Saturday, December 29, 2012

Christmas 2012!

I'm not sure how we didn't secure many Christmas photos this year..  likely we got lazy. Tsk.  Here are a couple we did manage to get though... 

 Khai's gingerbread house, made in his KG class.
 The standard, mandatory 'hug the tree' photo. My mom totally made me do this when I was a kid. Hug the tree, hold a flower, etc..  He looks so thrilled.
 There is certainly no question where Khai gets his craziness from...

ROAR!
 Khai and one of his oldest and bestest buddies, Zack. Can you believe they've been this close since they were like two?

 A visit from Auntie Christine.


Saturday, November 24, 2012

How is he so cute?!



So cute in the sweater his Uncle Tony gave him.
I wish he could stay this size forever!!

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween 2012

Halloween this year wasn't a fancy affair. I feel like as more time passes, despite our great love for it, we just dont go as crazy as we once did.  I put some decorations up and Khai, in Star Wars mode, decided to be an ARF Trooper this  year.  He got plenty of loot, which no doubt John will dip his hands into if we don't keep an eye on him and thankfully this year the weather held up nicely. 

 
Little Jason is pouting because Mommy took his chainsaw away.

ARF Trooper. Beware!
  
Sorting out his loot!

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Khai Goes to Kindergarten


 

The time has finally come for this little big boy to venture off into the next phase of his life.  Kindergarten.  Sniff!!!  September 4th, 2012 marked the first day of school.  Khai attends a full day KG class, which is actually a multi age program where KG kids and 1st graders are in the same class for a 2 year period with the same teacher.  We were really excited to have him selected for this program. The pros far outweighed any cons we read about multiage classes and we felt he could really thrive with this kind of environment. One of our biggest hopes is that it will bring him out of his shell more, especially being in a class where he'd get peer guidance from the older 1st graders, and be with a teacher who would know all the ins and outs about him and his personality of the next 2 years.  Another stand out pro is that he wouldn't be restricted solely to a KG curriculum if he is able to work at a 1st grade level
in any particular subject.

Fast forward a few weeks into this awesome class, we've learned that next year our entire neighborhood is being transferred to a neighboring school. I'm extremely bummed out by this. I've spoken to the principal who apologized for the oversight when accepting him into the program. She's offered to keep him in the program for the KG year though and I'm glad for that because I still think he can really benefit from it.
So far, so good. He is loving KG, his teachers, and his classmates!  We have yet to have any problems with getting him to go to school. No "I don't wanna go to school!!" episodes, and he loves to ride the bus.  Each week he brings home a homework packet which consists of a book to read. He's to write a list of 10 words and draw a picture that associates something in his life to the story he's read.
We are so delighted that the transition over to public school has been smooth and successful for him. Hopefully the transition to the new school next year will go equally well!



  

Monday, August 13, 2012

This Kid.



I couldn't ask for a cooler one.

Friday, July 20, 2012

More Than A Year Later

Holy cow.. its been forever and that just goes to show I am such the slacker.. or we could go with the better sounding version of "i've been very, very busy".  Which, is true.. life has been busy.  A five year old is very busy! I still wonder how people with more than one child do it and I continue to applaud them with high regard.  I practically lose my mind half the time just trying to maneuver the ups and downs of every day life with one child, plus being the only girl in a house full of testosterone... well, you can imagine my woes.

The last time I wrote anything was back in November 2010. Thats practically a lifetime ago and a million and one things have happened since. I couldnt even begin to recap it all because surely I'd forget to mention at least half, if not more. And thats where I feel super guilty for not being as diligent as I once was, keeping up with this blog.  I suppose I'll start with the basics and whats fresh in my mind:

Khai is about to enter Kindergarten in approximately 6 weeks. Thats real deal elementary school, people!! That means, my baby, is officially going to be a "big kid".... and just yesterday he made sure I knew this.  Far too many thoughts have been going thru my head thru the year, with this new venture he's about to embark on.  Often I kind of just tuck it away.. the whole idea of 'if I dont think about it, it doesn't exist" kind of thing. But as the months get closer and closer and eventually start turning into weeks and then eventually just a few days, the mix of emotions start to really come on strong.  No more baby, no more toddler, no more little anything.... which of course is a total exaggeration, but do you know I love talking to him on the phone because its then when I can still hear the little kid voice versus the big kid? Its still so tiny and cute and makes me want to pinch his cheeks and melt...   I know..he's just five..  but he'll be six in a few months..then seven....then eighteen... then.. oh god...


