Post-Op

Ben is such a trooper. We explained to him what was going to happen today and he was great about it. No breakfast, no lunch – no problem. Brian took Ben on a special outing this morning to a fire station and a playground to help keep him distracted. The procedure went really well. According to the doctor once he made the cut Ben's tongue extended about an inch. We can see a real difference in it's appearance already. He's been spending the rest of the day testing it out (lots of poking, extending and wiggling) while he relaxes. We of course are making Gene Simmons and Michael Jordan jokes. Neil was reportedly a good boy for the neighbor while we were gone. So all is well.

Brian and Ben waiting with Doctor Bear

who really looked like the anesthesiologist.

Back to normal sharing cars with Neil and watching Wubbzy.

Big Boy Bed version 2

Neil has been pretty interested in Ben's bed lately. Ben has been insistent that Neil not get on his bed. So now Neil has a big boy bed of his own. So now I have another painting project.

Neil is very proud of his new bed.

Here's the step stool Neil need to get in his bed. Ben has one also.

Bennet starts school soon

Ben's now enrolled in a Phonological class at the Romeoville Early Childhood Center also known as the Butterfly Room. His class will meet two days a week; Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 to 11:30. Classes begin the last week of August. His teacher will be Mrs. Linda assisted by Mrs. Maribeth. There are 6 other kids in his class so far (limited to 10). He will even have a bus come to pick him up. We're excited for him to get started. We've already heard he'll have homework. We look forward to see what kind of progress he can make once he's working on it 5+ hours a week.

Tongue-tied

Ben has been receiving speech therapy for about 6 months now. And while we have seen an improvement, it's been a pretty slow process. Today we went to see an ENT (Ear, Nose & Throat doctor) based on our speech pathologists recommendation. Last week when Mrs. Brookelyn examined Ben's tongue she noted he doesn't have a full range of motion. Brian and I have both noticed this in the past. Poor guy can't eat an ice cream cone with a really good lick the way he should. So ultimately the ENT agrees and feels he could benefit from a Frenuloplasty (an out-patient procedure to clip the tongue). He's scheduled for next Tuesday. Please keep Ben in your prayers that day for a quick painless procedure and a speedy recovery. Post-operative he will still need therapy, but we hope it will help speed up his progress.

Camping in Hillsdale

We went camping in Hillsdale, IL this weekend. We like this campground because it's a quick 2 hour drive and the sites are nice right on the water with grass. We went paddle boating, fed the ducks, played at the playground, ate ice cream, and relaxed. Unfortunately we were having an unusually cool weekend and it never got up to 72, so the pool was closed.

Neil climbing the playground equipment.


Ben climbing the giraffe which was much higher
than what I imagined as his comfort zone.


Here we are getting ready to launch our paddle-boat.

Pool Party

If you didn't hear, Brian was pretty sick last week. So sick he actually went to the doctor. (A pretty nasty case of food poisoning. No jokes about my cooking.) Since he wasn't feeling well enough to take the boys to the pool to swim, we decided to have a pool party in the backyard. The funnest part of having your own pool is that you can bend the rules – like bathing suits.

Big Boy Bike Update

Ben seems to really have gotten the hang of it now. He was able to ride his bike from our driveway to the neighbors'. He also signed to me that his bike and dad's bike are the same.

Birthday Party @ Gymquest

Our neighbor, Maya, turned 5 yesterday and the boys were invited to attend her very cool party at Gymquest. They have gymnastic classes there with a bunch of really cool things to jump, climb and swing on. Our little monkey boys had a blast.

Super hero Ben

A kitchen dish towel and a chip clip is all you need to play along with the Super Readers. Sorry about the quality, sometimes Neil likes to be the photographers assistant.

Boys' Weekend

The boys packed up and headed to Uncle Al & Aunt Sarah's for the 4th of July weekend. Since I didn't attend I'll have to wing the entry just based on the pictures. The boys got to enjoy all kinds of water sports. I was pleased to see the boys wearing life vests in all the pictures. (I stayed behind to paint our master bedroom. The room looks much bigger and brighter. I'll post a picture once I get all the art back up.)

Neil & Meg enjoying a boat ride.

Aunt Sarah teaching Ben how to go tubing.

Brian showing Ben our future family pastime, kayaking.

I'm not really sure what to say about this last picture, but as a mother I hope this is the last picture I see of Ben like this after a boys' weekend. Cute at 3, scary at 23.