T-Ball Practice

Hi Everyone,

Nicholas had his second T-Ball practice this past Wednesday. It went better. Nicholas listened better this time. I think it had to do with Daddy being there. Chris missed the first practice, but the second practice, he was there before the coach. Nicholas did great with the warm up / practice part. Then they had a practice game against another team, and he forgot all the rules. Chris was funny. He really got involved and then when  we were heading to the field he tells me, "I wish I could go out there with him." Chris did end up going out there with Nicholas because Nicholas stopped listening. Chris bought Nicholas a Tee, glove and a bat. I am sure they will be practicing when I take Jacob to Physical Therapy on Tuesday. We were so unprepared last week. He had on the wrong shoes, no glove and no water. We will be more prepared this week! I also thought it was funny that the coach remembered Nicholas' name :) Jacob was there too. He is always good. He just sits in his stroller and doesn't mind the kids running around. Like I have said before, I am not sure if Nicholas is all about sports, but we will give it a try. Whatever he wants to try - we will support him. Pictures of the real game - soon to come.

Things have been pretty quiet here. My classroom opens next Monday. I like to go in early, so I am not stuck the first week, still putting things together. Nicholas' first day is August 29th, but he has phase in two days before. I loved spending the time with my boys. We will miss each other very much when school starts again.

We went to the Akron Zoo last Friday. It was fun, as usual. Niko got his first bee sting. He handled it pretty well. We were watching the penguins and he is jumping up and down saying something bit him. My mom and I saw the stinger and my mom got it out, while I was holding him. Then he started to cry. It got red, but not swollen. We went to first aid and they gave us some wipes for the sting. He was pretty ouchie by this time, so I am not sure how much I wiped. He is not allergic though. It was fine by the end of the day. He took a pretty good fall at the library today and complaining that his rib hurts. He is also complaining that his stomach hurts. I am so done with the stomach hurting. It's time to call the doctor.

Jacob is doing OK. He has been very clingy. Every night at 6pm, he turns into a colicky baby again. We have to walk or go outside. I am very confused right now. I like Jacob being a baby, but I can't wait for him to become more independent like Nicholas. This morning, I got very little accomplished. He wanted me all morning.

Have a good week! Time to get Nicholas to bed :) Mandy

Beach Babies (Sort of)

Hi Everyone,

         This past Sunday we went to our favorite playground. It has an Animal Park and playground. The animals are not real. You can climb on these animals, and they don't bite. In one of the areas, there is a huge sandbox, but it is on the ground. At first, I had Jacob in the stroller and then I decided to let him have some fun. Plus, sand is a texture that Jacob needs to feel. He did OK. He was a little hesitant at first, but then got into the whole sand thing. He came to me a couple of times with some worried expressions, but he went back out there. This kid never gives up, and always tries and tries. We had fun that day. I always like to go to this playground. It's always hard to drag Nicholas away from this playground. After, we went to see the house Mommy used to live in when she was a little girl.

Everyone is doing well. Nicholas has gone a month without an illness - YAY! A few tummy aches, but nothing that involved clean up or cancelling plans. Nicholas started TBall last week. That went OK. He has a very hard time listening (no big surprise) and he is so excited. The coach kept telling him to stop playing in the dirt. He wasn't listening to the coach! When Nicholas is in the field and running the bases - it's a hot mess. He did better last night. Daddy was there, and daddy got involved - that helped! Next Wednesday is picture day and his first game. I am glad I got Nicholas involved in TBall, but I feel like I did it too late. Maybe I should have signed him up last year for sports. I am also not convinced that sports will be his thing. I am thinking more along the academic line and maybe music. We will give the sports thing a try.
Nicholas is growing very well. His bone age scan came back as 4 years and 6 months as his growth, So, he is a month behind - big deal :) He was a year and half behind last year. The doctor decreased his dosage, which I am very happy about. He was having growing pains and complaining of being thirsty. We will see how the new dosage goes. It's also a pen shot now. It clicks, and I have to put it on the dosage setting. I am still getting used to this pen - but the needle is so much smaller than the old one. Nicholas isn't convinced though. He still hates the needle :(

Jacob is doing well. He had a very good PT session this past Tuesday. Why? because Mommy left the session and Daddy stayed with him. The therapist told me not to do that all the time though. He needs to see Mommy when he is doing the hard work. I just wanted them to have a good session and with me being there was not helping. She said he is not strong enough to walk yet, but he is getting there, and he is trying very hard. We should be getting his trunk brace very soon! It makes him move around so much more comfortable and more confident. OT went well. He got very scared when she sprayed some shaving cream (texture). It took about 5 minutes for him to calm down, but he did and she said that is good. He did the swing for her for a little bit. The swing was the highlight for OT yesterday :) We also have another tooth. We are up to five, but I think we another one brewing. 

