWANA program, and she said since Samantha was so close, if she wanted to finish the book over the end of the school year/summer, she would be willing to count that and give Samantha the trophy for finishing all three books. Samantha seemed interested in that option, so that is definitely something we will help her pursue. She has done a tremendous amount of work in memorizing all these verses, mostly all on her own, and we were very proud of her. I love the smile on her face when she receives her ribbons.
After the awards were all given out, the families were able to go downstairs for some ice cream to celebrate their accomplishments. The kids were super excited for their ice cream sundaes, and it was a nice way to end the year at AWANA.
On Thursday Aedan had a field trip to a local restaurant where one of the other kids' parents was an owner, so he decided he wanted to stay at preschool all day. We decided we were going to try and send Samantha to school that day since she had already missed so much school, and her fever had finally broken on Wednesday. We took her in a little late that morning and just dropped her at the same time we were dropping off Aedan for his field trip. However, we decided to not have her stay for Girl Scouts because we didn't want to push her too much while she was still trying to regain her energy after being wiped out from her several days of fever.
Here is a picture that Ben took that morning as he walked to work. Our snow is finally all the way gone, and our flowers are starting to bloom. I tried to transplant some tulips that keep growing up under the bush, and I planted some new tulip bulbs and daffodils that I bought. I'm excited to see how everything grows up as it warms up outside. The sun has been shining more, and I'm so excited for Spring to finally arrive in the U.P.
Friday was a big day in my world because we decided it was time to get Owen Bowen's hair cut. It was getting long, growing over his ears, hanging in his eyes, and his curly rat tail was getting a little out of control. Ben made appointments for Aedan, Owen, and himself to all get their hair cut one after the other on Friday morning. Here are some pictures I took of Owen's long hair before he got it cut that day.
Here is Owen sitting on my lap, getting his first hair cut. He actually did pretty well sitting still and letting Laura give him a nice big boy trim.
And here is the end result! He looked so different to me and definitely looked more like a little boy look rather than a little baby. However, it looked really good, and I was happy we decided to give him a little trim. Here he is with his sucker as his reward when he was all finished.
The rest of that day started a busy weekend for Ben and the family. Friday night was an Honors awards ceremony. Here he is with his colleague at the ceremony that night.
When he got home, I headed out for a Mom's Night Out event. We met for dinner at Zorba's, and even though it had started to get nice the last couple of days, on Friday night there was a gale warning and snow showers in the forecast overnight. I was walking to the restaurant in the snow, and here is Izzy on the porch in our backyard, also feeling unsure about what was going on with our weather. Not exactly the type of weather we want at the end of April.
Saturday, April 27th was a super exciting day for Aedan because it was the day of his birthday pool party with his friends. Because of his excitement, he woke up much too early that day, and as the morning progressed, I could tell he was tired. In fact, I actually had him take a nap after lunch for about an hour before his party because with how tired he was acting, I knew he wouldn't even have enough energy to play and have fun. He didn't resist doing that too much, which I was glad for.
Before Aedan's party that afternoon, Ben had LSSU's graduation, so he had to get all fancy in his doctoral robe and hat. Here he is taking the yearly picture with the kids before heading out to graduation.
We had the neighbor girl come over to the house to sit while Owen napped that afternoon so that way we didn't have to worry about chasing him around during Aedan's party. Then we went over to the Comfort Inn for Aedan's pool party. He invited Thomas, Henry, Kate, and Dominick from preschool, and Jeffery, Ruger, and Jordan from church. Many people came with their families, and Aedan was so excited. Here are Samantha and Aedan sitting on her cupcake float as we waited for his friends to arrive.
Since the kids had plenty of friends to play with, Ben and I decided we didn't need to get in the water, but instead spent some time talking with some of the other parents that were there. I think Aedan had a good time, but sometimes I think doing stuff like this overwhelms him a little. He doesn't like being the center of attention and being around a lot of people makes him feel shy. There were a few times that I looked over at him and saw him kind of hanging out by himself, so I encouraged him to play with some of his friends, especially his preschool friends. Here are some videos and pictures from Aedan's pool party. It was fun watching everyone swim and have a good time together.
This little boy, Dominick, is definitely Aedan's favorite friend from preschool. They love having each other to play with, and they both love super heroes, so they have a lot in common. He is probably the number one person that Aedan will miss when we move away from Sault Ste. Marie.
And here is a video of everyone singing Happy Birthday to Aedan. You can tell he felt a little nervous having everyone looking at him and singing to him. (He even joined in the singing for a little while himself.) His cake was half funfetti and half marble, with buttercream icing, and it was actually quite tasty.
Aedan's friends knew him well, as he got a lot of Lego sets and super hero stuff for presents. Here are pictures of my sweet little boy opening his birthday presents. I just love him so much, and I was glad he was able to have this party and that all the friends he wanted to have there were able to come.
As the afternoon went on, I could tell that Aedan was losing energy. I didn't know if it was just from the excitement of his party or being in the warm water of the pool, but when we got back home after his party, we discovered that he had developed a fever. I felt bad that he was getting sick on his birthday, probably picked up the same sickness Samantha had earlier in the week of some congestion along with a high fever. We gave him some medicine to bring down his temperature, and then he and Daddy packed up there things to go back to the hotel for the night. In order to do a pool party at the hotel, you had to reserve a room as payment. We figured since we were paying for the room, we might as well use it. Ben suggested that he have a sleepover at the hotel with Aedan, and Aedan thought that was a wonderful idea. Aedan picked out his clothes for church the next day and one Lego set that he wanted to work on building that night with Daddy at the hotel, and then they were off.
Here is Aedan sitting on the bed in the hotel room with his Spider-Man Lego set, the one that he was the most excited to build. Ben said that he didn't do much to help him, just got the pieces ready if he couldn't find them, but largely just sat there and watched Aedan follow the directions and build his new creations.
Here's a video of Aedan starting to build his Lego set, starting with Spider-Man and his spiderweb.
And here he is with his finished creations! He was so proud of them, and even though he wasn't feeling well, I think he thought it was pretty cool that he got to go to the hotel and spend this time with Daddy one-on-one.
Ben was able to sit around the corner from the bed, in the little alcove for the bathroom and work on some of his grading while Aedan slept. Luckily, Aedan slept pretty well, and Ben could hear him snoring from across the room. I also let Samantha sleep in bed with me that night since Ben wasn't there, and she thought that was pretty cool as well. She rolled over right away after reading books, was very calm and comfortable, and fell asleep with me in bed with her. I just stayed laying in bed next to her for a few minutes, enjoying these moments with my big girl who I don't get to cuddle next to very often anymore. It was a good day of celebrating Aedan's birthday, and I'm glad he had a fun party with his friends and a fun sleepover with Daddy, even though he started feeling poorly on his special day.
(Blog about April 21-27, 2019)
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