Onto other things before I find myself crying or having a mild anxiety attack.
So this kid can read now.  What?!!  I can't even take credit for it. Credit totally goes to my mom, who seriously, in ONE day, sat this boy down with Dr. Seuss and had him reading Mr. Brown Can Moo.  I was blown away!! My baby could read!  From there he started reading other Dr. Seuss books and now, he's starting to figure out how to read with expressions (exclamation marks, question marks, etc) versus a monotone read.  Dr. Seuss books are such the classic perfect beginner books (altho seriously, I dont know if I can take ready Wacky Wednesday one more time.. its one of his favorites and good grief, I need some variety! haha).

Lets see, what else. He still loves his hair long, despite protests from his dad and a few others. I really love his hair just the way it is, and so does he and as far as i'm concerned, if this is how he likes it, this is how it'll stay.  And frankly, I don't see him (at least right now) as a short hair kinda guy.  He's got such beautiful hair, I'm completely envious.

He can shower on his own now, he can get himself ready for school (although this requires lots of coaxing and redirecting because lets face it....who likes getting up at the crack of dawn and getting ready for work or school?!) , he can get himself snacks from the fridge and pantry, and he can even use chopsticks (to some degree).  He's a total charmer of the ladies of all ages, and it completely makes me proud how polite he can be and how he has to hug ever single classmate and his teachers, every single day when we leave school. 

With all this positive stuff, of course there is some negative... nothing out of the ordinary and I really believe all just a part of growing up.  The tantrums..oh boy.. his dad would say that he gets that part of his personality from me.  The sassy attitude, foot stomp, evil eye.... followed by the big hugs and loves.   Flip flop, flip flop...   Pfft, I really dont know what he's talking about.   He's a little shyer than some of his peers but I have faith that he'll come more out of his shell once he gets into elementary school. In fact, he really isn't that shy once he knows you - at that point - and that point usually comes within 5-10m of knowing you - he doesn't shut up. He's a huge chatter box, which I constantly try to remind myself to appreciate, because I know these moments wont be forever and soon enough I'll be looking back wishing he was still such the chatterbox (you know, when he's like 16 and thinks he's too cool for the world).  Geez, now all I can think about is him at 16...  my head is spinning....   his brother is only 11 and already acting 16 and its scary to think thats practically tomorrow for Khai. It came upon us so fast with Carter.  Just yesterday he was Khai's age and now he's got the headphones on full blast, the eye rolling, barely paying attention to what i'm saying mode going and I swear its enough to make you feel old. Since when did cranked up headphones bother me?!

Family Trips -  Khai and I were able to take an awesome trip to Canada in October 2011, to visit Jen, Nev, Cooper and Stella.  That was a trip five years in the making! It took forever to get to that day, then flew by so fast and I would give anything to go back in time and do it all over again.  This was the first Khai/Mommy trip ever, and I loved that experience.  Growing up with a Foreign Service career mom, I took countless trips with my mom. This Canada trip brought back that nostalgic feeling and it was very special to me to be able to have that kind of adventure with Khai.  Heck, that trip deserves its own post, which I promise I will get to.  But let it be said that it was one that we will never forget, and some of the very best people we know and love. For life Hawk!! ;-)

4th of July week, 2012, the whole family went down to Smith Mountain Lake. Which, we do try to do every year.  Khai is still a little intimidated with trying new things, like getting on the jet ski, or jumping into the lake, but hopefully by our next trip down he'll have overcome that a little.  We were able to get him on the jet ski for about 15minutes or so before he completely freaked out.  The lake, he did get in but was mostly in a panic mode the entire time - although I know him, he was just as scared as he was excited.
He did great in the pool and I tried to work on swimming with him - he still is afraid to put his face under water.  But he was extremely psyched to be able to stand in the pool without assistance this year - last year he didn't reach the ground. 