We went to the Indians Game this past Monday. Chris, myself, and the moms went. It was a lot of fun! Chris came home after TBall last night and watched some of the game with Nicholas. Tomorrow we are going to the Akron Zoo. I think I get as excited as Nicholas does. We are branching out a little next week - Cleveland Zoo :) Have a good Friday and weekend!! Mandy

Akron Zoo!

Hi Everyone,

Our Favorite place to visit this Summer - The Akron Zoo! My mom and Niko went many times last year. Nicholas always talked about how much fun he had there. This Summer, it's my turn to see what all the excitement is all about. My mom, the boys and I made plans to go on June 18th, but my mom got Niko's cold and couldn't go. We HAD to go. I promised this poor kid that we would take him, and in the upcoming weeks it would be so busy with Jacob's therapy schedule. So, I decided I would take the boys - by myself. It was a great trip. Both boys were so good. Jacob is so observant. Never falls asleep, just watches all the animals. He has a good time. Nicholas loves visiting all the animals. He does not have a favorite animal. He said he likes all of them. We have been back twice since then - with Ahmi, and we plan to go back again in a few weeks!

Jacob is doing very well. We have hit some milestones within the past couple weeks. He learned how to clap at 13 months. He pats his tummy, which is adorable. Jacob has also started drinking out of the sippy cup. The sippy cup is going OK. He doesn't have the suck and swallow part down quite yet, but we are working on it. He always has milk running down his cheek and neck. Milestones are taking their time, but we are getting there. On August 7th, he has another NICU appointment. I am going to try to get him into Cleveland Clinic Speech Therapy. He needs it! Help Me Grow is suppose to help with that, but the lady hasn't been out for two weeks going onto three. I will keep Help Me Grow, but I think he needs more. He started babbling this week, which is awesome! PT actually went pretty good yesterday. He has to wear a trunk brace, shoe inserts and tape to help him keep his balance and feel more secure. The therapist said probably a year for therapy. Whatever it takes to keep this kid going - fine by me :)

Nicholas is OK. We have our meltdowns, but overall, still a good kid. We go Library Story time. He likes that. He starts TBall tonight. He has a growth hormone appointment this afternoon. He will have a bone scan done. He has been complaining his arms and legs are hurting, so I am thinking growing pains. It woke him up last week. We are having issues with getting the shots ordered, so hopefully, the doctor can take care of that.

Well. I need to go eat lunch. My busy afternoon starts in 60 minutes. Have a wonderful rest of the week!!! Mandy

Thomas!

Hi Everyone,

     We are doing better. Everyone is still having moments, but we are just plugging along. Nicholas hit us with some tough questions and comments at the end of last week. So far this week, it has been much better, except when he announced to the Preschool Story time at the Library that Papa is in heaven. We also had a conversation about Heaven this morning - but we were both having a very casual conversation about Heaven. It will take some time. Papa was a big part of our lives.

The pictures above : Our Trip to see Thomas. Actually the trip only lasts ten minutes. Thomas is very close to our house. He was here for two weekends. We went on May 27th, the second weekend. I think next year, we will go to the first weekend. It seemed to lack a lot of stuff this year. Nicholas loved it, which is important to me. Jacob shows interest in Thomas too. He loves the song and I catch him a few times playing with Nicholas' engines. I think we will be going to Thomas for many, many years! It was HOT this year. We went the Sunday before Memorial Day, so it was nice not to have to go to work the next day. My mom came with us. Always nice to have extra hands :)

Nicholas is doing good. My mom mentioned to me last night to stop talking "bad" about him. He frustrates me, probably because he is just like me :) He is four and we have our challenges - but he is a GOOD kid. We still have the talking back and not following directions. I love the kid with all my heart, and he told me I was his number 1 fan :) I wish I get to spend more time with him. Jacob having three therapy sessions a week, is hard. I enrolled Niko in Preschool Story time on Mondays in July. Just him and I. It is wonderful and gives us time together. We had a good time yesterday.He wants to go back. T-Ball starts next Wednesday. He also has a growth appointment that day - which means bone scan. Hopefully, he is catching up :)

Jacob is doing good. He is really cruising the furniture now. I am not anticipating his walking anytime soon. We just take it one step at a time :) I always take one positive thing away from therapy. He is doing well. We have a week off from PT, but we need to work up his muscle tone. He is eating better. At 6:00 every night, we have our problems. He is ready to go to bed, and I am not putting him down at 6pm. I have to keep him up for another hour and a half. A bath usually helps the mood.