You see, I told you I couldn't recap much - altho quite a bit. I really am just kicking myself right now.... I'll try at best to back post some photo highlights. :-)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Evil Amoxcililn Strikes Again

I'm telling you, this stuff is bad stuff. Back in 2009 we had our terrible run ins with it and I knew at that point that it was this particular antibiotic that was the culprit of Khai behaving totally not like himself.  At the time I told Dr. Kelly that I felt he was having a reaction to the Amoxicillin and she said she never heard of such a thing. I insisted it was causing some behavioral changes in him, but seems everyone loves the pink stuff...  See my post about it here: Antibiotics and Insanity.  
Fast forward to now.  I am 200% sure I am right. This little boy will not  have this pink crap touch his lips ever again if I can help it.  Right before we went to the lake for the 4th, he got strep. No big deal. Kids get strep, they get over it.  Dr. Kelly prescribed him the Amoxicillin even though I said I had reservations. She said time had passed and she really didn't think it would be an issue. I was very hesitant, but decided we'd give it a go. If anything, this would be the final say so to me as to whether or not I was right.  Khai finished off his medicine while we were at the lake and we all had a good time. Within a day of him finishing the evil pink stuff, he broke out in an awful rash. It started out small - I thought it was from the sun because we had been on the boat all day and he refused to get in the water and because of his age he had to wear a life vest . You can imagine how overheated he probably was. I kept him shaded and cool the rest of the stay but when we got back home the rash continued to spread until it covered his entire body.  I took him back to Dr. Kelly and hmm, was I right? YES.  That day I insisted she put something in his file that stated he was in fact allergic to Amoxicillin. She said that it likely is a one time thing.  I don't think so. Perhaps the breakout is a one time thing, but i'll never allow for us to find out.  Based on all that I have read, they say that the breakout is more so a side effect versus a negative reaction to the medication (i.e. a rash).  This reaction is not supposed to itch. Its just unsightly.  The boy itched.  It was a rash to me. Its also said that this would likely only occur once or twice and never again.  Nope, still not going to find out.  Between the behavioral problems it caused in 2009 and this reaction now.. Nope.  

If you have the chance, you should read this: When Children's Brains Go Awry
Just to quote a portion of it: " Amoxicillin side effects may include: agitation, anemia, anxiety, changes in behavior, colitis, confusion, convulsions, diarrhea, dizziness, hives, hyperactivity, insomnia, liver problems and jaundice, nausea, peeling skin, rash, tooth discoloration in children, vomiting... "

Now I know if you were to look at the side effects list of just about anything, you'd find something crazy. But after seeing Khai suffer through more than one thing on this list, I'm not taking any risks.

These photos don't even show the half of what covered this poor boys body. Thankfully his spirits remained high despite the nights of vicious itching, and he was a real sport as I covered his body each day with oatmeal to help soothe it.  The oatmeal really helped!!  Thankfully he didn't have such the bad behavioral reaction as he did in 2009, but it was a long many many many days to recovery.  
Never again!






Saturday, July 7, 2012

Smith Mt. Lake - July 4th Week


Just a few pictures from our week at the lake.












Monday, June 11, 2012

Presenting The Preschool Graduate!

Eeeh! He finally graduated from preschool!! After years at Sparkles (he's been there since he was 2), the time has come for Khai to move on. I never thought this day would come. I pretty much hoped it never would.  And yet I'm so proud of him, this accomplishment and I'm anxious to see the next steps he takes. 


In front of his preschool classroom.


Graduates! 


Ms. Ana and Ms Rosyln.

Congratulations Khai Khai!


His very first cap and diploma, along with an award for Most Artistic. 

Friday, May 4, 2012

May the Fourth


May the fourth be with you
from the kid who is obsessed with Star Wars!



Sunday, April 8, 2012

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Valentines Day 2012


Valentines Day Loot from Preschool!