Chris was on vacation last week. We didn't do much of anything. Took Jacob to therapy. Saturday we went to Lake Farmpark on a 100 degree day. It was hot but nice. We had the whole park to ourselves.

I am sure I forgot some stuff. Since I am still on Summer break - there will be a few more blogs during the week. Enjoy the Sunshine!! Mandy

Upside Down

Hi Everyone,

No pictures with this blog entry - sorry. This is a sad blog entry. Our world was turned upside down. I always want uplifting blogs on our little family site, but sometimes life throws us those curve balls.

On June 26th, we lost a very special man. Papa (Earl Lee Fulton) went home to be with the Lord. He is no longer suffering, but his family back on Earth is mourning his lost. He may not be hurting anymore, but we are. We are comforted in knowing that he is at peace and not in pain anymore.

Back in the beginning of June, I suggested to my mother in law that Chris should go up and spend some time with just mom and dad. I would watch the kids for a few days by myself - no big deal. He went up for Father's Day and came back that Tuesday. We knew Papa was declining, but not to a point where they were going to put him in Hospice. We got the phone call from Baba that Thursday after Chris came home and she told us that Papa was going into Hospice the next day. I went that Friday to say my goodbye. They told us two weeks, but he was only in Hospice for 4 days. Chris and I decided to let the boys see him one more time. They went to see Papa on the afternoon of the 26th. Nicholas wanted to see him! It was a precious moment. The morphine was being increased every two hours at that point, so Papa was really out of it. He tried to open his eyes a few times - we think he knew Nicholas was there. Nicholas left telling Papa, "You will always be my Papa." Papa died 3 hours later.

Nicholas is doing OK. People tell me he doesn't fully understand what is going on, but I think he is more aware of the situation than we realize. I was making eggs this morning and he asks me "Why did Papa go to heaven?" I told him because he was very sick and in a lot of pain. God didn't want him to be in pain anymore. He is going to keep making these comments and I try to be prepared. This was his first grandparent. I remind my brother how lucky we were to have grandparents to live a long time. My Nana is 90 years old! He is at an age where he may have some memories of Papa. The social worker for Hospice has been great. I have a card with their number and an Elmo DVD to watch. I am not to the point where we need to watch it yet, but if he keeps popping up with questions and I feel I am not answering them the right way - then we will watch it. There was a thunderstorm this afternoon and I said Papa is a bowling a really good game and they are taking his pictures. Nicholas liked that!

Jacob is doing OK too. Obviously, he can't express his feelings like Nicholas, but I notice him going through some stuff. I feel bad because he won't have any memories of Papa. He was six months old when Papa entered Kingston. They did make a few trips up there. Jacob had three things happen to him - all at the same time. 1) Mommy is home - full time (YAY!) but wait 2) Daddy is leaving and not coming home and 3) What in the world is Mommy doing to me once, twice and  three times a week? Oh, therapy. He is settling down with everything now - but it was a tough transition. Tough for Niko too. We can't have Niko involve with the therapy sessions, so he goes to my Mom's. I am so glad my mom is able to watch Nicholas. She is our constant right now, and Niko needs that. Anyway, physical therapy is rough! I knew it would be - I think that is the area he needs the most help with. Chris came for the first time and he thought - Oh boy! Jacob cries - a lot and needs a lot of work. We will get it though.

Now that things are getting calmer again - I think both boys will be OK. We just need Summer to simmer down a bit :)

Chris and I are doing OK. I can't speak for Chris and I don't know what is going on with him. He is grieving in his own way. I always let him know that he can talk to me. He has been taking care of his Mom and making sure she is OK. He is such a good son! I am doing OK. I can't break down in front of Nicholas. That will ruin everything that we done so far with Nicholas accepting that Papa is in heaven. I have my flashbacks of Papa, It will take time, but with time it will heal everything.

Rest in Peace Papa - Earl Lee Fulton (January 29th, 1938 - June 26th, 2012) - 74 years old